A Wave Comes Into the Family's Cabin

Saturday Octr 25th



The storm or gale continued with great strength & fury all night - the seas came right over the ship - we rolled tremendously & soon after getting to bed, the boards forming our bed bottom came away & we were in danger of falling through bodily on to the youngsters below - of course we got up & re-fixed the boards & tried again, but it was no use, the boards were too short or the bed was too wide. Here was a go, looking out of our cabin I saw the Steward & Mr Tichbon & Mr Young busy swabbing up the water which was coming down the hatchway in bucketfulls every prospect of all the cabins being shortly ankle deep in water. However Lizzie was spent & I was bound to make her a bed somehow so I took a stool, all our boots, old paper soap box & all odds & ends in the place & strewed them on the floor of our Cabin, on these I placed our mattres & on that the bed & then I lay down & rolled myself in the clothes. I had first of all got Lizzie & baby into the low bunk with the boys - six of them in one bed 3 ft 6 ins wide. However Lizzie thought I looked so comfortable that she turned out & joined me - so that we lay there & did as well as we could - we certainly did get snatches of sleep, but nothing to call rest - we were now lying across the ship & consequently experiencing a motion we were not used to - it felt like all ones interior being shaken from bottom to top of ones body & vice versa - one roll giving you the upward shake & the return roll the downward. We got up early & fortunately the water had not reached us, though it had been in every other cabin in the place. The night was so rough that they expected something would have gone wrong for the Carpenter was sent round to see what was required in the way of repairs. He found our bedboards an inch too short so he put an extra lath under & nailed all fast. I hope they are right now. Remained below all morning & after dinner went on deck & sat on our hatch cover with Guy astride my knees where he fell fast asleep. Lizzie was sat on the poop steps with the other Ladies but would come & sit with me awhile - after a bit the ship gave an extra deep roll on one side & she slipped off her seat on to the deck & as there was 8” or a foot of water on the deck she slid right across into the scupples [sic] (as the gutter along the ships side is called) here she got drenched with the wave which carried her & which of course collected there, she seized hold of a rope here, but was too stunned or surprised to hold on & on the return roll she was carried right across the ship to the opposite scupple & banged with great force against the bulwarks - here she was unable to get a hold of anything & consequently she was again carried right back to the other scupples and again smashed against the bulwarks and very likely might have repeated the performance again but that the General & the 3rd Mate ran & seized her and landed her safe & dripping wet on the top of our cabin steps. I was quite unable to help or try to help her, for Guy was fast asleep sat across my knees & it took me all my time to hold on to my seat by clasping the ventilator which I was leaning against. Very fortunately she was not seriously hurt & took her involuntary swim all in good part. She sobbed when the water came over her at first, but of course she and everybody else laughed when it was all over. A lot of the women folk in the steerage fell at the same instant as Lizzie, one a very nice Lady named Mrs Owen having her leg (small bone) broken as she went to change her clothes after her wetting. Lat 35.24 Long 17.43 Dist 212.