The bo'sun's spear took the monster truly in its left eye; but the one wielded by the man was too bendable, and sagged so much that it struck the stern-post of the boat, the knife blade snapping off short.

Now we have had all the copper off, and the seams examined in the wake of this section of the vessel's bottom, from the fore-chains to the main; and, in my judgment, it will be found that something is wrong about her stem, or her stern-post.

By backing and filling the sails, we endeavored to avoid collision with the larger masses; but this was not always possible: in the early part of the storm, the rudder of the Erebus was so much damaged as to be no longer of any use; and about the same time, I was informed by signal that the Terror's was completely destroyed, and nearly torn away from the stern-post.

I found that her rudder was completely broken to pieces, and the fastenings to the stern-post so much strained and twisted, that it would be difficult to get the spare rudder, with which we were fortunately provided, fitted so as to be useful, and could only be done, if at all, under very favorable circumstances.

No news shall be spoken of, later than the drifting ashore, on the northern coast, of sonic stern-post or figure-head, a barnacled fragment of one of the great galleons of the Spanish Armada.

At first it was thought either that the pintles of the rudder were broken or that the stern-post was rent; but upon examination both appeared to have escaped; and as no leak was observed during the night I indulged the hope that the noise was not occasioned by any accident that would inconvenience us, or oblige our premature return to Port Jackson.

When the tide left her dry we proceeded to examine her bottom, and having stripped the copper off the stern-post, the full extent of the injury she had sustained was detected and found to be greater even than our fears had anticipated.

At that moment a heavy block of ice, which had been overbalanced by the motion of the vessel, fell with a crash on the rudder, splitting off a large portion of it, and drawing the iron bolts that held it completely out of the stern-post.

It was the stern-post of a mangled vessel, and across it, in white letters on a black ground, was printed, "The Slapping Sal."

étambot, the stern-post. l.53.

'Dolph, too, watched from shore; suspiciously at first, afterwards with a studied air of boredom, which he relieved by affecting, whenever the heel of a stern-post squeaked in its quoin, to mistake it for a ratan excuse for aimless snuffling, whining and barking.

In searching their houses, a piece of ship timber which the sailors call a stern-post was found, to the great surprise of every one, not knowing how it should have come hither, unless either drifted from the Canaries, or perhaps it might have belonged to the admirals ship, lost in the first voyage, and might have floated with the currents from Hispaniola.