The artificer engineer informed me that
the water was over the engine-room gratings.
"While endeavoring to return to the bridge the water burst open the
starboard entry port doors and the ship heeled rapidly. I told the men
in the port battery to jump overboard, as the launch was close
alongside, and soon afterward the ship lurched heavily to starboard.
"I clung to a ringbolt for some time, but eventually was dropped on to
the deck, and a huge wave washed me away. I climbed up the ship's side
and again was washed off. Eventually, after swimming about from various
overladen pieces of wreckage, I was picked up by a cutter from the
Hogue, Coxswain L.S. Marks, which pulled about for some hours, picking
up men and discharging them to our picket boat and steam pinnace and to
the Dutch steamers Flora and Titan, and rescued, in this way, Commander
Sells of the Aboukir, Engineer Commander Stokes, (with legs broken,)
Fleet Paymaster Eldred, and about 120 others.
"Finally, about 11 A.M., when we could find no more men in the water, we
were picked up by the Lucifier, which proceeded to the Titan and took
off from her all our men except about twenty who were too ill to be
moved.
"A Lowestoft trawler and the two Dutch ships Flora and Titan were
extraordinarily kind, clothing and feeding our men.
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