THE LOG OF THE BON HOMME RICHARD 51

hauled the enemy's ship snug alongside of ours, with the tailings
of our grappling irons, her jib-stay was cut away aloft and fell
upon our ship's poop, where Jones was at the time, and where he
assisted Mr. Stacy in making fast the end of the enemy's jib-stay
to our mizzen mast. The former here checked the latter for
swearing, by saying, "Mr. Stacy, it is no time for swearing now
— you may by the next moment be in eternity, but let us do our
duty." A strong current was now setting in towards Scarborough,
the wind ceased to blow and the sea became as smooth as glass.
By this time, the enemy finding that they could not easily extricate
themselves from us let go one of their anchors, expecting that if
they could cut us adrift the current would set us away out of
their reach, at least for some time. The action had now lasted
about forty minutes, and the fire from our tops having been kept
up without intermission, with musketry, blunderbusses, cowhorns,
swivels and pistols, directed into their tops that these last at
this time, became silent, except one man in her fore top who would
once in awhile peep out from behind the head of the enemy's fore
mast and fire into our tops. As soon as I perceived this fellow, I
ordered the marines in the main-top to reserve their next fire, and
the moment they got sight of him, to level their pieces at him and
fire, which they did, and we soon saw this skulking tar, or marine,
fall out of the top upon the enemy's forecastle.
"Our ensign staff was shot away, and both that and the thir
teen stripes fell into the sea at the beginning of the action. This
ought to have been mentioned before, but I had so many other
circumstances to relate of more importance, and the succession of
them was so quick one close upon the heels of another, that I hope
the reader will take this for an excuse.
"Both ships low lying head and stern and so near together
that our heaviest cannon amidships as well as those of the enemy
could not be of any use, as they could neither be sponged nor load
ed. In this situation, the enemy, to prevent (as they told us after