nothing to eat but frozen mussels. Their mother died, a lifeless corpse
by their side. They were not able to bury her or do anything with her.
Sarah’s sister, Ada, began to fail very fast, and her spirits were very low.
They lay down next to some trees to rest their heads. Soon Sarah rose
and went down to the beach for some frozen mussels and carried them
to her sister, who ate them. Now their courage began to falter. They saw
nothing to expect but death, yet did not wholly give up their hope of
deliverance. There they were, two distressed sisters surrounded by dead
bodies, without food or fire and almost without clothing. Sarah had no
shoes to her feet, which were much swollen by the cold. The ground was
covered with snow, and the season was fast advancing, it being nearly
the middle of December, so that they had every reason to expect they
should soon share the fate of their companions.
To their great surprise, they saw three men on the island, who, when
they approached, appeared no less surprised to find them living. Sarah
took courage and spoke to them of their distress. The men appeared pitiful, told them that they had come from New Harbor with two vessels for
plunder, and offered to take them on board. Sarah and her sister complied with their invitation and were ferried to the vessel. As she was rising from the frozen ground, by the assistance of one of the men, she put
out her hand to take a small bundle, which she had preserved through
all their difficulties, and which contained some clothes and books, especially her Bible. Seeing her attempt to take it, the men promised to take
care of it for her. Trusting to their honor, she left it with them, but she
never saw it again.
After they were on board, the men treated them kindly. The captain
gave each of them a spoonful of spirit and half a biscuit. This was the
Now their courage began to falter. They saw nothing
to expect but death, yet did not wholly give up their
hope of deliverance. There they were, two distressed
sisters surrounded by dead bodies, without food or
fire and almost without clothing.
