was relieved only by the Rajmahal Hills,
on the morning of the twenty-first of November,
we arrived in sight of the Megna, high
and dry, at Damadapore.

How we launched the Megna:—At about
ten A.M. I landed with my men and stores at
the bottom of a small creek, running up about
a quarter of a mile towards the vessel; there
was a high bank on the left completely
shutting out the view of the river. I walked
up to the vessel, and was introduced to the
commander and officers, who expected and
were glad to see me, because the assistance I
had brought was much required.

A cradle had been already constructed of
teak, and there had been prepared four
hundred feet of ways, in pieces of from
twenty to twenty-five feet in length, besides
cross pieces and blocks of wood for laying the
ways on. Over this preparation some time
had of course been spent; when ready
everything had been shipped in native boats and
towed up to the Megna by one of the steamers
which had arrived from Calcutta.

In about a month from the date of the
disaster all the materials were got up, but
there was a dearth of ropes to reeve for
tackles. The flood had by that time quite
retired, and the Ganges had resumed its
natural appearance. There remained only a
narrow creek that ran up to the spot where
the Megna was lying; the ground here being
rather hollow, the water had remained. It
was at the entrance of the creek five feet in
depth, shoaling to nothing, and decreasing
daily. The ship was distant from the river
not more than a quarter of a mile on her
larboard side, but as she could not be slewed
round to launch in that direction, and lay
also in a hollow, there was nothing for it but
to hand her back by the same way that she
had come. After a great deal of difficulty,
the ground being very soft, the men had
succeeded in lifting the steamer, by means of
jack screws and levers, blocking her up as
they hove. The ground had then been levelled
under her, and the ways laid; on them a
cradle had been placed, and the vessel had
been lowered down on it. When she first
took the cradle her weight sunk her down
several inches, the ways not being sufficiently
blocked up. This of course made it very
difficult afterwards to get her off, as it became
necessary to drag her up hill into the rest of
the ways. However, when I arrived, the
Honourable Company's engineer, officers and
men had succeeded in getting the Megna back
towards the river some three hundred feet;
they had, in fact, made one launch.

By that time the ground had become quite
dry, and the weather cold; the vessel had
been ashore nearly two months. At first it
had been difficult to procure labourers, because
very few of the natives would come out to
work; but, through the kindness of a native
prince named Bucter Pondee, who lived at a
short distance from the launch, we soon
procured as many workmen as were necessary.
The vessel appeared to be quite straight, not
at all turned or altered in her form, although
much strain had been used in raising her,
and none of the machinery had been taken
out, the paddle-boards only being taken off
and put out of the way. Our party of heads
consisted of the captain, mate, and myself,
who with two engineers in alliance lived on
board; but the hands were encamped near
the vessel in tents made out of her sails.

The way we launched the steamer:—She
stood in the cradle on ways to her own
length, and we had in addition three hundred
feet more, thus moving her every launch
a little more than three hundred feet. The
ground being uneven, we frequently had
either to cut through it to the height of her
paddle-box, or to raise the ways to the proper
level by filling up the hollows with mould
taken from the cuttings. These ways were
laid in the same manner as those used in
shipwrights' yards, on a very gentle slope.
We could not afford much, for we should have
made bad worse if we had brought the vessel
down to a point below the surface of the
river. When all the ways were laid, well
greased, and black-leaded, the launch was
performed by passing the chain-cable round
the vessel, triced up to her sides. Her two
anchors were buried in a trench, with a large
beam laid in it for the lower arms to take.
The stocks lying level on the ground, the
upper arms, being partly above ground, were
backed by another anchor, a chain passing
from both the foremost anchor's arms
diagonally to the ring of the after anchor. To the
chain-cable at the stern of the vessel (for we
were launching stern-foremost) two large
three-fold purchase blocks were lashed, and
one to each of the rings of the large anchors.
Through these we rove eight-inch Europe
hawsers, with three-inch luffs on them, hooked
to the aftermost anchor; then a large jack
screw was placed up under the stem. When
all was ready the falls were manned by about
two hundred men on each, and the screw hove
on to a joist in starting her; the men hauling
at the same time the screw was turned. The
steamer would start on end from ten to fifteen
feet each time, sometimes more, and the screw
was always shifted every time she was moved.
When during each launch we had got half
way down the whole length of the ways,
all the anchors were taken up and removed
further down and reburied. After
overhauling the tackles, &c., we proceeded as
before. It generally took us four hours to
launch her the whole three hundred yards.
The next day all the ways she had passed
over were taken up again, to be laid down
astern. We generally, when the ground was
pretty level, laid the ways, launched, and
took them up again in six or seven days.
When we had to cut through high ground
it took us more than twice that time. On
launching days we employed about four