About seven o'clock
John Stevens went to bed , which was the most sensible thing he could do . By daylight on the morning of the twentieth , the gale had increased to a furious tempest , and the sea , keeping pace with it , ran mountains high . All that day the passengers were kept close below hatches , for the sea beat over the ship . About seven o'clock on the morning of the twenty-first , John Stevens was alarmed by an unusual noise upon deck , and running up , perceived that every sail in the vessel , except the foresail , had been totally carried away . The sight was horrible , and the whole vessel presented a spectacle of despair , which the stoutest heart could not withstand . Fear had produced not only all the helplessness of despondency , but all the mischievous freaks of insanity . In one place stood the captain , raving , stamping and tearing his hair in handfuls from his head .