Part 1 (2/2)

My nepheas ready to sail about the beginning of January 1694-5; and I, with , besides that sloop which I o of all kinds of necessary things for ood condition, I resolved to leave so

First, I carried with me some servants whom I purposed to place there as inhabitants, or at least to set on work there upon my account while I stayed, and either to leave the; particularly, I carried two carpenters, a senious felloas a cooper by trade, and was also a generalwheels and hand- ood pot- that was proper to make of earth or of wood: in a word, we called him our Jack-of-all-trades With these I carried a tailor, who had offered hier to the East Indies with my nephew, but afterwards consented to stay on our new plantation, and who proved a most necessary handy fellow as could be desired in many other businesses besides that of his trade; for, as I observed foro, as near as I can recollect, for I have not kept account of the particulars, consisted of a sufficient quantity of linen, and so the Spaniards that I expected to find there; and enough of theht coht, the loves, hats, shoes, stockings, and all such things as they could want for wearing, a so, and household stuff, particularly kitchen utensils, with pots, kettles, pewter, brass, &c; and near a hundred pounds more in ironwork, nails, tools of every kind, staples, hooks, hinges, and every necessary thing I could think of

I carried also a hundred spare arms, muskets, and fusees; besides some pistols, a considerable quantity of shot of all sizes, three or four tons of lead, and two pieces of brass cannon; and, because I knew not what ti for, I carried a hundred barrels of powder, besides swords, cutlasses, and the iron part of soazine of all sorts of store; and I uns more than he wanted for his shi+p, to leave behind if there was occasion; so that e caainst all sorts of eneh for all, and much more, if we hoped to maintain our possession of the island, as shall be seen in the course of that story

I had not such bad luck in this voyage as I had been used to meet with, and therefore shall have the less occasion to interrupt the reader, who perhaps may be impatient to hear how matters ith my colony; yet some odd accidents, cross winds and bad weather happened on this first setting out, which er than I expected it at first; and I, who had never ht be said to coan to think the same ill fate attendedon shore, and yet to be always unfortunate at sea Contrary winds first put us to the northward, and ere obliged to put in at Galway, in Ireland, where we lay wind-bound two- and-twenty days; but we had this satisfaction with the disaster, that provisions were here exceeding cheap, and in the utmost plenty; so that while we lay here we never touched the shi+p's stores, but rather added to thes, and tith their calves, which I resolved, if I had a good passage, to put on shore in my island; but we found occasion to dispose otherwise of them

We set out on the 5th of February froale of wind for soht be about the 20th of February in the evening late, when thethe watch, came into the round-house and told us he saw a flash of fire, and heard a gun fired; and while he was telling us of it, a boy came in and told us the boatswain heard another This made us all run out upon the quarter-deck, where for a while we heard nothing; but in a few ht, and found that there was some very terrible fire at a distance; is, in which we all agreed that there could be no land that way in which the fire showed itself, no, not for five hundred leagues, for it appeared at WNW Upon this, we concluded itthe noise of guns just before, we concluded that it could not be far off, we stood directly towards it, and were presently satisfied we should discover it, because the further we sailed, the greater the light appeared; though, the weather being hazy, we could not perceive anything but the light for a while In about half-an-hour's sailing, the wind being fair for us, though notup a little, we could plainly discern that it was a great shi+p on fire in the middle of the sea

I was h not at all acquainted with the persons engaged in it; I presently recollected my former circumstances, and what condition I was in when taken up by the Portuguese captain; and how much more deplorable the circu to that shi+p must be, if they had no other shi+p in couns should be fired, one soon after another, that, if possible, we ive notice to theht endeavour to save theh we could see the flaht, could see nothing of us

We lay by so shi+p drove, waiting for daylight; when, on a sudden, to our great terror, though we had reason to expect it, the shi+p blew up in the air; and in a few minutes all the fire was out, that is to say, the rest of the shi+p sunk

This was a terrible, and indeed an afflicting sight, for the sake of the poor men, who, I concluded, must be either all destroyed in the shi+p, or be in the utmost distress in their boat, in the middle of the ocean; which, at present, as it was dark, I could not see However, to direct the out in all parts of the shi+p where we could, and which we had lanterns for, and kept firing guns all the night long, letting them know by this that there was a shi+p not far off

About eight o'clock in thewe discovered the shi+p's boats by the help of our perspective glasses, and found there were two of theed with people, and deep in the water We perceived they rowed, the wind being against them; that they saw our shi+p, and did their utmost to make us see them We immediately spread our ancient, to let thenal for the directly to them In little more than half-an-hour we ca no less than sixty-four reat ers

Upon inquiry we found it was a French merchant shi+p of three-hundred tons, ho account of the distress of his shi+p; how the fire began in the steerage by the negligence of the steers out for help, was, as everybody thought, entirely put out; but they soon found that soot into some part of the shi+p so difficult to come at that they could not effectually quench it; and afterwards getting in between the ti of the shi+p, it proceeded into the hold, and mastered all the skill and all the application they were able to exert

They had no reat coreat shallop, besides a sreat service to theet some fresh water and provisions into her, after they had secured their lives froetting into these boats at that distance from any land; only, as they said, that they thus escaped froht happen to be at sea, and ht take them in They had sails, oars, and a co it so as to be next door to starving, ht support them about twelve days, in which, if they had no bad weather and no contrary winds, the captain said he hoped he ht perhaps take soo on shore But there were so ainst them in all these cases, such as storms, to overset and founder them; rains and cold, to benumb and perish their limbs; contrary winds, to keep them out and starve them; that it must have been next to miraculous if they had escaped

In thehopeless and ready to despair, the captain, with tears in his eyes, told un fire, and after that four uns which I caused to be fired at first seeing the light This revived their hearts, and gave them the notice, which, as above, I desired it should, that there was a shi+p at hand for their help It was upon the hearing of these guns that they took down theirfro Souns, they fired three muskets, one a considerable while after another; but these, the wind being contrary, we never heard Soreeably surprised with seeing our lights, and hearing the guns, which, as I have said, I caused to be fired all the rest of the night This set them to ith their oars, to keep their boats ahead, at least that we ht the sooner come up with them; and at last, to their inexpressible joy, they foundtheestures, the strange ecstasies, the variety of postures which these poor delivered people ran into, to express the joy of their souls at so unexpected a deliverance

Grief and fear are easily described: sighs, tears, groans, and a very few motions of the head and hands, make up the sum of its variety; but an excess of joy, a surprise of joy, has a thousand extravagances in it

There were so theonies of sorrow; soht lunatic; so with their feet, others wringing their hands; so, many quite du; several swooning and ready to faint; and a feere crossing the theht be many that were thankful afterwards; but the passion was too strong for them at first, and they were not able to master it: then were thrown into ecstasies, and a kind of frenzy, and it was but a very few that were composed and serious in their joy Perhaps also, the case may have some addition to it froed to: I mean the French, whose temper is allowed to be htly, and their spirits h to deter I had ever seen before cae, was in when he found his father in the boat came the nearest to it; and the surprise of the master and his two companions, whom I delivered from the villains that set them on shore in the island, ca was to compare to this, either that I saw in Friday, or anywhere else in ances did not show themselves in that different manner I have mentioned, in different persons only; but all the variety would appear, in a short succession of moments, in one and the same person A man thatthis minute dumb, and, as it were, stupid and confounded, would the nextlike an antic; and the nexthis clothes to pieces, and sta them under his feet like a madman; in a few moments after that ould have hi, and, had not immediate help been had, he would in a few moments have been dead Thus it was, not with one or two, or ten or twenty, but with the greatest part of theed to let blood of about thirty persons

There were two priests a est was, the oldest man was the worst As soon as he set his foot on board our shi+p, and saw himself safe, he dropped down stone dead to all appearance Not the least sign of life could be perceived in hieon immediately applied proper remedies to recover him, and was the only th he opened a vein in his ar first chafed and rubbed the part, so as to warm it as much as possible Upon this the blood, which only dropped at first, flowing freely, in three minutes after the man opened his eyes; a quarter of an hour after that he spoke, grew better, and after the blood was stopped, he walked about, told us he was perfectly well, and took a draave hi into the cabin to the surgeon, as bleeding a Frenchwoone stark e of his circuain this put him into an ecstasy of joy His spirits whirled about faster than the vessels could convey therew hot and feverish, and the man was as fit for Bedlaeon would not bleed hi to doze and put him to sleep; which, after so perfectly coreat command of his passions, and was really an exa on board the shi+p he threw hi himself in thankfulness for his deliverance, in which I unhappily and unseasonably disturbed hi he had been in a swoon; but he spoke cal God thanks for his deliverance, begged me to leave hiive me thanks also I was heartily sorry that I disturbed hi him also He continued in that posture about three minutes, or little more, after I left hireat deal of seriousness and affection, but with tears in his eyes, thanked iven him and so many miserable creatures their lives I told him I had no need to tell him to thank God for it, rather than me, for I had seen that he had done that already; but I added that it was nothing but what reason and humanity dictated to all ive thanks to God, who had blessed us so far as to make us the instruments of Hispriest applied himself to his countrymen, and laboured to coued, reasoned with them, and did his utmost to keep them within the exercise of their reason; and with soovern this to writing, as perhaps it uiding theances of their passions; for if an excess of joy can carry th beyond the reach of their reason, ill not the extravagances of anger, rage, and a provokedan exceeding watch over our passions of every kind, as well those of joy and satisfaction as those of sorrow and anger

We were souests for the first day; but after they had retired to lodgings provided for them as well as our shi+p would allow, and had slept heartily--as htened--they were quite another sort of people the next day Nothing of good ; the French, it is known, are naturally apt enough to exceed that way The captain and one of the priests came to me the next day, and desired to speak with an to consult with us what should be done with them; and first, they told us we had saved their lives, so all they had was little enough for a return to us for that kindness received The captain said they had saved soht hastily out of the flames, and if ould accept it they were ordered to make an offer of it all to us; they only desired to be set on shore soet a passage to France My nepheished to accept their money at first word, and to consider what to do with them afterwards; but I overruled him in that part, for I knehat it was to be set on shore in a strange country; and if the Portuguese captain that took me up at sea had served me so, and taken all I had for my deliverance, I must have been starved, or have been as much a slave at the Brazils as I had been at Barbary, the uese is not a much better master than a Turk, if not in some cases much worse

I therefore told the French captain that we had taken them up in their distress, it was true, but that it was our duty to do so, as ere fellow-creatures; and ould desire to be so delivered if ere in the like or any other extre for them but e believed they would have done for us if we had been in their case and they in ours; but that we took them up to save the to take that little from them which they had saved out of the fire, and then set them on shore and leave them; that this would be first to save them fro, and abandon the be taken fro the difficulty to us, for that the shi+p was bound to the East Indies; and though ere driven out of our course to the ard a very great way, and perhaps were directed by Heaven on purpose for their deliverance, yet it was ie on their particular account; nor could hters, hoe by way of Brazil; and all I knee could do for the with other shi+ps hoe, if possible, to England or France

The first part of the proposal was so generous and kind they could not but be very thankful for it; but they were in very great consternation, especially the passengers, at the notion of being carried away to the East Indies; they then entreated me that as I was driven so far to the ard before I met with them, I would at least keep on the same course to the banks of Newfoundland, where it was probable I ht hire to carry theht this was but a reasonable request on their part, and therefore I inclined to agree to it; for indeed I considered that to carry this whole company to the East Indies would not only be an intolerable severity upon the poor people, but would be ruining our whole voyage by devouring all our provisions; so I thought it no breach of charter-party, but what an unforeseen accident made absolutely necessary to us, and in which no one could say ere to blame; for the laws of God and nature would have forbid that we should refuse to take up two boats full of people in such a distressed condition; and the nature of the thing, as well respecting ourselves as the poor people, obliged us to set them on shore somewhere or other for their deliverance So I consented that ould carry them to Newfoundland, if wind and weather would permit: and if not, I would carry them to Martinico, in the West Indies

The wind continued fresh easterly, but the weather pretty good; and as the winds had continued in the points between NE and SE a long ti them to France; for we met several shi+ps bound to Europe, whereof tere French, fro up against the wind that they durst take in no passengers, for fear of wanting provisions for the voyage, as well for theed to go on It was about a week after this that we made the banks of Newfoundland; where, to shorten my story, we put all our French people on board a bark, which they hired at sea there, to put them on shore, and afterwards to carry theet provisions to victual themselves with When I say all the French went on shore, I should re ere bound to the East Indies, desired to go the voyage with us, and to be set on shore on the coast of Cororeed to, for I wonderfully liked the ood reason, as will appear afterwards; also four of the seamen entered themselves on our shi+p, and proved very useful fellows

Fro away S

and S by E for about twenty days together, sometimes little or no wind at all; e met with another subject for our humanity to work upon, almost as deplorable as that before