and therefore supposed that the wind had changed, or that the ship had
run too far, or, what was more probable, I was afraid, the wind being
about S.E., we had fallen more to the shore. Our mate Evert and I
thought we should stand off a little till daylight; but the captain
tacked about again, so that we then sailed N.E., intending thus to
enter the harbor of Falmouth, but we found no opening, and when the
day broke, discovered that they had made a mistake, and had taken the
point of Deadman's Head for the point of Falmouth Bay. When the sun
rose, they saw they were deep in the bay, on a lee shore, where it all
looked strange, and they had a tolerably hard wind. When they saw they
were wrong it continued so some time before they became informed. They
then wore ship, and sailed with quite easy sheets out of the bay.
This mishap was mainly caused by Master Jan, who wishing to play the
part of a wise man, though truly it was from fear, had been on deck
several times during the night in order to look out, afraid, as he
said himself, that we might sail upon the point of the Lizard.[73]
Coming up at this time with drowsy eyes, and catching a glimpse of the
land, through the mist, he began to call out, that we had passed by
Falmouth, and would certainly sail upon the Lizard. It was the English
mate's watch, who was not very well acquainted with him, and could not
keep him still. The captain was therefore called, who also came up
rubbing his eyes, and unable to see the land well in the mist. He
agreed with Jan, being apprehensive that the ship had sailed more than
they thought, and as I myself considered might well be the case, and
so let the ship tack about. I deemed it better, however, to keep off
from the shore till daylight, when they could see where they were; but
the captain relying more upon Jan's opinion, and wishing to accomplish
half a masterpiece, by going into Falmouth in the dark, and surprising
the people there to whom the ship was consigned, and so to pass
hereafter as a good and skillful captain, insisted upon sailing in,
and so they went in, as has been mentioned. It is no part of the
business of a good seaman to run into a place by night, or when it is
dark, where he is not well acquainted; but in such case he should work
off shore slowly, waiting until day and light, and know where he is,
and then see what can be done. Thus the fear of one danger, and the
rashness accompanying it, brought us into another, greater than the
first.
[Footnote 73: The southernmost point of Cornwall. Falmouth is about
midway between it and Dodman Point.]
Sailing then out of this bay, around the west point, we saw at once
the neck from which this point of land takes its name of Deadman's
Head. It is shaped like a coffin or the mound of earth which peasants
form over a grave, one end a little higher than the other, and going
up sharp on either side; but it is on the top somewhat jagged. It is
on the east side of the point, three or four cable lengths from the
main land. We had a third mate (Titus), on board the ship who was to
go on the other ship at Falmouth, and who was well acquainted here. He
said he had passed through the opening between the rock and the main
land, and that it was a mile wide and tolerably clear and deep enough.
After having passed Deadman's Head and this rock, we came to a small
pretty sand-bay, but it lies open. From Deadman's Head you can see, on
the point of Falmouth Bay, a church with a small spire, and near it a
stone windmill, which forms a good land-mark, for along the whole
coast there are few or no steeples. As you sail along this point the
castle comes into view standing upon the west point of the harbor of
Falmouth, where also there is a stone windmill.[74] The easterly point
should be avoided, for it runs out considerably. It is hard bottom,
and at low tide there is three fathoms water always; and we sailed in
with that depth. As soon as you perceive it is deeper, you have passed
the east point. Then keep along this shore if the wind be fair, for
there is a rock almost directly in the channel. You can go around it
close enough, but this should not be done. As it was low water when we
entered, it stuck up out of the water. At high tide it is covered.
There is a spar or pole upon it, which cannot be seen far, but the
breakers are sufficiently visible. When you sail in, in this manner,
you see the other castle also, lying on the east side, on a point
inside. After having passed the rock, keep a little again on the
inside, and then to the west, so as to avoid the second point, upon
which the east castle is situated. As soon as you have passed that,
you have deeper water and softer bottom; and you must then look out
that you do no damage to the shipping, for the roadstead commences
there, and you can see the town or village of Falmouth lying upon the
west side of the bay, and appearing somewhat prettier than it is in
fact. When we arrived, we found a large number of vessels lying there;
but being desirous of sailing high up, several ships received good
thumps from us, in passing by them, and our endeavoring to keep off
the shoals. It would have resulted much worse, if our sheet anchor,
which was lying up forward, had not caught between the rails of a
small vessel, whose mizzenmast we also came foul of, whereby our ship
turned round, and at the same time our anchor fell, and we touched
bottom in the mud, with fine weather and still water. We thanked our
God again, with our whole hearts, for the double mercy shown us this
morning, having not only in a fatherly manner preserved us from an
apprehended danger, but delivered us from this one into which we had
truly fallen, and had then caused us to arrive so well. To Him belongs
all praise and glory, from all His children, and especially from us,
to all eternity. Amen.
[Footnote 74: Falmouth, which had come into existence in 1613,
numbered in 1679 some two hundred and fifty houses. The two castles
alluded to as commanding the harbor were Pendennis castle on the west
(southeast of the town), famous for its obstinate defence in 1646 by
the royalists under Lord Arundell, and St. Mawes on the east.]
Our anchor had not yet touched bottom when the inspectors or
tide-waiters all came on board to examine. Our captain and Margaret
went immediately ashore; and after the cook had served the breakfast,
almost all the passengers, both old and young, putting on their best
clothes, did the same. My comrade also went to see if any letters had
arrived for us, whilst I remained on board to look after things a
little; for all our goods were in the berth, and otherwise within
reach, and the ship was constantly full of strange people. My comrade
soon returned, but brought no letters. This morning while we were
launching the boat, I hurt myself in the loins, on my left side; the
pain extended through the whole of that side of my body, to my left
breast, and across the middle to the right breast. I was all bent up
while standing, and had to sit down. I could scarcely draw a breath or
move myself; but I felt it was my old complaint, forced upon me anew
when I hurt myself. This pain continued for some days, when it
gradually passed over. At high water we towed the ship higher up, to
the warehouse, where we had to unload. The custom house officers, and
Mr. Roggers,[75] came on board with some other persons, and when they
left, they promised us the ship should be unladen by Tuesday, for
which we were glad.
[Footnote 75: The custom house had lately been transferred to Falmouth
from Penryn. Bryan Rogers was one of the chief merchants of the
former.]
_7th, Friday._ They began early to break open the hatches and
discharge the ship. My comrade and I went ashore to a place called
Pe[n]ryn, a little further up the bay, where it ends and as far as
they can go with any vessels. We went walking thence into the country,
over and among the hills, for the purpose of recreating and recruiting
ourselves, which refreshed us very much, after having been so long in
an overburdened ship and with such wicked men.
We returned to Pe[n]ryn at noon in order to see if we could obtain
some place or other to lodge and rest ourselves for a time. By chance
we came to an inn in that place, called The English Ship, the landlord
of which was named Maitre Jean, who spoke a little Dutch, but, as we
afterwards discovered, better French, so well indeed that we could
converse with him. We took dinner there, and agreed with him to lodge
there for several days, with the privilege of a chamber to ourselves.
_8th, Saturday._ Having slept on board the ship we went in the morning
to our new lodgings, where we breakfasted, and then rambled into the
country to divert ourselves, and thence to Falmouth, and so returned
by evening to our lodgings.
_9th, Sunday._ My companion being disposed to write, I went to their
church, to wit the Episcopal,[76] where I was surprised to find in the
church yard a great crowd of people sitting together, smoking tobacco
and waiting for the last toll of the bell. On entering the church I
was still more astonished at the ceremonies which indeed did not
differ much from those of popery, and continued quite long enough.
Then followed a sermon, if it may be called such, delivered in a white
gown, as were the first services and other ceremonies in like
vestments. The sermon was read out of a little book, without the
addition of a single word. It began about ten o'clock, and was not
very edifying. The text was from II Cor. xiii. 11; and all this
continued till about half-past eleven, when church was over, and the
burgomasters or mayors,[77] with two golden royal sceptres, were
escorted home. In the afternoon I went out for a walk to the ship,
which lay about a half-hour from here toward Falmouth, and nearly
midway between the two places for the purpose of being unladen.
[Footnote 76: The new church at Falmouth, built by Sir Robert
Killigrew. The sermon was probably from the _Two Books of Homilies_
authorized by the Church.]
[Footnote 77: There was but one mayor.]
_10th, Monday._ We remained at our lodgings almost the whole day
writing letters. Our ship was nearly discharged, which I went in the
evening to ascertain.
_11th, Tuesday._ We continued still at our lodgings, but in the
afternoon visited the ship in consequence of their telling us that our
chest would be examined, as indeed took place. There were some
passengers on shore whose chests were broken open, because they did
not attend to them, and the inspectors would not wait. They cut to
pieces the cords of their berth under which they found some things;
but although there were more berths so arranged, and still better
furnished than this one, they did nothing to them, as they well knew
beforehand whose they were, and why they did what was done. When they
examined our chest, they took almost all our goods out of it. However,
they did not see our little box, or perhaps they thought it contained
medicines, as they found in the other one. The two small pieces of
linen were entered, and registered against my name. They went to our
berth, but did nothing; nor was anything there.
_12th, Wednesday._ This whole day was a writing day, for the post
would leave to-morrow. They began to reload the ship in the afternoon.
I went on board once, and also went with another to see if there were
any letters for us, which turned out to be the fact; for, on finding
the captain, he gave me a letter for which I paid twenty-two pence
postage. This was the first letter we had received from home. It is
unnecessary for me to say that I was rejoiced, or that we thanked the
Lord that He still thought of us. I went immediately with it to my
companion, who was as glad as I was, and also because the letter came
just in time to be answered, as we did with joy and tenderness of
heart.
_13th, Thursday._ As the post was soon to leave, we took our letters
to the post office at Penryn, next to The White Dolphin. The package
was weighed, and was one ounce and a quarter in weight, for which we
paid fifteen pence postage to London; and they informed us it would
reach London on Monday. Our ship being almost laden again, we paid our
landlord and returned on board ship. We could have easily remained a
day or two longer at our lodgings, but our landlord had given us
reasons for leaving. Coming on board the ship, we began to arrange our
place a little for keeping house again. Meanwhile I helped fill the
water casks. There was also some beef to be salted in barrels.
_14th, Friday._ Our ship was entirely laden, that is, with the goods
she had to take, for there was a large quantity of them which had come
out of her, remaining for the other ship which Margaret had bought
there, and which was to be made ready there to go to the Isle of
May,[78] and thence to Barbados. She was a large but very weak ship,
short and high, small and meagre as regards bulk, not altogether old,
but misbuilt. She sailed tolerably well, but was very lank. Two of our
crew went with her, namely, Titus, who was to be boatswain, and one of
our carpenters, named Herman, who was the best one we had. They went,
from the first, to work upon her, for she was lying in winter
quarters. Our ship being laden, our captain went on board the large
one with an English lad, the cabin boy, and his, the captain's wife.
This captain had obtained a Quaker for his mate, a young man and a
very poor seaman, as I have been able to observe. Hereupon our English
mate, named Robert, who also was a Quaker, became captain in the place
of the other, and our Dutch mate, or rather New Netherland mate, named
Evert van Duike--for he was a New Netherlander born, and his parents
and relations were still there, though he had married at Amsterdam and
had lived there a long time, but was now taking his wife and children
with him to New Netherland--became mate in place of the other.[79] In
return for the three persons and the boy who had gone from our crew,
we obtained only one in their place, a poor creature, called Jan, the
doctor, of Boston, who seemed more a charlatan in his behavior and
gestures than a good seaman. Meanwhile we went walking, to see the
country, and in the afternoon came to the east castle, where a soldier
conducted us from the gate and took us before the governor,[80] who
asked us who we were, where we came from, what flag our ship bore,
when and with whom we had arrived, and for what purpose we had come to
the castle. We answered him politely; but we could not make ourselves
well understood by him, for he spoke nothing but English, which we
could not do, or very little, though we could understand it pretty
well. He finally ordered the soldier to conduct us around the castle,
in order that we might look at it. Having satisfied the soldier, we
left, and went down the hill. The beer brewed at the castle is very
poor; there is little or no fresh water up there, and what there is,
does not amount to much. The castle is otherwise strong and well
provided, having over an hundred guns in different batteries, which
command the harbor and the entire roadstead. When we reached the ship
she was laden.
[Footnote 78: One of the Cape Verde islands.]
[Footnote 79: Evert Duyckinck was the son of a Westphalian painter and
glazier of the same name who had come out to New Netherland early, in
the service of the Dutch West India Company.]
[Footnote 80: Pendennis castle is meant. The governor was Richard,
Lord Arundell of Trerice, son of the old governor who had commanded
during the siege of 1646.]
_15th, Saturday._ As our ship was now full, and orders had come to
haul the ship at high water from before the warehouse and off from the
ground, they did so this morning. We went to Penryn to buy some
butter, and when we returned the boat was sent for fresh water, which
was brought on board, and the ship then towed to the roadstead below,
where she arrived in the evening, somewhat late, and was moored at
once.
_16th, Sunday._ The weather was misty and rainy. We went ashore with
one of the passengers and one of the sailors, a young fellow, a
Scotchman, by birth, from the Orkneys, and a Presbyterian by
profession, named Robert,[81] who took us, at our request, to the
Presbyterian meeting, which we left quite satisfied with the zeal of
the preacher. Their mode of service is not different from that of the
Reformed in Holland, but the common people sat there with very little
reverence. At noon we went to dine at a very good inn, called The
Golden Fleece, and in the afternoon we attended the meeting of the
Episcopalians, of whose church service we have before spoken, and so
in the evening returned on board the ship.
[Footnote 81: Robert Sinclair. Though he returned on the _Charles_, he
came back to New York in 1682, married the sister of Evert Duyckinck,
became a sea-captain, and died in 1704.]
_17th, Monday._ We went this morning again with some passengers to
Penryn, where the yearly market day was held, with the intention of
laying out a little money in some purchases, having rid ourselves of
Mr. Jan, who had sought to get it out of our hands, and would by that
means have cheated us. He promised us, if we would let him have the
money, thirty per cent. interest payable in New York, or ducats[82]
there at twelve guilders of _zeewan_ each; but the Lord, who has care
over the least of His children, saved us from this fox, and excited
the attention of another passenger, namely, Jan Theuniesen, who lived
on Long Island, and who advised us what to do.[83]
[Footnote 82: A gold coin of Holland, worth originally about two
dollars and a half, but at this time less. It would apparently have
been worth fifteen guilders of _zeewan_ (wampum) in New Netherland.]
[Footnote 83: Jan Teunissen van Dykhuis, of Brooklyn.]
We bought several things on which we thought we could make a profit,
because the peril of the sea was to be encountered. The Lord, who, as
I have said, takes care of the least of His children, so ordered it
that we not only did not lose any thing by our Dutch money, which
commonly brings not more than five shillings for a ducat; but we
received for almost all that we used, five shillings and six pence,
that is 67 stivers.[84] The reason of this was, that the man who took
our money was about going to Norway, for timber, where he could pay it
out at a higher rate than English money. Having made our purchases, we
went to Falmouth, but as we could not take our goods on board the ship
without first declaring them, we had to take them to Mr. Roggers's,
where one Mr. Jacobs lived, who had assisted in inspecting the ship's
lading, and who would do the same with these. Thinking over the
purchases we had made at Penryn, we discovered there was a mistake in
the payment of a bill, arising from the counting of the money by our
Dutch mate and Jan Theunissen. The difference amounted to one pound
sterling. We, or our friends on our account, had paid the bill. We
discovered the mistake at Falmouth, and immediately went back to
Penryn, informed the merchant of the mistake, which he did not have
much trouble in comprehending. He gave us back the money, for which
we were glad, and returning, arrived by evening on board the ship.
[Footnote 84: Twenty stivers made one florin or guilder, and three
guilders one ducat.]
_18th, Tuesday._ One Mr. Lucas, the most rigid of the inspectors and
custom house officers, came on board this morning. We spoke to him,
told him what we had bought, and requested him to examine them. We
said we might buy something more and he could assess them all
together. He replied he did not wish to examine our chest, or what we
might have bought previously; but would go ashore with us and look at
what we had there. He told us also that he had a small piece or two of
stuffs, which, if we would buy, he would let us have at a bargain. We
went to Mr. Jacobs's where he looked over what we had bought. He told
us we had paid dear for them, although we thought we had bought them
cheap. Mr. Jacobs said he had a remnant of tin which he would sell us
for ten stivers a foot, and we had paid twelve for ours. We were
directed to pay Mr. Jacobs three shillings English for duties upon the
goods we had there, whenever we should have all our merchandise
together. Mr. Lucas went with us to a shop over the door of Mr.
Roggers, where he bought several things for us at a low price; he even
compelled the merchant almost to give us the goods for what he chose,
for the merchant did not dare to refuse or disoblige him. They were
always good purchases. He also brought us something of his own which
he sold us on favorable terms. I supposed these were confiscated
goods, which they wanted to get rid of, and that this was the reason
they were so accommodating to us.[85] Our purchases being completed,
he took us to an inn where we regaled him for the trouble he had taken
with the above-mentioned merchant. We were compelled this evening to
eat and sleep ashore, which we did at the inn, The Golden Fleece.
[Footnote 85: Falmouth customs officers had the right, or opportunity
by connivance of the government, to bring in some goods duty-free.]
We had heard a great deal said for some days past, and to-day, of
great danger from the Turks, who had taken four Dutch ships. This
caused no small apprehension in our ship, and especially in Mr. Jan.
_19th, Wednesday._ My companion wrote a letter home from on board the
ship. We did our best this whole day to get our little merchandise on
board, but without success, because it was not yet declared. However,
every thing concerning the ship and the lading was finished to-day;
and the passengers obtained the bills of their goods, and paid them.
Having accomplished nothing the whole day, we returned on board the
ship.
_20th, Thursday._ My comrade having finished the letters, we went on
shore to Mr. Roggers's, in order to post them in time, and paid the
postage to London. We bought also some brandy, vinegar and other
articles, for we began to see it would go slim with us on the voyage.
We were engaged the whole day in declaring our goods and carrying them
on board, which was completed early in the evening, and the goods
stowed away. We then paid Mr. Lucas a ducaton[86] for the duties on
our goods. He told us what the duties on the whole of the ship's cargo
amounted to, and gave us various other information, all very
willingly, because, after he heard that I was somewhat acquainted with
the wine business, he desired some particulars in regard to it from
me, which I gave him in writing to his satisfaction. We were now all
cleared....[87]
[Footnote 86: A Dutch silver coin, worth about $1.25.]
[Footnote 87: The _Charles_ set sail from Falmouth the next day, July
21, 1679. The account of the voyage is here omitted. It is a somewhat
interesting picture of the hardships, discomforts, and other incidents
of an Atlantic voyage in the seventeenth century, but it is
excessively long.]