How the author passed his time with Glanlepze--His
acquaintance with some English prisoners--They project an
escape--He joins them--They seize a Portuguese ship and get
off.--Make a long run from land--Want water--They anchor at
a desert island--The boat goes on shore for water--They
lose their anchor in a storm--The author and one Adams drove
to sea--A miraculous passage to a rock--Adams drowned there--
The author's miserable condition
I passed my time with Glanlepze and his wife, who both really loved
me, with sufficient bodily quiet, for about two years: my business
was chiefly, in company with my patron, to cultivate a spot of ground
wherein we had planted grain and necessaries for the family; and once or
twice a week we went a fishing, and sometimes hunted and shot venison.
These were our chief employments; for as to excursions for slaves, which
is a practice in many of those countries, and what the natives get money
by, since our own slavery, Glanlepze and I could not endure it.
Though I was tolerably easy in my external circumstances, yet my mind
hankering after England made my life still: unhappy; and that infelicity
daily increased as I saw the less probability of attaining my desire. At
length, hearing of some European sailors who were under confinement for
contraband trade at a Portuguese fort about two miles from Quamis, I
resolved to go to see them; and if any of them should be English, at
least to inquire after my native country. I went and found two Dutchmen
who had been sailors in British pay several years, three Scotchmen,
an Irishman, and five Englishmen, but all had been long in English
merchants' service. They were taken, as they told me, by a Portuguese
vessel, together with their ship, as a Dutch prize under pretence of
contraband trade. The captain was known to be a Dutchman, though he
spoke good English, and was then in English pay and his vessel English;
therefore they would have it that he was a Dutch trader, and so seized
his ship in the harbour, with the prisoners in it The captain, who was
on shore with several of his men, was threatened to be laid in irons if
he was taken, which obliged him and his men to abscond, and fly overland
to an English factory for assistance to recover his ship and cargo;
being afraid to appear and claim it amongst so many enemies without an
additional force. They had been in confinement two months, and their
ship confiscated and sold. In this miserable condition I left them, but
returned once or twice a week for a fortnight or three weeks to visit
them. These instances of regard, as they thought them, created some
confidence in me, so that they conversed with me very freely. Amongst
other discourse, they told me one day that one of their crew who went
with the captain had been taken ill on the way, and being unable to
proceed, was returned; but as he talked good Portuguese, he was not
suspected to belong to them; and that he had been to visit them, and
would be there again that day. I had a mind to see him, so stayed longer
than I intended, and in about an hour's time he came. After he was
seated he asked who I was, and (privately) if I might be trusted. Being
satisfied I might, for that I was a Cornish man, he began as follows,
looking narrowly about to see he was not overheard: "My lads," says he,
"be of good courage; I have hopes for you; be but men and we shall see
better days yet." I wondered to what this preface tended, when he told
us that since his return from the captain, as he spoke good Portuguese
and had sailed on board Portuguese traders several years, he mixed among
that people, and particularly among the crew of the "Del Cruz," the ship
which had taken them; that that ship had partly unloaded, and was taking
in other goods for a future voyage; that he had informed himself of
their strength, and that very seldom more than three men and two boys
lay on board; that he had hired himself to the captain, and was to go
on board the very next day. "Now," says he, "my lads, if you can break
prison any night after to-morrow, and come directly to the ship (telling
them how she lay, for, says he, you cannot mistake, you will find two
or three boats moored in the gut against the church), I will be ready to
receive you, and we will get off with her in lieu of our ship they have
taken from us, for there is nothing ready to follow us."
The prisoners listened to this discourse very attentively; but scratched
their heads, fearing the difficulty of it, and severer usage if they
miscarried, and made several objections; but at last they all swore to
attempt it the night but one following. Upon which the sailor went away
to prepare for their reception on board. After he was gone, I surveyed
his scheme attentively in my own mind, and found it not so difficult as
I first imagined, if the prisoners could but escape cleverly. So before
I went away I told them I approved of their purpose; and as I was their
countryman, I was resolved, with their leaves, to risk my fortune with
them. At this they seemed much pleased, and all embraced me. We then
fixed the peremptory night, and I was to wait at the water-side and get
the boats in readiness.
The prison they were in was a Portuguese fort, which had been deserted
ever since the building a much better on the other side of the river, a
gunshot lower. It was built with walls too thick for naked men to storm;
the captives were securely locked up every night; and two soldiers,
or sentinels, kept watch in an outer-room, who were relieved from the
main-guard in the body of the building.
The expected night arrived, and a little before midnight, as had been
concerted, one of the prisoners cried out he was so parched up he was on
fire, he was on fire! The sentinels were both asleep, but the first that
waked called at the door to know what was the matter. The prisoner still
crying out, "I am on fire!" the rest begged the sentinel to bring a bowl
of water for him, for they knew not what ailed him.
The good-natured fellow, without waking his companion, brought the
water, and having a lamp in the guard-room, opened the door; when the
prisoners seizing his arms, and commanding him to silence, bound his
hands behind him, and his feet together; then serving the other in the
same manner, who was now just awake, and taking from them their swords
and muskets, they made the best of their way over the fort wall; which
being built with buttresses on the inside was easily surmounted. Being
got out, they were not long in finding me, who had before this time made
the boats ready and was impatiently waiting for them; so in we all got
and made good speed to the ship, where we were welcomed by our companion
ready to receive us.
Under pretence of being a new-entered sailor, he had carried some
Madeira wine on board, and treated the men and boys so freely that he
had thrown them into a dead sleep, which was a wise precaution. There
being now, therefore, no fear of disturbance or interruption, we drew up
the two boats and set all hands at work to put the ship under way; and
plied it so closely, the wind favouring us, that by eleven o'clock the
next morning we were out of sight of land; but we set the men and boys
adrift, in one of the boats, nigh the mouth of the river.
The first thing we did after we had made a long run from shore was to
consult what course to steer. Now, as there was a valuable loading on
board of goods from Portugal and others taken in since, some gave their
opinion for sailing directly for India, selling the ship and cargo there
and returning by some English vessel; but that was rejected; for we did
not doubt but notice would be given of our escape along the coast, and
if we should fall into the Portuguese's hands, we could expect no mercy;
besides, we had not people sufficient for such an enterprise. Others,
again, were for sailing the directest course for England; but I told
them, as our opinions were different, and no time was to be lost, my
advice was to stretch southward till we might be quite out of fear of
pursuit, and then, whatever course we took, by keeping clear of all
coasts, we might hope to come safe off.
My proposal seemed to please the whole crew; so crowding all the sail
we could, we pushed southwards very briskly before the wind for several
days. We now went upon examining our stores, and found we had flour
enough, plenty of fish and salt provisions, but were scant of water and
wood; of the first whereof there was not half a ton, and but very little
of the latter. This made us very uneasy, and being none of us expert in
navigation farther than the common working of the ship, and having no
chart on board that might direct us to the nearest land, we were almost
at our wits' end, and came to a short allowance of liquor. That we must
get water if we could was indisputable; but where to do it puzzled us,
as we had determined not to get in with the African shore on any account
whatever.
In this perplexity, and under the guidance of different opinions (for
we were all captains now), we sometimes steered eastward, and sometimes
westward, for about nine days, when we espied a little bluish cloud-like
appearance to the southwest; this continuing, we hoped it might be land,
and therefore made to it. Upon our nearer approach we found it to be,
as we judged, an island; but not knowing its name or whether it was
inhabited, we coasted round it two days to satisfy ourselves as to this
last particular. Seeing no living creature on it during that time, and
the shore being very broken, we came to an anchor about two miles from
it, and sent ten of our crew in our best boat with some casks to get
water and cut wood. The boat returned at night with six men and the
casks filled, having left four behind to go on with the cutting of wood
against next day. Accordingly next morning the boat went off again and
made two turns with water and wood ere night, which was repeated for two
or three days after. On the sixth she went off for wood only, leaving
none but me and one John Adams on board.
The boat had scarce reached the island this last turn before the day
overcast, and there arose such a storm of wind, thunder, lightning, and
hail as I had never before seen. At last our cable broke close to the
anchor, and away we went with the wind full southward by west; and not
having strength to keep the ship upon a side wind, we were forced to set
her head right before it and let her drive. Our hope was, every hour,
the storm would abate; but it continued with equal violence for many
days, during all which time neither Adams nor I had any rest, for one or
other of us was forced, and sometimes both, to keep her right before the
wind, or she would certainly have overset. When the storm abated, as it
did by degrees, neither Adams nor I could tell where we were, or in what
part of the world.
I was sorry I had no better a sailor with me, for neither Adams nor
myself had ever made more than one voyage till now, so that we were both
unacquainted with the latitude, and scarce knew the use of the compass
to any purpose; and being out of all hope of ever reaching the island to
our companions, we neither knew which way to steer, nor what to do; and
indeed had we known where we were, we two only could not have been
able to navigate the ship to any part we desired, or ever to get to the
island, unless such a wind as we had before would of itself have driven
us thither.
Whilst we were considering, day after day, what to do, though the sea
was now very calm and smooth, the ship seemed to sail at as great a rate
as before, which we attributed to the velocity she had acquired by
the storm, or to currents that had set that way by the violence of the
winds. Contenting ourselves with this, we expected all soon to be right
again; and as we had no prospect of ever seeing our companions, we kept
the best look-out we could to see for any vessel coming that course
which might take us in, and resolved to rest all our hopes upon that.
When we had sailed a good while after this manner, we knew not whither,
Adams called out, "I see land!" My heart leapt within me for joy, and
we hoped the current that seemed to carry us so fast set in for some
islands or rivers that lay before us. But still we were exceedingly
puzzled at the ship's making such way, and the nearer we approached the
land, which was now very visible, the more speed the ship made, though
there was no wind stirring. We had but just time to think on this
unexpected phenomenon, when we found that what we had taken for land was
a rock of an extraordinary height, to which, as we advanced nearer,
the ship increased its motion, and all our strength could not make her
answer her rudder any other way. This put us under the apprehension
of being dashed to pieces immediately, and in less than half an hour I
verily thought my fears had not been groundless. Poor Adams told me he
would try when the ship struck if he could leap upon the rock, and ran
to the head for that purpose; but I was so fearful of seeing my danger
that I ran under hatches, resolving to sink in the ship. We had no
sooner parted but I felt so violent a shock that I verily thought the
ship had brought down the whole rock upon her, and been thereby dashed
to pieces, so that I never more expected to see the light.
I lay under this terror for at least half an hour, waiting the ship's
either filling with water or bulging every moment. But finding neither
motion in her nor any water rise, nor the least noise whatsoever, I
ventured with an aching heart from my retreat, and stole up the hatchway
as if an enemy had been on deck, peeping first one way then another.
Here nothing presented but confusion, the rock hung over the hatchway
at about twenty feet above my head, our foremast lay by the board, the
mainmast yard-arm was down, and great part of the mainmast snapped
off with it, and almost everything upon deck was displaced. This sight
shocked me extremely; and calling for Adams, in whom I hoped to find
some comfort, I was too soon convinced I had lost him.
Wilkins thinks of destroying himself--His soliloquy--Strange accident in
the hold--His surprise--Cannot climb the rock--His method to sweeten his
water--Lives many months on board---Ventures to sea in his boat several
times, and takes many fish--Almost overcome by an eel.