_Of the Author's Second Voyage; and his Shipwreck upon an unknown
Coast._
I had an Opportunity of going on board a _Portuguese_ Ship, which
was bound to the _East Indies_, in Company with three others. It
was commanded by One _Don Pedro_, and carry'd only Twenty Guns,
but had 147 Men aboard, of which Number were a great many
_Frenchmen_, who however, to a Man, understood the _Portuguese_
Tongue. All things being ready, we set sail the Fifth of _June_,
1644, with a very favourable Wind. The first Ruffle we met with
was the Loss of our Captain, who was, to speak the Truth, a Man
of consummate Experience, but a very Brute and Deboshee. The
Tenth Day after we were under Sail, when he had taken his usual
Dose of Brandy, he fell into such a Passion with one of our
Seamen, that from hard Words he proceeded to Blows. The Mariner,
who was a meer Blunderbuss, laugh'd, and went to make his Escape
from him, at which _Don Pedro_ was so exasperated, that he
pursued him with a Lever in his Hand, wishing the Devil might
take him if he did not break his Neck; and as they were both
running, our Officer stumbled, reel'd, and fell with such a Force
against the Capstane, that he broke his left Arm, three Inches
above the Elbow. Thereupon I was call'd, and examining the Wound,
I perceiv'd that the Bone was intirely shiver'd, and after mature
Deliberation, I was absolutely for Sawing it off. But all that I
cou'd say, was of no weight with the Patient, who cou'd not be
persuaded by any means, to undergo the Operation; for he swore
that he wou'd rather die than submit to so desperate an
Extremity. I was therefore oblig'd, sorely against the Grain, to
manage him as he pleas'd; but what I foresaw, happen'd in two
Days time; the Wound was inflam'd, a Mortification ensu'd: upon
it, and the Fifth Day after his Fall he was a dead Man.
The Ship's Company was, to the last Degree, alarm'd at this Loss,
which we took for a bad Omen; however, we were forc'd to bear it,
and after the due Honours paid to his Corpse, it was thrown into
the Sea, while the Guns were fir'd as usual on such Occasions. In
the mean time we advanc'd in our Voyage; and tho' some little
Storms arose now and then, yet they were not dangerous. The
greatest Misfortune that befel us, was our being separated from
the Company of our other Ships, so that we heard no more of them.
When we made the Island of _Ascension_, we perceiv'd that our
Water was very much corrupted and consequently we resolv'd to go
to St. _Helena_, to take in fresh Water, left the Number of our
sick Men, which was already considerable, should be much greater,
if we did not stop some where before we came to the _Cape of Good
Hope_.
But when we had discover'd that Island at a great Distance, and
were congratulating each other upon it, we spy'd that which
Sailors call a _Wool-Pack_, seemingly as big as a great Cask
within Cannon-shot of our Ship. As I had never seen any but in
Pictures, and in Books of Travels; I consider'd this Phænomenon
with all the Attention I was capable of, and concluded that it
must be really owing to Air that was agitated, and drove with
Impetuosity into the vast Region of our Atmosphere, which
happening to meet with another sort of Hurricane impell'd from
the opposite Part of the Atmosphere, whirls back towards its
Basis, and forms the Figure of a Cylinder, which lengthens it
self in an Instant, till it comes to the Surface of the Water:
The Sea being then press'd on all Sides, except just there, the
Matter which corresponds to the middle of this Column, like what
we observe with regard to Pumps, Syringes, and Cupping-Glasses,
must needs rise, which it does with so much Rapidity and Force,
even to the bearing away of great Fish, that to the Amazement of
us all, the Sky, as serene as it was before, was cover'd with
thick Clouds, which darken'd the Air in a Moment. The Winds began
to roar hideously, the Sea was in a Foam, the Waves swell'd, and
one wou'd have thought that Nature, in the Height of her
Indignation, wou'd have swallow'd us up. The Seamen, in the
utmost Hurry, furl'd all the Sails, the Main-Sail only excepted;
nevertheless the Ship was carry'd away with such Violence, that
we were also oblig'd to let down the Main-Sail for fear of being
drove upon some fatal Rocks. I cannot here prevail with my self
to set down every minute Particular from the Journal that I kept,
of what happen'd to us during this dreadful Tempest, which lasted
Twenty-two Days, because it would take up several Sheets of
Paper; and only raise the Reader's Pity and Concern. Not only the
Women and Children that were aboard gave such Shrieks, as were
enough to have pierc'd the most obdurate Hearts, but the
generality of the Men were frighted almost out of their Wits. Not
a Day pass'd but one or other of them dy'd; We also lost our
Pilot and the Mate, so that the only Man left capable of
conducting the Vessel, was the Master of it, and he too was in a
bad State of Health. During this bitter Storm, we were compell'd
to throw over-board, at several times, 12 of our Guns, and every
thing that we thought too heavy; we also lost most of our
Anchors, and ran adrift a long while at the Mercy of the Winds
and Currents, without knowing whither we were driving, any more
than if we had been at the bottom of the Ocean. At length it
pleased God, of his special Mercy, that on the Twenty-third Day,
a Day as mild as the others had been severe, we happen'd to run
ashore at a Place altogether unknown to us, where, after having
calculated the Meridian, examin'd our Watches, and made as
correct a Computation as we could, we found that we were in about
60 Degrees of Longitude, and 44 of S. Latitude, _i.e._ 1000 or
1200 Leagues from St. _Helena_. The biggest of our Boats having
been carry'd away by the Waves, which had wash'd our Decks a
thousand times, glad we were that we had preserved the least; we
immediately put ashore in her; and after having return'd Thanks
to God for having sav'd our Lives, we began to take our best
Clothes and Goods out of the Ship, together with what wou'd be
most necessary for us by Land. With some paltry Sails we made two
Tents; and some cut down the Branches of Trees, with, which they
built Barracks, in which the remainder of our Ship's Company,
consisting of Eighty-five Persons, lodg'd.
There were Forty of us that were as well as we cou'd be in our
present Circumstances, part of which Number look'd after the
Ship, and the rest went a marauding for what they could get.
Never were Fire-Arms, Powder, and Shot of more Service to us than
now. There was all sorts of Wild-Fowl in abundance, and
particularly Hens larger than Turkeys, which were fat, and very
nourishing. Nor did we want for Fish, because we had good store
of Nets, Hooks, and other Instruments to catch them. Here were
few Tortoises, but they were very good. We took some which I am
sure weigh'd from 400 to 500 Pound, and were enough for us all.
We thought the Flesh of them very excellent and the Fat was the
most delicate Food in the World. It serv'd us for all Purposes,
for Sauce, or to eat upon Bread, or to burn; and in general, for
almost every Necessity. In two Hours Walk from thence towards the
East, we found a River, which supply'd us with very good Water.
Notwithstanding these Refreshments, two more of our Men dy'd; but
it was not long before the others recover'd.
Mean time our Ship was so lighten'd, that we observ'd she
floated, so that we tow'd her to the River just now mention'd. As
soon as she was laid up, the Carpenters examin'd her very
nicely, and found that there was no likelihood of her being ever
in a Condition to serve us in the Pursuit of our Voyage, because
the Storm had intirely shatter'd her. We therefore resolv'd
unanimously to take her to pieces, and with the best of her
Materials to build a smaller, to return in to _Africa_. The
Captain wou'd have had us all in our turns put our Hands to the
Work; but we so fully convinc'd him that we were not all equally
fit for it, and that there was an absolute Necessity for some
body to provide the Kitchen with Victuals for feeding so many
Mouths, that Ten of us were appointed to go in quest of
Provisions. The Nine that were join'd with me, were very clever
Fellows, part of them being as it were Huntsmen, and the rest
Fishermen by Profession; consequently 'tis natural to imagine
that in such a Country as this, we did not find it a very hard
Matter to get Food for our Company. These agreeable Occupations,
which would have been a very great Pleasure to another Person,
delighted me for a few Days; but I was soon weary of this Life,
and my Curiosity to penetrate farther into a Country, where I did
not imagine any body had ever been, made me resolve to abandon my
Comrades, tho' I was not willing to put so rash a Design in
Execution by my self. I therefore communicated my Design to two,
that I thought the most resolute, who were overjoy'd with my
Proposal, and declar'd to me severally, that they had entertain'd
the same Thought, but were afraid to trust it to a third Person.
Accordingly the Affair was concluded, upon Oath not to divulge
it; and after we had promis'd to be true to each other, we went
to rest, fully purposing to be gone as soon as possible.