Captain Boon, a pirate, had been here about two months before, having just then plundered a very rich Moorish ship, and taken out of her fifty Lascars. (For that is the name by which our English seamen distinguish these Moorish people.) Boon lost his own ship on this island, and the pirates were glad to make a small sloop of their long-boat to get off the island with, and were therefore glad to leave the Lascars behind them. These people we took with us, thinking they would be of service, and save our hands from returning so often to the pump; they having for two months before but little rest.
We found here plenty of good fish, turtle, and goats, with some beef; we stayed about a month, and then shaped our course directly for the Cape of Good Hope.
Our leak gained upon us more and more, and it was with great difficulty we kept her above water. Our men were all spent with continual labour, pumping and bailing night and day; when according to our reckoning we were one hundred leagues to the southward of Madagascar. We heaved overboard several of our guns and heavy goods to lighten her. The captain was for continuing his course to the Cape, but the ship’s company in general opposed it; being of opinion that they could not keep her above water long enough, imagining they were at that time about six hundred leagues from it, and but one hundred from Madagascar, which was the nearest land.
At length they prevailed on the captain, though with much difficulty, to put back to Madagascar. The wind favouring us, the third day in the morning they sent me and the captain’s boy up to the mast-head to look out for land, since nobody else could so well be spared. In such apparent danger, my being a passenger was no excuse; and, accordingly, I went up and sat there two hours and a half before I could discern any thing like land; and when I first saw it I told my comrade, but not being certain, I would not call out, for the case was of such importance, that they were not to be trifled with, or flattered into vain hopes. However, at length, I plainly discovered a white cliff and a smoke at a distance from it, whereupon I boldly cried out land! land!
Several immediately ran up the shrouds, and even the captain himself to make his observations. One among them knew the land, and said it was Port Dauphine; and that the king of that part of the island was an enemy to all white men, and treated all the Europeans in a most barbarous manner. The reason whereof, and a succinct history of king Samuel, (for that was his name,) I shall have occasion to mention hereafter. This information put us into the utmost confusion and despair, and proved, indeed, our utter ruin. The man who made this report, spoke his real sentiments; for they were, indeed, enemies to the French, and had murdered all they could find on the island, in revenge for an affront some of that country had formerly given to king Samuel, but to no other white men; so that had we put in there, we had at least saved our lives, and some of our cargo; but our fate was fixed, and we were destined to be destroyed in the most tragical manner, and all our endeavours to save our lives served only to prolong our misery.
We durst not put into Port Dauphine, for fear of falling immediately into the hands of these revengeful and bloody murderers, as we then concluded them to be. We could not get to the northward, the wind being north-east; neither was there any harbour or port to the westward, but what was a week’s sail, at least, to it! Besides the western shore is very steep.
Hereupon the captain resolved to steer along the western coast, and see if he could find a proper place to run her into, or put ashore with safety of our lives. At length we drew near the shore, but no place could be found; and our hold being now half full of water, the men went to the captain and asked him what he proposed to do, for the ship could swim no longer. He went into the round-house for a few minutes, and when he came out, he asked them if they approved of his running the ship on shore at all adventures; to which they all unanimously agreed, and cried out, “Any thing to save our lives.” Now here was a sand which ran along for two leagues; we came within a quarter of a mile of the shore, and let go an anchor first without the breakers, and then cut down our masts and rigging, and threw our guns and heaviest goods overboard, and tried all means to keep her up till we could get on shore. Having lost our long-boat and pinnace at Bengal, we had but one small boat left, for which reason we made a raft with some planks and yards.
At that time some of the natives were fishing, who, seeing us in distress, made a smoke to guide and invite us to shore; but we had entertained such a bad idea of them, that we could not tell presently how to determine, though we were informed these were another prince’s dominions.
We finished the raft that night, and in the morning sent Mr Pratt, our chief mate, and four men in the boat with a long rope for a warp, to fasten on the land. A great sea constantly runs here upon the rocks, and before they got to land their boat was staved in pieces; however, being pretty near it, by the help of some of the natives, who were negroes, they saved that part of the boat to which the rope was fastened. We had two English women on board, one of them would not venture on the raft, nor would the captain, but the other woman, and about forty or fifty of us did. I stript off all my clothes, but took two purses of money and a silver cup, and tied them fast round my middle; we hauled by the rope towards the shore, but were no sooner among the breakers, than the first sea turned the raft topsy turvy, and washed us off; some swam to the raft again, but were soon washed off, and though the woman was drowning just by me, yet I could not save her. I sunk under every wave, and with great difficulty got on shore, as did every one else that were on the raft, but the woman. There was such a surf ran, and the sea broke so high, that we durst not venture out with the raft again; which the captain perceiving, ordered the cable to be cut, and let the ship drive nearer the land, where she soon beat to pieces. The captain got on shore with his father’s heart in his hand, which, according to his request, when dying, was put into a bottle in order to be brought to England, and buried at Dover.
At length they all got on shore on pieces of the ship, planks, &c. two men only excepted, who were drowned, and the woman before-mentioned. The other woman escaped, though she was so full of water as well as some others, that we were obliged to roll and rub them well, to make them disgorge the water; we laid them also before a great fire made for that purpose, and in a little time they revived. We were, in all, above one hundred and sixty, including the Lascars.