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.
CHAP. IV.
The Author, with only two Comrades, leaves the rest of the Company, and penetrates into those unknown Countries. The Obstacles he meets with in his Passage, &c.
The next Day in the Morning, which was the 24th of September, 1644, and the 11th of our Arrival, we each took a Hatchet in our Belts with a Gun, and whatsoever we thought necessary for an Enterprise of this Nature, and without more ado enter'd the Wood, leaving the others behind us, and made great Haste towards the S.S.W. We travell'd at least four long Leagues before we talked of resting. La Foret, who was one of my Comrades, as Du Puis was the other, perceiving a Heath-cock about a hundred Paces from us, shot him; while one pick'd it, I and the other fell to cutting of Fuel, and making a Fire under the Tree, at which we soon roasted our Fowl by a String. We made a hearty Dinner, only we wanted Drink, for which we were oblig'd to wait a little longer. As we proceeded in our Journey, we found a Pit of Water, which tho' not very clear, yet we thought it excellent: We fill'd our Flagons with it but made little or no Use of it, for about a League and half further we came to a Brook, where the Water was really as good as I ever met with in my Life. It was about two Foot deep, and ran exactly across that Part of the Road we had purpos'd to travel, by the help of a small Sun-Dial that I had in my Pocket, which was of great Service to us. There being no Bridge, nor other Conveniency, we pull'd off our Stockings, &c. and waded thro' the Rivulet, leaving it with great Regret, after having drank our Bellies full, and laid in a Stock of it for time to come. We hitherto found no Trace of Man or Beast. The Country was all over Sand, Briars, and Forests, for a matter of Eight or Ten Leagues that we had travell'd before Sun-set. In fine, we pitch'd our Camp at the Foot of a little Hill, where there was a Coppice so thick that we were as much out of the Wind, as if we had been in a Tent. Then we eat for Supper what we left at Dinner, and made the best shift we could to repose our selves for Sleep.
The next Morning when we wak'd, we were surpris'd to see the whole Firmament overcast, and threatning us with a heavy Storm; we therefore thought fit to dig a Cave in this Hill, which was pretty steep, on the Side where we were posted, in order to shelter our selves from the bad Weather. In short, we found in a trice, that by the Help of our Hatchets we had prepar'd a small Lodging. The Rain, however, did, not begin till about Eleven of the Clock, so that we had time enough to kill more Quails and other small Birds, which for the most part were unknown to us, than we could spend in a Week. There was a vast Multitude of 'em, and, generally speaking, they suffer'd themselves to be kill'd, without stirring from the Place, which was another Reason that induc'd us to think the Country cou'd not be, inhabited. After all, we were oblig'd to stay here four Days, which to us seem'd more tedious than four Weeks would have done elsewhere. But this Chagrin of ours was alleviated afterwards, for we enjoy'd fair Weather above a Month without Intermission.