Tales of Shipwrecks and Other Disasters at Sea

by Thomas Bingley

Though they had plenty of fishing tackle, they found it of little use, as they had no boat to go a little way from shore to catch fish; they therefore set their wits to work, in order to make a float, and at last they hit upon this odd project: they took six casks, and tarred them all over, then stopped up the bung-holes with corks, and nailed them close down with a piece of tarred canvass. These six casks they tied together with some of the cordage of the vessel, and upon them they placed the moveable hatches from the deck, and fixed them, and made the float so strong, that two men might sit upon it; but for fear a sudden storm should arise, while they happened to be at sea, they tied to one end of it a coil or two of small rope, of 500 fathoms long, which they fixed to a stake on the shore. Two of the party then went out, in order to see what success they should have; but returned with only one fish, about two feet long, something like a shark. Next day, however, they were more successful, returning with two of the same kind of fish, and a young shark about two feet long, which were dressed for dinner, and proved excellent eating.

They now began to consider what could be done to enable them to escape from their confinement. On examining their ship carefully, they found that it was all sound; and though the violence of the storm had carried it considerably beyond the reach of ordinary tides, and though nearly buried by the drifting of the sand, that there was nothing to prevent their being able to launch it into deep water once more. They therefore set determinedly to work, and after sixteen days' hard labor, they at last succeeded.

At length, on the 31st of December, they launched their vessel, and designing to set sail on the following day, they resolved to celebrate their deliverance by a carousal. They accordingly got very merry, and when their punch was all done, they went to bed. Instead of sleeping in the tent, however, Falconer remained on board the bark, while his companions, as usual, slept on shore. During the night, one of the sudden storms, so common in these latitudes, arose, and tore the bark from its moorings, and carried it out to sea, Falconer all the time sleeping soundly below, quite unconscious of the danger to which he was exposed.

By the time he awoke in the morning, the storm had so much abated, that he remained unconscious of what had happened, till going on deck to call his companions, he found that he was in the middle of the ocean, far out of sight of land.

For fourteen days, he continued tossed about at the mercy of the winds and waves. During the whole time, he saw but one ship, but it was at such a distance, and bore away so fast, that no succor could be expected. At length his vessel was driven so close in shore as to attract notice. He was then boarded by two canoes, containing one Spaniard and six Indians, to whom, by means of broken French, he explained his condition. They carried him on shore, and introduced him to the governor, by whom he was kindly received. The place happened to be a Spanish settlement on the coast of South America.

By the kindness of the governor, the ship was once more fitted out, and manned, to go in search of Falconer's companions, who had been left on the island. In fifteen days they reached the island, where they found them in a most pitiable condition. They had consumed all their provisions, and had no means of getting more; indeed, for some days they had subsisted on the most filthy and revolting food.

Having received them on board, they again set sail; and it now occurred to Falconer that, in order to complete his equipment, five of the men who composed his crew had been released from prison, where they had been confined on suspicion of piracy. A thought came into his head, which had escaped him before. He considered if these were really pirates, being five to four, they might be too powerful for him and the rest of his crew, and perhaps murder them. One day, as they all dined together upon deck, under an awning, it being very calm weather, he asked the five men, what was the reason that they were taken for pirates by the Spaniards. At first they seemed nonplussed; but one of them, named Warren, soon recovered himself, and answered for the others, saying that they embarked on board the ship Bonaventure, in the Thames, bound for Jamaica, whither they made a prosperous voyage; but after taking in their cargo, on their way home, they were overtaken by a storm, in which their ship was lost, and all the men perished, except himself and four companions, who were saved in the long-boat; and that as they were making to shore to save themselves, they saw a bark riding at anchor without the port of Campeachy, which they approached in order to inquire where they were, and to beg some provisions, their own being gone. On entering the vessel, however, they found but two people in it; the third, jumping into the water, swam on shore, and brought three boats, filled with Spanish soldiers, which came on board before they could make off. "Make off!" said Falconer. "What, did you design to run away with the vessel!" "No," answered Warren, with some confusion; "we only intended to weigh anchor, and go farther in shore, that we might land in the morning, it being late at night."

The fact of the fellow being nonplussed now and then, Falconer did not at all like, but, upon consideration, he thought it might be for want of words to express himself better; so he took no more notice of it. In the evening, however, Middleton, one of their crew, came to him with a face of concern, and told him that he did not like these fellows' tale. "Why so?" said Falconer. "Because they herd together," answered he, "and are always whispering and speaking low to one another. If a foreboding heart may speak, I am sure we shall suffer something from them, that will be of danger to us."

Upon this, Falconer began to stagger in his opinion of their honesty, and, therefore, he and his friends resolved to be upon their guard. They took no notice of their conversation to their two other companions, but resolved to wait till night, having a better opportunity then, as they slept together in the cabin. When suppertime arrived, the five sailors excused themselves from joining the rest of the crew, by saying they had dined so lately that they were not hungry, which gave the others an opportunity to converse together sooner than they expected. They, therefore, opened the matter to their two companions, and they agreed immediately that they were in danger; so they resolved in the middle watch of the night to seize them in their sleep. It had been previously arranged that Falconer and his friends were to have the first watch, which was at eight o'clock; the others were to watch till twelve; and then, in the third watch, between one and two, Falconer and his companions had determined to seize upon the pirates as they slept. It having previously been found convenient that one of the pirates should form part of the captain's watch, they agreed, before commencing operations, to seize and bind him fast, and to threaten him with death if he offered to make the least noise.