Fifty-two Stories of the British Navy, from Damme to Trafalgar.Miles, Alfred H. (Alfred Henry)
History
Fifty-two Stories of the British Navy, from Damme to Trafalgar.
Miles, Alfred H. (Alfred Henry)
Great Britain -- History, Naval -- Juvenile literature
"The most part of the men that were left alive in the _Jesus_ made shift
and followed the _Minion_ in a small boat, the rest, which the little
boat was not able to receive, were enforced to abide the mercy of the
Spaniards (which I doubt was very little); so with the _Minion_ only,
and the _Judith_ (a small barque of fifty tons) we escaped, which barque
the same night forsook us in our great misery. We were now removed with
the _Minion_ from the Spanish ships two bow-shots, and there rode all
that night. The next morning we recovered an island a mile from the
Spaniards, where there took us a north wind, and being left only with
two anchors and two cables (for in this conflict we lost three cables
and two anchors), we thought always upon death, which ever was present;
but God preserved us to a longer time.
"The weather waxed reasonable, and the Saturday we set sail, and having
a great number of men and little victual, our hope of life waxed less
and less. Some desired to yield to the Spaniards, some rather desired
to obtain a place where they might give themselves to the infidels; and
some had rather abide, with a little pittance, the mercy of God at sea.
So thus, with many sorrowful hearts, we wandered in an unknown sea by
the space of fourteen days, till hunger enforced us to seek the land;
for hides were thought very good meat; rats, cats, mice, and dogs, none
escaped that might be gotten; parrots and monkeys that were had in great
prize, were thought there very profitable if they served the turn of one
dinner. Thus in the end, on October 8th, we came to the land in the
bottom of the same bay of Mexico, in twenty-three degrees and a half,
where we hoped to have found habitations of the Spaniards, relief of
victuals, and place for the repair of our ship, which was so sore beaten
with shot from our enemies, and bruised with shooting of our own
ordnance, that our weary and weak arms were scarce able to defend and
keep out the water. But all things happened to the contrary, for we
found neither people, victual, nor haven of relief, but a place where,
having fair weather, with some peril we might land a boat. Our people,
being forced with hunger, desired to be set aland, whereunto I
concluded.
"And such as were willing to land I put apart, and such as were desirous
to go homewards I put apart, so that they were indifferently parted, a
hundred of one side and a hundred of the other side. These hundred men
were set on land with all diligence, in this little place aforesaid,
which being landed, we determined there to refresh our water, and so
with our little remain of victuals to take the sea.
"The next day, having on land with me fifty of our hundred men that
remained, for the speedier preparing of our water aboard, there arose an
extreme storm, so that in three days we could by no means repair our
ships. The ship also was in such peril that every hour we looked for
shipwreck.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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