Narratives of Shipwrecks of the Royal Navy; between 1793 and 1849Gilly, William O. S.
History
Narratives of Shipwrecks of the Royal Navy; between 1793 and 1849
Gilly, William O. S.
Great Britain. Royal Navy -- History -- 18th century; Great Britain. Royal Navy -- History -- 19th century; Shipwrecks
On the morning of the 28th, they again made sail, and landed the same
evening in a small cove of a bay between Vieux Cap Francois and Cap
Cabron. Here, to their bitter disappointment, they could get nothing
to eat--not even a spring of fresh water could be found,--and all the
nourishment they had that night was a few limpets, and the rain water
that had remained in the holes of the rocks,--sorry fare for men who
had been exposed to the inclemency of the weather for two days and two
nights, in open boats, without food.
However, it was a great thing to be on shore; for many of the people
had suffered severely from being so closely stowed in the bottom of
the boats, and their limbs had been terribly cramped. They now wisely
endeavoured to make themselves as comfortable as circumstances
allowed, by lighting a fire to keep off the insects, and to dry their
clothes, and then they composed themselves to sleep, which they much
needed. The next morning, being somewhat refreshed, they started
across the bay to a place called Margante, which they reached about
eight o'clock. Here they found the people well disposed towards them,
and they were able to purchase some beef and plantains, and plenty of
good water, of which they all gladly partook. The inhabitants informed
them that it was probable they might find a vessel at Port Plata that
could take them to St. Thomas's, that being the nearest port where
they were likely to fall in with any of His Majesty's ships. On the
30th of June, they departed from Margante, taking with them a pilot,
to guide them to Port Plata. In order to ease the boats, Captain
Bertram and part of the ship's company walked along the shore. Towards
evening, the people had gone upwards of twenty miles, and were so
exhausted, they were obliged to put into a small bay called Scott's
Bay (B. Ecossaise), where they came on shore and erected a tent, with
the sails of the boats and a few logs of mahogany. With the help of
some turtle, the whole of the ship's company were supplied with food;
and they remained on shore till the next morning, when the boats were
again launched, and all the party embarked in them, as there was no
way along the beech. They arrived safely at Port Plata at eleven
o'clock that night, and were received with great kindness and
humanity. Three houses were provided for the men and one for the
officers, and everything was done that could alleviate their
sufferings. Unfortunately there was no vessel at Port Plata large
enough to convey them to St. Thomas's. With some difficulty, a boat
was procured, in which Lieutenant Price was despatched to Turk's
Island, with a letter to the naval officer there, describing the
situation of the crew of the Persian, and requesting that assistance
might be afforded to Lieutenant Price to enable him to hire a vessel
to take the crew to St. Thomas's.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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