Thrilling Narratives of Mutiny, Murder and Piracy: A weird series of tales of shipwreck and disaster, from the earliest part of the century to the present time, with accounts of providential escapes and heart-rending fatalities.Anonymous
History
Thrilling Narratives of Mutiny, Murder and Piracy: A weird series of tales of shipwreck and disaster, from the earliest part of the century to the present time, with accounts of providential escapes and heart-rending fatalities.
Anonymous
Mutiny; Pirates; Seafaring life; Shipwrecks
Some people coming to my assistance, we pulled a large rope ashore
with that, and made it fast round a rock. We found this gave great
spirits to the poor souls upon the wreck, it being hauled taught from
the upper part of the stern, made an easy descent to any who had art
enough to walk or slide upon a rope, with a smaller rope fixed above
to hold by. This was a means of saving a number of lives, though many
were washed off by the impetuous surf, and perished. The flood coming
on, raised the surf, and prevented any more from coming at that time,
so that the ropes could be of no further use. We then retired from the
rocks; and hunger prevailing, set about boiling some of the drowned
turkeys, &c. which with some flour mixed into a paste, and baked upon
the coals, constituted our first meal upon this barbarous coast. We
found a well of fresh water about a half a mile off, which very much
refreshed us. But we had scarcely finished this coarse repast, when
the Moors, who were now grown numerous, drove us all down to the rocks
to bring up empty iron bound casks, pieces of the wreck which had the
most iron about them, and other articles.
About three o'clock in the afternoon we made another meal on the
drowned poultry, and finding this was the best provision we were
likely to have; some were ordered to save all they could find, others
to raise a larger tent, and the rest sent down to the rocks to look
for people coming ashore. The surf greatly increasing with the flood,
and breaking upon the fore-part of the ship, she was divided into
three parts; the fore-part turned keel up, the middle part soon dashed
into a thousand pieces; the fore-part of the poop likewise fell at
this time, and about thirty men with it, eight of whom got ashore with
our help, but so bruised, that we despaired of their recovery. Nothing
but the after-part of the poop now remained above water, and a very
small part of the other decks, on which our captain, and about 130
more remained, expecting every wave to be their last. Every shock
threw some off; few or none of whom came on shore alive. During this
distress the Moors laughed uncommonly, and seemed much diverted, when
a wave larger than usual, threatened the destruction of the poor
wretches on the wreck. Between four and five o'clock the sea was
decreased with the ebb; the rope being still secure, the people began
to venture upon it; some tumbled off and perished, but others reached
the shore in safety.
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