It Is
Rational To Interpret The Known Facts To Indicate That In This Absence Of
The Captain And Most Of
His crew ashore, Mr. Mullens, finding himself
failing fast, sent for Governor Carver and - unable to do more than speak
- Dictated to him the disposition of his property which he desired to
make. Carver, noting this down from his dictation, undoubtedly called in
two of the ship's company (Heale very likely being the ship's-surgeon),
who were left aboard to "keep ship," to hear his notes read to Mullens
and assented to by him, they thus becoming the witnesses to his will, to
the full copy of which, as made by Carver (April 2), they affixed their
names as such. As there were then at Plymouth (besides savages) only the
passengers and crew of the MAY-FLOWER, and these men were certainly not
among the passengers, it seems inevitable that they were of the crew.
That "Christopher Joanes" was not the Master of the ship is clear,
because Heale's is the first signature, and no man of the crew would have
dared to sign before the Captain; because the Captain's name was (as
demonstrated) Thomas; and because we know that he was ashore all that
day, with most of his men. It is by no means improbable that Captain
Jones had shipped one of his kinsmen in his crew, possibly as one of the
"masters mates" or quartermasters referred to (and it is by no means
certain that there were not more than two), though these witnesses may
have been quartermasters or other petty officers left on board as
"ship-keepers." Certain it is that these two witnesses must have been
of the crew, and that "Christopher Joanes" was not the Captain, while it
is equally sure, from the collateral evidence, that Master Mullens died
on shipboard.
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