Mendez And Fuesco On The Day They Left Jamaica Held On Their Way Till
Night, Encouraging The Indians To Exert Themselves With Their Paddles.
The
weather was extremely hot, so that the Indians sometimes leaped overboard
to refresh themselves by swimming and then came fresh again to their
paddles.
At night they lost sight of the land, and half the Christians and
Indians took watch and watch alternately to sleep and row, taking great
care that the Indians might not prove treacherous. Advancing in this
manner all night, they were very weary when day appeared; but the
commanders encouraged the men, sometimes rowing themselves to give a good
example; and after eating to recruit their strength, they fell to their
work again, seeing nothing all around but the sky and the sea. Though this
was enough to distress them sufficiently, yet they were besides in the
predicament of Tantalus, who had water within a span of his mouth yet
could not quench his thirst; such was their distress, for, through the
improvidence of the Indians and the prodigious heat of the preceding day
and night, all their water was drank up without any regard to the future.
As heat and labour together are altogether intolerable without drink, and
as the heat and thirst increased the second day the higher the sun
ascended, their strength was entirely exhausted by noon. By good fortune
the captains had reserved two casks of water under their own management,
from which they sparingly relieved the Indians, and kept them up till the
cool of the evening, and encouraged them by the assurance that they would
soon see a small island called Nabazza, which lay in their way eight
leagues from Hispaniola.
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