After Waiting Two Months In Vain For An Opportunity To Cut The Boards, One Of Them, Who Was A Smith, Proposed To Work Through Our Planks By Means Of Fire.

Accordingly, about ten at night of the 28th May, 1604, they put a candle to the planks, through which they presently burnt a round hole.

When the fire got through, it immediately communicated to the mats of our bales, which began to burn and spread. All the while we knew nothing of the matter, by reason of the closeness of the warehouse, all the windows being plastered up for fear of fire over-head.

After the first watch was out, one of which I had been, the second watch smelt a strong funk of fire, as it was by that time much increased, but they could not find out where it was after searching every corner. One of them remembered a rat-hole behind his trunk, whence he could plainly perceive the smoke steaming out, on which he came immediately to me, and told me our cloth warehouse was on fire. Going down immediately, and opening the doors of the warehouse, we were almost suffocated by the smoke, which was so thick we could not perceive whence it came. We had at this time two jars of gunpowder in this warehouse, which made us greatly fear being blown up: But, laying aside fear, we pulled every thing away that lay upon these jars, and got them out to our back-yard, the jars being already very hot. We now searched boldly for the fire, and at last found it. At length, by the aid of some Chinese merchants and others, we cleared the room of above fifty packs of goods, sixteen of which were on fire.

We wondered how this fire had come, suspecting the Portuguese had hired some Malays to do it: But a Chinese bricklayer, who wrought at the Dutch house, told a Hollander next morning, who had been long in the country, that it was done by the Chinese brewer and his accomplices, who were now fled, and if we looked well in the room we should find how it had been done. The Dutchman told this to an English surgeon, desiring him to come and tell us, while he, the Dutchman, being perfect in the native language, would go and enquire after the incendiaries. The surgeon came to me, and desired to see the room which had been on fire; on going into which with a candle, he presently discovered a little round hole, burnt quite through one of the planks of the floor, and putting down a long stick, we could feel no bottom. I then called for an axe, with which we wrenched up the plank as softly as possible, under which was a hole through which the largest trunk or pack in our warehouse might have gone down. I immediately took three of our men armed, and went to the house whence the mine came.

Enter page number Go  Previous Next
Page 133 of 424
Words from 68988 to 69489 of 221842