Thus Staying Long, And Procuring Very Little Refreshment, Our
People Begun To Grow Mutinous, Pretending That The Captain And I
Went on
board the Frenchman to make good chear ourselves, taking no care of
them; but I protest before God
That our sole care was to procure
victuals that we might leave him.
[Footnote 26: Hakluyt, on the margin, gives Guanaba as a synonime: it
was probably Gonaives' Bay, in the northern part of the west end of
Hispaniola. - E.]
In the mean time a great part of our people entered into a conspiracy to
seize the Frenchman's pinnace, and with her to board the French ship;
but while this was concerting among them, one of themselves went on
board the Frenchman, and revealed the plot. Upon this Monsieur de la
Barbotiere sent for the captain and me to dine with him. We went
accordingly, and remained all the afternoon, being invited likewise to
supper. While we were at supper the French captain did not come to us
for a long time, and when he at length came into the cabin, he told us
we must either leave him, or he must go seek another port. Informing
Captain Lancaster of this, he desired me to say, that rather as be any
hindrance to him we would depart. While we were thus talking together,
the Frenchman weighed and set sail, which we perceived, and asked what
he meant. He said he proposed to keep us as his sureties, because our
men had plotted to seize his ship, as before mentioned.
When the French ship came athwart ours, it blowing then a stiff breeze,
their boat, which was astern, and had in her two Moors and two Peguers,
whom we had given to them, broke away. The French captain was now worse
than before, and threatened sore to make us pay for his voyage. Seeing
us pass, the Edward weighed and set sail, meaning to go for England; and
the people shared among them all the captain's victuals and mine, when
they saw us kept as prisoners.
Next morning the French ship went in search of her pinnace, which was at
Laguna, and on firing a gun she came off, having three of our people
on board, Edmund Barker our lieutenant, one John West, and Richard
Lackland, one of our mutineers. Of this I told the French captain, which
Lackland could not deny but that such a scheme was intended. I was then
put into the French pinnace to seek their boat, while they went to see
if they could overtake our ship.
Next day we all met at Cape St Nicholas, but could hear no tidings of
the French boat. As there were Spaniards and negroes on board our ship,
Captain de la Barbotiere requested to have them; on which our captain
desired him to send his boat for them, and he might have them with all
his heart. After much ado this was done, and they were brought on board.
He then demanded of these people if his boat were in our ship, and being
assured she was not, we became good friends again, to our great joy. The
12th August, 1593, our captain was again sent on board his own ship;
but, before his departure, he requested the French captain to take me
home with him, that I might certify to the owners all that had passed in
our unfortunate voyage, as also the mutinous behaviour of our crew.
Accordingly we took our leaves of each other, the Edward setting sail
for England, while we in the French ship bore up again for Gonnavy, or
Gonaives, where we afterwards found the French boat.[27]
[Footnote 27: In this part of the narrative, May is somewhat different
from that formerly given from Edmund Barker, in the preceding section,
or rather he is more minutely particular. The remainder of the narrative
has no farther connection with the unfortunate Edward Bonadventure. - E.]
The last of November, 1593, Monsieur de la Barbotiere departed from a
port called Laguna, in Hispaniola. The 17th of December we had the
misfortune to be cast away on the north-west part of the island of
Bermuda, about midnight. At noon of that day the pilots reckoned
themselves twelve leagues to the south of that island, and certifying
the captain that the ship was out of all danger, they demanded and
received their wine of height.[28] After having their wine, it would
seem that they became careless of their charge, so that through their
drunkenness and negligence a number of good men were cast away. It
pleased God that I, a stranger among above fifty Frenchmen and others,
was among those who were saved: I trust to his service and glory. At
first we comforted ourselves in the hope that we were wrecked hard by
the shore of the island, being high cliffs; but we found ourselves seven
leagues off. By means of our boat, and a raft which we made, about
twenty-six of us were saved, among whom I was the only Englishman. Being
among so many strangers, and seeing there was not room for half the
people, I durst neither press to get into the boat or upon the raft,
lest they should have thrown me overboard or killed me; so I remained in
the ship, which, was almost full of water, till the captain called me
into the boat, in which he was; so I presently entered, leaving the
better half of our company to the mercy of the sea.
[Footnote 28: Probably alluding to some customary perquisite on getting
safely through the dangerous navigation of the Bahama Islands. - E.]
We rowed all day, and an hour or two of the night, towing the raft after
us, before we got to land: and, being all that day without drink, every
man dispersed in search of water, but it was long before any was found.
At length one of the pilots, by digging among a tuft of weeds, found
water, to our great comfort.
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