I, Edmund Barker, Went
One Day On Shore, With Four Or Five Peguers And Our Surgeon, Where I
Found An
Englishman in a house near the chapel, one John Segar, of Bury,
in Suffolk, who was left there eighteen months
Before by Abraham Kendal;
who put in there with the Royal Merchant, and who left him there to
refresh on the island, being like to perish on shipboard. At our coming
he was fresh in colour, and seemed in perfect health of body; but he was
crazed in mind, and half out of his wits, as appeared afterwards.
Whether it was that he was terrified at our arrival, not knowing at
first whether we were friends or foes, or if sudden joy so affected him
on finding again his countrymen and old comrades, I know not, but he
became quite light headed, and during eight days and nights he could not
get any natural rest, so that he died for lack of sleep. At this place
two of our men recovered their health in a short time, one of whom was
diseased with the scurvy, and the other had been nine months sick of the
flux. We found abundance of green figs, fine oranges and lemons, plenty
of goats and hogs, and numbers of partridges, pintados, and other wild
fowls. Having now supplied the ship with fresh water, and having some
store of fish, our discontented mariners insisted upon resuming the
voyage home; and our captain, being inclined to go for Fernambuco, in
Brasil, agreed to their request. We departed therefore from St Helena
about the 12th April, 1593, directing our course for the Brasils; and
next day, on calling the sailors to finish a foresail they had then in
hand, some of them declared they would not put their hands to any thing,
unless the ship's course was directed for England; so that he was
obliged to follow their humour, henceforwards directing our course
towards our own country, which we continued to do till we came to lat.
8 deg. N. between the equator and which latitude we spent about six weeks,
with perpetual calms or contrary winds from the north, sometimes
north-east and north-west; owing to which loss of time, and our small
store of provisions, we were very doubtful of being able to keep our
course. At this time some of our men became very mutinous, threatening
to break up other people's chests, to the entire consumption of our
provisions and ourselves; for every man had now his share of provisions
in his own custody, that they might know what they had to trust to, and
husband that the more thriftily.
Anxious to prevent the occurrence of absolute famine, and being informed
by one of the ship's company who had been at the island of Trinidada, in
a voyage with Mr Chudlei, and that we might be sure of having provisions
there, our captain directed the course for that island; but not knowing
the currents, we overshot it in the night, getting into the gulf of
Paria, in which we were for eight days, unable to get out again, as the
current constantly set in, and our ship was often in three fathoms
water.
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