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.
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