The 20th, About Two Of The Clock In The Morning, The Savages Came To
The Island Where Our Pinnace Was Built Ready To Be Launched, And
Tore The Two Upper Strakes And Carried Them Away, Only For The Love
Of The Iron In The Boards.
While they were about this practice, we
manned the Elizabeth's boat to go ashore to them.
Our men, being
either afraid or amazed, were so long before they came to shore,
that our captain willed them to stay, and made the gunner give fire
to a saker, and laid the piece level with the boat, which the
savages had turned on the one side because we could not hurt them
with our arrows, and made the boat their bulwark against the arrows
which we shot at them. Our gunner, having made all things ready,
gave fire to the piece, and fearing to hurt any of the people, and
regarding the owner's profit, thought belike he would save a saker's
shot, doubting we should have occasion to fight with men-of-war, and
so shot off the saker without a bullet, we looking still when the
savages that were hurt should run away without legs; at length we
could perceive never a man hurt, but all having their legs, could
carry away their bodies. We had no sooner shot off the piece but
the master of the Sunshine manned his boat, and came rowing towards
the island, the very sight of whom made each of them take that he
had gotten, and fly away as fast as they could to another island
about two miles off, where they took the nails out of the timber,
and left the wood on the isle. When we came on shore, and saw how
they had spoiled the boat, after much debating of the matter, we
agreed that the Elizabeth should have her to fish withal; whereupon
she was presently carried aboard and stowed. Now after this
trouble, being resolved to depart with the first wind, there fell
out another matter worse than all the rest, and that was in this
manner: John Churchyard, one whom our captain had appointed as
pilot in the pinnace, came to our captain and Master Bruton, and
told them that the good ship which we must all hazard our lives in
had three hundred strokes at one time as she rode in the harbour.
This disquieted us all greatly, and many doubted to go in her. At
length our captain, by whom we were all to be governed, determined
rather to end his life with credit than to return with infamy and
disgrace; and so, being all agreed, we purposed to live and die
together, and committed ourselves to the ship.
Now the 21st, having brought all our things aboard, about eleven or
twelve of the clock at night we set sail and departed from those
isles, which lie in 64 degrees of latitude, our ships being now all
at sea, and we shaping our course to go coasting the land to the
northwards, upon the eastern shore, which we called the shore of our
merchants, because there we met with people which traffic with us;
but here we were not without doubt of our ship.
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