He Arrived At Galway In Ireland, Where He Left His Family, In
June, 1722; Being Then In A Very Bad State Of Health, Partly Occasioned
By His Great Fatigues, But Chiefly Through The Concern He Was Under For
The Loss Sustained By His Owners In This Unfortunate Enterprize.
It may
be objected, that he ought to have returned from Holland to England, to
give his owners the best account in his power respecting the events of
the voyage.
But, as he sent home their moiety of the profits in the
Portugueze ship, which, had it not been destroyed by the way, had nearly
covered the expence of fitting out the Success, taking in the money she
sold for; and if we consider the reduced state of his health when he
went to Galway, where he did not live above a week, he may well be
excused for this step.
CHAPTER XII.
VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD BY CAPTAIN GEORGE SHELVOCKE, IN 1719-1722.[248]
INTRODUCTION.
In the introduction to the former voyage, a sufficient account has been
given of the motives on which the expedition was founded, and the
original plan of acting under an imperial commission; together with
motives for changing this plan, and the reason of advancing Captain
Clipperton to the chief command. In the new scheme of the voyage,
Captain Shelvocke retained the command of the Speedwell, carrying
twenty-four guns and 106 men, Mr Simon Hately being his second captain,
an officer who has a good character given of him in the account of the
former voyage by Captain Rogers. The marines were under the command of
Captain William Betagh. Captain Shelvocke has himself written an account
of the expedition, and another was published by Captain Betagh, so that
the following narrative is composed from both. Shelvocke's narrative is,
strictly speaking, an apology for his own conduct, yet contains
abundance of curious particulars, written in an entertaining style, and
with an agreeable spirit; while the other is written with much acrimony,
and contains heavy charges against Captain Shelvocke, yet contains many
curious circumstances. - Harris.
[Footnote 248: Harris, I. 198. Callender, III. 502.]
This is one of the best written voyages we have hitherto met with, yet
extends rather to considerable length, considering its relative
importance. On the present occasion, therefore, it has been endeavoured
to lop off as many of its redundances as could be conveniently done
without injury, yet leaving every circumstance of any interest or
importance. The principal omission, or abbreviation rather, on the
present occasion, is the leaving out several controversial matters,
inserted by Harris from the account of this voyage by Betagh; which
might have sufficient interest among contemporaries, a few years after
the unfortunate issue of this misconducted enterprise, but are now of no
importance, near a century later. - Ed.
SECTION I.
Narrative of the Voyage from England to the South Sea.
Sailing from Plymouth on the 13th February, 1719, in company with the
Success, we kept company no longer than to the 19th, when, between nine
and ten at night, we had a violent storm at S.W. which increased so,
that by eleven we were under bare poles. At midnight a sea struck us on
our quarter, which stove in one of our dead lights on the quarter and
another on our stern, by which we shipped a vast quantity of water
before we could get them again fastened up, and we were a considerable
time under great apprehension of foundering. On the 20th we could not
see the Success; and this storm so terrified the greatest part of the
crew, that seventy of them were resolved to bear away for England,
alleging that the ship was so very crank she would never be able to
carry us to the South Sea. But by the resolution of the officers they
were brought back to their duty.
As the Canaries were the first place of rendezvous, we continued our
course for these islands, where we arrived on the 17th March, and
cruised there the time appointed by our instructions.[249] We next
sailed for the Cape de Verde Islands, and arrived at Maio on the 14th
April.[250] A little before arriving here, Turner Stevens[251] the
gunner very gravely proposed to me and the rest of the officers to
cruize in the Red Sea; as there could be no harm in robbing the
Mahometans, whereas the Spaniards were good Christians, and it was a sin
to injure them. I ordered him immediately into confinement, after which
he became outrageous, threatening to blow up the ship. Wherefore I
discharged him at his own request, and left also here on shore my chief
mate, who had challenged and fought with Mr Brooks, my first lieutenant.
[Footnote 249: Clipperton arrived there on the 5th, and sailed thence on
the 15th of March. - E.]
[Footnote 250: Clipperton came to St Vincent on the 24th March, and
cruized in that neighbourhood for ten days, so that he must have sailed
about the 31st, at least a fortnight before the arrival of
Shelvocke. - E.]
[Footnote 251: Called Charles Turner by Betagh. - E.]
On the 18th, we went to Port Praya, in the island of St Jago, but
finding nothing here but fair promises, I resolved to proceed to the
island of St Catharine on the coast of Brazil, in lat. 20 deg. 30' S.[252]
in hopes of obtaining every thing necessary for our passage into the
South Sea, as, according to the account of it by Frezier, it abounds in
all the necessaries of life, such especially as are requisite in long
voyages. We sailed therefore from Port Praya on the 20th of April, and
had a very bad passage, as we were twenty-one days before we could pass
the equinoctial. White between the two tradewinds, we had usually slight
breezes, varying all round the compass, and sometimes heavy squalls of
wind, with thunder, lightning, and rain. In short, the most variable
weather that can be conceived, insomuch that we were fifty-five days
between St Jago and St Catharines.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 186 of 221
Words from 188982 to 189997
of 224764
