My Spirits Were However Much Damped, By The Extreme
Difficulty Of Caulking Her Tight, As Her Seams Were Bad, Our Tools
Wretched, And Our Artists Very Indifferent.
When this was done, so as we
could, our bark was put into the water to try her fitness, on which
there was an outcry of, A sieve!
A sieve! Every one now seemed
melancholy and dispirited, insomuch that I was afraid they would use no
farther means; but in a little time, by incessant labour, we brought her
into a tolerable condition. Having repaired the ship's pumps, and fitted
them to the bark, the people exclaimed that this was only a poor
dependence; but I exhorted them to have patience, and continue their
assistance in doing every thing that could be thought of for her
security. The cooper also made a set of buckets, one for every man, to
serve to bale her, in case of necessity. Next spring-tide, which was on
the 5th October, 1720, we put her again into the water, naming her the
Recovery, when she answered tolerably well, when we resolved to run
the hazard of going to sea in her, and made all possible dispatch in
getting our things on board. Yet, after all, a dozen of our people chose
to remain on shore, together with as many negroes and Indians.
Our sea-stock, besides the small quantity of beef and cassada flour
formerly mentioned, consisted of 2300 eels cured in smoke, weighing one
with another about a pound each, together with about sixty gallons of
seal-oil, in which to fry them.
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