Fortunately, By Means
Of One Captain Grant, An Honest True-Hearted Man, Nothing Was Neglected
Though I Was Thus Disabled.
Until midnight, when the admiral came up,
the May-Flower and the Sampson never desisted from plying her with our
cannon, taking it in turns:
But then captain Cave wished us to stay till
morning, when each of us was to give her three broadsides, and then lay
her on board; but we long lingered in the morning till 10 o'clock,
before we attempted to board her.
The admiral then laid her on board amid ships, and the May-Flower came
up on her quarter, as if to take her station astern of our admiral on
the larboard side of the carak; but the captain of the May-Flower was
slain at the first coming up, on which his ship fell astern on the
_outlicar_[394] of the carak, a piece of timber, which so tore her
foresail that they said they could not get up any more to fight, as
indeed they did not, but kept aloof from us all the rest of the action.
The Sampson went aboard on the bow of the carak, but had not room
enough, as our quarter lay on the bow of the Exchange, and our bow on
that of the carak. At the first coming up of the Exchange, her captain
Mr Cave was wounded in both legs, one of which he never recovered, so
that he was disabled from doing his duty, and had no one in his absence
that would undertake to lead his company to board the enemy. My friend,
captain Grant, led my men up the side of the carak; but his force being
small, and not being manfully seconded by the crew of the Exchange, the
enemy were bolder than they would have been, so that six of my men were
presently slain, and many more wounded; which made those that remained
return on board, and they would never more give the assault. Some of the
Exchanges men did very well, and I have no doubt that many more would
have done the like, if there had been any principal men to have led them
on, and not to have run into corners themselves. But I must allow that
the carak was as well provided for defence as any ship I have seen; and
perhaps the Portuguese were encouraged by our slackness, as they plied
our men from behind barricades, where they were out of danger from our
shot. They plied us also with wildfire, by which most of our men were
burnt in some parts of their body; and while our men were busied in
putting out the fire, the enemy galled them sore with small arms and
darts. This unusual casting of wildfire did much dismay many of our men,
and caused them greatly to hang back.
[Footnote 394: Probably a boom or outrigger for the management of the
after-sails. - E.]
Finding that our men would not again board, we plied our great ordnance
at them, elevated as much as possible, as otherwise we could do them
little harm.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 387 of 441
Words from 202741 to 203265
of 230997
