Monday, 16th December, I Weighed Anchor From The Southermost Road Of
Aden, And Directed My Course Through The Straits For Mokha.
The 20th I
came to the road of Mokha, where I saw the Trades-increase riding alone,
but no appearance of the Darling.
The Trades-increase was about four
miles from shore, riding with two anchors ahead, on account of the
vehemence of the weather. On coming near, the people of the
Trades-increase lowered their flag, as a signal of bad news, by which I
suspected some misfortune had befallen our general. When I had anchored,
Mr Thornton, the master of the Trades-increase, came aboard, when he
began with a heavy heart to unfold by degrees all that had happened
since we parted at Aden.[357]
[Footnote 357: The incidents that happened at Mokha having been already
related in the preceding section, we here omit a long account of them by
Downton. - E.]
The 21st I sent ashore a letter to the general, informing him of the
misfortunes that had befallen me at Aden. In answer, he gave me a brief
account of the treachery that had been practised upon himself, and
requested me, if I could get to sea, to go to Aden and remain there till
I heard what became of him and the others on shore. The 22d the general
and all his company set out on their journey for Zenan, attended by a
strong guard of soldiers to prevent their escape. The carpenters,
however, were detained at Mokha, where they wrought in chains on our
pinnace for the pacha; likewise several wounded men, who were unable for
the journey, remained still in chains at Mokha. That same evening,
though the Turks guarded our men very narrowly, Mr Pemberton slipt aside
among the bushes, and made for the sea-side, where he chanced upon a
canoe with a paddle, in which he put off, committing himself to the
danger of the sea, rather than trust to the mercy of the Turks. Through
the fatigue of his long journey, he was forced to give over rowing by
the morning; but it pleased God that the canoe was noticed from the
Trades-increase, and picked up by her pinnace, which brought Mr
Pemberton on board, hardly able to speak through faintness. The 27th,
the Darling, which had been sent to seek me at Aden, returned to the
road of Mokha, having lost an anchor and cable.
On the 2d January, 1611, I departed with all the three ships from Mokha
roads, intending to ply up for Bab-al-Mondub, for three reasons: First,
to ease our ground tackle, which was much decayed through long riding at
anchor in boisterous weather; second, to seek some place where we could
procure water, for which we were now much distressed; and, lastly, to
stop the passage of all the Indian ships entering the Red Sea, by which
to constrain the Turks to release our general with the people and goods.
We stood over in the first place for the Abyssinian coast, where we left
the Darling to look for her anchor and cable, while with the other two
ships we plied to windward, and came to anchor in the evening on the
Arabian coast, about three leagues to windward of Mokha, and about four
miles off shore, in eight fathoms water.
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