Mr Coldsea The Master Was The Only
Person Who Preserved A Kind Of Neutrality, Neither Promoting Nor
Opposing Their Designs.
In this distressed emergency, I thought it
lawful, and even necessary, to submit to their demands, and therefore
signed their articles, in conjunction with the rest of my officers.
I now thought to have got them to work on our bark; but, instead of
listening to me, they demanded what little money I had saved belonging
to the owners, with which I was obliged to comply, being 750 dollars in
virgin silver, a silver dish weighing 75 ounces, and 250 dollars in
coin. Even after this I was treated worse than ever, having only the
refuse of the fish allowed me, after they had chosen the best, being
glad, after a hard day's work, to dine upon seal; while Morphew and his
associates feasted on the best fish the sea afforded. They next took the
arms out of my custody, of which hitherto I had taken great care;
because, having only one flint to each musket, and very little
ammunition, I foresaw that we would be undone if this were wasted. I
represented all this to them, yet they squandered away the small
remainder of powder and bullets in killing cats, or any thing else they
could get to fire at. - This is a concise history of our transactions in
the island of Juan Fernandez, from the 24th May to the 15th August,
during which no person could suffer more than I did, or have a more
uncomfortable prospect.
On the 15th of August we were put into great confusion by the sight of a
large ship, on which, before she crossed the bay, I ordered all the
fires to be put out, and the negroes and Indians to be confined, lest
the ship might be becalmed under the land, and any of them should
attempt to swim off to her, as I conceived she might possibly be a
man-of-war come to seek us, having received advice of our shipwreck; yet
I knew, if she discovered what we were about, we should soon have the
whole force of the kingdom of Chili upon us. Our apprehensions were soon
over, as the ship bore away large, and kept at too great a distance to
see any thing of us. On this occasion I got most of our people under
arms, and was glad to see them in some measure obedient to command;
telling them that I was pleased to see their arms in such good order, I
was impertinently answered, that this was for their own sakes. Before
they dispersed, I represented to them the necessity of using their best
endeavour to get our bark afloat, instead of caballing against their
captain, which, in the end, might be very prejudicial to them all; as,
if discovered by the Spaniards, we might expect to be all made slaves in
the mines. I told them we still had a great deal of work to do, and had
never above ten of the most considerate to labour, and seldom above six
or seven; while they knew I was always one of the number, to shew a good
example.
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