All This Time The Ship Was Driving Upon The Lee-Shore; And
When We Got On Board, We Helped To Weigh The Anchor And Make Sail.
Thus,
in a severe storm, we got clear of the straits on the 27th October; and
on the 30th we got to that Penguin Island which is three leagues from
Port Desire, where we purposed to seek relief.
Immediately on coming to
this isle, our boat was sent ashore, and returned laden with birds and
eggs, the men reporting that the penguins were so thick on the isle,
that even ships might be laden with them, as they could not step without
treading on these birds; at which news we greatly rejoiced.
Then the captain appointed Charles Parker and Edmund Smith, with twenty
others, to go on shore, and remain on the island, on purpose to kill and
dry these penguins: promising to send others when the ship was safe in
harbour, not only for expedition, but to save the small store of
victuals that remained in the ship. But Parker and Smith, with the rest
of their faction, remembering that this was the place where they
intended formerly to have slain the captain and master, thought it was
meant here to leave them on shore out of revenge, and refused to land.
After some altercation, these men were allowed to proceed in the ship,
and ten others were left in the island. The last day of October we
entered the harbour of Port Desire. The master, having at our being
there before taken notice of every creek in the river, ran our ship
aground in a very convenient place on the sandy ooze, laying our anchor
out to seawards, and mooring her with the running ropes to stakes on
shore, in which situation the ship remained till our departure.
The 3d November our boat was sent off for Penguin Island, with wood and
water, and as many men as she could carry; but, being deep laden, she
durst not proceed, and returned again the same night. Then Parker,
Smith, Townsend, Purpet, and five others, desired that they might go by
land, and that the boat might fetch them from the shore opposite the
isle, being scarcely a mile across. The captain bid them do as they
thought best, only advised them to carry weapons, as they might meet
with savages; so they accordingly carried calivers, swords, and targets,
departing by land on the 6th November, while the boat went by sea. But
these nine men were never more heard of. On the 11th, when most of our
men were at the island, only the captain, master, and five more
remaining in the ship, there came a great multitude of savages to the
shore beside the ship, throwing dust into the air, leaping and running
about like so many beasts, having vizards on their faces like dogs, or
else their faces actually resembled dogs. We greatly feared they would
have set the ship on fire, for they would suddenly make fire, at which
we were greatly astonished. They came to windward of the ship, and set
the bushes on fire, so that we were enveloped in a very stinking smoke;
but coming within shot of us, we fired at them, and hitting one on the
thigh, they all fled instantly away, and we never heard or saw them
more. Hence we judged that these savages had slain our nine men, who
were the ringleaders of those who would formerly have murdered our
captain and master, with the rest of their friends; so that God
evidently drew just judgment upon them, and we supplicated his divine
Majesty to be merciful to us.
While we lay in this harbour, our captain and master went one day in the
boat to see how far the river could be penetrated, that if need enforced
us, it might be known how far we might proceed by water. They found that
this river was only navigable by the boat for twenty miles. On their
return, the boat was sent to Penguin Island, by which we learnt that the
penguins dried to our entire satisfaction, and were in infinite numbers.
This penguin is shaped like a bird, having stumps only in place of
wings, by which it swims under water as swiftly as any fish. They live
upon smelts, which are found in vast abundance on this coast. In eating,
these penguins seem neither fish nor flesh. They lay large eggs; and the
bird is about as large as two ducks. All the time we remained at Port
Desire, we fared well on penguins and their eggs, young seals, young
gulls, and other birds of which I know not the names, all of which we
had in vast abundance. In this place also we found plenty of an herb
called scurvy-grass, which we eat fried in seal-oil along with eggs,
which so purified the blood, that it entirely removed all kind of
swellings, of which many had died, and restored us all to as perfect
health as when we first left England.
We remained in this harbour till the 22d of December, 1592, in which
time we had dried 20,000 penguins. In this time also the captain, with
the master and I, made some salt, by filling some holes in the rocks
with sea-water, which in six days was changed to salt by evaporation, it
being now Midsummer in this southern hemisphere. Thus did God feed us in
the desert, even as with manna from heaven. The 22d December we departed
from Port Desire for Penguin island, where, with great difficulty, we
got 14,000 of the dried birds on board, during which we had nearly lost
our captain; and had not our master been very expert in the set of the
tides, which ran in many cross directions, we had lost our ship.
We now shaped our course for Brazil, under a regulated allowance of
provisions, so that our victuals might last six months, in which time we
hoped we might get back to England, though our sails were very bad.
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