Earth, or of Wood; in a Word, we call'd him Our Jack of all Trades,

With thefe I carry'd a Taylor, who had offer'd himfelf to go Paflenger to the East Indies with my Nephew, but afterwards confented to stay on our New Plantation, and prov'd a moft neceffary handy Fellow, as could be defir'd, in many other Bufineffes, befides that of this Trade; for as I ob ferv'd formerly, Neceffity arms us for all Employ

ments.

My Cargo, as near as I can collect, for I have not kept an Account of the Particulars, consisted of a fufficient Quantity of Linnen, and fome thin English Stuffs for cloathing the Spaniards that I expected to find there, and enough of them, as by my Calculation might comfortably fupply them for feven Years; if I remember right, the Materials I carry'd for cloathing them with, Gloves, Hats, Shoes, Stockings, and all fuch Things as they could want for wearing, amounted to above 200 Pounds, including fome Beds, Bedding, and Houfhold-Stuff, particularly Kitchen-Utenfils, with Pots, Kettles, Peuter, Brafs, &c. and near a hundred Pound more in Iron-Work, Nails, Tools of every Kind, Staples, Hooks, Hinges, and every neceffary Thing I could think of.

I carry'd alfo an hundred fpare Arms, Muskets, and Fuzees, befides fome Piftols, a confiderable Quantity of Shot of ali Sizes, and two Pieces of Brafs Cannons and because I knew not what Time, and what Extremities I was providing for, I car

'd an hundred Barrels of Powder, befides Swords, Cutlaffes, and the Iron Part of fome Pikes, and Halberts; fo that in fhort we had a large Maga

zine of all Sorts of Stores; and I made my Nephew carry two fmall Quarter-Deek Guns more than he wanted for his Ship, to leave behind, if their was Occafion; that when we came there, we might build a Fort, and man it against all Sorts of Enemies: And indeed, I at first thought there was Need enough for it all, and much more, if we hop'd to maintain our Poffeffion of the Island, as fhall be feen in the Course of that Story.

I had not fuch bad Luck in this Voyage as I had been used to meet with; and therefore fhall have the lefs Occafion to interrupt the Reader, who perhaps may be impatient to hear how Mat ters went with my Colony; yet fome odd Accidents, cross Winds, and bad Weather happen'd, on this firft fetting out, which made the Voyage longer than I expected it at firft; and I who had never made but one Voyage, (viz.) my first Voyage to Guinea, in which I might be faid to come back again, as the Voyage was at firft defign'd, began to think the fame ill Fate ftill attended me; and that I was born to be never contented with being on Shore, and yet to be always unfortunate at Sea.

Contrary Winds first put us to the Northward, and we were oblig'd to put in at Galway in Ireland, where we lay Wind-bound two and twenty Day's; but we had this Satisfaction with the Difafter, that Provifions where here exceeding cheap, and in the utmoft Plenty; fo that while we lay here, never touch'd the Ship's Stores, but rather added to them; here alfo I took in feveral live Hogs, and two Cows, and Calves, which I refolv'd, if I had a good Paffage, to put on Shore in my Ifland, but we found Occasion to difpofe otherwife of them.

We

We fat out the 5th of February from Ireland and had a very fair Gale of Wind for fome Days, as I remember, it might be about the 20th of Febru ary in the Evening late, when the Mate having the Watch, came into the Round-house, and told us, he saw a Flash of Fire; and heard a Gun fir'd, and while he was telling us of it, a Boy came in, and told us the Boatfwain heard another. This made us all run out upon the Quarter-Deck, where for a while we heard nothing, but in a few Minutes we saw a very great Light, and found that there was fome very terrible Fire at a Diftance; immediately we had Recourfe to our Reckonings, in which we all agreed, that there could be no Land that Way, in which the Fire fhew'd it felf, no not for 500 Leagues, for it appear'd at W. N. W. Upon this we concluded it must be fome Ship on Fire at Sea; and as by our hearing the Noife of Guns juft before, we concluded it could not be far off: We ftood directly towards it, and were presently fatisfy'd we should discover it, because the farther we fail'd, the greater the Light appear'd tho' the Weather being haizy, we could not perceive any Thing but the Light for a while; in about half an Hour's Sailing, the Wind being fair for us, tho' not much of it, and the Weather clearing up a little, we could plainly difcern that it was a great Ship on fire in the Middle of the Sea.

I was most fenfible touch'd with this Difafter tho' not at all acquainted with the Perfons engag 'd in it; I prefently recollected my former Circumftances, and in what Condition I was in, when taken up by the Portugal Captain; and how much

more

more deplorable the Circumstances of the poor Creatures belonging to this Ship muft be, if they had no other Ship in Company with them: Upon this I immediately order'd, that five Guns should be fir'd, one foon after another, that, if poffible, we might give Notice to them, that there was Help for them at hand, and that they might en deavour to fave themselves in their Boat; for tho we could fee the Flame of the Ship, yet they, it being Night, could fee nothing of us.

We lay by fome Time upon this, only driving as the Burning Ship drove, waiting for DayLight, when on a fudden, to our great Terror, tho' we had Reason to expect it, the Ship blew up in the Air; and immediately, that is to fay, in a few Minutes, all the Fire was out, that is to fay, the reft of the Ship funk: This was a terrible, and indeed an afflicting Sight, for the Sake of the poor Men, who I concluded must be either all deftroy'd in the Ship, or be in the utmost Diftrefs in their Boat in the Middle of the Ocean, which at prefent, by Reason it was dark, I could not fee: However, to direct them as well as I could, I caufed Lights to be hang'd out in all the Parts of the Ship where we could, and which we had Lanthorns for, and kept firing Guns all the Night long, letting them know by this, that there was a Ship not far off.

About 8 a Clock in the Morning we discover'd the Ship's Boats by the Help of our Perspective Glaffes, found there were two of them, both throng'd with People, and deep in the Water: We perceiv'd they row'd, the Wind being against them, that they faw our Ship, and did their utmost to make us fee them.

We immediately fpread our Antient to let them know we faw them, and hung a Waft out as a Signal for them to come on Board, and then made more Sail, ftanding directly to them. In little more than half an Hour we came up with them, and in a Word took them all in, being no less than fixty four, Men, Women, and Children, for there were a great many Paflengers.

Upon the whole, we found it was a French Merchant Ship of 300 Ton, homeward bound from Quebeck, in the River of Canada. The Mafter gave us a long Account of the Distress of his Ship, how the Fire began in the Steerage by the Negligence of the Steeriman, but on his crying out for Help, was, as every body thought, entirely put out, when they found that fome Sparks of the first Fire had gotten into fome Part of the Ship, fo difficult to come at, that they could not effectually quench it, till getting in between the Timbers, and within the Ceiling of the Ship, it proceeded into the Hold, and mafter'd all the Skill, and all the Application they were able to exert.

They had no more to do then but to get into their Boats, which to their great Comfort were pretty large, being their Long-Boat, and a great Shalloup, befides a finall Skiff which was of no great Service to them, other than to get fome fresh Water and Provifions into her, after they had fecur'd their Lives from the Fire. They had indeed fmall Hope of their Lives by getting into thefe Boats at that Distance from any Land, only, as they faid well, that they were escap'd from the Fire, and had a Poflibility that fome Ship might happen to be at Sea, and might take them in.

They