ONE Major Gibbons, a Man well known in New England, a Gen­tleman of good Education, good Parts, and of good Conversation, (as the Author hath been credibly inform'd by them that knew him) was bound upon a Voyage to Sea, himself being Super Cargo with such Commodities as those Parts of America affords, after going out from Boston several days, by hard Weather, and contrary Winds, the Ships Company were much distress'd, and by the Continuance of contrary Winds, Provisions now begin [...]o fail them; and O how feeble do Spi­rits grow, when Bread, the staff of Life fails! Now Hunger becomes more dread­ful to them, than the every Moment t [...]reatning Billows of the devouring [Page 2]Ocean; and they that one while fear'd drowning, now fear starving; they are brought to the last meal in the Barrel, and the last oyl in the Cruse, and say, We will Eat this little that is left and dye: And now when they thought they had eaten the last, what conflicts must they needs have within themselves, who knew not where to have another morsel to fortifie their tired and spent Spirits with the constant toil, and hard labour? How they look one upon another, as men already under a Sentence of Death? And by one ano­thers Looks, strike terror to one anothers Hearts; They look on every side, Psal 142. 4, 5. ( as David says) I looked on my right hand, but there was no man that would know me; Refuge failed me, or perished from me. They look downwards, and see nothing but the Belly of destruction opening for them; they look upwards, the onely and last refuge and reme [...]y in this deplorable estate, and out of the depths they cry'd to the Lord.

But tho' they look out of the Ship, as Noah did out of his Ark, upon the waters and send forth the Dove of Prayer, that winged Messenger, to Heaven, yet she brings no. Olive-branch, no Answer; the Waters asswage not, the Winds calm not, they are like the Prophets Servant, when [Page 3]he bids him, 1 Kings 18.43. Go up now and look towards the Sea; and he went up and looked and said, there is nothing; and this strikes them into doleful and dismal La­mentations; out of which Lamentations, at last springs up a tragical and sorrowful Motion. The Motion is that which the Mariners in Jonah's Vessel put in execu­tion, Come let us cast Lots, &c. only with this difference, they cast Lots to find out the Delinquent, and these which of them should die first, to be a Sacrifice for ravenous Hunger to feed upon: Conclu­ding, as he in that case, John 11.50. It is expedient for us that one man should die for the People, and that the whole Ships Company pe­rish not. Life being sweet, Skin for Skin, and all that a Man hath will he give for his Life, they at last bring it, through many a sad debate, to a result, they cast the Lot, the disposing of which is of the Lord; one of the Company is arrested by the Lot; here is the Condemn'd Prisoner: O but where is the Executioner to be found to act his Office upon a poor Innocent? Is it not Death to them now, to think who shall act this bloody part in the Tragedy? But before they fall upon their involuntary Executi­on, Major Gibbons calls them to Prayer, considering, that in the Moment the Lord is often seen, and that many times our Ex­tremity [Page 4]proves God's Opportunity; he also asks the poor Man if he was willing to die; but O what a hard Question is that to Answer! He replies, if it might preserve the rest of the Lives, he could be the more willing; to which he hath this An­swer; All Events are in the hands of God, we must not dispute them; to Prayer they go; and, O sure these Prayers must melt hearts of Adamant! and Behold, while they are at it, God sends a visible Commentary up­on that Scripture, Esa. 58.9. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall Answer; thou shalt Cry, and he shall say here I am: For while they were calling, God was an­swering; there leaps a mighty Fish into the Boat; and as it is said of the Whale that swallowed up Jonah, God prepared a Fish, so the Lord here prepared or pro­vided a Fish, that a poor creature might not be swallowed up: But O what joy was here at such a token for good! it not only at present relieving and refreshing their Hunger, which no Question made them quick Cooks; but when they look'd upon the Finger of God in it, sending it as an answer to Prayer, they conclude it an happy Omen of their Deliverance, and a pledge of approaching Mercy: but alas, it is not long before their Hearts grew faint again, their Countenances pale, [Page 5]their Spirits sink now as low as they were lifted up high; and now the poor Seamen are like their Ship, one while mounted up in hopes to Heaven, and another while they are sunk down again in despair as low as Hell; they know not now of another Cake, another Morsel, they are reduc'd to their former Exigency, which brings them to a resolve to steer in this strait their old course; to Lots they go again the second time, only they have such an Honour for the Providence of God, they will not put him into condemnation, that God hath acquitted; the Lot now falls upon another Person, and O now they re­ceive the old trouble, and intestine Com­bats, how they shall find in their Hearts, to punish one, that never had offended any of them; and while one thinks of it, says he, Alas poor Man, what hath he done to deserve this Sentence? another crys, Will not this Blood cleave to my Conscience another day; tho' I went to this expedition a Prest Soldier? another says, for his part he fees no way but Death, therefore he cannot take away Life, when he sees not any Life can be preserved by it: but they are call'd again to look up­ward, before they put the Knife to the Throat of this Sacrifice, and they remem­ber the last Encouragement to put Life into almost the Dead-mens Prayers; they [Page 6]pray now with a pledge in their Hands, and are ready to tell God, the last time he gave them a Pawn, an Earnest; and O it is not in vain to seek the Lord. For lo, while they are seeking to him, he is send­ing to them; as the Prayers fly to Hea­ven, Mercy is dispatch'd upon the wing from Heaven.

O turn aside, and see this great sight, while they are praying! Behold a second Answer from above! A great Bird lights and fixes her self upon the Mast, which one in the Company espies, and up he goes and there he stands till he took her with his Hand by the wing, and brought her down to the Company; and O what life from the dead is this to them a second time! Sure they will hearken to the voice of the second Sign, if not to the voice of the first; and now that which they hoped by the first Providence (viz.) that it was a fore-runner of their compleat Deli­verance; Now they are by this second con­firm'd in the Faith, and now they begin to think (as I can easily imagine) if God will save them out of this distress, O what manner of Persons they will become! what manner of Lives they will live! what Sacrifices of Thanksgiving they will offer up to God! but while they are thus think­ing they have no visible hopes, but that it [Page 7]must be a third Miracle that brings them out of this their miserable condition; they have the same disappointments upon them still, only now they divert their Hunger all they can, by telling of, and remem­bring the Loaves, (as I may say) their experiences in this extremity of theirs, and comforting themselves, that if they come to a third strait, it would (they ho­ped) be an outlet from their present Mi­sery and Calamity: They are reduc'd the third time to their former course and strait, to cast Lots; and when they were to go to the Heart-aking work, to put him to Death, upon whom the Lot fell, they go to their Old Friend, in a day of Adversity, (to God) by hearty and hum­ble Prayer; And O now they do, as the Prophet's Man at the Sea side, look again and again, but alas Master they cry, there is nothing. Prayer is done, concluded, no­thing appears; O but as the Prophet's Man looked seven times, so says this good Man Major Gibbons, look again, as Jonah, I will look again towards his Holy Temple, (says he to one of the Company) Go up to the top, and see what you can espy; and at last he makes a Sail, (viz.) espies a Ship; this put new life into all their spirits; they bear up with the Vessel, they Man their Boat, they desire, in the manner of [Page 8]perishing humble Suppliants, to board them, which they are admitted; the Ves­sel proves a French Vessel, yea, a French Pirate; Major Gibbons petitions him for a little Bread to sustain their Lives, who had been several days wishing for Death, but could not find it in their extremity; and to take the Ship and Cargo. So sweet is Life, that all that a Man hath will he give for his Life; and now behold, God draws forth to the poor Perishing Men his best Wine at the last, nay, turns the Water of Affliction into the Wine of Consolation. The Commander of the Vessel knows the Major, and replies readily and chearful­ly, Major Gibbons, not one hair of your. Head shall perish, nor any of your Ships Company, if it lie in my power either to supply you, or preserve you. O the Wisdom of God that hath ways we know not of, to relieve in the greatest straits, and cause himself to be seen in the Mount. The Commander of this French Pirate was one that some Years before Major Gibbons had shown signal Kindness to, when his Life was in danger at Boston in New England. Thus the Lord appeared a God hearing Prayers in Extremities, which appearances are not to be forgot­ten in succeeding Generations. O that Men would praise the Lord for his Goodness, [Page 9]and for his wonderful Works to the Children of Men.

Secondly, About the Year 1636. there arising a Storm and Tempest of troubles in the Church of Scotland, five Ministers, eminent for Piety, Learning, and their Honourable success in the Ministry, were so hard born under by a prevailing Party imposing upon their Consciences, that they were forc'd to Embarque themselves for America; three of their Names were Mr. Levinston, Mr. Mackleland, and Mr. Blaire, with two more whom my Au­thor could not call to mind.

These good Men sailed half the Chan­nel over, about 500 Leagues, where they met with great distress of Weather, which broke off the Rudder of their Ship, and occasioned a desperate Leak to spring in her, which expos'd them to imminent dan­ger; but they in this distress endeavour to hang on their Rudder again, but often were they frustrated in their attempt, to a total despair of effecting it. They also laboured with the like unsuccessfulness to find out and stop the Leak; this poor Ships Crew had labour'd also by pumping to keep the Ship above Water, until all their few Hands were feeble, and all their Hearts faint; so that as so many despair­ing Persons of Life, they cease all endea­vours, [Page 10]and yield themselves to Death, ex­pecting every Moment to be Entombed in the Belly of the Devouring Deep; during the time of this their great Di­stress, the Ministers kept on their course, as at other times of Worship, (viz.) the reading of a Chapter in course, and taking observations from it, with Prayers and Preaching, which they did by turns; at the crisis of this deplorable case, it fell to be the Lot of Mr. Mackleland to per­form this Exercise, a Man Austeer in his Life, reserv'd in his Speech, and of great Piety, who was often observ'd to let fall many remarkable Prophetical Expressions of future Events; the Chapter that at that time came to be read in course by him, was the 23 of Exodus, which he had read all along (until he came to the 12th verse) where he made a full stop; the verses run thus;

And Moses besought the Lord his God, and said, Lord, why doth thy Wrath wax hot against thy People, which thou hast brought out of the Land of Egypt with great Power, and a mighty Hand? Wherefore should the Egyptians say, for mischief did he bring them out to slay them in the Mountains, and to con­sume them from the face of the Earth? Turn from thy severe Wrath, and repent of this E­vil against thy People,— upon the reading [Page 11]of these verses over again, he declared to them, the Case which Moses was here in­terceeding for, compared with his Expo­stulation in the 12 verse, did parallel their case, and considering the happy Event of that Argument which Moses used (men­tioned in the 14 verse, which runs thus:) and the Lord repented of the Evil which he thought to do unto his People—he could not but comfortably hope, that they might have the same Effect: Nay he goes fur­ther, and his Spirit was raised into a pe­remptory prediction, that he durst assure them from his great Lord and Master, that not one Hair of his Head shall fall to the ground; after this he went to Prayer, urging God with the same Argument, and then rose up comfortably, assuring his stedfastness in believing the same; he advises the Seamen and the Company in the Ship to refresh themselve by taking some Meat, the long fasling and hard labour having much infeebled them. Then he encouraged them to make ano­ther attempt to fasten the Rudder, with­out which they could not possibly make towards any Point for Shore. He after advised them to clear the Ship, as well as they could, from Water by Pumping, which they did happily effect, the Leak being stopt providentially of it self,— [Page 12]whether it was some noak of a Plank started by the distress of Weather which occasion'd the Leak, and by the surges of the Sea, clapt into the place again, or what it was else could not be known. But however this looks like Life from the Dead to these poor Men, who had received but a little before Sentence of Death in themselves, that they might trust in him who raiseth the Dead. Soon after this, God who had heard in Hea­ven their Tears and Prayers, Commands the Wind to Tack about to the West, and to blow so strong a Gale that they were forc'd to bear up before it, and it continued so long, that it brought them back to the North of Ireland, where they continued some time, altho' but short, they were very instrumental in the Con­verting of many Souls, which seed-plot remains to this Day; and soon after they passed into Scotland. This Relation was given by several Ministers of the North of Ireland: also the Reader may take no­tice, the Author of that Book called the Fulfilling of the Scriptures, page 487. men­tions this remarkable Providence, tho' not so largely, with these two additional, but very considerable circumstances; first, That a poor Seaman was made the in­strument to preserve the same Vessel, by [Page 13]fastening the Rudder, whose Company they had all shun'd, others having given it over. Secondly, Several Passengers being Aboard, who Shipt themselves for America, upon only external accounts, expecting a fat Soyl, and outward advan­tage in that Place, and not as the others upon the account of Conscience, to en­joy the purity of Ordinances; they did all Die upon the Sea save one, being five in Number. And who is so Blind, as can­not see here the out-stretch'd Arm of an Omnipotent God, commanding delive­rance for his poor distressed, persecuted, praying, believing Servants, and also for all them that sailed with them? O who would not Pray at Sea, and trust in him who raises the dead in the saddest of their Extremities and Distress! and speaks forth much of the power and goodness of God, calling upon all to trust in him, let the dangers and straits be never so great.

3. A Vessel of ours about the Year 1636. being at Newfound-Land a Fishing, being somewhat of the latest in the year, until the Ice came in great flakes; and being ready to hoise Sail for their return home, they sent out in the Boat six of the Men to weigh their Anchor; but while they were about it, a sad Providence pre­vents them, a great flake of Ice interposes [Page 14]between them and their Ship, and car­ries them adrift, so that by all means that they and the Ship could use, they could not recover their Vessel again, whereby they were expos'd to an inevitable ruine, neither having Food, nor any other Ac­commodation to keep them warm; they having continued thus three days and three nights, they began to be Hunger­starv'd, and accounting themselves all dead Men, they began to consult one with another what course to take; they at last, tho' with great regret and grief, resolve one of them must die to become Food for the rest; each Person begg'd to have it his Lot to die first, to be freed from that torment that they languished under; so that they were forced to de­termine it by Lot: He upon whom the Lot fell, desir'd to go to one end of the Boat, there to recommend his Soul to God by Prayer, before he dyed; the rest being in a deep Agony upon the appre­hension of shedding the Blood of one of their Comrades: But while they were sat together, lamenting and imploring God's favour to prevent such a fact, ac­cording to that they wish'd and desir'd, the Person separated by Lot for Death, dyed upon the place where he was pray­ing, which in their deplorable Condition [Page 15]occasioned great Joy to the rest, that hereby they were not forced against their Wills to take his Life; so looking upon this as a good Omen, they proceeded to satisfie their Hungers upon the dead Body: The Boat was still a-drift, not frozen up; so that by that time their Food was spent, they were brought ashore many Leagues [...]o the Northward of New-England, where the five landed alive, and the poor Bar­barians did commiserate them, and help them as they could, three of them died with the Distress they had been in, the other two made a shift to get to New-England, and so at last, by a good Hand upon them, came to their Habitations in the West of England, having both lost their Heels with the Extremity of the Cold in the Boat. This Relation my Author had from one of these two Sea-men, with whom he came afterwards a Passenger from Ireland, to whom he shew­ed his Heels so lost.

4. A small Vessel about 45 Tun, the Master's Name Philip Hangare, coming upon the Coast of New-England, they suddenly sprang a Leak and so foundred. There were in this poor miscarrying Ves­sel 18 Seamen and Passengers; 12 of the Men got into the Long-boat, and as that was suddenly brought to their Minds in [Page 16]this Surprise they threw into their Boat also some small matters of Provisions, but they were wholly without Fire: These 12 Men at that time of the Year about Michaelmas, (and as Paul said in his Voy­age, Sailing was become Dangerous) sailed five hundred Leagues, and were to a Mi­racle preserved all that time in this small Boat, five Weeks; but it pleased the Lord, who appears in our straits most, to send them great Relief, by causing some flying Fish to fall into the Boat, which they eat raw, and were unto them more accepta­ble than the greatest Rarities and Dain­ties at another time; God's Providence now proving the Caterer, they catch'd a Shark, and that ravenous Fish that uses to prey upon Men now becomes a Prey to these poor distressed Creatures; but they were glad of Food in the want of Fire, and have an Heat in their Stomachs to eat that raw, and digest at this time what would have made them sick at other times; but alas, another Want they had, was Drink as well as Fire, but they were forced to open the Belly of this Shark, and suck his Blood for Drink; at last, that God who hath a Desire to the Work of his own Hands, gives them Hopes to release them out of this insupportable Misery, by letting them come to a Discovery of [Page 17]Land in the West-Indies; but alas, they were so Weak, that when they came a­shore, one or two of them Dyed; but most of them liv'd to declare the Works of the Lord. This the Author had from one of the 12 that were thus miraculous­ly preserv'd, but since cast away at Sea.

5. Captain Jonas Clark of New-Eng­land, going to Virginia, the Vessel was Cast away in a strange amazing manner, about two hours before day, among the Indians, where the Ship-wrackt Men lay [...]shore in great fear; but three days after [...]hey thought to get their Ship off again; [...]o which end the Master, with some o­ [...]hers, went into the Boat, they came 60 Fathom from the shore, where there a­ [...]ose a great Sea, and broke in upon them; [...]ut the second Sea came and turn'd the Boat up; four Men under Water, all were [...]rowned, but Capt. Clark, who was kept [...]nder water by one of the Men, till his [...]reath was near gone, but then God ap­ [...]ear'd and set him at liberty from him in most Miraculous way, and enabled him [...] swim to the shore; they that were a­ [...]ve now, were in great straits and per­ [...]lexities, not knowing what to do, but [...]et some of their Eyes were up to God; [...]t last they unanimously resolve to Tra­ [...]el, and when they had Travelled one [Page 18]Night, and part of a Day, meeting with many Swamps and thick places, so that all hope fail'd them of going along, so they stood still as (wayfaring Men) asto­nish'd, not knowing what course to take; and tho' before they were afraid of any Indians, now they were glad to pray to the Lord for the sight of an Indian, which in this extremity and perplexity, within half an hour, the Lord was pleased to grant: The Indian was all alone, which was observable also; when they got to him, they asked the way to the English, and they did persuade him by entreaty to go along with them, but within one hours time, he carried them to a Town of the Indians, which did sadly fright and amaze them; but they still looked up to the Lord to help and save them; and at last they got to the English, and so were preserved. This Relation the Author had from Captain Clark's own Hand, a Person of known Godliness and Integrity.

6. The last Providence called to mind a strange and stupendous passage of a Godly Gentlewoman, who in the first breaking forth of the Rebellion in Ireland, was forc'd to fly for her Life, with some other Persons in her Company; especial­ly three Children, one of them upon her Breast: But alas, these poor trembling [Page 19]Travellers had not gone long before they were stripp'd Naked by the Irish, who to admiration spar'd their Lives; but passing on to the foot of a River, others met'em, and would have cast 'em into the River; but this Godly Woman not being dis­may'd, ask'd a little liberty to Pray, and as she lay on frozen ground Naked, she got a little resolution not to go on her own Feet to so unjust a Death; upon which having call'd her, upon her reso­lution, they drag'd her by the Heels a­long the ground, with the rest of the Company; she turns upon them, and on her Knees says, You should I am sure be Christians, and Men I see you are; in taking away our miserable Lives, you do us a plea­sure; but know, as we never wronged you, nor yours, you must die also your selves, and one day give an account of this Cruelty to the Judge of Heaven and Earth. Suddenly up­on which, an Irish Priest says, Let us not take their Lives, but we will put them in this Island of the Lake; a Boat being at the River, all the eight Naked, and without Meat, are turn'd into that Island, where after four days staying, some of the Com­pany dy'd with Hunger and Cold, but not this Woman, nor any of her Chil­dren; a day after, the two Boys found the Hyde of a Beast which had been [Page 20]kill'd at the Root of a Tree, which they and the Mother endeavour'd to cast ove [...] them; then lying upon the Snow, the next day a little Boat goes by, to whom she calls for God's sake to take her out but they refus'd, being Irish; she desir'd a little Bread, but they had none; she beg [...] a Coal of Fire, which she obtain'd, fo [...] they had some Fewel in the Boat, an [...] thus with some fallen Chips, made a Fire; and the Boys taking a piece of the Hide, laid it upon the Coals, and bega [...] to gnaw the Leather; but alas, withou [...] an extraordinary Divine support, wha [...] could this do? Thus they liv'd ten day [...] without any visible supplies, and tha [...] good Woman profest it was by Faith and Joy in God she liv'd; nor had she any Bread but Ice and Snow, nor any Drink but Water, but she thought God put more substance in it, and found it as it were clammy. The next day a Boa [...] carried her out to the side of the Band­water, where yet she had been lost, bu [...] that she could not suffer to see her Chil­dren Die in her sight; and therefore (tho [...] the two Boys were young, and so Starv'd, that they had no strength) she pressed them to go out of her sight, under pre­tence of seeking some Fire; the poo [...] Children had not gone far until they saw [Page 21]2 or 3 great Dogs eating a Man who had been kill'd; the Children were not afraid of the Dogs, (who needed not fear any thing but to live in such a Condition) and one of them came running, and leaped upon one of the Children, with­out doing him the least hurt, and would run a little before, and then tarry until the Children came up, and so led them on to an House whence Smoak appear'd, which was an Irish Man's, Protected by the English in Antrum, by which means they were marvellously preserv'd, and the Mother sent for, and succour'd by a par­ty from Antrum. Altho' this Providence be not a Sea-Deliverance, yet it is a re­markable preservation from Danger by Water, and Hunger by Land.

7. In the first setling of the Bahama Islands off of the Cape of Florida, about the Year 1642. there were at that present great troubles in the Burmudas, one Cap­tain Sale, who had been Governour the Year before, comes for London, and here informing some of his Acquaintance, and Persons of Worth and Estate, how things then stood, they undertake for him, and got him a Ship, and all things necessary for the discovery of these Islands which he had inform'd them of, so they proceeded to Burmudas, where they took [Page 22]in several Passengers, Capt. Sale being Chief, and Capt. Lane and his Family, who came from London with him as his Assistant in the management of the Design; so they, in pursuit of the Voy­age, came to an Island call'd Cicatra, he lay down in the Platts, where they could not at present find an Harbour. So they sent out their Shallop upon a Discovery, which upon Return, inform'd them of a better place to Ride in.—But sending out the Shallop again upon a Discovery, before she Return'd, there arose a dread­ful Storm, that carried her immediately upon the Rocks, and stav'd her, with ve­ry much difficulty most of the People were sav'd, and some Provisions. Then were they Reduc'd to very great straits formidable to Flesh and Blood, a Barren Island, no Inhabitants, no likelihood of Relief, little Provisions left; in this great strait most of them resolv'd to Travel up to the Western end of the Island, and there to abide. Capt. Lane and his Family, and Son, who was Lieutenant, resolv'd to seek for some kind of Provisions, and so staid on the Island. But Captain Sale and one Mr. Bounly, who had been Master of the Ship, and some other Seamen, and one Mr. Shadwel, in all eight, resolv'd to go [Page 23]to Virginia, and took what Provisions they could get, which was one Shark; but before they made to the Land, they were in very great want; for from this Island from whence they departed to Virginia, was 300 Leagues: In their now great Extremity, Providence car'd for them, so that they got another Shark, and were glad to eat him Raw. They were 11 days going to Virginia, and the Boat a very little one, that they could scarcely Steer in her for fear of Danger. Yet the Lord, in this deep Destress, made his Arm bare for their Salvation, and brought them safe to a place call'd Nuse­mum, to one Mr. Rich. Brunkets House, where they were courteously Entertain­ed; and after the Relation upon what account they were put to these Hard­ships and Necessities, Capt. Sale had a Vessel provided Laden with Necessaries, to go for Cicatra, to relieve those they had left there in such Distress, and they arrived there. And O now what Com­fort must this be, after such long Wish­ing and gradual Dying, to see that there was no Hopes of Life brought to them; but several of them were starv'd to Death before their arrival. Capt. Lane is now sent to fetch some Provisions, who had been in unspeakable Extremity. He [Page 24]came down in a little Boat, his Son also, the Lieutenant, and two Servants, but when they had gotten in their Provisi­on, and going home in hopes of a new Life; Behold, the stupendous Provi­dence of God, all of a sudden Death creeps in and arrests them. For in a narrow place where the Tyde runs swiftly, the Boat is sunk, all are drown'd but one Man, who carried the desolate Widow the sad Tydings! What an un­welcome Messenger this was you may may easily conjecture; about 3 Months after, arrived a Vessel to them (the Ma­ster of her my Author,) and so Mrs. Lane, her Son and Daughter, Maid-servant and Man-servant, were all brought up a­bout 40 Miles, where they were Enter­tain'd by my Author for 6 Weeks, and gave an account of some notable Passa­ges of God's Providence in preserving them. Worthy never to be forgotten! Her Husband and the Men went out to see what they could get for Food every Day, and they had for the most part just for the Day, and she told my Author, that she as a tender-hearted Mother, would lay something by for her young Children; but she observ'd, that the next Day they never got any thing.

[Page 25]And thus Providence train'd them up in the School of Faith; but further she gave an account of one remarkable thing. In the last day of the week, upon a time it prov'd a very stormy Day, and they being abroad a hunting for some support, could get nothing. The Husband and Son come home very much troubled, and the Men that were gone into the Woods they could get nothing; and they being very much troubled, one took up a Resolution not to come home, know­ing there Captain would not suffer them to go and hunt on the Lord's-Day; on the other hand they thought he would wonder what was become of them, and fear lest evil had befallen them; so they alter their Resolution to come home, but empty of Relief; this very Evening before the Sabbath in this perplexity of thoughts, there fly over their Heads three gray Geese; a wonder it was, for such Geese were never before seen there nor after. O says she to her Husband, that we had some of them, against to mor­row! observing they lighted in a Bottom, she acquaints her Husband, he says they have no shot left. O says she, here is a Porrenger, melt it or cut it into peices, which he did for expedition, and charg'd his Peice, and at the first shot kill'd them [Page 26]all.—These things, and many more my Author had from her own Mouth, after her marvellous Preservation. O that Men would Praise the Lord, for his wonderful Works to the Children of Men!

8. We have a very wonderful Delive­rance recorded, an honest poor Man in Maulden in Essex, one Gregory Crow, who with his Man and Boy, was in his Boat going to fetch Fullers-Earth; but by the way meeting a Storm his Boot was driven upon a bank of sand, and there sunk; The Men were glad to hang upon the Mast, but poor Crow seeing his New-Testament in the water, which he priz'd highly, caught it up, and took it into his Bosom; the tyde being gone, they were left upon the Sand, at least ten Miles from Land; now in this great Distress they made their prayers to the Lord, that he would send some means of Deliverance. For now within half an hour it would be Flood, but in this little time before Flood, they found a Chest wherein was five pounds six Shillings eight pence, but honest Crow cast it into the Sea again saying, If the Lord will be pleas'd to save our lives he will provide us a little food; and so they went again up to the Mast, where they to Admiration hung by the Arms and Leggs for ten hours together, only the [Page 27]Boy was so weary, and beaten with the Waves that he fell off, and was drowned; now their fears increased upon them, and they knew not what to do. But Crow advises his Man to cut down the Mast, and when the Flood comes again, to sit upon it, and so, says he, it may please God to drive us to some Ship; this Counsel was taken, they commit them­selves to God upon the Mast, and thus continu'd Tuesday Night Wednesday and Wednesday Night; in which time the man was so tir'd out with Hunger, Watching, and Cold, that he dyed; now was Crow left alone in this sad and deplorable Con­dition, he pray'd now the more earnestly for some Succour and Relief, but durst not Sleep, lest the Sea should beat him off the Mast, and when this distress'd mi­serable object was almost spent, his flesh sodden with Sea water, and his Eyes al­most clos'd up with Salt, now in his Ex­tremity the Lord makes it his oppor­tunity, and steps in by his Providence, presents a Ship going for Antwerp: (ob­serve here the Finger of God:) The wind not being favourable she was driven out of the way, and espyed something a far off in the Sea, but supposing it to be some Fisher-boy steer'd from it. Crow seeing this, held up his Cap and shaked [Page 28]it over his head, whereby at length they were mov'd to go to him, and so they took him in; when he came into the Ship, being half dead, careful of his New-Testament, he pluckt it out of his Bosom and gave it to some to dry. They in the Ship were careful of him, and with great difficulty recover'd him, and carry'd him with them to Antwerp, where the fame of his being miraculously deliver'd, drew many to see him, and relieve him with necessaries. Fox's Book of Martyrs.

9. A Ship of Holland being driven a­gainst her will, came to a Place call'd Zembla, where the Pole is elevated 76 degrees; they among many delays, and great dangers, scarce reach'd the Aurange Islands; for now they were set fast in a Consolidated body of con­tinu'd Ice, which threaten'd them every moment; at last being reduc'd to their ultimate hope, they resolve to return the same way they came, but now they find the Ship quite frozen up, not far from shore, and now they think they should winter in Zembla and wait for a better Season, wherefore taking out Boards and Planks, they built for themselves, and their Stuff, a poor shelter, and by a good Providence, the Tide bad thrown up a good quantity of Timber, they not [Page 29]knowing from whence it came, it prov'd a great advantage to them during their abode; here they had continual fights with Bears, which sometimes were driven away with making great out-crys, other whiles with Shot; they found their flesh unwholesome for food. (For in this place the Maritime wild Beasts, are the food to the wild Beast of the Land) the fat of the Bears they made use of to burn for lights in the night; these poor crea­tures were at last, after all other Humane Benefits, left by the Sun, in this Barren Country, and left amongst none but wild Beasts: The vast Mountains of Snow, with great difficulty they re­move, lest the Habitation should be over­whelm'd, and if at any time they went forth, their jaws were so benum'd they could scarce recover their former heat; now the Bears in the Dark, being dull of sight did not venture out to disturb them, but multitudes of Foxes, which they took in Traps, and made of them both Victuals and Rayment; and yet after all these dangers and difficulties God pre­served them, though indeed some of them dyed, they were 12 of them: The chief of them was one Jacob Hamskerk, who returned afterwards to Amsterdam. Grotius in his Annals.

10. In the Year 1616, a Flemming named Pickman, well known in England and Holland, for the art he had for get­ting out of the Sea the great Guns of that Spanish Fleet that was forced upon the Coast of Ireland and Scotland, in the Year 1588, coming from Dronthem in Norway, laden with Boards, was over­taken by a Calm, during which, the current of the Sea carryed him on a Rock or a little Island towards the ex­tremity of Scotland, where he was in some danger of being cast away; to a­void a wrack, he commanded some of his Men to go into the Shallop, and to tow off the Ship: these having done so, would needs go upon a certain Rock to seek for Eggs, but as soon as they were got up into it, they espy'd a man, whence they imagine there were others lay there about, and that he had made an Escape thither to avoid some Pirats which might Surprize their Ship, so that they made all the haste they could to the Shallop, and return'd to the Ship; but the Calm con­tinuing, and the current of the Sea driv­ing the Vessel against the Island, they were forc'd to get into the Long-boat and Tow her off again; the Man they saw before, was in the mean time come to the brink of the Island, and made signs [Page 31]to them with his hands, entreating them to come nearer; and falling on his Knees, and joyning his Hands together, he beg'd Relief from them; at last com­ing near the Island, they saw some­thing more like a Ghost than a living Person, a body stark Naked, black, hairy, of a meager and deform'd Countenance hollow and distorted Eyes, which rais'd such Compassion in them, that they pro­fer'd to take him into their Boat; at last with some difficulty they took him in; they found upon the Island no Grass nor Trees, nothing for Food, nor any shelter, but the ruins of a boat, wherewith he had made him an Hut, under which he might be cover'd from Rain and injuries of the Weather; when they came to ask him who he was, and how he came into that un-inhabited place, he reply'd to them he was an English Man, and that a year before he was to go from England to Dublin in Ireland in the Passage-Boat, and that they were taken by a French-Pyrate, who by a Storm that immediately arose, was forc'd to let go the Passage-Boat, left us to the mercy of the Waves, which carryed us between Ireland and Scotland, into the main Sea, expecting to be cast away every minute, as at last we were: For the Bark being split against [Page 32]the Rock, where you took me in, I esca­ped with one of my Comrades into the I­sland, in a more wretched Condition than if swallow'd up by the Sea, who then had been deliver'd out of the Extremities we were in for want of Meat and Drink; of some of the Boards of our Boat we made the Hutt you saw, and we took some Sea­mews which we set a drying in the Wind and Sun, and so eat them raw; we found also in the Crevices of the Rock, by the Sea side, some Eggs: Thus were we kept from starving; but what we thought most insupportable, was Thirst; for there was no Water but what fell from Heaven; we liv'd thus six Weeks comforting one another, and finding some Ease in our common Misfortune, till that being left a­lone, it began to grow insupportable to me; for one Day, awaking in the Morn­ing and missing my Comrade, I fell into such a Despair, that I had some thought of casting my self head long, and so put a final Period to that Affliction, whereof I had but endur'd the one half while I had a Friend suffering with me: I know not what became of him, but I am of O­pinion that he fell into the Sea, seeking for Eggs; I left with him my Knife, with which we kill'd the Sea-Dogs and the Mews upon which we lived; so I was [Page 33]forc'd to get out of my Hutt a great Nail, which I made a shift to sharpen upon the Rock, that it serv'd me for a Knife: I was also forc'd to lade a little Stick with a little Sea-dog Fat, and put it out of a Crevice of my Hutt, and so got some Mews to keep me from starving: I liv'd in this Condition and Solitude Eleven Months, and was resolv'd to end my days in it, when God sent you to deliver me out of the greatest Misery that ever Man was in; and this Seaman after this Mise­ry and miraculous Preservation, liv'd to return to England. Ambassadors Travels.

A Remarkable Providence of God in wonder­fully preserving of Eleven or Thirteen poor distressed Mens Lives.

11. In the Year 68. a Ketch sailed from Salom in New England for the Barbadoes; and when they came into the Latitude of 35. it began to look like foul Weather, so they took in their Top-sail, and because it was towards Night, they struck down the Main Sail, and rased it; and all this time there was but little Wind (which was Remarkable, if the ensuing Story be observ'd) but still it looked like bad Wea­ther; so they sent up one to tallow the Mast, and made no great haste to set sail; the Man at the top thinks he sees some [Page 34]black thing float upon the Sea, and look­ing upon it very fixtly, he conceives it to be a Boat, and so calls to the Men below, so they hastned to hoise Sail and make to­wards it; and when they came to them, there was a Long-boat with 11 or 13 Men, (my Author could not absolutely remember the just Number) which poor distressed Creatures had been bound for Virginia; and the Ship in which they were, prov'd very Leaky, and so exceedingly increas'd, that in a very little time she was ready to sink; so all Hands hasten'd to get out the Boat, but the Master stept into the Cabin to fetch a Compass, and took some Canvas, a Sail-needle and Twine, which he thought might be use­ful to them in their Need and Extremity; but while this poor industrious Man was endeavouring to be useful to some other Mens Lives, he was in danger to lose his own; for the Boat was put off and the Ship was sinking, so he crys to them in this Di­stress, if they would leave him, and there let him perish; so they came back and took him in; they had in their Boat a Capstern-Bar, which they made use of for a Mast, and a piece of Canvas for a Sail, and so sailed afore the Wind, and had no kind of Food; and now comes dreadful and inexpressible Distress upon them making them wish for [Page 35]Death it self to give them a Deliverance, now all Hopes of Relief fail'd them; thus they continu'd five Days, some grew Lame, others Feeble, and all much Dis­hearten'd by Despair of Life; and now upon the 6th Day they had concluded to cast Lots for their Lives who should die to preserve others; and they put their Resolution into Execution, and that poor Creature upon whom the Lot fell, begs for Time; but alas, what will a Reprieve be in this Case, where there is no hope of Relief; but O what difficult Work is it to die? what a strait was here? Live he could not, and die he could not; well, a little time is defer'd, and behold a Won­der-working God appears now for him and for them all; before Night they e­spy'd this Ketch, which rais'd them all to Admiration; but they had Fears in this Distress that the Ketch did not see them; but when they perceiv'd the Ketch made to them, O what a new Life did it put into these dying Men; so they all got safe aboard: And see here the Goodness of God: In one Hour after there arose a most dreadful Storm which continu'd for forty Hours, and all of them safely arriv'd at Barbadoes.

The Master's Name of the Ketch was Thomas Woodberry of Salom. This the Au­thor [Page 36]had from a very known Person of In­tegrity and Godliness, now living at Salom.

12. In the Year 1606. in the Wars be­twixt the Netherlands and the Spaniards, upon the Spanish Ocean, fell out this ob­servable and remarkable Action, taken notice of by Grotius, in his Annnals of the Low-Country Wars. Admiral Hauteen being sent to intercept the Spanish Fleet, coming from America and the Indies, he had with him four and twenty Vessels; but of these, six were beaten back by Tempests; soon after Frasciardo, with eight great Gallions, having a prospe­rous Gale, fell upon them unprovided, and e're they were aware; but the Gal­leys that were with him not being driven by the Wind, kept by the Shore; but one of them being grappl'd with a Ship of Zealand, that was next the Admiral, so affrighted the rest, that as soon as they saw it, they in the very beginning of the Night, retreated with all haste. Hauteen thus left by his Companions, being a Man of an undaunted Spirit, for two whole Days did not leave off the Fight, though most of his Men were in that time lost; but with his torn Ship casting off all fear of Danger, protracted the Victory; but after he saw no hopes of Relief, and that the Waves pour'd in upon him, that none [Page 37]of them might come alive into the Ene­mies Hands; at once they unanimously agreed upon a resolute and terrible Acti­on: For kneeling down upon their Knees, they like dying but desperate Men, beg of God, that he would please to pardon them in that they sought to shun the Mockeries and Cruelties of the Spani­ards, by that sad and lamentable Death; so they set Fire to the Gunpowder, by which Blow 60 Men were kill'd, 2 half dead lived a little while, being taken up by the Spaniards, with Wonder beholding their dreadful Countenances, and their Words, with their strange Re­solution and Obstinacy in Death.

13. In the Year 1607. about the time when the Plantations of Virginia be­gan to be a little settled by King James, some Britains went to Guyana, but a dan­gerous Sedition arose in the Voyage, and the Ship being lost, part of the Company remained in the Island, where continual­ly vexing the Barbarians with their un­kind Usage, they at last were set upon by War as Enemies; by force of which, and the want of Victuals, they commit­ted themselves to Sea in a Boat made on­ly of an hollow Tree; there these poor distressed Creatures were tossed with con­tinual Tempests betwixt Despair and [Page 38]Hope of Life; but at last they were dri­ven upon the Rocks, after great Misery endured by them in their little Boat for ten Days together; and now their Dan­ger was lessen'd, for here they must fall into the Hands of the Spaniard, who par­don'd them, in regard they came not to those Parts of their own accord, but by the stress of Weather. Thus were these poor distressed Men saved and preserved, when all Hope of being saved was taken away.

14. The Phaenix Frigot, in the time when Captain Whestone commanded her, and Mr. May was Master, being com­manded to carry some Persons of Quality from Rye to Diep in France; the Captain and several of the Gentlemen that be­longed to the Frigot were ashore; the Captain sends the Long-boat aboard, and order'd the Frigot to weigh and come to sail, and stand to and fro off in the Bay, and he would come out in his Pinnace the Gentlemen that were with him, were Sunebank Giles his Chirurgion, Mr. Good­win his Chaplain, Mr. Perkins his Barber and Gentleman, Mr. Richards, and some three more Gentlemen Reformadoes, A­braham Car Coxswain, and about 12 Sea-men for his Crew that set out of Rye, and crossed the Bay to meet the Frigot un­der [Page 39]Sail; and when they came near, be­ [...]ng a good way a-head, waved to the Frigot to keep her way, and not to come [...] playse for her, which she did with a [...]resh Top sail Gale of Wind, till she came [...]p with the Pinnace, and then the Cox­ [...]n would [...]-laid her aboard of the Lar­ [...]ord side; but the Captain supposing himself far enough a-head, commanded [...]im to sh [...] a-head of her, and lay her [...]board of the Starboard-side, which he as­suming to do, the Ship giving a saw and having fresh way, the Pinnace was not past, but the Cotwater of the Ship cut [...]he Pinnace in the middle and run right over, that she lay in a moment of time [...]n a hundred pieces, and all the Men floating for their Lives; in the interim of which time, with a Cry, they gave a [...]eap, in which leap, the Captain catcht [...]old on the Rails of the Head, Mr. Ri­ [...]hards's on the Captain's Heels, Mr. Giles [...]he Chirurgion on Richards's Heels, Mr. Goodwin on Giles's Heels, and some other Person on his; so that with that Spring [...]r Leap, no less than 4 or 5 providenti­ally catcht about one the others Heels or Middle, as Boys when playing at Truss; [...]nd in hoisting in the Captain they pre­ [...]erved 4 or 5 more with him; the Cox­ [...]en sunk down and brought some of the [Page 40]Tallow of the Lower part of the Ship on his Cloaths, and came up again a [...] the Stern, where he was taken up by the Seamen; some by Swimming others by assistance of the Oar, and pieces of the Boat, by God's blessing kept them from Drowning, till the Long-boat took them all up, except the Captain's Barber Mr. Perkins, whom it seems had sunk, it's thought his last time; but Providence so order'd it, that the Man in the main Channel, heaving the Hand-Lead, there fell a chrockle in the dipsey-Line, and in that very interim, the Lead fell in the very place where the Barber was sunk, and the chinckle of the Line fell about the Barbers Fingers, hitcht about his Ring, and so providentially fasten'd it self, so that as the Man in the Scenes haling up his Lead, found it to come heavier than it used to do; admiring, at last up come the Barber fasten'd in the chinckle by his Ring, which the Spectators amazed at, immediately took hold of him, and pulled him into the Frigot, with his Eyes fixed, and Teeth set, and little appearance of Life; but by the blessing of God, the im­mediate means us'd, and care of him, he soon came to himself, and recover'd; so that notwithstanding this shrewd disa­ster, [Page 41]which might have proved fatal to [...]ll, or most of them, yet there was not one Man of them all miscarried, but was [...]ecover'd to their Health again, as Mo­ [...]uments of God's Mercy. For truth of his, many of the Men are alive at this Day; the Chirurgion now living in Grays-Inn-Lane; and at the very interim [...]f time, I was then aboard the said Frigot, [...]nd was not only an Eye-spectator, but [...]n Instrument to help in preserving of [...]ome of them, and therefore may Aver [...] to be Truth.

15. About 10 Years ago, in the Island [...]f Barbadoes, there did arrive one Mr. John Blackleach (from New England) a [...]ery honest Man, who gave account, [...]at in his then Voyage, his Son being Master of the Vessel, and himself Mer­ [...]hant, their Men at Sea did Mutiny, at which occasion he and his Son were [...]rc'd to stand on their Guard for some me, casting his care on the Lord: But [...]hilst under this trouble, being in the [...]ong Reach, in or near the Latitude of [...]arbadoes, they all did see a great Ship [...]hich stood towards them; and while [...]ey were Looking on her, to see how [...]st she came towards them (she being [...]etty near) vanish'd away, which struck [...]e Men with great Fear, and made [Page 42]them humble themselves to the good Old Man, and desir'd his Prayers for them.

16. In the Month of Novemb. 1669. the Ship Prosperous of Bristol, sailed from thence, being bound for Galloway in Ire­land, but was forced into Bruts-Bay in Cornwall, where the Ship brake in pieces, six Persons being Drowned, and other wonderfully cast on Shore and bruised; amongst the rest John Denny (a Skinne [...] of Bristol) was cast ashore by a Great Sea, being much Bruised and almost Dead; and was by some strip'd Naked, and laid amongst the other Dead Folks that were taken up, being only cover'd with some Straw or Rubbish. But by Providence, an old Man looking on the Dead People, did perceive some Life in the said Denny, and the Lord open'd his Heart, that he strip'd himself of his own Shirt and some Cloaths, and put on him, and tock him from among the Dead: Thro' his La­bour and Love, by God's Blessing, the said Denny is now well, and liveth at Bristol. This my Author had from John Denny's own Mouth.

17. In the Year 1671. I being at Be­ston in New England, I oft went to see an Acquaintance of mine, one Abraham Darby, a sober honest Man, a Master of [Page 43]a Vessel, who relates the following Sto­ry, which he attests to be Truth. That some few Years ago, he the said Darby being Master of a small Ketch, was [...]ound from Barbadoes to Virginia, he having an Irish Woman, a Servant, on Board, to be Deliver'd in Virginia, but he was a vile Person, and having often offended, at last was punish'd, for which [...]he said they should not carry her to Vir­ginia, tho' the Wind was very fair, and carried them in sounding of the Capes of Virginia: That they had bent one Cable to the Anchor, thinking soon to got in; [...]ut she still said they should not: Then [...]he Wind sprang up of a sudden, in a meer fret, which for [...]'d them many Days off, and their Provisions near spent (it being, if I mistake not, in [...]) then [...]he Wind came fair again, a from Gal [...], and they before it, in hopes to gain their Passage; but on a sudden there [...] a great Sea that cas [...] the Vessel on [...] she having but little besides. B [...] [...] [...]er) that her Goods and things [...]. But it pleased God they [...] he Helm a Weather, and she wo [...]e, and [...]ll Hands as could in the Hold brought [...]er to rights, and the Wind continued [...]air till they came near the place that it [...]ook them short before, and then took [Page 44]them as before, that they were forc'd off again for many Days, having then but 2 or 3 pieces of Beef, and no Bread, nor (I think) a Gallon of fresh Water: But after some time the Wind came fair, they making Sail to get back, it being fine Weather, there came a great Sea and laid her down again, and carried her Mast away, and a part of the Part­ners that hold the Mast, that as she lay on one side, the Sea rush'd into her; but the Master with his Bed and Rug stopt the force, till it pleased God they had shifted the things in the Hold and brought her to rights again, (now these poor Souls were left as a Wrack in the Ocean, and neither Victuals nor Drink, but strong Water and Sugar, to help them) but finding a Spar or Oars, in the Hold, made shift to get out a small Sail (I had like to have omitted, that whilst they had any Food, they would have given this wicked Woman a part, but she would not Eat any thing) then it pleased God to send a fine Gale, and they got on the Coast of New-England, and sounding, found about forty Fathom Water, and very calm; then they chopt to an Anchor there, and that Night got two or three Fish, wherewith they Re­freshed themselves (but the Woman [Page 45]would not Eat) but could get no more; and finding a fine Gale, weighed Anchor, and thought to have got within Cape-God, not being far off; but the Wind came fresh against them, and drove them off again to Sea, and then 'twas Calm; and about that time the Woman had fasted about 21 Days, and yet could Curse and Damn, and say, She should not go a Shoar; but that Night the Master and some others being on the Deck, spied a great black Thing rise out of the Sea, to their thinking, much bigger than the Ketch, the Sea being Light all about, and the Woman in the Hold made a great Noise, and when she had given a great Screach, or Groan, this great black Thing Vanish'd, the Water seeming like Fire all round, and made a great Sea and Noise: And when the Men came to themselves, they looking for the Woman, found her Dead; but after they had flung her over­board, they had a brave Wind and Wea­ther, and got safe to Plimonth in New-England.

18. At New-England in the Year 1671. I spoke with John Grafting of Salem, and others of good Repute, who told me, not long before the said Grafting suffer'd Ship­wrack amongst the Leward Islands, (the Name of the Place I forget) the Ship [Page 46]or Ketch being broken to pieces, himself and Mate, and one or two were cast with the Sea ashoar amongst the Rocks most wonderfully, not knowing of each other, till by Providence they met amongst the Rocks, it being an Island without Inha­bitants (if I mistake not) and they brui­sed; yet the Lord provided for them in a wonderful manner, and not only there, but in their getting off that place, and bringing them safe to their Friends and Relations in Salem in New England; where Praises were returned to the Lord, who wonderfully preserves the Children of Men. I hope this ere long will be en­larged from the Party himself.

[...]9. I being well Acquainted with one Jeffery Howard a Mariner, who is a Man of good Repute, he told me as follow­eth; That about 12 or 14 Years since, he was coming through the City of Sa­lisbury, he was looking on the Street Ri­vers, and spies something move on the Water; but looking earnestly, saw it to have Lise, steps in and got it out, and found it to be a Man-child, only inrapt as it came into the World from its Mo­ther, and it was put to Nurse, and now is become a fine Youth.

20. At Bristol, a place well known, not many Years ago, a Man fell into the [Page 47]River, near about the Marsh, and not be­ing seen, was carry'd down with the Tide some way; and, I think, could not swim, but lay as Dead on the Water, driving with the Tide; but by providence, some being in the Meadow going to Work, or coming from the Lymekilns, being by the Water-side Playing with a Spaniel, saw something floating, flung in things to make the Dog fetch it; and the Dog accordingly took hold of the Man by the Cloaths, and brought him a shoar; and finding some Symptoms of Life, took care of him; and he came to Life, and dwells in New Bristol. This I had from the Spectators.

21. In the Year 1671, one Mr. Savage, Master of the Society-Ketch, bound from Bristol to Boston in New England, met on the Coast of N. E. the Ship call'd the George of Bristol, being in distress, spake with them; the Ship having sprang a Leak, their Men tired and spent with Pumping; the Master and all his Com­pany went on Board the Ketch with speed, and soon after the Ship sunk. This I had from Mr. Savage and other Pas­sengers with him, who affirm'd it to be truth,

22. Capt. John Trankmore, Comman­der of a Ship belonging to Apsom, near [Page 48] Exeter; in one of his Voyages of late Years, being at Sea in a dark Night, and foul Weather, fell soul of another Ship unexpectedly, not then knowing what each other were, but a Sea parting them again; in the interim Cap. Trankmore's Ship, Shipt a great Sea, which washed the said Trankmore Over-board; and ano­ther Sea cast or hove him into the other Ship, which fell out to be an English-Man, bound for Plimouth: Thus in the dark, the Wind and Sea parts the said Ship, without having knowledge of each other, Capt. Trankmore concluding that his own Ship was Foundred, and all his Lost, and God had wrought a won­der of Mercy in his Preservation; but so it fell out, that one Samuel Snytal, who was his Apprentice, had obtain'd such Knowledge of the Art of Navigation, and his Master being gone, and as they sup­pos'd Drown'd, being wash'd Over­board, was necessitated to improve his skill, and by God's Blessing, he carry'd the Ship safe home to Apsom, where Ar­riving, although they had made a good Voyage, yet the sorrow for the loss of the Master, eat up all the Comforts and Smiles a Prosperous Voyage otherwise would have made; but so Providence order'd it, that about 3 or 4 Days after, [Page 49]the other Ship Arrives safe in Plimouth; where the said Trankmore landed, very sorrowful and dejected, having (as he suppos'd) lost his Ship (wherein he was deeply concern'd as an Adventurer him­self) and all his Men; as he was in the Morning walking on the Hope at Pli­mouth very dejectedly, he providentially meets with one of his Executors, or Apsom Neighbours, who looks him in the Face with Astonishment, knowing him well, and yet believing the Report of his being Dead, or lost, in amaze Sa­lutes him with these Expressions; What Capt. Trankmore? who replies, A poor Captain; having lost my Ship richly Laden, and after a good Voyage, with all my Men, not a Soul saved but my self, whom, by a Miracle God wrought Salvation for, (as be­fore Recited) giving the Gentleman, his Neighbour an account of his Providence towards him; when after a little pause, his Friend embraces him, and with ad­miring of the Providence, bids him be of good Heart, for his Ship and all his Company was well and safe Arriv'd at Apsom; for his Man Samuel Snytal had brought her safe home, and all the Sorrow and Cry there, was for the loss of him. Which reply, made the said Trankmore in as much a­maze on the other hand, being almost [Page 50]Incredulous of Truth, till his Friend positively affirming it, and then consult­ing his own Mercy, saw, and was made sensible, there was no Mercy too great for God to Work, and thence took heart, recovering himself, went home rejoicing, where he found his expectation answer­ed, and a welcome given him by all Persons with him concern'd.

For the truth, I have heard it acknow­ledg'd by Capt. Trankmore's own Mouth at my House in Bristol; and farther, the same Snytal was my Predecessor's Son, and I have heard his Mother-in-law speak of it to seve­ral, and hath affirm'd it to me for a Truth.

23. The Bristol Frigot, when Capt. Fenn was Commander, being in the Straits in Chace of Capt. Popoctiene, a Spanish Knight of Malta, who at that time our Squadron took and brought Prisoner to the Tower; in pursuit of which Chace, the Wind began to rise, the Capt. Com­mands presently to get Top-gallant Sails abroad; and the Yards being not then Aloft, 3 Men run up presently, where one stood on the top of the Shroud un­der the Main-top-mast-cross-trees, a se­cond stood a top of the Cross-trees and the other stood by the Top-gallant-mast on the Cape, at the Main-top-mast-head; all expediting their Work in getting the [Page 51]Top-gallant-sail abroad; at which time the Wind freshen'd, and carry'd our Main-top-mast by the Board; in which disaster the Man that was lowermost, and least in danger, fell over board and was drowned; and the other two which were in greatest danger (one of their Names was Roger Dennis, under the De­nomination of a Quaker) instead of be-in bruis'd and their Bones broken all to pieces, which the Eye of Reason could not otherwise imagine by such a fall; they both fell forward upon the Bunt of the Main course, and one catches hold of the Main Bunt-lines, and the other of the Leech-lines, and slack of a bow­ling, and so both come down to the Deck, and neither of them in the least prejudic'd.

For the truth of this, my Author was then Aboard the said Frigot, and was an Eye­witness of this Providence.

24. An Account of two Ships bound for New-found-Land, from some part in the West of England, who by distress of Weather lost Company; some days after, being fair weather, one of the Ships sprang a Leak, and foundred in the Sea, where every Soul perish'd, except one Old Man, who had lasht himself on the main Hatch, and committed himself to [Page 52]the Mercy of the Sea and God's Provi­dence, where he was floating three Days and three nights; in which time, about the middle of the second day, the Devil assuming the shape of a Mar-maid, starts up before him, and bids him he of good heart, for, if he would but make a Contract with him, he would ingage a Deliverance for him in 24 hours; the Old Man being sensible it was the Devil, and doubtless, having been a proving of his heart to God, as the Cir­cumstance of Providence he was under more immediately called for, found in himself a renewed strength put into him, enabling him to hold up his head, and looking the Tempter in the Face; Re­plyes, Ah Satan, if thou canst prophesy de­liverance for me; know, my God in whom I trust, will deliver me without thy help; but however, know, I will dot comply to thy wiles, therefore avoid Satan, avoid; so immedi­ately he Vanish'd, and appear'd no more to him: But so it fell out, the other Ship being at that time in the same Place or Latitude, that Night the Cabbin-Boy Dreams a Dream, that such a Ship there­abouts was Foundred, and every Soul lost, except such an Old Man, naming his Name, who was saved on a piece of the Ship, and floating in the Sea; which Dream, the Boy in the Morning confidently tells to [Page 53]the Company and his Master; at last, the Boy began to shew more Confidence, affirming it, as if it must be true; inso­much, he receiv'd some Checks from his Master; but however, at last, the Boy grew so restless, that he, running up from one Mast to another, sometimes at Fore-top-mast-head, looking abroad, that at last, crying out aloud; Alow there, I see him, I see him under our Lee-bow; thus confidently affirming it, some of the Men stept up, and spy'd something at a distance no begger than a Crow to ap­pearance, floating, and advis'd the Master of it, who presently commanded the Helm to be born up, and stood away to it; and when they came near, found it to be the Old Man, as the the Boy said; so they hoyst out their Boat, and took him in, who then was speechless, and almost spent; but by the care of the Master and the Chirurgion, with God's Blessing, recover'd, and gave a verbal ac­count of his Misfortune, and yet won­derful deliverance; together with Sa­tan's Temptation as before recited; which Ship, in due time, Arriv'd safe at her Port in New found-Land, where this Man was well Landed a shore.

For Confirmation, I had this, and heard it related at my Father's House in Salom in [Page 54]New-England, by Mr. John Blackledge a Merchant, who is a Person of a sober life, and in Fellowship there, who then came from New-found-Land, and did affirm that he spake with the Man himself, whom God wrought this wonderful deliverance for, he being then at New-found-Land when the said Ship Arriv'd there, and the Man went first ashore.

25. Anno Christi. 1630. May 1. the Mos­covy Merchants of London sent a Ship call'd the Salutation of London for Greenland, which arriv'd there in safety June 11. following, together with two other Ships, all which were commanded by Captain Will. Goodler. The Ship wherein the Capt. was, stayed at Bell-sound; This of the Salutation at the Foreland: And the Capt. meeting with store of Whales, quickly made a Great Voyage, and so sent for the Salutation to take in part of his Train-Oyl: By the way, as they went to him, meeting with Cross-Winds, the Master set Eight of his Men on Shore to kill some Venison, in a place where there used to be good store. These Men ta­king with them a Brace of Dogs, a Snap­hance, two Lances, and a Tnider-Box went on Shore, and that day they laid Fourteen Good Deer on the Ground: And then, being weary, and the Night [Page 55]coming on, they betook themselves to Rest, intending the next day to make an end of their Hunting, and so to return to their Ship: But the next day proved Foggy, and there was much Ice between the Shore and the Ship, and the Wind coming Southerly, the Ship was fain to stand so far off into the Sea to be clear of the Ice, that they lost the sight of her; and the Weather growing thicker and thicker, they thought fit to Hunt along the Shoar to Green-Hurbour, and there to stay aboard the Ship, till their own Ship should come into the Port.

In this Passage they killed Eight Deer more, and so having laden their Shallop with Venison, they kept on their course to Green Harbour: But when they came thither, they found, to their great Asto­nishment, that the Ship was departed. Being thus frustrated of their Expection, and having but three days to the utter­most expiration of their limited time for their departure out of that Country, they thought it their best course to make all speed possible to Bell-Sound, to their Cap­tain; and lest delay should prove dan­gerous, they lightned their Shallop by heaving their Venison over board into into the Sea, and so they hasted all they might, and that night got half-way: But [Page 56]the dark Fog increasing, they were forc'd to cove in a point of the Land till the next day at Noon: At which time the Weather being clearer, they hasted for­ward; but having no compass to direct their, course by, they wandred up and down so long, till the Ships were depart­ed. This filled them with fear and astonishment, knowing that neither Christian nor Heathen had ever Inha­bited those desolate Climates: Yea, they had heard that the Merchants had en­deavour'd, with proffers of Great Re­wards, and of sufficient Furniture, and Provision of all things necessary, to hire some to undertake to Winter in those parts, but could never meet with any that would adventure their Lives in so hazardous an Undertaking: They had heard also, that the Company of Moscovy Merchants had once procur'd the Re­prieve of some Malefactors condemn'd to Death here in England, unto whom they promised Pardon, together with Re­wards and Provision of Cloaths, Victuals, and all other Necessaries, if they would stay one Winter there: But when they came thither, and took a view of the desolateness of the Place, they conceiv'd such horror and fear in their Hearts, that they chose rather to return for [Page 57] England, and there to satisfie the Law with the loss of their Lives, than to stay in so desolate and darksome a Country. They remembred also a more terrible Example, of Nine Good and Able Men left there formerly by the same Master that had now left them, who all Died Miserably upon the place; and whose Bodies were fearfully disfigur'd by the Savage Bears, and Hungry Foxes, which are the only Inhabitants of that comfort­less Country: All which made them like amazed Men, to stand one looking upon another, every one foreseeing the future Calamities, both of himself and of his Fellows: And that which much increas'd their horror, was, their want of all necessary Provision for the Life of Man, having neither Clothes to keep them warm, and for shift, nor Food to prevent the Miseries of cruel Famine, nor a House to shroud themselves from the extremity of Cold.

But after a Space, knowing that Delay in Extremity is the Mother of all Dan­ger, they began to conceive Hope out of the Depth of Despair; and therefore they consulted together of the likeliest Course for their Preservation in that Place, and resolv'd upon the Opportu­nity of the next fair Weather to go to [Page 58] Green-Harbour to kill some Venison for part of their Winter Provision, which accordingly they did, but found not so many Dear as they expected; yet the first Day they killed Seven, and Four Bears to Boot, which they also intend­ed to eat: The next Day they killed Six Deer more, and as they returned, they killed Six more; and then the Weather proving foul and cold, they la­ded their Shallop with the Deer and Bears, and finding another Shallop left there as usually they do from Year to Year, they laded it with Greaves of Whales that had been boiled there that Year, and so dividing themselves into those 2 hallops, they took the first Op­portunity of returning to Bell-Sound to their Tent, where they intended to take up the rest for the Winter.

But in their Passage, the Night com­ing on, and the Wind blowing hard, were forc'd to stay in the mid way at Bottel Cove for that Night: There they fasten'd their Shallops one to another, and casting out their Anchor, they left them riding in the Cove.

But here again, for the trial of their Pa­tience, and to teach them to rely more upon upon God's Providence, than than upon any outward Means of their own, this mischance [Page 59]befel them: The Wind blowing hard into the Cove, and their Anchor coming home, their Shallop sunk into the Sea, and so wet all their Provision, and some of it they found swimming up and down by the shoar: The sight thereof, won­derfully troubled them, to see the best part of their Provision, the only hope of their Lives under God, in danger either utterly to be lost, or to be spoil'd by the Sea-water, for which they had taken such pains, and run so many adventures in the getting of it: and in this their Misery, they saw but one remedy, and that was a desperate one, viz. to turn into the high­wrote Sea to their Shallops to save the re­mainder of their Provisions, now ready to be wash'd away by the Billows: This they did, and by main force drew the Shallops to the shore; then they went a­long by the Sea-side to gather up such of their Provisions as were swimming up and down: and when the Weather prov'd fair, they went on to Bell-sound: where being arriv'd, they took out their Provi­vision, and viewed the great Tent which was built of Timber and Boards, and co­vered with Flemish Tiles: The use of it was for the Coopers to Work and Lodge in whilst they made Casks for the putting up of the Train-Oyl; and they resolved to [Page 60]build another smaller Tent within that for their Habitations; and accordingly, taking down a lesser Tent that stood near to it, wherein the Land-men lay whilst they made their Oyl, they fetch'd their materials from thence, both Boards, Posts, and Rafters, and from the Chimnies of the Furnaces, they took a thousand Bricks; they found also four Hogsheads of Lime, which mingled with sand from the shoar, made good Mortar; But the Weather was grown so extream cold, that they were fain to make 2 Fires on both sides, to keep their Mortar from freezing; then they raised a Wall of one Brick thickness against the inner Planks of the side of the Tent, but by that time they had Wall'd 2 sides of their House, their Bricks fail'd, so that they were forc'd to build the other 2 sides of Boards; which be­ing nail'd on both sides the Posts, they were hollow between, which they fill'd up with Sand, that made it so tite, that the least breath of Air could not possibly annoy them. The length of this Tent was 20 foot, and the breadth 16; their Chimney was the breadth of a Deal­board, and 4 foot high; they Ciel'd it with Boards of 5 or 6 times double, that no Wind could possibly get thro': The Door they made as close as they could, [Page 61]and lin'd it with a Bed that they found there, which came over both the open­ing and shutting of it: they made no Windows, having no light but what came thro' the Chimney: then set they up 4 Cabins, quartering themselves two and two in a Cabin; their Beds were the Deer-skins dry'd, which was a warm and comfortable Lodging for them in their Distress: Their next care was for Firing, and finding 7 old Shallops which were unserviceable, they brake them up, and stow'd them over the beams of the great Tent to make it the warmer, and to keep the Snow from driving thro' the Tiles into the Tent: and by this time the cold increasing, and scarce having any Day at all, they stav'd some emp­ty Cask, and brake two old Coolers (wherein they cool their Oyl) provid­ing whatsoever Firing they could with­out prejudice to the next Years Voyage: yet considering the small quantity of Fewel, the extremity of Cold, and the long time of their aboad, they Husband­ed it as thriftily as possibly they could.

Having thus fitted every thing in the best manner they could, on the 12 of Sept. looking out into the Sound, they espy'd 2 Sea-Horses lying a Sleep on a piece of Ice, whereupon, taking up an [Page 62]old harping-iron, they hasten'd to them, and first slew the old one, and the the young,; and so bringing them ashore, they flay'd them, roasted, and eat them. Not long after they kill'd another; but the Nights and cold. Weather increasing on them, and they viewing their Provi­sion, found it too small by half; where­upon they stinted themselves to one rea­sonable Meal a day, and agreed to fast Wednesdays and Fridays, excepting from the Greaves and Fritters of the Whale (which was a very loathsome Meat) of which they allow'd themselves sufficient for their present Hunger: at which Diet they continu'd for about 3 Months.

Having finished whatever they could invent for their Preservation; they found that all their Clothes and Shoes were worn, and torn; to repair which, they had this new device, of Rope-yarn they made Thread, and of Whale-bones Needles to sow their Clothes withal: But Octob. 10. the Nights being grown very long, and the Cold so violent, that all the Sea was Frozen over; and they having now nothing to exercise their Minds upon, were troubled with a thou­sand imaginations: Sometimes they be­wail'd their absence from their Wives and Children, thinking what grief it would be to [Page 63]them to hear of their miscarriage: then they thought of their Parents, and what a cutting corrosive it would be to them to hear of their untimely Deaths, &c. And being tormented in their Minds with Fear, and Grief, and pinched in their Bodies with Hunger, and Cold, the hideous Monster of Desperation, presented his ugliest shape unto them: But thinking it not best to give way to Grief and Fear, th [...]y doubled their Prayer to Al­mighty God for Strength and Patience in their Miseries, by whose Assistance, they shook off their former Thought, and chear'd up themselves to use the best means for their preservation.

Then for the preservation of their Venison, and lengthening of their Fire­ing, they thought best to roast every day half a Deer, and to stow it in Hogs­heads, which accordingly they did, leav­ing so much raw as would serve to roast every Sabbath day a quarter, &c. And when this was over, they began again to think of their ensuing Misery, that in case God should give them Life, yet they were to live as Banished Men from all Company; and as if their Sorrows had been too little, they presently found an increase of it; for their Whale-Frit­ters, after they had been drench'd in the [Page 64] Sea-water, lying close together, were grown mouldy, and spoiled: And again surveying their Bear and Venison, they found that it would not afford them five Meals a Week, whereupon they were fain to cut off one Meal more; so that for three Months after, four days in the Week they fed upon the unsavory moul­dy Whale-Fritters, and the other three they feasted with Bear and Venison: But beside the want of Meat, they now be­gan to want Light, so that all their Meals were Suppers: For, from Octob. 10, to Febr. 3. the never saw the Sun so much as peep above the Horizon: But th [...] Moon, when not obscur'd with Clouds they always saw shining as bright as i [...] England: All which darksome time, they could not certainly tell when it should be Day, and when Night.

In the beginning of this darkness, they sought some means to preserve Light, and finding a piece of Sheet-Lead, and some Oyl in the Coopers Tent, and Rope-yarn they made a Lamp, which they kept con­tinually burning, which was a great com­fort to them in their extremity; yet their Wants and Miseries were so many, and great, that sometimes they brake forth into impatient Speeches against the cau­sers of them, but then their Consciences a­gain [Page 65]minded them after their own Evil deserts, and so they took it as a just Hand of God for their former wicked Lives; or that God intended to make them Exam­ples of his Mercy in their wonderful deli­verance: Humbling themselves therefore un­der the mighty Hand of God, they prostrated themselves in Prayer two or three times a day, which course they constantly held all the time of their Misery.

In the beginning of January, as the days began to lengthen, the cold began to strengthen; which proceeded to that ex­tremity, that it raised blisters on their Flesh as if they had been burnt with Fire, and if at any time they touched Iron, it would stick to their Fingers like Bird­lime: If they went out of Doors to fetch in a little Water it would so pinch them, that they were sore as if they had been beaten. In the beginning of Winter, with Pick-axes breaking the Ice daily, they got some Water on the Sea-shore: but after January 10. they had none but Snow-water which they melted with [...]ot Irons, which was their only Drink [...]ill May 20. following.

By the last of Jan. the Days were 7 or 8 Hours long, and then viewing their Victuals again, they found that it would not last above six Weeks longer, which [Page 66]made them fear further Famine; but they had recourse to God, who they knew, could supply them beyond their hopes.

Looking out on a bright day, they saw a great she Bear with her Cub coming toward their Tent, whereupon Arming themselves with their Lances, the went forth, and staid her coming; she soon cast her greedy Eye upon them, and hoping to devour them, hasted towards them: But with their Lances they gave her such an hearty welcome, that she tumbled upon the Ground, biting the Snow for anger: The Cub seeing this, escap'd by flight: The Weather was so extream Cold, that they were fain pre­sently to retire into the Tent, and hav­ing warmed themselves, they drew in the dead Bear, wherewith they Dined merrily; and this Bear serv'd them 20 days: Only this mischance they had, Eating her Liver, it made their Skins peel off; when she was spent, they yet fear'd that their Venison would not hold out till the Fleet came out of England; but God sent many Bears to their Tent, by times, at least 40, whereof they kill'd 7; One of which was exceeding great, at least 6 Foot High; so that their Food in­creasing, they kept not themselves to such short Commons, but oft Eat two or three [Page 67]Meals a Day, which much increased their strength.

By this, the chearful Days lengthen'd so fast, that several sort of Fowl resorted thither. March 16. one of their Mastiffs went abroad which they never saw after; upon the coming of the Fowls, the Foxes, which all Winter had kept their Bur­roughts under the Rocks, came abroad to seek for their livings; whereupon they set up Traps, which they baited with the Skins of these Fowls, by which means they caught at times 50 Foxes; all which they roasted, and found to be good Meat: Then taking the Bear-skins, laying the Fleshy side upwards, and making Springs of Whale-bone, the caught about sixty Fowls as big as Pigeons.

May 1. The Weather began to be pret­ty warm, so that they went daily abroad to seek for Provision: but nothing they could find for many Days, till at length they met with abundance of Willocks Eggs; of which the carried home thirty, intending the next day to fetch a 1000 more, but the Day proved so Cold that they could not stir out of their Tent. The same Day there came two Ships of Hull into the Sound, who knowing that some Men had been lest there the Year before, being very desirous to know whe­ther [Page 68]they were Deat or Alive, the Master Mann'd forth a Shallop to go as near the shore as they could, and so over the Ice to the Tent: When these Men came near the Tent, they haled them with the usual word of the Sea, crying Hey: to which one of them in the Tent answered again Hoe; which sudden answer almost amaz'd them all: but perceiving them to be the very Men left there, with joyful Hearts they embrac'd one another, and so com­ing into the Tent, they shew'd the Hul [...] Men the Courtesie of the House, giving them some Venison that was Roasted 4 Months before, and a cup of cold Water, which for novelty sake they kindly ac­cepted of them.

After a little Discourse, these 8 Men resolved to leave their Tent, and to go with them to their Ship, where they were welcom'd after the heartiest and kindest English manner: and so they staid with them till the London Fleet came, which was three days after: At which time they went aboard the Admiral, in which Capt [...] Will. Goodler was, who made them very welcome, and gave order that they should have any thing that was in the Ship that might do them good: he gave them Ap­parel also, to the value of 20 Pounds. So that after 14 days refreshment, they grew [Page 69]all perfectly well: But when some of them went to their own Master that had left them there, he fell foul upon them, calling them Run-aways, with other harsh terms, far enough from the Civility of an honest Man. Thus they continu'd in the Fleet until Aug. 20. at which time, with joyful Hearts, they set Sail through the foaming Ocean; and though sometimes crossed with contrary Winds, yet at last they came safely to an Anchor in the Ri­ver Thames; and the Muscovy Merchants dealt very well by them.

The Names of these Men, were Will. Fakely Gunner: Edw. Pelham Gunners-Mate, that wrote this Story. Joh. Wise, and Rob. Goodfellow, Seamen: Tho. Ayers, Whale-cutter: Hen. Bet, Cooper: John Dawns, and Rich. Kellet, Landmen.

Greenland, is a Country that lies very far North-ward in 77 Degrees, and 40 Mi­nutes, it's wonderful Mountainous, which Mountains are all the Year long cover'd with Ice and Snow. The Plains in part are bare in Summer: But there grows neither Tree nor Herb in it, except Scur­vey-grass and Sorrel: The Sea is as barren as the Land, affording no Fish but Whales, Sea-horses, Seals, and some few small Fishes

26. In June 1668. the Peach-tree of Lon­don, a small Vessel of the Burthen of about [Page 70]60 Tons, Edw. Dixon Master, came into the Downs, bound for Guinny, intending there to take in Negroes, and to transport them to the Barbadoes, and from thence to come for London, where John Watts, the Son of John Watts of Eltham in the County of Kent Chirurgeon, Shipt him­self with the consent of Rich. Watts pub­lick Notary of D [...]al; little dreading that his Nephew, being then not above 18 Years old, should meet with such a cala­mitous Accident. The Ship had not been long in the Downs, but a fair Gale pre­senting, they suddenly hoisted Sail, God's Providence seeming to fill their Sails with Prosperous Success; the 'first place they touch'd at, was the Gold Coast, where they staid not long, but Sail'd to old Calabar, in the Bith of Guinny. They enter'd a Ri­ver, call'd the Cross River into Pirats Island. After they had taken in their Negroes, and ready to Sail, their Anchor being a Peek, the Master calls up the Boatswain and 3 Men more, whereof the Relater was one, and commands them to look out the Cop­per Bars that were left, and carry them on Shore to try if they could sell them: the Boatswain, with his small Company, de­sired that they might have Arms with them, not believing the report of some that inform'd them they were a harmless [Page 71]and innocent People: They took with them three Muskets and a Pistol, and so Row'd towards the Shore; but not far from it, unhappily our Match fell into the Water, and the Ship being fall'n down from that narrow part of the River, near­er the Sea, quite out of sight, we were consulting what should be safest for us to do: we were not willing to precipitate our own Ruin, and were also asham'd to re­turn to our Ship before we had dispatch'd what we were commanded to: at length the Boatswain commanded the Relater, John Watts on shore, to the first House to light our Match, which we recover'd out of the Water, after it was extinct, which he readily obey'd: But before he was 20 Rods from the Water-side, he was seiz'd on by 2 Black (or rather Tawny-moors) and by them haled above half a Mile up into the Country, and thrown with great violence upon his Belly, and so compell'd to lie till they stript him; and more Company coming to them, they were so eager for his poor Canvas Apparel, that some they tore off, others they cut off, and with that several pieces of his Flesh, to this intolerable pain: with these Rags, they made little Childrens Aprons to co­ver their Privities; Linnen and Woollen being scarce there. The Boatswain see­ing [Page 72]this Joh. Watts was thus carried away, was resolv'd with his other two Compa­nions to have him again, or else to ven­ture all their Lives for him: They Arm themselves; but whilst they were con­sulting what to do, whether to venture on shore, or not, of a sudden they were beset with about 12 Men in several Ca­noes, but they valianly maintain'd their Boat about the space of 3 Hours, for af­ter 2 of their 3 Muskets were discharg'd, they defended themselves with their Oars, and Boat-hooks. The Boatswain re­ceiv'd a mortal Wound in his Groin, and fell down in the Boat; the other two ad­ventur'd in the River, endeavouring by Swimming to escape the merciless Hands of cruel Infidels; but the Negroes with their swift Canoes soon over-took them, and brought them on shore to the place where the Relater was. The Negroes took the Boatswain out of the Ships Boat; and instead of endeavouring at all to pre­serve the Life which remain'd in him, immediately they rob'd him of it; one of them with a keen weapon cutting off his Head before his Companions Faces; and then they prepare for their rare Ban­quet, while he was yet reeking in his Blood; they in a barbarous manner cut­ting off pieces of Flesh from off his But­tocks, [Page 73]and his Thighs and his Arms, and Shoulders, and broil'd them on the Coals, and with a great deal of impatience, ea­gerly eat it before our Faces, to our great astonishment. About 14 days after, one of the Company fell Sick, and instead of being Physicians to cure him, they were his Butchers to Murder him. They served him as they did the Boatswain, cut off his Head, and broil'd and eat up his Flesh, and rejoic'd exceedingly at this rich Banquet. About 10 days after, the third fell Sick, whom they served in the same manner.

This was no small cause of Sorrow to the Relater; the thoughts of their Inhu­man and Barbarous actions, sometimes surrounded him with Fears and Sorrows, hourly expecting to taste of the said Cru­elty. Death did not seem so terrible to him, as the violent manner of it; being left now alone in a strange Country, de­stitute of Friends or Acquaintance, or any thing that might keep up his Spirits: Die he would fain, but not by the Hands of Infidels and barbarous Monsters. But the great God, that is most compassionate in the greatest extremities, had pity on him, and notwithastnding the alteration of the Climate, and the want of Clothes, and the strangeness of his Food, which [Page 74]was only Herbs, he continu'd in good Health, and had time enough to lament their direful Providence. The Natives who were daily expecting another Ban­quet, met with a disappointment: either their Cuostms, or the over-ruling Power of God, would not suffer them to destroy him, he continuing still in Health. There­fore they resolve to sell him: his Arannia, or Master, was pretty free to Discourse him, which the Relator was capable of, being about 3 Years before in the West-Indies, where he had learn'd the Tata Lan­guage, which is easily attain'd, being com­prehended in a very few words, and all the Negroes speak it. He began to Dis­course his Master, to know the reason of their Cruelty, who told him, that he should rest himself contented, who if he were not Sick, should not have his Head cut off. In the Boat, which in the beginning they took with them, was a Musket sav'd of the 3 which was not discharg'd; which his Ma­ster, some time after he had been with him, brought to him to know the use of it: he endeavour'd as much as he could to make him apprehend the use of it, but still they profest their ignorance: but they commanded and threaten'd him to shew the use of it. The fear of his Ma­ster's Displeasure and their Inhumanity, [Page 75]caused him to shoot it off; but the Negroes, which expected some delightful thing, were frustrated, and at the sudden noise and flash of Fire (which they very much dread) ran from him, and were greatly affrighted; but quickly after, hearing no more of that noise, they came up to him again, and commanded him to do the like: He told them he had not Powder, which was the cause of the noise; but this would not satisfie these Barbarians. He not being able to answer their expectati­on, they concluded he was not willing, they proceed to threaten him, and were about to Murder him, had not his Master rescu'd him. Upon Discourse after with this Arannia, or Master, he began to under­stand the reason of their barbarous deal­ing with him and his Friends, he telling him that naturally the People were Civil and simply Honest, but if provoked, full of Revenge; and that this Cruelty was occasion'd by some unhandsome action of carrying a Native away without their leave, about a Year before; they resolving if any came ashore, they should never go off alive. He had not been above 7 Weeks in the Country, but his Master presented him to his King, whose Name was E fn-me, King of the Blackamoors, who immediately gave him to his Daugh­ter, whose Name was Oni-jah, and when [Page 76]the King went abroad, he attended him also as his Page, throughout the whole Circuit of his Dominions, which was not above 12 Miles, yet boasting extreamly of his Power and Strength, but glorying exceedingly that he had a White to attend him, whom he employ'd to carry his Bow and Arrows; at several places remote from the Sea-side, the People would run away from him for fear, others would fall down and seem to Worship him, and and use those actions as they do to their Gods. Their Pregress was never so long, but they could return home at Night, but never without a handsome load of a Cup of the Creature. During all the time of the Relater's servitude there, he never knew him go abroad and come home Sober. They drink of the best Palm-Wine, and another sort of strong Liquor, call'd Penrore. The Relater quickly knew how to humour this profound Prince, and if any of the Natives abus'd him, upon his complaint, he had redress, as once by striving with a Negroe, his Arm was broke, which by Providence more than Skill, was set again. After some Months, the King of Ca-al nanch, whose name was E-fn mancha, hearing of this beautiful White, courted his Neighbour Prince, that he would sell him to him; at length they [Page 77]struck a bargain, and the Relator was sold for a Cow and a Goat; this King was a very sober and moderate Person, free from Treacheries and Mischiefs, that the other was subject unto; and he would of­ten Discourse the Relater, and ask him of his King and Country, and if his Kingdoms and Dominions were as big as his, which were not above 25 Miles in length, and and 15 in breadth. He told him as much as his Understanding and Years made him capable of, keeping still in the bounds of Modesty, and yet relating as much as pos­sible to the Honour and Dignity of his Sove­raign; first informing him of the greatness of one of his Kingdoms, the several Shires and Coun­ties it contained, with the number of its Cities, Towns and Castles, and the strength of each, the infinite number of Inhabitants, and valour of his Subjects. One of these Kingdoms was enough to amaze sufficiently this petty Governour, that he need not to mention any more of his Majesties Glory and Dig­nity. It put him in to such a profound consternation, that he resolved to find out some way to tender his Respects to this mighty Prince, and no way could he find so convenient, as to tell the Relater, that if he could find but a passage, he would let him go to England, to tell his Majesty of the great Favour and Respect he had for him. [Page 78]This did not a little rejoice our English-man. Withal the King told him, that he would send him a Present, which should be two Cabareets or Goats, which they do va­lue at a very high rate; the King having not above 16 or 18. He tells the King, that the K. of England had many thousands of his Subjects that were under the Degree of Genlemen, which had a thousand of Sheep a­piece; the Flesh of which, they valu'd at a very much higher rate than Goats. Tho' our English man liv'd very handsomely with this E-fn man-cha, King of the Ca-la-nanch, yet his desires and his hopes were still for his Native Country: At length he ob­tain'd a Promise from his King, that the first English Ship that came into that Road, should have liberty to Release or Purchase him; this very much rejoic'd his Heart: Now he thought ev'ry day a year, till he could hear of, or see some English Ship arriv'd. Many times when he was alone, his Heart would be oppress'd with Sighs and Sob­bings, when he thought of his Relations, and the comfortable Society that they had together; that it should be his sad Lot to be Captivated amongst barbarous Infidels. Oftentimes did he walk down to the Sea-side, sometimes with Hopes, sometimes with Fear, earnestly expecting the Wind of God's Providence to blow in [Page 79]some English Ship thither: His often re­course to the Sea-side was discern'd by one Ja-ga, a Wizard, and the chiefest in 3 or 4 Kingdoms there-abouts; they are Persons that the Natives give very much credit to, and on any difficult Occasion, run to them for satisfaction. The famous Delphiān Oracle was never had in greater Adoration, than the Prophetical Speeches of these Moorish Wizards. Tho' they have infinite numbers of them in every place, yet this Ja-ga had the most renown a­mongst them; and one day he comes to him, and very kindly ask'd him, Why he so very often frequented that place? He told him, To see if he could discover any English Vessel to come in there: But he being not acquainted with his great Fame, askt him, When he did belive there would one come in? Not that he was willing to give credit to any of their Divinations, but supposing that he thereby should please him, and answer his expectation. Ja ga immedi­ately told him, That the 15 day after an English Ship should come into the Road. Then he askt him, Whether that Ship should carry him away. To which he answer'd doubt­fully, but told him, That he should be offer'd to the Master of the Ship, that they would not agree that he should come to Shore again, and he should not be Sold, but in a very [Page 80]short time after, he should die for Grief. These 15 Days seem'd very long and tedious; many a look did he cast on the Sea with an aking Heart: The 14 Day he went to the highest Hill thereabout, but to no purpose, for he could discover no Ship: the next Morning he went again 2 or 3 times but saw none: about 2 or 3 Hours after came running into Efn-mancha, some of the Moors, and told him there was a Canoe coming, so they call'd our Ships; at which our English-man heartily rejoic'd, hoping then to be Releas'd forth­with, yet durst not shew his joy for fear of Punishment, or of Death; for tho' he liv'd better now than with his first Ma­ster, yet his Service was far worse than the Slaves in Turkey, and their Diet worse than Dogs-Meat; therefore had he cause enough of inward Joy; the Ship came immediately in, and he highs away pre­sently to Ja-ga, to know if it were an English Ship, who resolv'd him that it was; it happen'd to be the St. Maloes Merchant, Capt. Royden Commander, who hasten'd to dispatch his Business, took in his Negroes, and was ready to Sail, and our English man heard never a word what should become of him, the King never offering to sell him; this put him on a resolution to en­deavour to make an escape, and to that [Page 81]end had prepar'd a piece of Timber which he had drawn near the Water-side, on which he intended to paddle to the Ship which then lay about a League from the shore. Just by the Sea-side; as he was a­bout to Launch his little floating Stick, he espy'd a great Aligator, which will de­vour a Man at a Mouthful; this made him alter his Resolution, and resolve ra­ther to live with Inhuman Infidels, than to throw himself into so imminent a dan­ger, which would have been little less than Self-murder. But the next day, which I may call a day of Jubilee, Al­mighty God open'd the Heart of the King to let the poor English man go: He sent him in a Canoe, plac'd between a Negroe's Legs, with some others to guide this small Vessel, for fear he should leap over-board and Swim to the Ship. At a distance from the Ship he Hal'd her in the English Tongue, which was no small cause of ad­miration to those on Board to hear an English Tongue out of their Canoes: The Negroes gave him leave to stand up and shew himself to the Captain, to whom he gave an Account how four were left there, and only he preserv'd. It was a pretty while before they could strike a Bargain, tho' the Captain was resolv'd not to leave him behind. Several times the Negroes [Page 82]padled away with their Canoe, resolving not to part with him; but what with his entreaties and promises, he persuaded them to the Ship again, and they deli­ver'd him on Board for 45 Copper Bars and Iron Bars; each Copper Bar being a­bout the bigness of a Youth's little Fin­ger, the Iron Bars a little bigger. Now were his Joys compleated, he thought himself, as it were, caught up into the third Heavens; he could hardly perswade him­self but it was a Dream or Vision, and that he did not really see English Faces, or embrace English Bodies. It was some time before he could throw himself at the Captains Feet, and acknowledge his in­finite cause of Joy in himself, and thank­fulness to him for his Deliverance from such a severe Captivity; that he that lately was a Slave to Infidels, that worship they know not what, should now see the Faces of Christians, and join with them in Worshipping the true God; and to him first he offer'd up the Sacrifice of hearty Thanksgiving, that had sent his Angel to redeem him from so cruel a Bondage. When he came on Board, his Hair was very Long, and his Skin Tawny ( Malatto-like) having gone Naked all the time he was there, and fre­quently anointing himself with Palm Oyl he look'd like a Tawny-Moor; but immedi­ately [Page 83]the Seamen aboard, with Christian-like Hearts, Apparell'd him. The Master commanded to hoist Sail, and having a fair Wind, they Sail'd to Barbadoes, where Capt. Royden was to tarry some time; but the Relator earnestly desiring to go to his Native Country, and his Ralations, got passage to the Downs, in the Katherine of London, Capt. South Commander, which through God's Goodness, in a few Weeks arriv'd in the Downs, where the Relater was put on shore to his Uncle, Mr. Rich. Watts of Deal, to his great Joy and Satis­faction, who took this Relation from his own Mouth.

The Relation of Dr. William Johnson, con­cerning a most Remarkable Sea-Deliver­ance; in his own words.

27. We went aboard from Harwich, on Michaelmas-day; Sept. 29. 1648▪ in the William and John of Ipswich, Daniel Morgan Master, and having a fair Wind, we set Sail; I being Sea-sick, went to Bed, but about 4 a Clock in the Afternoon, the Master of the Ship came into our Cabin with more haste than he was wont, which made me ask him whether all was well? Who like a tender-hearted Man, who is loath to tell his Dying Friend, that he is so nigh his end, reply'd all is well; yet [Page 84]when I saw him shift himself with such haste, I rose from my Bed, and crawl'd upon the Deck, where I saw a sad specta­cle, the Ship having sprang a Leak, or rather a Plank, was ready to sink, upon which, every Man was affrighted, one was at his Prayer, another wringing his Hands, a third, his Eyes shedding of Tears, when he had no need of more Salt-water; but af­ter this, they fell to Work, but were bu­sie in doing nothing: The Master's Mate, who went to search the Leak, told us with a sad Countenance, trembling Hands, gnashing of Teeth, a quivering Tongue, and words half spoken. That the Leak could not be stopt, and the Water came in so fast upon us, that we must perish in this noment. Upon which we presently cast out our Long-boat, and shot off 8 or 9 Guns to another Ship, who came out with us, to come to our Relief, then with some dif­ficulty we all got into the Boat, and God be thanked, came clear of the Ship, whose Sails now lay flat upon the Water, and now we were rowing we know not whi­ther, for the other Ship came not to our Relief, which made us have hard thoughts of them without cause, for we understood that both the Ship and all the Men pe­rished in the same hour. Now were we without all hope, for it blew half a Storm, [Page 85]and we were in a small Vessel, many Leagues from the shore, without Com­pass, or Provision to sustain us, being starv'd likewise with Cold as well as for want of Victuals, having nothing in our Boat, but a small Kettle, which serv'd to cast out the water, and 3 Bags of Pieces of Eight, of 300 Pound Serling, which would neither feed us, nor keep us warm; in this distress we went to Prayers, and it pleased God to hear us, and send a Ship to us, even in the moment of Death, which we endeavour'd to come to, and he likewise to us, but the Storm was so great, we could not reach one another, tho' when it was dark, he hung out a Light, and we to let him know we were alive, order'd, that when a wave took us up, we should give a great shout, which we did so loud, that I helieve our Cry was heard to Heaven, for by God's miraculous Assistance, we got near the Ship, and soon after, all safe into it; the next day it blew fair for Norway, whither we were bound, and about 12 at Noon we saw the Coast, which being ragged, and full of Rocks, we resolv'd to stay till next Morn­ing before we went in, and then sat down to Meat, and Eat very heartily being kindly entertain'd by the honest Norwe­gian; about ten a Clock at Night, we laid [Page 86]us down to rest, after having pray'd, and set our Watch, but immediately this our second Ship ran with full Sails upon a Rock, and gave so great a Crack as was able to awake the most dead asleep a­mong us, and the Mariners cry'd out, Mercy, Mercy, it pleased God, that the Ship struck it self so fast in the clift of the Rock, that the former part of her stood firm, but breaking in the Storm, one of the Seamen leaped from the Bow of the Ship upon the Rock, with a Rope in his Hand, which was fasten'd to one of our Masts, and held it with so stiff a Hand, that another slipt down by it, and so all our Company that escaped, being 28 in Number, came safe to the Rock; I was the last that came down the Ship that way, for in that very moment she gave way, which the Master perceiving, who was still aboard, made lamentable moan to us to help him, which we en­deavour'd to the utmost, but the Ship broke, and sunk immediately; there was this good Man, and four of the Mariners drowned; I saw the Master, with a Light­in his Hand, fall into the Sea, the sad­dest sight that I ever yet beheld in this World, and that which pierced my Soul, to see him that saved our Lives, lose his own: Now were we in the Dark upon [Page 87]the Rock, but knew not where, our Feet being cut upon the sharp Stones. At length, we happen'd of a hole in the Rock, which which was a warm shelter against the Wind; and when Morning came, where we could see no Land, only had a glimps of the Coast of Norway, at a great di­stance: We grew Hungry, but had no­thing to Fish with, but our Arms, with which we drew up some small Muscles, and they we eat heartily, but we burnt with thirst, and I would have given all I had for a Draught of fresh Water, which would have been more welcome than the Gold of Ophir, tho' nothing is so mean in our esteem; but we were forc'd to drink Salt-water, which increased our Thirst; we now saw a Ship coming towards us with full Sails, and we wav'd our Hats at them, but they went off, and never came near us; we betook our selves to our old Remedy, Prayers; the Danes first singing one of Luther's Psalms, fell to their Prayers, and I Pray'd as long as I was able to speak, and then laid my self down on the Rock, thinking I should rise no more in this World: But I overheard one of the Sea-men, say, Let us make a Raft, and venture to Sea, I had rather be Drown'd than lie here to be Starv'd; They all concluded of it, tho' dangerous, and the Sea having fal­len [Page 88]from the Rock, had left our Sails, Masts, and Anchors, with part of the Ship thereon, wherewith they soon made a slight Boat, and it being a great calm, the rest past through the Beaches with 4 Men in it, and had it touch'd only on them, they would have rent it in pieces, however through God's Goodness, they arrived safe in Norway, and return'd with several Boats, so that we came all of us once more to Land, and were entertain'd at an honest Lutheran Parson's House, where after we had continu'd for some Days with little Money and much Thanks we parted, and came to Frederick Stadt, where the People ran after us in the Streets, and with compassionate Eyes gave us what we wanted, without asking; from whence we went to Oftersondt, and there went aboard an English Ship, we had not been above 2 or 3 hours at Sea, but there was a sad distraction, the Mariners again crying for Mercy, Mercy, for we had al­most fallen soul on a Rock under Water, which we did not spie till we were upon it, but by the Mercy of God, we Sail'd close by it, and yet escaped it, the least touch of it had been our ruine; about noon we came clear of all the Rocks on the Coast of Norway, and were Sailing for England, with a fair Gale of Wind. But [Page 89]in this prosperity, another sad ancident befel us, this third Ship sprang a leak and began to swim within as well as with­out, and we had no way to relieve our selves, but pumping (for the Leak could not be found) which we did day and night, for four or five days together, when it pleased God, we came safe, though in a great deal of danger, because of our rotten Ship, into Yarmouth Road; for the wind being very high, had like to have driven us upon a Scotch Vessel, who cry­ed out as well as we, but we happily mist him, and so safely arrived in Yarmouth Town, through the wonderful mercy of God. Deus Nobiscum.

The great Dangers, and Merciful Deliver­ances of William Okely and his Company from Slavery in a Canvas Boat, &c.

In the Year 1639. We took Ship at Gravesend, in the Mary of London, Mr. Boarder Master, bound for the Isle of Pro­vidence in the West-Indies, five weeks we [...]ay in the Downs, waiting for a wind, and then we set Sail, and came to an Anchor near the Isle of Wight, but by this time all the Beer in our Ship stunk, and we were forc'd to throw it overboard, and so take in Vinegar to mix with Water for our Voyage; the next Lords day we set Sail [Page 90]again, and coming between the Island and the main Land, we stuck fast in th [...] Sands, but the Tide coming in, heave [...] us off: the sixth day after our setting Sa [...] from the Isle of Wight, we discovered thre [...] Turks men of War, who chased us, and a [...] break of day boarded and took us; having kept us close Prisoners at Sea, at th [...] end of five or six Weeks, they brough [...] us to Algiers, where I was sold for a slay the first Market day to a Patron, wh [...] told me, ‘ I must allow him two Dollars Month, and live ashore where I would, an [...] get it where I could,’ though I knew no [...] where to levy the least Mite of it: Wa [...] dring up and down I met with an English-man in his little Shop, who Trade with Tobacco, and a few other things; I became his Partner with a little Money had reserved, and a small modicum m [...] Patron had allowed me for my stock Here I got money and hired a Cella [...] where I laid up some other of my Good when weary of my slavery, I formed design for my Liberty, and communicated it to John Anthony Carpenter, Wi [...] Adams Brick-layer, John Jephs Seaman John a Carpenter, and two others, me [...] of able Bodies, and useful in the intende [...] project, which was to contrive the Mo [...]del of a Boat, which being formed i [...] [Page 91]parcels, and afterwards put together, might be the means of our escape: They approved the Proposal, and in my Cel­lar we began to work, we provided first a piece of Timber of twelve foot long to make the Keel, but because it was impossible to convey it of that length out of the City, but it must be seen and suspected; we therefore cut it in two pieces, and fitted it for jointing just at the middle, and then we provided Ribs, af­ter which we made the Boat Water-tight, and because Boards would require much hammering, and that noise was like to betray us, we bought as much strong Canvas as would cover our Boat twice over upon the Convex of the Carine; we provided also as much Pitch, Tar, and Tallow, as would serve to make it a kind of Tarpawling Cerecloth to swaddle the Naked Body of our Infant Boat; of two Pipe staves sawed at the Corners, we made two things to serve for Oars, and for our Provision, we had a little Bread, and two Leather Bottles full of fresh Water, we also remembred to buy as much Canvas as would serve for a Sail, we carried out these in parts, and parcels, fitted them together in the Valley about half a mile from the Sea, whither Four of our Company carried the Boat on [Page 92]their Shoulders, and the rest followed them. At the Sea-side we stript, put our Clothes into the Boat, and carried it and them as far into the Sea as we could wade, and then all seven got into the Boat, but finding she was over laden, two of the Seamen were content to stay on shore; having bid them farewel, we lanched out, June 30. 1644. The Bill of Lading was John Anthony, Will. Adams, John Jephs, John the Carpenter and Will. Okely; Four of us wrought continually at the Oar, the Fisth was to free the Boat of that Water, which by degrees leaked through our Canvas, our Bread was soon spoiled with the soaking in the Salt-wa­ter, our Fresh-water stunk of the Tan­ned Skin, and Owze, yet we complained not; three days with good Husbandry our Bread lasted us, but then Pale Famine star'd us in the Face; Water indeed we might have, but it must be Salt, out of the Sea, or that which had been strain'd through our own Bodies, and that we chose of the two; but we must not have that after a while, unless we would accept of the other first; and the misery was, that did not asswage our Thirst, but inerease it; the Wind too, for some time was full against us, but God rebuked it, and made it our Friend; a second inconvenience was, that our [Page 93]Labour was without intermission; and a third, the extremity of the Heat by day, the season raging hot, the begin­ning of July, and we wanted fresh-water to cool the Heat, our Labour made it insup­portable to our Bodies, and our little hope made it as grievous to our Souls; one help we had, a poor one, he that emptied the Boat, threw the Water on the Bodies of the other to cool them; but our Bodies thus scorched and cooled rose up in Bli­sters all over; great pain we felt, great dan­gers we were in, great Miseries we indur'd, great wants we were under, and had nothing but a little Hope, Food and Strength: If any Ask by what Directions we steered our course to Mayorck, whither we design'd to go? For the day a Pocket Dial did supply the place of a Compass, by Night the Stars when they appear'd, and when not, we gues­sed our way by the the motion of the Clouds: Four Days and Nights were we in this woful plight; on the fifth, all hope that we should be sav'd was perish'd, so that we left off our Labour, because we had no strength left, only emptied the Boat of Water; but then God sent us some Relief, for as we lay hulling up and down, we discover'd Tortoise, not far from us asleep in the Sea; had Drake discover'd the Spanish Fleet, he could not have more [Page 94]Rejoyc'd; we took up our Oars, silently rowed to our Prey, took it into the Boat with Great Triumph; we cut off her Head, and let her Bleed into a Pot, we drank the Blood, eat the Liver, and sucked the Flesh: it wonderfully refreshed our Spi­rits, and we picked up some crumbs of Hope: about Noon we thought we dis­cover'd Land; it's impossible to express the joy of our raised Souls at this appre­hension, we Wrought hard, and after further Labour were fully satisfy'd that it was Land, and proved to be Mayork, which we kept within sight of all day. July the 6th. about Ten at Night we came under the Island, and crept as near the Shore as we could or durst, till we found a convenient place, where we might thrust in our Weather-beaten Boat; when we were come to Land we were not in­sensible of our deliverance; but though we had escap'd the Sea, we might die at Land; We had no Food since we eat the Liver, and drank the Blood of the Tor­toise; therefore John Anthony and my self were sent out to Scout abroad for Fresh-Water, because we spake some Spanish; We came to a Watch-Tower of the Spa­niards, spake to him on the Watch, told him our Condition, earnestly begged some Fresh-Water, and some Bread; he [Page 95]threw us down and old mouldy Cake, but so long as it was a Cake, Hunger did not consider its Mouldiness; then he direct­ed us to Fresh-Water which was hard by; We stood not telling of Stories, we re­membred our Brethren left with our Boat, and observing the Centinel's Directions, came to a Well, where there was a Pot with strings to draw with; we drank a little Water, and eat a bit of our Cake, but the passage was so disused, that we had much ado to force our Throats to re­lieve our clamorous Stomachs; we re­turn to our Boat, and acquaint them with the Good Successes of our Embassy, and all prepare to make to the Well, so tying our Boat as fast as we could to the shore we left her to Mercy: N [...]w w [...] are at the Well which hath Water therein, and we have something to draw with, but God must give us a Throat to swallow; for Will. Adams attempting to drink, after many Essays, was not able to swallow it, but still the Water return'd, so that he sunk down to the ground, Fainting, saying, I am a Dead Man: But after much stri­ving he took a little; so refreshed with our Cake and Water, we lay by the Well side till the Morning; when it was clear day, we again went to the Watch­man, intreating him to direct us the ready [Page 96]way to the next House or Town, wher [...] we might find Relief; he civilly pointed to us to one about Two Mile off, and long it was ere our Blistering Feet could overcome the tediousness o [...] that little way: When we came thither the honest Farmer, moved with our Relation, sent us Bread and Water, and Olives and seeing us Thankful Beggars, inlarge [...] his Civility to us, called us into his House and gave good warm Bean Pottage, which seem'd to me the most pleasant Food that ever I eat in my Life, then we ad­vanced to the City of Mayorck, about Te [...] Miles from that place; that Night we lay by a Well side, and in the Morning we e [...]ed the Suburbs; the Vice-Roy was informed of us, and we were com­manded to appear before him, who, after he had Examin'd us, and heard our Story, order'd we should be maintain'd at his own Cost, till we could have Passage to our own Country. But our English Ships seldom Trading thither, we Petition'd the Vice-Roy for Passage in the King of Spain's Gallies, which were in the Road bound for Alicant, which he graciously granted us; after some other Troubles we met with contrary Winds, and it was five Weeks ere we could reach the Downs, where we arriv'd in Sept. 1644. The [Page 97]Commader of the Ship was Capt. Smith of Rotherhithe. Mr. Thomas Saunders, my Wives Brother, being in Mayorck not long after we came from thence, saw our Boat hung for a Monument upon the side of Great Church there; and Mr. Robert Hales was there 1671. and assures me, that he saw the Naked Ribs and Skeleton of it then hanging in the same place. Wanly's Hist. Man, p. 642.

The Merciful Preservation and Deliverance of Capt. Blose and his ships Company, who were Cast away in an Island of Ice near Russia, this present year 1697.

October. the 7th. 1696. We came from Archangel in Russia in the Riga Merchant, Burthen 300 Tuns, 18 Guns, Samuel Blose Commander. The 8th we had the Wind at North West by West, we plied to Wind­ward, and it blew very hard; the 10th we took two Reefs in our Topsails; the 12th we took in our Topsails, and Reefe [...] Costs; the 13th about One in the Morn­ing we Sprung a Leak, in so much that we were forced to set both our Pumps to Work, and bear away before the Wind; yet still the Water increased; and the 14th we cut our Main-Sail from the Yard, and let him fly overboard, the Weather being so excessive thick by reason of the [Page 98]extraordinary much Snow that then fell, that we could not see the Land, nor any place where we could run our Ship A­shore to save our Lives; The 15 in the Mor­ning, about One of the Clock, by For­tune, unexpected of us, before we saw any Land, we struck upon an Island, called by the Russes, Mussoves, lying in the Missen Gulf, which by the Miraculous hand of God we light on, and were all got­ten well ashore; for as God of his wonder­ful goodness so order'd it, we struck about High Water, and as the Water fell away, our Ship dryed, so that we got safe to Land without any harm; and if it had pleased God we happen'd ever so little, either to one side or the other we should have all perish'd among the Islands of Ice. When we got all ashore, we made us a Tent, and when it was Day, looking about us, saw something like Houses; so our Captain and a Dutch Merchant Passenger that we had on Board of our Ship, and our Doctor, went to see what they were, thinking to find some Inhabitants, but they could find none: then we went Aboard our Ship, and got all our Beef ashore that we could find, about One hundred Weight of Bisket Bread, which was all the Bread we could find; then we Calculated that our Beef at Four Pieces a day, would serve [Page 99]us till the middle of May, and every Man one Bisket a Day; but that would last but a small time: Besides, we got ashore Three Boxes of Candles, which was a great comfort to us in our necessity, by reason we had not above Three hours Day. Then we got all our things we had saved to the House that we saw; and going a­bout discover'd a great many Houses, and we went to them to see what we could find, expecting to see some People, but there was none but empty Cask, so we came home to the place that we had car­ried our things to again; but, as God would have it, just against the House that we had taken for our Habitation, in the Snow we saw Two Cask, and we went and found them both full of Rye Meal, which was a Joy beyond measure to us in our Extremity; and then we found another Cask with a Kneading-Tub in it: Decem. the First, the Dutch Merchant, and Four more of our hands went out and took a Compass, and Provision with them, upon Discovery, hoping to see some bo­dy to speak to, that we might know where we were, but they could find no Inha­bitants, the Course they steered was S. E. but when they came to turn back, their Compass unhung, and they not mind­ing it, went up and down a long time, [Page 100]and at length came to the same place where they were when they first turned back; then they looked more earnestly upon their Compass, and found it unhung, they hung it, and came the direct way home again; but when they came in sight of a House that was about Two Miles off of our House, the Merchant and one more Travelling better than the o­ther Three, went before, and promis'd them to make a Fire against they came; but the Weather being so severe, they were not able to come along, but were Starved with the Cold before they got up to us: So the Lord, of his great Mer­cy, made Provision for us until the First of March, it being a Sabbath-day, and we at our Devotion, one of our Boys being at another House Broiling of our Victu­als, saw some Men upon the Island, he fell down, being much surpriz'd, but soon got up again, and run and told us; up­on which we left our Prayers, and run to see what they were; our Merchant could speak the Language, which was the preservation of all our Lives, for other­ways they would have Murther'd us for breaking down their Houses, and Eating their Provisions that we found upon the Island, for they would not be perswaded but we were Pirats and Robbers, by reason that [Page 101]we were Building of a Small Vessel for our own Security, to carry us to the Main when the Ice broke up; but our Merchant speaking their Language, persuaded them, and promised them to make them Satis­faction for what Damage we had done them; for we broke down Two of their Houses for Firing: So they turned us out of our Houses, and took our Meal from us. The Men that came over were in Num­ber 500, Ten Men in a Boat, they came there to kill Seales: They asked us what we had seen? We told them, Nothing but Two Ravens. They made very strange of it, and would not believe it: For they told us, That none of them live there but Six Weeks in the Year, whether they catch Fish or not, the Island was so Haunted. Soon after the Russians came there, that Man that saved his Life, and got well home with the Merchant, when the other Three were Starved with the Cold, Died, which made Four that were Dead, our Com­pliment at first was 27, but then we had but 23 Living: Then our Merchant went to the Russians, and desired them to put us over, and he would satisfie them for it; They granted we should have Six Boats, and 60 Men to Drag us over the Ice, for it was Seven Leagues from the Main, and all full of Islands of Ice between, [Page 102]insomuch that they were 24 hours com­ing over, when they came upon the said Island: But it pleased the Lord so to or­der it, that after they had dragg'd us o­ver Two small Islands of Ice, that as God parted the Red-Sea for the Children of Isra­el to pass through, so he parted the Ice from us, insomuch that we got over in Six hours time, which the Russians told us was never so before. But when we came over we lay where there were 1000 Men a Fishing. The first Night: and the next Morning we hired Sledges to drag us to some place Inhabited: The Beasts that dragg'd the Sledges along they call Roeys, they are like Deer, but larger: We were forc'd to be Dragg'd, we could not Travel our Limbs were so disabled with the Cold be­fore we got off the aforesaid Island: be­sides the Snow was of such a vast thickness, and so hard Frozen, that we could find no Path, if we could Travel never so well, if the Shamake [...], as they call them, had not shown us the way; the first Night of our Journey upon the Sledges our Carpenters Mate died, so we made a Hole in the Snow and put him in, and left him. Then our Captain, and the Merchant, and the Doctor, being but single in a Sledge, and we near double, went faster than us to the next Town to provide Victuals and fresh Sledges [Page 103]for us against we came; and when we came to that Town we got Sledges that had Horses to draw them along, so we Rid Night and Day till we came to Archangel; the Third day of our Travels another of our Men Died, and the 5th day another; the former we Buryed in the Ground, be­cause we were nigh a Town, but the other we Buryed in the Snow: So that when we came to Archangel, out of our 27 Men, we had but 20 left. March the 17th we came off the aforesaid Island, and we Tra­vell'd Night and Day, except the first Night, until the 25th of the same Month. Two days after we came to Archangel we lost another Man. At Archangel our Cap­tain got Stoves for us to inhabit in, and sent us Provision, where we remain'd till the 6th day of June, when there came in Six Sail of Hollanders, being the First that came that year, who divided us amongst them, and brought us to Greenland, and from thence some of us were brought to Holland, and some to Hamborough, from whence 16 of us got Passage to England, where we Arriv'd the 15 of Nov. 1697. Two went to the Straits, and our Dutch Merchant tarried in Holland.

This Account is given by Francis Lee, who was Boatswain of the Ship, and Attested by others now Living in London.