第15章

In short，I took all possible Caution to preserve my Effects，and keep up my Plantation；had I used half as much Prudence to have look'd into my own Intrest，and have made a Judgment of what I ought to have done，and not to have done，I had certainly never gone away from so prosperous an Undertaking，leaving all the probable Views of a thriving Circumstance，and gone upon a Voyage to Sea，attended with all its common Hazards；to say nothing of the Reasons I had to expect particular Misfortunes to my self.

But I was hurried on，and obey'd blindly the Dictates of my Fancy rather than my Reason；and accordingly the Ship being fitted out，and the Cargo furnished，and all things done as by Agreement，by my Partners in the Voyage，I went on Board in an evil Hour，the [first] of [September]，[1659]，being the same Day eight Year that I went from my Father and Mother at Hull，in order to act the Rebel to their Authority，and the Fool to my own Interest.

Our Ship was about 120 Tun Burthen，carried 6 Guns，and 14 Men，besides the Master，his Boy，and my self；we had on board no large Cargo of Goods，except of such Toys as were fit for our Trade with the Negroes，such as Beads，bits of Glass，Shells，and odd Trifles，especially little Looking- Glasses，Knives，Scissars，Hatchets，and the like.

The same Day I went on board we set sail，standing away to the Northward upon our own Coast，with Design to stretch over for the African Coast，when they came about 10 or 12 Degrees of Northern Latitude，which it seems was the manner of their Course in those Days. We had very good Weather，only excessive hot，all the way upon our own Coast，till we came the Height of Cape St. Augustino，from whence keeping farther off at Sea we lost Sight of Land，and steer'd as if we was bound for the Isle Fernand de Horonha holding our Course N.E. by N. and leaving those Isles on the East；in this Course we past the Line in about 12 Days time，and were by our last Observation in 7 Degrees 22 Min. Northern Latitude，when a violent Tournado or Hurricane took us quite out of our Knowledge：it began from the South-East，came about to the North-West，and en settled into the North-East，from whence it blew in such a terrible manner，that for twelve Days together we could do nothing but drive，and scudding away before it，let it carry us whither ever Fate and the Fury of the Winds directed；and during these twelve Days，I aced not say，that I expected every Day to be swallowed up，nor indeed did any in the Ship expect to save their Lives.

In this Distress，we had besides the Terror of the Storm，one of our Men dyed of the Calenture，and one Man and the Boy wash'd over board；about the 12th Day the Weather abating a little，the Master made an Observation as well as he could，and found that he was in about 11 Degrees North Latitude，but that he was 22 Degrees of Longitude difference West from Cape St. Augustino；so that he found he was gotten upon the Coast of Guinea，or the North Part of Brasil，beyond the River Amozones，toward that of the River Oronoque，commonly call'd the Great River，and began to consult with me what Course he should take，for the Ship leaky and very much disabled，and he was going directly back to the Coast of Brasil.

I was positively against that，and looking over the Charts the Sea-Coast of America with him，we concluded the as no inhabited Country for us to had recourse to，till we came within the Circle of the Carribbe-Islands，and therefore resolved to stand away for Barbadoes，which by keeping off at Sea，to avoid the Indraft of the Bay or Gulph of Mexico，we night easily perform，as we hoped，in about fifteen Day Sail；whereas we could not possibly make our Voyage to the Coast of Africa without some Assistance，both to our Ship and to our selves.

With this Design we chang'd our Course and steer'd away N. W. by W. in order to reach some of our English Islands，where I hoped for Relief；but our Voyage was otherwise determined，for being in the Latitude of Deg. 18 Min. a second Storm came upon us，which carry'd us away with the same Impetuosity Westward，and drove us so out of the very Way of all humane Commerce，that had all our Lives been saved，as to the Sea，we were rather in Danger of being devoured by Savages than ever returning to our own Country. In this Distress，the Wind still blowing very hard，one of our Men early in the Morning，cry'd out，Land；and we had no sooner run out of the Cabbin to look out in hopes of seeing where abouts in the World we were；but the Ship struck upon a Sand，and in a moment her Motion being so stopp'd，the Sea broke over her in such a manner，that we expected we should all have perish'd immediately，and we were immediately driven into our close Quarters to shelter us the very Foam and Sprye of the Sea.

It is not easy for any one，who has not been in the like Condition，to describe or conceive the Consternation of Men in such Circumstances；we knew nothing where we were，or upon what Land it was we were driven，whether an Island or the Main，whether inhabited or not，inhabited；and as the Rage of the Wind was still great，tho rather less than at first，we could not so much as hope to have the Ship hold many Minutes without breaking in Pieces，unless the Winds by a kind of Miracle should turn immediately about. In a word，we sat looking upon one another，and expecting Death every Moment，and every Man acting accordingly，as preparing for another World，for there was little or nothing more for us to do in this；that which was our present Comfort，and all the Comfort we had，was，that contrary to our Expectation the Ship did not break yet，and that the Master said the Wind began to abate.