Life And Adventures Of Peter Wilkins, Vol. I. (of II.)

  CHAPTER V.

  His first entertainment on board--Sets sail--His sickness-- Engagement with a French privateer--Is taken and laid in irons--Twenty-one prisoners turned adrift in a small boat with only two days' provision

  Being once on board and in pay, I thought I was a man for myself, andset about considering how to behave; and nobody knowing, as yet, uponwhat footing I came on board, they took me for a passenger, as my dressdid not at all bespeak me a sailor; so every one, as I sauntered about,had something to say to me. By and by comes a pert young fellow up:"Sir," says he, "your servant; what, I see our captain has picked up apassenger at last."--"Passenger?" says I; "you are pleased to bemerry, sir; I am no passenger."--"Why, pray," says he, "what may yoube then?"--"Sir," says I, "the captain's steward."--"You impertinentpuppy," says he, "what an answer you give me; you the captain's steward!No, sir, that place, I can assure you, is in better hands!" and away heturned. I knew not what to think of it, but was terribly afraid I shoulddraw myself into some scrape. By and by others asked me, some one thing,some another, and I was very cautious what answers I made them, for fearof offence: till a gravish sailor came and sat down by me; and aftertalking of the weather and other indifferent matters, "Pray," says I,"sir, who is that gentleman that was so affronted at me soon after Icame on board?"--"Oh," says he, "a proud, insignificant fellow, thecaptain's steward; but don't mind him," says he; "he uses the captainhimself as bad; they have had high words just before the captain went onshore; and had he used me as he did him, I should have made no ceremonyof tipping him overboard--a rascal!" Says I, "You surprise me; for thecaptain sent me on board to be his steward, and agreed with me about itthis afternoon."--"Hush," says he, "I see how it will go; the captain,if that's the case, will discharge him when he comes on board; andindeed I believe he would not have kept him so long, but we have waitedfor a wind, and he could not provide himself."

  The captain came on board at night; and the first thing he did was todemand the keys of Mr. Steward, which he gave to me, and ordered him onshore.

  The next morning the captain went on shore himself; but the windchopping about and standing fair about noon, he returned then with mychest, and before night we were got into sailing order, and before thewind with a brisk gale.

  What happened the first fourteen days of our passage I know not, havingbeen all that time so sick and weak I could scarcely keep life and soultogether; but after grew better and better. We prosecuted our voyage,touching for about a week at the Madeiras in our way. The captain grewvery fond of me, and never put me to hard duty, and I passed my time,under his favour, very pleasantly. One evening, being within sixtyleagues of the Cape of Palms, calm weather, but the little wind we hadagainst us, one of our men spied a sail, and gave the captain notice ofit He, not suspecting danger, minded it little, and we made what way thewind would permit, but night coming on, and the calm continuing, aboutpeep of day we perceived we were infallibly fallen in with a Frenchprivateer, who, hoisting French colours, called out to us to strike. Ourcaptain had scarce time to consider what to do, they were so near us;but as he had twenty-two men on board, and eight guns he could bringto, he called all hands upon deck, and telling them the consequence of asurrender, asked them if they would stand by him. One and all sworethey would fight the ship to the bottom, rather than fall into theprivateer's hands. The captain immediately gave the word for a cleardeck, prepared his firearms, and begged them to be active and obeyorders; and perceiving the privateer out-numbered our hands byabundance, he commanded all the small arms to be brought upon deckloaded, and to run out as many of the ship's guns as she could bring toon one side, and to charge them all with small shot, then stand to tillhe gave directions. The privateer being a light ship, and a small breezearising, run up close to us, first firing one gun, then another, stillcalling out to us to strike, but we neither returned fire nor answer,till he came almost within pistol-shot of us, and seeing us a smallvessel, thought to board us directly; but then our captain ordered abroadside, and immediately all hands to come on deck; himself standingthere at the time of our first fire with his fusee in his hand, andnear him I stood with another. We killed eight men and wounded severalothers. The privateer then fired a broadside through and through us.By this time our hands were all on deck, and the privateer pushing, inhopes to grapple and board us, we gave them a volley from thence, thatdid good execution; and then all hands to the ship's guns again, exceptfour, who were left along with me to charge the small arms. It isincredible how soon they had fired the great guns and were on deckagain. This last fire, being with ball, raked the privateer miserably.Then we fired the small arms, and away to the ship's guns. This we didthree times successively without loss of a man, and I believe ifwe could have held it once more, and no assistance had come to theprivateer, she had sheered quite off: but our captain spying a sailat some distance behind the privateer, who lay to windward of us, andseeing by his glass it was a Frenchman, was almost dismayed; the samesight put courage into our enemies, who thereupon redoubled the attack,and the first volley of their small arms shot our captain in the breast,upon which he dropped dead without stirring. I need not say that sightshocked me exceedingly. Indeed it disconcerted the whole action; andthough our mate, a man of good courage and experience, did all that abrave man could do to animate the men, they apparently drooped, andthe loss of the ship became inevitable; so we struck, and the Frenchmanboarded us.

  During the latter part of the engagement we had two men killed and fivewounded, who died afterwards of their wounds. We, who were alive, wereall ordered on board the Frenchman, who, after rifling us, chained ustwo and two and turned us into the hold. Our vessel was then ransacked;and the other privateer, who had suffered much the day before in anengagement with an English twenty-gun ship of war, coming up, the prizewas sent by her into port, where she herself was to refit. In thiscondition did I and fourteen of our crew lie for six weeks, till thefetters on our legs had almost eaten to the bone, and the stench of theplace had well-nigh suffocated us.

  The "Glorieux" (for that was the name of the privateer who took us)saw nothing farther in five weeks worth her notice, which very muchdiscouraged the men; and consulting together, it was agreed to cruisemore northward, between Sierra Leone and Cape de Verde; but about noonnext day they spied a sail coming west-north-west with a fresh gale.The captain thereupon ordered all to be ready, and lie by for her. Butthough she discerned us, she kept her way, bearing only more southward;when the wind shifting to northeast, she ran for it, full before thewind, and we after her, with all the sail we could crowd; and thoughshe was a very good sailer, we gained upon her, being laden, and beforenight came pretty well up with her; but being a large ship, and theevening hazy, we did not choose to engage her till morning. The nextmorning we found she was slunk away; but we fetched her up, and hoistingFrench colours, fired a shot, which she not answering, our captain runalongside of her and fired a broadside; then slackening upon her, ahard engagement ensued; the shot thumping so against our ship, that weprisoners, who had nothing to do in the action, expected death, one orother of us, every moment. The merchantman was so heavy loaded, and drewso much water, that she was very unwieldy in action; so after a fight oftwo hours, when most of her rigging and masts were cut and wounded, shestruck. Twelve men were sent on board her, and her captain and severalofficers were ordered on board us.

  There were thirty-eight persons in her, including passengers; all ofwhom, except five, and the like number which had been killed in theaction, were sent chained into the hold to us, who had lain there almostsix weeks. This prize put Monsieur into good heart, and determined himto return home with her. But in two days' time his new acquisition wasfound to have leaked so fast near the bottom, that before they wereaware of it the water was risen some feet. Several hands were employedto find out the leak; but all asserted it was too low to be come at; andas the pumps, with all the labour the prisoners, who were the personsput to it, could use, would not reduce it, but it still increased,
theyremoved what goods they could into the privateer; and before they couldunload it the prize sunk.

  The next thing they consulted upon was what to do with the prisoners,who, by the loss of the prize, were now grown too numerous to be trustedin the privateer; fearing, too, as they were now so far out at sea,by the great addition of mouths, they might soon be brought to short.allowance, it was, on both accounts, resolved to give us the prize'sboat, which they had saved, and turn us adrift to shift for ourselves.There were in all forty-three of us; but the privateer having lostseveral of their own men in the two engagements, they looked us over,and picking out two-and-twenty of us, who were the most likely fellowsfor their purpose, the remaining one-and-twenty were committed to theboat, with about two days' provision and a small matter of ammunition,and turned out.