A. E. Verrill — The Bermuda Islands. 543 



of his Majestie in a piece of Silver of twelve pence, and on each 

 side of the Crosse, hee set an Inscription graven in Copper, in the 

 Latine and English to this purpose. 



" In memory of our great Deliverance, hoth from a mightie storme 

 and leake : we have set up this to the honour of God. It is the 

 spoyle of an English ship of three hundred tunne, called the SEA 

 VENTURE, bound with seven ships more (from which the storme 

 divided us) to Virginia, or Nova Britania, in America. In it were 

 two Knights, Sir Thomas Gates, Knight, Governour of the English 

 Forces and Colonie there : and Sir George Summers, Knight, 

 Admirall of the Seas. Her Captaine was Christopher Newport, 

 Passengers and Mariners, shee had beside (which came all safe to 

 Land) one hundred and fiftie. We were forced to runne her ashore 

 (by reason of her leake) under a Point that bore South-east from 

 the Northerne Point of the Hand, which was discovered first the 

 eisrht and twentieth of July 1 009." 



Sir George Somers built a smaller pinnace, 29 feet long and 15^ 

 feet beam, of about 30 tons, at a " Building Bay " on the Main 

 Island, but the exact site is unknown.* 



During this period of nine months they had there three mutinies, 

 one murder, one execution, one marriage, and two christenings, 

 besides other notable events. 



Strachy states that Admiral' Somers laid out a garden at Gates' 

 Bay, close to the shore, and planted various vegetable seeds, which 

 came up, but came to nothing, and that the sugar canes that he 

 planted were eaten by the wild hogs, for he had no fences. The 

 planting was not done at the best season, and the soil may have 

 been poor or too dry; moreover the exposure to northerly and 

 easterly winds and spray might have killed his plants, for they were 

 near the shore. f 



They found fishes, birds, and sea-tui'tles very abundant, as well as 



* Strachy 's description of Somers' pinnace is as follows: "About the last of 

 Aprill, Sir George Summers launched his Pinnasse, and brought her from his 

 building Bay, in the Mayne Hand, into the Channell where om^s did ride, and 

 shee was by the Keele nine and twentie foot : at the Beanie fifteene foot and an 

 halfe : at the Loofe fourteene, at the Transam nine, and she was eight foot 

 deepe, and drew sixe foot water, and hee called her the Patience." 



This appears to have been the same vessel in which Somers returned to Ber- 

 muda a few months later, and in which his party returned thence to England. 



f If the wood rats were then present on the islands, as seems probable, they 

 might have destroyed the plants at night, without being observed, as in later 

 years. 



