543 A. EH. Verrill—The Bermuda Islands. 131 
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, both 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 Iland, which was discovered first the 
eight and twentieth of July 1609.” 
Sir George Somers built a smaller pinnace, 29 feet long and 154 
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.+ 
They found fishes, birds, and sea-turtles 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 Iland, into the Channell where ours did ride, and 
shee was by the Keele nine and twentie foot: at the Beame 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. 
+ 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. 
