﻿THE 
  ISLANDS 
  OF 
  BERMUDA 
  

  

  11 
  

  

  fast 
  and 
  from 
  her 
  deck 
  were 
  then 
  safely 
  

   landed 
  the 
  whole 
  ship's 
  company 
  of 
  150. 
  

  

  Somers 
  was 
  a 
  man 
  of 
  heroic 
  type. 
  

   Fuller 
  said 
  of 
  him 
  : 
  "This 
  George 
  Som- 
  

   ers 
  was 
  a 
  lamb 
  on 
  the 
  land, 
  so 
  patient 
  

   that 
  few 
  could 
  anger 
  him, 
  and 
  (as 
  if 
  on 
  

   entering 
  a 
  ship 
  he 
  had 
  assumed 
  a 
  new 
  

   nature) 
  a 
  lion 
  at 
  sea, 
  so 
  passionate 
  that 
  

   few 
  could 
  please 
  him." 
  

  

  They 
  remained 
  in 
  the 
  islands 
  nine 
  

   months. 
  

  

  Somers 
  and 
  Gates 
  divided 
  the 
  company 
  

   into 
  two 
  parties, 
  who 
  lived 
  apart, 
  and 
  

   there 
  was 
  some 
  friction 
  as 
  to 
  authority. 
  

   Among 
  Somers' 
  men 
  were 
  lazy 
  recalci- 
  

   trants, 
  who 
  did 
  not 
  wish 
  to 
  do 
  the 
  work 
  

   and 
  run 
  the 
  risk 
  involved 
  in 
  going 
  on 
  to 
  

   Virginia. 
  Bermuda 
  was 
  good 
  enough 
  for 
  

   them, 
  and 
  two 
  of 
  them 
  did 
  hide 
  and 
  re- 
  

   main 
  in 
  the 
  islands. 
  

  

  Each 
  party 
  built 
  a 
  pinnace, 
  and 
  finally, 
  

   under 
  Somers' 
  leadership, 
  they 
  sailed 
  

   together, 
  all 
  but 
  the 
  two 
  already 
  men- 
  

   tioned, 
  for 
  Virginia. 
  The 
  pinnaces 
  were 
  

   40 
  feet 
  and 
  29 
  feet 
  long, 
  respectively, 
  

   and 
  in 
  these 
  they 
  set 
  out 
  and 
  reached 
  

   Jamestown, 
  where 
  they 
  found 
  a 
  famine. 
  

   Fortunately, 
  a 
  day 
  or 
  two 
  after 
  their 
  

   arrival, 
  Lord 
  Dela 
  Warre, 
  as 
  Governor, 
  

   arrived 
  with 
  a 
  cargo 
  of 
  provisions 
  and 
  

   the 
  colony 
  was 
  saved. 
  

  

  SOMERS 
  DIES 
  ON 
  THE 
  ISLANDS 
  

  

  Somers 
  reported 
  that 
  "the 
  Bermooda 
  

   is 
  the 
  most 
  plentiful 
  place 
  that 
  I 
  ever 
  

   came 
  to 
  for 
  fnshe, 
  hogge 
  and 
  fowle." 
  He 
  

   said 
  further: 
  "These 
  islands 
  have 
  ever 
  

   been 
  accounted 
  as 
  an 
  enchanted 
  pile 
  of 
  

   rocks 
  and 
  a 
  desert 
  habitation 
  for 
  devils 
  ; 
  

   but 
  all 
  the 
  fairies 
  of 
  the 
  rocks 
  were 
  but 
  

   flocks 
  of 
  birds, 
  and 
  all 
  the 
  devils 
  that 
  

   haunted 
  the 
  woods 
  but 
  heards 
  of 
  swine." 
  

  

  His 
  report 
  suggested 
  to 
  the 
  colonists 
  

   that 
  it 
  would 
  be 
  a 
  great 
  boon 
  to 
  them 
  if 
  a 
  

   cargo 
  of 
  these 
  hogs 
  could 
  be 
  brought 
  to 
  

   Virginia. 
  So 
  Somers, 
  good 
  and 
  brave 
  

   man 
  as 
  he 
  was, 
  volunteered 
  to 
  go 
  back 
  to 
  

   the 
  islands 
  for 
  the 
  purpose, 
  and 
  set 
  forth 
  

   in 
  the 
  pinnace 
  which 
  had 
  brought 
  him 
  to 
  

   Jamestown. 
  

  

  He 
  reached 
  the 
  islands, 
  but 
  his 
  labors 
  

   had 
  undermined 
  his 
  health, 
  and 
  he 
  died 
  

   in 
  Bermuda 
  shortly 
  afterward. 
  His 
  heart 
  

   was 
  buried 
  there, 
  but 
  his 
  body 
  was 
  taken 
  

   by 
  his 
  companions, 
  headed 
  by 
  his 
  nephew, 
  

   to 
  England. 
  A 
  monument 
  was 
  set 
  up 
  to 
  

  

  his 
  memory 
  in 
  Bermuda. 
  The 
  islands 
  

   were 
  named 
  after 
  him 
  in 
  the 
  charter 
  sub- 
  

   sequently 
  issued, 
  but 
  the 
  name 
  of 
  the 
  

   original 
  Spanish 
  discoverer 
  has 
  persisted. 
  

  

  The 
  two 
  men 
  who 
  had 
  remained 
  on 
  

   the 
  islands 
  while 
  Somers 
  went 
  to 
  Vir- 
  

   ginia, 
  were 
  able 
  to 
  live 
  there 
  until 
  Somers' 
  

   return, 
  and 
  when 
  his 
  nephew 
  and 
  the 
  

   crew 
  took 
  his 
  body 
  home, 
  a 
  third 
  de- 
  

   serted 
  and 
  joined 
  the 
  other 
  two. 
  They 
  

   soon 
  quarreled 
  and 
  two 
  of 
  them 
  were 
  

   only 
  prevented 
  from 
  killing 
  each 
  other 
  

   in 
  a 
  duel 
  by 
  the 
  third's 
  hiding 
  the 
  

   weapons. 
  

  

  Washington 
  Irving, 
  whose 
  travels 
  took 
  

   him 
  to 
  Bermuda, 
  celebrates 
  this 
  trium- 
  

   virate 
  in 
  a 
  short 
  story 
  he 
  called 
  "The 
  

   Three 
  Kings 
  of 
  Bermuda." 
  

  

  pos&ibey 
  the 
  scene: 
  of 
  Shakespeare's 
  

   "tempest" 
  

  

  Somers 
  was 
  accompanied 
  on 
  these 
  trips 
  

   by 
  two 
  men, 
  Sil 
  Jourdan 
  and 
  William 
  

   Strachey, 
  who 
  wrote 
  and 
  published 
  ac- 
  

   counts 
  of 
  the 
  storm, 
  the 
  wreck, 
  and 
  of 
  the 
  

   marvels 
  of 
  the 
  islands. 
  

  

  Jourdan's 
  book 
  was 
  published 
  in 
  Eng- 
  

   land 
  in 
  1 
  6 
  10. 
  William 
  Strachey 
  went 
  to 
  

   England 
  in 
  that 
  year 
  and 
  settled 
  in 
  

   Blackfriars, 
  where 
  Shakespeare 
  then 
  was 
  

   living. 
  

  

  Shakespeare 
  published 
  his 
  play 
  of 
  "The 
  

   Tempest" 
  some 
  time 
  not 
  later 
  than 
  1614, 
  

   probably 
  as 
  early 
  as 
  161 
  1. 
  Malone, 
  one 
  

   of 
  the 
  early 
  commentators, 
  became 
  con- 
  

   vinced 
  that 
  Shakespeare 
  intended 
  to 
  make 
  

   the 
  Bermudas 
  the 
  scene 
  of 
  his 
  plav, 
  and 
  

   this 
  view 
  has 
  been 
  accepted 
  by 
  many. 
  

   Thomas 
  Moore, 
  who 
  lived 
  in 
  Bermuda 
  

   for 
  a 
  time, 
  assumed 
  it, 
  and 
  Kipling 
  is 
  an 
  

   enthusiastic 
  supporter 
  of 
  Malone's 
  view 
  

   and 
  finds 
  a 
  beach 
  in 
  Bermuda 
  where 
  one 
  

   of 
  the 
  scenes 
  might 
  well 
  have 
  been 
  en- 
  

   acted. 
  

  

  The 
  theory 
  is 
  that 
  Shakespeare 
  read 
  

   Jourdan's 
  book 
  and 
  account 
  of 
  the 
  storm 
  

   and 
  talked 
  it 
  over 
  with 
  Strachey, 
  whom 
  

   he 
  must 
  have 
  known 
  in 
  16 
  10, 
  because 
  

   they 
  were 
  close 
  neighbors, 
  and 
  Shake- 
  

   speare 
  was 
  wont 
  to 
  draw 
  his 
  knowledge 
  

   from 
  those 
  whom 
  he 
  met 
  in 
  daily 
  life. 
  

  

  Resemblances 
  to 
  the 
  circumstances 
  de- 
  

   tailed 
  in 
  Jourdan's 
  and 
  Strachey's 
  ac- 
  

   counts 
  of 
  the 
  storm 
  and 
  wreck 
  of 
  the 
  

   Sea 
  Venture 
  are 
  traced 
  in 
  the 
  lines 
  and 
  

   scenes 
  of 
  the 
  play. 
  

  

  