XOSS OF THE NOTTINGHAM GALLEY. 185 
SO much service as to turn two or three hours rain, and pre- 
serve us from the cold pinching w^inds which were always 
very severe upon us. 
About the latter end of December our carpenter, a fat man, 
and naturally of a dull, heavy, phlegmatic disposition, aged 
about forty-seven, who, from our first coming on shore, had 
been constantly very ill, and lost the use of his feet, complain- 
ed of excessive pain in his back, and stiffness in his neck. 
He was likewise almost choked with phlegm, for want of 
strength to discharge it, and appeared to draw near his end. 
We prayed over him, and used our utmost endeavors to be 
serviceable to him in his last moments ; he showed himself 
sensible, though speechless, and died that night. We suffered 
the body to remain till morning, when I desired those who 
were most able to remove it ; creeping out myself to see whe- 
ther Providence had sent us any thing to satisfy the exces- 
sive cravings of our appetites. Returning before noon, and 
not seeing the dead body without the tent, I inquired why 
they had not removed it, and received for answer, they were 
not all of them able ; upon which, fastening a rope to the bo- 
dy, I gave the utmost of my assistance, and with some diffi- 
culty we dragged it out of the tent. But fatigue and the con- 
sideration of our misery so overcame my spirits, that, be- 
ing ready to faint, I crept into the tent, and was no sooner 
there, than, to add to my trouble, the men began to request 
my permission to eat the dead body, the better to support their 
lives. 
This circumstance was, of all the trials I had encountered, 
the most grievous and shocking : to see myself and company, 
who came hither laden with provisions but three weeks be- 
fore, now reduced to such a deplorable situation ; two of us 
having been absolutely starved to death, while, ignorant of 
the fate of two others, the rest, though still living, were re- 
duced to the last extremity, and requiring to eat the dead for 
their support. 
After mature consideration of the lawfulness or sinfulness 
on the one hand, and absolute necessity on the other, judg- 
ment and conscience were obliged to submit to the more pre- 
vailing arguments of our craving appetites. We at length 
determined to satisfy our hunger, and support our feeble bo- 
dies with the carcass of our deceased companion. I first 
ordered his skin, head, hands, feet, and bowels to be buried 
in the sea, and the body to be quartered, for the convenience 
of drying and carriage; but again received for answer, that, 
16* 
