Book I. 
130 The V O Y 
Carpenter’s Mate, What he thought of it ? He anfwered, 
Fear not *, for, by ten o’clock at Night, I’ll engage to flop 
the Leak. I went from him with a very heavy Heart ; 
but, putting a good Countenance upon the Matter, en- 
couraged my Men, who pumped and baled very brifldy ; 
and, when I faw Occafion, I gave them fome Drams to 
comfort them. About eleven o’clock at Night, the Boat- 
fwain came to me, and told me, that the Leak ftill increafed ; 
and that the Plank was fo rotten, it broke away like Dirt ; 
and that now it was impoffible to lave the Ship •, for they 
could not come at the Leak, becaufe the Water in the 
Room was got above it. The reft of the Night we fpent 
in pumping and baling. I worked myfelf, to encourage 
my Men, who were very diligent; but the Water ftill 
increafed, and we now thought of nothing but having our 
Lives : Wherefore I hoifted out the Boat, that, if the Ship 
fhould fink, we might be faved ; and, in the Morning, 
we weighed our Anchor, and warped in nearer the Shore, 
tho’ we did but little Good. 
37. In the Afternoon, with the Help of a Sea Breeze, 
I ran into feven Fathom, and anchored ; then carried a 
ftnall Anchor afhore, and warped in, till I came within 
three Fathom and an half ; where, having fattened her, I 
made a Raft to carry the Mens Chefts and Bedding afhore, 
and before eight at Night moft of them were afhore. In 
the Morning, I ordered the Sails to be unbent to make 
Tents, and then myfelf and Officers went afhore. I had 
fent afhore a Puncheon, and a thirty-fix Gallon Calk of 
Water, with one Bag of Rice, for our common Ufe ; but 
great Part of it was ftolen away before I came afhore, and 
many of my Books and Papers loft. On the 26th follow- 
ing, we, to our great Comfort, found aSpring of freffi Wa- 
ter, about eight Miles from our Tents, beyond a very high 
Mountain, which we were forced to pafs over ; fo that now 
we were, by God’s Providence, in a Condition of fubfifting 
for fome time, having very good Turtle by our Tents, and 
Water for the fetching. The next Day I went up to fee 
the Watering-place, accompanied with moft of my Offi- 
cers. We lay by the Way all Night, and the next Morn- 
ing early got thither, where we found a very fine Spring 
on the South-eaft Side of the high Mountain, about half a 
Mile from its Top •, but the continual Fogs make it fo 
cold here, that it is very unwholfome living by the Water. 
Near this Place are abundance of Goats and Land-crabs. 
About two Miles South-eaft from the Spring, we found 
three or four Shrub-trees, upon one of which was cut an 
Anchor and Cable, and the Year 1642 About half a 
Furlong from thefe, we found a convenient Place for ffiel- 
tering Men in any Weather : Hither many of our Men re- 
forted, the hollow Rocks affording convenient Lodging. 
The Goats, Land-crabs, Men-of-war-birds, and Boobies, are 
good Food, and the Air proved here exceeding wholfome. 
About a Week after our coming afhore, our Man, that 
lived at this new Habitation, faw two Ships making to- 
wards the Ifland ♦, before Night they brought me the News •, 
and I ordered them to turn about a Score of Turtles for 
thefe Ships, if they fhould touch here ; but, before Morn- 
ing, they were out of Sight, and the Turtles were releafed 
again. Here we continued, without any other Ship, till 
April 1 . when we faw eleven Sail to Windward of the 
Ifland ; but they likewife paffed by. The Day after, ap- 
peared four Sail, which came to anchor in this Bay. They 
were, hisMajefty’s Ships the Angle fey, Haftings, and Lizard, 
and the Canterbury Eaft India Ship. I went on board of 
the Anglefey , with about thirty-five of my Men •, and the 
reft were difpofed of into the other two Men of War. 
38. After this happy Efcape, we left the Ifland of Afcen- 
fion on March 8. and arrived fafely at Barbados on May 8. 
1701. Thro’ the Defire I had of returning to England , and 
to vindicate my Character, which, I knew, muff Buffer greatly 
from the unlucky Accident that had befallen me, I took 
the firft Opportunity that offered of returning in the Canter - 
'bury Raft-India-man 1 in which Paffage I met with nothing 
AGES of 
material. The fame earneft Defire to clear up Miftakes, to 
do myfelf Juftice in the Opinion of the World, and to fet 
the Ditto veries made in this unfortunate Voyage in their 
proper Light, that it may be of Ufe to the World, how 
unlucky foever it proved to me, is the Reafon that induced 
me to publifh it ; and I perfuade myfelf, that fuch as are 
proper Judges of thefe fort of Performances, will allow, that 
I have delivered many things new in themfelv.es, capable of 
affording much Inftruftion to fuch as meditate future Dif- 
coveries, and which, in other refpeds, may be of great 
Utility to the prefent Age, and to Pofterity. 
39. The great Length of this Voyage obliges me to be 
very ffiort in my Remarks, which I fhall therefore confine 
to a few important Heads, and leave the reft to the Pene- 
tration of the Reader. In the firft Place, I fhall take no- 
tice, that this Voyage is not only a proper Supplement, but 
a moft authentic Voucher for the Truth of many Railages 
in the laft, fince Captain Dampier verified to the Officers 
and Company, in this Expedition, the Difcoveries which he 
infilled to have made when laft at Sea *, and this Teftimony 
of his Veracity ought to afford the greater Degree of Cre- 
dit to what ftill refts upon his fingle Authority. In the next 
Place, I muft defire the Reader to remark, that how unfor- 
tunate foever this Voyage might be, and however ffiort it 
might fall of what Dampier had promifed to his Patrons at 
the Time of undertaking it ; yet, as the Author has very 
juftly obferved, it was, in itfelf, of very great Confequence. 
It has ffiewn us a new Indies , in which, whenever that Spi- 
rit of Induftry fhall revive, which firft extended, and then 
eftabliffied our Commerce, we may be able to undertake 
Settlements as advantageous, as any that have been hitherto 
made by this or any other Nation. Thefe Settlements 
might be made, without giving any Offence to our Neigh- 
bours for it never can be prefumed, that our political 
Views in Europe ought to reftrain us from profecuting Dif- 
coveries in the Eaft or Weft Indies , for the Inlargement of 
our Trade, notwithstanding that fitch an Inlargement might 
not be agreeable to fome of our Allies. We have difco- 
vered, in the Profecution of former Wars, but efpecially 
fince the breaking out of the laft War with Spain , that we 
cannot make any Conquefts for the Benefit of our Com- 
merce, without exciting Jealoufies in all our Neighbours ; 
which ought to induce us to the moft vigorous Profecution 
of thofe Difcoveries, at which they have no Right, and on 
account of which they have no Reafon to take the leaf! Um- 
brage. The Relations given us by Captain Dampier agree fo 
exadly with thofe formerly given by de Quiros , le Maire , and 
other Difcoverers, that we cannot entertain the leaf! Doubt 
of the Poffibility of finding, in the Southern Part of the 
Globe, Countries worth our looking after : And indeed, 
if there were no other Merit in this Voyage, this alone 
would be fufficient to recommend it to our Efteem, that it 
has removed for ever thofe Sufpicions, that were entertained 
of the Accounts formerly given of thofe Countries. It may 
not be amifs to conclude thefe Reflections, by putting the 
Reader in mind of the many Advantages, that vifibly refult 
from the Manner, in which this Hiftory of Circum-naviga- 
tions has been digefted, fince it is impoffible for him not to 
difcern, that every fucceeding Voyage gives Light to the 
former, and, by adding to the Difcoveries already made of 
vaft Continents, and innumerable Iflands, heretofore un- 
known, enables us to make fo true a Judgment of what is 
yet to be performed towards attaining the perfeft Know- 
ledge of the whole Globe, that a better Method than this 
cannot be devifed for the Encouragement and Furtherance 
of that fort of Knowledge, which is, of all others, the moft 
ufeful and fatisfactory, and, with refped to which, this may 
be confidered as a new Attempt, fince what has hitherto been 
done in this W ay by Eden, Hackluit , Purchas , and other 
Writers, ferves rather to ffiew us what was wanting to fuch 
an Hiftory, and to demonftrate its Ufefulnefs, than to 
afford the intelligent Perufer a folid and regular Syftem of 
fuch Difcoveries, even to the Times in which they wrote. 
SECTIQ -N 
