Chap. I. Captain George Shelvocke. 1 if 
without their knowing how *, Which is another thing I can- 
not comprehend •, for Captain Shelvocke , and his Son, could 
not carry a vaft Quantity on ffiore themfelves * and it is 
Very plain to me, that there was not a fingle Man in the 
Ship, who, if he had been trailed with fo dark a Secret, 
would not have discovered it. But to proceed with the 
Captain’s Relation : I plied, fays he, off and on till the 
2 1 ft ; but could not get fo much Water as we daily ex- 
pended * which made me think it requifite to anchor in the 
Road for a few Hours : And, in order to it, I prepared 
twenty Tuns of Calks to raft afhore; then worked in, and 
anchored in forty Fathom Water* and made a Warp, which 
was of the Length of three Haufers and an half, which, 
being made fall to the Rock* kept the Ship fteady, and 
gave us an Opportunity of haling our Raft of Calks alhore 
and aboard. The next Morning, we were ready to go to 
Sea •, but had no Opportunity of doing fo for four Days 
together, during which we anchored in the fame Manner. 
On the 25th, an hard Gale of Wind came out of the Sea 
upon us, and brought in a great tumbling Swell * fo that* 
in a few Hours, our Cable parted : A difmal Accident 
this, there being no Means to be ufed, or the lealt Profpebl 
of avoiding immediate Definition. But Providence inters 
pofed in our Behalf fo far, that, if we had ftruck but a Cable’s 
Length farther to the Eaftward or Weltward of the Place 
where we did, we mult have inevitably periflied. As foon 
as die touched the Rock, we were obliged to hold fall by 
feme Part or other of the Ship, other wife the Violence of 
the Shocks Ihe had in Hiking might have been fufficient to 
have thrown us all out of her into the Sea. Our Main- 
mail, Fore-mall, and Mizen-mall, went all away together. 
In fhort, Words are wanting to exprefs the wretched Con- 
dition we were in, or the Surprize we were under of being 
unfortunately fhipwrecked. I11 the Evening, all the Offi- 
cers came to bear me Company, and to contrive to get 
fome Neceffaries out of the Wreck ■, and, having lighted a 
Fire, wrapped themfelves up in what they could get, lay 
round it, and, notwithftanding the Coldnefs of the Weather, 
llept very foundly. I would have fet the People to Work 
in doing what we propofed the Night before * but they 
were fo fcattered, that there was no fuch thing as getting 
them together : 'So that all Opportunities were loll of regain- 
ing any thing, but fome of our Fire-arms. But, while 
they were employed in building Tents, and making other 
Preparations to fettle themfelves here, the Wreck was intirely 
dellroyed, and every thing that was in her loll, except one 
Calk, of Beef, and one of Farina de Pao , which were 
walked whole on the Strand. Thus were our Provifionsof 
all forts irrecoverably gone, and whatever elfe might have 
been of Ufe to us, except what I have already mentioned ; 
I ffiould have obferved, that I faved 1100 Dollars belong- 
ing to the Gentlemen Owners, which were kept in my 
Chelt in the great Cabin. The reft, being in the Bottom 
of the Bread-room for Security, could not be come at. I 
took fome Pains in finding a convenient Place to fet up my 
Tent, and at length found a commodious Spot of Ground, 
not half a Mile from the Sea, and a fine Run of Water 
within a Stone’s-calt of each Side of it, with Firing near at 
hand, and Trees proper for building our Dwellings. The 
People fettled within Call about me, as well as they could * 
and, having a cold Seafon coming on, fome of them thatch- 
ed theirs, and others covered them with Skins of Seels and 
Sea-lions, whilft others got up Water-buts, and flept in 
them, under the Cover of a Tree. Having thus fecured 
ourfelves, as well as poffible, againfl the Inclemency of the 
approaching Winter, we ufed to pafs our Time in the 
Evening in making a great Fire before my Tent, round 
which my Officers in general affembled, employing them- 
felves quietly in reading Crayfiffi in the Embers * fome* 
times bewailing our unhappy State, and finking into De- 
Ipair ; at other times feeding ourfelves up with Hopes, that 
fomething might be done to fet us afloat again* I consulted 
firfl with the Carpenter, who anfwered. That he could not 
make Brick without Straw * and walked away from me in 
a furly Humour. From him I went to the Armourer, 
whom I found at the Wreck, and afked him, What he 
could do for us in his W ay, that might contribute towards 
the building of a fmall Veffel. To which he anfwered. He 
hoped he could do all die Iron-work, that was neceffary for 
fuch a thing * that he had, with milch Labour, gotten his 
Bellows out of the Wreck, with four or five Spadoes, 
which would afford him Steel * and that there could be no 
want of Iron along the Shore *, and that he did not doubt, 
but we ffiould find a great many ufeful Things, when we 
came to fet to work in good Earned:* and defied I would* 
without Lofs of Time, order fome Charcoal to be made for 
him, whilft he fet up his Forge. Upon which I called all 
Hands together, and gave it them as my Opinion, that 
there was a great Probability we ffiould be able to effetd the 
building a Veffel to tranfport us * but that it would undoubt- 
edly be a laborious Talk, and would require the utmoll 
Endeavours from them all * and put the Queftion to them. 
Whether we ffiould make a Beginning, or no. To which 
they, with one Voice, confented, and promifed to be ex- 
tremely diligent in Work * and begged ( rile to give them 
Inflrudions how to proceed. I then ordered thofe, who 
were wooding before the Ship was loft, to bring rn their 
Axes, that I might fend them to cut Wood to make Char- 
coal, while the reft went down to the Wreck, to get the 
Bowfprit afliore, of which I intended to make the Keel * 
and prevailed on the Carpenter to go with me* to fit on the 
propereft Place to build upon. In a Word, the People 
found a great many ufeful Materials about the Wreck, and, 
amongft the reft, the Top-maft, which, being made faft to 
the Main-maft, was waffied affiore, and, tho’ of no fmall 
Weight, would not, at this time, have been exchanged for* 
Gold. 
16. On June 8. we laid the Blocks to build upon, and 
had the Bowfprit ready at hand. The Carpenter, fuddenly 
turning ffiort upon me as I flood by him, fwore an Oath, 
He would not ftrike another Stroke upon it * that he, truly, 
would be nobody’s Slave ; and thought himfelf now upon 
a Footing with myfelf. I was at firfl angry* but at laffc 
came to an Agreement to give him a four Piftole Piece as 
foon as the Stern and Stern-poft were up* and 100 Pieces 
of Eight when the Bark was finiffied * and the Money to 
be committed to the Keeping of any one he ffiould name 
till that time. Upon this, he went to work on the Keel, 
which was to be thirty Feet in Length, her Breadth by the 
Beam fixteen Feet, ahd feven Feet deep in the Hold. In 
two Months time we made a tolerable Shew, which was, in 
a great meafure, owing to the Ingenuity of Poppkfton my 
Armourer, who did not lofe a Minute’s time from the 
Work of his Hand, and Contrivance of his Head. This 
Affiduity of his, I dare fay, was greatly owing to the juft 
Senfe he had of our forlorn State, with which he feemed to 
be much affedted. This Man made us a little double-headed 
Maulet, Hammers* Chifels, Files, and a fort of Gimblets, 
which performed very well •, nay, he even made a Bullet- 
mould, and an Inftrument to bore our Cartouch-boxes, 
which we made of the Trucks of Gun-carriages, which 
waffied affiore ( thefe we covered with Seels-fkins, and 
contrived fo as to be both handy and neat) : And had en- 
abled himfelf to perform any Iron-work the Carpenter 
wanted * and did not only do us this Service in his Way, 
but alfo began and finifhed a large ferviceable Boat, which 
was what we much flood in need of. But I muft obferve, 
that, in the Beginning, the People behaved themfelves very 
regularly, half of them working one Day, and half another, 
and feemed to be eafier and eafier under our Misfortunes 
every Day. They treated me with as much Regard as I 
could wiffi, and* in a Body, thanked me for the Profpebl 
they had of a Deliverance. I never failed to encourage them 
by fuch Stories of Things or Adftions that I heard to have 
been done by the Number of Men in Diftreffes of this kind* 
and always preffed them to flick clofe to the Work, that 
we might get the Bark ready in time * and told them, that* 
to our Comfort, we had three of the beft Ports in Chili within 
120 Leagues of us. This inftilled new Life into them * 
and they often declared, that they would do their utmoft tci 
finiffi her with all Expedition, which was ; a moft agreeable 
Hearing. But, inftead of enjoying Peace long, we became 
a Prey to Faction * fo that it was a Miracle, that we got off 
from this Place by any Endeavours of opr own : For, after 
they had gone through the moft laborious Part of the Work, 
they intirely neglebted it * and many of my Officers defer ted 
my Converfation, to herd with the meaneft of the Ship’s 
Company. I was now confirmed in the Sufpicion I had 
fome 1 
