J# The V O Y 
So much for tliefe Iflands. Let -Os HOW return to the 
Ship’s Company of the Centurion , on fhore at Tinian . The 
fick People, having frefh Meat in plenty, Abundance of 
Greens, and as many Oranges as they pleafed, recovered 
fiirprifingly. In the mean time, the Carpenter was em- 
ployed in flopping the Leak, which, notwithftanding all 
his Care, was very indifferently done. That no Time might 
be loft, Provifions and Water were every Day carried on 
board, and the Ship wafhed and fcrubbed ; and every thing 
being in good Order by the 1 9th of September , they began 
to lafh the Guns, and to prepare for their Departure, which 
was retarded by an extraordinary Accident, that happened 
On the 2 2d. 
They had all that Day had Gales, and a great deal of 
Rain : About feven in the Evening they parted with the 
Email Bower, and brought up and rid by their beft Bower ; 
When a great Sea, running at their Stem, ftaved the Long- 
boat againft the Rails of the Gallery, fo that fhe was over- 
fet, with a Man in her, who. with much Difficulty was 
faved, but the Boat was loft. At eleven they parted with 
their beft Bower, and were forced to let go their Sheet- 
anchor, veering almoft two Cables Length. Upon this 
they heaved the Lead, and, finding they were out of Sound- 
ings, fired four Guns, and made a Signal of Diftrefs, 
but to no Purpofe *, for thofe on fhore could afford them no 
Afliftance •, fo that they were foon driven out to Sea. There 
were at this Time 60 Hands on board, and the Commo- 
dore and no Men left upon the Ifiand. It is not eafy to 
conceive how much this muft have alarmed thofe who were 
thus left, with little Hopes of getting off, in a fmall uninha- 
bited Ifiand, feated, as it were, in the Extremity of the 
World, where they were, in a manner, furrounded by Ene- 
mies, and had nothing to truft to, but their own Efforts to 
efcape. 
This is the Scene which We mentioned, as a Parallel to 
the Shipwreck of the Wager •, and, in one refpeCt, the 
Diftrefs of the Centurion ' s People was the greater of the 
two •, for they had not the Benefit of a Wreck, from 
whence Sea Stores and Materials might be fetched at Will ; 
all was gone with the Ship, and in her their ableft Hands. 
Such was the Matter of Faxft ; let us now fee what were the 
Confequences, and how the Commodore and his People 
behaved in fo uncomfortable a Condition. 
23. As foon as the Ship was out of Sight, and every 
body feemed to be under Apprehenfions from the Foulnefs 
of the Weather, that the Crew would not be able to bring 
her back into the Road, an univerfal Aftonifhment ap- 
peared in every Countenance. The Commodore however 
encouraged them to purfue their Labours, notwithftanding 
the Ship’s being driven off the Ifiand, affuring them, that 
if the Ship did not return, they would not be wholly ufe- 
lefs •, which gave the People great Spirits, forefeeing that 
the Commodore had already formed fome ProjeCt for get- 
ting off the Ifiand. In a Day or two after, the Commo- 
dore explained himfelf more fully, telling the People, it 
would be very practicable to faw the Bark, which they had 
taken when they firft came to the Ifiand, and lengthen it, 
to fuch a Degree, as might render it a fit Yeffel to carry 
them to fome of the Philippines , and from thence to 
China. When, by this Difcourfe, he had banifhed De- 
fpair, he entered into a regular Deduction of whatever 
would be requiftte for fuch a Voyage •, and, having affigned 
a certain Number of Men to every kind of Work, he not 
only took upon himfelf the Trouble of furveying them, 
but wrought, with his own Hands, amongft thofe he 
overlooked •, fo that his Example was at leaft equal to the 
Addition of a confiderable Number of Hands ; for, feeing 
the Commodore always bufy, there was no Man had a 
Defire to be idle. This Induftry of theirs had all the good 
Effedls that could be wifhed for, fmce, at the fame time it 
kept them to their necefiary Bufinefs, it diverted their 
Thoughts-, and preferved their Spirits, in a regular Mo- 
tion •, and this too was greatly forwarded by the perfonal 
Behaviour of the Commodore, who was always ferene, 
always eafy, gave his Orders chearfully, purfiied his Plans 
■fteadily, fo as to be equally in a Condition of fupplying the 
Ship with what was wanting to complete her Stores, in 
cafe fhe returned, or to fimfti, in a few Days, the Lengthen- 
ing of the Barge, whenever they fet about it, having a 
AGE S of Book I. 
confiderable Quantity of Wood Cut down and fa wed for 
that Purpofe. 
But it is now time to follow the Ship, and to give fome 
Account of the Hardlhips and Difficulties the People un- 
derwent who were on board her. On the 23d the Wind 
continued to blow very hard, fo that one of their fore 
Shrouds broke, as did one of the Straps of their Bobftay, 
which they fpliced as well as they could, and the next 
Day got up a Pair of Preventer- (hrouds for the Foremaft. 
On the 25th they had frefh Gales, and a rolling Sea. In 
fwaying up the Main-yard, one of the Men being upon it 
to fecure the Slack-jeer, fome of the Tackle broke •, upon 
which, down it came, and, in the Fall, the poor Man’s 
Arm was caught in a Block, and broke all to-pieces j by 
which. Accident, and the Fever that followed it, he died 
in a few Days. The fame Day they fwayed up the Fore- 
yard. All this time the Sheet-anchor was out, the People on 
board not having Strength to get her up ; and, at the fame 
time, the Ship made a great deal of Water ; but, on the 
26th, the Weather being moderate, they heaved the 
Sheet-anchor, and fecured it. On the 2 7th they got up 
the Rigging, and bent another Top-fail. On the 28th the 
Ship was fo full of Water, that they were obliged to 
pump every two Hours. It was the 9th of October, in 
the Afternoon, before they could difcern the Ifiand of 
Tinian from the Maft-head, which then bore South South- 
eaft, diftant fix Leagues. On the 10th in the Morning, 
they had a clear View of three of the Ladrone Iflands, viz. 
Zeipan, which bore North-eaft, diftant fix Leagues •, Aguiguan , 
South-eaft, diftant four Leagues ; and Tinian , South 
South-eaft, diftant three Leagues. On the nth in the 
Afternoon, they let go their Sheet-anchor, which was the 
only one they had left, in twenty-feven Fathom Water 5 
and the next Morning fent their Boat affiore, with their 
empty Casks, for Water, exceedingly rejoiced at the 
Thoughts of feeing once again their Companions* and 
their Commander. 
24. On the 1 2th in the Morning, Lieutenant Gordon , of 
the Marines, being by Accident on an Hill, faw the Ship 
in the Road, and carried the firft News of it to the Com- 
modore, who received it with the utmoft Satisfaction, and 
immediately gave his Orders for fending Water on board, 
and for difpatching, with the utmoft Diligence, whatever 
was necefiary for their fpeedy Departure from the Ifiand. 
They enjoyed, while they ftaid here, all the Conveniencies 
they could well with for. Cattle they had in abundance, 
which coft them no more than fhooting them, and bring- 
ing them down to their Tents. They had Hogs alfo in as 
great Plenty, and moft excellent in their kind, as feeding ;i 
upon folid and nourifhing Fruits. Fowl alfo they had as 
much as they could wifh ; befides Fifh, but not in fo 
great Plenty. One Inconvenience they were expofed to, 
almoft as foon as they were fettled on the Ifiand ; and that | 
was the Plague of Flies, which was really greater than 
could well be imagined. The Reader will remember, that V 
Schovten and Le Maire met with the fame Inconvenience a 
in an Ifiand in the South Seas, which they from thence | 
called Fly IJland : And Captain Dampier reprefents the ! 
Coaft of New Guiney , which is the neareft Continent to p 
this Ifiand, as peftered with Flies, to fuch a Degree, that 1 
the Inhabitants are almoft blinded by them. But, as I do 3 
not find any Complaint of this Nature in the Voyages of ! 
fuch as have touched at the Ifiand of Guam , I am inclined :ij 
to believe, that only fuch of the Iflands as are uninhabited !p 
are expofed to this Inconvenience. Perhaps the Opening ;] 
the Country, by cutting down the Woods, and the Smoke 
of many Fires, might contribute to the DeftruCtion of thefe j) 
Vermin. Their Habitations were none of the beft •, but 
yet, through the Care of the Commodore, their Huts 3 
were as well difpofed, and as effectually fecured, from the : 
Weather, as it was poffible •, fo that, in the Space of left i 
than two Months, the Crew that landed there in fo weak ; 
and fo diftrefled a Condition, recovered their Health and : 
Spirits, and moved very briskly about their Bufineft. 
They obferved, during their Stay, that the Tide fet s: 
ftrong, between this Ifiand and Aguiguan , at South South- r: 
eaft, and North North- weft, and runs longer and ftrongern 
to the Southward, than to the Northward, making a greatib 
Sea when it fets againft the Wind, and rifes about eight s 
Feet 1 
