Rac't for they must Certainly have Perished in the sea if wee had nott Mett with 'em and besides in two or three Days they must Certainly have starved for want of food for they had nott one Crome of any sort lefft save onely some walnuts for they had butt five weekes Provisions when they left Fyall; [22] they asked us how far wee thought they Might be off the Capes of Virginia and Wee told em Wee thought itt Might be about three hundred leagues. I came aboard of our owne ship and gave the Capt this Deploreable accomt of 'em which moved him into Compassion towards them, he went aboard him selfe then to see how things was and found em no Better then I told him ; he ordered our Carpenter to take a small Boome that wee had and to fix em up a Mast and took a spare Missen Topmast and made 'em a Boome and while that was doeing the Capt order'd 'em a Compas and halfe a dozen Pound of Candles and a sack and a halfe of Bread a Barrell of Oat Meale halfe a. firking of Butter or Chesher Cheese and twenty Peices of Beefe and 12 Peices of Porke and a sett of sloope sailes which wee verry luckily happned to have aboard which belong'd to one of our sloopes in Mariland; and was Carrying them to England to have em alter'd which verry luckily fell out to be off servis to these poore People in distress which they gave the Capt: Bills for all that they had of him upon there owners; wee gott a pipe of Fiall wine and some wallnutts from 'em wish'd 'em a good Voyage and so sent em goeing nott a little overjoyed for meeteing so good Freinds espeshally att such a time when that they had given themselfes over either to be starved or drownded which must Certainly have bin in a verry little time if wee or some other ship had nott mett with 'em.
[23] The wind then being faire and affter Parting with the sloope wee Made all the saile wee could while [until] such time as wee thought wee were neare the English Coast, in the meantime wee saw severall ships butt did nott care to speake with 'em for feare least they should nott be Friends, att last all the Commanders mett aboard of the great ship to consult what they had best doe whether they should make directly for the Chops of the Channell or whether they should saile North about by Ireland and Scottland and att last itt was Concluded that wee should goe north aboutt hy reason they did beleive that a great many French privatteers might be in the Channell picking upp the Scatterers of the Virginia Fleete. wee were all Bound for London butt one which was the least Ship amongst us which Carried butt a hundred hhds. he being bound for BristoU thought he was run his Length and so left us and made in for the shore butt wee heard afterwards he was taken the next Day by a French pryvatteere just under the Land goeing up for Bristoll. wee stood away for the Xorward and att last Came into the Lies of Orkneys, there are severall of 'em butt there is butt two of any concequence. wee came to an Ancor In the Great Hands in a Place Called Cateness.[1] [24] There is twelve Miles from thence a verry good Towne well
- ↑ Caithness and the Orkneys are apparently confused.
