riest being desirous to go to the
East Indies, I readily agreed to it, because I liked his conversation,
and two or three of the French sailors also entered themselves on
board our ship.

Now directing our course for the West Indies, steering S. and S. by E.
about twenty days, with little wind, another adventure happened to
exercise our humanity. In the latitude of 27 degrees, 5 minutes north,
the 19th of March 1694-5, we perceived a sail, (our course S. E. and by
S.) which bore upon us, and then she appeared to be a large vessel,
having lost her main topmast and boltsprit; when firing a gun as a
signal of distress, wind N. N.W. we soon came to speak with her. She was
a ship from Bristol, bound home from Barbadoes, out of which road she
had been forced in a hurricane to the westward, in which they lost
their masts.

They told us, _their expectations were to see the Bahama islands, but
were driven away by a strong wind at N.N.W. and having no sails to work
the ship with, but the main-course and a kind of square sail upon a jury
foremast, because they could not come near the land, were endeavouring
to stand for the Canaries: nay what was worse, besides all their
fatigue, they were almost starved for want of provision, having ate
nothing for eleven all that they had aboard, was sugar, a barrel of
fresh water and seven casks of rum_. In this ship were passengers, a
youth, his mother, and a maid-servant, who were in a most deplorable
condition for want of food. If I had not gone on board their ship, the
knowledge of their misery had been concealed from me, and they would
have inevitably perished; though, indeed, their second mate who was
Captain, by reason the true Captain was not on board when the hurricane
happened, had before informed me that there was such persons on board,
whom he supposed to be dead, being afraid to inquire after them, because
he had nothing to give them for relief. Hereupon we resolved to let them
have what we could spare, ordering the mate to bring some of his men on
board us, which he did accordingly: as he and they looked like
skeletons, when meat was set before them, I ordered them to eat
sparingly. But, however they soon fell sick; which obliged the surgeon
to mix something in their broth, which was to be to them both food and
physic. When they were fed, we ordered our mate to carry them a sack of
bread, and four or five pieces of beef; but the surgeon charged them to
see it boiled, and to keep