Departure From Bencoolen On Board The Defence, Under Captain Heath

Being thus got on board the Defence I was concealed there till a boat which came from the fort laden with pepper was gone off again.

We set sail for the Cape of Good Hope January 25 1691, and made the best of our way as wind and weather would permit; expecting there to meet three English ships more bound home from the Indies: for, the war with the French having been proclaimed at Fort St. George a little before Captain Heath came from thence, he was willing to have company home if he could.

A little before this war was proclaimed there was an engagement in the road of Fort St. George between some French men-of-war and some Dutch and English ships at anchor in the road: which, because there is such a plausible story made of it in Monsieur Duquesne’s late voyage to the East Indies, I shall give a short account of, as I had it particularly related to me by the gunner’s mate of Captain Heath’s ship, a very sensible man, and several others of his men who were in the action. The Dutch have a fort on the coast of Coromandel, called Pallacat, about 20 leagues to the northward of Fort St. George. Upon some occasion or other the Dutch sent some ships thither to fetch away their effects and transport them to Batavia.

Acts of hostility were already begun between the French and Dutch; and the French had at this time a squadron newly arrived in India and lying at Pondicherry, a French fort on the same coast southward of Fort St. George. The Dutch in returning to Batavia were obliged to coast it along by Fort St. George and Pondicherry for the sake of the wind; but when they came near this last they saw the French men-of-war lying at anchor there; and, should they have proceeded along the shore, or stood out to sea, expected to be pursued by them.

They therefore turned back again; for though their ships were of a pretty good force yet were they unfit for fight, as having great loads of goods and many passengers, women and children, on board; so they put in at Fort St. George and, desiring the governor’s protection, had leave to anchor in the road, and to send their goods and useless people ashore. There were then in the road a few small English ships; and Captain Heath, whose ship was a very stout merchant-man, and which the French relater calls the English Admiral, was just come from China; but very deep laden with goods, and the deck full of canisters of sugar which he was preparing to send ashore. But before he could do it the French appeared; coming into the road with their lower sails and topsails, and had with them a fire-ship. With this they thought to have burnt the Dutch commodore, and might probably enough have done it as she lay at anchor if they had had the courage to have come boldly on; but they fired their ship at a distance and the Dutch sent and towed her away, where she spent herself without any execution. Had the French men-of-war also come boldly up and grappled with their enemies they might have done something considerable, for the fort could not have played on them without damaging our ships as well as theirs.

But instead of this the French dropped anchor out of reach of the shot of the fort, and there lay exchanging shot with their enemies’ ships with so little advantage to themselves that after about four hours fighting they cut their cables and went away in haste and disorder, with all their sails loose, even their top-gallant sails, which is not usual but when ships are just next to running away. Captain Heath, notwithstanding his ship was so heavy and encumbered, behaved himself very bravely in the fight; and, upon the going off of the French, went aboard the Dutch commodore and told him that if he would pursue them he would stand out with them to sea though he had very little water aboard; but the Dutch commander excused himself, saying he had orders to defend himself from the French but none to chase them or go out of his way to seek them. And this was the exploit which the French have thought fit to brag of. I hear that the Dutch have taken from them since their fort of Pondicherry.

OF THE BAD WATER TAKEN IN AT BENCOOLEN; AND THE STRANGE SICKNESS AND DEATH OF THE SEAMEN, SUPPOSED TO BE OCCASIONED THEREBY.

But to proceed with our voyage: we had not been at sea long before our men began to droop in a sort of distemper that stole insensibly on them and proved fatal to above thirty, who died before we arrived at the Cape. We had sometimes two, and once three men thrown overboard in a morning. This distemper might probably arise from the badness of the water which we took in at Bencoolen: for I did observe while I was there that the river-water wherewith our ships were watered was very unwholesome, it being mixed with the water of many small creeks that proceeded from low land, and whose streams were always very black, they being nourished by the water that drained out of the low swampy unwholesome ground.

A SPRING AT BENCOOLEN RECOMMENDED.

I have observed not only there but in other hot countries also, both in the East and West Indies, that the land-floods which pour into the channels of the rivers about the season of the rains are very unwholesome. For when I lived in the Bay of Campeachy the fish were found dead in heaps on the shores of the rivers and creeks at such a season; and many we took up half dead; of which sudden mortality there appeared no cause but only the malignity of the waters draining off the land. This happens chiefly as I take it, where the water drains through thick woods and savannahs of long grass and swampy grounds, with which some hot countries abound: and I believe it receives a strong tincture from the roots of several kinds of trees, herbs, etc., and especially where there is any stagnancy of the water it soon corrupts; and possibly the serpents and other poisonous vermin and insects may not a little contribute to its bad qualities: at such times it will look very deep-coloured, yellow, red, or black, etc. The season of the rains was over and the land-floods were abating upon the taking up this water in the river of Bencoolen: but would the seamen have given themselves the trouble they might have filled their vessels with excellent good water at a spring on the back side of the fort, not above 2 or 300 paces from the landing-place; and with which the fort is served. And I mention this as a caution to any ships that shall go to Bencoolen for the future; and withal I think it worth the care of the owners or governors of the factory, and that it would tend much to the preservation of their seamen’s lives to lay pipes to convey the fountain water to the shore, which might easily be done with a small charge: and had I stayed longer there I would have undertaken it. I had a design also of bringing into the fort, though much higher: for it would be a great convenience and security to it in case of a siege.

THE GREAT EXIGENCIES ON BOARD.

Besides the badness of the water it was stowed among the pepper in the hold which made it very hot. Every morning when we came to take our allowance it was so hot that a man could hardly suffer his hands in it or hold a bottle full of it in his hands. I never anywhere felt the like nor could have thought it possible that water should heat to that degree in a ship’s hold. It was exceeding black too, and looked more like ink than water. Whether it grew so black with standing or was tinged with the pepper I know not, for this water was not so black when it was first taken up. Our food also was very bad; for the ship had been out of England upon this voyage above three years; and the salt provision brought from thence and which we fed on, having been so long in salt was but ordinary food for sickly men to feed on.

Captain Heath, when he saw the misery of his company, ordered his own tamarinds, of which he had some jars aboard, to be given some to each mess to eat with their rice. This was a great refreshment to the men and I do believe it contributed much to keep us on our legs.

This distemper was so universal that I do believe there was scarce a man in the ship but languished under it; yet it stole so insensibly on us that we could not say we were sick, feeling little or no pain, only a weakness and but little stomach. Nay most of those that died in this voyage would hardly be persuaded to keep their cabins or hammocks, till they could not stir about; and when they were forced to lie down they made their wills and piked off in two or three days.

The loss of these men and the weak languishing condition that the rest of us were in rendered us incapable to govern our ship but the wind blew more than ordinary. This often happened when we drew near the Cape and as oft put us to our trumps to manage the ship. Captain Heath, to encourage his men to their labour, kept his watch as constantly as any man though sickly himself, and lent a helping hand on all occasions.

A CONSULT HELD AND A PROPOSAL MADE TO GO TO JOHANNA.

But at last, almost despairing of gaining his passage to the Cape by reason of the winds coming southerly, and we having now been sailing eight or nine weeks, he called all our men to consult about our safety and desired every man from the highest to the lowest freely to give his real opinion and advice what to do in this dangerous juncture; for we were not in a condition to keep out long; and could we not get to land quickly must have perished at sea. He consulted therefore whether it were best to beat for the Cape or bear away for Johanna, where we might expect relief, that being a place where our outward-bound East India ships usually touch and whose natives are very familiar: but other places, especially St. Lawrence, or Madagascar, which was nearer, was unknown to us. We were now so nigh the Cape that with a fair wind we might expect to be there in four or five days; but as the wind was now we could not hope to get thither. On the other side this wind was fair to carry us to Johanna; but then Johanna was a great way off, and if the wind should continue as it was to bring us into a true tradewind, yet we could not get thither under a fortnight; and if we should meet calms, as we might probably expect, it might be much longer.

A RESOLUTION TAKEN TO PROSECUTE THEIR VOYAGE TO THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE.

Besides, we should lose our passage about the Cape till October or November, this being about the latter end of March, for after the 10th of May it is not usual to beat about the Cape to come home. All circumstances therefore being weighed and considered, we at last unanimously agreed to prosecute our voyage towards the Cape and with patience wait for a shift of wind.

THE WIND FAVOURS THEM. THE CAPTAIN’S CONDUCT.

But Captain Heath, having thus far sounded the inclination of his weak men, told them that it was not enough that they all consented to beat for the Cape, for our desires were not sufficient to bring us thither; but that there would need a more than ordinary labour and management from those that were able. And withal for their encouragement he promised a month’s pay gratis to every man that would engage to assist on all occasions and be ready upon call, whether it were his turn to watch or not; and this money he promised to pay at the Cape. This offer was first embraced by some of the officers, and then as many of the men as found themselves in a capacity listed themselves in a roll to serve their commander. This was wisely contrived of the captain for he could not have compelled them in their weak condition, neither would fair words alone without some hopes of a reward have engaged them to so much extraordinary work; for the ship, sail, and rigging were much out of repair. For my part I was too weak to enter myself into that list for else our common safety, which I plainly saw lay at stake, would have prompted me to do more than any such reward would do. In a short time after this it pleased God to favour us with a fine wind, which, being improved to the best advantage by the incessant labour of these new-listed men, brought us in a short time to the Cape.

THEY ARRIVE AT THE CAPE, AND ARE HELPED INTO HARBOUR BY THE DUTCH.

The night before we entered the harbour, which was about the beginning of April, being near the land, we fired a gun every hour to give notice that we were in distress. The next day a Dutch captain came aboard in his boat, who seeing us so weak as not to be able to trim our sails to turn into the harbour; though we did tolerably well at sea before the wind, and, being requested by our captain to assist him, sent ashore for a hundred lusty men who immediately came aboard and brought our ship in to an anchor. They also unbent our sails and did everything for us that they were required to do, for which Captain Heath gratified them to the full.

These men had better stomachs than we, and ate freely of such food as the ship afforded; and they having the freedom of our ship to go to and fro between decks made prize of what they could lay their hands on, especially salt beef, which our men for want of stomachs in the voyage had hung up 6, 8, or 10 pieces in a place. This was conveyed away before we knew it or thought of it: besides in the night there was a bale of muslins broke open and a great deal conveyed away: but whether the muslins were stolen by our own men or the Dutch I cannot say; for we had some very dexterous thieves in our ship.

Being thus got safe to an anchor the sick were presently sen ashore to quarters provided for them, and those that were able remained aboard and had good fat mutton or fresh beef sent aboard every day. I went ashore also with my painted prince where I remained with him till the time of sailing again, which was about six weeks. In which time I took the opportunity to inform myself what I could concerning this country, which I shall in the next place give you a brief account of and so make what haste I can home.