i..

1767. December.

CHA P. X.

Tranfactions off. Macaffar, and the Paffage thence to

T

Bonthain.

came on

HE fame night that we came to an anchor, at about eleven o'clock, a Dutchman came on board, who had Tuesday 15. been difpatched by the Governor, to learn who we were. When I made him underftand that the fhip was an English man of war, he seemed to be greatly alarmed, no man of war belonging to the King of Great Britain having ever been there before, and I could not by any means perfuade him to leave the deck, and go down into the cabbin; we parted, however, to all appearance, good friends.

Wednef. 16.

The next morning, at break of day, I fent the Lieutenant to the town, with a letter to the Governor, in which I acquainted him with the reason of my coming thither, and requested the liberty of the port to procure refreshments for my fhip's company, who were in a dying condition, and fhelter for the vessel against the approaching storms, till the return of a fit feafon for failing to the weftward. I ordered that this letter fhould, without good reason to the contrary, be delivered into the Governor's own hand; but when my officer got to the wharf of the town, neither he nor any other perfon in the boat was fuffered to land. Upon his refufal to deliver the letter to a meffenger, the Governor was made acquainted with it, and two officers, called the fhebander and the fifcal, were fent down to him, who, as a reason why he could not deliver the letter to the Governor himself, pretended that he was fick, and faid, that they

came

came by his express order to fetch it; upon this the letter
was at length delivered to them, and they went away.
While they were gone, the officer and men were kept on
board their boat, expofed to the burning heat of the fun,
which was almoft vertical at noon, and none of the
country boats were fuffered to come near enough to fell
them any refreshment. In the mean time, our people ob-
ferved a great hurry and buftle on fhore, and all the floops
and vessels that were proper for war were fitted out with the
utmost expedition: we fhould, however, I believe, have been
an overmatch for their whole fea force, if all our people
had been well. In the mean time I intended to have gone
and anchored clofe to the town, but now the boat was ab-
fent, our united ftrength was not fufficient to weigh the
anchor, though a small one. After waiting five hours in the
boat, the Lieutenant was told that the Governor had ordered
two gentlemen to wait upon me with an answer to my let-
ter. Soon after he had returned, and made this report, the
two gentlemen came on board, and we afterwards learnt
that one of them was an enfign of the garrifon, named Le
Cerf, and the other Mr. Douglas, a writer of the Dutch East
India Company: they delivered me the Governor's letter,
but it proved to be written in Dutch, a language which not
a fingle person on board could understand: the two gentle-
men who brought it, however, both spoke French, and one
of them interpreted the contents to me in that language.
The purport of it was,
"that I fhould inftantly depart from
the port, without coming any nearer to the town; that I
should not anchor on any part of the coaft, or permit any of
my people to land in any place that was under his jurifdic-
tion." Before I made any reply to this letter, I fhewed the
gentlemen who brought it the number of my fick at the
fight of fo many unhappy wretches, who were dying of lan-

1767. December.

Wednef. 16,

1767. December.

Wednes. 16.

guor and disease, they seemed to be much affected; and I
then urged again the preffing neceffity I was under of pro-
curing refreshment, to which they had been witneffes, the
cruelty and injustice of refusing to fupply me, which was
not only contrary to treaty, as we were in a King's fhip, but
to the laws of Nature as we were human beings: they
feemed to admit the force of this reasoning, but they had a
fhort and final answer ready, "that they had absolute and in-
difpenfible orders from their masters, not to suffer any ship,
of whatever nation, to stay at this port, and that these orders
they must implicitly obey." To this I replied, that persons
in our fituation had nothing worse to fear than what they
suffered, and that therefore if they did not immediately
allow me the liberty of the port, to purchase refreshments,
and procure fhelter, I would, as foon as the wind would
permit, in defiance of all their menaces, and all their force,
go
and anchor clofe to the town; that if at laft I fhould find
myself unable to compel them to comply with requisitions,
the reasonableness of which could not be controverted, I
would run the fhip aground under their walls, and, after
felling our lives as dearly as we could, bring upon them the
difgrace of having reduced a friend and ally to fo dreadful
an extremity. At this they feemed to be alarmed, as our
fituation alone was fufficient to convince them that I was in
earnest, and urged me with great emotion to remain where
I was, at least till I had heard again from the Governor: to
this, after fome altercation, I confented, upon condition
that I heard from the Governor before the fea-breeze set in
the next day.

We paffed all the remainder of this day, and all the night, in a state of anxiety, not unmixed with indignation, that greatly aggravated our distress; and very early the next Thursday 17. morning, we had the mortification to see a floop that mounted

mounted eight carriage guns, and one of the veffels of the country, fitted out for war, with a great number of foldiers on board, come from the town, and anchor under each of our bows. I immediately fent my boat to speak with them, but they would make no reply to any thing that was faid. About noon, the fea-breeze set in, and not having then heard again from the Governor, I got under fail, and proceeded towards the town, according to my declaration, refolving, if the veffels that had anchored under our bows, fhould oppofe us, to reprefs force with force as far as we were able: these two veffels, however, happily both for us and for them, contented themselves with weighing anchor, and attending our

motions.

Very foon after we had got under fail, a handsome vessel, with a band of musick, and several gentlemen on board, made up to us, and told us that they were fent by the Governor, but could not come aboard if we did not drop our anchor again; our anchor therefore was immediately dropped, and the gentlemen came on board: they proved to be Mr. Blydenbourg, the fiscal, Mr. Voll, the fhebander, an officer called the licence-mafter, or master of the port, and Mr. Douglas the writer, who has been mentioned already. They expreffed fome furprize at my having got under fail, and asked me what I intended to have done; I told them that I intended, neither more nor lefs than to fulfil the declarations I had made the day before; that juftified by the common rights of mankind, which were fuperior to every other law, I would, rather than have put again to fea, where our deftruction either by fhipwreck, fickness, or famine, was inevitable, have come up to their walls, and either have compelled them to furnish the neceffaries we wanted, or have run the fhip on fhore, fince it was better to perish at once in a juft contest, than to suffer the lingering misery of anticipating,

4

1767. December.

Thursday 17

414

1767. December.

anticipating the perdition that we could not avoid. I observed also, that no civilized people had ever fuffered even Thursday 17 the captives of war to perish for want of the neceffaries of life, much less the subjects of an ally, who asked nothing but permiffion to purchase food with their money. They readily allowed the truth of all I had faid, but feemed to think I had been too hafty: I then obferved that I had waited the full time of my ftipulation, and they in return made fome excuse for their not having come fooner, telling me that, as a proof of their having admitted my claim, they had brought me fuch provifions as their country would afford. These were immediately taken on board, and confifted of two fheep, an elk ready killed, and a few fowls, with some vegetables and fruit. This moft welcome supply was divided among the people, and that most falutary, and to us exquifite dainty, broth, made for the fick. Another letter from the Governor was then produced, in which, to my great disappointment, I was again ordered to leave the port, and to juftify the order, it was alleged, that to fuffer a ship of any nation to stay and trade either at this port, or any other part of the island, was contrary to the agreement which had been made by the Eaft India Company with the native Kings and Governors of the country, who had already expreffed fome difpleasure on our account; and for farther particulars I was referred to the gentlemen that brought the letter, whom the Governor ftiled his commiffaries. To these gentlemen I immediately obferved, that no ftipulation concerning trade could affect us, as we were a King's fhip; at the fame time I produced my commiffion, it not being poffible to bring under the article of trade the felling us food and refreshments for our money, without the utmoft violence to language and common fenfe. After this they made me feveral propofitions, which I rejected, becaufe my departure