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write in their tents, which made them very melancholy. On the 23d they shot a bear, which afterwards escaped to the ice, notwithstanding he was terribly wounded, as appeared by the track of his blood upon the snow; but this animal is so very strong, that he will run a great while after being shot through the body. On the 26th, the wind being at south, and the day tolerably mild, the ice drove out of the bay very fast into the ocean. The latter end of this month, and the beginning of December, the weather was so very moderate, that they began to flatter themselves that the winter would not be much more severe than it commonly was in Holland; but on the 8th of December the frost returned with a north-east wind, and the ice began again to increase everywhere.

They had for some days past endeavoured to catch bears, but in vain, as they were so shy, that it was not possible to come very near them; and though many of them had been wounded, they escaped on the ice. However, on the 12th, one of the men had the good fortune to shoot one through the head, which died on the spot. This proved to be a young one; and a leg of it being roasted, afforded a most delicate meal to people who for a long time past had fed on nothing but salt provisions. On the 17th, the ice appeared to be forced back into the bay by a high southerly

wind, which brought down great numbers of sea-gulls from the hills, which make the same noise as they do in Holland in the month of May. On the 21st it froze very hard; and the snow lying very deep on the ground, they were obliged to wade through it in boots. The day was now only four hours long; and the weather had been so bad for the greater part of the month of December, that they were obliged to keep their tents for whole days together, without daring to stir out.

They began the new year as cheerfully as their situation would permit, and went regularly to prayers. The cold was now very intense; and the concretions of ice in the bay were so large, that, viewed from the top of their tents, they had the appearance of white-clifted hills. On the 13th of January they saw a white bear very near their tents, and one of the men brought him down with the first discharge of a fusee. They then drew him into the tent with ropes; and being soon skinned and dressed for table, he proved a most welcome treat. During the whole month of January, and the beginning of February, the frosts were very severe and the snows heavy, with frequent gusts of windy weather. On the 16th of February they had sight of two wild fowl, which bore a considerable resemblance to geese, and also of a falcon; but none of them came within reach of their guns. By this

time, the bears, as if dreading the fate of their companions, became so shy, that they fled at the most distant sight of a man. During the course of this month the weather underwent various changes, sometimes freezing hard, with the wind at north-east, and sometimes thawing, with the wind at south.

On the 1st of March the sun shone a little upon their tents, and it rained in the evening. The weather was cold and stormy till the 11th, on which day it became calm and pleasant, which continued for a few days, the wind being at south, and the sun affording an agreeable heat. On the 15th they shot a bear, and hung up his skin to dry, sprinkling with salt as much of the flesh as they could not immediately eat. Fresh meat of any kind was now of great service, as most of them were afflicted with the scurvy to a very great degree; and this disorder made some foxes, which they caught in traps, very acceptable. The weather was tolerably good, and the days fine, all this month; but the increase of the scurvy, and their want of fresh provisions, dejected them, and made them quite spiritless. On the 28th and 29th they saw prodigious large whales in the bay, and those in such numbers, that if their strength had enabled them to hunt them, and they had been furnished with proper tools, they might have been considerable gainers; but in their pre

sent weakly condition, nothing was to be done; besides, there were plenty of other fish. On the 31st they saw a she-bear with three cubs, at which they fired, but in vain. There were also four or five whales in the bay, which were nearly being stranded with the ebb; but even if this had been the case, it would have been of little comfort to our unhappy adventurers, as they were now too weak to have attacked them.

By the 3d of April they were so disabled by the scurvy, that there were only two of them that were able to walk, and these killed the two last pullets they had (a part of the store that had been left them), which they gave to their sick companions, hoping that with this little refreshment they might be somewhat recruited. During the greater part of this month they saw plenty of whales every day; but the wind changing to the north-east, and the weather growing again colder, while their disorder continued to gain upon them hourly, they found it very difficult to move out of their tents. On the 16th, died the person whom they called their clerk, and who wrote the journal to that day. On the 23d, the wind being at south, they had a little rain; and their wretchedness now began to be very great, for they were so reduced, that they were unable to assist each other, there being only one among them who could move, at any rate, and even he

was scarcely able to crawl. Their commander died on the 23d; and on the 27th they killed their dog, which afforded them but a very indifferent meal. On the evening of this day it thawed; the night was free from rain, but cloudy; and on the 28th the ice was carried out to sea, and the bay was left quite clear. The day was cloudy on the 29th, and the wind pretty high from the north; and at night it blew hard from the north-east. The 31st was a clear, sunshiny day.

At this period ends the journal, which was found by the crew of some Zealand ships, which went thither with the Greenland fleet the same year; and it is very probable that the poor man who wrote, continued the account till, being no longer able to hold the pen (and he scrawled most wretchedly), he retired to his cabin, where he resigned his soul into the hands of the God who gave it. As soon as the fleet came in sight of the island of St. Maurice, which was on the 4th of June 1634, the sailors strove who should get first on shore to visit their companions; but seeing none of them near the shore, they began to despair of finding them alive. When they entered the tents, they found each of the poor fellows lying dead in their respective lockers; and it was very probable that those who survived the clerk died in the beginning of May. Near one of them stood some bread and cheese, on which it was ima

gined he had fed a little before his death; within reach of another lay a box of ointment, which it was supposed he had used to rub his teeth and gums, his hand being lifted towards his mouth; and not far from him lay a prayer-book. The situation of these poor wretches, when unable to help each other, must have been truly deplorable; and as it is highly probable that they languished until their natural heat was extinguished by the cold, those who survived the longest must have been the most miserable.

The principal cause of their death was the scurvy, occasioned by their having only salt meat; by this their limbs became cramped, and being thus rendered incapable of taking such exercise as was necessary to keep the blood in motion, they soon grew stiff, and were conquered by the cold, which, however, was not so very severe but that they might have weathered it, had they been able to have kept themselves in action, as that would have repelled the disorder under the attacks of which they perished. The commanding officer gave orders that the bodies should be put into coffins and covered with snow, till the breaking of the ground became more easy from the thaw; and as soon as the earth became moderately soft, graves were dug for them, in which they were buried on the 24th of June, under a general discharge of the cannon of the fleet.

CHAPTER IV.

A SMALL MONUMENT OF GREAT MERCY,

'In the miraculous deliverance of five persons from slavery at Algiers, in a canvas boat; with an account of the great distress and extremities which they endured at sea: by William Oakely, 1644.

'IN the month of June 1639, in consequence of a commission from the Earl of Warwick, Lord Say, and Lord Brook, we embarked at Gravesend, in the Mary of London, carrying six guns, chiefly laden with linen and woollen cloth, and bound for the Isle of Providence in the West Indies. Her company of seamen and passengers were above sixty in number. We lay five weeks in the Downs waiting for a fair wind, which having at last obtained, we set sail, and came to an anchor off the Isle of Wight. By this time all our beer had spoiled; we were forced to throw it overboard, and to take in vinegar to mix with the water for our voyage. Next Sunday we again set sail, but got ashore on the sands between the island and the mainland; however, the flowing of the tide bore us off. Three ships were in company, one of which carried nine guns, and was commanded by Mr. Church. At dawn of the sixth day, after leaving the Isle of Wight, we discovered three vessels to the leeward, about three or four leagues. The masters of our ships consulted together whether it was more advisable to stay and speak

with them, or to make the best of our way; and at last it was determined, but for what reason I know not, that we should remain.

'It was not long before we found the strangers to be Turkish men-of-war, which, viewing us as prey, endeavoured to come up, and effected it about night. While approaching, our captains, apparently determined to fight, made preparations for their reception. But during the night, the counsels of those with whom I was wavered, their resolution forsook them, and they agreed on flight. Uncertain counsels never produce better success. Had we either at first resolved not to fight the strange ships, or, like men of courage, done the reverse, we might have avoided the danger, or conquered it. The Turks, observing the commencement of our flight, sent one of their number in chase, while the other two lay by our companions until morning. At daybreak they began to fight us, and after a short encounter we were all boarded and taken. Six were killed in the Mary, and many wounded. For a number of weeks our captors kept us close prisoners at sea. We found many Englishmen in

their ships, slaves like ourselves, from whom we derived no other comfort than the condolence of each other's miseries. They taught us a smattering of the country's language, which we thought would be of some use to us on our arrival at Algiers, whither we were carried in five or six weeks.

'Algiers is a city pleasantly situated on the side of the hills overlooking the Mediterranean, and lies to the north, rising imperiously, as if it challenged the sovereignty of the seas, and claimed a tribute of all who ventured to penetrate within the straits. It is of considerable size, being above three miles in circuit, ornamented and fortified with five gates: Porta Marine towards the north, Porta Piscadore in its vicinity, and Porta Nova towards the south, which is said to have been built by the Spaniards while in their possession. The western gate is called Beb a Wyt in the Moorish language, and the eastern one Beb Azun. There are several strong castles, besides one on the extremity of the Mole; and it is altogether a strong place. It is supposed to contain eighty thousand inhabitants, of which there cannot be less than twenty-five thousand slaves, of all nations. The private buildings are beautiful, flat-roofed, and adorned with galleries towards the courts, supported by pillars. The Algerines may well afford to erect sumptuous edifices, considering that they build them

at other men's cost, and with other men's hands; for this city is celebrated for nothing more than its infamy, in being the nest of those Turkish corsairs that have so long tyrannized in the neighbouring seas. Their temples are likewise very magnificent, much too good for their religion; for both their practice and their words would indicate their denial of God. They have also many elegant baths, whither the men resort in the morning, and the women in the afternoon. To this fair city were we brought -fair indeed in reality, but ugly and deformed in our eyes; for, as the French truly say, there is no such thing as a beautiful prison. Yet I must confess that, for a jail, it was the best built that ever I had seen. Immediately on coming ashore, we were locked up in a deep, nasty cellar, and next day led, or rather driven, to the Viceroy or Bashaw's palace, who, according to their customs, has a right to every tenth slave. On the arrival of the next market day, we were again driven thither like so many beasts, and exposed for sale. The mode of selling slaves is, leading them up and down, and crying aloud when an offer is made for one to bid more. The purchasers of those exposed are extremely circumspect.

They first examine their mouths, and a good strong active set of teeth will advance the price considerably; for they rationally consider, that those who have not teeth cannot eat,

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