The New Hampshire Gazette And Historical Chronicle

A most remarkable Preservation of one Passenger belonging to the Ship Peggy, Capt. Joseph Roxfield of Lisbon, who sailed from Rhode-Island last April, whose Vessel sprung a Leak, on her Passage, but the Crew all taken up by one Capt. Handel bound to the Coast of Africa, which Vessel was afterwards castaway, and the People belonging to both consisting of 35 all perished, except the Person from whom the following Particulars, relative to that most dismal and shocking Affair is taken, viz.

PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 11, 1767.

Mr. GODDARD,

SIR,

Whenever you have a few Columns that want filling in your entertaining Paper, if the following Narrative is thought worthy of a place in it, you may (if you please) present it to your readers.--

I am Sir your humble Servant,

A TRAVELLER.

In the beginning of April last, being advised by my friends for the benefit of my health, to try the sea air, and change of climate, I embarked from this port for Rhode-Island, where I was agreeably surprised in meeting my old school-mate, captain Joseph Roxfield, of the ship Peggy, belonging to Lisbon, for which port he was to sail in a few days, and finding that I was in pursuit of health, he pressed me to become his passenger, to which I readily consented---We sailed the middle of the month, with a fair wind and ran the length of the Western Islands in about 20 days, when, to our great astonishment, the ship sprung a-leak, and gained on us so fast that we expected a few hours would consign us to the bosom of the deep; all our endeavours to stop it being fruitless. Terror and amazement overspread every countenance, and nothing was seen but wild confusion; some bemoaning a fond wife and children, others a beloved mistress, and all in the utmost agony of despair; one honest fellow indeed, forced a smile from me in spite of the horror of our Situation, "Ah, Nell, (says he) that fluttering sack I promised thee, must be sent on thee by some more happy dog!" I besought him to turn his thoughts to the scene before him, & was going on with a little serious advice, when he sprung from the deck & cried, "She shall have it, she shall have it!" A sail! a sail! we all eagerly ran to the bow, and discovered a large ship standing right for us; never was a more sudden transition from grief to joy; the most frantic soul, immured in Bedlam, could not out-do our honest tars, on this occasion, they ran, they jumped, hugged each other, laughed, cried, hallooed and danced incessantly: for in vain did the captain endeavour to restore order, and it was with some difficulty he prevailed on any of them to fetch up the colours and a musket, to make signals of distress: so totally for a while, were they deprived of their senses; at length she came up with us, and proved to be the Nero, Captain Handel, of Liverpool, bound for the coast of Guinea; they sent their boat on board which, with our own: took us all in, with several of our clothes and valuables, and scarce had we got on board, before the ship went down, and poor Roxfield, with tears in his eyes, as her hull disappeared, cried, "Adieu, poor Peggy, a better boat ne'er bore a mast!" which Capt. Handel hearing, replied, aye brother the dearest friends must part, but let us forget sorrow, and rejoice that we are all safe with a good ship under foot: boy bring up some wine, and make the poor fellows a good can of flip--- In short; in a few hours we got well settled in our new habitation, and the disappointment of undertaking a voyage to Africa, instead of Lisbon, insensibly wore off, to which the genteel behaviour of Captain Handel's brother, who was surgeon on board, greatly contributed.---We had most favorable winds, and by the first of June had run down our latitude, when we steered an easterly course along the coast for eight days, and Capt. Handel supposing he had ran the length of Cape Three-points, we stood in for the land, though for the last two days we had no observation: he expected to make the land the next day, and ordered them to steer a north course. I went to bed with a joyful heart, hoping in the morning to set my foot once more on terra firma; and in pleasing dreams I had passed the fore part of the night, when I was suddenly awaked by a violent shock of the ship, which was succeeded by a general cry from above we have struck! We all flew upon deck, and the helm was immediately clapped hard down, but before we got about she struck a second time with such violence that we concluded her bottom was beat through, for the wind blew very fresh with a large sea; here we stuck. and the waves dashed over us with amazing force: We now lost all hopes of getting clear, and waited with impatient horror for the appearance of day. Here again I experienced the dismal pangs of approaching dissolution: in vain did I regret my too easy compliance with my old school-mate's request; to be swallowed up by the merciless waves, or cast a lifeless trunk on a barbarous shore, without the common funeral rites, were to me equally shocking. At length the day dawned, and discovered a sight that would have shaken the most intrepid heart---the ship was wedged in between two rocks, and surrounded on all sides by most dreadful breakers. We found the tide was going out when we struck, but was now returning; and the captain judging that she would move on the water's rising, ordered both the boats over the side, and all hands to enter, which they all immediately did, except myself, for I determined to stay by the vessel, thinking it impossible for the boats to live in so great a swell, till they reached the shore; which was about four leagues distant. They entreated me, with the utmost earnestness, to quit the ship, assuring me she would beat to pieces in a few hours: I thanked them for their anxiety, but persisted in my resolution of keeping the ship; at length perceiving I was determined, poor Roxfield jumped on the deck, and declared he would share my fate; I besought him to leave me, as I perceived he was actuated by friendship only, and not by judgment; but I could not prevail on him to return to the boat.-- So strongly had our former intimacy attached him to me. The captain judged it unsafe to wait longer, lest they should not have tide enough to reach the shore, ordered the boats to be launched into the sea, and we took a solemn leave of each other. I watched them with an anxious eye, expecting the breaking of every wave would put a period to their hopes, and plunge them to the bottom; now they were tossed upon the frothy summit of a watery mountain, and then in an instant hurled down its side to the liquid vale below. Thus alternate mounting to the clouds and sinking to the centre, did our poor adventurous companions increase their distance from us, till at length the long-boat struck on a breaker, and in an instant set every soul afloat; in vain did the yawl attempt to save them, for the next wave tossed her bottom up, and the crews of both, to the number of five & thirty, soon disappeared.--But our own danger soon took off our attention, for the tide had now risen so high; that Capt. Roxfield assured me She would in less than two hours drive from her station, and beat to pieces amongst the breakers; he therefore proposed an expedient for our preservation, well worthy the notice of all sea-faring men --There were two large iron-bound water-butts lashed to the rails, on the quarter-deck, these he started, and with a compass saw, cut a hole round the bung, large enough for a man to enter, and making two canvas bags, open at each end. he nailed them round the holes of the casks: he then got some pig iron from the vessel's run, and put about six hundred weight in each cask, and on these stuffed in some teas and bedding, (as well to make an easy seat, as to stow away two bottles of rum, and a dozen of water, with some biscuit and cheese, in each of the casks; he then took the blades of some oars left on board, and made four paddles, which he nailed with a rope near the hole --We then brought up such of our papers, and other valuables, as we were desirous of saving, and stowing them away, got into the bag, which we tied tight round our waists: and with each of us a knife in our hand to cut loose the lashing when the ship should sink, we waited with a degree of confidence far beyond what I could have conceived; for Roxfield assured me the casks would neither overset nor sink, whilst the water kept out. We agreed to keep as near each other as possible: though we much doubted our being able to guide our bluff-bowed barks, and had not been long in our close quarters, before the ship launched from her station, and in a few minutes the main deck was under water; indeed we had scarce time to cut the ropes, before the hulk under us, and to our great joy we both floated clear of the rigging; and mounted the next wave with amazing rapidity. If ever you have seen what the sailors call Mother Cary's chickens, dancing on the waves, you may form a tolerable good idea of our situation, (except that our hearts were in a much greater flutter than those of the feathered mariners); for near an hour I expected every sea would overset me, but so well ballasted was my little bark, that I always kept a perpendicular station; at length my spirits began to revive, and I flattered myself that the flood & wind would carry us near enough the shore to be seen by some of the inhabitants, if any there were. Before the day closed, we had got four large seas between us ) we waved our hands to each other, as long as we could see, then commenced the most tedious horrid night I ever knew. Beset with every dismal idea, that could enter into the head of such a poor floating wretch, my very soul was racked with agony; and I shudder at the recollection. At last the glimmering of long wish'd-for day appeared; but never did I experience so slow a rising sun. I gazed around for my companion and the shore; but could see neither, for the flood being almost over when we quit the ship, the ebb had carried me out to sea; I still searched with wandering for my friend, but all in vain, and I fear we their separated never to meet again: I now began to want some refreshment, and untying my bag for a moment, I took out some biscuit and cheese; on which I made a hearty meal; and drank some rum and water. The wind being considerably abated and the sea much fallen, I laid my head on my arm, and soon dropped asleep, being much fatigued. . In this posture I lay several hours, and when I waked: the sea was perfectly calm, but as the sun was hid by the clouds, I could not tell which way the land lay, and therefore made no use of my oars; but as you may readily suppose, little variety could happen to one whose sphere of action so limited, I shall not trouble you with any more particulars-- suffice it that I inform you, I saw the sun seven times rise and set, and on the eighth day in the morning, being asleep as usual, reclining on my arms I was suddenly waked with the sound of human voices; I started up, and found I was surrounded by four canoes, full of naked negroes, who, by their gestures and behaviour, appeared to be fearful of approaching nearer; I beckoned to them to come up, and to convince them that I was a man and not a monster, I untied my bag
and stood upright; they then paddled up to me,

and made signs for me to come out, which I accordingly did—I found they had been fishing, and

that we were about a league and a half from the

land—I inquired in the best manner I could, by

signs, for my friend, but could gain no intelligence

of him; they then fastened two of their canoes to

the boat, and in about three hours we reached the

shore, to my great and inexpressible joy. The

shore was soon thronged with the remainder of

the inhabitants of the little village to which the

fishermen belonged; amongst them came an el-

derly negro, whom, by a few trinkets that hung

to his ears and round his neck, I supposed to be

the head man of the place; he beckoned me to

follow him to his cabin, which was built of split

cane and larger than the rest, which were about

ten in number: I found flowers strewed round

the door, and under the trees, and by the great

appearance of victuals, I conjectured it was some

grand festival. The old man perceiving my at-

tention to every thing around, called two like-

young negro men, and two girls, who were adorn-

ed with various kinds of flowers and baubles, and

joining their hands, thereby informed me they

were going to be married, and that the two girls

were his daughters—They passed the day in great

mirth and good humour, but with the utmost de-

cency and decorum; in short, they seemed to be

some of the happiest creatures on earth; and what

was extremely remarkable, I did not discover any

of their liquors to incline the least to intoxication;

I heartily wished for an interpreter, as there seem-

ed much wit bandied about amongst them. At

sun-set a grave old Negro stood up, with a white

wand in his hand, and waving it in the air, a gen-

eral silence ensued, the four young folks fell down

on their knees, in a circle, taking hold of each

others hands, whilst the old fellow pronounced a

long oration, making sundry pauses, at each of

which the couples cried out, Fanda Conboo,

which I interpreted as an assent to what he said.

The ceremony being over, the company joined in

a circular dance, with the married pairs in the

middle.

I sat at some distance, with the old man, who

viewed his girls with that ecstasy of delight which

possesses the heart of every fond parent, on the

prospect of their children's happiness; his old eyes

sparkled with joy, and, pointing to the heavens,

made me understand he could now yield up his life

with pleasure. But mark the uncertainty of hu-

man happiness! The dancers were proceeding

with the young pairs, to the cabin, when in an

instant, they were surrounded by a number of ar-

med Negroes, who bound the whole company, me

amongst the rest, and hurried us with great expedi-

tion into the woods; they marched us all night,

and next morning, by sun-rise, we reached an

English Fort, where we found the Captain of a

Guineaman waiting our arrival; they unbound

me immediately, and after asking a few questions,

the Capt. who was in a hurry to sail, having

nearly completed his cargo, struck up a bargain,

with the rascally plunderers, for the poor wretches

my companions, except the poor old man who he

refused to take; in vain did he beg to share the

fortunes of his children and friends, the Captain

kicked him away, and ordered the rest on board.

Finding the ship was bound for Barbados and be-

ing desirous of returning home, I took my passage

with him, and having saved a few pistoles, I pur-

chased the old Negro, at his own request, and put

him on board, on freight, intending, on my ar-

rival at Barbados, to pay the price of the young

couples, and set them at liberty. The next day

we sailed, with three hundred slaves on board,

who were all confined below, my old fellow a-

mongst the rest, for the Captain would not suffer a

soul on deck, for several days, designing, as he said,

to lower their spirits by a good sweating. A week

passed very quietly, when the Captain ordered the

mate to go down and bring up twenty, saying,

"He would make the devils dance for their health,"

but no sooner was the hatch unbarred than a num-

ber of them, who had got off their irons, rushed

upon the deck, and attacked the crew, but the

sailors being armed with pistols and cutlasses, pre-

sently overcame them: but not before thirteen of

the poor wretches had plunged into the sea, a-

mongst whom were my old man & his two daugh-

ters, the two young fellows, their unhappy

husbands, were shot dead on the deck, with five

others. Horrid as this scene was, the Captain felt

no other concern than what arose from the loss of