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taken from the English inhabitants, on the capture of that place, fhall be delivered up, that they may be reftored to their proper owners. In the above article, pettyaugers, crafts, dorys, &c. falling under the description of English property, are meant to be included. VIII. The British flag fhall be hoifted on the Eaftern Block House, at fix o'clock in the evening of this day, when the garrifon fhall march out and pile up their arms before the Governor's house. The cannon, ftores, &c. forts, pofts, &c. belonging to that place, fhall be delivered up at the fame time to officers appointed for that purpose.

IX. The officers and foldiers belonging to the garrison shall not ferve against his Britannic Majefty, until regularly exchanged, or against any part of the Mufquito fhore during the war.

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Note 290, Lift of Prifoners, Cannon, Stores, &c. taken in the expedition against Black River.

27 officers, 715 rank and file. With this detachment were taken I ftand of colours, 2 twelve-pounders, 7 fix-pounders, 11 fourpounders, iron; 4 four-pounders brafs; 1 eight-inch howitzer, and 1000 firelocks, which, together with the artillery in Fort Dalling, amount to 31 pieces of cannon, I cohorn, I howitzer, 1000 firelocks, a quantity of ammunition, and 2 ftand of colours.

Note 291.

Narrative of the miraculous Efcape of Captain Inglefield with his Pinnace Crew, after quitting his Majesty's hip the Centaur, previous to her foundering.

In the afternoon of the 23d of September, the weather again threatened, and in fqualls blew ftrong; the fea ran high, and one of the boats, the yawl, ftove along-fide and funk. As the evening approached, the fhip appeared little more than fufpended in the water. There was no certainty that fhe could fwim from one minute to another; and the love of life, which it is believed never fhewed itself later in the approach to death, began now to level all diftinctions. It was impoffible for any man to deceive himfelf with a hope of being faved upon a raft in fuch a fea; befides, that the fhip in finking, it was probable would carry every thing down with her in a vortex, to a certain distance.

It was near five o'clock, when Captain Inglefield, coming from his cabin, obferved a number of people looking very anxioufly over the fide; and looking himself, faw that feveral men had forced the

pinnace,

pinnace, and that more were wanting to get in. He had immediate thoughts of fecuring this boat before the might be funk by numbers. There appeared not more than a moment for confideration; to remain and perish with the fhip's company, whom he could not be of any longer ufe to, or feize the opportunity which feemed to be the only way of efcaping, and leave the people whom he had been fo well fatisfied with on a variety of occafions: this was indeed a painful conflict, and it is almoft impoffible to describe, and no man can have a just idea of, who has not been in a fimilar fituation.

The love of life prevailed-he called to Mr Rainey, the mafter, the only officer on deck, and defired he would follow him, and immediately defcended into the boat, at the after part of the chains, but not without great difficulty got the boat clear from the ship; twice the number that the boat would carry pushing to get in, and many jumping into the water. Mr Baylis, a young gentlemen fifteen years of age, leaped from the chains, and was taken in. The boat falling aftern became exposed to the fea, and they endeavoured to pull her bow round to keep her to the break of the fea, and to pafs to windward of the ship; but in the attempt fhe was nearly filled; the fea ran too high, and the only probability of living was keeping her before the wind.

"In was then that he became fenfible how little, if any thing better, their condition was than that of those who remained in the hip: it appeared to be only a prolongation of a miserable existence. They were altogether twelve in number, in a leaky boat, with one of the gun-whales ftove, in nearly the middle of the Western Ocean, without compass, without quadrant, without great coats or cloaks; all very thinly clothed, in a gale of wind, with a great fea running! It was now five o'clock in the evening, and in half an hour they loft fight of the ship. Before it was dark a blanket was difcovered in the boat. This was immediately bent to one of the ftretchers, and under it, as a fail, they fcudded all night, in expectation of being fwallowed up by every wave, it being with great difficulty that they could fometimes clear the boat of the water before the return of the next great fea; all of them half drowned, and fitting, except thofe who bailed at the bottom of the boat: and without having really perished, no people ever endured more. In the morning the weather grew moderate, the wind having (hifted to the fouthward, as was discovered by the fun. Having furvived the night, they began to recollect themselves, and to think of future preservation.

When they quitted the fhip, the wind was at N. W. or N. N. W. Fayal had bore E. S. E. 250 or 260 leagues. Had the wind continued for five or fix days, there was a probability that running before the fea they might have fallen in with fome of the Western Iflands. The change of wind was death to these hopes; for had it come to blow there would be no preserving life but by running before the fea, which would carry them to the northward, where they must have foon afterwards perished.

Upon examining what they had to fubfift on, there was found only

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one bag of bread, a fmall ham, a fingle piece of pork, two quart bottles water, and a few French cordials. The wind continued to the fouthward for eight or nine days, and providentially never blew fo ftrong, but that they could keep the fide of the boat to the sea, but were always most miferably wet and cold. They kept a fort of reckoning, but the fun and stars being fometimes hid from them for twenty-four hours, they had no good opinion of their navigation. They judged at this period that they had made nearly an E. N. E. courfe fince the first night's run (which had carried them to the S. E.) and expected to fee the island of Corvo. In this, however, they were disappointed, and feared that the foutherly wind had driven them far to the northward. Their prayers were now for a northerly wind. Their condition began to be truly miferable, both from hunger and cold, for on the fifth day they discovered that their bread was nearlyall spoiled by falt water, and it was neceffary to go to an allowance. One bifcuit divided into twelve morfels for breakfast, and the fame for dinner; the neck of a bottle broken off, with the cork in, ferved for a glafs, and this filled with water was the allowance for twentyfour hours to each man. This was done without partiality or diftinction but they must have perished ere this, had they not caught fix quarts of rain water; and this they could not have been bleffed with, had they not found in the boat a pair of sheets, which by accident had been put there. These were spread when it rained, and when thoroughly wet, wrung into the fkidd with which they bailed the boat. With this fhort allowance, which was rather tantalizing than fuftaining, in their comfortlefs condition, they began to grow very feeble, and their clothes being continually wet, their bodies were in many places chafed into fores.

On the 13th day it fell calm, and foon after a breeze of wind fprung up from the N. N. W. and blew to a gale, fo that they run before the fea at the rate of five or fix miles an hour under their blanket, till they judged they were to the fouthward of Fayal, and to the weftward 60 leagues; but blowing ftrong they could not attempt to fteer for it. Their wishes were now for the wind to shift to the weftward. This was the 15th day they had been in the boat, and they had only one day's bread, and one bottle of water remain. ing of a fecond fupply of rain. Their fufferings were now as great as human ftrength could bear, but they were convinced that good fpirits were better than great bodily ftrength; for on this day Thomas Matthews, quartermaster, the ftouteft man in the boat, perished from hunger and cold: on the day before, he had complained of want of ftrength in his throat, as he expreffed it, to fwallow his morfel, and in the night drank falt water, grew delirious, and died without a groan. As it became next to a certainty that they would all perish in the fame manner in a day or two, it was fomewhat comfortable to reflect that dying of hunger was not fo dreadful as their imaginations had reprefented. Others had complained of the fame fymptoms in their throats; fome had drank their own urine; and all but Captain Inglefield, had drank falt-water.

As yet defpair and gloom had been fuccefsfully prohibited, and as the evenings closed in, the men had been encouraged by turns to fing a fong, or relate a story, inftead of a fupper; but this evening the Captain found it impoffible to 'raife either. As the night came on it fell calm, and about midnight a breeze of wind fprung up, they gueffed from the westward by the fwell, but there not being a star to be feen, they were afraid of running out of their way, and waited impatiently for the rifing fun to be their compafs.

As foon as the dawn appeared, they found the wind to be exactly as they had wished, at W. S. W. and immediately spread the fail, running before the fea at the rate of four miles an hour. Their last breakfast had been ferved with the bread and water remaining, when John Gregory, quarter-mafter, declared with much confidence, that he faw the land in S. E. They had feen fog-banks fo often, which had the appearance of land, that Capt. Inglefield did not appear to believe it, and cautioned the people, who were extravagantly elated, that they might not feel the effects of disappointment; 'till at length one of them broke out into a moft immoderate fwearing fit of joy, which he could not restrain, and declared he had never seen land in his life, if what he then faw was not land.

They immediately shaped their courfe for it, though on the part of Capt. Inglefield, with very little faith. The wind freshened; the boat went through the water at the rate of five or fix miles an hour; and in two hours the land was plainly feen by every man in the boat, but at a very great diftance; fo that they did not reach it before ten at night. It must have been at least twenty leagues from them when first discovered.

In every part of the horizon, except where the land was discovered, there was fo thick a haze that they could not have seen any thing for more than three or four leagucs. Fayal by their reckoning bore E. by N. which course they were fteering, and in a few hours, had not the sky opened for their preservation, they would have encreased their distance from the land, got to the eastward, and of courfe mifsed all the islands. As they approached the land, their belief strengthened that it was Fayal. The island of Pico, which might have revealed it to them, had the weather been perfectly clear, was at this time capped with clouds; and it was fome time before they were quite fatisfied, having traversed for two hours a great part of the island, where the fleep and rocky fhore refufed them a landing. This circumftance was bore with much impatience, for they had flattered themselves that they would meet with fresh water at the first part of the land they might approach; and being difappointed, the thirst of some had increased anxiety almoft to a degree of madnefs; so that they were near making the attempt to land in fome places where the boat must have been dafhed to pieces by the furf. At length they discovered a fishing canoe, which conducted them into the road of Fayal about midnight; but where the regulation of the port did not permit them to land till examined by the health-officers: however, they did not think much of fleeping this night in the boat,

their pilot having brought them fome refreshments of bread, wine, and water. In the morning they were vifited by Mr. Graham, the English Conful, whose humane attention made very ample amends for the formality of the Portuguese. That gentleman's kindness and humanity cannot be too much praised; for it was the whole of his employment for several days contriving the best means of reftoring them to health and strength. There were never more pitiable objects: Some of the flouteft men belonging to the Centaur were obliged to be fupported through the streets of Fayal. Capt. Inlgefield, and Mr Rainy, the Master, were in better health than the rest; but neither of them could walk without being fupported; and for feveral days, with the best and most comfortable provifions of diet and lodging, they grew rather worse than better.

Note 292. Lift of the Fleet under Admiral Pigot at Jamaica, (See Note 284.)

Note 293. Lift of the Fleet detached under Lord Hood, to block up Cape Francois.

(See Note 285.)1

Note 394. Fleet under Admiral Digby in North America.

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