Page:Eventful life, and curious adventures of Peter Williamson.pdf/5

 5 The Life of Peter Williamson. 6

being never suffered to go up- on deek whilst the vessel lay in the harbour; which was un- til such a time as they had got in their loading, with a comple- ment of unhappy youths for carrying on their wicked com- merce. In about a Month's time the ship set-sail for America. When we arrived on the coast we were destined for, a hard gale of wind sprung up from the S E, and, to the captain’s great surprise (he not thinking he was near land), altho’ having been eleven weeks on the pas- sage, about twelve o’clock at night the ship struck upon a sand bank, off Cape May, near the Capes of Delaware, and, to the great terror and af- fright of the ship’s company, in a short time was almost full of water. The boat was then hoisted out, into which the captain, and his fellow villains, the crew, got with some diffi- culty, leaving me, and my de- luded companions to perish; as they then naturally conclud- ed inevitable death to be our fate. Often, in my distresses and miseries since, have I wish- ed that such had been the con- sequence, when in a state of in- nocence! but Providence thought proper to reserve me for future trials of his goodness. Thus abandoned and deserted, with- out the least prospect of relief, but threatened every moment with death, did these villains leave us.The cries, the shrieks, and tears of a parcel of infants, had no effect on, or

caused the least remorse in the breasts of these merciless wretches. The ship being on a sand bank, which did not give way to let her deeper, we lay in the same deplorable condition until morning, when, though wo saw the land of Cape May, at about a mile’s dis- tance, we knew not what would be our fate. The wind at length abated, and the captain (unwilling to lose all her cargo), about 10 o’clock, sent some of his crew in a boat to the ship’s side to bring us on shore, where we lay in a sort of a camp, made of the sails of the vessel, and such other things as they could get. The provisions lasted us until we were taken In by a vessel hound for Philadelphia, lying on this island near three weeks. Very little of the cargo was saved undamaged, and the vessel entirely lost. When arrived and landed at Philadelphia, the capital of Pensylvania, the captain had soon people enough who came to buy us. He making the most of his villanous loading, after his disaster, sold us at about 16l. per What be- came of my unhappy compa- nions I never knew ; but it was my lot to be sold to one of my countrymen, whose name was Hugh Wilson, a North Briton, for the term of seven years, who had in his youth under- gone the same fate as myself; having been kidnapped from St. Johnston, in Scotland. Hap- py was my lot in falling into A.