Accidents > Dangers of the deep, or, Narratives of shipwreck and adventure at sea

DESERTION OF CAPTAIN CHEAP. 143
to the turn this affair would take, and not in
the least suspecting but that it was determin¬
ed Captain Cheap should be taken with us,
readily embarked under that persuasion; but
when I found that this design, which was so
seriously earned on to the last, was suddenly
dropped, I was determined, upon the first
opportunity, to leave them; which was at this
instant impossible for me to do, the long-boat
lying some distance off shore, at anchor. We
were in all eighty-one, when we left the island,
distributed into the long-boat, cutter, and
barge; fifty-nine on board the first, twelve
in the second, in the last, ten. It was our
purpose to put into some harbour, if possible,
every evening, as we were in no condition to
keep those terrible seas long; for without other
assistance, our stock of provisions was no more
than might have been consumed in a few
days; our water was chiefly contained in a
few powder-barrels; our flour was to be length¬
ened out by a mixture of sea-weed; and our
other supplies depended upon the success of
our guns, and industry among the rocks.
Captain Pemberton having brought on board
his men, we weighed ; but a sudden squall of
wind having split our foresail, we with diffi-