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Article A NARRATIVE ← Page 9 of 10 →
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A Narrative
1 requested him therefore , as much in an official as an individual capacity , to send a vessel for the relief of those in whose behalf I intreated his assistance . He answered , that he felt every inclination to believe my companions , but was prevented from acting up to his intentions , as there was no fhi p belonging to her Majesty ( the Queen of Portugal ) in the harbour . In this situation of affairsI judged myself empowered ,
, from the official employment I filled , in the name of the Honourable East-India Company , to frei g ht a private vessel to the island of Madagascar ; and the liberal conduct , and active aid of the Governor , enabled me soon to equip the ship for her intended voyage . I may here observe , that as a French ship was about to sail for the Mauritius , on board of which M . de Souza intended to take his passage , I
embraced the opportunity of entrusting to his care official letters to your Honourable Court , as well as to the different Presidencies in India , stating the melancholy loss of the Winterton , and the exertions that had hitherto been made to alleviate the sufferings of the survivors , and to lessen the burden of those sorrows in which I had left them involved . The first of March I sailed from Mosambiqueandafter a tedious
, , passage of twenty-three days , anchored in St . Augustin ' s Bay . I repaired immediately to Tulliar , to apprise my unfortunate companions that a vessel was arrived , and ready for their reception . I must again be permitted to observe , that my abilities are unequal ( and perhaps the power of human language is inadequate ) to paint the miserable state in which I found them . Oppressed with mental affliction , their calamities
were increased by the appearance of a contagious fever ; being destitute of medicines to alleviate its effects , and deprived of the necessaries of life , the number of the people , including passengers , was diminished to one hundred and thirty , though near double that number was saved from the wreck ; under circumstances so peculiarly severe , it was ten days before their embarkation was completed , although I used all my exertions to expedite so desirable an event . With this unhappy
remnant of my friends I sailed from Madagascar the 3 d of April , and on the nth returned to Mosambique , losing seven people by the way . I would be wanting in gratitude , as well as deficient in regard to truth , to which I have hitherto adhered with all possible exactness , did I not take this opportunity of representing to your . Honourable Court the flattering reception we met with from the Governor and inhabitants
of Mosambique , who surveyed our forlorn condition with sentiments that do honour to his humanity , prepared an hospital for the reception of our sick , and vied with each other in every soothing attention to ths ladies ; though the sick received every medical assistance possible to be procured , yet the unsalubrious climate of Mosambique retarded the establishment of their health ; and , during a < stay of two months there , mortifica
about thirty more of my companions died , whilst I had the - tion to observe ; that the sickness of the survivors continued . As no ship belonging to the government of Portugal had arrived in the harbour , the governor was as inadequate to procure us a vessel , as he was when my requisition regarding this interesting subject was formerly made ; I therefore , in conjunction with Mr . Dun , purser of the Winterton , VOL . il . Nn
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
A Narrative
1 requested him therefore , as much in an official as an individual capacity , to send a vessel for the relief of those in whose behalf I intreated his assistance . He answered , that he felt every inclination to believe my companions , but was prevented from acting up to his intentions , as there was no fhi p belonging to her Majesty ( the Queen of Portugal ) in the harbour . In this situation of affairsI judged myself empowered ,
, from the official employment I filled , in the name of the Honourable East-India Company , to frei g ht a private vessel to the island of Madagascar ; and the liberal conduct , and active aid of the Governor , enabled me soon to equip the ship for her intended voyage . I may here observe , that as a French ship was about to sail for the Mauritius , on board of which M . de Souza intended to take his passage , I
embraced the opportunity of entrusting to his care official letters to your Honourable Court , as well as to the different Presidencies in India , stating the melancholy loss of the Winterton , and the exertions that had hitherto been made to alleviate the sufferings of the survivors , and to lessen the burden of those sorrows in which I had left them involved . The first of March I sailed from Mosambiqueandafter a tedious
, , passage of twenty-three days , anchored in St . Augustin ' s Bay . I repaired immediately to Tulliar , to apprise my unfortunate companions that a vessel was arrived , and ready for their reception . I must again be permitted to observe , that my abilities are unequal ( and perhaps the power of human language is inadequate ) to paint the miserable state in which I found them . Oppressed with mental affliction , their calamities
were increased by the appearance of a contagious fever ; being destitute of medicines to alleviate its effects , and deprived of the necessaries of life , the number of the people , including passengers , was diminished to one hundred and thirty , though near double that number was saved from the wreck ; under circumstances so peculiarly severe , it was ten days before their embarkation was completed , although I used all my exertions to expedite so desirable an event . With this unhappy
remnant of my friends I sailed from Madagascar the 3 d of April , and on the nth returned to Mosambique , losing seven people by the way . I would be wanting in gratitude , as well as deficient in regard to truth , to which I have hitherto adhered with all possible exactness , did I not take this opportunity of representing to your . Honourable Court the flattering reception we met with from the Governor and inhabitants
of Mosambique , who surveyed our forlorn condition with sentiments that do honour to his humanity , prepared an hospital for the reception of our sick , and vied with each other in every soothing attention to ths ladies ; though the sick received every medical assistance possible to be procured , yet the unsalubrious climate of Mosambique retarded the establishment of their health ; and , during a < stay of two months there , mortifica
about thirty more of my companions died , whilst I had the - tion to observe ; that the sickness of the survivors continued . As no ship belonging to the government of Portugal had arrived in the harbour , the governor was as inadequate to procure us a vessel , as he was when my requisition regarding this interesting subject was formerly made ; I therefore , in conjunction with Mr . Dun , purser of the Winterton , VOL . il . Nn