DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.70300#0359
MATTHEW COX, ESQ.
321
beam ends. The Spaniards began counting their beads,
and falling on their knees, prayed to their Santa Maria. The
doctor and myself ventured on the boom, and cut away the
sail, by which means she righted. We then stood before the
wind, until we made a small bay, and not being able to keep
her free, she having but one pump, run in,,and came to anchor
with two rotten cables, from which in about half an hour she
parted, and we all went ashore together, which was what we had
many days before wished for. But in a few hours, on the
gale moderating, we would have been glad to have ventured
to sea again in our own small boat, in order to have reached
Jamaica, if they would have sold us provisions; but our suf-
ferings were not so soon to be at an end, for they kept our
boat, and would not part with it for any consideration.
They all got into it, except two, and went round to some
port unknown to us. We remained on this desolate part
of Cuba three days, when the two Spaniards agreed to shew
us over the mountains to a port called M(Kacaw', about
ninety miles distant. Accordingly, we set out on the 2d of
June, and soon discovered that the Spaniards were all well
acquainted with the mountains, though at first we had some
suspicion of them, that they intended unfair play. We sel-
dom travelled in a path, except where the mountains were
very steep ; we often saw the track and dung of mules, and
they informed us they travelled that way to prevent their
being seized, when their cargoes were designed for the
English islands, it being death to export mules. We found
the loadstone in plenty on these mountains. The third day
we arrived at M/Kacaw, very much fatigued for want of
water, when we were instantly seized by the chief magistrate,
under a pretence of smuggling; M'Kacaw being a small
port, much frequented by smugglers. We were here de-
tained until the 7th of June, when we were sent on foot
under a strong guard to the city of Byam, about 120 miles
inland from McKacaw. We met with nothing material on
our journey, but bad roads, oftentimes up to our waists in
VOL. VI, Y
321
beam ends. The Spaniards began counting their beads,
and falling on their knees, prayed to their Santa Maria. The
doctor and myself ventured on the boom, and cut away the
sail, by which means she righted. We then stood before the
wind, until we made a small bay, and not being able to keep
her free, she having but one pump, run in,,and came to anchor
with two rotten cables, from which in about half an hour she
parted, and we all went ashore together, which was what we had
many days before wished for. But in a few hours, on the
gale moderating, we would have been glad to have ventured
to sea again in our own small boat, in order to have reached
Jamaica, if they would have sold us provisions; but our suf-
ferings were not so soon to be at an end, for they kept our
boat, and would not part with it for any consideration.
They all got into it, except two, and went round to some
port unknown to us. We remained on this desolate part
of Cuba three days, when the two Spaniards agreed to shew
us over the mountains to a port called M(Kacaw', about
ninety miles distant. Accordingly, we set out on the 2d of
June, and soon discovered that the Spaniards were all well
acquainted with the mountains, though at first we had some
suspicion of them, that they intended unfair play. We sel-
dom travelled in a path, except where the mountains were
very steep ; we often saw the track and dung of mules, and
they informed us they travelled that way to prevent their
being seized, when their cargoes were designed for the
English islands, it being death to export mules. We found
the loadstone in plenty on these mountains. The third day
we arrived at M/Kacaw, very much fatigued for want of
water, when we were instantly seized by the chief magistrate,
under a pretence of smuggling; M'Kacaw being a small
port, much frequented by smugglers. We were here de-
tained until the 7th of June, when we were sent on foot
under a strong guard to the city of Byam, about 120 miles
inland from McKacaw. We met with nothing material on
our journey, but bad roads, oftentimes up to our waists in
VOL. VI, Y