Gutenkarte

The same day I went on board we set sail, standing away to the northward upon our own coast, with design to stretch over for the African coast. When they came about ten or twelve degrees of northern latitude, which, it seems, was the manner of their course in those days, we had very good weather, only excessive hot all the way upon our own coast, till we came to the height of Cape St. Augustino; from whence, keeping farther off at sea, we lost sight of land, and steered as if we were bound for the isle Fernando de Noronha, holding our course N.E. by N. and leaving those isles on the east. In this course we passed the line in about twelve days' time, and were by our last observation, in 7 degrees 22 minutes northern latitude, when a violent tornado, or hurricane, took us quite out of our knowledge: it began from the south-east, came about to the north-west, and then settled in the north-east; from whence it blew in such a terrible manner, that for twelve days together we could do nothing but drive, and, scudding away before it, let it carry us whither ever fate and the fury of the winds directed; and, during these twelve days, I need not say that I expected every day to be swallowed up; nor, indeed, did any in the ship expect to save their lives.