Pietas in patriam the life of His Excellency Sir William Phips, Knt. late Captain…

Such an Action if it were done, will doubtless meet with no harder a Censure, than that of the seven English men, who ⟨p. 50⟩being in a Boat carried off to Sea, from St. Christopher's, with but one Days Provision aboard for Seventeen, Singled out some of their Number by Lot and slew them, and Eat them; for which, when they were afterwards accused of Murder, the Court, in consideration of the inevitable Necessity, acquitted them. Truly, the inevitable necessity of Starving, without such an Action, sufficiently grievous to them all, will very much plead for what was done (whatever it were!) by these poor Antecostians. And starved indeed, they must have been, for all this, if they had not Contrived and Performed a very desperate Adventure, which now remains to be Related. There was a very diminutive kind of Boat belonging to their Brigantine, which they recovered out of the Wreck, and cutting this Boat in Two, they made a shift with certain odd Materials preserved among them, to lengthen it so far, that they could therein form a little Cuddy, where Two or Three Men might be stowed, and they set up a little Mast, whereto they fastened a little Sail, and accommodated it with some other little circumstances, according to their present poor Capacity.

Such an Action if it were done, will doubtless meet with no harder a Censure, than that of the seven English men, who ⟨p. 50⟩being in a Boat carried off to Sea, from St. Christopher's, with but one Days Provision aboard for Seventeen, Singled out some of their Number by Lot and slew them, and Eat them; for which, when they were afterwards accused of Murder, the Court, in consideration of the inevitable Necessity, acquitted them. Truly, the inevitable necessity of Starving, without such an Action, sufficiently grievous to them all, will very much plead for what was done (whatever it were!) by these poor Antecostians. And starved indeed, they must have been, for all this, if they had not Contrived and Performed a very desperate Adventure, which now remains to be Related. There was a very diminutive kind of Boat belonging to their Brigantine, which they recovered out of the Wreck, and cutting this Boat in Two, they made a shift with certain odd Materials preserved among them, to lengthen it so far, that they could therein form a little Cuddy, where Two or Three Men might be stowed, and they set up a little Mast, whereto they fastned a little Sail, and accommodated it with some other little circumstances, according to their present poor Capacity.