Page:Life and astonishing adventures of Peter Williamson (1).pdf/5

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give the preference, whether to such as these, who have had the opportunity of knowing the Christian religion; or to the savages herein after described, who profane not the gospel, or boast humanity; and if they act in a more brutal and (illegible text) manner, yet it is to their enemies, for sake of plunder and the rewards offered them their principles are alike—the love of sordid sin being both their motives. The ship being a sand bank, which did not-give way to let deeper, we lay in the same deplorable condition until morning, when, though we saw the land of Cape May, at about a mile’s distance, we knew not what would be our fate.

The wind at length abated, and the captain, unwilling to lose all her cargo, about ten o’clock, some of his crew in a boat to the ship’s side bearing us on shore, where we lay in a sort of a heap, made of the sails of the vessel, and such other things as we could get. The provisions lasted us until we were taken in by a vessel bound Philadelphia, lying on this island, as well as I can recollect, near three weeks. Very little of the cargo was saved undamaged, and the vessel was entirely lost.

When arrived and landed at Philadelphia, the capital of Pennsylvania, the captain had people (illegible text)gh who came to buy us. He, sold us at about £16 per head. What became of my