Richard of Jamestown | Page 4

it was proposed to do
toward building a town in the new world.
Both Nathaniel and I had believed it was the king who counted to send
all these people overseas; but I learned from my new master that a
company of London merchants was in charge of the enterprise, these
merchants believing much profit might come to them in the way of
getting gold.
The whole business was to be under the control of Captain
Bartholomew Gosnold, who, it was said, had already made one voyage
to the new world, and had brought back word that it was a goodly place
in which to settle and to build up towns. The one chosen to act as
admiral of the fleet, for there were to be three ships instead of one, as I
had fancied, was Captain Christopher Newport, a man who had no little
fame as a seaman.
In due time, as the preparations for the voyage were being forwarded, I
was sent by my master into lodgings at Blackwall, just below London
town, for the fleet lay nearby, and because it was understood by those
in charge of the adventure that I was in Captain Smith's service, no
hindrance was made to my going on board the vessels.

THE VESSELS OF THE FLEET
These were three in number, as I have already said: the Constant, a ship
of near to one hundred tons in size; the Goodspeed, of forty tons, and
the Discovery, which was a pinnace of only twenty tons.
And now, lest some who read what I have set down may not be

acquainted with the words used by seamen, let me explain that the
measurement of a vessel by tons, means that she will fill so much space
in the water. Now, in measuring a vessel, a ton is reckoned as forty
cubic feet of space, therefore when I say the Susan Constant was one
hundred tons in size, it is the same as if I had set down that she would
carry four thousand cubic feet of cargo.
That he who reads may know what I mean by a pinnace, as differing
from a ship, I can best make it plain by saying that such a craft is an
open boat, wherein may be used sails or oars, and, as in the case of the
Discovery, may have a deck over a certain portion of her length. That
our pinnace was a vessel able to withstand such waves as would be met
with in the ocean, can be believed when you remember that she was
one half the size of the Goodspeed, which we counted a ship.

HOW I EARNED MY PASSAGE
Captain Smith, my master, found plenty of work for me during the
weeks before the fleet sailed. He had many matters to be set down in
writing, and because of my mother's care in teaching me to use the quill,
I was able, or so it seemed to me, to be of no little aid to him in those
busy days, when it was as if he must do two or three things at the same
time in order to bring his business to an end. I learned during that time
to care very dearly for this valiant soldier, who could, when the fit was
on him, be as tender and kind as a girl, and again, when he was crossed,
as stern a man as one might find in all London town.
Because of my labors, and it pleased me greatly that I could do
somewhat toward forwarding the adventure, I had no time in which to
search for my friend, Nathaniel Peacock, although I did not cease to
hope that he would try to find me.
I had parted with him in the city, and he knew right well where I was
going; yet, so far as I could learn, he had never come to Blackwall.
I had no doubt but that I could find him in the city, and it was in my
mind, at the first opportunity, to seek him out, if for no other reason
than that we might part as comrades should, for he had been a true
friend to me when my heart was sore; but from the moment the sailors
began to put the cargo on board the Susan Constant and the Goodspeed,
I had no chance to wander around Blackwall, let alone journeying to
London.

Then came the twentieth of December, when we were to set sail, and
great was the rejoicing among the people, who believed that we would
soon build up a city in the new world, which would be of great wealth
and advantage to those in England.
I heard it said, although I myself was not on shore to