For this, his only reward was the ill-will of the mate
whose mistake he had exposed. He therefore joined the _Speedwell_ an
ordnance ship carrying stores to Gibraltar but falling in with the Spanish
fleet the _Speedwell_ was captured. Her men having been taken to Cadiz
they were sent inland to San Lucar de Mayor. From that place, through
being somewhat carelessly guarded, Scoresby and one of his companions were
successful in making their escape. They reached England after various
adventures and Scoresby having endured many hardships at sea settled down
again to farm work at Cropton for two years. Although having only the very
smallest means he was married at this time to Lady Mary Smith (she was
born on Lady-day), the eldest daughter of Mr John Smith, a landed
proprietor in a small way and a native of Cropton.
Having reached the position of skipper of the famous _Henrietta_, in 1790,
when only thirty years of age, Scoresby was saved from the financial
extremes to which he was likely to have been reduced, owing to his small
income and the increasing expenses of his family. Having successfully
commanded the _Henrietta_ for seven seasons and having augmented in this
way the incomes of the half-dozen Pickeronians interested in the success
of the ship, Captain Scoresby's reputation stood high in the Greenland
trade. In 1798 he accepted the more advantageous offers of a London firm
to command the _Dundee_.
Pages:
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199