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On the 4th of May, 1699, being then about thirty years of age, and having acquired a competent knowledge of navigation and the medical profession, I accepted the command of the ship Adventure, belonging to a merchant at Bristol; with this vessel I made several voyages to the coast of Guinea and the West Indies, where I trafficked for several commodities. During one of these voyages, we were overtaken by a violent storm, which separated me from my ship and left me upon a desolate coast, weak and exhausted. I had no weapon, no assistance, and was ready to perish, when by a providential accident I recovered my senses upon the shore.