Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 8: Seizing the Ship (I)

Morning, ten o'clock.

The "St. Louis" was quietly anchored in this empty bay. Although several masts were lowered and the sails were furled, there were many damages on both sides of the ship caused by the storm, and the hull also showed signs of being washed away by the years, it still could not conceal its tall and sturdy majestic posture.

The sea breeze blows on your face, birds fly around, and the waves gently hit the hull of the boat, making a soft and pleasant sound.

In the distance, the sea and the sky are one color, and the white clouds in the sky are leisurely, as if telling the past and legend of this ocean.

In the near distance, the bay is quiet and the sea surface is like a mirror, reflecting the beautiful scenery of the ship and the sky, which makes people intoxicated.

The sailors who stayed on the ship were busy silently, drying the cargo, cleaning the deck, mending the broken sails, and using spare planks to repair the damaged parts.

Captain Juan Gomez Goyer paced back and forth on the deck, holding a monocular in his hand, his face full of worry. From time to time, he walked to the side of the ship and looked carefully at the shore.

However, disappointingly, apart from a faint burst of gunfire half an hour ago, the island had returned to peace. No sailors appeared on the coast, as if they had all been swallowed up by this mysterious island.

Perhaps, it might be a wrong decision for us to rashly land on the island and attack the natives.

Perhaps this move will be retaliated by the indigenous people.

Captain Goyle suddenly had such an absurd idea.

No, no, no, this will definitely not happen!

He shook his head, trying hard to get rid of the bad thoughts in his mind.

how can that be possible?
How could the Aboriginals pose a threat to the dozens of sailors we landed on the island?
With just a handful of men, Cortes and Pizarro conquered all of Mexico and Peru, destroying the vast Aztec and Inca empires respectively.

Although our sailors who came ashore were not as brave and skilled in fighting as the two great colonial pioneers mentioned above, they should still be able to deal with the natives on the island easily and easily.

Even if the natives on the island were numerous and even rather barbaric and brutal, the fifty or so sailors who landed on the island could at least protect themselves with the muskets they held.

The only thing that might bother them is that after defeating the natives and breaking into the camp, they might not be able to hunt down all the natives who are fleeing in all directions.

Oh, by the way, we also have to find a way to recover the two lifeboats that were hijacked by the natives.

Otherwise, they will not be able to contact the large ship anchored here in a short time.

"Huh..." Captain Goyle took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down and maintain his dignity and composure in front of the sailors.

"Mr. Captain..."

Suddenly, the diligent lookout Moreno shouted, breaking the peace on the "St. Louis".

"What have you discovered?" Captain Goyle's heart beat uncontrollably.

"Captain, there's a small boat coming towards us quickly from the northeast!" Lookout Moreno shouted, "Oh, God! It's going so fast!... There are a lot of natives on the boat!... They must be coming to attack us!"

Captain Goyle immediately ran to the side of the ship, raised the monocular telescope and looked towards the northeast.

They saw a small boat, under the cover of the dazzling sunlight, speeding towards them at an astonishing speed.

There were more than twenty natives on board, wearing navy blue clothes and pants, and each of them wore a strange peaked cap on their heads.

Oh my God, they seemed to have weapons, some kind of muskets, as well as wooden spears, bows and arrows and other offensive weapons.

Do they intend to seize our St. Louis?

"Inform everyone to come up on deck immediately! ... Get your muskets and prepare to meet the enemy!" Captain Goyle turned and shouted at a sailor who was still stunned: "Damn it, you son of a bitch, what are you still standing there for? ... Get your weapons!"

The entire "St. Louis" was suddenly in an uproar. Amid the captain's roar, the sailors kept climbing out of the cabin, then ran to both sides of the ship, placed their muskets on them, and aimed at the enemies attacking from the sea.

The sailors who did not have matchlock guns rummaged through the cabin to find short knives, daggers and other sharp blades. Some even found tools such as harpoons, axes, and pliers as weapons. They lay on the side of the ship and watched the small boat approaching.

Oh my God, are these natives crazy?

They actually thought they could attack the St. Louis with just a small boat. That was presumptuous of them. Granted, the natives' boat was moving incredibly fast, a speed far beyond what human power could achieve. But how could such a small boat pose a threat to us?
Well, they seemed to have muskets, but that didn't pose a serious threat to me.

Don't forget that we were on the deck of the tall "St. Louis", with a commanding position and an excellent shooting position, and we could easily shoot them one by one on the small boat.

If they dare to approach us.

As the boat gradually approached the "St. Louis", its speed slowly slowed down and it stopped about a hundred meters away.

The sailors looked at the boat in surprise. The natives inside did not seem to have any oars, and the boat made a dull humming sound.

How is it driven?
Just as the Spanish sailors were looking at the small boat curiously, they saw the natives raised two muskets and aimed at them seriously, as if they wanted to attack the "St. Louis" at this distance.

When the sailors saw this, they all laughed sarcastically.

Could the muskets in their hands hit us at such a distance?
You have to know that the effective range of the muskets of this period was only fifty or sixty meters. If it was farther, God knows where it could hit.

This is because the lead bullets fired from a musket are too light and floaty, and can easily be blown sideways by the wind after leaving the barrel.

Well, even if it is within fifty meters, it may not hit the target.

Unless, a intensive volley of gunfire is adopted.

The natives on the boat took two muskets and shot at us at twice the effective range.

Believe it or not, even if I stand directly on the side of the boat, you may not be able to hit it!

"boom!"

There was a crisp gunshot, but the sailors on the ship didn't pay any attention to it. The lead bullet was probably blown into the water by the sea breeze halfway.

Everyone subconsciously touched their bodies first, then looked at each other to confirm whether anyone was shot.

Well, everyone is fine!
Sure enough, nothing was hit!
A sailor stood up straight and waved his arm at the small boat in a very ostentatious manner, indicating that it should aim further or come closer.

There was also an even more daring sailor who simply unzipped his pants, exposed his thing, and started peeing in the direction of the boat.

Yes, the sailors were trying their best to provoke the natives, hoping that they would come closer. Once they were within the effective range of the muskets, they would show these ignorant and stupid natives what real musket shooting was.

"boom!"

"what!"

"thump!"

With another gunshot, the sailor who was lying on the side of the boat and waving his arms arrogantly suddenly fell down and plunged into the water, causing a huge splash.

Well, what's going on?
Was the unfortunate guy hit by the natives' musket?
Or was he accidentally pushed into the water?
Everyone looked towards the sea, only to see the sailor struggling for a few times in the water before sinking dejectedly into the water, and a crimson color dyed the surrounding sea red.

"Bang! Bang!..."

"what!"

"thump!"

"Ah! I've been shot..."

Then there were several more gunshots. The sailor who was urinating towards the boat was hit and fell into the water. Another sailor fell backwards, holding his shoulder and screaming in pain.

The sailors on the side of the ship immediately crouched down and hid behind the thick planks, with a look of horror on everyone's face.

Damn it, the natives’ muskets can actually reach us!

(End of this chapter)