A Pirate's Journey Part 1

A Pirate's Journey
by Ryan - 5th grade

Day 1 - October 28, 1613

On this day I was roaming the streets when I heard a loud "Bang!" I went to investigate. I found a man whom I didn't know lying dead. With him were four enormous bags, and I decided to keep them.

When I got home that night, I looked in the bags and saw what they were full of . . . Gold! I decided to count the gold. In the third bag I saw a letter. It was from King Henry IV.

It said, "I, King Henry the Fourth, announce you an official member of Samuel de Chaplain's crew.

P.S The best of luck to you and your captain."

I was hysterical! My family was very excited and impressed as I decided to become that crew member. The name of the ship is The Enterprise. The captain is Samuel de Champlian. We proudly sail for the King of France.


Day 2 - October 29, 1613

I'm preparing for the launch. I want to take with me a flute and my best clothes made from silk. I will take aboard as much food as possible. I will bring my golden eagle pens and my golden-leaf diary.

On my journey I hope to see beautiful young women and spices galore.


Day 3 - October 30, 1613

Today we set sail for the Indies. Everyone is very excited, including me. It's nice weather for sailing, and my captain agrees.

At twelve noon there was a scuffle for the last of the dessert.

At 3:32 the crew had a wrestling contest in the biggest cabin on the ship (I won).


Day 4 - October 31, 1613

It's our second day out to sea, and it looks like a storm's coming, smells that way, too.

Today I'll be getting a job. I'm hoping I get first mate. The captain's calling the names now . . . I'm first mate! My job as first mate is to keep everyone in line.

My best friend, Joel, is chef. My next-best friend, Michel, is second mate. So far everyone is ship-shape.


Day 5 - November 1, 1613

It's the third day on the ocean. The purpose of the voyage is to find a westward passage to the Spice Islands.

Our destination is the Spice Islands, hopefully.

I wish to accomplish a record of days out to sea and leagues away from shore.

I expect to see dolphins, otters, sea lions, sharks, whales, and maybe a school of fish.


Days 6, 7, 8 - November 4, 1613

We've discovered land due west. We're headed into land and finding more and more crabs.

We landed on an island in the Indies, and the merchants headed to shore.

It's been hours since the merchants went ashore. The captain sends men to investigate; one is me. Suddenly a wave picks up our boat and flings us toward land. When we got on land, we start searching. We find tracks and follow them.

They led us to a large opening full of unfriendly looking Indians. As we entered the clearing, one of us stepped on a twig, and it snapped. The Indians whipped around and, like that, they were charging us. We drew our swords and fought a long, hard battle. Eventually we won.

We found that the Indians were cannibals and had eaten the merchants.

We headed back to the boat and took off.

We've passed a number of islands, and other than that nothing is being done and nothing's been seen.


Day 9 - November 5, 1613

It's the seventh day at sea. We haven't seen land for hours. We've discovered a problem: It's the mast; it's leaning. If someone doesn't find a way to fix it, this ship might not stay afloat. The problem was discovered when someone walked by and noticed it wasn't straight.

If someone doesn't act fast, the mast might fall and kill a lot of us.