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We the undersigned, mates,
sailors and master of the Saint-André, which
is under the command of Captain Gabriel Bellet of Honfleur
and on this day, the thirtieth day of June seventeen hundred
fifty-four, is engaged in the green fishery on Newfoundland's
Grand Bank, at a north latitude of 43 degrees 56 minutes and
about 22 1/3 leagues inside the Bank. The captain had the
main topsail furled at about seven o'clock in the evening.
When the salter was securing the after corner, I think he
told the second mate that the topsail
sheets 99
needed to be adjusted. The second mate said he did not take
orders from him. The salter replied that he should furl them
himself since he was being so rude. The second mate suddenly
got out of his barrel, went towards the back of the ship and
punched the salter. Then he took some spare rope and hit him
on the head several times with it. The salter did his best to
defend himself. Seeing that, the second mate left him, went
to get a small wooden gaff (about two and a half feet long and
three inches thick), and hit the salter hard on the arms and
the head. One blow cut his head open so that his skull was
visible, making him incapable of salting the cod or fishing.
The salter grabbed a piece of wood to defend himself, but
since he is elderly, he was unable to defend himself. I, Jean
Marin Le Roy, pilot and first mate of the said ship named above,
was at the splitting table to split about 40 cod, so I yelled
to the second mate and told him to calm down and stop hitting.
He ignored me and continued. I went to stop the fight. The
second mate threw me aside and told me to go away. At that
point, the surgeon, the captain and several of the men
arrived, and we stopped the fight. After which we signed
after having read this. [signature: ] Jean Marin Le
Roy G. Bellet
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