Bulkeley made a very different sort of threat: if the misbehavior continued, he, along with Baynes and Cummins, would demand to be deposited onshore, leaving the others to fend for themselves on the boat. The crew knew that Bulkeley was indispensable—no one else could as monomaniacally plot their course and battle the elements—so his threat had a sobering effect. “The people have promised to be under government, and seem much easier,” Bulkeley wrote. To further pacify the men, he released a bit more flour from their stores, noting that many people eat the powder “raw as soon as they are served
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