any great weight, the pieces being too light; fo I went to work, and with a carpenter's faw I cut a spare topmaft into three lengths, and added them to my raft, with a great deal of labour and pains; but the hope of furnishing myself with neceffaries, encouraged me to go beyond what I fhould have been able to have done upon another occafion.

My raft was now ftrong enough to bear any reafonable weight; my next care was what to load it with, and how to preferve what I laid upon it from the furge of the fea; but I was not long confidering this: I first laid all the planks or boards upon it that I could get; and having confidered well what I moft wanted, I first got three of the feamens chefts, which I had broken open and emptied, and lowered them down upon my raft; the first of thefe I filled with provifions, viz. bread, rice, three Dutch cheefes, five picces of dried goat's flesh, which we lived much upon, and a little remainder of European corn, which had been laid by for fome fowls which we brought to fea with us, but the fowls were killed; there had been fome barley and wheat together, but, to my great difappointment, I found afterwards, that the rats had eaten or fpoiled it all. As for liquors, I found feveral cafes of bottles belonging to our fkipper, in which were fome cordial waters, and in all about five or fix gallons of arrack; these I ftowed by themselves, there being no need to put them into the cheft, nor any room for them. I was doing this, I found the tide began to flow, though very calm, and I had the mortification to fee my coat, fhirt, and waistcoat, which I had left on fhore upon the fand, fwim away; as for my breeches, which were only linen, and open kneed, 1 fwam on board in them and my ftockings: however, this put me upon rummaging for clothes, of which I found enough, but took no more than I wanted for the prefent ufe, for I had other things which my eye was more upon; as firft tools to work with on fhore, and it was after long fearching that I found out the carpenter's cheft, which was indeed a very useful prize to me, and much more valuable than a ship laden with gold would have been at that time. I got it down to my raft, even whole as it VOL. I.

While

was

was without lofing time to look into it, for I knew in generai what it contained.

My next care was for fome ammunition and arms : There were two very good fowling pieces in the great cabin, and two piftols; thefe I fecured first, with fome powder horns, a small bag of fhot, and two old rusty words: I knew there were three barrels of powder in he fhip, but knew not where our gunner had ftowed hem; but with much fearch I found them, two of them dry and good, the third had taken water; thefe two I got to my raft, with the arms: and now I thought my felf pretty well freighted and began to think how I fhould get to fhore with them, having neither fail, oar, or rudder, and the leaft cap full of wind would have overfet all my navigation.

I had three encouragements: 1 a fmooth and calm fea. 2 The tide rifing and fetting in to the shore. 3 What little wind there was blew me towards the land. And thus, having found two or three broken oars belonging to the boat, and befides the tools which were in the cheft, I found two faws, an ax, and a hammer; and with this cargo I put to fea; for a mile, or thereabouts, my raft went very well, only that I found it drive a little diftant from the place where I had landed before; by which I perceived that there was fome indraught of the water, and confequently I hoped to find fome creek of the river there, which I might make use of as a port to get to land with my cargo.

As I imagined, fo it was; there appeared before me a little opening of the land. I found a strong current of the tide fet into it, fo I guided my raft as well as I could to keep in the middle of the ftream: but here I had like to have fuffered a fecond fhipwreck, which, if I had, I think verily would have broken my heart; for, knowing nothing of the coaft, my raft ran aground at one end of it upon a fhoal, and not being aground at the other end, it wanted but a little that all my cargo had flipped off towards that end that was afloat, and fo fallen into the water; I did my utmoft by fetting my back against the chefts, to keep them in their places, but could not thrust off the raft with all my ftrength; neither durft I ftir from the pofture I was in, but, holding

up

up the chefts with all my might, flood in that manner near half an hour, in which time the rifing of the water brought me a little more upon a level; and a little after, the water ftill rifing, my raft floated again, and I thruft her off with the oar I had, into the channel, and then driving up higher, I at length found myself in the mouth of a little river, with land on both fides, and a strong current of tide running up. I looked on both fides for a proper place to get to fhore, for I was not willing to be driven too high up the river, hoping in time to fee fome fhip at fea, and therefore refolved to place myfelf as near the coaft as I could.

At length I efpied a little cove on the right fhore of the creek, to which, with great pain and difficulty, I guided my raft; and at laft got fo near, as that, reaching ground with my oar, I could thruft her directly in; but here I had like to have dipped all my cargo in the fea again; for that fhore lying pretty steep, that is to fay, floping, there was no place to land, but where one end of the float, if it ran on fhore, would lie fo high, and the other fink lower, as before, that it would endanger my cargo again: all that I could do was to wait till the tide was at the higheft, keeping the raft with my oar, like an anchor, to hold the fide of it faft to the fhore, near a flat piece of ground, which I expected the water would flow over, and fo it did; as foon as I found water enough (for my raft drew about a foot of water) I thruft her upon that flat piece of ground, and there faftened, or moored her, by sticking my two broken oars into the ground; one on one fide near one end, and one on the other fide near the other end; and thus I lay till the water ebbed away, and left my raft and all my cargo

fafe on fhore.

My next work was to view the country, and feek a proper place for my habitation, and where to ftow my goods, to fecure them from whatever might happen. Where I was, I yet knew not; whether on the continent, or on an island; whether inhabited, or not inhabited; whether in danger of wild beafts, or not. There was a

hill not above a mile from me, which rofe up very steep and high, and which feemed to overtop fome other hills which lay as in a ridge from it northward: I took out C 2

one

one of the fowling-pieces, and one of the piftols, and a horn of powder, and thus armed, I travelled for difcovery up to the top of that hill, where, after I had with great labour and difficulty got up, I immediately faw my fate, to my great affliction; viz. that I was in an ifland environed every way with the fea, no land to be feen, except fome rocks, which lay a great way off, and two fmall iflands lefs than this, which lay about three leagues to the West.

I found alfo that the island I was in was barren, and, as I faw good reason to believe, uninhabited, except by wild beafts, of which, however, I saw none; yet I faw abundance of fowls, but knew not their kinds, neither, when I killed them, could I tell what was fit for food, and what not. At my coming back, 1 fhot at a great bird which I faw fitting upon a tree on the fide of a large wood; I believe it was the first gun that had been fired there fince the creation of the world. I had no fooner fired, but from all the parts of the wood there arose an extraordinary number of fowls of many forts, making a confufed fcreaming and crying, every one according to his ufual note; but not one of them of any kind that I knew: As for that creature I killed, I took it to be a kind of an hawk, its colour and beak refembling it, but it had no talons or claws more than common: its flesh was carrion, and fit for nothing.

Contented with this discovery, I came back to my raft, and fell to work to bring my cargo on fhore, which took me up the rest of the day; what to do with myself at night, I knew not, nor indeed where to reft; for I was afraid to lie down on the ground, not knowing but fome wild beaft might devour me, tho' I afterwards found, there was really no need for those fears.

However, as well as I could, I barricadoed myself round with the chefts and boards that I had brought on fhore, and made a kind of an hut for that night's lodging; as for food, I yet faw not which way to supply myfelf, except that I had feen two or three creatures like hares, run out of the wood where I fhot the fowl.

I now began to confider, that I might yet get a great many things out of the fhip, which would be ufeful to me, and particularly fome of the rigging and

fails, and fuch other things as might come to hand; and I refolved to make another voyage on board the vessel, if poffible; and as I knew that the firft ftorm that blew muft neceffarily break her all in pieces, I refolved to fet all other things apart, till I got every thing out of the fhip that I could get; then I called a council, that is to fay, in my thoughts, whether I fhould take back the raft, but this appeared impracticable; fo I refolved to go as before, when the tide was down; and I did fo, only that I ftripped before I went from my hut, having nothing on but a chequered fhirt, a pair of linen drawers, and a pair of pumps on my feet.

I got on board the ship as before, and prepared a fecond raft; and, having had experience of the first, I neither made this fo unweildy, nor loaded it fo hard; but yet I brought away feveral things very useful to me; as firft, in the carpenter's ftore I found two or three bags full of nails and spikes, a great screw jack, a dozen or two of hatchets, and above all, that most useful thing called a grindstone: all these I fecured, together with feveral things belonging to the gunner, particularly two or three iron crows, and two barrels of mufket-bullets, feven muskets and another fowling-piece, with fome fmall quantity of powder more, a large bag full of fmall fhot, and a great roll of fheet lead; but this laft was fo heavy, I could not hoift it up to get it over the fhip's fide.

Befides these things, I took all the men's cloaths that I could find, and a fpare fore-top fail, hammock, and fome bedding; and with this I loaded my fecond raft, and brought them alfo all fafe on fhore, to my very great comfort.

I was under fome apprehenfions during my abfence from the land, that at least my provifions might be devoured on fhore; but when I came back, I found no fign of any vifitor, only there fat a creature like a wild cat, upon one of the chefts, which, when I came towards it, ran away to a little distance, and then stood ftill; fhe fat very compofed and unconcerned, and looked full in my face, as if she had a mind to be acquainted with me. I prefented my gun at her, but fhe did not understand it, she was perfectly unconcerned at it, nor did she offer to stir away; upon which I toffed her a bit

of