difficulty, I got hold of it, and by the help of that rope got into the forecastle of the ship.  Here I found that the ship was bulged, and had a great deal of water in her hold; but that she lay so on the side of a bank of hard sand, or rather earth, that her stern lay lifted up upon the bank, and her head low, almost to the water.  By this means all her quarter was free, and all that was in that part was dry; for you may be sure my first work was to search and to see what was spoiled and what was free:  and, first, I found that all the ship’s provisions were dry and untouched by the water; and, being very well disposed to eat, I went to the bread-room, and filled my pockets with biscuit, and eat it as I went about other things, for I had no time to lose.  I also found some rum in the great cabin, of which I took a large dram, and which I had indeed need enough of, to spirit me for what was before me.  Now I wanted nothing but a boat, to furnish myself with many things which I foresaw would be very necessary to me.

It was in vain to sit still and wish for what was not to be had, and this extremity roused my application:  we had several spare yards, and two or three large spars of wood, and a spare top-mast or two in the ship; I resolved to fall to work with these, and flung as many overboard as I could manage for their weight, tying every one with a rope, that they might not drive away.  When this was done, I went down the ship’s side, and pulling them to me, I tied four of them fast together at both ends, as well as I could, in the form of a raft, and laying two or three short pieces of plank upon them, crossways, I found I could walk upon it very well, but that it was not able to bear any great weight, the pieces being too light:  so I went to work, and with the carpenter’s saw I cut a spare top-mast into three lengths, and added them to my raft, with a great deal of labour and pains.  But the hope of furnishing myself with necessaries, encouraged me to go beyond what I should have been able to have done upon another occasion.

My raft was now strong enough to bear any reasonable weight.  My next care was what to load it with, and how to preserve what I laid upon it from the surf of the sea; but I was not long considering this.  I first laid all the planks or boards upon it that I could get, and having considered well what I most wanted, I got three of the seamen’s chests, which I had broken open and emptied, and lowered them down upon my raft; these I filled with provisions, viz. bread, rice, three Dutch cheeses, five pieces of dried goats’ flesh, (which we lived much upon,) and a little remainder of European corn, which had been laid by for some fowls which we had brought to sea with us, but the fowls were killed.  There had been some barley and wheat together, but, to my great disappointment, I found afterwards that the rats had eaten or spoiled it all.  As for liquors, I found several cases of bottles belonging to our