第18章

A little after Noon I found the Sea very calm，and the Tyde ebb'd so far out，that I could come within a Quarter of a Mile of the Ship；and here I found a fresh renewing of my Grief，for I saw evidently，that if we had kept on board，we had been all safe，that is to say，we had all got safe on Shore，and I had not been so miserable as to be left entirely destitute of all Comfort and Company，as I now was；this forc'd Tears from my Eyes again，but as there was little Relief in that，I resolv'd，if possible，to get to the Ship，so I pull'd off my Clothes，for the Weather was hot to Extremity，and took the Water，but when I came to the Ship，my Difficulty was still greater to know how to get on board，for as she lay a ground，and high out of the Water，there was nothing within my Reach to lay hold of；I swam round her twice，and the second Time I spy'd a small Piece of a Rope，which I wonder'd I did not see at first，hang down by the Fore-Chains so low，as that with great Difficulty I got hold of it，and by the help of that Rope，got up into the Forecastle of the Ship；here I found that the Ship was bulg'd，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 spoil'd and what was free；and first I found that all the Ship's Provisions were dry and untouch'd by the Water，and being very well dispos'd to eat，I went to the Bread-room and fill'd my Pockets with Bisket，and eat it as I went about other things，for I had no time to lose；I also found some Rum in the great Cabbin，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 my self with many things which I forsaw 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 rouz'd my Application；we had several spare Yards，and two or three large sparrs of Wood，and a spare Top-mast or two in the Ship；I resolv'd to fall to work with these，and I flung as many of them over board 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 ty'd 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 cross-ways，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 hope of furnishing my self with Necessaries，encourag'd 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 Plank or Boards upon it that I could get，and having consider'd well what I most wanted，I first got three of the Seamens Chests，which I had broken open and empty'd，and lower'd them down upon my Raft；the first of these I fill'd with Provision，viz. Bread，Rice，three Dutch Cheeses，five Pieces of dry'd Goat's Flesh，which we liv'd much u'pon，and a little Remainder of European Corn which had been laid by for some Fowls which we brought to Sea with us，but the Fowls were kill'd；there had been some Barly and Wheat together，but，to my great Disappointment，I found afterwards that the Rats had eaten or spoil'd it all；as for Liquors，I found several Cases of Bottles belonging to our Skipper，in which some Cordial Waters，and in all about five or six Gallons of Rack，these I stow'd by themselves，there being no need to put them into the Chest，nor no room for them. While I was doing this，I found the Tyde began to flow，tho' very calm，and I had the Mortification to see my Coat，Shirt，and Wast-coat which I had left on Shore upon the Sand，swim away；as for my Breeches which were only Linnen and open knee'd，I swam on board in them and my Stockings：However this put me upon rummaging for Clothes，of which I found enough，but took no more than I wanted for present use，for I had other things which my Eye was more upon，as first Tools to work with on Shore，and it was after long searching that I found out the Carpenter's Chest，which was indeed a very useful Prize to me，and much more valuable than a Ship Loading of Gold would have been at that time；I got it down to my Raft，even whole as it was，without losing time to look into it，for I knew in general what it contain'd.

My next Care was for some Ammunition and Arms；there were two very good Fowling-pieces in the great Cabbin，and two Pistols，these I secur'd first，with some Powder-horns，and a small Bag of Shot，and two old rusty Swords；I knew there were three Barrels of Powder in the Ship，but knew not where our Gunner had stow'd them，but with much search I found them，two of them dry and good，the third had taken Water，those two I got to my Raft，with the Arms，and now I thought my self pretty well freighted，and began to think how I should get to Shore with them，having neither Sail，Oar，or Rudder，and the least Cap full of Wind would have overset all my Navigation.