Those two I got to my raft, with
the arms. And now I thought myself pretty well freighted, and began to
think how I should get to shore with them, having neither sail, oar, nor
rudder; and the least capful of wind would have overset all my navigation.
I had three encouragements: first, a smooth, calm sea; secondly, the tide
rising, and setting in to the shore; thirdly, what little wind there was
blew me towards the land. And thus, having found two or three broken oars,
belonging to the boat, and besides the tools which were in the chest, two
saws, an axe, and a hammer, with this cargo I put to sea. For a mile, or
thereabouts, my raft went very well, only that I found it drive a little
distant from the place where I had landed before: by which I perceived
that there was some indraught of the water, and consequently, I hoped to
find some creek or river there, which I might malze use of as a port to
get to land with my cargo.
As I imagined, so it was. There appeared before me a little opening of the
land. I found a strong current of the tide set into it; so I guided my
raft as well as I could, to keep in the middle of the stream.
But here I had like to have suffered a second shipwreck, which, if I had,
I think verily would have broken my heart; for, knowing nothing of the
coast, my raft ran aground at one end of it upon a shoal, and not being
aground at the other end, it wanted but a little that all my cargo had
slipped off towards the end that was afloat, and so fallen into the water.
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