The fear of being swallowed alive affected me so that I never slept in quiet. Yet the apprehension of lying abroad, without any fence, was almost equal to it. Still, when I looked about, and saw how every thing was put in order, how I was concealed, and how safe from danger, it made me very loth to remove.
In the mean time, it occurred to me it would require a vast deal of time for me to do this. I must be contented to run the risk where I was till I had formed a convenient camp and secured it so as to remove to it. With this conclusion I composed myself for a time, and resolv’d I would go to work with all speed to build me a wall with piles and cables, &c. in a circle as before, and set up my tent in it when it was finished. I would venture to stay where I was till it was ready and fit to remove to. This was the 21st.
April 22.
The next morning I began to consider of means to put this measure into execution. I was at a great loss about the tools. I had three large axes and abundance of hatchets (for we carried the hatchets for traffic with the Indians), but with much chopping and cutting knotty hard wood, they were all full of notches and dull. Tho’ I had a grind-stone, I could not turn it and grind my tools too. This caused me as much thought as a statesman would have bestowed upon a grand point of politics or a judge upon the life and death of a man. At length I contrived a wheel with a string to turn it with my foot, that I might have both my hands at liberty.
Note. I had never seen any such thing in England, or at least not to take notice how it was done, tho’ since I have observ’d it is very common there. Besides, my grind-stone was very large and heavy. This machine cost me a full week's work to bring it to perfection.
April 24, 25, 26
The beast was most unhappy and bothered still by the earthquake. It would not run or hunt or feed, but only pace in the area it awoke in. All three mornings I would find myself just a few yards from where the mantle of the beast had fallen upon me, the ground covered with its many footprints, or paw prints as they may be called. It was very hungry, and thus I awoke each day finding myself ravenous and desiring for much food.
April 28, 29.
These two whole days I took up in grinding my tools, my machine for turning my grind-stone performing very well.
April 30.
Having perceived my bread had been low a great while, I now took a survey of it, and reduced myself to one bisket-cake a day, which made my heart very heavy.
May 1.
In the morning, looking toward the sea-side, the tyde being low, I saw something lie on the shore bigger than ordinary, and it looked like a cask. When I came to it, I found a small barrel and two or three pieces of the wreck of the ship which were driven on shore by the late hurricane. Looking towards the wreck itself, I thought it seemed to lie higher out of the water than it used to do. I examined the barrel that was driven on shore and soon found it was a barrel of gunpowder. It had taken water, and the powder was caked as hard as a stone. However, I rolled it farther on the shore for the present and went on upon the sands, as near as I could to the wreck of the ship, to look for more.
When I came down to the ship, I found it strangely remov’d. The forecastle, which lay before buried in sand, was heaved up at least six feet. The stern (which was broke to pieces and parted from the rest by the force of the sea soon after I had left rummaging of her) was tossed up, as it were, and cast on one side. The sand was thrown so high on that side next her stern I could now walk quite up to her when the tyde was out, whereas there was a great piece of water before, so I could not come within a quarter of a mile of the wreck without swimming. I was surprised with this at first, but soon concluded it must be done by the earthquake. As by this violence the ship was more broke open than formerly, so many things came daily on shore which the sea had loosened and which the winds and water rolled by degrees to the land.
This diverted my thoughts from the design of removing my habitation. I busied myself, that day especially, in searching whether I could make any way into the ship, but I found nothing was to be expected of that kind, for all the inside of the ship was choked up with sand. However, as I had learned not to despair of any thing, I resolv’d to pull every thing to pieces I could of the ship, concluding every thing I could get from her would be of some use or other to me.
I could not help but see that prominent on the broken part of the stern was the dark stain where the mate had been kill'd.
May 3.
I began with my saw and cut a piece of a beam through which I thought held some of the upper part or quarter deck together. When I had cut it through, I clear’d away the sand as well as I could from the side which lay highest. The tyde coming in, I was oblig’d to give over for that time.
May 4.
I went a-fishing, but caught not one fish I durst eat of till I was weary of my sport. I had made me a long line of some rope-yarn, but I had no hooks. Yet I frequently caught fish enough, as much as I cared to eat, all which I dried in the sun and ate them dry.