I first made a little out to sea, full north, till I began to feel the benefit of the current which carried me at a great rate and yet did not so hurry me as the current on the south side had done before, so as to take from me all government of the raft. Having a strong steerage with my paddle, I went at a great rate for the wreck, and in less than two hours I came up to it.
It was a dismal sight to look at. The ship, which, by its building, was Spanish, stuck fast, jammed in between two of the black spires. All the stern and quarter of her were beaten to pieces with the sea. As her forecastle, which stuck in the rocks, had run on with great violence, her mainmast and foremast were broken short off. But her bowsprit was sound, and the head and bow appeared firm. When I came close a dog appeared upon her, who, seeing me coming, yelped and cried as soon as I called him. I took him onto the raft, but found him almost dead with hunger and thirst, so weak he could not flee from me, tho' it was plain in his eyes he desired to do so. I gave him a cake of my bread and he devour’d it like a ravenous wolf. I then gave the poor creature some fresh water, with which, if I would have let him, he would have burst himself.
After this, I went on board. The first sight I met with was two men drown’d in the cook-room, or forecastle of the ship. I concluded when the ship struck the men were not able to bear it and were strangled with the constant rushing in of the water as much as if they had been under water. Besides the dog there was nothing left in the ship that had life, nor any goods I could see but what were spoiled by the water. There were some casks of liquor, whether wine or brandy I knew not, which lay lower in the hold and which I could see, but they were too big to meddle with. I saw several chests which I believed belonged to some of the seamen and I got two of them onto the raft without examining what was in them. I saw at this point the dog had fled from me, as most animals tended to do, and was swimming for the island with its head pok'd above the waves. I do not know if it made the shore, and one way or another I never laid eyes on it again.
Had the stern of the ship been fixed, and the fore-part broken off, I am persuaded I might have made a good voyage. By what I found in these two chests, I had room to suppose the ship had a great deal of wealth on board, but of no use, at that time, to any body.
I found besides these chests a little cask full of liquor, which I got into my raft with much difficulty. There were several muskets in the cabin, and a great powder-horn, with about four pounds of powder in it. I took a fire shovel and tongs, which I wanted extremely. Also two little brass kettles, a copper pot to make chocolate, and a gridiron. With this cargo I came away, the tyde beginning to make home again. The same evening, about an hour within night, I reached the island again, weary and fatigued to the last degree.
I reposed that night on the raft. In the morning I resolv’d to harbour what I had got in my new cave and not carry it home to my castle. After refreshing myself, I got all my cargo on shore, and began to examine the particulars. The cask of liquor I found to be a kind of rum, but not such as we had at the Brasils and not at all good. When I came to open the chests, I found several things of great use to me. I found in one a fine case of bottles fill’d with cordial waters, fine and very good. I found two pots of very good succades, or sweetmeats, so fastened on the top the salt water had not hurt them. I found some very good shirts, which were very welcome to me, and about a dozen and a half of white linen handkerchiefs and coloured neckcloths. When I came to the till in the chest, I found there three great bags of pieces-of-eight, which held about eleven hundred pieces in all. In one of them, wrapped up in a paper, six doubloons of gold, and some small bars or wedges of gold. I suppose they might all weigh near a pound.
In the other chest were some cloathes, but of little value. By the circumstances, it must have belonged to the gunner's mate, tho’ there was no powder in it, except two pounds of fine glazed powder in three small flasks. Upon the whole, I got very little by this voyage that was of any use to me. As to the money, I had no manner of occasion for it. It was to me as the dirt under my feet. I would have given it all for three or four pair of English shoes and stockings. I had indeed got two pair of shoes now, which I took off the feet of the two drowned men, and I found two pair more in one of the chests, which were very welcome to me. But they were not like our English shoes, either for ease or service, being rather what we call pumps than shoes. I found in this seaman's chest about fifty pieces-of-eight in rials, but no gold. I suppose this belonged to a poorer man than the other, which seemed to belong to some officer.