May 16.—It had blown hard in the night, and the wreck appeared more broken by the force of the water; but I staid so long in the woods to get pigeons for food, that the tide prevented me going to the wreck that day.
May 17.—I saw some pieces of the wreck blown on shore, at a great distance, near two miles off me, but resolved to see what they were, and found one was a piece of the head, but too heavy for me to bring away.
May 24.—Every day to this day I worked on the wreck, and with hard labour I loosened some things so much with the crow, that the first flowing tide several casks floated out, and two of the seamen’s chests; but the wind blowing from the shore, nothing came to land that day but pieces of timber, and a hogshead, which had some Brazil pork in it; but the salt water and the sand had spoiled it.
I continued this work every day to the 15th of June, except the time necessary to get food, which I always appointed during this part of my employment to be when the tide was up, that I might be ready when it was ebbed out; and by this time I had gotten timber, and plank, and iron work enough to have built a good boat, if I had known how; and also I got at several times, and in several pieces, near one hundredweight of the sheet lead.
June 16.—Going down to the sea-side, I found a large tortoise or turtle; this was the first I had seen, which it seems was only my misfortune, not any defect of the place, or scarcity; for had I happened to be on the other side of the island, I might have had hundreds of them every day, as I found afterwards, but perhaps had paid dear enough for them.
June 17th I spent in cooking the turtle: I found in her three-score eggs; and her flesh was to me, at that time, the most savoury and pleasant that ever I tasted in my life, having had no flesh but of goats and fowls, since I landed in this horrid place.
June 18.—Rained all day and I staid within. I thought at this time the rain felt cold, and I was something chilly, which I knew was not usual in that latitude.
June 19.—Very ill, and shivering, as if the weather had been cold.
June 20.—No rest all night, violent pains in my head, and feverish.
June 21.—Very ill, frighted almost to death with the apprehensions of my sad condition, to be sick, and no help. Prayed to God for the first time since the storm off Hull; but scarce knew what I said, or why, my thoughts being all confused.
June 22.—A little better, but under dreadful apprehensions of sickness.
June 23.—Very bad again, cold and shivering, and then a violent headache.
June 24.—Much better.
June 25.—An ague very violent; the fit held me seven hours, cold fit and hot, with faint sweats after it.
June 26.—Better; and having no victuals to eat, took my gun, but found myself very weak; however, I killed a she-goat, and with much difficulty got it home, and broiled some of it, and ate; I would fain have stewed it, and made some broth, but had no pot.
June 27.—The ague again so violent that I lay a-bed all day, and neither ate nor drank. I was ready to perish for thirst, but so weak I had not strength to stand up, or to get myself any water to drink. Prayed to God again, but was light-headed: and when I was not I was so ignorant, that I knew not what to say, only I lay, and cried, “Lord look upon me! Lord pity me! Lord have mercy upon me!” I suppose I did nothing else for two or three hours, till, the fit wearing off, I fell asleep, and did not wake till far in the night: when I waked, I found myself much refreshed, but weak and exceedingly thirsty: however, as I had no water in my whole habitation, I was forced to lie till morning and went to sleep again. In this second sleep I had this terrible dream:—