ift up the river with
the tide, and then drift down again when the tide turned, remaining in
the middle of the stream till it was dark, when we would land and make
our way into the woods. My advice was followed; we sat still in the
boat, just keeping her head to the stream with the oars, and, being
without our shirts, the sun scorching and blistering our backs, till
past noon, during which time we must have drifted nearly twenty miles
up the river, which was as broad as the arm of a sea at the entrance;
then the tide turned, and we drifted back again till it was dusk, when
it was again slack water. All this while we kept a sharp look-out to
see if we could perceive any Indians, but not one was to be seen. I
now proposed that we should take our oars and pull out of the river,
as if we had only gone up on a survey, for the brig had got under
weigh, and had anchored, for want of wind, about four miles off, and
the Indians, if there were any, would suppose that we were returning
to the ship. We did so, and pulled till it was dark, and were within
two miles of the brig, where the flood-tide again made strong, when we
turned the boat's head up the river, and pulled with the oars to get
up as far as we could before we landed. This we did, suffering much
from hunger and thirst, as well as being confined so long in one
position. As my knee was quite well, I now took off the bandage, and
hung my diamond round my neck as before. I could not help feeling a
satisfaction, when I thought that the thief of a captain little
imagined what a mine of wealth he was losing when he turned me adrift.
It was about midnight when the tide ceased to flow, and we then agreed
to land, and the question then was, whether we should separate or keep
together. After some discussion, we agreed to separate in twos, and
the Portuguese captain and I agreed to keep each other company. We
first pushed the boat into the stream, that she might drift away, and
then, shaking each other by the hand and bidding adieu, we all started
in different directions. For some time the captain and I threaded the
woods in silence, when we were stopped by a stream of deep water, with
such high banks, that in the dark we did not know how to cross it. We
walked by the side of it for some time to discover a passage, and in
so doing, we at last found ourselves again on the banks of the river,
and our boat lying close to us, having grounded not far from where we
had shoved her off. We