22d he saw some barnacles on the boat's rudder, very similar to
the spawn of an oyster, which filled him with greater hopes of being
near land. He unshipped the rudder, and scraping them off with his
knife, found they were of a salt fishy substance, and eat them; he was
now so weak, the boat having a great motion, that he found it a
difficult task to ship the rudder.

At sunrise, July 23, he became so sure that he saw land, that his
spirits were considerably raised. In the middle of this day he got up,
leaned his back against the mast, and received succour from the sun,
having previously contrived to steer the boat in this position. The
next day he saw, at a very great distance, some kind of a sail, which
he judged was coming from the land, which he soon lost sight of. In
the middle of the day he got up, and received warmth from the sun as
before. He stood on all night for the land.

Very early in the morning of the 25th, after drinking his morning
draught, to his inexpressible joy he saw, while the sun was rising, a
sail, and when the sun was up, found she was a two-mast vessel. He
was, however, considerably perplexed, not knowing what to do, as she
was a great distance astern and to the leeward. In order to watch her
motions better, he tacked about. Soon after this he perceived she was
standing on her starboard tack, which had been the same he had been
standing on for many hours. He saw she approached him very fast, and
he lay to for some time, till he believed she was within two miles of
the boat, but still to leeward; therefore he thought it best to steer
larger, when he found she was a top-sail schooner, nearing him very
fast.--He continued to edge down towards her, until he had brought her
about two points under his lee-bow, having it in his power to spring
his luff, or bear away. By this time she was within half a mile, and
he saw some of her people standing forwards on her deck and waiving
for him to come under their lee-bow.

At the distance of about 200 yards they hove the schooner up in the
wind, and kept her so until Purnell got alongside, when they threw him
a rope, still keeping the schooner in the wind. They now interrogated
him very closely; by the manner the boat and oars were painted, they
imagined she belonged to a man of war, and that they had run away with
her from some of his Majesty's ships at Halifax, consequently that
they would be liable to some punishment if they took him up; they also
thou