ttle opening of the
land. I found a strong current of the tide set into it; so I guided my
raft as well as I could, to keep in the middle of the stream.

But here I had like to have suffered a second shipwreck, which, if I had,
I think verily would have broken my heart; for, knowing nothing of the
coast, my raft ran aground at one end of it upon a shoal, and not being
aground at the other end, it wanted but a little that all my cargo had
slipped off towards the end that was afloat, and so fallen into the water.
I did my utmost, by setting my back against the chests, to keep them in
their places, but could not thrust off the raft with all my strength;
neither durst I stir from the posture I was in; but holding up the chests
with all my might, I stood in that manner near half an hour, in which time
the rising of the water brought me a little more upon a level; and a
little after, the water still rising, my raft floated again, and I thrust
her off with the oar I had into the channel, and then driving up higher, I
at length found myself in the mouth of a little river, with land on both
sides, and a strong current or tide running up. I looked on both sides for
a proper place to get to shore, for I was not willing to be driven too
high up the river; hoping in time to see some ship at sea, and therefore
resolved to place myself as near the coast as I could.

At length I spied a little cove on the right shore of the creek, to which,
with great pain and difficulty, I guided my raft, and at last got so near,
that reaching ground with my oar, I could thrust her directly in. But here
I had like to have dipped all my cargo into the sea again; for that shore
lying pretty steep-that is to say, sloping--there was no place to land but
where one end of my float, if it ran on shore, would lie so high, and the
other sink lower, as before, that it would endanger my cargo again. All
that I could do was to wait till the tide was at the highest, keeping the
raft with my oar like an anchor, to hold the side of it fast to the shore,
near a flat piece of ground, which I expected the water would flow over;
and so it did. As soon as I found water enough, for my raft drew about a
foot of water, I thrust her upon that flat piece of ground, and there
fastened or moored her, by sticking my two broken oars into the ground-one
on one side, near one end, and one on the other side, near the other end;
and thus I lay till the water ebbed away, and left my ra