adoes, which as I supposed, might
be attained in fifteen days. So altering our course, we sailed
north-west and by west, in order to reach the Leeward Islands; but a
second storm succeeding, drove us to the westward; so that we were
justly afraid of falling into the hands of cruel savages, or the paws of
devouring beasts of prey.

In this great distress, one of our men, early in the morning cried out,
_Land, land!_ which he had no sooner cried out, but our ship struck upon
a sand bank, and in a moment the sea broke over her in such a manner
that we expected we should all have perished immediately. We knew
nothing where we were, or upon what land we were driven; whether an
island or the main, inhabited or not inhabited; and we could not so much
as hope that the ship would hold out many minutes, without breaking in
pieces, except the wind by a miracle should turn about immediately.
While we stood looking at one another, expecting death every moment, the
mate lay a hold of the boat, and with the help of the rest got her flung
over the ship's side, and getting all into her, being eleven of us,
committed ourselves to God's mercy and the wild sea. And now we saw that
this last effort would not be a sufficient protection from death; so
high did the sea rise, that it was impossible the boat should live. As
to making sail, we had none; neither if we had, could we make use of
any. So that when we had rowed, or rather were driven about a league and
a half, a raging wave, like a lofty mountain, came rolling astern of us,
and took us with such fury, that at once it overset the boat. Thus being
swallowed up in a moment, we had hardly time to call upon the tremendous
name of God; much less to implore, in dying ejaculations, his infinite
mercy to receive our departing souls.

Men are generally counted insensible, when struggling in the pangs of
death; but while I was overwhelmed with water, I had the most dreadful
apprehensions imaginable. For the joys of heaven and the torments of
hell, seemed to present themselves before me in these dying agonies, and
even small space of time, as it were, between life and death. I was
going I thought I knew not whither, into a dismal gulf unknown, and as
yet unperceived, never to behold my friends, nor the light of this world
any more! Could I even have thought of annihilation, or a total
dissolution of soul as well as body, the gloomy thoughts of having no
further being, no knowledge of what we hop