ettled, he went to work upon the keel, which
was to be thirty feet long; the breadth of our bark, by the beam,
sixteen feet, and her hold seven feet deep. In two months we made a
tolerable shew, owing in a great measure to the ingenuity of Poppleston,
our armourer, who never lost a minute in working with his hands, or
contriving in his head. He made us a small double-headed maul, hammers,
chisels, and a sort of gimblets or wimbles, which performed very well.
He even made a bullet-mould, and an instrument to bore cartouch-boxes,
which he made from the trucks of our gun-carriages, covering them with
seal-skins, and contrived to make them not only convenient, but neat. He
contrived to execute any iron-work wanted by the carpenter, and even
finished a large serviceable boat, of which we stood much in need.

In the beginning of this great work the people behaved themselves very
well, half of them working regularly one day, and the other half the
next, seeming every day to grow easier under our misfortunes. They
treated me with as much respect as I could wish, and even in a body
thanked me for the prospect of their deliverance; while I never failed
to encourage them by telling them stories of the great things that had
been accomplished by the united efforts of men in similar distresses. I
always pressed them to stick close to the work, that we might get our
bark ready in time; and told them that we fortunately had three of the
best ports in Chili within 120 leagues of us. This inspired them with
life and vigour, and they often declared that they would exert their
utmost endeavours to finish her with all expedition. At last, however,
we became a prey to faction, so that it was a miracle we ever got off
from this place. For, after completing the most laborious part of the
work, they entirely neglected it; and many of my officers, deserting my
society, herded with the meanest of the ship's company. I was now
convinced in a suspicion I had long entertained, that some black design
was in embryo; for when I met any of my officers, and asked what they
were about, and the reason of their acting so contrary to their duty, by
diverting the people from their work, some used even to tell me they
knew not whether they would leave the island or not, when my bundle of
sticks was ready; that they cared not how matters went, for they could
shift for themselves as well as the rest. When I spoke with the common
men, some were surly, and others s