on my hands, as follows: I had long
studied to make, by some means or other, some earthen vessels, which,
indeed, I wanted sorely, but knew not where to come at them. However,
considering the heat of the climate, I did not doubt but if I could find
out any clay, I might make some pots that might, being dried in the sun,
be hard enough and strong enough to bear handling, and to hold anything
that was dry, and required to be kept so; and as this was necessary in
the preparing corn, meal, &c., which was the thing I was doing, I
resolved to make some as large as I could, and fit only to stand like
jars, to hold what should be put into them.

It would make the reader pity me, or rather laugh at me, to tell how many
awkward ways I took to raise this paste; what odd, misshapen, ugly things
I made; how many of them fell in and how many fell out, the clay not
being stiff enough to bear its own weight; how many cracked by the
over-violent heat of the sun, being set out too hastily; and how many
fell in pieces with only removing, as well before as after they were
dried; and, in a word, how, after having laboured hard to find the
clay--to dig it, to temper it, to bring it home, and work it--I could not
make above two large earthen ugly things (I cannot call them jars) in
about two months' labour.

However, as the sun baked these two very dry and hard, I lifted them very
gently up, and set them down again in two great wicker baskets, which I
had made on purpose for them, that they might not break; and as between
the pot and the basket there was a little room to spare, I stuffed it
full of the rice and barley straw; and these two pots being to stand
always dry I thought would hold my dry corn, and perhaps the meal, when
the corn was bruised.

Though I miscarried so much in my design for large pots, yet I made
several smaller things with better success; such as little round pots,
flat dishes, pitchers, and pipkins, and any things my hand turned to; and
the heat of the sun baked them quite hard.

But all this would not answer my end, which was to get an earthen pot to
hold what was liquid, and bear the fire, which none of these could do.
It happened after some time, making a pretty large fire for cooking my
meat, when I went to put it out after I had done with it, I found a
broken piece of one of my earthenware vessels in the fire, burnt as hard
as a stone, and red as a tile. I was agreeably surprised to see it, and
said to mysel