o cut hollow, and make fit for a mortar, and could find none
at all, except what was in the solid rock, and which I had no way to dig
or cut out; nor indeed were the rocks in the island of hardness
sufficient, but were all of a sandy, crumbling stone, which neither would
bear the weight of a heavy pestle, nor would break the corn without
filling it with sand. So, after a great deal of time lost in searching
for a stone, I gave it over, and resolved to look out for a great block
of hard wood, which I found, indeed, much easier; and getting one as big
as I had strength to stir, I rounded it, and formed it on the outside
with my axe and hatchet, and then with the help of fire and infinite
labour, made a hollow place in it, as the Indians in Brazil make their
canoes. After this, I made a great heavy pestle or beater of the wood
called the iron-wood; and this I prepared and laid by against I had my
next crop of corn, which I proposed to myself to grind, or rather pound
into meal to make bread.

My next difficulty was to make a sieve or searce, to dress my meal, and
to part it from the bran and the husk; without which I did not see it
possible I could have any bread. This was a most difficult thing even to
think on, for to be sure I had nothing like the necessary thing to make
it--I mean fine thin canvas or stuff to searce the meal through. And
here I was at a full stop for many months; nor did I really know what to
do. Linen I had none left but what was mere rags; I had goat's hair, but
neither knew how to weave it or spin it; and had I known how, here were
no tools to work it with. All the remedy that I found for this was, that
at last I did remember I had, among the seamen's clothes which were saved
out of the ship, some neckcloths of calico or muslin; and with some
pieces of these I made three small sieves proper enough for the work; and
thus I made shift for some years: how I did afterwards, I shall show in
its place.

The baking part was the next thing to be considered, and how I should
make bread when I came to have corn; for first, I had no yeast. As to
that part, there was no supplying the want, so I did not concern myself
much about it. But for an oven I was indeed in great pain. At length I
found out an experiment for that also, which was this: I made some
earthen-vessels very broad but not deep, that is to say, about two feet
diameter, and not above nine inches deep. These I burned in the fire, as
I had