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such force that it was very evident the ship could not be kept afloat.

The boats were accordingly hoisted out, and the anchor being weighed,
the vessel was warped in nearer the shore until she had only three
fathoms and a half under her keel. A raft was now constructed to carry
the men's chests and bedding ashore.

Before eight o'clock at night most of them had landed. In the morning
the sails were unbent to make tents, and the next day a spring of fine
water was found, and goats, land crabs, man-of-war birds, and boobies
were seen; turtles in abundance could also be obtained, so that the
ship's company had no fear of starving. Some lived in the tents, and
others sheltered themselves in the holes of the rocks.

About a week after the crew landed two ships were seen, and Dampier
ordered his men to turn a dozen turtles, should they send on shore; but
they stood off the land.

He and his people resided on this island until the second of April, when
eleven sail appeared to windward, but passed by. The day following
three ships of war and an East Indiaman came into the bay and anchored.

Dampier, with about thirty-five of his men, went on board the
_Anglesey_, while the rest were disposed of between the other two
men-of-war. The _Anglesey_ was bound for Barbadoes, where she arrived
on the 8th of May, 1701. Dampier was extremely anxious, however, to get
home to vindicate his character for the loss of his ship. In a short
time he succeeded in obtaining a passage on board the _Canterbury_, East
Indiaman, in which he at length reached England.

Although during his voyage he had made many important additions to
geographical knowledge, he was much distressed at the loss of his ship
and his papers; and, as the Earl of Pembroke no longer presided at the
Admiralty, he obtained no reward for his services, nor promise of
further employment. No one in authority seemed to consider that he had
been sent to sea in a rotten old ship, unfit for the service, and that
she had foundered not from any fault of his, but through sheer old age
and decrepitude.

After the death of William the Third, followed by the War of the Spanish
Succession, privateering was actively carried on. A company of
merchants had fitted out two vessels, the _Saint George_ and the _Cinque
Ports_, to cruise against the Spaniards in the South Seas. The command
of these vessels was given to Dampier,--a proof of the estimation in
which he was held. He ho