nded the sick,
weak and short Men"; by which act of comradeship "we all got over safe."
Two of the pirates, "Robert Spratlin and William Bowman," could get no
farther, and were left behind at the river. Dampier notes that his
"Joint of Bambo, which I stopt at both Ends, closing it with Wax, so as
to keep out any Water," preserved his "Journal and other Writings from
being wet," though he had often to swim for it.

Drenched and tired, they pitched their huts by the river-bank, poor
Wafer in torment from his knee, and the rest of them hungry and cold.
They had hardly finished their huts, when the river came down in a great
wall of water, some sudden flood, due to a cloud-burst higher up. The
flood sucked away their huts, and forced them to run to higher ground.
They passed that night "straggling in the Woods, some under one Tree,
some under another," with the thunder roaring overhead, and the
lightning making a livid brightness all about them. The rain fell in
torrents, and the pirates were far too wretched to keep watch. "So our
Slaves, taking Opportunity, went away in the Night; all but one, who was
hid in some hole, and knew nothing of their design, or else fell
asleep." Among these slaves was a black man, Lionel Wafer's assistant,
who carried the salves and medicaments. He took these with him when he
slunk away, nor did he forget the "Chirurgeon's Gun and all his Money."
He left poor Wafer destitute there, in the forest, "depriv'd of
wherewithal to dress my sore."

In the morning, they found that the river had fallen, but not so much as
they had hoped. It was still too deep to ford, and the current ran very
swiftly, but Dampier and some other swimmers managed to swim across.
They then endeavoured to get a line over, by which to ferry the men who
could not swim, and the arms and powder they had left on the other
bank. They decided to send a man back with a line, with instructions to
pass the goods first, and then the men. "One George Gayny took the end
of a Line and made it fast about his Neck, and left the other end
ashore, and one Man stood by the Line, to clear it away to him." When
Gayny was about half way across, the line, which was kinky with the wet,
got entangled. The man who was lighting it out checked it a moment to
take out the kink, or to clear it. The check threw Gayny on his back,
"and he that had the Line in his hand," instead of slacking away, or
hauling in, so as to bring Gayny ashore, "threw it all i