hard wood, they were all full of notches, and dull; and though I had a
grind-stone, I could not turn it and grind my tools too. This caused me
as much thought as a statesman would have bestowed upon a grand point
of politics, or a judge upon the life and death of a man. At length I
contrived a wheel with a string, to turn it with my foot, that I might
have both my hands at liberty.

_Note._ I had never seen any such thing in England, or at least not to
take notice how it was done, though since I have observed it is very
common there: besides that, my grind-stone was very large and heavy.
This machine cost me a full week's work to bring it to perfection.

_April 28, 29._ These two whole days I took up in grinding my tools, my
machine for turning my grind-stone performing very well.

_April 30._ Having perceived that my bread had been low a great while, I
now took a survey of it, and reduced myself to one biscuit-cake a day,
which made my heart very heavy.

_May 1._ In the morning, looking toward the sea-side, the tide being
low, I saw something lie on the shore bigger than ordinary, and it
looked like a cask: when I came to it, I found a small barrel, and two
or three pieces of the wreck of the ship, which were driven on shore by
the late hurricane; and looking towards the wreck itself, I thought it
seemed to lie higher out of the water than it used to do. I examined the
barrel that was driven on shore, and soon found it was a barrel of
gunpowder; but it had taken water, and the powder was caked as hard as a
stone: however, I rolled it farther on the shore for the present, and
went on upon the sands, as near as I could to the wreck of the ship, to
look for more.

When I came down to the ship, I found it strangely removed. The
forecastle, which lay before buried in sand, was heaved up at least six
feet: and the stern (which was broke to pieces, and parted from the
rest, by the force of the sea, soon after I had left rummaging of her)
was tossed, as it were, up, and cast on one side: and the sand was
thrown so high on that side next her stern, that I could now walk quite
up to her when the tide was out; whereas there was a great piece of
water before, so that I could not come within a quarter of a mile of the
wreck without swimming. I was surprised with this at first, but soon
concluded it must be done by the earthquake; and as by this violence the
ship was more broke open than formerly, so many things came daily on