eager to
view the circumference of my little kingdom, I resolved upon my cruise;
and accordingly I victualled my ship for the voyage, putting in two
dozen of loaves (cakes I should rather call them) of barley bread, an
earthen pot full of parched rice (a food I ate a great deal of,) a
little bottle of rum, half a goat, and powder and shot for killing more,
and two large watch-coats, of those which, as I mentioned before, I had
saved out of the seamen's chests; these I took, one to lie upon, and the
other to cover me in the night.

It was the 6th of November, in the sixth year of my reign, or my
captivity, which you please, that I set out on this voyage, and I found
it much longer than I expected; for though the island itself was not
very large, yet when I came to the east side of it, I found a great
ledge of rocks lie out about two leagues into the sea, some above water,
some under it; and beyond that a shoal of sand, lying dry half a league
more, so that I was obliged to go a great way out to sea to double
the point.

When first I discovered them, I was going to give over my enterprise,
and come back again, not knowing how far it might oblige me to go out to
sea, and, above all, doubting how I should get back again; so I came to
an anchor; for I had made me a kind of an anchor with a piece of a
broken grappling which I got out of the ship.

Having secured my boat, I took my gun and went on shore, climbing up on
a hill, which seemed to overlook that point, where I saw the full extent
of it, and resolved to venture.

In my viewing the sea from that hill where I stood, I perceived a
strong, and indeed a most furious current, which ran to the east, and
even came close to the point; and I took the more notice of it, because
I saw there might be some danger, that when I came into it, I might be
carried out to sea by the strength of it, and not be able to make the
island again: and, indeed, had I not got first upon this hill, I believe
it would have been so; for there was the same current on the other side
the island, only that it set off at a farther distance, and I saw there
was a strong eddy under the shore; so I had nothing to do but to get out
of the first current, and I should presently be in an eddy.

I lay here, however, two days, because the wind blowing pretty fresh at
E.S.E. and that being just contrary to the said current, made a great
breach of the sea upon the point; so that it was not safe for me to keep