ur boat.

The country hereabouts wears the most uncouth, desolate, and rugged aspect
imaginable; it is so circumstanced as to discourage the most sanguine
adventurers from attempts to settle in it: Were it for no other reason than
the constant heavy rains, or rather torrents, which pour down here, and the
vast sea and surf which the prevailing westerly winds impel upon this
coast, it must be rendered inhospitable. All entrance into the woods is not
only extremely difficult, but hazardous, not from any assaults you are
likely to meet with from wild beasts, for even these could hardly find
convenient harbour here, but from the deep swamp, which is the reigning
soil of this country, and in which the woods may be said rather to float
than grow; so that, except upon a range of deformed broken rocks which form
the sea-coast, the traveller cannot find sound footing any where. With this
unpromising scene before us we were now setting out in search of food,
which nothing but the most pressing instances of hunger could induce us to
do: We had, indeed, the young Indian servant to our cacique for our
conductor, who was left by him to show us where the shell-fish was most
plenty. The cacique was gone with the rest of his family in the canoe, with
a view of getting some seal, upon a trip which would detain him from us
three or four days.

After searching the coast some time with very little success, we began to
think of returning to the barge; but six of the men, with the Indian,
having advanced some few paces before the officers, got into the boat
first, which they had no sooner done than they put off and left us, to
return no more. And now all the difficulties we had hitherto endured seemed
light in comparison of what we expected to suffer from this treachery of
our men, who, with the boat, had taken away every thing that might be the
means of preserving our lives. The little clothes we had saved from the
wreck, our muskets and ammunition, were gone, except a little powder, which
must be preserved for kindling fires, and one gun which I had, and was now
become useless for want of ammunition; and all these wants were now come
upon us at a time when we could not be worse situated for supplying them.
Yet under these dismal and forlorn appearances was our delivery now
preparing; and from these hopeless circumstances were we to draw hereafter
an instance scarce to be paralleled, of the unsearchable ways of
Providence.

It was at that