Accidents > Dangers of the deep, or, Narratives of shipwreck and adventure at sea

184 INDIAN HOSPITALITV.
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 use¬
less 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 paral¬
leled, of the unsearchable ways of Providence.
It was at that time little suspected by us, that
the barge, in which we founded all our hopes
of escaping from this savage coast, would cer¬
tainly have proved the fatal cause of detain¬
ing us till we were consumed by the labour
and hardships requisite to row her round the
capes and great headlands; for it was impos¬
sible to carry her by land, as we did the boats
of the Indians. At present, no condition
could be worse than we thought ours to be :
there ran at this time a very high sea, which
breaking with great fury upon this coast,