by Daniel Defoe
we were,but the ship struck upon a sand, and in a moment, her motion being sostopped, the sea broke over her in such a manner, that we expected weshould all have perished immediately; and we were immediately driveninto our close quarters to shelter us from the very foam and sprayof the sea.
It is not easy for any one, who has not been in the like condition, todescribe or conceive the consternation of men in such circumstances; weknew nothing where we were, or upon what land it was we were driven,whether an island or the main, whether inhabited or not inhabited; andas the rage of the wind was still great, though rather less than atfirst, we could not so much as hope to have the ship hold many minuteswithout breaking in pieces, unless the winds by a kind of miracle shouldturn immediately about. In a word, we sat looking one upon another, andexpecting death every moment, and every man acting accordingly, aspreparing for another world, for there was little or nothing more for usto do in this; that which was our present comfort, and all the comfortwe had, was, that, contrary to our expectation, the ship did not breakyet, and that the master said the wind began to abate.
Now though we thought that the wind did a little abate, yet the shiphaving thus struck upon the sand, and sticking too fast for us to expecther getting off, we were in a dreadful condition indeed, and had nothingto do but to think of saving our lives as well as we could. We had aboat at our stern, just before the storm; but she was first staved bydashing against the ship's rudder, and in the next place she broke away,and either sunk or was driven off to sea; so there was no hope from her.We had another boat on board, but how to get her off into the sea was adoubtful thing; however, there was no room to debate, for we fancied theship would break in pieces every minute, and some told us she wasactually broken already.
In this distress, the mate of our vessel lays hold of the boat, and withthe help of the rest of the men they got her slung over the ship's side,and getting all into her, let go, and committed ourselves, being elevenin number, to God's mercy and the wild sea; for though the storm wasabated considerably, yet the sea went dreadful high upon the shore, andmight well be called _den wild zee_, as the Dutch call the sea ina storm.
And now our case was very dismal indeed; for we all saw plainly, thatthe sea went so high, that the boat could not live, and that we shouldbe inevitably drowned. As to making sail, we had none, nor, if we had,could we have done any thing with it; so we worked at the oar towardsthe land, though with heavy hearts, like men going to execution; for weall knew, that when the boat came nearer the shore, she would be dashedinto a thousand pieces by the breach of the sea. However, we committedour souls to God in the most earnest manner; and the wind driving ustowards the shore, we hastened our destruction with our own hands,pulling as well as we could towards land.
What the shore was, whether rock or sand, whether steep or shoal, weknew not; the only hope that could rationally give us the least shadowof expectation, was, if we might happen into some bay or gulf, or themouth of some river, where, by great chance, we might have run our boatin, or got under the lee of the land, and perhaps made smooth water. Butthere was nothing of this appeared; but as we made nearer and nearer theshore, the land looked more frightful than the sea.
After we had rowed, or rather driven about a league and a half, as wereckoned it, a raging wave, mountain-like, came rolling astern of us,and plainly had us expect the _coup-de-grace_. In a word, it took uswith such a fury, that it overset the boat at once; and separating us aswell from the boat, as from one another, gave us not time hardly to sayO God! for we were all swallowed up in a moment.
Nothing can describe the confusion of thought which I felt when I sunkinto the water; for though I swam very well, yet I could not delivermyself from the waves so as to draw breath, till that wave having drivenme, or rather carried me a vast way on towards the shore, and havingspent itself, went back, and left me upon the land almost dry, but halfdead with the water I took in. I had so much presence of mind as well asbreath left, that, seeing myself nearer the main land than I expected, Igot upon my feet, and endeavoured to make on towards the land as fast asI could, before another wave should return, and take me up again. But Isoon found it was impossible to avoid it; for I saw the sea come afterme as high as a great hill, and as furious as an enemy which I had nomeans or strength to contend with; my business was to hold my breath,and raise myself upon the water, if I could; and so by swimming topreserve my breathing, and pilot myself towards the shore, if possible;my greatest concern now being, that the sea, as it would carry me agreat way towards the shore when it came on, might not carry me backagain with it when it gave back towards the sea.
The wave that came upon me again, buried me at once twenty or thirtyfoot deep in its own body; and I could feel myself carried with a mightyforce and swiftness towards the shore a very great way; but I held mybreath, and assisted myself to swim still forward with all my might. Iwas ready to burst with holding my breath, when, as I felt myself risingup, so, to my immediate relief, I found my head and hands shoot outabove the surface of the water; and though it was not two seconds oftime that I could keep myself so, yet it relieved me greatly, gave mebreath and new courage. I was covered again with water a good while, butnot so long but I held it out; and finding the water had spent itself,and began to return, I struck forward against the return of the waves,and felt ground again with my feet. I stood still a few moments torecover breath, and till the water went from me, and then took to myheels, and ran with what strength I had farther towards the shore. Butneither would this deliver me from the fury of the sea, which camepouring in after me again; and twice more I was lifted up by the wavesand carried forwards as before, the shore being very flat.
The last time of these two had well near been fatal to me; for the seahaving hurried me along as before, landed me, or rather dashed meagainst a piece of a rock, and that with such force, as it left mesenseless, and indeed helpless, as to my own deliverance; for the blowtaking my side and breast, beat the breath as it were quite out of mybody; and had it returned again immediately, I must have been strangledin the water; but I recovered a little before the return of the waves,and seeing I should be covered again with the water, I resolved to holdfast by a piece of the rock, and so to hold my breath, if possible, tillthe wave went back. Now as the waves were not so high as at first,being near land, I held my hold till the wave abated, and then fetchedanother run, which brought me so near the shore, that the next wave,though it went over me, yet did not so swallow me up as to carry meaway; and the next run I took I got to the main land, where, to my greatcomfort, I clambered up the clifts of the shore, and sat me down uponthe grass, free from danger, and quite out of the reach of the water.
I was now landed, and safe on shore, and began to look up and thank Godthat my life was saved in a case wherein there was some minutes beforescarce any room to hope. I believe it is impossible to express to thelife what the ecstasies and transports of the soul are, when it is sosaved, as I may say, out of the very grave; and I do not wonder now atthat custom, viz. that when a malefactor, who has the halter about hisneck, is tied up, and just going to be turned off, and has a reprievebrought to him: I say, I do not wonder that they bring a surgeon withit, to let him blood that very moment they tell him of it, that thesurprise may not drive the animal spirits from the heart, andoverwhelm him:
For sudden joys, like griefs, confound at first.
I walked about on the shore, lifting up my hands and my whole being, asI may say, wrapt up in the contemplation of my deliverance, making athousand gestures and motions which I cannot describe; reflecting uponall my comrades that were drowned, and that there should not be one soulsaved but myself; for, as for them, I never saw them afterwards, or anysign of them, except three of their hats, one cap, and two shoes thatwere not fellows.
I cast my eyes to the stranded vessel, when the breach and troth of thesea being so big, I could hardly see it, it lay so far off, andconsidered, Lord! how was it possible I could get on shore!
After I had solaced my mind with t
he comfortable part of my condition,I began to look round me, to see what kind of place I was in, and whatwas next to be done; and I soon found my comforts abate, and that in aword I had a dreadful deliverance; for I was wet, had no clothes toshift me, nor any thing either to eat or drink to comfort me; neitherdid I see any prospect before me, but that of perishing with hunger, orbeing devoured by wild beasts; and that which was particularlyafflicting to me, was, that I had no weapon either to hunt and kill anycreature for my sustenance, or to defend myself against any othercreature that might desire to kill me for theirs; in a word, I hadnothing about me but a knife, a tobacco pipe, and a little tobacco in abox; this was all my provision, and this threw me into terrible agoniesof mind, that for a while I ran about like a madman. Night coming uponme, I began with a heavy heart to consider what would be my lot if therewere any ravenous beasts in that country, seeing at night they alwayscome abroad for their prey.
All the remedy that offered
