oss of the canoe and the provisions on
board.--Danger of perishing from famine.--On the fifteenth day,
when nearly exhausted with fatigue and hunger, they discover a
small island.--Approach of eighteen canoes filled with natives, who
make prisoners of them all.--Cruelty of the natives; and return
with their prisoners to the island.--Reception there.--The
prisoners distributed among the captors.

We had not proceeded far before we had reasons for regretting, that we
had entered upon the perilous undertaking of navigating the waters of
that region in boats so poorly adapted to the purposes we had in view.
There came on a violent storm of rain, the wind blowing hard, and the
waves threatening to swallow us each moment of the night. To our dismay,
the rudder of the canoe, owing to the imperfect manner in which it had
been constructed, was unshipped, and for a time the destruction of those
on board seemed inevitable. Fortunately we continued to keep company.
By great exertion we made out to replace the rudder in the morning, and
then proceeded. In the course of the day the rudder was again unshipped;
but, with less difficulty than before, we succeeded in fastening it to
its place with ropes, so that it answered tolerably well as a substitute
for a better one. Happy would it have been for us, if this had been the
worst of the disasters of our voyage. Our mast next went by the board;
and during the whole of the next night, we lay drifting at the mercy of
the winds and waves. In the mean time the canoe sprung a leak, and we
found it impossible to bail out the water as fast as it came in. In this
extremity we lost no time in shifting all our lading into one end of the
canoe; and by tearing up our old clothes, and stuffing them into the
crack, we at length stopped the leak. In this sad plight we continued
on, meeting with no very serious accident till the fifth day from the
time of leaving the island; when, just at the setting of the sun, owing
to some mismanagement, a light puff of wind capsized the canoe!
Fortunately no one was drowned. All but three swam to our boat; those
who remained continued through the night to cling to the canoe. With
great difficulty we kept our boat from being stove in pieces by coming
in contact with the canoe. During all this time it rained very hard, and
never had we experienced a more dismal night. In the morning we tried to
get the canoe right side up; but finding th