where vessels were wrecked; and, when it was launched from the shore, it
carried off with it not less than an acre of good, rich loam,--the
effect, probably, of a land-slide in the vicinity. It will, I think, be
seen that it is only upon this general supposition, that we can account
for what I found there. I may here observe, before proceeding further,
that, while on three sides the walls of the berg rose almost
perpendicularly out of the sea, yet on the remaining side there was
quite an easy and gradual slope down to the water; and this may also
serve to explain how some of the things that I found on the island were
thrown or lifted there.

The food that I had brought with me from Canton was soon exhausted; and
the first great want that I experienced was the means of keeping my soul
in my body. In the deep crevices of the ice, I found places where I
could manage in a measure to shelter my body from the cold while I
slept; but what reasonable prospect had I of finding food in this
forlorn spot? I now began to feel the pangs of hunger; but, instead of
yielding to despair, with a stout heart I determined to search the
region thoroughly, and see if a kind Providence had not made some
provision for my wants. After roaming about for a while, my foot struck
upon a little keg, partially embedded in the ice; and, to my joy, I read
the mark on the top, "Bent's Hard Crackers, Milton, Mass." It took me
hardly a minute to kick it open; and there the crackers lay, as sound
and sweet as when they were first packed. I do not know exactly how many
I ate, but I should say not much over fifteen. The keg was then put in a
safe place, where I should be certain to find it by and by. In the
course of the forenoon, I came upon a frozen bear; and I also found, in
the same vicinity, plenty of old barrel-staves, and broken hoops, and
other pieces of wood, great and small, which I laid in a heap upon the
earth. "Now," said I, "we will have a bit of roast meat for dinner, with
a few toasted crackers for dessert." Before two o'clock, I had a bright
fire burning, and a delicate slice of the bear roasting before it.

The next thing to be done was to strip the bear of his skin; but this I
found to be a difficult task. It had been a tough job to cut out with my
jack-knife the frozen slice of meat upon which I had just dined; and it
was impossible to strip off the skin without tearing it in pieces. A
bright thought now occurred to me, and I proceeded t