plane, rather too steep and too rough for bad climbers, but extremely
convenient for my mother and me, whenever we should be prepared to
embark for our distant home.

My thoughts were now often directed to the possibility of making on the
island some kind of boat that would hold ourselves and sufficient
provisions for a voyage to the nearest of the larger islands. I spoke
to Mrs Reichardt on the subject, but she dwelt upon the impossibility,
without either proper tools, or the slightest knowledge of
boat-building, of producing a vessel to which we could trust ourselves
with any confidence, neither of us knowing anything about its management
in the open sea; and then she spoke of the dangers a small boat would
meet with, if the water should be rough, or if we should not be able to
make the island in any reasonable time.

Yet I was not daunted by difficulties, nor dissuaded by discouraging
representations. I thought at first of fastening all the loose timber
together that had drifted against the rocks, as much in the shape of a
boat as I could get it; but on looking over my stock of nails, I found
they fell very far short of the proper quantity; consequently that mode
of effecting my purpose was abandoned.

I then thought of felling a tree and hollowing it out by charring the
timber. As yet I had discovered nothing on the island but shrubs. I
was quite certain that no tree grew near enough to the sea to be
available, and if I should succeed in cutting down a large one and
fashioning it as I desired, I had no means of transport.

I might possibly make a boat capable of carrying all I wanted to put
into it, but as I could neither move the water up to the boat, nor the
boat down to the water, for all the service I wanted of it, even if the
island contained a tree large enough, I might just as well leave it
untouched.

Still I would not altogether abandon my favourite project. I thought of
the willows that grew on the island, and fancied I could make a
framework by twisting them strongly together, and stretching seal-skins
over them. I laboured at this for several weeks, exercising all my
ingenuity and no slight stock of patience, to create an object with
which I was but imperfectly acquainted.

I did succeed at last in putting together something in a remote degree
resembling the boat that brought part of the whaler's crew to the island
and had taken them away, but it was not a quarter the size and was so
light