to support
himself during his projected voyage. At first he contemplated building
a canoe for himself, but as that might raise suspicions of his
intentions, he resolved to take one belonging to his master. He had
some scruples about stealing it, but at the same time he persuaded
himself that as his master would not redress his grievances, he was
justified in doing so. He probably was unacquainted with the golden
rule of never doing wrong that good might come of it. It was a subject,
indeed, on which casuists might differ. Be that as it may, Macco fixed
on a canoe which he thought would answer his purpose. His countrymen
assisted him, and he procured a piece of calico to serve as a sail, and
soon cut a mast and spar on which to spread it. The only food he was
able to provide for supporting existence was eight pounds of uncooked
rice, and a small barrel of water.

One evening as it was growing dark he stole down to the shore, and the
wind being as he thought fair, shoved off the canoe, hoisted a sail, and
with an oar for steering, which he secured to the stern of the canoe,
stood away from the land. The weather at first was very fine, and he
glided smoothly over the sea, hoping before long to reach either the
Mauritius or Bourbon. He was unable to restrain his hunger, which the
uncooked rice could have done little to appease, and therefore ate up
nearly a pound a day. Thus at the end of eight or nine days he had
finished the whole of his provisions. He had still some water left,
however, and he knew very well that he could go without food for a day,
hoping before the end of it to have land in sight. He scarcely stirred
from his seat in the stern of the canoe. When he dropped off to sleep,
the movement of the oar very soon awoke him. Few Europeans on such fare
would have lived beyond the first ten days. Macco, however, when his
rice was expended, began to scrape away the wood from the inside of his
canoe. This, cut up fine, he ate, washing it down with water. Day
after day passed by, and still no land, no sail appeared. Often he
slept, steering instinctively, it must have been, before the wind, and
waking up to feel the gnawing of hunger. This he satisfied with the
scraped wood. Incredible as it may appear, such was the only food on
which he supported existence for thirteen days. We had many
opportunities of testing the man's honesty and had no reason to doubt
his veracity. He was of course little mo