and beat me overboard before I had quite taken his life
from him, and had I not whipped off his tail and also divided his body
into two or three pieces, I could not have mastered him. The next I
pulled up was a thick fish like a tench, but of another colour and much
bigger. I drew up several others, flat and long fish, till I was tired
with the sport; and then I set out for the ship again, which I reached
the third day.

During this whole time, I had but one shot, and that was as I came
homewards, at a creature I saw upon a high crag of the rock, which I
fired at with ball, fearing that my small shot would not reach it The
animal, being mortally wounded, bounded up, and came tumbling down the
rock, very near me. I picked it up, and found it to be a creature not
much unlike our rabbits, but with shorter ears, a longer tail, and
hoofed like a kid, though it had the perfect fluck of a rabbit I put it
into my boat, to contemplate on when I arrived at the ship; and, plying
my oars, got safe, as I said, on the third day.

I made me a fire to cook with as soon as I had got my cargo out of the
boat into my ship, but was under debate which of my dainties to begin
upon. I had sometimes a mind to have broiled my rabbit, as I called it,
and boiled some of my fish; but being tired, I hung up my flesh till
the next day, and boiled two or three sorts of my fish, to try which was
best. I knew not the nature of most of them, so I boiled a piece of my
eel, to be sure, judging that, however I might like the others, I should
certainly be able to make a good meal of that. This variety being ready,
I took a little of my oil out of the hold for sauce, and sat down to my
meal, as satisfied as an emperor. But upon tasting my several messes,
though the eel was rather richer than the smaller fishes, yet the others
were all so good, I gave them the preference for that time, and laid by
the rest of the eel, and of the other fish, till the next day, when I
salted them for future use.

I kept now a whole week or more at home, to look farther into the
contents of the ship, bottle off a cask of Madeira, which I found
leaking, and to consume my new stores of fish and flesh, which, being
somewhat stale when first salted, I thought would not keep so well as
the old ones that were on board. I added also some fresh bread to my
provision, and sweetened more water by the aforementioned method; and
when my necessary domestic affairs were brought under, I the