unavoidable. For we soon esteemed ourselves to be driven just upon the shore, and the night was so extremely dark that we expected to discover the island no otherwise than by striking upon it; so that the belief of our destruction, and the uncertainty of the point of time when it should take place, occasioned us to pass several hours under the most serious apprehensions that each succeeding moment would send us to the bottom. Nor did these continued terrors of instantly striking and sinking end but with the daybreak, when we with great transport perceived that the island we had thus dreaded was at a considerable distance, and that a strong northern current had been the cause of our preservation. The turbulent weather which forced us from Tinian did not abate till three days after, and then we swayed up the fore-yard, and began to heave up the main-yard, but the jeers broke again and killed one of our people, and prevented us at that time from proceeding. The next day, being the 26th of September, was a day of most severe fatigue to us all, for it must be remembered that in these exigences no rank or office exempted any person from the manual application and bodily labour of a common sailor. The business of this day was no less than an endeavour to heave up the sheet-anchor, which we had hitherto dragged at our bows with two cables an end. This was a work of great importance to our future preservation: for not to mention the impediment it would be to our navigation, and hazard to our ship, {305} if we attempted to make sail with the anchor in its present situation, we had this most interesting consideration to animate us, that it was the only anchor we had left, and without securing it we should be under the utmost difficulties and hazards whenever we fell in with the land again; and therefore, being all of us fully apprized of the consequence of this enterprize, we laboured at it with the severest application for twelve hours, when we had indeed made a considerable progress, having brought the anchor in sight; but it growing dark, and we being excessively fatigued, we were obliged to desist, and to leave our work unfinished till the next morning, and then, refreshed by the benefit of a night's rest, we compleated it, and hung the anchor at our bow.