and this made the thoughts of it so surprising to me, when it lightened
and thundered, as I observed just now.

And now being to enter into a melancholy relation of a scene of silent
life, such, perhaps, as was never heard of in the world before, I shall
take it from its beginning, and continue it in its order. It was, by my
account, the 30th of September, when, in the manner as above said, I
first set foot upon this horrid island; when the sun being to us in its
autumnal equinox, was almost just over my head: for I reckoned myself,
by observation, to be in the latitude of 9 degrees 22 minutes north
of the Line.

After I had been there about ten or twelve days, it came into my
thoughts that I should lose my reckoning of time for want of books, and
pen and ink, and should even forget the sabbath days from the working
days: but, to prevent this, I cut it with my knife upon a large post, in
capital letters; and making it into a great cross, I set it up on the
shore where I first landed, viz. "I came on shore here on the 30th of
September, 1659." Upon the sides of this square post I cut every day a
notch with my knife, and every seventh notch was as long again as the
rest, and every first day of the month as long again as that long one:
and thus I kept my calendar, or weekly, monthly, and yearly reckoning
of time.

But it happened, that among the many things which I brought out of the
ship, in the several voyages which, as above mentioned, I made to it, I
got several things of less value, but not at all less useful to me,
which I found, some time after, in rummaging the chests; as, in
particular, pens, ink, and paper; several parcels in the captain's,
mate's, gunner's, and carpenter's keeping; three or four compasses, some