cramps and spasms in all my sinews, that I was quite incapable of
swimming any distance, and I was then two miles from shore. I was now
going, with wind and current, to destruction; and cold, hungry, and
fatigued, was obliged again to sit down in the water to rest, when an
extraordinary circumstance greatly relieved me. On examining the wreck,
to see if it was possible to detach any part of it to steer by, I
perceived something loose, entangled in a fork of the wreck, and so
carried along. This I found to be a small trunk, bottom upwards, which,
with some difficulty, I dragged up upon the barge. After near an hour's
work, in which I broke my pen-knife, trying to cut out the lock, I made
a hole in the top, and, to my great satisfaction, drew out a bottle of
rum, a cold tongue, some cheese, and a bag full of bread, cakes, &c.,
all wet. Of these I made a very seasonable, though very moderate use,
and the trunk answered the purpose of a chair to sit upon, elevated
above the surface of the water.

After in vain endeavouring to steer the wreck, or direct its course to
the shore, and having made every signal (with my waistcoat, &c.) in my
power, to the several headlands which I had passed, I fancied I was
driving into a bay, which, however, soon proved to be the termination of
the lake, and the opening of the river, the current of which was
carrying me rapidly along. I passed several small uninhabited islands;
but the banks of the river appearing to be covered with houses, I again
renewed my signals with my waistcoat and a shirt, which I took out of
the trunk, hoping, as the river narrowed, they might be perceived; the
distance was too great. The velocity with which I was going convinced me
of my near approach to the dreadful rapids of La Chine. Night was
drawing on; my destruction appeared certain, but did not disturb me
very much: the idea of death had lost its novelty, and become quite
familiar. Finding signals in vain, I now set up a cry or howl, such as I