her, which we did without any difficulty, and presently found that it was a
Dutch-built ship, and that she could not have been very long in that
condition, a great deal of the upper work of her stern remaining firm, with
the mizzen-mast standing. Her stern seemed to be jammed in between two
ridges of the rock, and so remained fast, all the fore part of the ship
having been beaten to pieces.

We could see nothing to be gotten out of the wreck that was worth our
while; but we resolved to go on shore, and stay some time thereabouts, to
see if perhaps we might get any light into the story of her; and we were
not without hopes that we might hear something more particular about her
men, and perhaps find some of them on shore there, in the same condition
that we were in, and so might increase our company.

It was a very pleasant sight to us when, coming on shore, we saw all the
marks and tokens of a ship-carpenter's yard; as a launch-block and cradles,
scaffolds and planks, and pieces of planks, the remains of the building a
ship or vessel; and, in a word, a great many things that fairly invited us
to go about the same work; and we soon came to understand that the men
belonging to the ship that was lost had saved themselves on shore, perhaps
in their boat, and had built themselves a barque or sloop, and so were gone
to sea again; and, inquiring of the natives which way they went, they
pointed to the south and south-west, by which we could easily understand
they were gone away to the Cape of Good Hope.

Nobody will imagine we could be so dull as not to gather from hence that we
might take the same method for our escape; so we resolved first, in
general, that we would try if possible to build us a boat of one kind or
other, and go to sea as our fate should direct.