3. It is not easy for anyone, who has not been in the like condition, to describe or conceive the consternation of men in such cicumstances. We knew nothing where we were, or upon what land it was were driven, whether an Island or the main, whether inhabited or not inhabited; and as the rage of the wind was still great, though rather less than at frist, we could not so much as hope to have the ship hold many minutes without breaking in pieces, unless the wind, by a kind of miracle, should turn immediately about. In a word, we sat looking one upon another, and expecting death every moment, and every man acting accordingly aa preparing for another world, for therewas little or nothing more for us to do in this. that which was our present comfort, and all the comforr we had, was that, contrary to our expectation, the ship did nor break yet and that the master said the wind began to abate.
Now, though we found that the wind did a little abate, yet the ship having thus struck upon the sand, and sticking too fast for us to expect her getting off, we were in a dreadful condition indeed, and had nothing to do but to think of saving our lives as well as we could. We has a boat at our stern just before the storm, but she was first staved by dashing against the ship's rudder, and in the next place she broke away, and either sunk or was driven off to sea, so there was no hope from her. We had another boat on board but how to get her off into the sea was a doubtful thing; however, there was no room to debate, for we fancied the ship would break in pieces every minutes, and some told us she was actually broken already.
In this distress, the mate of our vessel lays hold of the boat, and with the help pf the rest of the man, they got her slung over the ship's side, and getting all into her, let go, and committed ourselves, being eleven in number, to God's mercy and the wild sea; for though the storm was abated considerbly, yet the sea went dreadfil high upon the shore, and might well be called -den wild zee-, as the Dutch call the sea in a storm.
And now our case was very dismal indeed; for we all saw plainly that the sea went so high that the boat could not live, and that we should be inevitably drowned. As to making sail, we had none, nor, if we had, could we have done anything with it, so we worked at the oar towards the land, though with heavy hearts, like men going to execution; for we all knew that when the boat came nearer the shore she would be dashed in a thousand pieces by the breach of the most earnest manner, and the wind driving us towards the shore, we hastened our destruction with our own hands, pulling as well as could towards land.