For The Space Of Three Days And Three Nights, Sixty Men Who Were On Board Did Nothing Else Than Bale

Out the water continually, twenty at one place, twenty in another, and twenty at a third place; yet during all

This storm so good was the hull of our ship that she took not in a single drop of water at her sides or bottom, all coming in at the hatches. Thus driving about at the mercy of the winds and waves, we were during the darkness of the third night at about four o'clock after sunset cast upon a shoal. When day appeared next morning we could see no land on any side of us, so that we knew not where we were. It pleased the divine goodness that a great wave of the sea came and floated us off from the shoal into deep water, upon which we all felt as men reprieved from immediate death, as the sea was calm and the water smooth. Casting the lead we found twelve fathoms water, and bye and bye we had only six fathoms, when we let go a small anchor which still hung at the stern, all the others having been lost during the storm. Our anchor parted next night, and our ship again grounded, when we shored her up the best we could, to prevent her from over-setting at the side of ebb.

When it was day, we found our ship high and dry on a sand-bank, a full mile from the sea. When the _tyffon_ entirely ceased, we discovered an island not far from us, to which we walked on the sand, that we might learn where we were. We found it inhabited, and in my opinion the most fertile island I had ever seen. It is divided into two parts by a channel or water-course, which is full at high tides. With much ado we brought our ship into that channel; and when the people of the island saw our ship, and that we were coming to land, they immediately erected a bazar or market-place with shops right over-against the ship, to which they brought every kind of provisions for our supply, and sold them at wonderfully reasonable rates. I bought many salted kine as provision for the ship at half a _larine_ each, being all excellent meat and very fat, and four wild hogs ready dressed for a larine. The larine is worth about twelve shillings and sixpence. Good fat hens were bought for a _byza_ each, which does not exceed a penny; and yet some of our people said that we were imposed upon, as we ought to have got every thing for half the money. We got excellent rice at an excessively low price, and indeed every article of food was at this place in the most wonderful abundance. The name of this island is _Sondiva_ or Sundeep, and belongs to the kingdom of Bengal, being 120 miles from Chittagong, to which place we were bound.

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