April 22. When I began to put my resolutions in practice, I was stopt for want of tools and instruments to work with. Most of my axes and hatchets were useless, occasioned by cutting the hard timber that grew on the island. It took me up a full week to make my grind-stone of use to me, and at last I found out a way to turn it about with my foot, by help of a wheel and a string.
April 28--29. These days were spent in grinding my tools.
April 30. My bread falling short, I allowed myself but one biscuit a day.
May 1. As I walked along the sea shore I found a barrel of gunpowder, and several pieces of the wreck, the sea had flung up. Having secured those, I made to the ship, whose stern was torn off, and washed a great distance ashore; but the rest lay in the sands. This I suppose was occasioned by the earthquake. I now resolved to keep my old place of abode; and also to go to the ship that day, but then found it impossible.
May 3. This day I went on board, and with my saw sawed off one of the beams, which kept her quarter-deck. I then cleared the sand till flood.
May 4. I caught some fish, but they were not wholesome, The same day I also catched a young dolphin.
May 5. 'This day I also repaired to the wreck, and sawed another piece of timber, and when the flood came, I made a float of three great planks, which were driven ashore by the tide.
May 6, 7, 8, 9. These days I brought off the iron bolts, opened the deck with the iron crow, and carried two planks to land, having made a way into the very middle of the wreck.
May 10, 11, 12, 13, 14. All this time I spent in bringing off great quantities of iron and timber.