When his cloathes were worn out, he made himself a coat and a cap of goat-skins, which he stiched together with little thongs of the same, that he cut with his knife, He had no other needle but a nail; and, when his knife was worn to the back, he made others, as well as he could, of some iron hoops that were left ashore, which he beat thin, and ground upon stones. Having some linnen cloth by him, he sewed him some shirts with a nail, and stiched them with the worsted of his old stockings, which he pulled out on purpose. He had his last shirt on, when we found him in the island.
At his first coming on board us, he had so much forgot his language, for want of use, that we could scarce understand him: for he seemed to speak his words by halve. We offered him a dram: but he would not touch it; having drank nothing but water since his being there; And it was sometime before he could relish our victuals. He could give us an account of no other product of the island, than what we have mentioned, except some black plums, which are very good, but hard to come at, the trees, which bear them, growing on high mountains and rocks. Pimento-trees are plenty here, and we saw some of sixty feet high and about two yards thick; and cotton-trees higher, and near four fathoms round in the stock. The climate is so good that the trees and grass are verdant all the year round. The winter lasts no longer than June and July, and is not then severe, there being only a small frost, and a little hail: but sometimes great rains. The heat of the summer is equally moderate; and there is not much thunder, or tempestuous weather of any sort. He saw no venomous or savage creature on the island, nor any sort of beasts but goats, the first of which had been put ashore here, on purpose for a breed, by Juan Fernandez, a Spaniard, who settled there with some families, till the continent of Chili began to submit to the Spaniards; which, being more profitable; tempted them to quit this island, capable however, of maintaining a good number of people, and being made so strong, that they could hot be easily dislodged from thence.
February 3d we got our smith's forge on shore, set our coopers to work, and made a little tent for me to have the benefit of the air. The Duchess had also a tent for their sick men; so that we had a small town of our own here, and every body employed. A few men supplied us all with fish of several sorts, all very good, in such abundance, that, in a few hours, we could take as many as would serve 200. There were sea-fowls in the bay, as large as geese: but eat fishy. The governor never failed of procuring us two or three goats a day for our sick men; by which, with the help of the greens, and the wholesome air, they recovered very soon of the scurvy; so that Captain Dover and I thought it a very agreeable seat, the weather being neither too hot nor too cold. We spent our time, till the 10th, in refitting our ships, taking wood on board; and laying in water, that which we brought from England and St. Vincent being spoiled by the badness of the casks. We likewise boiled up about eighty gallons of sea-lions oil, as we might have done several tons, had we been provided with vessels. We refined it for our lamps, to save candles. The sailors sometimes use it to fry their meat, for want of butter, and find it agreeable enough. The men who worked on our rigging, eat young seals, which they preferred to our ships victuals, & said it was as good as English lamb, though I should have been glad of such an exchange. We made what haste we could to get all the necessaries on board, being willing to lose no time; for we were informed at the Canaries, that five stout French ships were coming together to those seas.