The crew did
their best to steer clear of the rocks, but she struck on a reef and
sprung a leak. The boats then put off from the wreck, but a wave broke
over the one in which Jane left, and she was borne, half dead with
fright, to the place where we found her. She had been thrown high up on
the beach, and though faint and sick, got out of the reach of the
waves. She did not know if those who were in the boat with her had lost
their lives, but she had seen no trace of them since.
When she had strength to walk, she found some birds' eggs and shell
fish, which she ate, and then went in search of some safe place where
she could rest for the night. By good chance she had a flint and a
knife; with these she set light to some dry twigs, and made a fire,
which she did not once let out till the day she left. Her life was at
first hard to bear, but she was full of hope that some day a ship would
come near the shore, to which she could make signs for help. The wild
sports of the East in which she took part had made her strong of limb,
and she had been taught to make light of such things as would vex most
of her sex.
She built a hut to sleep in, and made snares to catch birds. Some of
them she made use of for food, and some she let go with bits of cloth
tied to their legs, on which she wrote words, in the hope that they
might meet the eye of some one who could help her.
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