I got a long pole so as to be
sure and touch bottom with it all the way across, as I was afraid
that the swift current would take me out into the lake and the
heavy sea would swamp me.
My raft was too small, and when I got on it I sunk down quite a
bit. I shoved out and came to the strong current, and the tide and
the ice overcame me, and took me out to the lake. When the current
took me out into the lake, then the wind caught me and carried me.
It got so deep I could not find bottom with my pole. I had a mind
to jump from the raft; but I knew if I did I would surely get
drowned. So I thought I might just as well try to stay on. My
raft was breaking up. Piece by piece would float away. So I got
down on my knees and tried to keep the pieces together, and the sea
would just cover me. For about two hours I stayed on the raft, and
sure it was my finish. Finally, after a while, the wind drove me
just near a point. It was a long point, and I knew I could touch
bottom with my pole. I took my pole and just hardly got ashore.
(Grand Lake runs nearly east and west, is over 40 miles long, and
from 1 to 4 miles wide, and very deep, up to sixty fathom of water,
and for the least wind makes a very heavy sea.
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