1692-93-] HOW WE BUILT THE BOAT. 107 



Among other Instruments we had a great Saw and a little 

 one, with which we began to saw Boards, and very happily 

 made use of a Beam of Oak^ which the Sea had sometime 

 before thrown on our Coasts. If the Curious Eeader 

 demands by way of Parenthesis, from whence that Beam 

 came, I must answer, that truly I cannot tell.^ Let it come 

 from whence it will, we had it, the Sea brought it to us, and 

 we us'd it for the Purpose I tell him. We saw'd out some 

 good Boards, but the great Saw breaking thrice, and being 

 handled by unskilful Persons, the greater part of those 

 Boards were of an unequal thickness, and Consequently not 

 very good to the Eye, nor indeed fit for Use. 



Our Bark was twenty Foot long at the Keel, six broad, and 

 four deep, we rounded it at both ends. We had some 

 Nails, but John dc la Haye who was a Silver-Smith, had 

 some Forge-Tools and other Instruments, helpt us to more ; 

 he mended our Saw for us several times. For Calking we 

 made use of old Linen; and instead of Pitch and Tar, 

 mingled Jet^ with Gumms which we found on the Trees in 

 Plenty, and temper'd it with Oil of Turtle. We work'd up 

 several sorts of Ropes with the Threads or Fibres of the 

 Stalks of the Plantane-Leaves ; which Popes were strong 

 enough, but not very Supple, and were proper only for fix'd 

 work, but were always frizing* out and untwisting when we 

 employ'd 'em about running Work. Instead of an Anchor, 

 we provided our selves with a piece of Eock, which weigh'd 



1 " Taillee en quarre & longue de soixante pieds," omitted by trans- 

 lator. 



2 It subsequently transpired that an English ship had been wrecked 

 in this vicinity previous to the arrival of Leguat. Captain Valleau 

 heard of this on his reaching Mauritius after leaving Leguat, and he 

 returned to search for this wreck, from which, evidently, this oak timber 

 had drifted. ( Vide infra, Part II.) 



3 "Dont j'ai parlg," omitted by translator. Leguat is referring to 

 bitumen, which he has mentioned above. Cf. stipra, p. 87. 



* From the Fr. friser, to curl. In the orig. the word used is s'erailler, 

 to fray. 



