CHAPTER IX.
Repairing the _Spray's_ sails--Savages and an obstreperous anchor-A spider-fight--An encounter with Black Pedro--A visit to the steamship _Colombia_,--On the defensive against a fleet of canoes--A record of voyages through the strait--A chance cargo of tallow.
I was determined to rely on my own small resources to repair the damages of the great gale which drove me southward toward the Horn, after I had passed from the Strait of Magellan out into the Pacific.
So when I had got back into the strait, by way of Cockburn Channel, I did not proceed eastward for help at the Sandy Point settlement, but turning again into the northwestward reach of the strait, set to work with my palm and needle at every opportunity, when at anchor and when sailing.

It was slow work; but little by little the squaresail on the boom expanded to the dimensions of a serviceable mainsail with a peak to it and a leech besides.

If it was not the best-setting sail afloat, it was at least very strongly made and would stand n hard blow.

A ship, meeting the _Spray_ long afterward, reported her as wearing a mainsail of some improved design and patent reefer, but that was not the case.
The _Spray_ for a few days after the storm enjoyed fine weather, and made fair time through the strait for the distance of twenty miles, which, in these days of many adversities, I called a long run.

The weather, I say, was fine for a few days; but it brought little rest.
Care for the safety of my vessel, and even for my own life, was in no wise lessened by the absence of heavy weather.