midday
Fortunately , at their age it requires more than a hard bed to banish rest , and before the ship had made three sea-miles , care and bodily misery alike were forgotten in the heavy slumber of fatigue . Job Howland 's long legs , clad as they were in nothing more cumbersome than a pair of under-breeches , made light work of hills and ravines as he held his way steadily up the Delaware shore . Like most of the sailors of that day , he had gone barefoot aboard ship since the beginning of the warm weather and his soles were so calloused that he hardly felt the need of shoes . At a shack on a little cove , just before midday , he found several fishermen , to whom he applied for clothing . They had pity on his plight , fitted him out with a shirt , serviceable breeches and rough boots , and gave him , as well , as much biscuit and dried fish as he wished to carry . Thus reinforced he continued to put the leagues behind him till night , when he slept under a convenient jack-pine . Early next morning he pushed on and came without further adventure to the little port of New Castle , just as the sun was setting .