In chapter 5 of Touching Spirit Bear, when Cole tries to escape and fails, what does he try to find?

Cole's so desperate to escape the island that he doesn't take the tide into account. He ends up swimming against the tide, and the more the struggles, the less progress he makes. Suddenly, Cole realizes his mistake and swims back to the shore, scared stiff that he might end up with cramp in his legs and drown.
After finally managing to drag himself ashore, an exhausted Cole falls into a disturbed, fitful sleep. When he wakes up, he's astonished to see a large white bear standing on the shore, staring at him. Cole's angry that the bear doesn't appear to be scared of him. He throws a rock at the bear, but it's too far away for him to hit. Cole bends down to pick up a knife from the ashes, but by the time he turns around, the bear has vanished. Frustrated as well as angry, Cole vows that he will teach the bear to be afraid of him.