little furprised that I had not hit him on the head; however, I took up the fecond piece immediately, and thɔ' he began to move off, fired again, and fhot him into the head, and had the pleasure to see him drop, and making but little noife, he lay ftruggling for life. Then Xury

took heart, and would have me let him go on fhore: Well, go, faid I; fo the boy jump'd into the water, and taking the little gun in one hand, fwam to the shore with the other hand; and coming clofe to the creature, put the muzzle of the piece to his ear, and fhot him into the head again, which dispatch'd him quite.

This was game indeed to us, but this was no food; and I was very forry to lofe three charges of powder and fhot, upon a creature that was good for nothing to us.-However, Xury faid he would have fome of him; so he comes on board, and afked me to give him the hatchet. For what, Xury, faid I. Me cut off his head, faid he.-However, Xury could not cut off his head, but he cut off a foot, and brought it with him, and it was a monftrous great one.

I bethought myself however, that perhaps the skin of him might one way or other be of lome value to us; and I refolved to take off his skin, if I could. So Xury and I went to work with him; but Xury was much the better workman at it, for I knew very ill how to do it. Indeed, it took us up, both, the whole day; but at last we got off the hide of him, and fpreading it on the top of our cabin, the fun effectually dried it in two days time, and it afterwards ferved me to lie upon.

After this top we made on to the fouthward continually for ten or twelve days, living very fparingly on cur provifions, which began to abate very much, and going no oftener into the hore than we were obliged to, for fresh water. My defiga in this was to make the river Gambia or Senegal, that is to fay, any where about the Cape de Verd, where I was in hopes to meet with fome European fhip; and if I did not, I knew not what courfe I had to take, but to feek for the Iflands, or pe. rish there among the negroes. I knew that all the fhips from Europe, which fail'd either to the coaft of Guinea, or to Brafil, or to the Eaft-Indies, made this cape, or thofe iflands; and, in a word, I put the whole of my

B 3

fortune

fortune upon this fingle point, either that I must meet with fome fhip, or must perish.

When I had purfued this refolution about ten days longer, as I faid, I began to fee that the land was inhabited; and in two or three places, as we failed by, we saw people ftand upon the fhore to look at us; we could alfo perceive they were quite black, and stark naked. I was once inclined to have gone on fhore to them; but Xury was my better counsellor, and faid to me, No go, no go. However, I haled in nearer the fhore, that I might talk to them, and I found they ran along the shore by me a good way. I obferved they had no weapons in their hands, except one, who had a long flender stick, which Xury faid was a lance, and that they could throw them a great way with good aim; fo I kept at a distance, but talked with them by figns as well as I could, and particularly made figns for fomething to eat. They beckoned to me to stop my boat, and they would fetch me fome meat. Upon this I lowered the top of my fail, and lay by; and two of them ran up into the country, and in lefs than half an hour came back, and brought with them two pieces of dried flesh, and fome corn, fuch as is the produce of their country; but we neither knew what the one or the other was; however, we were willing to accept it. But how to come at it was our next difpute, for I was not for venturing on fhore to them, and they were as much afraid of us; but they took a fafe way for us all; for they brought it to the fhore, and laid it down, and went and stood a great way off, till we fetched it on board, and then came close to us again.

We made figns of thanks to them, for we had nothing to make them amends; but an opportunity offered that very inftant to oblige them wonderfully; for while we were lying by the fhore, came two mighty creatures, one pursuing the other, as we took it, with great fury, from the mountains towards the fea; whether it was the male pursuing the female, or whether they were in sport, or in rage, we could not tell, any more than we could tell whether it was ufual or strange, but I believe it was the latter, because, in the first place, those ravenous creatures feldom appear but in the night; and, in the fecond place, we found the people terribly

terribly affrighted, especially the women. The man that had the lance or dart did not fly from them, but the reft did; however, as the two creatures ran directly into the water, they did not seem to offer to fall upon the negroes, but plunged themselves into the fea, and swam about as if they had come for their diverfion; at last one of them began to come nearer our boat than I first expected; but I lay ready for him; for I had loaded my gun with all poffible expedition, and bid Xury load both the others. As foon as he came fairly within my reach, I fired, and shot him directly into the head: immediately he funk down into the water, but rofe inftantly, and plunged up and down as if ftruggling for life; and fo indeed he was; he immediately made to the fhore; but between the wound, which was his mortal hurt, and the strangling of the water, he died juft before he reached fhore.

It is impoffible to exprefs the aftonishment of thefe poor creatures at the noife and fire of my gun; fome of them were ready even to die with fear, and fell down as dead with the very terror. But when they faw the creature dead, and funk into the water, and that I made figns to them to come to the fhore, they took heart, and came to the shore, and began to fearch for the ereatufe. I found him by his blood staining the ater, and by the help of a rope, which I flung round him, and gave the negroes to hale, they dragged him on shore, and found that it was a moft curious leopard, spotted and fine to an admirable degree; and the negroes held up their hands with admiration, to think what it was I killed him with.

The other creature, frighted with the flash of fire, and the noise of the gun, fwam to the fhore, and ran up directly to the mountains from which they came, nor could I, at that distance, know what it was. I found quickly the negroes were for eating the flesh of this creature; fo I was willing to have them take it as a favor from me, which, when I made figns to them, that they might take it, they were very thankful for. Immediately they fell to work with him; and tho' they had no knife, yet, with a sharpened piece of wood, they took off his skin as readily, nay much more readily than we would have done with a knife; they offered me fome

B 4

of

of the flesh, which I declined, making as if I would give it them; but made figns for the fkin, which they. gave me very freely, and brought me a great deal more of their provifion, which, tho' I did not understand, yet I accepted. Then I made figns to them for fome water, and held out one of my jars to them, turning its bottom upward, to fhew that it was empty, and that I wanted to have it filled. They called immediately to fome of their friends, and there came two women, and brought a great veffel made of earth, and burnt, as I fuppofe, in the fun; this they fet down for me, as before, and I fent Xury on fhore with my jars, and filled them all three. The women were as ftark naked as the men.

I was now furnished with roots and corn, fuch as it was, and water; and leaving my friendly negroes, I made forward for about eleven days more, without of fering to go near the fhore, till I faw the land run out a great length into the fea, at about the diftance of four or five leagues before me; and the fea being very calm, I kept a large offing to make this point; at length, doubling the point, at about two leagues from the land, 1 faw plainly land on the othe fide, to fea-wards; then I concluded, , as it was moft certain indeed, that this was the Cape de Verd, and thofe the island called from thence, Cape de Verd islands. However, they were at a great diftance, and I could not well tell what I had beft to do; for if I fhould be taken with a fresh gale of wind, I might neither reach one nor the other.

In this dilemma, as I was very penfive, I ftept into the cabin, and fet me down, Xury having the helm; when on a fudden the boy cried out, Mafter, master, a fhip was a fail! and the foolish boy was frighted out of his wits, thinking it muft needs be some of his master's fhips fent to purfue us; when I knew we were gotten far enough out of their reach. I jumped out of the cabin, and immediately faw, not only the fhip, but what she was, viz. that it was a Portuguese fhip, and as I thought, was bound to the coaft of Guinea for negroes. But when I obferved the course the fteered, I was foon convinced they "were bound fome other way, and did not defign to go any nearer the fhore; upon which I ftretched out to fea as much as I could, refolving to speak with them if poffible.

With all the fail I could make, I found I should not be able to come in their way, but that they would be gone by before I could make any fignal to them; but after I had crouded to the utmoft, and began to despair, they, it feems, faw me by the help of their perfpectiveglaffes, and that it was fome European boat, which they fuppofed muft belong to fome ship that was loft; fo they fhortened fail to let me come up. I was encouraged with this, and as I had my patron's enfign on board, I made a waft of it to them, for a fignal of distress, and fired a gun, both of which they faw; for they told me they faw the fmoke, tho' they did not hear the gun; upon these fignals they very kindly brought to, and lay by for me, and in about three hours time I came up with them.

They asked me what I was, in Portuguese, in Spanish, and in French, but I understood none of them; but at laft a Scots failor, who was on board, called to me, and I answered him, and told him I was an Englishman, that had made my escape out of flavery from the Moors, at Sallee; then they bid me come on board, and very kindly took me in, and all my goods.

It was an inexpreffible joy to me, any one will believe, that I was thus delivered, as I efteemed it, from fuch a miferable and almoft hopeless condition as I was in; I immediately offered all I had to the captain of the fhip, as a return for my deliverance; but he generously told me, he would take nothing from me, but that all I had fhould be delivered fafe to me when I came to the Brafils; For, fays he, I have saved your life on no other than as I would be glad to be faved myself, and it may one time or other be my lot to be taken up in the fame condition; befides, when I carry you to the Brafils, fo great a way from your own country, if I should take from you what little you have, you will be ftarved there, and then I only take away that life I have given. No, no, Signior Inglefe (Mr.Englishman) I would carry you thi ther in charity; and thefe things will help you to buy your fubfiftence there, and your paffage home again.

terms,

As he was charitable in this propofal, fo he was juft in the performance to a tittle; for he ordered the feamen, that none fhould offer to touch any thing I had; then he took every thing into his own poffeffion, and gave me

B5

back