60 THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES

 

 

plunged up and down as if he was struggling for life, and so indeed he
was: he immediately made to the shore; but between the wound, which
was his mortal hurt, and the strangling of the water, he died just before
he reached the shore.

It is impossible to express the astonishment of these poor creatures
at the noise and the fire of my gun; some of them were even ready to
die for fear, and fell down as dead with the very terror. But when
they saw the creature dead, and sunk in the water, and that I made
signs to them to come to the shore, they took heart, and came to the
shore, and began to search for the creature. I found him by his blood
staining the water; and by the help of a rope, which I slung round him,
and gave the negroes to haul, they dragged him on shore, and found
that it was a most curious leopard, spotted and fine to an admirable
degree, and the negroes held up their hands with admiration to think
what it was I had killed him with.

The other creature, frighted with the flash of fire and the noise of
the gun, swam on shore, and ran up directly to the mountains from
whence 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,
so I was willing to have them take it as a favour from me, which,
when I made signs to them that they might take him, they were very
thankful for. Immediately they fell to work with him, and though
they had no knife, yet with a sharpened piece of wood they took off his
skin, as readily and much more readily than we could have done with
a knife. They offered me some of the flesh, which I declined, making
as if I would give it them, but made signs for the skin, which they
gave me very frecly, and brought me a great deal more of their
provision, which, though I did not understand, yet I accepted; then
I made signs to them for some water, and held out one of my jars to
them, turning it bottom upward, to show that it was empty, and that I
wanted to have it filled. They called immediately to some of their
friends, and there came two women, and brought a great vessel made
of earth, and burned, as I suppose, in the sun; this they set down for
me, as before, and I sent Xury on shore with my jars, and filled them
all three. The women were as stark naked as the men.

I was now furnished with roots and corn, such as it was, and water;
and leaving my friendly Negroes, I made forward for about eleven days
more, without offering to go near the shore, till I saw the land run out
a great length into the sea, at about the distance of four or five leagues
vefore me; and the sea being very calm, I kept a large offing to make
this point: at length, doubling the point at about two leagues from
the land, I saw plainly land on the other side to sea-ward; then J