After this stop we made on to the southward continually for ten or twelve days,living very sparing on our provisions,which began to abate very much,and going no oftener into the shore than we were obliged to for fresh water.My design in this was to make the river Gambia or Senegal-that is to say,anywhere about the Cape de Verde-where I was in hopes to meet with some European ship;and if I did not,I knew not what course I had to take,but to seek out for the islands,or perish there among the negroes.I knew that all the ships from Europe,which sailed either to the coast of Guinea or to Brazil,or to the East Indies,made this cape,or those islands;and in a word,I put the whole of my fortune upon this single point,either that I must meet with some ship,or must perish.
When I had pursued this resolution about ten days longer,as I have said,I began to see that the land was inhabited;and in two or three places,as we sailed by,we saw people stand upon the shore to look at us;we could also perceive they were quite black,and stark naked.I was once inclined to have gone on shore to them;but Xury was my better counsellor,and said to me,‘No go,no go.’However,I hauled in nearer the shore that I might talk to them,and I found they ran along the shore by me a good way.I observed they had no weapons in their hands,except one,who had a long slender stick,which Xury said was a lance,and that they would throw them a great way with good aim.So I kept at a distance,but talked with them by signs as well as I could,and particularly made signs for something to eat;they beckoned to me to stop my boat,and that they would fetch me some meat.Upon this I lowered the top of my sail,and lay by,and two of them ran up into the country,and in less than half an hour came back,and brought with them two pieces of dried flesh and some corn,such 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 dispute,for I was not for venturing on shore to them,and they were as much afraid of us;but they took a safe way for us all,for they brought it to the shore 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 signs of thanks to them,for we had nothing to make them amends.But an opportunity offered that very instant to oblige them wonderfully;for while we were lying by the shore came two mighty creatures,one pursuing the other (as we took it)with great fury from the mountains towards the sea;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 usual or strange,but I believe it was the latter;because,in the first place,those ravenous creatures seldom appear but in the night;and in the second place,we found the people terribly frighted,especially the women.The man that had the lance or dart did not fly from them,but the rest did;however,as the two creatures ran directly into the water,they did not seem to offer to fall upon any of the negroes,but plunged themselves into the sea,and swam about,as if they had come for their diversion.At last,one of them began to come nearer our boat than at first I expected;but I lay ready for him,for I had loaded my gun with all possible expedition,and bade Xury load both the others.As soon as he came fairly within my reach,I fired,and shot him directly into the head;immediately he sunk down into the water,but rose instantly,and 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 the 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 freely,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 burnt,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.
