Chapter 2
I was now set up for a Guinea trader: and my friend, to my great misfortune, dying soon after his arrival, I resolved to go to the same voyage again, and I embarked in the same vessel with one who was his mate in the former voyage, and had now got the command of the ship. This was the unhappiest voyage that ever man made; for though I did not carry quite £100 of my new gained wealth, so that I had £200 left, and which I lodged with my friend’s widow, who was very just to me. Yet I fell into terrible misfortunes in this voyage. The first was this—namely, our ship making her course towards the Canary Islands, or rather between those islands and the African shore, was surprised in the grey of the morning by a Turkish rover of Sallee, who gave chase to us with all the sail she could make.
He prepared to attack us, and we to defend ourselves. Laying us on board, he entered sixty men upon our decks, who immediately fell to cutting and hacking the decks and rigging. We plied them with small-shot, half-pikes, powder-chests, and such like, and cleared our deck of them twice. However, to cut short this melancholy part of our story, our ship being disabled, and three of our men killed and eight wounded, we were obliged to yield, and were carried all prisoners into Sallee, a port belonging to the Moors.
The usage I had there was not so dreadful as at first I apprehended, nor was I carried up the country to the emperor’s court, as the rest of our men were, but was kept by the captain of the rover as his proper prize, and made his slave, being young and nimble and fit for his business.
As my new patron or master had taken me home to his house, so I was hopeful that he would take me with him when he went to sea again, believing that it would some time or other be his fate to be taken by a Spanish or Portugal man-of-war. Then I should be set at liberty. But this hope of mine was soon taken away; for when he went to sea he left me on shore to look after his little garden, and do the common drudgery of slaves about his house. When he came home again from his cruise, he ordered me to lie in the cabin to look after the ship.
Here I meditated nothing but my escape, and what method I might take to effect it, but found no way that had the least probability in it. Nothing presented to make the supposition of it rational. I had nobody to communicate it to that would embark with me, no fellow-slave, no Englishman, Irishman, or Scotsman there but myself. For two years, though I often pleased myself with the imagination, yet I never had the least encouraging prospect of putting it in practice.
After about two years an odd circumstance presented itself, which put the old thought of making some attempt for my liberty again in my head. My patron lying at home longer than usual without fitting out his ship, which, as I heard, was for want of money, he used constantly, once or twice a week, sometimes often, if the weather was fair, to take the pinnace of the ship, and go out into the road fishing. As he always took me and a young Maresco with him to row the boat, we made him very merry, and I proved very dexterous in catching fish, insomuch that sometimes he would send me with a Moor, one of his kinsmen, and the youth—the Maresco, as they called him—to catch a dish of fish for him.
It happened one time, that going fishing in a calm morning, a fog rose so thick, that though we were not half a league from the shore we lost sight of it. Rowing we knew not whither or which way, we laboured all day and all the next night, and when the morning came we found we had pulled off to sea instead of pulling in for the shore. We were at least two leagues from the shore. However, we got well in again, though with a great deal of labour and some danger; for the wind began to blow pretty fresh in the morning. But particularly, we all were very hungry.
But our patron, warned by this disaster, resolved to take more care of himself for the future. Having lain by him the long-boat of our English ship he had taken, he resolved he would not go fishing any more without a compass and some provision. So he ordered the carpenter of his ship, who also was an English slave, to build a little state-room or cabin in the middle of the long-boat, like that of a barge, with a place to stand behind it to steer and hale home the main-sheet; and room before for a hand or two to stand and work the sails. She sailed with what we call a shoulder-of-mutton sail; and the boom gibed over the top of the cabin, which lay very snug and low, and had in it room for him to lie, with a slave or two; and a table to eat on, with some small lockers to put in some bottles of such liquor as he thought fit to drink; particularly his bread, rice and coffee.
We went frequently out with his boat fishing. And as I was most dexterous to catch fish for him, he never went without me. It happened that he had appointed to go out in this boat, either for pleasure or fishing, with two or three Moors of some distinction in that place and for whom he had provided extraordinarily. He had, therefore, sent on board the boat overnight a larger store of provisions than ordinary and had ordered me to get ready three fuzees with powder and shot, which were on board his ship, for that they designed some sport of fowling as well as fishing.
I got all things ready as he had directed, and waited the next morning with the boat washed clean, and everything to accommodate his guests. By and by my patron came on board alone, and told me his guests had put off going, upon some business that fell out, and ordered me with the man and boy as usual to go out with the boat and catch them some fish. His friends were to sup at his house and commanded that as soon as I had got some fish, I should bring it home to his house; all which I prepared to do.
This moment my former notions of deliverance darted into my thought, for now I found I was like to have a little ship at my command. My master being gone, I prepared to furnish myself, not for a fishing business, but, for a voyage. Though I knew not, neither did I so much as consider, whither I should steer; for anywhere to get out of that place was my way.
My first contrivance was to make a pretence to speak to this Moor, to get something for our subsistence on board. I told him we must not presume to eat of our patron’s bread. He said that was true, so he brought a large basket of rusk or biscuit of their kind, and three jars with fresh water into the boat. I knew where my patron’s case of bottles stood, which it was evident by the make were taken out of some English prize, and I conveyed them into the boat while the Moor was on shore, as if they had been there before for our master. I conveyed also a great lump of bees-wax into the boat, which weighed above half a hundred-weight, with a parcel of twine and thread, a hatchet, a saw and a hammer, all which were of great use to us afterwards, especially the wax to make candles.
Thus furnished with everything needful, we sailed out of the port to fish. The wind blew from the north-north-east, which was contrary to my desire. Had it blown southerly, I had been sure to have made the coast of Spain, and at least reached the Bay of Cadiz. But my resolutions were, blow which way it would, I would be gone from that horrid place where I was, and leave the rest to face.
As I had the helm, I ran the boat out near a league farther, and then brought her to, as if I would fish. When, giving the boy the helm, I stepped forward to where the Moor was. Making as if stooping for something behind him, I took him by surprise with my arm under his legs, and tossed him clear overboard into the sea. He rose immediately, for he swam like a cork, and called to me, begged to be taken in. He told me he would go all over the world with me. He swam so strong after the boat that he would have reached me very quickly, there being but little wind. Upon which I stepped into the cabin, and fetching one of the fowling pieces, I presented it to him, and told him I had done him no harm, and if he would be quiet I would do him none. So he turned himself about and swam for the shore. I make no doubt but he reached it with ease, for he was an excellent swimmer.
When he had gone I turned to the boy, who they called Xury, and said to him, “Xury, if you are faithful to me, I’ll make you a great man; but if you will not stroke your face to be true to me—that is, swear by Mahomet and his father’s beard—I must throw you into the sea too.” The boy smiled in my face, and spoke so innocently, that I could not mistrust him. He swore to be faithful to me and go all over the world with me.
As soon as it grew dark in the evening I changed my course, and steered directly south and by east, bending my course a little towards the east, that I might keep in with the shore. Having a fair fresh gale of wind and a smooth, quiet sea, I made such sail that I believed by the next day at three o’clock in the afternoon, when I first made the land. I could not be less than 150 miles south of Sallee, quite beyond the Emperor of Morocco’s dominions, or, indeed, of any other kind thereabouts, for we saw no people.
So I ventured to make the coast, and came to an anchor in the mouth of a little river, I knew not what, or where; neither what latitude, what country, what nation, or what river. I neither saw, nor desired to see, any people. The principal thing I wanted was fresh water. We came into this creek in the evening, resolved to swim on shore as soon as it was dark, and discover the country. But as soon as it was quite dark we heard such dreadful noises of the barking, roaring, and howling of wild creatures, of we knew not what kinds, that the poor boy was ready to die with fear, and begged of me not to go on shore.
But we found afterwards that we need not have taken such pains for water, for a little higher up the creek where we were, we found the water fresh when the tide was out, which flowed but a little way up.
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 often into the shore than we were obliged to for fresh water. My design in this was to make River Gambia or Senegal—that is to say, anywhere about the Cape de Verd, where I was hopeful of meeting with some European ship.
When I had pursued this resolution about ten days longer, as I have said, I began to see that the land was inhabited. 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. I was once inclined to have gone on shore to have speech with them. But Xury was my better counsellor, and said to me, “No need to go, no need to 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. They particularly made signs for something to eat. They beckoned to me to stop my boat, and 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 dry flesh and some corn, such as was 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 a board, and then came close to us again.
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. There came two women, and brought a great vessel made of earth, and burned as I supposed in the sun. This they set down for me as before. I sent Xury on shore with my jars, and filled them all three.
I was now furnished with roots and corn—such as it was—and water. 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 before 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 seaward. Then I concluded, as I was most certain indeed, that this was the Cape de Verd Islands. However, they were at a great distance. I could not well tell what I had best done, for if I should be taken with a fresh of wind, I might neither reach one nor the other.
In this dilemma, as I was very pensive, I stepped into the cabin and sat me down, Xury having the helm. When on a sudden the boy cried out, “Master, master, a ship with a sail!” and the foolish boy was frightened out of his wits, thinking it must be some of his master’s ships sent to pursue us. When I knew we had got far enough out of their reach. I jumped out of the cabin, and immediately saw not only the ship, but what she was—namely, that it was a Portuguese ship, and, as I thought, was bound to the coast of Guinea for negroes. But when I observed the course she steered I was soon convinced they were bound some other way, and did not design to come any nearer to the shore. Upon which I stretched out to sea as much as I could, resolving to speak with them if possible.
With all the sail 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 signal to them. But after I had crowded to the utmost and began to despair, they, it seemed, saw me by the help of their perspective-glasses, and that it was some European boat, which, as they supposed, must belong to some ship that was lost. So they shortened sail to let me come up. I was encouraged with this. As I had my patron’s ancient on board, I made a waft of it to which they saw, for they told me that they saw the smoke, though they did not hear the gun. Upon these signals they very kindly brought to, and lay by for me, and in about three hours’ time I came up with them.
