him, "Xury, if you will be faithful to me I'll make you a great man;
but if you will not stroke your face to be true to me," this 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, and swore to be faithful to me, and go all over
the world with me.

  While I was in view of the Moor that was swimming, I stood out
directly to sea with the boat, rather stretching to windward, that
they might think me gone towards the straits' mouth (as indeed any one
that had been in their wits must have been supposed to do); for who
would have supposed we were sailed on to the southward to the truly
barbarian coast, where whole nations of negroes were sure to
surround us with their canoes, and destroy us; where we could ne'er
once go on shore but we should be devoured by savage beasts, or more
merciless savages of humankind?

  But as soon as it grew dusk in the evening, I changed my course, and
steered directly south and by east, bending my course a little
toward the east, that I might keep in with the shore; and having a
fair, fresh gale of wind, and a smooth, quiet sea, I made such sail
that I believe 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 king thereabouts, for we saw no people.

  Yet such was the fright I had taken at the Moors, and the dreadful
apprehensions I had of falling into their hands, that I would not
stop, or go on shore, or come to an anchor, the wind continuing
fair, till I had sailed in that manner five days; and then the wind
shifting to the southward, I concluded also that if any of our vessels
were in chase of me, they also would now give over; so I ventured to
make to 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 nations, 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, resolving 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 me not to go on shore till day.
"Well, Xury," said I, "then I won't; but it may be we may see men by
day, who will be as bad to us as these lions." "Then we give them
the shoot gun," says Xury, laughing; "make them run 'way." Such
English Xury spoke by conversing among us slaves. However, I was
glad to see the boy so cheerful, and I gave him a dram (out of our
patron's case of bottles) to cheer him up. After all, Xury's advice
was good, and I took it; we dropped our little anchor and lay still
all night. I say still, for we slept none; for in two or three hours
we saw vast great creatures (we knew not what to call them) of many
sorts come down to the sea-shore and run into the water, wallowing and
washing themselves for the pleasure of cooling themselves; and they
made such hideous howlings and yellings, that I never indeed heard the
like.

  Xury was dreadfully frightened, and indeed so was I too; but we were
both more frighted when we heard one of these mighty creatures come
swimming towards our boat; we could not see him, but we might hear him
by his blowing to be a monstrous huge and furious beast. Xury said
it was a lion, and it might be so for aught I know; but poor Xury
cried to me to weigh the anchor and row away. "No," says I, "Xury;
we can slip our cable with the buoy to it, and go off to sea; they
cannot follow us far." I had no sooner said so, but I perceived the
creature (whatever it was) within two oars' length, which something
surprised me; however, I immediately stepped to the cabin door, and
taking up my gun, fired at him, upon which he immediately turned about
and swam towards the shore again.

  But is is impossible to describe the horrible noises, and hideous
cries and howlings, that were raised, as well upon the edge of the
shore as higher within the country, upon the noise or report of the
gun, a thing I have some reason to believe those creatures had never
heard before. This convinced me that there was no going on shore for
us in the night upon that coast; and how to venture on shore in the
day was another question too; for to have fallen into the hands of any
of the savages, had been as bad as to have fallen into the hands of
lions and tigers; at least we were equally apprehensive of the
danger of it.

  Be that as it would, we were obliged to go on shore somewhere or
other for water, for we had not a pint left in the boat; when or where
to get to it, was the point. Xury said if I would let him go on
shore with one the jars, he would find if there was any water, and
bring some to me. I asked him why he should go? Why I should not go
and he stay in the boat? The boy answered with so much affection, that
made me love him ever after. Says he, "If wild mans come, they eat me,
you go way." "Well, Xury," said I, "we will both go; and if the wild
mans come, we will kill them, they shall eat neither of us." So I gave
Xury a piece of rusk bread to eat, and a dram out of our patron's case
of bottles which I mentioned before; and we hauled in the boat as near
the shore as we thought was proper, and so waded on shore, carrying
nothing but our arms and two jars for water.

  I did not care to go out of sight of the boat, fearing the coming of
canoes with savages down the river; but the boy seeing a low place
about a mile up the country, rambled to it; and by and by I saw him
come running towards me. I thought he was pursued by some savage, or
frighted with some wild beast, and I ran forward towards him to help
him; but when I came nearer to him, I saw something hanging over his
shoulders, which was a creature that he had shot, like a hare, but