A New Voyage Round the World by a Course Never Sailed BeforeDefoe, Daniel
General
A New Voyage Round the World by a Course Never Sailed Before
Defoe, Daniel
Adventure stories; Voyages around the world -- Fiction
Doubtless those people who have any notion of a God must represent him
to themselves as something superior, and something that sees, and hears,
and knows what they say or do. Whether these people meant the sun, or
the moon, or the stars, or other visible object, or whatever else, I do
not pretend to determine, but it is certain they understood it to be
something to swear by; something that could bear witness of their
engagement, and that being called to witness it would resent their
breach of promise if they made it. As to those whose gods are monsters,
and hideous shapes, frightful images, and terrible figures, the motive
of their adoration being that of mere terror, they have certainly gross
ideas; but these people seem to act upon a more solid foundation, paying
their reverence in a manner much more rational, and to something which
it was much more reasonable to worship, as appeared in the solemnity of
their countenances, and their behaviour in making a solemn promise.
We found those people clothed, generally speaking, over their whole
bodies, their heads, arms, legs and feet excepted, but not so agreeably
as those we mentioned above; and we found that the clothing of these
were generally made of the skins of beasts, but very artfully put
together, so that though they had neither needle nor thread, yet they
had the same plant as I mentioned before, the stalk of which would so
strongly tie like a thread, that they peeled it off thicker or finer as
they had occasion, and made use of it abundance of ways to tie and
twist, and make their clothes with it, as well for their occasion as if
it had been woven in a loom.
We found several of these people had little bits of gold about them; but
when we made signs to them to know where they got it, and where it might
be had, they made signs to us, pointing to the country on the north side
of the river; so that we had, it seems, fallen upon the right gold
coast in our first coming. They pointed indeed likewise to some very
high mountains, which we saw at a great distance south-west, so that it
seems as if there was gold found that way also; but it appeared the
people here had not much of it for their share.
The men here had bows and arrows, and they used them so dexterously,
that a wild goose flying over our heads, one of the Indians shot it
quite through with an arrow. One of our men was so provoked to see them,
as it were, to outdo him, that, some time after, seeing a couple of
ducks flying fair for a mark, he presented his piece, and shot them both
flying.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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