A New Voyage Round the World by a Course Never Sailed BeforeDefoe, Daniel
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A New Voyage Round the World by a Course Never Sailed Before
Defoe, Daniel
Adventure stories; Voyages around the world -- Fiction
At the same time, others of our men began to look out for goats, for it
may be believed we all longed for a meal of fresh meat. They were a
little too hasty at their work at first, for firing among the first
goats they came at, when there were but a few men together, they
frighted all the creatures, and they ran all away into holes, and among
the rocks and places where we could not find them; so that for that day
they made little of it. However, sending for more firemen, they made a
shift to bring in seventeen goats the same day, whereof we sent five on
board the ships, and feasted with the rest on shore. But the next day
the men went to work in another manner, and with better conduct; for as
we had hands enough, and fire-arms enough, they spread themselves so
far, that they, as it were, surrounded the creatures; and so driving
them out of their fastnesses and retreats, they had no occasion to
shoot, for the goats could not get from them, and they took them
everywhere with their hands, except some of the old he-goats, which were
so surly, that they would stand at bay and rise at them, and would not
be taken; and these, as being old also, and as they thought, good for
nothing, they let go.
In short, so many of our men went on shore, and these divided
themselves into so many little parties, and plyed their work so hard,
and had such good luck, that I told them it looked as if they had made a
general massacre of the goats, rather than a hunting.
Our men also might be said not to refresh themselves, but to feast
themselves here with fresh provisions; for though we stayed but thirteen
days, yet we killed three hundred and seventy goats, and our men who
were on board were very merrily employed, most assuredly, for they might
be said to do very little but roast and stew, and broil and fry, from
morning to night. It was indeed an exceeding good supply to them, for
they had been extremely fatigued with the last part of their voyage, and
had tasted of no fresh provisions for six weeks before.
This made them hunt the goats with the more eagerness, and indeed, they
surrounded them so dexterously, and followed them so nimbly, that
notwithstanding the difficulties of the rocks, yet the goats could
hardly ever escape them. Here our men found also very good fish, and
some few tortoises, or turtles, as the seamen call them, but they valued
them not, when they had such plenty of venison; also they found some
very good herbs in the island, which they boiled with the goats' flesh,
and which made their broth very savoury and comfortable, and withal very
healing, and good against the scurvy, which in those climates Englishmen
are very subject to.
We were now come to the month of April, 1715, having spent almost eight
months in this trafficking wandering voyage from Manilla hither. And
whoever shall follow the same, or a like track, if ever such a thing
shall happen, will do well to make a year of it, and may find it very
well worth while.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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