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
While they lay here, at the point of the influx, expecting the return of
their scouts, they used what diligence they could in getting provisions;
and among the rest, they killed three cows and a bull on the other side
of the largest river; but not knowing how to bring them over, they at
last concluded to go, as many as could swim, which was the better half
of them, and sit down by it, and roast and broil upon the spot as much
as they could eat, and then bring with them, as much as they could for
their companions.
For this purpose they got boughs of trees, and bound them together, then
wrapped the meat in the hides, and laid it on the wood, and made a
number of little contrivances to convey it, so that no part of the meat
was lost. What they got on their own side of the river they made better
shift with.
On the return of their scouts they found there was no remedy but to
build some new vessels, of one kind or other, to take in their baggage
and provision, which they made after the manner of their first floats;
for they found no trees large enough to make canoes; when, therefore,
they had made one great float, they resolved to make two small boats,
like yawls or skiffs, with which they might tow their large float or
barge; and as this they might do with small timbers, so they found means
to line them within and without with the bulls' hides, and that so
dexterously joined, and lapped and rolled one over another, that no
water came through, or but very little.
With these two boats they ferried over the small rivers with ease, each
boat carrying six men, besides two to row; and when they were over the
small rivers, the two boats served to tow their great punt or barge
close by the shore.
The greatest difficulty was for tow-lines to draw the boats by, and
those they supplied by twisting a strong tough kind of flag or rush,
which they found in the river, of which, with much application and
labour, they made a kind of rope-yarn, and then twisting it again, made
it very strong.
This was the voiture with which they conveyed themselves quite down to
the sea, and one of these boats it was that we spied, as above, coming
to us in the bay.
They had yet above four hundred and fifty miles to the sea, nor could
they at any time tell or guess how far off it might be. They went on
more or less every day, but it was but slowly, and not without great
labour, both of rowing and towing. Their provisions also cost them much
pains, for they were obliged first to hunt and kill it, and then bring
it to the camp, which, however, was always close to the river's side.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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