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
Though this month's stay was unexpected, yet we had no reason to think
our time ill spent. However, we did not think we ought to lie here too
long whatever we got; so we weighed and stood off to sea, steering still
south-east, keeping the shore of this golden country in sight, till our
men told us they found the land fall off to the south. Then we steered
away more southerly for six or eight days, not losing sight of, land all
the time, till by an observation we found we were in the latitude of 34°
30' south of the line, our meridian distance from the Ladrones 22° 30'
east, when a fresh gale of wind springing up at south and by east,
obliged us to haul close for that evening. At night it blew such a storm
that we were obliged to yield to the force of it, and go away afore it
to the north, or north-by-west, till we came to the point of that land
we passed before. Here, the land tending to the west, we ran in under
the lee of a steep shore, and came to an anchor in twenty-five fathoms
water, being the same country we were in before. Here we rode very safe
for five days, the wind continuing to blow very hard all the time from
the south-east.
My men would fain have had me gone ashore again and trafficked with the
people for more gold; but I, who was still in quest of further
discoveries, thought I knew enough of this place to tempt my friend the
merchant, whose favourite design was that of making new discoveries, to
another voyage there, and that was enough for me. So I declined going
on shore again, except that we sent our boats for a recruit of fresh
water; and our men, while they were filling it, shot a brace of deer, as
they were feeding by the side of a swamp or moist ground, and also some
wild ducks. Here we set up a great wooden cross, and wrote on it the
names of our ships and commanders, and the time that we came to an
anchor there.
But we were obliged to a farther discovery of this country than we
intended, by the following accident. We had unmoored early in the
morning, and by eight o'clock were under sail; by ten we had doubled the
point I mentioned above, and stood away south keeping the shore on
board, at the distance of about two leagues west.
The next day, the officer who had been with the shallop, showed us the
opening or mouth where he had put in, and where he had made his traffick
with the king of the country, as said before.
We went on still for two days, and still we found the land extending
itself south, till the third day in the morning, when we were a little
surprised to find ourselves, as it were, embayed, being in the bottom of
a deep gulf, and the land appearing right ahead, distance about three
leagues; the coast having turned away to the east and by south, very
high land and mountainous, and the tops of some of the hills covered
with snow.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account