The beach was of a sand so light that it crumbled beneath us, and at the return of the wave which threw us on shore we were dragged back again, and buried in sand and water. We rose to renew our endeavours, but several times without success, for we could not obtain a firm footing. At last the Negroes, who had witnessed our accident, and who now came down in great numbers on the beach, laid hold of us as the sea threw us up, and dragged us beyond the reach of the waves. Worn out with fatigue we lay on the sand, waiting to ascertain what the savages would do with us; they were not long in letting us know, for they soon began to strip us of every article of clothing on our backs. One of our men attempted to resist, upon which a Negro drove a spear through his thigh. Having divided our apparel, after some consultation, they tied our hands, and placing us in the midst of a large force, armed with spears, and bows and arrows, they went off with us for the inland part of the country. We set off with heavy hearts; taking, as we thought, a last farewell of the ocean, and going forwards in great apprehension of the fate that awaited us. The sand was very deep, and the heat of the sun excessive, for it was then about noon. Without any garments, we were soon scorched and blistered all over, and in intolerable anguish, as well as fatigued; but the Negroes compelled us to move on, goading us with their spears if we slackened our pace, and threatening to run us through if we made a halt. We longed for the night, as it would afford a temporary relief to our sufferings. It came at last, and the Negroes collected wood and lighted a fire to keep off the wild beasts, lying round it in a circle, and placing us in the midst of them. We hoped to have some rest after what we had gone through, but it was impossible--the night proved even worse than the day. The musquitoes came down upon us in such swarms, and their bites were so intolerable that we were almost frantic. Our hands being tied, we could not beat them off, and we rolled over and over to get rid of them. This made matters worse, for our whole bodies being covered with raised blisters from the rays of the sun, our roiling over and over broke the blisters, and the sand getting into the wounds, added to the bites of the musquitoes, made our sufferings intolerable. We had before prayed for night, we now prayed for day. Some prayed for death.