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 mosquitoes 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 rolling over and over broke the blisters, and the sand
getting into the wounds, added to the bites of the mosquitoes, made our
sufferings intolerable. We had before prayed for night, we now prayed
for day. Some prayed for death.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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