The Works of Edgar Allan Poe — Volume 3Poe, Edgar Allan
General
The Works of Edgar Allan Poe — Volume 3
Poe, Edgar Allan
American fiction -- 19th century; Fantasy fiction; Horror tales, American
January 19.—To-day, being in latitude 83 degrees 20’, longitude
43 degrees 5’ W. (the sea being of an extraordinarily dark
colour), we again saw land from the masthead, and, upon a closer
scrutiny, found it to be one of a group of very large islands.
The shore was precipitous, and the interior seemed to be well
wooded, a circumstance which occasioned us great joy. In about
four hours from our first discovering the land we came to anchor
in ten fathoms, sandy bottom, a league from the coast, as a high
surf, with strong ripples here and there, rendered a nearer
approach of doubtful expediency. The two largest boats were now
ordered out, and a party, well armed (among whom were Peters and
myself), proceeded to look for an opening in the reef which
appeared to encircle the island. After searching about for some
time, we discovered an inlet, which we were entering, when we saw
four large canoes put off from the shore, filled with men who
seemed to be well armed. We waited for them to come up, and, as
they moved with great rapidity, they were soon within hail.
Captain Guy now held up a white handkerchief on the blade of an
oar, when the strangers made a full stop, and commenced a loud
jabbering all at once, intermingled with occasional shouts, in
which we could distinguish the words Anamoo-moo! and Lama-Lama!
They continued this for at least half an hour, during which we
had a good opportunity of observing their appearance.
In the four canoes, which might have been fifty feet long and
five broad, there were a hundred and ten savages in all. They
were about the ordinary stature of Europeans, but of a more
muscular and brawny frame. Their complexion a jet black, with
thick and long woolly hair. They were clothed in skins of an
unknown black animal, shaggy and silky, and made to fit the body
with some degree of skill, the hair being inside, except where
turned out about the neck, wrists, and ankles. Their arms
consisted principally of clubs, of a dark, and apparently very
heavy wood. Some spears, however, were observed among them,
headed with flint, and a few slings. The bottoms of the canoes
were full of black stones about the size of a large egg.
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