Captain Singleton

by Daniel Defoe

Country, before we came to those Hills, and we found them much more tractable

  and friendly than those Devils we had been forc'd to fight with; and tho' we

  could learn little from these People, yet we understood by the Signs they made,

  that there was a vast Desart beyond those Hills, and, as our Negroes called

  them, much Lion, much spotted Cat (so they called the Leopard) and they sign'd

  to us also, that we must carry Water with us. At the last of these Nations we

  furnished our selves with as much Provision as we could possibly carry, not

  knowing what we had to suffer, or what Length we had to go; and to make our Way

  as Familiar to us as possible, I proposed, that of the last Inhabitants we could

  find, we should make some Prisoners, and carry them with us for Guides over the

  Desart, and to assist us in carrying Provision, and perhaps in getting it too.

  The Advice was too necessary to be slighted; so finding by our dumb Signs to the

  Inhabitants, that there were some People that dwelt at the Foot of the

  Mountains, on the other Side, before we came to the Desart it self, we resolved

  to furnish our selves with Guides, by fair Means or foul.

  Here, by a moderate Computation, we concluded our selves 700 Miles from the Sea

  Coast where we began. Our Black Prince was this Day set free from the Sling his

  Arm hung in, our Surgeon having perfectly restored it, and he shewed it to his

  own Countrymen quite well, which made them greatly wonder. Also our two Negroes

  began to recover, and their Wounds to heal apace, for our Surgeon was very

  skilful in managing their Cure.

  Having with infinite Labour mounted these Hills, and coming to a View of the

  Country beyond them, it was indeed enough to astonish as stout a Heart as ever

  was created. It was a vast howling Wilderness, not a Tree, a River, or a Green

  thing to be seen, for as far as the Eye could look; nothing but a scalding Sand,

  which, as the Wind blew, drove about in Clouds, enough to overwhelm Man and

  Beast; nor could we see any End of it, either before us, which was our Way, or

  to the right Hand or left: So that truly our Men began to be discouraged, and

  talk of going back again; nor could we indeed think of venturing over such a

  horrid Place as that before us, in which we saw nothing but present Death.

  I was as much affected with the Sight as any of them, but for all that I could

  not bear the Thoughts of going back again. I told them we had march'd 700 Miles

  of our Way, and it would be worse than Death to think of going back again; and

  that if they thought the Desart was not passable, I thought we should rather

  change our Course, and travel South till we came to the Cape of Good Hope, or

  North to the Country that lay along the Nile, where perhaps we might find some

  Way or other over to the West Sea; for sure all Africa was not a Desart.

  Our Gunner, who, as I said before, was our Guide as to the Situation of Places,

  told us, that he could not tell what to say to going for the Cape; for it was a

  monstrous Length, being from the Place where we now were, not less than 1500

  Miles, and by his Account, we were come now a third Part of the Way to the Coast

  of Angola, where we should meet with the Western Ocean, and find Ways enough for

  our Escape Home. On the other Hand, he assured us, and shewed us a Map of it,

  that if we went Northward, the Western Shore of Africk went out into the Sea

  above a Thousand Miles West; so that we should have so much, and more Land, to

  travel afterwards; which Land might, for ought we knew, be as wild, barren, and

  desart, as this: And therefore, upon the whole, he proposed that we should

  attempt this Desart, and perhaps we should not find it so long as we feared; and

  however, he proposed that we should see how far our Provisions would carry us,

  and in particular, our Water; and that we should venture no farther than Half so

  far as our Water would last; and if we found no End of the Desart, we might come

  safely back again.

  This Advice was so reasonable, that we all approved of it; and accordingly we

  calculated, that we were able to carry Provisions for 42 Days, but that we could

  not carry Water for above 20 Days, tho' we were to suppose it to stink too

  before that time expired. So that we concluded, that if we did not come at some

  Water in ten Days time, we would return, but if we found a Supply of Water, we

  could then travel 21 Days; and if we saw no End of the Wilderness in that time,

  we would return also.

  With this Regulation of our Measures, we descended the Mountains, and it was the

  second Day before we quite reached the Plain, where however, to make us amends,

  we found a fine little Rivulet of very good Water, Abundance of Deer, a sort of

  Creature like a Hare, but not so nimble, and whose Flesh we found very

  agreeable; but we were deceived in our Intelligence, for we found no People; so

  we got no more Prisoners to assist us in carrying our Baggage.

  The infinite Number of Deer and other Creatures which we saw here, we found was

  occasioned by the Neighbourhood of the Wast or Desart, from whence they retired

  hither for Food and Refreshment. We stored our selves here with Flesh and Roots

  of divers Kinds, which our Negroes understood better than we, and which served

  us for Bread; and with as much Water as, (by the Allowance of a Quart a Day to a

  Man for our Negroes, and three Pints a Day a Man for our selves, and three

  Quarts a Day each, for our Buffloes) would serve us 20 Days: And thus loaden for

  a long miserable March, we set forward, being all sound in Health, and very

  chearful, but not alike strong for so great a Fatigue; and which was our

  Grievance, were without a Guide.

  In the very first Entrance of the Waft, we were exceedingly discouraged; for we

  found the Sand so deep, and it scalded our Feet so much with the Heat, that

  after we had, as I may call it, waded rather than walk'd thro' it, about seven

  or eight Miles, we were all heartily tired and faint; even the very Negroes lay

  down and panted, like Creatures that had been push'd beyond their Strength.

  Here we found the Difference of Lodging greatly injurious to us; for (as before)

  we always made us Hutts to sleep under, which cover'd us from the Night Air,

  which is particularly unwholesom in those hot Countries: But we had here no

  Shelter, no Lodging after so hard a March; for here were no Trees, no not a

  Shrub near us: And which was still more frightful, towards Night we began to

  hear the Wolves howl, the Lions bellow, and a great many wild Asses braying, and

  other ugly Noises which we did not understand.

  Upon this we reflected upon our own Indiscretion, that had not at least brought

  Poles or Stakes in our Hands, with which we might have, as it were pallisadoed

  our selves in for the Night; and so we might have slept secure, whatever other

  Inconveniences we suffer'd. However, we found a Way at last to relieve our

  selves a little. For first we set up the Lances and Bows we had, and endeavoured

  to bring the Tops of them as near to one another as we could, and so hung our

  Coats on the Top of them, which made us a kind of a sorry Tent; the Leopard's

  Skin, and a few other
Skins we had put together, made us a tolerable Covering,

  and thus we lay down to Sleep, and slept very heartily too for the first Night,

  setting however a good Watch, being two of our own Men with their Fuzees, whom

  we reliev'd in an Hour at first, and two Hours afterwards; and it was very well

  we did this; for they found the Wilderness swarm'd with raging Creatures of all

  Kinds, some of which came directly up to the very Enclosure of our Tent. But our

  Centinels were ordered not to alarm us with Firing in the Night, but to flash in

  the Pan at them, which they did, and found it effectual; for the Creatures went

  off always as soon as they saw it, perhaps with some Noise or Howling, and

  pursued such other Game as they were upon.

  If we were tired with the Day's Travel, we were all as much tired with the

  Night's Lodging: But our Black Prince told us in the Morning, he would give us

  some Counsel, and indeed it was very good Counsel. He told us we should all be

  kill'd if we went on this Journey, and thro' this Desart, without some Covering

  for us at Night; so he advised us to march back again to a little River Side

  where we lay the Night before, and stay there till we could make us Houses, as

  he called them, to carry with us to lodge in every Night. As he began a little

  to understand our Speech, and we very well to understand his Signs, we easily

  knew what he meant, and that we should there make Matts; (for we remembered that

  we saw a great deal of Matting, or Bass there that the Natives make Matts of) I

  say, that we should make large Matts there for Covering our Hutts or Tents to

  lodge in at Night.

  We all approv'd this Advice, and immediately resolved to go back that one Day's

  Journey, resolving, tho' we carried less Provisions, we would carry Matts with

  us to cover us in the Night. Some of the nimblest of us got back to the River

  with more Ease than we had travell'd it out the Day before; but as we were not

  in Haste, the rest made a Halt, encamp'd another Night, and came to us the next

  Day.

  In our Return of this Day's Journey, our Men that made two Days of it, met with

  a very surprizing thing, that gave them some Reason to be careful how they

  parted Company again. The Case was this. The second Day in the Morning, before

  they had gone Half a Mile, looking behind them, they saw a vast Cloud of Sand or

  Dust rise in the Air, as we see sometimes in the Roads in Summer, when it is

  very dusty, and a large Drove of Cattel are coming, only very much greater; and

  they could easily perceive that it came after them, and that it came on faster

  than they went from it. The Cloud of Sand was so great, that they could not see

  what it was that raised it, and concluded, that it was some Army of Enemies that

  pursued them; but then considering that they came from the vast uninhabited

  Wilderness, they knew, it was impossible any Nation or People that Way should

  have Intelligence of them, or of the Way of their March: And therefore, if it

  was an Army, it must be of such as they were, travelling that Way by Accident.

  On the other Hand, as they knew that there were no Horses in the Country, and

  that they came on so fast, they concluded, that it must be some vast Collection

  of wild Beasts, perhaps making to the Hill Country for Food or Water, and that

  they should be all devoured or trampled under Foot by their Multitude.

  Upon this Thought, they very prudently observed which Way the Cloud seem'd to

  point, and they turned a little out of their Way to the North, supposing it

  might pass by them. When they were about a Quarter of a Mile, they halted to see

  what it might be. One of the Negroes, a nimbler Fellow than the rest, went back

  a little, and come again in a few Minutes, running as fast as the heavy Sand

  would allow, and by Signs gave them to know, that it was a great Herd or Drove,

  or whatever it might be called, of vast monstrous Elephants.

  As it was a Sight our Men had never seen, they were desirous to see it, and yet

  a little uneasy at the Danger too; for tho' an Elephant is a heavy, unwieldy

  Creature, yet in the deep Sand, which was nothing at all to them, they marched

  at a great Rate, and would soon have tired our People, if they had had far to

  go, and had been pursued by them.

  Our Gunner was with them, and had a great Mind to have gone close up to one of

  the outermost of them, and to have clapt his Piece to his Ear, and to have fired

  into him, because he had been told no Shot would penetrate them; but they all

  disswaded him, lest, upon the Noise, they should all turn upon, and pursue us;

  so he was reasoned out of it, and let them pass, which in our People's

  Circumstance was certainly the right Way.

  They were between 20 and 30 in Number, but prodigious great ones; and tho' they

  often shew'd our Men that they saw them, yet they did not turn out of their Way,

  or take any other Notice of them, than, as we might say, just to look at them.

  We that were before, saw the Cloud of Dust they raised, but we thought it had

  been our own Carravan, and so took no Notice; but as they bent their Course one

  Point of the Compass, or thereabouts, to the Southward of the East, and we went

  due East, they pass'd by us at some little Distance; so that we did not see

  them, or know any thing of them till Evening, when our Men came to us, and gave

  us this Account of them. However, this was a useful Experiment for our future

  Conduct in passing the Desart, as you shall hear in its Place.

  We were now upon our Work, and our Black Prince was Head Surveyor, for he was an

  excellent Matt-Maker himself, and all his Men understood it; so that they soon

  made us near a Hundred Matts: And as every Man, I mean of the Negroes, carried

  one, it was no Manner of Load, and we did not carry an Ounce of Provisions the

  less. The greatest Burthen was to carry six long Poles, besides some shorter

  Stakes; but the Negroes made an Advantage of that, for carrying them between

  two, they made the Luggage of Provisions which they had to carry, so much the

  lighter, binding it upon two Poles, and so made three Couple of them. As soon as

  we saw this, we made a little Advantage of it too; for having three or four of

  our Baggs called Bottles, (I mean Skins or Bladders to carry Water) more than

  the Men could carry, we got them fill'd, and carried them this Way, which was a

  Day's Water and more for our Journey.

  Having now ended our Work, made our Matts, and fully recruited our Stores of all

  things necessary, and having made us Abundance of small Ropes of Matting for

  ordinary Use, as we might have Occasion, we set forward again, having

  interrupted our Journey eight Days in all, upon this Affair. To our great

  Comfort, the Night before we set out, there fell a very violent Shower of Rain,

  the Effects of which we found in the Sand; tho' the Heat of one Day dry'd the

  Surface as much as before, yet it was harder at Bottom, not so heavy, and was

  cooler to our Feet, by which Means we march'd, as we reckoned, about fourteen

  Miles instead of seven, and with much more Ease.

  When we came to encamp, we had all things ready, for we had fitted our Tent, and

  set it up
for Trial where we made it; so that in less than an Hour, we had a

  large Tent raised, with an Inner and Outer Apartment, and two Entrances. In one

  we lay our selves, in the other our Negroes, having light pleasant Matts over

  us, and others at the same time under us. Also we had a little Place without all

  for our Buffloes, for they deserved our Care, being very useful to us, besides

  carrying Forage and Water for themselves. Their Forage was a Root which our

  Black Prince directed us to find, not much unlike a Pasnip, very moist and

  nourishing, of which there was Plenty wherever we came, this horrid Desart

  excepted.

  When we came the next Morning to decamp, our Negroes took down the Tent, and

  pull'd up the Stakes, and all was in Motion in as little time as it was set up.

  In this Posture we march'd eight Days, and yet could see no End, no Change of

  our Prospect, but all looking as wild and dismal as at the Beginning. If there

  was any Alteration, it was, that the Sand was no where so deep and heavy as it

  was the first three Days. This we thought might be, because for six Months of

  the Year the Winds blowing West, (as for the other six, they blew constantly

  East) the Sand was driven violently to the Side of the Desart where we set out,

  where the Mountains lying very high, the Easterly Monsoons, when they blew, had

  not the same Power to drive it back again; and this was confirm'd by our finding

  the like Depth of Sand on the farthest Extent of the Desart to the West.

  It was the ninth Day of our Travel in this Wilderness, when we came to the View

  of a great Lake of Water, and you may be sure this was a particular Satisfaction

  to us, because we had not Water left for above two or three Days more, at our

  shortest Allowance; I mean, allowing Water for our Return, if we had been driven

  to the Necessity of it. Our Water had served us two Days longer than we

  expected, our Buffloes having found for two or three Days, a kind of Herb like a

  Broad flat Thistle, tho' without any Prickle, spreading on the Ground and

  growing in the Sand, which they eat freely of, and which supplied them for Drink

  as well as Forage.

  The next Day, which was the tenth from our setting out, we came to the Edge of

  this Lake, and very happily for us, we came to it at the South Point of it, for

  to the North we could see no End of it; so we passed by it, and travelled three

  Days by the Side of it, which was a great Comfort to us, because it lightened

  our Burthen, there being no need to carry Water, when we had it in View; and

  yet, tho' here was so much Water, we found but very little Alteration in the

  Desart, no Trees, no Grass or Herbage, except that Thistle, as I call'd it, and

  two or three more Plants, which we did not understand, of which the Desart began

  to be pretty full.

  But as we were refreshed with the Neighbourhood of this Lake of Water, so we

  were now gotten among a prodigious Number of ravenous Inhabitants, the like

  whereof, tis most certain the Eye of Man never saw: For as I firmly believe,

  that never Man, nor a Body of Men, passed this Desart since the Flood, so I

  believe there is not the like Collection of fierce, ravenous, and devouring

  Creatures in the World; I mean not in any particular Place.

  For a Day's Journey before we came to this Lake, and all the three Days we were

  passing by it, and for six or seven Days March after it, the Ground was

  scattered with Elephants Teeth, in such a Number, as is incredible; and as some

  of them may have lain there for some Hundreds of Years, so seeing the Substance

  of them scarce ever decayes, they may lye there for ought I know to the End of

  Time. The Size of some of them is, it seems, to those to whom I have reported

  it, as incredible as the Number, and I can assure you, there were several so

  heavy, as the strongest Man among us could not lift. As to Number, I question