Life And Adventures Of Peter Wilkins, Vol. I. (of II.) Read online

  CHAPTER VI.

  The boat, two hundred leagues from land, makes no way, but drives more to sea by the wind--The people live nine days at quarter allowance--Four die with hunger the twelfth day-- Five more the fourteenth day--On the fifteenth they eat one just dead--Want of water excessive--Spy a sail--Are taken up --Work their passage to the African shore--Are sent on a secret expedition--Are waylaid, taken slaves, and sent up the country.

  When we, who were in the boat, came to reflect on our condition, theprospect before us appeared very melancholy; though we had at firstreadily enough embraced the offer, rather than perish in so much miseryas we suffered in our loathsome confinement. We now judged we were abovetwo hundred leagues from land, in about eight degrees north latitude;and it blowing north-east, a pretty stiff gale, we could make no way,but rather lost, for we aimed at some port in Africa, having neithersail, compass, nor any other instrument to direct us; so that all theobservation we could make was by the sun for running southward, or asthe wind carried us, for we had lost the North Pole. As we had littleabove two days' provisions, we perceived a necessity of almost starvingvoluntarily, to avoid doing it quite, seeing it must be many days beforewe could reach shore, if ever we did, having visibly driven a great dealmore southward than we were; nay, unless a sudden change happened, wewere sure of perishing, unless delivered by some ship that Providencemight send in our way. In short, the ninth day came, but no relief withit; and though we had lived at quarter allowance, and but just savedlife, our food, except a little water, was all gone, and this causedus quite to despair. On the twelfth day four of our company died withhunger in a very miserable way; and yet the survivors had not strengthleft to move them to pity their fellows. In truth, we had sat still,attempting nothing in several days; as we found that, unless the windshifted, we only consumed the little strength we had left to no mannerof purpose. On the fourteenth day, and in the night, five more died, anda sixth was near expiring; and yet we, the survivors, were so indolent,we would scarce lend a hand to throw them overboard. On the fifteenthday, in the morning, our carpenter, weak as he was, started up, and asthe sixth man was just dead, cut his throat, and whilst warm let outwhat blood would flow; then pulling off his old jacket, invited us todinner, and cutting a large slice of the corpse, devoured it with asmuch seeming relish as if it had been ox-beef. His example prevailedwith the rest of us, one after another, to taste and eat; and asthere had been a heavy dew or rain in the night, and we had spread outeverything we had of linen and woollen to receive it, we were a littlerefreshed by wringing our clothes and sipping what came from them; afterwhich we covered them up from the sun, stowing them all close togetherto keep in the moisture, which served us to suck at for two days after,a little and a little at a time; for now we were in greater distress forwater than for meat. It has surprised me, many times since, to think howwe could make so light a thing of eating our fellow creature just deadbefore our eyes; but I will assure you, when we had once tasted, welooked on the blessing to be so great, that we cut and eat with aslittle remorse as we should have had for feeding on the best meat inan English market; and most certainly, when this corpse had failed,if another had not dropped by fair means, we should have used foul bymurdering one of our number as a supply for the rest.

  Water, as I said before, to moisten our mouths, was now our greatesthardship, for every man had so often drank his own, that we voidedscarce anything but blood, and that but a few drops at a time; ourmouths and tongues were quite flayed with drought, and our teeth justfallen from our jaws; for though we had tried, by placing all thedead men's jackets and shirts one over another, to strain some of thesea-water through them by small quantities, yet that would not depriveit of its pernicious qualities; and though it refreshed a little ingoing down, we were so sick, and strained ourselves so much after it,that it came up again, and made us more miserable than before. Ourcorpse now stunk so, what was left of it, that we could no longer bearit on board, and every man began to look with an evil eye on his fellow,to think whose turn it would be next; for the carpenter had started thequestion, and preached us into the necessity of it; and we had agreed,the next morning, to put it to the lot who should be the sacrifice. Inthis distress of thought it was so ordered by good Providence, thaton the twenty-first day we thought we spied a sail coming from thenorth-west, which caused us to delay our lots till we should see whetherit would discover us or not: we hung up some jackets upon our oars, tobe seen as far off as we could, but had so little strength left we couldmake no way towards it; however, it happened to direct its course somuch to our relief, that an hour before sunset it was within a leagueof us, but seemed to bear away more eastward, and our fear was that theyshould not know our distress, for we were not able to make any noisefrom our throats that might be heard fifty yards; but the carpenter, whowas still the best man amongst us, with much ado getting one of the gunsto go off, in less than half-an-hour she came up with us, and seeingour deplorable condition, took us all on board, to the number of eleven.Though no methods were un-essayed for our recovery, four more of usdied in as many days. When the remaining seven of us came a little toourselves, we found our deliverers were Portuguese, bound for SaintSalvadore. We told the captain we begged he would let us work ourpassage with him, be it where it would, to shore; and then, if we couldbe of no further service to him, we did not doubt getting into Europeagain: but in the voyage, as we did him all the service in our power, wepleased him so well that he engaged us to stay with him to work the shiphome again, he having lost some hands by fever soon after his settingsail.

  We arrived safe in port; and in a few days the captain, who had a secretenterprise to take in hand, hired a country coasting vessel, and senther seventeen leagues farther on the coast for orders from some factoryor settlement there. I was one of the nine men who were destined toconduct her; but not understanding Portuguese, I knew little of thebusiness we went upon. We were to coast it all the way; but on the tenthday, just at sunrise, we fell in with a fleet of boats which had waylaidus, and were taken prisoners. Being carried ashore, we were conducted along way up the country, where we were imprisoned, and almost starved,though I never knew the meaning of it; nor did any of us, unless themate, who, we heard, was carried up the country much farther, to Angola;but we never heard more of him, though we were told he would be sentback to us.

  Here we remained under confinement almost three months, at the end ofwhich time our keeper told us we were to be removed; and coupling us twoand two together, sent a guard with us to Angola; when, crossing alarge river, we were set to work in removing the rubbish and stones ofa castle or fortress, which had been lately demolished by an earthquakeand lightning. Here we continued about five months, being very sparinglydieted, and locked up every night.

  This place, however, I thought a paradise to our former dungeon; and aswe were not overworked, we made our lives comfortable enough, having theair all day to refresh us from the heat, and not wanting for company;for there were at least three hundred of us about the whole work; andI often fancied myself at the tower of Babel, each labourer almostspeaking in a language of his own.

  Towards the latter end of our work our keepers grew more and more remissin their care of us. At my first coming thither, I had contracted afamiliarity with one of the natives, but of a different kingdom, who wasthen a slave with me; and he and I being able tolerably to understandeach other, he hinted to me, one day, the desire he had of seeing hisown country and family, who neither knew whether he was dead or alive,or where he was, since he had left them, seven years before, to make warin this kingdom; and insinuated that as he had taken a great liking tome, if I would endeavour to escape with him, and we succeeded, he wouldprovide for me. "For," says he, "you see, now our work is almost over,we are but slightly guarded; and if we stay till this job is oncefinished, we may be commanded to some new works at the other end of thekingdom, for aught we know, so that our labours will only cease with ourlives: and for my part, immediate death
in the attempt of liberty is tome preferable to a lingering life of slavery."

  These, and such-like arguments, prevailed on me to accompany him, as hehad told me he had travelled most of the country before in the wars ofthe different nations; so having taken our resolution, the followingevening, soon after our day's work, and before the time came for lockingup, we withdrew from the rest, but within hearing, thinking if we shouldthen be missed and called, we would appear and make some excuse for ourabsence, but if not, we should have the whole night before us.

  When we were first put upon this work, we were called over singly, byname, morning and evening, to be let out and in, and were very narrowlyobserved in our motions; but not one of us having been ever absent, ouractions were at length much less minded than before, and the ceremony ofcalling us over was frequently omitted; so that we concluded if wegot away unobserved the first night, we should be out of the reach ofpursuers by the next; which was the soonest it was possible for them toovertake us, as we proposed to travel the first part of our journey withthe utmost despatch.