Year: 1876

out OF the cove we saw two canoes loaded


with men coming out in pursuit from an


other small cove | permitted them t.


come within 100 yards OF us. and this


time used the elephant rifle with explo


slve balls -Four shots killed five men


and sank the canoes. This decisive affair


dlsheartened the enemy, and we were LETT


to pursue our way unmolested, not how


ever, without hearing a ringing voice


shouting out to us, go and die in the
Nyanza When the savages counted
their losses they found fourteen dead and
eight wounded with buckshot, which |
consider to be very dear payment for the
though barely equivalent, in our estima-
ton, to the intended massacre of our
| selves


| Favored by u slight breeze from the
land, we hoisted our sail. and by night
were eight miles southeast Of Bumbirch


a little after dusk the breeze died, and
we continued on our course padding
All night | kept the men hard at WORK.
making, however, but little progress
| through the water At sunrisc we were
| about twenty miles southeast Of Bnn-
birch, and by noon We're twenty five
miles of AT this time we had IL strong
breeze from the northwest. and we sped
before it at the rate of five knots an hGur
At sunset we We're about twelve miles
northeast of Sosua or Gosua Island. and
ii the breeze continued favorable we
hoped to be able to make u haven some
time before midnight But the breeze,
about p m., rose to n fierce gale, and
owing to the loss of our oars we could
not keep the boat before the wind As
we were swept 10y the island we made
frantic efforts to get to leUWard, but it
was to no purpose; we therefore resign
ed ourselves to the wind and waves. the
furious rain. and the horror Of the tenn
pest. Most of your readers, no doubt,
have experienced u gale OF wind at sea
teW, however, can have witnessed it III a
small boat But our situation was more
dangerous even than the latter We had
rocks and unknown ISLANDS in our neigh
borhood, and a few miles further, u main
land pcopled by savages who would have
no scrupIes in putting Us all to death or
making slaves of us. II our boat capsiz-
ed. the crocodiles Of the lake would make
short work Of US; if we were driven on
an uninhabited island, death by starvation
dNtllcu US. ti Will dli lHtSc leffOrS,
we ware worn ont with h!nUnr. "a
tiguc. and anxiety, that, excepting the
Waterman, we all fell asleep, though
awakened now and then by his voice call
ing the men to bail the boat out.


Al daybreaH the tempest and high
waves subsidized, and we perceived we
had drited eight miles westward Of Sosua
and to within six miles of the large island
of Aysomeh. We had not Il m0rsel of
food in the boat; | had but little ground
coffee, and we had tasted nothing else for
iorty-eight hours; Vet the crew, when
called TO resume their rough paddles,
cheertuily responded and did their duty
mantuiN. \ gentle breeze set in from
the westward, which bore Us quickly east
OF Sosua, and carried us by p m to IN
island which | have distinguished by the
name OF Refuge Island. On exploring
this island we found it to be about two
miles in circumference, to have been tor
merly inhabitatcd and cultivated, and, to
our great joy, we found an abundance OF
green bananas, and Of small ripe fruit re-
sembllng cherries in appearance and size,
but having the taste OF dates 10 aGt to
this bounty i succeeded in shooting two
brace Of large fat ducks, and when night
closed in on Us. in our snug aud secure
camp close by strip Of sandy beach. few
people blessed God more lervently than
we did.