Travels Of Richard And John Lander Into The Interior Of Africa For The Discovery Of The Course And Termination Of The Niger By Robert Huish
- Page 1109 of 1124 - First - Home
The Shock Made Him Stagger, But He Did Not Fall, And He
Continued Cheering On His Men.
Soon finding, however, his ammunition
expended, himself seriously wounded, the courage of his Kroomen
beginning to droop, and the
Firing of his assailants, instead of
diminishing become more general than ever, he resolved to attempt
getting into the smaller canoe, afloat at a short distance, as the
only remaining chance of preserving a single life. For this purpose,
abandoning their property, the survivors threw themselves into the
stream, and with much difficulty, for the strength of the current was
incredibly strong, most of them succeeded in accomplishing their
object. No sooner was this observed by the men in ambush, than they
started up and rushed out with wild and hideous yells; canoes that
had been hidden behind the luxuriant foliage which overhung the
river, were in an instant pushed out into the middle of the stream,
and pursued the fugitives with surprising velocity; whilst numbers of
people, with savage antics and furious gesticulations, ran and danced
along the beach, uttering loud and startling cries. The Kroomen
maintained on this occasion, the good reputation which their
countrymen have deservedly acquired; their lives depended on their
energy and skill, and they impelled their slender bark through the
water with unrivalled swiftness. The pursuit was kept up for four
hours, and poor Lander, without ammunition or any defensive weapon
whatever, was exposed to the straggling fire, as well as the
insulting mockery of his pursuers. One incident, which occurred in
the flight, deserves to be recorded.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 1109 of 1124
Words from 305115 to 305374
of 309561