A New Voyage Round the World by a Course Never Sailed Before

by Daniel Defoe

They had not searched long but they found three trees that they thought large enough, and they immediately went to work with them, felled and shaped them, and, in four days' time they had three handsome canoes, one larger than the rest, and able to carry in all fifteen or sixteen men; but these were not enough, so they were forced to look out farther, for two trees more, and this took them up more time. However, in about a week, they launched them all; as for days, they had lost their account of time, so that, as they had sometimes no rule to distinguish one day from another, so at last they quite forgot the days, and knew not a Sunday from a working-day any longer.

While these canoes were making, the men, according to the old trade, fell to rummaging the shores of this river, as they had done the other, for gold, nor did they wholly lose their labour, for, in several places, they found some; and here it was that a certain number of them, taking one of the canoes that were first made, took a voyage of their own heads, not only without command, but against command; and, having made a little mast and sail to it, went up towards the lake, resolving to go quite into the lake to find another golden shore, or gold coast, as they called it.

To give a particular account of this wild undertaking, would be too long, nor would the rogues give much account of it themselves; only, in short, that they found a sand pretty rich in gold, worked upon it five days indefatigably, and got a sufficient quantity, had they brought it back, to have tempted the rest to have gone all away to the same place. But, at the end of five days, some were for returning and others for staying longer, till the majority prevailed to come back, representing to the rest, that their friends would be gone, and they should be left to starve in that wild country, and should never get home; so they all got into the canoe again, but quarrelled when they were in, and that to such an unreasonable height, that, in short, they fought, overset the boat, lost all their gold and their arms, except three muskets which were lashed under their thouts, or benches of the canoe, spoiled their ammunition and provisions, and drowned one of their company, so they came home to the rest mortified, wet, and almost famished.

This was a balk to them, and put a damp to their new projects; and yet six of the same men were so bold afterwards as to demand to be dismissed, and a canoe given them, and they would go back they said to the golden lake, where, they did not doubt, they should load the canoe with gold; and, if they found when they came back we were gone, they would find their way back through the mountains, and go to the rich Spaniard, who, they did not doubt, would get them license to go back to Europe with the galleons, and perhaps, they said, they might be in England before us.

But the captain quelled this mutiny, though there were four or five more came into it. By showing them the agreement they had made with me, their commander, the obligation they were under, and the madness of their other proposal, he prevailed with them to go forward with the rest, and pursue the voyage, which he now represented to be very easy, being as it were, all the way downhill, that is to say, with the stream, for they all knew the river they were in must go to the sea, and that in or near the latitude which they knew the ship had appointed to wait for them.

However, to soften them a little, and in some measure to please them, he promised, that if they met with any success in the search after gold in the river they were in, as he did not question but they should, he would consent to any reasonable stop that they should propose, not exceeding five days in a place, and the places to be not less than five leagues off from one another.

Upon these terms they consented, and all embarked and came away, though extremely mortified for the loss of one of their companions, who was a brave stout fellow, very well beloved by all the company, but there was no remedy; so they came on in five canoes, and with a good stock of provisions, such as it was, viz., good fresh beef cured in the sun, and fifteen Peruvian sheep alive; for, when they got into the country between the two rivers, they found it easy to catch those creatures, who before that would not come near them.

And now they came down the river apace, till they came to another golden shore, where, finding some quantity of gold, they claimed their captain's promise, and, accordingly, they went all on shore to work, and pretty good success they had, picking up from among the sands a considerable quantity of gold, and, having stayed four of the five days, they found that they had cleared the place, which was not of a long extent, and so they cheerfully came on.

They proceeded now for eleven days together very willingly, but then found the channel of the river divided itself, and one went away to the left, and the other to the right. They could not judge which was the best to take; but not questioning but that they would meet again soon, they took the southernmost channel, as being most direct in their latitude; and thus they coursed for three or four days more, when they were obliged to put into the mouth of a little river that fell into the other, and made a good harbour for their little fleet.

Here, I say, they were obliged to put in for want of provisions, for they had eaten up all their guinacoes, and their two tame bulls too, the last of which they soon repented, as will be shown presently.