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

by Daniel Defoe

After they had been a-hunting, and shot a couple of deer and a cow, with a kind of hare, as large as an English fox, they set forward again very merry, and the more, because they had another little piece of a gold coast, where, for two days, they had very good luck again; but judge how they were surprised, and in what a consternation they were, when, coming farther down the same river, they heard a terrible noise in the river, as of a mighty cataract, or waterfall, which increased as they came forward, till it grew so loud that they could not hear themselves speak, much less hear one another.

As they approached, it was the more frightful; so at length, lest they should be hurried into it before they were aware, they went all on shore, doing all by signs and dumb postures, for it was impossible to hear any sound but that of the cataract.

Though the noise was so great, it was near six miles to the place from whence it came, which, when they perceived, some of them went back to bring on the boats, and so brought them as near the place as they durst, and ran them on shore into a little hollow part of the bank, just large enough to hold them. When they had thus secured the boats, they went to view the waterfall; but how were they astonished, when they found that there were no less than five waterfalls, at the distance of about two miles from each other, some more, some less, and that the water fell from a prodigious height; so that it was impossible for any boat to launch down the cataract without being dashed in pieces.

The men now saw there was no remedy but that they must lose the benefit of their five canoes, which had been so comfortable to them, and by which they had come above four hundred miles in a little time, with safety and pleasure.

These cataracts made the river perfectly useless to them for above twenty miles, and it was impossible to drag their canoes that length over land; so, in short, they unloaded them, and, for their own satisfaction, they turned one, the biggest of them, adrift, and let it go to the first cataract, placing themselves so beyond that they might see it come down, which they did, and had the vexation of seeing it dashed all to pieces on the rocks below.

As there was no remedy, they plainly saw they must leave their boats behind them. And now, as I have said, they had time to repent killing their two tamed bulls, who would have done them good service; but it was too late to look back upon what was done and over so many days before. They had now no means left them, if they would go forward, but to take their baggage upon their shoulders and travel on foot. The only help they had was, that they had got five guinacoes left, which, though they were hungry, and would fain have eaten, yet, as they had carried at least five hundred weight of their luggage, they chose to fast and walk rather than feast and work; so they went on as well as they could till they got past these falls, which, though not above twenty miles, cost them five days' labour; at the end of which, they encamped again to refresh themselves, and consider of what was next to be done. They were thus long upon this short journey for many reasons.

1. Because they were obliged to employ the best part of two days in hunting for their food, in which time, five of them swimming over the river to shoot at some black cattle, extremely fatigued themselves in pursuing them, but did, however, shoot five cows and bulls; but then it was at such a distance, that it was more pains to drag the flesh along to the river's side than it was worth, only that they were indeed hunger-starved, and must have it.

2. They found still some little quantity of gold in the water, that is to say, below the falls, where the water, by falling with great force, had made a pit or hole of a vast depth, and had thrown up a shoal again, at perhaps a little distance, where they took up some gold whenever the water was low enough to come at it.

3. The weight of their baggage made them travel heavy, and seldom above five or six miles a day.

Being now come to the open river, they thought of building more floats; but they were discouraged from this consideration by not knowing but in a few days' march there might be more waterfalls, and then all their labour would be lost; so they took up their tent and began to travel again.