He had nearly recovered from his wounds. I saw him only once below, and, in his impotent wrath, he ground his teeth and spat at me like a baited polecat.
We saw nothing of the island of St. Mathew, so the next land we expected to sight would be the isles off the Cape de Verd; but the wind continued to blow freshly and steadily from the west, and as José Estremera made no allowance for current-sailing, the setting in of the sea carried us nearer the coast of Africa than was either necessary or desirable.
Thus one evening, we heard the cry of "Tierra!" from the look-out man in the crow's nest, and, soon after, a low blue and wavy streak on the lee-bow was declared to be the coast of Africa.
Though sea and sky were reddened by the setting sun, the rising coast wore a tint of the deepest indigo. It seemed rather flat and low; but, as we crept in shore, its features changed and became more broken. Thickets of strange trees were discernible along the sea-margin, and then mountains rose in the distant background, with the sunset lingering in gold on their summits.
Night fell, and the ship's head was kept away a few points more to the west; and when day broke we were all on deck betimes to greet the land.
We found the ship off Poison Island, which lies far northward of Sierra Leone, and adjoins the territory of the Felletahs. Many of the natives came off in their carved and painted canoes (which were propelled by paddles shaped like shovels), offering fruit, vegetables, and bananas for sale; and these Africans would courageously shoot their light boats right across the forefoot of the ship while still under way.
At last the mainyard was backed for a few minutes, while José Estremera bought the entire contents of a large canoe for a few empty bottles, some iron rings, and the links of an old chain.
Some of these craft were rowed by Felletah women, and I could perceive that though deeply tanned by the sun, their faces were pleasant and oval, their noses aquiline, and their hair black and glossy.
All these tawny rowers wore striped cloth tunics, which reached to their ankles, and had their necks and arms loaded with beads of glass or coral, and many of them had Spanish dollars attached to their ear-rings.
A gun was fired as a warning for all boats to keep off, lest some accident might ensue; and it was amusing to see the consternation of the poor Felletahs, and with what speed they paddled away toward the shore.