“Although the sun had now set—which showed that I must have been unconscious for some time, as the last thing I recollected was its scorching my back, for of course as I was swimming in an easterly direction towards Madagascar, as it sank down the horizon it got behind me,—it was still light; and, looking about me, I perceived that I was on a small island or sand-bank, some distance still off the mainland, from which it was separated by a wide channel of water. I tried to get up on my feet to notice better how wide this channel-way was; but I was so weak from my long immersion in the sea, having stopped all circulation, that I fell back again flat on my back like a dead man. The exertion of trying to rise, however, made me bring up a considerable quantity of sea-water, some two gallons or more, which I must have swallowed when insensible, for I certainly never took down half that quantity while swimming, having carefully avoided letting any get into my mouth for fear of its increasing my thirst; but, however it got into me, the emetic did me good, and I felt much better after thus disgorging it from my inside.
“Resting a bit, stretched out on the sand-bank, I could not help thanking the merciful Providence that had thus preserved my life when I had abandoned myself to despair, and had been powerless to aid myself; and I wondered whether any of my comrades had been saved too, or if I were the sole survivor of the ill-fated boat’s crew?
“The evening growing darker my mind was soon brought back to thoughts of action, especially as the tide rising on the beach where I was lying began to lap against my body. Crawling on my hands and knees, for I was still unable to rise to my feet and walk, my limbs being perfectly numb from the thighs downward, I managed to get out of the way of the water for a while; but as it yet continued to rise, and I thought it might possibly cover the whole sand-bank at high tide, I determined to attempt to swim across the intervening channel that lay between the little islet I was on and the main coast—although the latter in the evening gloom seemed more than a mile away, and I felt utterly feeble and worn out. But, I had to do it somehow or other, so I nerved myself up for the task.
“Strange to say, however, the moment I rolled myself into the water again, for I cannot say I walked in, I found I could use my arms and legs again as freely as ever when swimming, albeit so cramped and powerless when I tried to move them ashore; and so, striking out again for the last time with all my remaining strength, I crossed the little channel that separated me from the Madagascar coast in much less time than I had calculated on, the haze having made it appear wider than it really was.
“It was dark, however, when I grounded on the other side, where the land fortunately shelved down into the water gradually—for if there had been any steep bank or cliff to climb I could never have succeeded in surmounting it, the last exertion of swimming the channel having exhausted all my energies. Now, completely prostrated with all I had gone through, as soon as I had crawled up far enough to be out of reach of the tide, I laid down under the trunks of the two trees that had been my beacon guides to safety, and which grew close together out of a clump of sand on the shore, falling asleep at once. I was so utterly worn out that I was not only powerless to proceed any further, but I had no dread of the savage country I was in, or any fear of being attacked by wild beasts!”
Volume Two--Chapter Five.
Hunger and Thirst.
“When day broke next morning,” Ben went on to say, “there I found myself under the shade of the two cocoa-nut palms, as I discovered my beacon trees to be, lying on the warm sandy bed covered over with leaves which I had accidentally selected for my night’s couch—being the first comfortable spot I came to on crawling up from the beach. I felt thoroughly rested and restored to my old self, although still somewhat stiff and sore all over, as if somebody had given me a good thrashing—which of course was owing to my long exposure to the waves and the beating about they gave me; but, I was able to stand on my feet now and work my limbs more freely than I could on first landing, which was decidedly a point to the good, as I had thought I was paralysed.