"There were five of them," said the captain, "and they went to sleep in their boat one night, so as to take an early start up the river from Rangoon. The boat was made from a hollowed log, and was about twenty-five feet long by four wide in the centre; it had a mast with a small square sail, like what you generally see on the native boats in the East, and its sides were not more than a foot above water. This was the craft that safely carried five men a thousand miles across the open sea.
"They went to sleep, as I said, and when they waked in the morning, just at dawn, they found themselves at sea. The boat had become untied from the stake where it was fastened; the strong current of the river, with the ebb-tide, had floated them down at a rapid rate, and before they knew it they were out of sight of land.
"Not one of them had ever been at sea before; they were all from the upper country, and some of them had not even heard there was any water in the world beyond their own river. The oldest of the party was captain of the boat; he had heard something about 'the black water' that was so salt as to poison those who drank it, but beyond that he had very little information concerning it.
OUT ON THE WATERS.
"He had no idea in what direction he should steer to reach land, but remembered that it was necessary to keep a straight course to get anywhere. Whether to go east, west, north, or south, he could not say, and in fact he hardly knew the points of compass. He had no compass, or anything of the sort, and so he concluded that to steer properly he should keep the sun constantly on his left hand. It was unfortunate that he did not decide to keep the sun on the right hand, as he would then have brought up on the coast of Burmah, while the course he took was westward, across the Bay of Bengal.
"The boat was loaded with salt belonging to an English house in Rangoon, and consigned to their agency up the river. The old man ordered the salt thrown overboard to lighten the boat; then he divided the provisions, giving each man his share. The sail was spread to the light wind that was blowing, and with the sun on the left the boat moved on.