“Where are the rest?” I asked of the friendly negro, whom I recognised to be Aboh, the man to whom I had given water in the slaver’s hold, and whom I had just set at liberty.
He pointed over his shoulder, signifying that they had gone inland.
“And you wish to remain with us?” I asked, at once seeing that it would be of importance to have a native with us who might act as our guide and interpreter.
“Yes, massa; me like white man. Once serve board man-of-war; cappen kind, sailors kind; but me went on shore to see me fadder, modder, me brodder, me sister; but dey all get catchee, an’ all de oder people run ’way, an’ dey take me for slavee.”
The beach, which was here of some height, prevented us at first from seeing what had become of the people; but climbing up the bank of fine sand to the summit, we caught sight of some of them making their way towards the forest, about half a mile off.
“They have gone there, poor fellows, to look for food, or perhaps some of them think that they are not far from home, and expect to get back again,” observed Tubbs.
This appeared very likely. Before, however, we set off to join our companions in misfortune, we searched about for any of the white men who might have been cast by the surf on the beach. We found several dead bodies, but not a single living person could we discover. On looking eastward, we observed numerous rocks, stretching out to a considerable distance, which, now that the tide had fallen, appeared above water. It was a mercy that the “Vulture” escaped striking on any of them, for, had she done so, she must have been knocked to pieces at a distance from the shore, and probably not one of us would have escaped alive.
We now sat down on the beach and consulted what to do. As it was not likely that any ship, trader, or man-of-war, or even slaver, would willingly come near that part of the coast, we resolved to travel either to the north or the south, hoping to reach one of the French settlements, which existed at the mouths of two or three of the rivers running into the ocean in that region. On looking along the shore on both hands, we saw a wide extent of sand.
“It will never do to attempt travelling over that, gentlemen,” said Tubbs. “We shall certainly find no shade, and probably not a drop of water, without which we cannot get along. If you’ll take my advice, you’ll follow the blacks to the forest. It’s water, to a certainty, they’ve gone to look after; they’re thirsty beings, and their instinct has told them where they can find it.”
Aboh, who had been listening all the time, evidently understood what was said, and nodded his head. We, that is, Charley, Harry, and I, agreed to do as Tubbs had proposed, and we all accordingly set off eastward, accompanied by the black. The forest appeared much further away than we supposed, or perhaps the soft sand, into which our feet sank at every step, made us think the distance longer than it really was. The sun, which was now high in the heavens, beat down with terrific force upon our heads, and as we had on only our sea-caps, which afforded little or no protection, we felt the heat greatly. We found some comfort, however, by shifting our packs onto our heads. Aboh, who saw how much we suffered, offered to relieve us of them. He carried my pack and his own on his head, and another on his shoulders, with perfect ease. I bethought me of a handkerchief which I had in my pocket, and fastened it like a turban over my cap; Harry imitated my example. Charley and Tom, who were stronger than either of us, continued to carry their packs with comparative ease on their heads. We had lost sight of the blacks, the last of whom had disappeared before we commenced our march. At length we reached the outskirts of the forest, and were thankful to sit down and rest under the shade of a tree.