s, as, had she been employed in the
slave-trade, as were most of the vessels from Liverpool to the Coast,
I would not have joined her. A few days afterwards, I went on board of
the Dalrymple, Captain Jones, as mate; we had a very quick passage to
Senegal, and brought our vessel to an anchor off the bar.

CHAPTER V.

In crossing the Bar at Senegal the boat is upset by a
Tornado--We escape being devoured by Sharks only to be
captured by the Natives--Are taken into the interior of
the country, and brought before the Negro King, from
whose wrath we are saved by the intercession of his
female attendants.

A day or two after we had arrived, the master of another vessel that
was at anchor near to us came on board and borrowed our long-boat and
some hands that he might go in it to Senegal. The captain, who was an
old friend of the party who made the request, agreed to lend it to
him, and as accidents are very frequent with boats crossing the bar,
on account of the heavy breakers, the best swimmers were selected for
the purpose, and the charge of the boat was given to me. We set off,
five men rowing and I at the helm. When we approached the bar, a
tornado, which had been for some time threatening, came upon us. The
impetuosity of these blasts is to be matched in no part of the world,
and as it came at once in its full force, we endeavoured, by putting
the boat before it, to escape its fury. This compelled us to run to
the southward along the coast. We managed to keep the boat up for a
long while, and hoped to have weathered it, when, being on the bar,
and in broken water, a large wave curled over us, filled the boat, and
it went down in an instant.

Our only chance now was to reach the shore by swimming, but it was at
a distance, with broken water the whole way; and our great terror was
from the sharks, which abound on the coast and are extremely
ravenous--nor were we without reason for our alarm. Scarcely had the
boat gone down, and we were all stretching out for the shore, when one
of our men shrieked, having been seized by the sharks, and instantly
torn to pieces. His blood stained the water all around, and this
attracting all the sharks proved the means of our escape. Never shall
I forget the horrible sensation which I felt as I struggled through
the broken water, expecting every minute a limb to be taken off by one
of those voracious animals. If one foot touched the other, my heart
sank