together upon this coast we saw nothing but a waste, uninhabited country
by day, and heard nothing but howlings and roaring of wild beasts by
night.

Once or twice in the daytime I thought I saw the Pico of Teneriffe, being
the high top of the Mountain Teneriffe in the Canaries, and had a great
mind to venture out, in hopes of reaching thither; but having tried
twice, I was forced in again by contrary winds, the sea also going too
high for my little vessel; so, I resolved to pursue my first design, and
keep along the shore.

Several times I was obliged to land for fresh water, after we had left
this place; and once in particular, being early in morning, we came to an
anchor under a little point of land, which was pretty high; and the tide
beginning to flow, we lay still to go farther in. Xury, whose eyes were
more about him than it seems mine were, calls softly to me, and tells me
that we had best go farther off the shore; "For," says he, "look, yonder
lies a dreadful monster on the side of that hillock, fast asleep." I
looked where he pointed, and saw a dreadful monster indeed, for it was a
terrible, great lion that lay on the side of the shore, under the shade
of a piece of the hill that hung as it were a little over him. "Xury,"
says I, "you shall on shore and kill him." Xury, looked frighted, and
said, "Me kill! he eat me at one mouth!"--one mouthful he meant.
However, I said no more to the boy, but bade him lie still, and I took
our biggest gun, which was almost musket-bore, and loaded it with a good
charge of powder, and with two slugs, and laid it down; then I loaded
another gun with two bullets; and the third (for we had three pieces) I
loaded with five smaller bullets. I took the best aim I could with the
first piece to have shot him in the head, but he lay so with his leg
raised a little above his nose, that the slugs hit his leg about the knee
and broke the bone. He started up, growling at first, but finding his
leg broken, fell down again; and then got upon three legs, and gave the
most hideous roar that ever I heard. I was a little surprised that I had
not hit him on the head; however, I took up the second piece immediately,
and though he began to move off, fired again, and shot him in the head,
and had the pleasure to see him drop and make but little noise, but lie
struggling for life. Then Xury took heart, and would have me let him go
on shore. "Well, go," said I: so the boy jumped into the wat