320 A RUNAWAY SLAVE. 



goni, and shortly after starting passed a large Portu- 

 guese boat, en route for Senna. The skipper saluted 

 my white ensign, and I dipped mine in acknowledg- 

 ment. Three days more saw me at the mouth of the 

 river. Every evening I amused myself, after coming 

 to anchor, by shooting waterbuck, or other antelopes, 

 and on nearing the sea, on the 11th November, we 

 overtook and passed the Search^ and directly afterwards 

 sighted the bar. 



Here a canoe, with two small boys, came out of the 

 reeds, and I was implored by the smaller of the two 

 to take him with me, as he said he wanted to get 

 down to the sea-shore. I complied, and on examining 

 him as we went along, found that his father had sold 

 him to a Portuguese, from whom he had run away, 

 because he used to beat him much. His home, he 

 said, was a long way off, but where he did not know. 

 I brought him down, and landed on the same spot 

 where I had first touched the soil last August, arriv- 

 ing a quarter of an hour before the other boats. 

 Mounting an elevated spot, I looked with my glasses 

 carefully all along the sea horizon ; but no vessel 

 was in sight. 



As soon as Mr. Young arrived all hands went to 

 work to build huts, there being every appearance of 

 rain. Having determined to reside by myself, I soon 

 had a very respectable hut of my own, with the 

 British flag floating above it, to which I gave the 

 name of " Kongoni Castle !" 



Twenty-two days passed before a ship called for 

 us. Every morning the horizon was anxiously scan- 

 ned. Heavy rain and terrific thunderstorms were of 



