336 ENGLISH SAILORS' FARM. Chap. XVI. 



the vicinity of the Portuguese, were found on the 21st 

 November ; and we reached Tette early on the 23rd, having 

 been absent a little over six months. 



The two English sailors, left in charge of the steamer, were 

 well, had behaved well, and had enjoyed excellent health all 

 the time we were away. Their farm had been a failure. We 

 left a few sheep, to be slaughtered when they wished for fresh 

 meat, and two dozen fowls. Purchasing more, they soon had 

 doubled the number of the latter, and anticipated a good supply 

 of eggs ; but they also bought two monkeys, and they ate all 

 the eggs. A hippopotamus came up one night, and laid waste 

 their vegetable garden ; the sheep broke into their cotton 

 patch, when it was in flower, and ate it all, except the stems ; 

 then the crocodiles carried off the sheep, and the natives stole 

 the fowls. Nor were they more successful as gunsmiths : a 

 Portuguese trader, having an exalted opinion of the ingenuity 

 of English sailors, showed them a double-barreled rifle, and 

 inquired if they could put on the browning, which had 

 rusted off. "I think I knows how," said one, whose 

 father was a blacksmith, " it's very easy ; you have only to 

 put the barrels in the fire." A great fire of wood was made 

 on shore, and the unlucky barrels put over it, to secure the 

 handsome rifle colour. To Jack's utter amazement the 

 barrels came asunder. To get out of the scrape, his com- 

 panion and he stuck the pieces together with resin, and sent 

 it to the owner, with the message, " It was all they could do 

 for it, and they would not charge him anything for the job!" 

 They had also invented an original mode of settling a 

 bargain ; having ascertained the market price of provisions, 

 they paid that, but no more. If the traders refused to 

 leave the ship till the price was increased, a chameleon, of 

 which the natives have a mortal dread, was brought out 

 of the cabin ; and the moment the natives saw the creature, 



