É 
fO SPILSBURY's voyage to AFRICA. 
want of good bark, as they had now none in the colony, and wished 
me to spare him some : 1 supplied him with what I had from 
Apothecaiies'-hall^ on my own account, in bottles. The colony 
is not at this time in a very thriving condition. 
1 was informed that a few days before a large snake had been 
killed, the carcase of which was as much as two men could carry 
on a pole : they are very comnmn; and it is a fact that they 
can swallow léopards, bears. Sic There nre a!so two extremely 
large species of the alligator, which are nearly twenty feet long ; 
tbev swiîn between the ships, and pick up any garbage that is 
thrown overboard : they were frequently fired at, but a 
bullet vvili not penetrate them. The smaller ones are very nu- 
merous. 
^November 25th. I dined with the governor, who related 
some curious anecdotes of the reptiles just alluded to; in 
particular, of one of them destroying a sentry, and carrying 
him fairly away: his musquet was found left behind op his 
post. It came afterwards for the other sentry, but was driven 
away. 
On the 27 th of November we again weighed for the islands 
de Los. On the 29th we had five men taken ill with fever : 
they were attacked with pain in the head, vomiting, pain in 
the bowels, and sometimes complained of pain all over the 
body, attended with great lassitude and a low, i7'ritabie, qmck 
pulse. In the evening we came to an anchor, and we saw 
Cape Verga, bearing N . N. E. distant ten or twelve leagues. 
In the afternoon of the 30th we anchored, tiding it along shore, 
as the wind was contrary. During our passage a female of 
Sierra Leone related to us the followMio; storv, which will shew 
the spirit of revenge occasioned by jealousy in the native wo- 
men. A slave-trader kept a native girl, of whom he was ex- 
tremely fond : one day unfortunately some words arose, and he 
struck her over the eye ; revenge immediately took possession 
of her mind, nor did she make it any secret that she was re- 
solved to poison Irim. This the girl who related the story per- 
fectly uîiderstood, and warned the gentleman of the fate that 
would attend him ; begging of hiin not to permit her to cook 
his supper, but let the informant perform that service: this 
with some difiicnlty he consented to, still laughing at the idea 
of danger ; but being soon aftervv'ards thirsty, lie hastily called 
for a glass of water, which was given to him by the native 
girl whom he had assaulted: he drank it before the other could 
wrest the goblet from his bands, and as soon as the deadly 
potion was administered, the native burst into a loud fit of 
laughter. Soon after the victim clapped his hand to his breast, 
and exclaimed, My God ! 1 am poisoned !" The narrator 
