SHIPWRECK OF M. DE BRISSON. 197 
cries frightened away the venomous animal, and alighting on 
the body of the dying man, were tearing him to pieces, while 
four savages, more cruel than the furious reptile, beheld this 
scene without affording him the least assistance. I endea- 
vored to run toward him, if possible to save his life, but was 
stopped by the barbarians, who, after insulting me, said: 
" This Christian also will soon become a prey to the birds." 
Finding my efforts ineffectual, I hastened from this scene of 
horror ; and not knowing which way to direct my steps, I 
followed my sheep and my camels. Upon my arrival at the 
tents, my master, struck with my absent and distracted looks, 
inquired what was the matter. " Go (replied I) a few steps 
hence, and behold what your cruelty and that of your wife is 
capable of producing. You have suffered my companion to 
expire, and because his illness prevented him from Avorking, 
you refused him the milk necessary for his subsistence." 
While pronouncing these words I concealed my tears, 
which would only have excited the laughter of these human 
brutes, Avho ordered me to go away and bring the bloody 
clothes of the unhappy victim of their barbarity. I was fired 
with indignation at such an indecent proposal. My agitation, 
and the fern which I had eaten to appease my hunger, pro- 
duced a painful vomiting, which was succeeded by almost 
total debility. I was, however, able to crawl behind a bush, 
where I found another wretched object, who inquired the rea- 
son of my tears, and if I had seen Baudre. " He is not far 
off," I replied. This was all I could or wished to say; but 
my master's sister, who came to bring us some milk, exclaim- 
ed, " The crows are now devouring Baudre's entrails ; you 
will soon meet the same fate; you are good for nothing else." 
My health, which had hitherto been better than I could 
have expected, now declined fast. My whole skin had been 
twice renewed, and my body began to be covered, a third time, 
with a kind of scale, like those of the Arabs, and this change 
was attended with considerable pain. The thorns over which 
I had walked had torn my feet to the quick ; I could scarce- 
ly stand erect, and the large dogs continually let loose upon 
me, and from v.'hich I could never disengage myself without 
receiving dreadful wounds, rendered me absolutely incapable 
of guarding the camels. To add to my misery, the excessive 
heats, about the end of February and March, had dried up all 
the water in that part of the country, and not a single drop of 
rain had fallen to moisten the fields which I had sown. Our 
cattle finding no pasture, were on the point of perishing, when 
17* 
