her, and made signs to the prince that he should send some of his men over
to take the skin off. As soon as he spoke but a word, four of them, that
offered themselves, were untied, and immediately they jumped into the
river, and swam over, and went to work with him. The prince having a knife
that we gave him, made four wooden knives so clever, that I never saw
anything like them in my life; and in less than an hour's time they brought
me the skin of the leopard, which was a monstrous great one, for it was
from the ears to the tale about seven foot, and near five foot broad on the
back, and most admirably spotted all over. The skin of this leopard I
brought to London many years after.

We were now all upon a level as to our travelling, being unshipped, for our
bark would swim no farther, and she was too heavy to carry on our backs;
but as we found the course of the river went a great way farther, we
consulted our carpenters whether we could not pull the bark in pieces, and
make us three or four small boats to go on with. They told us we might do
so, but it would be very long a-doing; and that, when we had done, we had
neither pitch or tar to make them sound to keep the water out, or nails to
fasten the plank. But one of them told us that as soon as he could come at
any large tree near the river, he would make us a canoe or two in a quarter
of the time, and which would serve us as well for all the uses we could
have any occasion for as a boat; and such, that if we came to any
waterfalls, we might take them up, and carry them for a mile or two by land
upon our shoulders.

Upon this we gave over the thoughts of our frigate, and hauling her into a
little cove or inlet, where a small brook came into the main river, we laid
her up for those that came next, and marched forward. We spent indeed two
days dividing our baggage, and loading our tame buffaloes and our negroes.
Our powder and shot, which was the thing we were most careful of, we