prince looked as if something unlucky had fallen out, and some of our men
took up their arms to be ready on occasion. But the negroes soon discovered
the thing, for we saw four of them presently after coming along with a
great load of meat upon their backs. The case was, that the two who went
out with their bows and arrows, meeting with a great herd of deer in the
plain, had been so nimble as to shoot three of them, and then one of them
came running to us for help to fetch them away. This was the first venison
we had met with in all our march, and we feasted upon it very plentifully;
and this was the first time we began to prevail with our prince to eat his
meat dressed our way; after which his men were prevailed with by his
example, but before that, they ate most of the flesh they had quite raw.

We wished now we had brought some bows and arrows out with us, which we
might have done; and we began to have so much confidence in our negroes,
and to be so familiar with them, that we oftentimes let them go, or the
greatest part of them, untied, being well assured they would not leave us,
and that they did not know what course to take without us; but one thing we
resolved not to trust them with, and that was the charging our guns: but
they always believed our guns had some heavenly power in them, that would
send forth fire and smoke, and speak with a dreadful noise, and kill at a
distance whenever we bid them.

In about eight days we finished three canoes, and in them we embarked our
white men and our baggage, with our prince, and some of the prisoners. We
also found it needful to keep some of ourselves always on shore, not only
to manage the negroes, but to defend them from enemies and wild beasts.
Abundance of little incidents happened upon this march, which it is
impossible to crowd into this account; particularly, we saw more wild
beasts now than we did before, some elephants, and two or three lions, none
of which kinds we had seen any of before; and we found our negroes were