Personal Narrative Of Travels To The Equinoctial Regions Of America During The Years 1799-1804 - Volume 3 - By Alexander Von Humboldt And Aime Bonpland.
- Page 163 of 635 - First - Home
Being A Little In The Habit Of Speaking
English, I Entered Into Conversation With The Captain, Begging Not To
Be Taken To Nova Scotia, But To Be Put On Shore On The Neighbouring
Coast.
While I endeavoured, in the cabin, to defend my own rights and
those of the owner of the lancha, I heard a noise on deck.
Something
was whispered to the captain, who left us in consternation. Happily
for us, an English sloop of war, the Hawk, was cruising in those
parts, and had signalled the captain to bring to; but the signal not
being promptly answered, a gun was fired from the sloop and a
midshipman sent on board our vessel. He was a polite young man, and
gave me hopes that the lancha, which was laden with cacao, would be
given up, and that on the following day we might pursue our voyage. In
the meantime he invited me to accompany him on board the sloop,
assuring me that his commander, Captain Garnier, would furnish me with
better accommodation for the night than I should find in the vessel
from Halifax.
I accepted these obliging offers and was received with the utmost
kindness by Captain Garnier, who had made the voyage to the north-west
coast of America with Vancouver, and who appeared to be highly
interested in all I related to him respecting the great cataracts of
Atures and Maypures, the bifurcation of the Orinoco and its
communication with the Amazon. He introduced to me several of his
officers who had been with Lord Macartney in China.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 163 of 635
Words from 44584 to 44846
of 174507
