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+====== TRAVELS OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN ======
+===== CHAPTER XXIV =====
+//The Baron secures his chariot, &c., at the Cape and takes his
+passage for England in a homeward-bound Indiaman--Wrecked upon an
+island of ice, near the coast of Guinea--Escapes from the wreck,
+and rears a variety of vegetables upon the island--Meets some
+vessels belonging to the negroes bringing white slaves from
+Europe, in retaliation, to work upon their plantations in a cold
+climate near the South Pole--Arrives in England, and lays an
+account of his expedition before the Privy Council--Great
+preparations for a new expedition--The Sphinx, Gog and Magog, and
+a great company attend him--The ideas of Hilaro Frosticos
+respecting the interior parts of Africa.//
+I perceived with grief and consternation the miscarriage of all my
+apparatus; yet I was not absolutely dejected: a great mind is never
+known but in adversity. With permission of the Dutch governor the
+chariot was properly laid up in a great storehouse, erected at the
+water's edge, and the bulls received every refreshment possible after
+so terrible a voyage. Well, you may be sure they deserved it, and
+therefore every attendance was engaged for them, until I should
+return.
+As it was not possible to do anything more I took my passage in a
+homeward-bound Indiaman, to return to London, and lay the matter
+before the Privy Council.
+We met with nothing particular until we arrived upon the coast of
+Guinea, where, to our utter astonishment, we perceived a great hill,
+seemingly of glass, advancing against us in the open sea; the rays of
+the sun were reflected upon it with such splendour, that it was
+extremely difficult to gaze at the phenomenon. I immediately knew it
+to be an island of ice, and though in so very warm a latitude,
+determined to make all possible sail from such horrible danger. We did
+so, but all in vain, for about eleven o'clock at night, blowing a very
+hard gale, and exceedingly dark, we struck upon the island. Nothing
+could equal the distraction, the shrieks, and despair of the whole
+crew, until I, knowing there was not a moment to be lost, cheered up
+their spirits, and bade them not despond, but do as I should request
+them. In a few minutes the vessel was half full of water, and the
+enormous castle of ice that seemed to hem us in on every side, in some
+places falling in hideous fragments upon the deck, killed one half of
+the crew; upon which, getting upon the summit of the mast, I contrived
+to make it fast to a great promontory of the ice, and calling to the
+remainder of the crew to follow me, we all escaped from the wreck, and
+got upon the summit of the island.
+The rising sun soon gave us a dreadful prospect of our situation, and
+the loss, or rather iceification, of the vessel; for being closed inon every side with castles of ice during the night, she was absolutely
+frozen over and buried in such a manner that we could behold her under
+our feet, even in the central solidity of the island. Having debated
+what was best to be done, we immediately cut down through the ice, and
+got up some of the cables of the vessel, and the boats, which, making
+fast to the island, we towed it with all our might, determined to
+bring home island and all, or perish in the attempt. On the summit of
+the island we placed what oakum and dregs of every kind of matter we
+could get from the vessel, which, in the space of a very few hours, on
+account of the liquefying of the ice, and the warmth of the sun, were
+transformed into a very fine manure; and as I had some seeds of exotic
+vegetables in my pocket, we shortly had a sufficiency of fruits and
+roots growing upon the island to supply the whole crew, especially the
+bread-fruit tree, a few plants of which had been in the vessel; and
+another tree, which bore plum-puddings so very hot, and with such
+exquisite proportion of sugar, fruit, &c., that we all acknowledged it
+was not possible to taste anything of the kind more delicious in
+England: in short, though the scurvy had made such dreadful progress
+among the crew before our striking upon the ice, the supply of
+vegetables, and especially the bread-fruit and pudding-fruit, put an
+almost immediate stop to the distemper.
+We had not proceeded thus many weeks, advancing with incredible
+fatigue by continual towing, when we fell in with a fleet of Negro-
+men, as they call them. These wretches, I must inform you, my dear
+friends, had found means to make prizes of those vessels from some
+Europeans upon the coast of Guinea, and tasting the sweets of luxury,
+had formed colonies in several new discovered islands near the South
+Pole, where they had a variety of plantations of such matters as would
+only grow in the coldest climates. As the black inhabitants of Guinea
+were unsuited to the climate and excessive cold of the country, they
+formed the diabolical project of getting Christian slaves to work for
+them. For this purpose they sent vessels every year to the coast of
+Scotland, the northern parts of Ireland, and Wales, and were even
+sometimes seen off the coast of Cornwall. And having purchased, or
+entrapped by fraud or violence, a great number of men, women, and
+children, they proceeded with their cargoes of human flesh to the
+other end of the world, and sold them to their planters, where they
+were flogged into obedience, and made to work like horses all the rest
+of their lives.
+My blood ran cold at the idea, while every one on the island also
+expressed his horror that such an iniquitous traffic should be
+suffered to exist. But, except by open violence, it was found
+impossible to destroy the trade, on account of a barbarous prejudice,
+entertained of late by the negroes, that the white people have no
+souls! However, we were determined to attack them, and steering down
+our island upon them, soon overwhelmed them: we saved as many of the
+white people as possible, but pushed all the blacks into the water
+again. The poor creatures we saved from slavery were so overjoyed,
+that they wept aloud through gratitude, and we experienced every
+delightful sensation to think what happiness we should shower upon
+their parents, their brothers and sisters and children, by bringing
+them home safe, redeemed from slavery, to the bosom of their native
+country.
+Having happily arrived in England, I immediately laid a statement of
+my voyage, &c., before the Privy Council, and entreated an immediate
+assistance to travel into Africa, and, if possible, refit my former
+machine, and take it along with the rest. Everything was instantly
+granted to my satisfaction, and I received orders to get myself ready
+for departure as soon as possible.
+As the Emperor of China had sent a most curious animal as a present to
+Europe, which was kept in the Tower, and it being of an enormous
+stature, and capable of performing the voyage with //éclat//, she was
+ordered to attend me. She was called Sphinx, and was one of the most
+tremendous though magnificent figures I ever beheld. She was harnessed
+with superb trappings to a large flat-bottomed boat, in which was
+placed an edifice of wood, exactly resembling Westminster Hall. Two
+balloons were placed over it, tackled by a number of ropes to the
+boat, to keep up a proper equilibrium, and prevent it from
+overturning, or filling, from the prodigious weight of the fabric.
+The interior of the edifice was decorated with seats, in the form of
+an amphitheatre, and crammed as full as it could hold with ladies and
+lords, as a council and retinue for your humble servant. Nearly in the
+centre was a seat elegantly decorated for myself, and on either side
+of me were placed the famous Gog and Magog in all their pomp.
+The Lord Viscount Gosamer being our postillion, we floated gallantly
+down the river, the noble Sphinx gambolling like the huge leviathan,
+and towing after her the boat and balloons.
+Thus we advanced, sailing gently, into the open sea; being calm
+weather, we could scarcely feel the motion of the vehicle, and passed
+our time in grand debate upon the glorious intention of our voyage,
+and the discoveries that would result.
+"I am of opinion," said my noble friend, Hilaro Frosticos, "that
+Africa was originally inhabited for the greater part, or, I may say,
+subjugated by lions which, next to man, seem to be the most dreaded of
+all mortal tyrants. The country in general--at least, what we have
+been hitherto able to discover, seems rather inimical to human life;
+the intolerable dryness of the place, the burning sands that overwhelm
+whole armies and cities in general ruin, and the hideous life many
+roving hordes are compelled to lead, incline me to think, that if ever
+we form any great settlements therein, it will become the grave of our
+countrymen. Yet it is nearer to us than the East Indies, and I cannot
+but imagine, that in many places every production of China, and of the
+East and West Indies, would flourish, if properly attended to. And as
+the country is so prodigiously extensive and unknown, what a source of
+discovery must not it contain! In fact, we know less about the
+interior of Africa than we do of the moon; for in this latter we
+measure the very prominences, and observe the varieties and
+inequalities of the surface through our glasses--
+"Forests and mountains on her spotted orb.
+"But we see nothing in the interior of Africa, but what some compilers
+of maps or geographers are fanciful enough to imagine. What a happy
+event, therefore, should we not expect from a voyage of discovery and
+colonisation undertaken in so magnificent a style as the present! what
+a pride--what an acquisition to philosophy!"
+----
+Go to [[CHAPTER XXV]]