. My Apingi kingdom : with life in the great Sahara, and sketches of the chase of the ostrich, hyena, &c. . ble punishment that they wouldnot have been ready to fire again. You will not be astonished to hear, after this, that therewere men constantly on the watch. One sailor was al-ways kept at the top of the mainmast, the time of hiswatch being two hours, when another would relieve were continually throwing out the lead to take sound-ings. It is not every sailor who knows how to throw thelead, and only three on board were skillful at it. I canassure you it is hard work—an elongated pi
. My Apingi kingdom : with life in the great Sahara, and sketches of the chase of the ostrich, hyena, &c. . ble punishment that they wouldnot have been ready to fire again. You will not be astonished to hear, after this, that therewere men constantly on the watch. One sailor was al-ways kept at the top of the mainmast, the time of hiswatch being two hours, when another would relieve were continually throwing out the lead to take sound-ings. It is not every sailor who knows how to throw thelead, and only three on board were skillful at it. I canassure you it is hard work—an elongated piece of lead,flat at one end, and smeared with tallow, so that when ittouched the bottom they could ascertain the character ofthe bed of the sea where the lead was cast. If it M-asmud, of course mud would show on the tallow, and if itwas sand, sand would show, etc., etc. This piece of leadappeared to weigh about from twelve to fifteen was attached to a long line, which could go with thelead to a depth of about sixty fathoms. SailoiS alwaysmeasure by fathoms (six feet). 184 MY APINOI UEAVING TUE LEAB. The sailor wlio was to throw the lead stood in the rig-ging of the foremast, just outside of the bulwark. Heheld the line, which was so coiled about his right armthat it would pay out easily, about six feet from the endto which the lead was fastened. Before throwing it, hewould swing it a moment with great force, and then, let-ting go, send the heavy lead flying ahead beyond the bowof the ship before it struck the water. CHAPTER XXIV. AT THE MOUTH OF THE GKEAT SENEGAL EITER. APPEAR-ANCE OF THE COUNTRY. A VILLAGE. THE HOUSES. A SANDY COUNTRY. HOW THE PEOPLE CARRY IVnLK. We passed tliroiigli the mucli-dreaded region withoutany serious mishap. Our vessel arrived before the greatSenegal River, apd anchored outside of the bar. I mustconfess that I was very glad, for I did not relish the ideaof a wreck on the inhospitable shores I have just de-scribed to you. A few d
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