Part 22

The king of the isle of Kela is very rich and potent, and the isle of Bells, which is about two days’ journey in extent, is also subject to him. The inhabitants are so barbarous that they still eat human flesh. After we had finished our commerce in that island, we put to sea again, and touched at several other ports: at last I arrived happily at Bagdad with infinite riches, of which it is needless to trouble you with the detail.

Out of thankfulness to God for his mercies, I gave great alms for the support of several mosques, and for the subsistence of the poor, and employed myself wholly in enjoying my kindred and friends, and making merry with them.

Here Sindbad finished the relation of his fourth voyage, which was more surprising to the company than all the three former. He gave a new present of a hundred sequins to Hindbad, whom he prayed to return with the rest next day at the same hour, to dine with him, and hear the story of his fifth voyage. Hindbad and the rest of his guests took leave of him, and retired. Next morning when they all met, they sat down at table, and when dinner was over, Sindbad began the relation of his fifth voyage, as follows:

The fifth voyage of Sindbad the sailor.

The pleasures I enjoyed had again charms enough to made me forget all the troubles and calamities I had undergone, without curing me of my inclination to make new voyages. Therefore I bought goods, ordered them to be packed up and loaded, and set out with them for the best sea-port; and there, that I might not be obliged to depend upon a captain, but have a ship at my own command, I staid till one was built on purpose, at my own charge. When the ship was ready, I went on board with my goods; but not having enough to load her, I took on board with me several merchants of different nations, with their merchandize.

We sailed with the first fair wind, and, after a long navigation, the first place we touched at was a desert island, where we found an egg of a roc, equal in bigness to that I formerly mentioned. There was a young roc in it, just ready to be hatched, and the bill of it began to appear.

At these words Scheherazade stopt, because day began to enter the sultan’s apartment; but next night she resumed her story thus:

EIGHTY-THIRD NIGHT.

Sindbad, the sailor, said she, continued the relation of his fifth voyage as follows: The merchants whom I had taken on board my ship, and who landed with me, broke the egg with hatchets, and made a hole in it, from whence they pulled out the young roc, piece after piece, and roasted it. I had earnestly persuaded them not to meddle with the egg, but they would not listen to me.

Scarcely had they made an end of their treat, when there appeared in the air, at a considerable distance from us, two great clouds. The captain whom I hired to manage my ship, knowing, by experience, what it meant, cried that it was the male and female roc that belonged to the young one, and pressed us to re-embark with all speed, to prevent the misfortune which he saw would otherwise befall us. We made haste to do so, and set sail with all possible diligence.

In the mean time, the two rocs approached with a frightful noise, which they redoubled when they saw the egg broken, and their young one gone. But having a mind to avenge themselves, they flew back towards the place from whence they came, and disappeared for some time, while we made all the sail we could, to prevent that which unhappily befell us.

They returned, and we observed that each of them carried between their talons, stones, or rather rocks, of a monstrous size. When they came directly over my ship, they hovered, and one of them [34] let fall a stone; but by the dexterity of the steersman, who turned the ship with the rudder, it missed us, and, falling by the side of the ship into the sea, divided the waters so, that we almost could see to the bottom. The other roc, to our misfortune, threw the stone so exactly upon the middle of the ship, that it split in a thousand pieces. The mariners and passengers were all killed by the stone, or sunk. I myself had the last fate; but as I came up again, I fortunately caught hold of a piece of the wreck, and sometimes swimming with one hand, and sometimes with the other, but always holding fast my board, the wind and the tide favouring me, I came to an island, whose shore was very steep. I overcame that difficulty, however, and got ashore.

I sat down upon the grass, to recover myself a little from the fatigue; after which I got up, and went into the island to view it. It seemed to be a delicious garden. I found trees every where, some of them bearing green, and others ripe fruits, and streams of fresh pure water, with pleasant windings and turnings. I ate of the fruits, which I found excellent, and drank of the water, which was very pleasant.

Night being come, I lay down upon the grass in a convenient place enough, but I could not sleep an hour at a time, my mind was so disturbed with the fear of being alone in so desert a place. Thus I spent the best part of the night in fretting, and reproached myself for my imprudence in not staying at home, rather that undertaking this last voyage. These reflections carried me so far, that I began to form a design against my own life; but daylight dispersed those melancholy thoughts, and I got up, and walked among the trees, but not without apprehensions of danger.

When I was a little advanced into the island, I saw an old man, [35] who appeared very weak and feeble. He sat upon the bank of a stream, and at first I took him to be one who had been shipwrecked like myself. I went towards him and saluted him, but he only bowed his head a little. I asked him what he did there; but, instead of answering me, he made a sign for me to take him upon my back, and carry him over the brook, signifying that it was to gather fruit.

I believed him really to stand in need of my help, so took him upon my back, and, having carried him over, bid him get down, and for that end stooped, that he might get off with ease; but instead of that, (which I laugh at every time I think of it,) the old man, who to me appeared very decrepit, clasped his legs nimbly about my neck, and then I perceived his skin to resemble that of a cow. He sat astride upon my shoulders, and held my throat so tight, that I thought he would have strangled me, the fright of which made me faint away, and fall down.

Day appearing, Scheherazade was obliged to stop here, but pursued her story thus next night:

EIGHTY-FOURTH NIGHT.

Notwithstanding my fainting, continued Sindbad, the ill-natured old fellow kept fast about my neck, but opened his legs a little to give me time to recover my breath. When I had done so, he thrust one of his feet against my stomach, and struck me so rudely on the side with the other, that he forced me to rise up against my will. Being got up, he made me walk under the trees, and forced me now and then to stop, to gather and eat fruit such as we found. He never left me all day, and when I lay down to rest me by night, he laid himself down with me, holding always fast about my neck. Every morning he pushed me to make me awake, and afterwards obliged me to get up and walk, and pressed me with his feet. You may judge, then, gentlemen, what trouble I was in, to be loaded with such a burden, which I could by no means rid myself from.

One day I found in my way several dry calabashes that had fallen from a tree; I took a large one, and after cleaning it, pressed into it some juice of grapes, [36] which abounded in the island; having filled the calabash, I set it in a convenient place, and coming hither again some days after, I took up my calabash, and setting it to my mouth, found the wine to be so good, that it made me presently not only forget my sorrow, but I grew vigorous, and was so light-hearted, that I began to sing and dance as I walked along.

The old man perceiving the effects which this drink had upon me, and that I carried him with more ease than I did before, made a sign to me to give him some of it. I gave him the calabash, and the liquor pleasing his palate, he drank it all off. There being enough of it to fuddle him, he became drunk immediately, and the fumes getting up into his head, he began to sing after his manner, and to dance with his breech upon my shoulders. His jolting made him vomit, and he loosened his legs from about me by degrees; so finding that he did not press me as before, I threw him upon the ground, where he lay without motion, and then I took up a great stone, with which I crushed his head to pieces.

I was extremely rejoiced to be freed thus for ever from this cursed old fellow, and walked upon the bank of the sea, where I met the crew of a ship that had cast anchor to take in water to refresh themselves. They were extremely surprised to see me, and to hear the particulars of my adventures. You fell, said they, into the hands of the old man of the sea, and are the first that ever escaped strangling by him. He never left those he had once made himself master of, till he destroyed them, and he had made this island famous by the number of men he has slain; so that the merchants and mariners who landed upon it dared not to advance into the island but in numbers together.

After having informed me of those things, they carried me with them to the ship: the captain received me with great satisfaction when they told him what had befallen me. He put out again to sea, and after some days’ sail we arrived at the harbour of a great city, whose houses were built with good stone.

One of the merchants of the ship who had taken me into his friendship, obliged me to go along with him, and carried me to a place appointed for a retreat for foreign merchants. He gave me a great bag, and having recommended me to some people of the town, who used to gather cocoa-nuts, he desired them to take me with them to do the like: “Go,” said he, “follow them, and do as you see them do, and do not separate from them, otherwise you endanger your life.” Having thus spoke, he gave me provisions for the journey, and I went with them.

We came to a great forest of trees, extremely straight and tall, and their trunks so smooth, that it was not possible for any man to climb up to the branches that bore the fruit. All the trees were cocoa-trees, and when we entered the forest, we saw a great number of apes, of several sizes, that fled as soon as they perceived us, and climbed up to the top of the trees with surprising swiftness.

Scheherazade would have gone on, but day appearing, prevented her, and next night she resumed her discourse as follows:

EIGHTY-FIFTH NIGHT.

The merchants with whom I was, continued Sindbad, gathered stones, and threw them at the apes on the top of the trees. I did the same, and the apes, out of revenge, threw cocoa-nuts at us as fast, and with such gestures, as sufficiently testified their anger and resentment: we gathered up the cocoa-nuts, and from time to time threw stones to provoke the apes; so that by this stratagem we filled our bags with cocoa-nuts, which it had been impossible for us to have done otherwise.

When we had gathered our number, we returned to the city, where the merchant who sent me to the forest gave me the value of the cocoas I brought: Go on, said he, and do the like every day, until you have got money enough to carry you home. I thanked him for his good advice, and insensibly gathered together so many cocoa-nuts as amounted to a considerable sum.

The vessel in which I came, sailed with merchants, who loaded her with cocoa-nuts. I expected the arrival of another, which landed speedily for the like loading. I embarked on board the same all the cocoa-nuts that belonged to me, and when she was ready to sail, I went and took leave of the merchant who had been so kind to me; but he could not embark with me, because he had not finished his business.

We set sail towards the islands, [37] where pepper grows in great plenty. From thence we went to the isle of Comari, [38] where the best sort of wood of aloes grows, and whose inhabitants have made it an inviolable law to themselves, to drink no wine, nor to suffer any place of debauch. I exchanged my cocoa, in those two islands, for pepper and wood of aloes, and went, with other merchants, a pearl fishing. [39] I hired divers, who fetched me up those that were very large and pure. I embarked joyfully, in a vessel that happily arrived at Balsora; from thence I returned to Bagdad, where I made vast sums of my pepper, wood of aloes, and pearls. I gave the tenth of my gains in alms, as I had done upon my return from other voyages, and endeavoured to ease myself from my fatigues by diversions of all sorts.

When Sindbad had finished his story, he ordered one hundred sequins to Hindbad, who retired with all the other guests; but next morning, the same company returned to dine with rich Sindbad, who, after having treated them as formerly, demanded audience, and gave the following account of his sixth voyage:

The sixth Voyage of Sindbad the Sailor.

Gentlemen, said he, you long, without doubt, to know, how after being shipwrecked five times, and escaping so many dangers, I could resolve again to try my fortune, and expose myself to new hardships: I am astonished at it myself when I think on it, and must certainly have been induced to it by my stars. But be that as it will, after a year’s rest, I prepared for a sixth voyage, notwithstanding the entreaties of my kindred and friends, who did all that was possible to prevent me.

Instead of taking my way by the Persian gulf, I travelled once more through several provinces of Persia and the Indies, and arrived at a sea-port, where I embarked on board a ship, the captain of which was resolved on a long voyage.

It was very long indeed, but at the same time so unfortunate, that the captain and pilot lost their course, and knew not where they were. They found it at last, but we had no reason to rejoice at it. We were all seized with extraordinary fear, when we saw the captain quit his post, and cry out. He threw off his turban, pulled the hair of his beard, and beat his head like a madman. We asked him the reason, and he answered, that he was in the most dangerous place in all the sea. A rapid current carries the ship along with it, and we shall all of us perish in less than a quarter of an hour. Pray to God to deliver us from this danger; we cannot escape it, if he does not take pity on us. At these words, he ordered the sails to be changed; but all the ropes broke, and the ship, without its being possible to help it, was carried by the current to the foot of an inaccessible mountain, where she run ashore, and was broken to pieces, yet so that we saved our lives, our provisions, and the best of our goods.

This being over, the captain said to us, God has done what pleased him; we may every man dig our grave here, and bid the world adieu; for we are all in so fatal a place, that none shipwrecked here did ever return to their homes again. His discourse afflicted us sorely, and we embraced each other with tears in our eyes, bewailing our deplorable lot.

The mountain, at the foot of which we were cast, was the coast of a very long and large island. This coast was covered all over with wrecks, and by the vast number of men’s bones we saw every where, and which filled us with horror, we concluded, that abundance of people had died there. It is also incredible to tell, what a quantity of goods and riches we found cast ashore there. All those objects served only to augment our grief. Whereas, in all other places, rivers run from their channels into the sea, here a great river of fresh water [40] runs out of the sea into a dark cave, whose entrance is very high and large. What is most remarkable in this place is, that the stones of the mountain are of crystal, rubies, or other precious stones. Here is also a sort of fountain of pitch or bitumen, [41] that runs into the sea, which the fishes swallow, and then vomit it up again, turned into ambergris; and this the waves throw up on the beach in great quantities. Here also grow trees, most of which are wood of aloes, equal in goodness to those of Comari.

To finish the description of this place, which may well be called a gulf, since nothing ever returns from it --it is not possible for ships to get off from it, when once they come within such a distance of it. If they be driven thither by a wind from the sea, the wind and the current ruin them; and it they come into it when a land-wind blows, which might seem to favour their getting out again, the height of the mountain stops the wind, and occasions a calm, so that the force of the current runs them ashore, where they are broken to pieces, as ours was; and that which completes the misfortune is, that there is no possibility to get to the top of the mountain, or to get out any manner of way.

We continued upon the shore like men out of their senses, and expected death every day. At first, we divided our provisions as equally as we could, and thus every one lived a longer or shorter time, according to their temperance, and the use they made of their provisions.

Scheherazade perceiving day, left off speaking, but next night she resumed the story as follows:

EIGHTY-SIXTH NIGHT.

Those who died first, continued Sindbad, were interred by the rest, and as for my part, I paid the last duty to all my companions: nor are you to wonder at this, for besides that I husbanded the provision that fell to my share better than they, I had provisions of my own, which I did not share with my comrades, yet when I buried the last, I had so little remaining, that I thought I could not hold out long, so that I dug a grave, resolving to lie down in it, because there was none left alive to inter me. I must confess to you at the same time, that while I was thus employed, I could not but reflect upon myself as the cause of my own ruin, and repented that I had ever undertaken this last voyage; nor did I stop at reflections only, but had well nigh hastened my own death, and began to tear my hands with my teeth.

But it pleased God once more to take compassion on me, and put it in my mind to go to the bank of the river which ran into the great cave; where, considering the river with great attention, I said to myself, This river, which runs thus under ground, must come out somewhere or other. If I make a float, and leave myself to the current, it will bring me to some inhabited country, or drown me. If I be drowned, I lose nothing, but only change one kind of death for another; and if I get out of this fatal place, I shall not only avoid the sad fate of my comrades, but perhaps find some new occasion of enriching myself. Who knows but fortune waits upon my getting off this dangerous shelf, to compensate my shipwreck with usury?

I immediately went to work on a float. I made it of large pieces of timber and cables, for I had choice of them, and tied them together so strong, that I had made a very solid little float. When I had finished, I loaded it with some bales of rubies, emeralds, ambergris, rock-crystal, and rich stuffs. Having balanced all my cargo exactly, and fastened them well to the float, I went on board it with two little oars that I had made, and leaving it to the course of the river, I resigned myself to the will of God.

As soon as I came into the cave, I lost all light, and the stream carried me I knew not whither. Thus I floated some days in perfect darkness, and once found the arch so low that it very nigh broke my head, which made me very cautious afterwards to avoid the like danger. All this while I eat nothing but what was necessary to support nature; yet, notwithstanding this frugality, all my provisions were spent. Then a pleasing sleep seized upon me. I cannot tell how long it continued; but when I awakened, I was surprised to find myself in the middle of a vast country, at the brink of a river, where my float was tied amidst a great number of negroes. I got up as soon as I saw them, and saluted them. They spoke to me, but I did not understand their language. I was so transported with joy, that I knew not whether I was asleep or awake; but being persuaded that I was not asleep, I recited the following words in Arabic, aloud: Call upon the Almighty, he will help thee; thou needest not perplex thyself about any thing else: shut thy eyes, and while thou art asleep, God will change thy bad fortune into good.

One of the blacks, who understood Arabic, hearing me speak thus, came towards me, and said, Brother, be not surprised to see us; we are inhabitants of this country, and came hither to-day to water our fields, by digging little canals from this river, which comes out of the neighbouring mountain. We perceived something floating upon the water, went speedily to see what it was, and perceiving your float, one of us swam into the river, and brought it hither, where we fastened it, as you see, until you should awake. Pray tell us your history, for it must be extraordinary; how did you venture yourself into this river, and whence did you come? I begged of them first to give me something to eat, and then I would satisfy their curiosity. They gave me several sorts of food; and when I had satisfied my hunger, I gave them a true account of all that had befallen me, which they listened to with admiration. As soon as I had finished my discourse, they told me, by the person who spoke Arabic, and interpreted to them what I said, that it was one of the most surprising stories they ever heard, and that I must go along with them, and tell it their king myself; the story is too extraordinary to be told by any other than the person to whom it happened. I told them I was ready to do whatever they pleased.

They immediately sent for a horse, which was brought in a little time; and having made me get upon him, some of them walked before me to show me the way, and the rest took my float and cargo, and followed me.

Here, Scheherazade was obliged to stop, because day appeared; but towards the close of the next night, resumed the thread of her story thus:

EIGHTY-SEVENTH NIGHT.

We marched thus altogether, till we came to the city of Serendib, [42] for it was in that island I landed. The blacks presented me to their king; I approached his throne, and saluted him as I used to do the kings of the Indies; that is to say, I prostrated myself at his feet, and kissed the earth. The prince ordered me to rise up, received me with an obliging air, and made me come up, and sit down near him. He first asked me my name, and I answered, They call me Sindbad the sailor, because of the many voyages I had undertaken, and I am a citizen of Bagdad. But, replied he, how came you into my dominions, and from whence came you last?

I concealed nothing from the king; I told him all that I have now told you, and his majesty was so surprised and charmed with it, that he commanded my adventure to be written in letters of gold, and laid up in the archives of his kingdom. At last my float was brought in, and the bales opened in his presence: he admired the quantity of wood of aloes and ambergris; but, above all, the rubies and emeralds, for he had none in his treasury that came near them.