Note 191 — Chapter XII

I will here mention a stratagem by which a sailor, a few years since, saved a ship on this coast, as it may be of use to some future navigator:—The vessel was stranded, and one of the crew being a Spaniard, who had been used to fish there from the Canaries, advised the Captain to let go an anchor, as if the vessel were riding and in safety: some Arabs coming on board, the captain told them to bring their gums and other produce, for that they were come to trade with them, and were going away again in a few days; as it happened to be low water, the vessel on the return of the tide floated, they then weighed anchor, and set sail, leaving the Arabs astonished at their unexpected departure.