Sufferings in Africa: Captain Riley's Narrative
Author | : James Riley |
Publisher | : |
Total Pages | : 344 |
Release | : 1965 |
ISBN-10 | : UCAL:$B567413 |
ISBN-13 | : |
Rating | : 4/5 (13 Downloads) |
Book excerpt: Shipwrecked off the western coast of North Africa in 1815, New England sea-captain James Riley and members of his crew were robbed of every possession and made slaves to a band of nomadic Arabs. Forced into servitude in the nearly unbearable heat of the Sahara, Riley survived weeks naked in the desert (his skin roasting in the sun and his legs and backside worn bloody from riding camels bareback), countless confrontations with various sheiks and bandits determined to profit either by his death or his ransom, on meager rations of water and often eating only the scrap's from his master's table (often only a little camel's milk or the roasted entrails of a sheep or goat).