The Privateer's-Man, One hundred Years Ago

The Privateer's-Man, One hundred Years Ago Page 16

by Frederick Marryat

  CHAPTER XVI.

  The Diamond-Mines, and what occurred there--I lose my friend Ingram, and another acquaintance, but they both leave me valuable Legacies.

  After remaining in the court about two hours, it being then near tonightfall, the gaolers came out into the yard, and we were all driveninto a large apartment, the walls of which were of such solidmaterials, and the floor of large flag-stones, as to prevent anypossibility of escape. I was never in such a scene of filth andwretchedness. There was not a spot where one could be driven withoutbeing defiled in some way or another; and so many human beings--onehalf of whom were negroes--being crowded into so small a space, withonly one barred window, so high up as only to serve as a ventilator,created an atmosphere worse than any slave-vessel's hold. I leanedwith my back against the wall, and, I must say, never was so miserablein my life. I thought of Amy, and my sanguine hopes and anticipationsof happiness, now all wrecked. I thought of Captain Levee and mybrother Philip careering over the seas, free as the wind. I thought ofpoor Whyna, and the distress she must feel at finding I did not rejoinher. I planned a hundred schemes to make known my situation, but everyscheme, as soon as I weighed it, I found was hopeless. Still weak fromprevious disease, I felt as if I should be suffocated if I remainedlong in this pestiferous abode, and I wept like a child. Daylight cameat last, and soon afterwards the door was opened; we were admittedinto the yard, and all hastened to the large tub of water, which wassoon emptied. The fighting and scrambling to obtain first possessionwas really revolting. An hour afterwards some coarse provisions wereserved out, and then we learnt, to our great delight, that we wereimmediately to set out for the mines. It would be thought that thiscould be no great cause for exaltation; we were about to go to passthe rest of our lives in bondage; but all misery is comparative, andsooner than have remained another night in that dreadful hole, I wouldhave welcomed any change. About an hour afterwards a guard ofdirty-looking soldiers came in; we were all handcuffed to a longchain, at about two feet apart, one on each side, so that we walked inpairs, and as soon as the first chain was full--and I was handcuffedto it--we were ordered out into the square to wait for the others. Mysuperior dress and appearance as an Englishman excited much curiosity;people pointed to me and made remarks, but I had no opportunity ofcommunicating with any of the authorities, nor would it have been ofany use if I had had. We remained there more than an hour, as theother chains of prisoners came out one by one; we were five chains inall, about forty on a chain. We were then ordered to move on, walkingbetween a guard of about twenty or thirty soldiers, who marched, oneach side of us, with their muskets and bayonets fixed, about threeyards from each other. In another hour we were clear of the town, andthreading our way through a lane bounded on each side by prickly pearsand other shrubs. There was no want of merriment among the party; theytalked and laughed with one another, and the soldiers who guardedthem, and appeared to care little for their fate. As for me, I wasbroken-hearted with the disgrace and the villainous manner in which Ihad been thus sacrificed. My heart was full of bitterness, and I couldgladly have lain down and died, had I not been still buoyed up withsome faint hope that I should have an opportunity of making myposition known, and obtain my release. I will pass over the journey,as one day was but the forerunner of the other. We halted at noon, andwere supplied with fruit and maize, but we were never unchained, dayor night. In a short time I was like all the rest--covered withvermin, and disgusting to myself. It was, I think, between four andfive weeks before we arrived at our destination, which was in thedistrict of Tejuco, and the locality of the diamond-mines was calledthe Sierra de Espinhaco. This sierra, or mountain, was a ridge ofinaccessible precipices on each side of a narrow valley, traversed bya small river called the Tequetinhonha, and in this valley, and in thebed of the river, were the diamonds found, for which we were condemnedto toil for the remainder of our days. As we entered the ravine, Iperceived how impossible it would be to escape; even if a person couldfind his way back, after having succeeded in his escape. For manymiles the road was a narrow path cut on the side of the mountain,yawning precipice below and inaccessible rocks above, and this narrowway was at every two miles blocked up by a guard-house built upon it,and through the portcullis of which it would be necessary to force away. And here we were, thousands of miles away from civilized life, inthe heart of a country uninhabited except by occasional bands ofIndians. At last we filed through the last of the guard-houses, andfound ourselves in a wider part of the ravine, which was crowded withbuildings of various descriptions. We were led up to the director'shouse, and our names, persons, and descriptions were taken down by aclerk. When my turn came, and I was asked in Portuguese who I was, Ishook my head, and replied "Ingles." An interpreter was called, and Ithen stated my name, and begged the director would hear what I had tosay. He shook his head, and, after they had taken my description,desired me to go away.

  "Why did you not explain for me?" said I to the interpreter.

  "Because he won't hear what you have to say; if he would, every man onthe chain would attempt to prove that he was sent here by mistake. Youmay, by-and-by, find an opportunity to speak to him, that is, afteryou have learnt Portuguese, and have been here a year or two; but itwill do no good."

  During the whole of the journey, I had been separated from Ingram, andnow, for the first time since we left prison, I had an opportunity ofshaking him by the hand. I need not say how glad I was to meet againmy companion in misfortune, and our only fear was now, that we shouldbe again separated; but such was not the case. There were regularlodgings or barracks for the slaves, which were certainly not bad; butas all escape was considered impossible, any one who chose to raise alittle hut for himself out of the bushes which grew on the rocks waspermitted so to do. The hours of work were regular; we were allottedout in gangs, which took up a certain square of the river, or river'sside; we worked from daylight till near dusk, with only an hourallowed for repose in the heat of the day. There was a superintendentover each gang of twenty, who watched them and made them work. Thesesuperintendents were controlled by inspectors, who had the charge offour or five gangs, and who brought unto the director the produce ofthe day's toil. The work was simple. The sand and alluvial soil werethrown into troughs with small sieve bottoms, out of which escaped allthe smaller matter, when it was washed with the water from the river.The stones and larger particles were then carefully examined, and anydiamonds found were taken out and delivered to the superintendents,who then made them over to the inspectors, when they came round. Theinspectors carried them to their houses (for they had houses fromgovernment), and in the evening delivered every diamond found to thedirector. After a short time, I found that the office ofsuperintendent, and also of inspector, was open to any of the slaveswho conducted themselves well; and that the whole of those nowemployed in the offices were slaves for life, as well as ourselves.What puzzled me was, how so many people, for in all we amounted toseven hundred or more, were to be found in food; but I afterwardsdiscovered that the government had farms and herds of cattle at a fewmiles' distance, cultivated by slaves and Indians expressly for thepurpose. Our rations were scanty, but we were permitted to cultivateas well as we could any spot we could find on the arid side of themountain as a garden; and some of them, who had been there for manyyears, had, in course of time, produced a good soil, and reared plentyof vegetables. To my surprise, I found at least twenty Englishmenamong the whole mass of slaves; and one or two of them wereinspectors, and several of them superintendents--saying much in favourof my countrymen. Their conversation and their advice tended much tosoothe the hardships of my captivity, but I found from them that anyhopes of ever leaving the mines were useless, and that our bones mustall be laid by the side of the mountain. Of course, Ingram and I wereinseparable; we worked in the same gang, and we very soon built a hutfor ourselves; and Ingram, who was a light-hearted young man, set towork to make a garden. He moved heavy stones on the sides of themountain, and scraped up all the mould he could find; sometime
s hewould get his handkerchief full, but not often, but, as he said, everylittle helped. He killed lizards for manure, and with them and leaveshe made a little dung-heap, which he watered, to assist putrefaction.Every thing that would assist, he carefully collected; and by degreeshe had sufficient for a patch of four or five yards square. This heplanted; and with the refuse made more manure; and in the course of afew months, by incessant activity and assisted by me, he had a verytolerable patch of ground covered with this manure and the alluvialsoil washed out by the diamond-seeking, mixed up together. We thenobtained seeds, and grew vegetables like the rest, and this proved agreat increase to our comforts--that is our bodily wants; but my mindwas far away. Amy Trevannion was never out of my thoughts, and I fellinto a deep melancholy. I worked hard at my vocation, and wasfortunate enough to find some good diamonds, long before I had been ayear at the mines. Having acquired the Portuguese language, I was soonafter raised to the office of superintendent. I now no longer worked,but overlooked others, with a cane in my hand to administer punishmentto those who neglected their business. I cannot say that I liked thechange, I was not so miserable when I was employed, but I did my dutywith diligence. Ingram was in my gang, and another Englishman, an oldman,--I should think not less than seventy years old. He told me thathe belonged to a merchant vessel, and in a drunken brawl a Portuguesehad been killed; he and two others had been condemned to the mines,but the others were dead long ago. About a month after my elevation,this old man, who was very feeble, and whom I treated with greatkindness on account of his age--exacting no more than I thought hecould well perform--fell sick. I reported him as being really ill, andIngram, who was by no means a bad doctor, told me that he would die.A few hours before his death he sent for me to his hut, and afterthanking me for my kindness to him, he said that he knew he was dying,and that he wished to leave me all his property (which the slaves arepermitted to do), that is, he left me his garden, which was the beston the Sierra, his hut, which also was a very good one, and thenputting his hand under the leaves which formed his bed, he pulled outa tattered, thumbed book, which he told me was a Bible.

  "At first I read," said he, "to pass away time, in this melancholyplace, but of late I have read it I hope to a better purpose."

  I thanked the poor man for his present, and wished him good-bye. A fewhours afterwards he was dead, and Ingram and I buried him by the sideof the mountain. Shortly afterwards our inspector died, and, to myastonishment, I was put into his place. I could not imagine why I wasthus so fortunate in being promoted, but I afterwards found out that,although I had never but casually seen her, I was indebted for my goodfortune to a fancy which the director's eldest daughter (for he hadhis family with him) had taken for me.

  This was singular, for I had never spoken to her, and what is morestrange, I never did speak to her, nor did she ever attempt to speakto me, so that it was wholly disinterested on her part. I had nowstill less to do, and was in constant communication with the director,and one day stated to him how it was that I had been brought there. Hetold me that he believed me, but could not help me, and after that,the subject was never again mentioned between us. Having little to do,I now took up the Bible given me by the old Englishman, as I had timeto read it, which I had not before, when I was employed the whole day;but now I had a convenient cottage, as I may call it, of my own, andplenty of leisure and retirement.

  I studied the Bible carefully, and found much comfort in it. Not thatI was content with my lot--that I never could be while I was separatedfrom Amy--but still I found much consolation, and I became, to acertain degree, resigned. I thought of my former life with disgust,and this second reading of the Bible, for the reader may recollectthat the first took place when I was first confined in the Tower, wascertainly of great advantage to me. I had more time to dwell uponit--more time for reflection and self-examination--and every day Ireaped more advantage and became more worthy of the name of Christian.I now prayed fervently, and I think my prayers were heard, as you, mydear Madam, will also think as I continue my narrative. About threemonths after I had been appointed an inspector, Ingram was taken ill.At first he complained of disordered bowels, but in a few daysinflammation came on, which ended in mortification. He was in greatagony until the mortification took place, when he obtained comparativerelief.

  "My dear Mr. Musgrave," he said, as I was at his bed-side, "in a fewhours I shall have escaped from the mines, and be no more in bondage.I shall follow the poor old Englishman, who left you his executor. Iam about to do the same. I shall now make my will verbally, as we haveno writing-materials here, and leave you all I possess."

  "Why are you not more serious, Ingram," I said, "at such a moment asthis?"

  "I am most serious," he replied. "I know that in a few hours I shallbe no more, and I trust in the mercy of Him who died for kings and forslaves; but, Musgrave, I have a secret to tell you. Do you recollectthe story in the fairy tales of the little white cat whose head wasobliged to be cut off, and who then turned into the most beautifulprincess in the world? Well, my secret is something like hers."

  I thought, by his continuing in this strain, that his head waswandering. I was about to speak to him, when he continued:

  "Do you know what has occasioned my death? I will tell you the secret.I was washing for diamonds, when I found one of a size whichastonished me. I knew it was of great value, and I did not choose thatthe King of Portugal should receive such a benefit from my hands. Iput it into my mouth to secrete it, hardly knowing what I should doafterwards, but I was thinking how I should act, when one of thesuperintendents passing (that crabbed old Portuguese belonging to thenext gang), and seeing me idle and in deep thought, he struck me withhis cane such a smart rap on the shoulders, that he not only made mejump out of my reverie, but the diamond went down my throat. I'm sureif I had tried to swallow it I could not have done so, but the shockforced it down. Well, this has occasioned my death, for it hasremained in my stomach and occasioned the stoppage, which has ended ininflammation and mortification. I feel it here even now; give me yourfinger, don't you feel it? Well, now you understand why I talked ofthe little white cat. Don't cut off my head, but when I am dead, justput your knife down there and take out the diamond and bury it, for Itell you--and they say dying men see clearer than others--but that Iam certain you will be released from these mines, and then the diamondwill be a fortune to you, and you will find that being my executor wasof some value to you. Now, pray--no scruple--I entreat it as a lastfavour, promise me that you will do as I wish--pray promise me, or Ishall die unhappy."

  I could not help promising him to execute his wishes, he appeared soearnest and asked it as a last favour, but I felt very repugnant atthe idea. In another hour poor Ingram breathed his last, and I wasmost melancholy at the loss of so worthy a friend, who had by servingme been subjected to the same slavery as myself. I left the hut andwent to my own house, thinking over the strange communication that hadbeen made to me. And why, thought I, should I obtain this diamond? Ihave no chance of leaving this; yet, who knows, Ingram prophesied inhis dying moments that I should--well, at all events, I will keep mypromise to the poor fellow. I reported his death to the director, and,about an hour afterwards, went to the hut where he lay. Hiscountenance was placid, and I looked at him for a long while, andqueried whether he was not happier than I was or ever could be. But,to comply with his request--I could not bear the idea. I did not wantthe diamond, and I, who in my early career had thought nothing ofcutting and maiming the living man, now shuddered at the idea ofmaking an incision in a dead body. But there was no time to be lost,the burials always took place at sunset, and it was near the hour. Ibent a piece of bamboo cane double, like a pair of sugar-tongs, andthen putting my finger to the part of his stomach which he had pointedout, I felt that there was a hard substance, and I made an incisionwith my knife--probing with the blade. I touched the diamond, and thenusing the piece of cane as a pair of pincers, I contrived, after oneor two attempts, to extract it. I threw the diamond withoutexaminat
ion into a pan of water which stood by the bed, and coveringup the body, I made a hole in the floor of the hut and buried theknife, which I felt I never could use again.

  I looked out of the hut and perceived two of the slaves, who performedthat office, coming towards me to take away the body. I desired themto carry it leaving the clothes on, followed them, and saw itdeposited in the earth; after which I read prayers over the grave andcould not refrain from shedding many tears to the memory of myfaithful associate. I then returned to the hut, and taking the pan ofwater in my hand went to my own abode. I could not bear to touch thediamond, but I dared not leave it where it was; so I poured all thewater out of the pan, and then rolled the diamond out on the floor,which was of hardened clay. I saw at once that it was one of greatvalue, weighing, I should think, thirteen or fourteen _grammes_, andof a very pure water. It was in the form of an obtuse octohaedron, andon one side was quite smooth and transparent. Having made thisexamination, I picked up some of the clay with a piece of iron, androlling the diamond into the hole, I jammed the clay down over it."There," said I, "you may remain till doomsday, or till some one findsyou; you will be of no use to me;" and I thought of the cock in thefable. My tattered Bible caught my eye, and I said to it, "You are ofmore value than all the diamonds in the world;" and I only utteredwhat I felt.

  For a long time I mourned for Ingram, and thought nothing of thediamond. Three months more passed away, and I had been eighteen monthsin the mines, when some visitors made their appearance--no less thanone of the principals of the Jesuit order, who had been sent by theking of Portugal out to the Brazils, on a tour of inspection, as itwas called, but in fact to examine into the state of affairs, and theway in which the government revenue was collected. There had latelybeen so much peculation on the part of the various officers, that itwas considered necessary to make minute inquiry. A Portuguese noblemanhad been sent out the year before, but had died shortly after hisarrival, and there was every reason to suppose that he had beenpoisoned, that the inquiry might be got rid of. Now this Jesuit priesthad been sent out, probably because a Portuguese, who thought littleof poisoning and stabbing a layman, would not dare to attempt the lifeof so sacred a character. Having full and extraordinary powers, he hadmade a short inquiry into the different departments of government, andhad now come to the mines to ascertain how far the delivery of thediamonds at the treasury agreed with the collection at the mines; forthese mines had usually produced from a million to a million and ahalf of revenue. The director was in a great fuss when he heard ofthis arrival at the further barrier; although immediately announced tohim, he had scarcely an hour to prepare before the superior of theJesuits arrived with his suite, consisting of about twenty people, andfifty or sixty sumpter mules and riding-horses. We were all called outto receive him, that is, all the inspectors. I went to attend theparade, and awaited with much indifference; but my feelings were soonchanged, when in this superior of the Jesuits I beheld the Catholicpriest who had visited me in the Tower and obtained my release. Thesuperior bowed to the director and to all around him, and as he thenlooked at us all, he recognized me immediately.

  "You here, my son?" said he.

  "Yes, holy father," replied I, "and I thank Heaven that your arrivalwill enable me to prove my innocence."

  "Pray how is this?" said he.

  In a few words I narrated my story.

  "And you were thrown into prison without being permitted to defendyourself?"

  "Even so, good father, and sent to the mines to slave for life."

  "Did you not make known your case to the director of the mines?"

  "I did, Sir, but he stated that he pitied me, but could not help me."

  "Is this the case, Mr. Director?" said the Jesuit, severely.

  "It is, Sir," replied the director; "I have more than once reportedcases of what appeared to me great hardship, if what those condemnedhave said was true, and have been told that I was too officious, andthat there could be no reversal of sentence. I can prove to you, Sir,by my journals and letter-books how many cases I did formerly attemptto bring before the government; but I at last received such replies,which I can show you, as will prove that there has been no fault ofmine."

  "Allow me to add, holy father," said I, "that the kindness andconsideration of the director have been very great to all those underhis charge, and I think it very fortunate that such a person has beenappointed to this situation, as he has done every thing that has beenin his power to alleviate the miseries of bondage."

  "I am glad to hear you say so, Mr. Elrington; Mr. Director, thisgentleman is a dear friend of mine, let him instantly be released. Myorders are not to be disputed by the viceroy himself."

  The superior then embraced me cordially, and told me that I was free,and should return with him to Rio. Imagine, my dear Madam, my joy andgratitude. I fell on my knees before him, and kissed his hands. Hegave me his blessing, and raised me up.

  "Where is your companion in misfortune?" said he.

  "Alas! Sir, he is dead," replied I.

  The superior shook his head and turned away, saying, "I will searchinto this affair to the bottom, depend upon it, when I get back toRio."

  He then desired the director to bring out his books, and his ownsecretary to follow him, leaving his servants in the court-yard withme and the other inspectors. I received the congratulations of allparties present, and as soon as possible I escaped from them, andreturned to my own room, where I knelt and fervently thanked God formy unexpected deliverance; and having paid my duty to the Most High, Isat down, and fell into a most delightful reverie of anticipations.In the evening, after the superior had dismissed him, the directorsent for me, and said,

  "Allow me to return you many thanks for your kindness in speaking sofavourably of me as you have done. You have, indeed, been of serviceto me, and I am most grateful."

  "I only did you justice, director," replied I.

  "Yes, but how few have justice done them in this world," replied he."The superior desired me to tell you, that you are to live with thegentlemen of his suite. Of course, you know, it is not etiquette forhim to admit any body to his table. At all events you must allow meone pleasure, which is to supply you with clothes proper to yourappearance, which I can easily do without inconvenience to myself."

  The director then led me into his room, and opened a wardrobe full ofrich suits, selected two of the handsomest, with linen and every otherarticle requisite, a handsome sword and hat, all of which he begged meto accept. Calling one of his servants, he ordered him to put theminto a valise, and take them to my apartment.

  "Is there any thing else that I can do?--speak freely."

  "No, director," replied I, "I will accept these things from you, as Icannot procure them here, but when at Rio, I have means to obtainevery thing that I require. I return you many thanks."

  "I will send my servant to arrange your hair," said he; "and I prayyou to consider him at your disposal during the few days which thesuperior may remain here."

  "Do you think it will take him so long?"

  "Yes," replied the director, "I will tell you in confidence, that hehas brought with him the produce of the mines accounted for to thegovernment at home, and on his first inspection has found suchdefalcation from that which has been transmitted by me to Rio, that Iexpect there will be serious business. They never imagined at Rio thathe would have undertaken such a tedious journey as he has done, andthey are in much alarm about it; but I will leave you now, that youmay go home and make your toilet. Allow me to congratulate you, withall my heart, at the fortunate termination to your unjust bondage."

  Having again thanked him for his kindness, I went to my lodging, whereI found his servant waiting for me; and having had my hair arranged ina very tolerable manner, and a little powder thrown in, I put on oneof the suits, which fitted me pretty well, requiring but a slightalteration, from being rather full, which the servant soon managed.Thus did I once more appear as a gentleman--contrary to all myexpectations--and I then went and
joined the suite of the superior,who, when they perceived the difference which dress made in myappearance, congratulated me, and warmly welcomed me to join the mealwhich had just been prepared for them. On the following day, thesuperior sent for me, and ordering me to sit down, requested that Iwould enter into full detail of what had happened to me since we lastparted. I did so, and my narrative occupied the whole afternoon.

  "Your life has been full of vicissitude," replied he; "I trust,however, that your adventures are now over, and that you will berestored to your friends: the service you performed for our cause willnever be forgotten."

  I ventured to ask him how it was that he was now in the employ of theKing of Portugal? He replied,

  "I am an Irishman by birth, and educated at St. Omers. I was firstsent to Spain by the order when I was young, and have since beenemployed all over the world in the advancement of our holy church.Country with our order is of no consequence. We all serve the holychurch, and go wherever our services are required. I would you were aCatholic, I could advance you beyond all your hopes; but you areengaged to be married, and that puts an end to the question."

  As I thought the holy father must be tired with our long conference, Irose and took my leave.

  Three days afterwards I was informed by him that he intended to setoff on his return to Rio, and now I thought of the diamond, which Iresolved to carry with me. I had no fear of being searched while underthis excellent superior's protection, and therefore I went to mylodging, dug up the diamond, and having washed it, for the first timegave it the examination which it deserved. It certainly was a stone ofgreat value, but of what value I could not exactly say. From what Ihad learnt from the director, who usually put his idea of the valueupon any diamond of size which was brought to him, I considered that20,000_l._ was the least which could be put upon the stone. I took theprecaution not to carry it loose in my pocket, but to sew it withinthe lining of my clothes. Glad I was, indeed, when the orders to startthe next morning were given out. I found that a horse was appointedfor me, and having made up my valise, not forgetting my tatteredBible, I went to my bed, thanking God that this was to be the lastnight that I was to pass in the accursed Sierra de Espinhaco.

  At daylight the superior took his leave, mounted his mule, and we setforth, passing the guard-house in the narrow road, which I neverexpected to pass again. Before noon we were clear of the Sierra, andonce more in the open country. The attendants, with a portion of thesumpter mules, went in advance, to prepare for the superior's arrivalat the spot where we were to halt.

  The weather was excessively sultry, and the glare of the sun was verydistressing. At noon we stopped to take our dinner, and the usualsiesta after it. The attendants in advance had raised a sort ofpalanquin for the superior, and every thing was ready. The superioralighted, and sat down under the palanquin, which protected him fromthe rays of the sun; we all sat round at a respectful distance. Theheat was so intense, that to relieve himself, the superior had, whenhe sat down, thrown off his long black robe, such as is worn by thepriests of his order. Dinner was served up, and we had a merry party,notwithstanding the great heat. After our meal, we all shadedourselves as well as we could, and took our siesta for about twohours, when the superior rose up, and gave the signal for resuming ourjourney. The horses were soon ready, and the superior's mule beingbrought up to the palanquin, he rose up, and one of his attendants waslifting up his robe for the superior to resume it, when my eyedetected the head of a snake just showing itself out of theside-pocket of the robe in which he carried his breviary and hishandkerchief. I knew the snake well, for we often found them in theSierra de Espinhaco, and some two or three of the slaves had losttheir lives by their bite, which was so fatal, that they died in lessthan five minutes afterwards. The superior had his handkerchief in hishand, and would have undoubtedly put it in his pocket before hemounted his mule, and if so, would certainly have been bitten, andlost his life. As the superior was fastening his robe at the throat, Idarted forward, seized it, threw it on the ground, and commencedstamping upon it with all my force, much to the surprise of the wholeparty. Some of them thought me mad, and others, who were horrified atsuch treatment of the holy garment, called out, "Heretico maldetto!"which, Madam, you must know, means, accursed heretic. Having felt thesnake (which is very short, but very thick in the body, with a headlike a toad) several times moving under my feet, and then moving nomore, I then stepped off the garment, and turning it over, I lifted itup by the skirt, so that the dead snake rolled out of the pocket.

  "I thank the God whom we all worship, and the Son of God, who died forus all, whether Catholic or Heretic," cried I, "that I have been themeans of preserving our holy father."

  I had knelt down as I thus prayed, and the superior, perceiving thedanger that he had been in, did the same, and silently returned histhanks; at his example all the rest went down on their knees.

  "Yes," said the superior; "would to God that instead of reviling eachother, all denominations of Christians would join in thus bruising thehead of the serpent which seeks our spiritual death."

  He then rose and said,

  "My son, I thank thee for the kind service thou hast performed."

  I then explained to the superior the deadly nature of the animal, andmy fear that he would have put his handkerchief in the pocket of hisrobe before I had time to prevent him, and begged him to excuse myseeming abruptness.

  "There needs no apology for saving a man's life," replied he,smiling.--"Come, let us go forward."

  I hardly need say that we were not quite so long in returning to Rioas we were in going to the mines. We accomplished our journey, withoutusing extreme haste, in about half of the time. On our arrival, wetook up our quarters at a magnificent palace, which had beenappropriated to the superior during his residence at Rio, and I foundmyself sumptuously lodged. For some days, during which the superiorhad frequent interviews with the viceroy, I did not see him, but oneday I was summoned to his pretence.

  "My son," said he, "I have lost no time in investigating your affair,and I find that all you have said is quite correct. To the disgrace ofthe government here, and the manner in which justice is administered,it appears that this man, Olivarez, on his arrival, went to thesecretary of the judge of that court in which such offences are tried,and stated that he had two English mutineers on board, who hadattempted to take the vessel, and wounded several of his mendangerously; that he wished, of course, to deliver them up to justice,but that the immediate departure of his vessel would be prevented byso doing, as his crew would be required as evidence; that the delaywould be very disadvantageous; and he inquired whether it could not bemanaged that these men might be punished without the appearance ofhimself and his men, as he would pay a good sum rather than bedetained. The secretary perfectly understood the trick, and upon thereceipt of five hundred cruzados, he accepted the deposition ofOlivarez, sworn to by him, as sufficient evidence, and you wereconsigned to the mines upon this deposition by a warrant from thejudge. We have had some trouble to obtain all the facts, but thequestion has been severely applied, and has elicited them. Now, first,as to the judge and his secretary, they have gone to the gaol, andwill take your place in the mines for life. Next as to Olivarez. Itappears that, on his arrival, he sold his cargo of slaves veryadvantageously; that having received the money, he gave a smallportion to each of his men, and that they went on shore, and, like allEnglish seamen, were soon in a state of intoxication; that Olivareztook such steps with the police, as to have them all thrown intoprison when in that state; and, on the following morning, he went tothem, persuaded them that they had committed themselves during theirintoxication, and that it required a large sum to free them. This hepretended to have paid for them, and having purchased a cargo for hisvoyage, he got them all on board, and again ran for the coast ofAfrica. In three months he returned with another cargo, which he sold.He had found out his mother, and now he expended the money he had madein purchasing a good property about seven miles from Rio, where heplaced his mo
ther and some slaves to take care of it, and cultivateit. He contrived to defraud his crew as much as he could, and beforehe went to the coast again, he married an amiable young person, thedaughter of a neighbour. He made a third and a fourth voyage withequal success, but on the third voyage he contrived to get rid of aportion of his English crew, who were now becoming troublesome, bytaking some Portuguese sailors out with him, and leaving the Englishon the coast, as if by mistake. Previous to the fourth voyage, itappears that he satisfied the remainder of the English crew byproducing accounts, and sharing out to them several hundred dollarsprevious to their departure for the coast. He made a slight additionto his Portuguese sailors, not putting too many on board, to avoidsuspicion, and when on the coast of Africa, a portion of the Englishcrew died; whether by poison or not is not known, and the others heput on shore, seizing all their property, and the dollars with whichhe had satisfied them. On his return from his fourth voyage, havingnow nothing to fear from the partners in his atrocious deed, havingrealized a large sum, he determined to remain on shore altogether, andlive on his property with his mother and wife. He did so, and sent outthe schooner under a Portuguese captain and crew, to be employed forhim as owner in the slave traffic, and she has made two voyages since,and is expected back again every day. Now, my son, retribution hasfallen heavily upon this bad man. Had he been discovered and punishedwhen he first did the deed, it would have been as nothing compared towhat it has been now; he then had no property--no ties--in fact,nothing or little to regret; but now, with a wife and child, with avaluable property, living in independence, and increasing that wealthdaily--now, when he is at the very summit of his ambition, restored tohis own country, respected and considered as being a man of wealth, hehas been seized, thrown into a dungeon, put to the question, and nowlies in a state of misery, awaiting the sentence of death which hasbeen pronounced against him. Neither has he the consolation of knowingthat he leaves those whom he loves in a state of affluence, for allhis property, having been gained by making use of your property,necessarily is your property, and not his, and it has been confiscatedaccordingly for your use and benefit. As soon as every thing iscollected, it will be paid into your hands. Thus, my son, I have atlast attained justice for you."

  I was, as you may imagine, my dear Madam, profuse in myacknowledgments, but he stopped me, saying,

  "I was sent here to see that justice was done to every body, if Ipossibly could--no easy task, when all are amassing money, not caringhow they obtain it; but, surely, if any one has peculiar claims uponme, it is you."

  The superior then asked me many questions relative to my parentage,and I did not conceal any thing from him. I told who I was, and why,at an early age, I had left my father's house. He asked me manyquestions, and, after about two hours' conversation, he dismissed me,saying,

  "You may always depend upon my protection and gratitude."

  Before he dismissed me, he told me that he was about to send adespatch-boat to Lisbon, and as I might wish to inform my friends ofmy safety, if I would write letters, he would insure their beingsafely delivered to my friends in England. I gladly availed myself ofthis offer, and indeed would have begged a passage for myself, if ithad not been that I considered Olivarez's money to be the property ofMr. Trevannion, and was determined to remit it to him before I leftRio. This detained me about six weeks longer, during which intervalOlivarez had suffered the penalty due to his crimes, having beenstrangled in the market-place.

  The money received was 28,000 cruzados, and not knowing how to disposeof it, I applied to the superior, who gave me orders for it induplicates upon the treasury at Lisbon, one of which I had very soonan opportunity of sending home to Mr. Trevannion, with a duplicate ofmy first letter, and a second to him and Amy, stating my intention ofreturning as soon as possible. But this was by a Portuguese frigate,which made a very circuitous route home, and I did not choose to go bythat conveyance, as her detention at the different ports was souncertain. At last I became very impatient for my departure, andanxiously awaited the sailing of some vessel to any port of Europe.

  I had reserved 1,000 cruzados for my own expenses, which I consideredas quite sufficient, but they were gradually wasting away, for I waseverywhere received, and in the best company of Rio. At last one daythe superior sent for me, and told me that he was about to send anadvice-boat to Lisbon, and I might take a passage if I wished; that itwas a very small one, but a very fast sailer. I thanked him heartily,accepted the proposal, and went to my room to pack up my clothes. Inthe afternoon the captain of the xebeque called upon me, and told methat he would start on the following morning if I would be ready. Ireplied that I should be, put some dollars into his hands, requestingthat he would procure for me any thing that he considered would benecessary and agreeable, and if the sum I had given him was notenough, I would repay him the remainder as soon as we were out ofharbour. I took my leave of the superior, who parted with me with manyprotestations of regard on his side, and tears of gratitude on mine,and early the next morning I was on board of the xebeque. In lightwinds she was extremely fast, but she certainly was too small to crossthe Atlantic Ocean; nevertheless, as the captain said, she had crossedit several times, and he hoped that she often would again.

  The passage, however, that he usually made, was to run up to thenorthward of the Antilles, and then cross over, making the BahamaIsles, and from thence taking a fresh departure for Lisbon. Our crewconsisted of only eight men, besides the captain; but as the vesselwas not more than thirty tons, they were sufficient. We made a goodrun, until we were in about twenty-four degrees of north latitude,when, as we stretched to the eastward to cross the Atlantic, we metwith a most violent gale, which lasted several days, and I fullyexpected every hour that the vessel would go down, buried as she wasby the heavy sea. At last we had no chance but to scud before thewind, which we did for two days before a raging and following sea,that appeared determined upon our destruction. On the second night, asI was on deck, watching the breaking and tossing of the billows, andthe swift career of the little bark, which enabled her to avoid them,the water suddenly appeared of one white foam, and as we rose upon thenext sea, we were hurled along on its crest, reeling on the foam untilit had passed us, and then we struck heavily upon a rock. Fortunately,it was a soft coral rock, or we had all perished. The next wave liftedus up again, and threw us further on, and, on its receding, the littlexebeque laid high and dry, and careened over on her bilge.

  The waters rose and fell, and roared and foamed about us, but theylifted us no more, neither did they wash us off the decks as we clungto the rigging; for the stout short mast, upon which the lateen sailwas hoisted, had not been carried away. We remained where we were tillmorning, every one holding on, and not communicating with each other.As the night wore away, so did the gale decrease and the sea subside.The waters now gradually left us; at intervals, when the wavesreceded, we could walk on shore; but we remained on the vessel tillnoon, by which time we found our vessel high and dry, having beencarried over a coral reef, which appeared to extend one or two milesinto the offing.

  The men, who had been much buffeted by the waves, and who wereexhausted by clinging so long to the rigging, now that they foundthemselves safe, and were warmed by the heat of the sun, rallied, andbegan to move about. We had a long consultation as to how we shouldact. There was no chance of getting the vessel off again, and we didnot exactly know where we were; but the captain and I agreed that itmust be upon one of the small islands of the Bahama group that we hadbeen cast away, and our conjecture was right. After some consultation,the captain and I called the men together, and told them that it wasvery probable that we might be some time before we could find themeans of getting off the island, and that, therefore, we must all doour best; that we would land and erect a tent with the sails, andobtain provisions; after that we would consider the vessel and herstores as public property, but that every man's private propertyshould be secured to him as if we were still on board of the xebeque;that the captain should retain the
command as before, and his ordersshould be obeyed by every body, as long as they were reasonable andjust.

  The men, who were well-behaved, quiet fellows--and not, like Englishseamen, given to liquor--readily agreed, and it was arranged that thefollowing morning we should commence our labours. This was a sad blowto me, who was anticipating a speedy meeting with Amy. I knew howdoubtful was the chance of our being seen by any vessel, and that Imust remain here for months, if not longer--but I had been schooled,and could now say with fervency, "Thy will, oh Lord, and not mine, bedone."

  We remained on board of the vessel that night, and the next morningthe gale had ceased, and the waters, to our astonishment, had receded,so as to leave us at least sixty yards from the sea, which was nowalmost calm. We first took a survey of the island, to ascertain ifthere was any water, and, as the island was not more than two miles incircumference, this did not take us long. Fortunately, in the centrewe found a deep hole sunk in the soft coral rock by some other peoplewho had been wrecked here, and in the hole the water was, although alittle brackish, somewhat palatable. It evidently was the sea-waterfiltered through the soft rock.

  The whole of the island was surrounded with coral reefs, with lanes ofdeep water running between them, and the fish were sporting inthousands after the storm, but there was not a tree or vestige ofvegetation upon the whole island. We soon, however, discovered thatit was frequented by turtle, for we found some eggs, fresh-buried, inthe sand. Having made this survey, we then went back to the vessel,and with spars and sails rigged a tent upon the highest point of theisland, which might be ten or fifteen feet above the level of the sea.The tent was large enough to hold fifty men, if required, so webrought our bedding and chests and all our cooking apparatus on shore,made a fire-place outside the tent with the little cabouse we had onboard of the vessel, sent a man to obtain water from the hole, and puton some meat to boil for our dinners. In the evening we all went outto turn turtle, and succeeded in turning three, when we decided thatwe would not capture any more until we had made a turtle-pond to putthem in, for we had not more than two months' provisions on board ofthe vessel, and did not know how long we might be detained. The menbehaved very well, and indeed seemed determined to make themselves ascomfortable as they could under existing circumstances. The next daywe put out some lines in deep water, and caught several large fish,and then we went to find a proper spot for a turtle-pond. We selecteda hole in the reef which we thought would answer, as we had only oneend of it to fill up, and we commenced breaking away the rock withcrowbars, and worked hard the whole of the day, some breaking andothers carrying the masses broken off. By degrees they rose to thesurface of the water, and in two days more we calculated that the pondwould be ready to receive the turtle. We had killed one turtle in themorning, and we now lived upon it altogether, as we wished to save oursalt provisions. The captain and I had many consultations as to whatwe should do, and what attempts we should make to get off from thisspot. Build a boat we could not, as we had not a carpenter among us,or the means of making the iron-work necessary. We had some tools,such as are usually used on board of vessels, and several pounds oflarge nails, but none fit for boat-building. I proposed that we shouldexamine the bottom of the xebeque, and see what damage was done to it.We did so, and found that the garboard streak was broken and two ofher timbers, but they were easy to repair; in every other respect shewas sound. I then proposed that we should cut down the xebeque to alarge boat, which we could easily do by ripping off her planks anddecks, and sawing down her timbers to the height we required. It wouldbe a heavy boat, it was true, but we should be able to launch her withrollers, and the draught of water would be so small that we could gether over the reefs, which we could not possibly do the xebeque. Thecaptain approved of the idea, and we agreed that as soon as theturtle-pond was finished we would make the attempt. In two days morewe had finished the pond, and had turned thirty turtle, which we putinto it. The men, now that they found that they had plenty to eat,began to show signs of laziness, and did not very readily commence thework upon the xebeque. They ate and slept, ate and slept again, on themattresses spread in the tent. At times they would fish, but it waswith difficulty that the captain and I could persuade them to work,and if they did work half an hour, they then threw down their axes andcrowbars, and went back to the tent. They had plenty of tobacco, andthey smoked half the day, ate turtle, and then slept again.Nevertheless, as the captain and I worked hard, the work progressed;in about ten days after we began the work, we had ripped off her decksand her side-planks as low as we thought right, and we were now sawingthrough the timbers, when the quiet of our party was disturbed by whatmay be considered a very strange quarrel. One of the men asserted inconversation that St. Antony was born in Padua; one or two of theother seamen denied it, and this difference of opinion, which at firstwas a mere nothing, from sullenness, I presume, and something beingrequired to excite them, in the course of a day or two ended in aserious feud; the Paduans terming the anti-Paduans heretics and Jews.The epithet of Jew was what irritated so much, and the parties beingexactly even, four on each side, on the third day, after an angryaltercation, they all rushed out of the tent to decide the affair withtheir knives. The conflict was very fierce, and took place when thecaptain and I were at the xebeque, and before we could separate them,four of them had fallen; two were killed, and the other two badlywounded. It may appear ridiculous that people should take each other'slives for such a trifle; but, after all, nations declare war againsteach other, and thousands are killed on both sides for causes almostas slight. With great difficulty we separated the remainingcombatants, and such was their rage and excitement, that every now andthen they would attempt to break from us and attack each other again;but at last we disarmed them.

  This was a sad business; and it was melancholy to think thatcompanions in misfortune should take each other's lives, instead offeeling grateful to the Almighty for their preservation.

  We buried the two men who had fallen, and dressed the wounds of thehurt; but after this quarrel the four others came to their work, andcontinued steady at it. We had now removed the upper portion of thexebeque, and commenced fixing beams and carlines on the lower part, soas to make a decked boat of it, and in another week we had decked herover. But we had a great deal more to do: we had to reduce the mastand yard to a proper size, to alter the sail and rigging, to make asmall rudder, and rollers to launch her upon. All this, with ourreduced force, occupied us another month; for the two wounded men,although recovering, could but just crawl about. We turned many moreturtle at night, that we might have a sufficient supply. We now lookedout for a channel of deep water through the reef, to get our boat out,and made one out to a certain extent, but could not survey furtherwithout getting off the reef, and the sharks were so numerous that wedared not venture. However, we took it for granted, as we had founddeep water in shore, that we should be sure to do so in the offing;and we now got our boat upon the rollers which we had made, by diggingaway the sand from beneath her, and a trench to the water's edge. Wehad been two months on the island when all was ready for launching.

  Anxious as I was to return to England, I cannot say that I was unhappywhen on this island: there was always a fine sea-breeze, which cooledthe air, and enabled us to work without exhaustion. With the exceptionof the unfortunate quarrel I have referred to, every thing went onquietly. After work was over, I resorted as usual to my Bible, andread for hours; and this calmed and allayed any impatient feelingswhich might at times arise. I felt that I had great cause to begrateful to the Almighty for preserving me as he had done, and that itwould be folly and wickedness on my part to repine because I could notobtain all that I wished. I waited, therefore, for His own good time,without murmuring, and in full confidence that all was for the best.

  At last we contrived to get our boat into the water, and she floatedmuch lighter than we thought she would have done, considering theweight of wood that was in her. As soon as she was anchored about tenfeet from the beach, we made a gangway to
her with planks, andcommenced getting all our salt provisions, water, and stores, which wehad selected as most necessary, on board of her. The stowage of theseoccupied us two days; we then got the yard up and bent the sail, andhaving fitted oars, we determined that the next day we would embark.As she still swam light, we got on board of her as many turtle as wecould conveniently carry, and then, for the last time, went onshore tosleep.

  As there was no room for our chests, it was agreed that we each shouldhave a bundle on board, selecting those things which we most requiredand most valued. This proposal, which was made by the captain, put mein mind of the diamond, which had scarcely once entered my thoughtssince I had been on the island. When I took it out of my chest, Ithought that I might as well make it more convenient to carry, asthere was no saying what might be the result of our new expedition;so, when the other men were all busy about their own effects, orasleep, I first took the precaution to roll it up in a covering ofpitch, so that, if taken from me or lost, it might not be known to bea diamond, and then I sewed it up in a piece of leather, which I cutfrom an old glove, putting a strong leather lanyard to it, so that Imight wear it round my neck. Having done this without any one takingnotice, and having nothing else to do, I took some fine twine, andworked it over, like the mousing of a stay, in a way peculiar tosailors, so that, when finished, it was very much in the shape of aminiature buoy to an anchor, and reminded me of a _fend-off_, orfender, such as they use to prevent any injury to the sides of avessel when coming in contact with another. Having finished my work,I put the leather lanyard round my neck, inside of my shirt, so thatmy diamond was concealed from sight; I then put up my remainingpieces-of-eight--which were nearly 500, the best of my clothes (forduring my stay at Rio I had very much increased my stock), and Ihardly need say that the old Bible was not left behind.

  It was a beautiful, calm morning when we embarked, and, lifting theanchor, took to our oars, and pulled out through the deep channel, thecaptain standing at the bow and conning us through, while I took thehelm. The boat pulled well and steered well; we had yet to see whatshe could do under canvas. After a pull of two hours we were clear ofthe reef, and out in the open sea. We then laid in the oars, andcommenced our preparations for hoisting the sail to a breeze, whichthen blew from the southward. When all was ready, the men hoisted thesail, but in so doing, a rope being foul, as I was attempting to clearit, I was tripped up, and fell with my right knee on a spike, whichentered deep, putting me to excruciating pain, and laming mecompletely. I was obliged to sit down abaft, for I nearly faintedaway. In the mean time the sail was set, and the boat stood well up toit. She proved to be very stiff under canvas, which was a source ofgreat congratulation. My knee became so painful and stiff that I couldnot move it; I took one of my shirts out of my bundle, tore it up intobandages, and put them on. We had resolved to attempt to make NewProvidence, the largest of the Bahama group, where we knew that therewas a town called Nassau, and from whence we hoped to obtain someconveyance to Europe; but we knew nothing of the port, or theinhabitants, or what trade was carried on with them.

  For several hours our little bark went gaily over the water, buttowards nightfall the wind shifted, and the weather lookedthreatening. We hardly knew how to steer, as we did not know theposition of the island which we had left, and now the wind heading us,we hauled up on the larboard tack, with our head to the northward andeastward. As the sun went down, the wind increased, and the sea ranfast. Our boat behaved well, till it began to blow very hard, andthen it took in so much water, that we were forced to bale.

  We had reefed our sail, and made every thing as snug as we could, butthe sea rising fast, and the boat taking in more water, we consideredit prudent to lighten her, which we did by throwing overboard all theturtle. This we did without regret, as we were tired of eating themfor so long a while. The day broke, and there appeared every sign ofbad weather, and the waves now tossed and foamed too much for such asmall craft as we were in. About noon we saw a vessel on a wind toleeward of us, which was a source of great delight to us all, and webore down to her. We soon made her out to be an hermaphrodite brig,under her close-reefed topsails and trysails. We ran under her counterand hailed. We perceived several men standing abaft, and apparentlythey suspected us for a rover, for they had muskets and other weaponsin their hands. We told them that we had been shipwrecked, and theboat was sinking in the gale, and then we rounded to under her lee.

  There we remained for four or five hours, during which the wind andthe sea went down very fast, and the boat no longer took in water; butwe had been all too much alarmed with the danger in which we had been,to like to continue our voyage in her, and as we thought that we couldnow go alongside with safety, we hailed again, and asked permission.After some parleying, they threw us a rope, which we made fast to theboat, and lowered our sail, keeping off on a broad sheer, as therestill was a great deal of sea. They then entered into conversationwith us. I told them all that had happened, and inquired where thebrig was bound to.

  They replied, to James Town, Virginia. I asked them if they could giveus a passage there, as we were afraid to proceed in our boat; or ifnot, would they see us safe into New Providence.

  The captain then came forward. He was a very dark man, dark as amulatto, with keen small eyes, and a hooked nose. I never beheld amore deformed and repulsive countenance.

  He said, that he could not go to New Providence, as it was out of hisway, and that we might easily get there ourselves if we thoughtproper.

  I replied, that the boat was not sufficiently large and seaworthy, andthat we had already nearly gone down, and if another gale should comeon, we certainly should founder, and again requested that he wouldtake us on board.

  "Have you any money to pay for your passage?" inquired he.

  "Why," said I, "common charity and the feelings of a seaman towardssailors in distress should be sufficient to induce you to take us onboard, and not leave us to perish; but if you require money," Ireplied, "we have more than sufficient to satisfy you."

  "How much?" screamed out a lad of about fourteen, who was the veryimage of the captain in miniature.

  I did not reply to this question, and the captain then said, "What doyou propose to do with the boat?"

  "Let her go adrift, to be sure," replied I.

  "What have you got on board of her?" said he.

  I enumerated, as well as I could recollect, the provisions and storesthat we had.

  "Well," replied he, "I will wait till it is a little smoother, andthen we will clear the boat and take you on board."

  He then left the gangway, where he had been standing, and we continuedto be towed by the brig.

  "I do not like that fellow," said I to the Portuguese captain; "heappears, or pretends, to take us for pirates, but he is more like apirate himself."

  "He looks like the devil himself," replied the captain, "and to askpeople in our condition to pay for their passage! He is a monster!However, we all have a few doubloons, thank Heaven."

  About an hour afterwards, it being much more moderate, the captain ofthe brig told us to sheer alongside, and that four of us might comeout and the others remain in the boat till she was cleared.

  "I think you had better go," said I to the captain, "for with so muchmotion I never shall be able to get up the side with my bad knee."

  We then sheered the boat alongside, and the captain and three of ourmen got on board, but not without difficulty. I saw them go aft anddown below with the captain of the brig, but I never saw them on deckagain, much to my surprise, although we were more than half an hourbefore they again hailed us, and told us to come alongside again.During this half-hour my mind misgave me sadly that all was not right,from not seeing the Portuguese captain, or either of the three men,and I took it into my head that the vessel was a pirate; and I knew ifsuch was the case, we should instantly be rifled, if not murdered. Itook the precaution of taking off the bandage from my knee, and havingremoved the diamond from my neck, I put it under my ham in the cavity,whic
h held it with ease, and then put the bandage on again over it, asI thought they would hardly take a bandage off a bad knee to see ifthere was any thing concealed beneath it. It was with difficulty thatI contrived to get on board the brig, and as soon as I had gained thedeck, I was ordered to go down into the cabin; as I went aft, I lookedround for the Portuguese captain and the men, but could not see them.I contrived, with difficulty, to get down into the cabin, and as soonas I was there I was seized by the arms and held fast by two of themen, while others bound me with seizings.

  As the captain was looking on, I inquired into the cause of thisoutrage. He replied, that we were a parcel of rascally pirates, whowould have taken his vessel if he had not been too deep for us; I toldhim it was false, and that I could easily prove it, as we still hadthe despatches on board with which we had been charged, and that Icould show full proof that I was the same person that I stated myselfto be; that I very much feared that we had fallen into the hands ofpirates ourselves, but that I would have justice done as soon as wearrived at James Town, without he intended to murder us all before wearrived. His answer was, that he was too old a bird to be caught withsuch chaff, and that he would secure us and deliver us up to theauthorities as soon as he arrived. I replied, in great anger, that hewould then be convinced of his error, if it was an error, on his part;that his conduct was infamous, and he looked like a scoundrel, and Ibelieved him to be one.

  "You call me a scoundrel, do you," said he, levelling a pistol at myhead.

  "You call us scoundrels, do you," cried the boy I have made mentionof, and who was evidently the son of the captain, taking up anotherpistol in his hand. "Shall I shoot him, father?"

  "No, Peleg; not yet; we will pay them all when we get in. Take himaway, and put him in irons with the rest," said the captain; and I wasimmediately dragged forward between decks through a door in thebulk-heads, where I found the Portuguese captain and three seamenalready in irons.

  "This is pretty treatment," said he to me.

  "Yes, it is, indeed," replied I; "but I will make him smart for itwhen we arrive."

  "Shall we ever arrive?" said the Portuguese captain, looking at me andcompressing his lips.

  "I say, my man," said I to the seaman who stood over us with a pistoland a cutlass, "who are you; and what are you? Tell us the truth: areyou pirates?"

  "I never was yet," replied he, "nor do I mean to be; but our skippersays that you are, and that he knew you as soon as you came alongside.That's all I can say about it."

  "Why, if we are pirates, as he says, and he recognizes us, he musthave been in pirates' company, that is clear."

  "Well; he may have been, for all I know," replied the man. "I don'tconsider him any very great things; but he is our captain, and we mustobey orders."

  The man now brought forward the other three men who had been left inthe boat. They told us that the boat had been cleared; all theprovisions, stores, sails, &c. had been taken out of her;--a proofthat she had been gutted and then cut adrift;--that all our bundleswere down in the captain's cabin, and that the ill-looking urchin, hisson, had overhauled them, one after another, and handed to his fatherall the money that he had found; that they had been searched verycarefully; and that they had heard the captain say that we were all tobe sent up, one by one, and searched in the same manner;--and so itproved. I was first taken aft to have my pockets rummaged by thelittle villain, and as soon as I had been led forward and again putinto irons, the Portuguese captain and three other seamen were sentfor and treated in the same way. We inquired of the men what moneythey had in their bundles and about their persons. They had each manfour doubloons at Rio for wages, and the captain had about fortydoubloons. I had five hundred pieces-of-eight: so that, altogether, wehad been robbed to the tune of about four hundred pounds sterling,independent of our clothes, which were of some value to us; that is,mine were, at all events.

  The seamen who guarded us, and who relieved each other every watch,were not at all surly or ill-natured. I asked one of them during thenight watch whether he thought the captain would take our lives.

  "No;" said he, "we will not allow that. You may be pirates, as hesays, although we do not think you are; but if pirates, you shall havefair play; that we have all made up our minds to. No hanging first,and trying afterwards."

  I had a long conversation with this man, who appeared very muchinclined to be sociable. He told me that the vessel was named the_Transcendant_; that she sailed from Virginia to the West Indies, andthat sometimes she went to England; that the captain of her was alsothe owner, but where he came from, or what he was, they did not know,except that he was a Virginian,--they believed so, for that he had atobacco estate there, which was carried on by his eldest son. Hecalled the captain a stingy, miserly fellow, who would sacrifice anyman's life to save a shilling, and that there were odd stories abouthim at James Town.

  I was well satisfied with my conversation with this man, as it assuredme that our lives would not be taken, and I had no fear of the resultupon my arrival at James Town, for, as I have mentioned before, Mr.Trevannion had vessels which sailed to that port, and I wellrecollected the names of the parties to whom the vessel and cargo wereconsigned.

  On the following day the captain of the brig, followed by hisill-favoured son, came forward and looked at us as we sat in irons,upon which I addressed him,

  "You have put me in irons, Sir, when I threw myself upon yourprotection. You have robbed us of our money to the amount of nearly400_l._, and you detain our other property. I now again desire that Imay be released. I offered to convince you that I was a person ofproperty, but you refused to listen to me. Now, Sir, I will tell youthat I am a partner in the house of Trevannion, at Liverpool, and thatwe have vessels that trade between James Town and that port. Ourvessels are consigned to Messrs. Fairbrother and Wilcocks, of JamesTown, and on my arrival I will soon prove that to you; and also notonly make you surrender the property you have robbed us of, but I willmake you smart pretty handsomely for your treatment of us, that youmay depend upon."

  "Fairbrother and Wilcocks," muttered he; "confound the fellow. Oh,"said he, turning to me, "you got the name of that firm from some shipyou have plundered and sunk, I suppose. No, no, that won't do, oldbirds are not to be caught with chaff."

  "I believe you to have been a pirate yourself, if you are not onenow," replied I; "at all events you are a thief and a paltryvillain--but our time will come."

  "Yes, it will," said the captain of the xebeque, "and remember, youscoundrel, if you can escape and buy off justice, you shall not escapeseven Portuguese knives, mind you that."

  "No, no," cried the Portuguese sailors; "stop till we are on shore,and then come on shore if you dare."

  "I say, father," said young Hopeful, "this looks like mischief; betterhang them, I reckon, than to be stuck like pigs. They look as ifthey'd do it, don't they?"

  I shall never forget the diabolical expression of the captain of thebrig after the Portuguese sailors had done speaking. He had a pistolat his belt, which he drew out.

  "That's right, shoot 'em, father; dead men tell no tales, as you havealways said."

  "No, no," said the seaman who was on guard, motioning them back withhis cutlass, "there will be no shooting nor hanging either; we are allsworn to that. If so be they be pirates, there's the law of thecountry to condemn them; and if they be not pirates, why then that'sanother story."

  The captain looked at the seaman as if he could have shot him if hedared. Then turned round hastily and went back to the cabin, followedby his worthy offspring.

  For seven days we remained in irons, when we heard land announced bythe sailors on deck, and the brig's head was put towards it. At nightshe was hove to, and the next morning again stood in, and we perceivedthat we were in smooth water. Towards night the anchor was let go, andwe asked the guard if we had arrived at James Town.

  He replied, "No, but we were in a river on the coast, but he did notknow what river it was nor did any of the crew, nor could they tellwhy the ca
ptain had anchored there. But they had seen several canoeswith Indians cross the river, but that there appeared to be no whitesettlement that they could discover." The mystery was, however,cleared up on the following morning. A small boat, which could barelyhold eight people, was lowered from the stern, and hauled upalongside. We were taken up, one by one, the scoundrel of a captainhaving first stripped each of us to our trowsers, not even allowing usa shirt. We were ordered to get into the boat. As soon as we were allin, and our weight brought the boat down to her gunnel, two oars werehanded to us, and then the captain of the brig said,

  "Now, you rascally pirates, I might have hanged you all, and I wouldhave done so, for I know you well. I recollect your faces when youplundered the 'Eliza,' when I was off Porto Rico; but if I put you inprison at James Town, I shall have to wait two or three months untilthe court sits, and I cannot be detained for such scoundrels as you;so now you may pull on shore, and get on how you can. Shove off,directly, or I'll put a bullet through your brains."

  "Hold fast," cried I, "and let him fire if he dares. You men belongingto the _Transcendant_, I call you to witness this treatment. Yourcaptain has robbed us of a large sum of money, and now turns usadrift, so as to compel us to land among savages, who may kill usimmediately. I appeal to you, will you permit this cruelty andinjustice? If you are English, I conceive you will not."

  There was some talk and expostulation with the captain of the brig, inconsequence of what I said; but while it was going on, the captain'sson leaned over the side, and, with his knife, cut the painter, orrope which held the boat, and as the tide was running on very strong,in less than half a minute we were a long way astern of the brig, anddrifting fast up the river.

  We got out our oars, and attempted to pull for the brig, for we knewthat the seamen were taking our parts; but it was in vain; the tideran several miles an hour, and in another minute or two, with all ourexertions, we were nearly a quarter of a mile astern of her, and theboat was so loaded that we hardly dared move lest we should upset it.We had, therefore, no option but to go on shore and take our chance;but when the men were pulling round for the shore, on reflection Ithought that we had better not land so soon, as the sailors had toldus that they had seen the Indians in their canoes. I thereforerecommended that we should allow the boat to drift up the river withthe tide, and then drift down again when the tide turned, remaining inthe middle of the stream till it was dark, when we would land and makeour way into the woods. My advice was followed; we sat still in theboat, just keeping her head to the stream with the oars, and, beingwithout our shirts, the sun scorching and blistering our backs, tillpast noon, during which time we must have drifted nearly twenty milesup the river, which was as broad as the arm of a sea at the entrance;then the tide turned, and we drifted back again till it was dusk, whenit was again slack water. All this while we kept a sharp look-out tosee if we could perceive any Indians, but not one was to be seen. Inow proposed that we should take our oars and pull out of the river,as if we had only gone up on a survey, for the brig had got underweigh, and had anchored, for want of wind, about four miles off, andthe Indians, if there were any, would suppose that we were returningto the ship. We did so, and pulled till it was dark, and were withintwo miles of the brig, where the flood-tide again made strong, when weturned the boat's head up the river, and pulled with the oars to getup as far as we could before we landed. This we did, suffering muchfrom hunger and thirst, as well as being confined so long in oneposition. As my knee was quite well, I now took off the bandage, andhung my diamond round my neck as before. I could not help feeling asatisfaction, when I thought that the thief of a captain littleimagined what a mine of wealth he was losing when he turned me adrift.It was about midnight when the tide ceased to flow, and we then agreedto land, and the question then was, whether we should separate or keeptogether. After some discussion, we agreed to separate in twos, andthe Portuguese captain and I agreed to keep each other company. Wefirst pushed the boat into the stream, that she might drift away, andthen, shaking each other by the hand and bidding adieu, we all startedin different directions. For some time the captain and I threaded thewoods in silence, when we were stopped by a stream of deep water, withsuch high banks, that in the dark we did not know how to cross it. Wewalked by the side of it for some time to discover a passage, and inso doing, we at last found ourselves again on the banks of the river,and our boat lying close to us, having grounded not far from where wehad shoved her off. We tasted the water in the creek, and found itquite fresh: we had several times tried it on the river, and found itquite salt from the tide running in. We drank plentifully, and satdown to recover ourselves, for although we had not walked more thanhalf an hour, the pushing through the brushwood was very fatiguing.

  "I think," said I, "that this boat will certainly betray us, and wouldit not be better to take possession of it again? It will hold twocomfortably, and I think we shall get on as well, if not better, in aboat than in the woods without compass and without guide."

  "I agree with you," said the captain; "but what shall we do?"

  "Let us retrace our steps; let us pull again, with the ebb-tide, forthe mouth of the river, and then coast it along shore; we may arriveat some settlement, if we do not starve by the way."

  "I agree with you," he said, "it will be the best plan; we mustconceal ourselves in the day, and coast along at night."

  We waded into the river, got into the boat, and again pulled out. Theboat being light, now pulled well, and we made good speed; and atdaylight we were clear of the river, and close to a small island nearthe mouth of it. Upon this, we agreed to land, to try if we couldprocure food, for we were much exhausted, and also to concealourselves from the natives. We ran our little boat on shore, andconcealed her among some bushes which grew down at the water's edge.We looked well round, but could see nothing, and we then walked out insearch of food; we found some wild plums, which we eagerly devoured;and going down again to the beach, where there were some rocks, wefound shell-fish, of which we broke the shells between two stones, andmade a meal of. After our hunger was satisfied, we lay down under theshelter of the boat, and fell fast asleep. We were so tired that wedid not wake up till it was nearly dark, when we agreed to startagain, and pull along the coast to the northward. We were justlaunching our boat, when we perceived a canoe about three miles off,steering for the mouth of the river to the island. This stopped us,and we remained in our hiding-place. The canoe approached, steeringdirectly for the spot where we lay concealed, and we imagined thatthey had discovered us. Such, however, proved not to be the case, forthey ran on shore about fifty yards from us, and hauling up the canoe,they got out and walked away on land. There were four men, but it wasnow too dark to distinguish any more. We remained quiet for a quarterof an hour, when I proposed that we should embark.

  "Have you ever managed a canoe?" said the Portuguese captain to me.

  "I have been in one in Africa very often," I said, "but they aredug-outs, as we call them."

  "So have I, and I do not think there is so much difference betweenthem and these canoes. Can you paddle?"

  "Yes," I replied.

  "So can I," he said. "Now observe, the best thing we can do is to takepossession of that canoe; and then we shall get on better, for ourboat will always attract notice, whereas a canoe will not; besides, itwill prevent these Indians, if they are come to look for us, which Isuspect they have, from following us."

  "I think you are right," I said; "but how shall we manage?"

  "In this way. You shall shove off our boat and walk by its side,dragging it up to where the canoe lies; I will go to the canoe, launchit, and then we will make off with both till we are too far out to betaken; then, when we have got into the canoe, we will turn our boatadrift."

  I agreed to the proposals. We launched our boat very quietly, and Iwalked in the water up to my knees, drawing it after me till I arrivedopposite to the canoe. The Portuguese crept on his hands and kneestill he had gained the canoe, pushed her off, and joined me. We
madeher fast to the tow-rope of our own boat, then got into the boat, andpulled away from the island.

  We had not gained more than a hundred yards, when the whiz of an arrowmet our ears. The Indians had discovered us, it was evident. Two orthree more arrows came flying by us, but we had now got well out, andthey fell harmless. We continued to pull till we were half a mile fromthe island, and then we laid on our oars. The stars shone bright;there was a young moon, so as to enable us to see pretty well. Wefound the paddles of the canoe lying on the cross-pieces. We hadnothing to take from the boat but our tow-rope and the two small oars;these we put into the canoe, and then getting in ourselves, we let theboat go adrift. We put her head to the northward, between the islandand the main, and paddled away as fast as we could.

  The captain was a much better hand than I was, and he therefore tookthe office of steersman. The water was as smooth as glass, and we maderapid progress, and did not discontinue our exertions, except now andthen resting for a few moments, till the morning dawned, when we couldhardly distinguish the island we had left, and found ourselves aboutfive miles from the mainland. We had now time to examine the contentsof the canoe, and had much reason to be gratified with ouracquisition. It had three bear-skins at the bottom, several pounds ofyams, cooked and uncooked, two calabashes full of water, bows andarrows, three spears, a tomahawk, three fishing-lines and hooks, andsome little gourds full of black, white, and red paint; and what weprized more than all, some flints and a large rusty nail, with rottenwood to serve as tinder.

  "We are fortunate," said the captain; "now, before we pull in for theshore we must paint ourselves like Indians; at all events, you mustblack yourself, as you have no shirt, and I must do the same, althoughI do not require it so much as you do."

  "Let us have something to eat and drink first," replied I, "and wewill proceed to our toilet afterwards."

 

‹ Prev Next ›