Part 23 (1/2)
I found the poor et the victuals out of the boiler before it was ready; but uard at the cook-roo all possible persuasion to have patience, kept them off by force: however, he caused some biscuit cakes to be dipped in the pot, and softened theave every one one, to stay their stomachs, and told theive them but little at a time
But it was all in vain, and had I not come on board, and their own coood words, and so them no more, I believe they would have broke into the cook-room by force, and torn the meat out of the furnace; for words indeed are of a very sry belly: however, we pacified theradually and cautiously for the first tiave them more, and at last filled their bellies, and the h
But the ers in the cabin was of another nature, and far beyond the rest; for as, first, the shi+p's company had so little for themselves, it was but too true, that they had at first kept thelected theht be said, they had really had no food at all, and for several days before, very little
The poor ood sense and good breeding, had spared all she could get so affectionately for her son, that at last she entirely sunk under it; and when the mate of our shi+p went in, she sat upon the floor or deck, with her back up against the sides, between two chairs, which were lashed fast, and her head sunk in between her shoulders, like a corpse, though not quite dead My e her, and with a spoon put some broth into her mouth; she opened her lips, and lifted up one hand, but could not speak: yet she understood what he said, and , that it was too late for her; but pointed to her child, as if she would have said, they should take care of hily et soot two or three spoonfuls down, though I question whether he could be sure of it or not; but it was too late, and she died the saht
The youth, as preserved at the price of his one; yet he lay in a cabin-bed as one stretched out, with hardly any life left in hi eaten up the rest of it; however, being young, and havingdown his throat, and he began sensibly to revive, though, by giving him some time after but two or three spoonfuls extraordinary, he was very sick, and brought it up again
But the next care was the poorupon the deck hard by her mistress, and just like one that had fallen doith an apoplexy, and struggled for life: her limbs were distorted, one of her hands was clasped round the frariped it so hard, that we could not easily o; her other arether, set fast against the frame of the cabin-table; in short, she lay just like one in the last agonies of death; and yet she was alive too
The poor creature was not only starved with hunger, and terrified with the thoughts of death, but, as the men told us afterwards, was broken-hearted for hertwo or three days before, and whom she loved irl; for when our surgeon, as a reat application recovered her as to life, he had her upon his hand as to her senses, for she was little less than distracted for a considerable time after; as shall appear presently
Whoever shall read these memorandums, must be desired to consider, that visits at sea are not like a journey into the country, where soht at a place Our business was to relieve this distressed shi+p's crew, but not lie by for the to steer the same course with us for some days, yet we could carry no sail to keep pace with a shi+p that had no ed of us to help him to set up a main-topmast, and a kind of topmast to his jury-foremast, we did, as it were, lie by hiiven hisheads of biscuit, and a proportion of peas, flour, and what other things we could spare; and taking three casks of sugar and soht of the on board with us, at their own earnest request, the youth and thelad was about seventeen years of age, a pretty, well-bred, reatly dejected with the loss of his mother, and, as it happened had lost his father bit a few eon to speak to me, to take him out of the shi+p; for he said, the cruel fellows had murdered his mother; and indeed so they had, that is to say, passively; for they ht have spared a sht have preserved her life, though it had been just to keep her alive But hunger knows no friend, no relation, no justice, no right; and therefore is reeon told hi, and hoould carry him away from all his friends, and put him perhaps in as bad circu in the world He said it mattered not whither he went, if he was but delivered fro: that the captain (by which heof my nephew) had saved his life, and he was sure would not hurt him; and as for the maid, he was sure, if she came to herself, she would he very thankful for it, let us carry theeon represented the case so affectionately to me, that I yielded, and we took thesheads of sugar, which could not be re for theo, as soon as he caers, a merchant there, to whom the youth said he was related, and to deliver a letter which I wrote to hi to the deceased hich I suppose was not done; for I could never learn that the shi+p came to Bristol; but was, as isin so disabled a condition, and so far from any land, that I aht founder in the sea; for she was leaky, and had dae in her hold when I32 e as to weather, though at first the winds had been contrary I shall trouble nobody with the little incidents of wind, weather, currents, &c on the rest of our voyage; but, shortening my story for the sake of what is to follow, shall observe, that I came to my old habitation, the island, on the 10th of April, 1695 It ith no small difficulty that I found the place; for as I came to it, and went from it before, on the south and east side of the island, as co in between theno chart for the coast, nor any land-mark, I did not knohen I saw it, or knohether I saw it or no
We beat about a great while, and went on shore on several islands in the reat river Oroonoque, but none forthe shore, that I was under one great ht I saw fro island, or rather a ridge of islands reaching froreat river; and that the savages who came to my island, were not properly those which we call Caribbees, but islanders, and other barbarians of the sa nearer to our side than the rest
In short, I visited several of the islands to no purpose; some I found were inhabited, and soht they had lived there; but speaking with them, found they had a sloop lay in a small creek hard by, and that they came thither to make salt, and catch soed to the Isle de Trinidad, which lay farther north, in the latitude of 10 and 11 degrees
Thus coasting from one island to another, sometimes with the shi+p, sometimes with the Frenchman's shallop (which we had found a convenient boat, and therefore kept her with their very good will,) at length I came fair on the south side of my island, and I presently knew the very countenance of the place; so I brought the shi+p safe to an anchor broadside with the little creek where was my old habitation
As soon as I saw the place, I called for Friday, and asked him, if he knehere he was? He looked about a little, and presently clapping his hands, cried, ”O yes, O there, O yes, O there!” pointing to our old habitation, and fell a-dancing and capering like ainto the sea, to swim ashore to the place
”Well, Friday,” said I, ”do you think we shall find any body here, or no? and what do you think, shall we see your father?” The fellow stood ood while; but when I named his father, the poor affectionate creature looked dejected; and I could see the tears run down his face very plentifully ”What is the matter, Friday?” said I; ”are you troubled because youhis head, ”no see hiain”--”Why so,”
said I, ”Friday? how do you know that?”--”O no, O no,” says Friday, ”he long ago die; long ago, he much old man”--”Well, well,” said I, ”Friday, you don't know; but shall we see any one else then?” The fellow, it seems, had better eyes than I, and he points just to the hill above ue off, he cries out, ”Me see! me see! yes, yes, me see much man there, and there, and there”
I looked, but I could see nobody, no, not with a perspective-glass; which was, I suppose, because I could not hit the place; for the felloas right, as I found upon inquiry the next day, and there were five or sixwhat to think of us
As soon as Friday had told lish ancient to be spread, and fired three guns, to give them notice ere friends; and about half a quarter of an hour after, we perceived a smoke rise from the side of the creek; so I iing out a white flag, or a flag of truce, I went directly on shore, taking withfriar Ithere, and the manner of it, and every particular both of myself and those that I left there, and as on that account extreo with me, We had besides about sixteen uest there which we did not know of; but we had no need of weapons
As ent on shore upon the tide of flood near high water, ed directly into the creek; and the first man I fixed my eye upon was the Spaniard whose life I had saved, and whom I knew by his face perfectly well; as to his habit, I shall describe it afterwards I ordered nobody to go on shore at first butFriday in the boat; for the affectionate creature had spied his father at a distance, a good way off of the Spaniards, where indeed I saw nothing of hio on shore he would have jumped into the sea He was no sooner on shore, but he fleay to his father like an arrow out of a bow It would have made any man shed tears in spite of the firmest resolution to have seen the first transports of this poor fellow's joy, when he came to his father; how he embraced him, kissed him, stroked his face, took him in his arms, set him down upon a tree, and lay down by him; then stood and looked at hie picture, for a quarter of an hour together; then lay down upon the ground, and stroked his legs, and kissed theain, and stared at hiht the felloitched: but it would have h to see how the next day his passion run out another way: in the ain, with his father, several hours, always leading him by the hand as if he had been a lady and every now and then would co or other for hiar, or a draood In the afternoon his frolics ran another way; for then he would set the old round, and dance about hiestures; and all the while he did this be would be talking to hi him one story or another of his travels, and of what had happened to him abroad, to divert him In short, if the same filial affection was to be found in Christians to their parents in our parts of the world, one would be tempted to say there hardly would have been any need of the fifth coression; I return toIt would be endless to take notice of all the ceremonies and civilities that the Spaniards received me with The first Spaniard whom, as I said, I knew very well, was he whose life I saved; he ca of truce also; and he did not only not knownior,” said I, in Portuguese, ”do you not knowhis musket to the,so in Spanish that I did not perfectly hear, ca ain that he had once seen, as of an angel from Heaven sent to save his life: he said abundance of very handsos, as a well-bred Spaniard always kno: and then beckoning to the person that attended hio and call out his comrades He then asked ive ain, and where I should see there, had been butwith hiain than if I had never been there; for they had planted so many trees, and placed them in such a posture, so thick and close to one another, in ten years ti, that, in short, the place was inaccessible, except by such windings and blind ways as they themselves only who made them could find
I asked them, what put them upon all these fortifications? He told iven an account how they had passed their ti in the island, especially after they had the one: he told ood fortune, when he heard that I was gone in a good shi+p, and topersuasion that one ti that ever befel hi to him at first, as the disappointment he was under when he came back to the island, and found I was not there
As to the three barbarians (so he called the story to tellthe savages, only that their nuh, we had been all long ago in purgatory and with that he crossed himself upon the breast But, Sir,” says he, ”I hope you will not be displeased, when I shall tell you how, forced by necessity, ere obliged, for our own preservation, to disar the moderately our masters, but would be our murderers” I answered, I was heartily afraid of it when I left the froht have put the first, and left the other in a state of subjection, as they deserved; but if they had reduced the any fault with it; for I knew they were a parcel of refractory, ungovernable villains, and were fit for anythis came the man whom he had sent back, and with him eleven uess what nation they were of; but he made all clear both to the to theentle to the to me, he let them knoho I was; upon which they all came up one by one, not as if they had been sailors, and ordinary fellows, and I the like, but really as if they had been areat conqueror: their behaviour was to the last degree obliging and courteous, and yet ravity, which very well became them; and, in short, they had so much more manners than I, that I scarce kne to receive their civilities, much less how to return the to, and conduct in the island afteraway, is so remarkable, and has so many incidents, which the former part of my relation will help to understand, and which will, in most of the particulars, refer to that account I have already given, that I cannot but co of those that coer trouble the story with a relation in the first person, which will put me to the expense of ten thousand Said I's, and Said he's, and He told me's, and I told him's, and the like; but I shall collect the facts historically as near as I can gather them out of my memory from what they related towith them, and with the place