Page images
PDF
EPUB

a little farther; then he fell a-jumping again and the bear stopped again.

The bear was walking softly on, and offered to meddle with nobody, till Friday, coming pretty near, calls to him, as if the bear could under- We thought now was a good time to knock stand him, "Hark ye, hark ye," says Friday, him on the head, and called to Friday to stand "me speakee wit you." We followed at a dis- still, and we would shoot the bear; but he cried tance; for now being come down to the Gas-out earnestly," O pray! O pray no shoot; me coigne side of the mountains, we were entered a vast, great forest, where the country was plain and pretty open, though many trees in it scattered here and there.

[blocks in formation]

As soon as the bear felt the stone and saw

him, he turns about and comes after him, taking devilish long strides, and shuffling along at a strange rate, so as he would put a horse to a middling gallop. Away runs Friday, and takes his course as if he ran towards us for help, so we all resolved to fire at once upon the bear and deliver my man, though I was angry at him heartily for bringing the bear back upon us when he was going about his own business another way, and especially I was angry that he had turned the bear upon us, and then run away, and I called out, "You dog," said I, "is this your making us laugh? Come away, and take your horse, that we may shoot the creature." He bears me, and cries out, "No shoot, no shoot; stand still, you get much laugh." And as the nimble creature ran two feet for the beast's one, he turned on a sudden on one side of us, and seeing a great oak tree fit for his purpose, he beckoned us to follow, and doubling his pace he gets nimbly up the tree, laying his gun down upon the ground at about five or six yards

from the bottom of the tree.

The bear soon came to the tree. and we followed at a distance; the first thing he did he stopped at the gun, smelt to it, but let it lie, and up he scrambles into the tree, climbing like a cat, though so monstrous heavy. I was amazed at the folly, as I thought it, of my man, and could not for my life see anything to laugh at yet, till seeing the bear get up the tree, we all rode nearer to him.

66

When we came to the tree, there was Friday got out to the small of a large limb of the tree, and the bear got about half way to him. As soon as the bear got out to that part where the limb of the tree was weaker, Ha," says he to us, "now you see me teachee the bear dance;" so he falls a-jumping and shaking the bough, at which the bear began to totter, but stood still, and began to look behind him to see how he should get back; then indeed we did laugh heartily. But Friday had not done with him by a great deal; when he sees him stand still, he calls out to him again, as if he had supposed the bear could speak English, "What! you come no farther? Pray you come farther." So he left jumping and shaking the bough; and the bear, just as if he understood what he said, did come

1

shoot by and then;" he would have said by and bye. However, to shorten the story, Friday danced so much, and the bear stood so ticklish, that we had laughing enough indeed, but still could not imagine what the fellow would do, for first we thought he depended upon shaking the bear off, and we found the bear was too cunning for that too, for he would not get out far enough to be thrown down, but clings fast with his great broad claws and feet, so that we could not imagine what would be the end of it, and where the jest would be at last.

But Friday put us out of doubt quickly, for seeing the bear cling fast to the bough, and that he would not be persuaded to come any farther, "Well, well," said Friday, "you no come farther, me go, me go; you no come to me, me smallest end of the bough, where it would bend come to you ;" and upon this he goes out to the it, sliding down the bough till he came near with his weight, and gently lets himself down by enough to jump down on his feet, and away he ran to his gun, takes it up, and stands still.

"Well," said I to him, "Friday, what will you do now? Why don't you shoot him?"" No shoot," says Friday, "no yet; me shoot now, me indeed so he did, as you will see presently; for no kill; me stay, give you one more laugh;" and when the bear saw his enemy gone, he comes back from the bough where he stood, but did it mighty leisurely, looking behind him every step, and coming backward till he got into the body of the tree, then with the same hinder end foremost he came down the tree, grasping it with his claws, and moving one foot at a time very leisurely. At this juncture, and just before he could set his hind feet upon the ground, Friday stepped close to him, clapped the muzzle of his piece into his ear, and shot him as dead as a

stone.

Then the rogue turned about to see if we did not laugh, and when he saw we were pleased by our looks, he falls a-laughing himself very loud. "So we kill bear in my country," says Friday. “So you kill them,” said 1; “why, you have no guns."-" No," says he, "no guns, but shoot great much long arrow."

This was, indeed, a good diversion to us; but we were still in a wild place, and our guide very much hurt, and what to do we hardly knew. The howling of wolves ran much in my head, and indeed, except the noise I once heard on the shore of Africa, of which I have said something already, I never heard anything that filled me with so much horror.

These things, and the approach of night, called us off, or else, as Friday would have had us, we should certainly have taken the skin of this monstrous creature off, which was worth saving; but we had three leagues to go, and our guide hastened us; so we left him, and went forward on our journey.

The ground was still covered with snow, though not so deep and dangerous as on the

mountains; and the ravenous creatures, as we || wounded, and went bleeding off, as we could see heard afterwards, were come down into the forest || and plain country, pressed by hunger, to seek for food, and had done a great deal of mischief in the villages, where they surprised the country people, killed a great many of their sheep and horses, and some people too.

We had one dangerous place to pass, of which our guide told us, if there were any more wolves in the country, we should find them there; and this was a small plain, surrounded with woods on every side, and a long narrow defile or lane, which we were to pass to get through the wood, and then we should come to the village where we were to lodge.

It was within half an hour of sunset when we entered the first wood, and a little after sunset when we came into the plain. We met with nothing in the first wood, except that in a little plain within the wood, which was not above two furlongs over, we saw five great wolves cross the road, full speed one after another, as if they had been in chase of some prey, and had it in view; they took no notice of us, and were gone and out of sight in a few moments.

Upon this our guide, who, by the way, was a wretched, faint-hearted fellow, bade us keep in a ready posture, for he believed there were more wolves a-coming.

We kept our arms ready, and our eyes about us, but we saw no more wolves till we came through that wood, which was near half a league, and entered the plain. As soon as we came into the plain, we had occasion enough to look about us. The first object we met with was a dead horse, that is to say, a poor horse which the wolves had killed, and at least a dozen of them at work, we could not say eating of him, but picking of his bones rather, for they had eaten || up all the flesh before.

We did not think fit to disturb them at their feast, neither did they take much notice of us. Friday would have let fly at them, but I would not suffer him by any means, for I found we were like to have more business upon our hands than we were aware of. We were not half gone over the plain, but we began to hear the wolves howl in the woods on our left in a frightful manner; and presently after we saw about a hundred coming on directly towards us, all in a body, and most of them in a line, as regularly as an army drawn up by experienced officers. I scarce knew in what manner to receive them, but found to draw ourselves in a close line was the only way; so we formed in a moment. But that we might not have too much interval, I ordered that only every other man should fire, and that the others, who had not fired, should stand ready to give them a second volley immediately, if they continued to advance upon us; and that then those who had fired at first should not pretend to load their fusils again, but stand ready, with every one a pistol, for we were all armed with a fusil and a pair of pistols each man; so we were, by this method, able to fire six volleys, half of us at a time. However, at present we had no necessity, for upon firing the first volley the enemy made a full stop, being terrified as well with the noise as with the fire. Four of them, being shot in the head, dropped; several others were

[ocr errors]

by the snow. I found they stopped, but did not immediately retreat; whereupon, remembering that I had been told that the fiercest creatures were terrified at the voice of a man, I caused all our company to halloo as loud as we could, and I found the notion not altogether mistaken, for upon our shout they began to retire and turn about; then I ordered a second volley to be fired in their rear, which put them to the gallop, and away they went to the woods.

This gave us leisure to charge our pieces again, and that we might lose no time, we kept doing; but we had but little more than loaded our fusils, and put ourselves into a readiness, when we heard a terrible noise in the same wood on our left, only that it was farther onward the same way we were to go.

The night was coming on, and the night began to be dusky, which made it the worse on our side; but, the noise increasing, we could easily perceive that it was the howling and yelling of those hellish creatures; and, on a sudden, we perceived two or three troops of wolves on our left, one behind us, and one in our front, so that we seemed to be surrounded with them; however, as they did not fall upon us, we kept our way forward as fast as we could make our horses go, which, the way being very rough, was only a good large trot; and in this manner we only came in view of the entrance of the wood through which we were to pass, at the farther side of the plain; but we were greatly surprised, when, coming near the lane, or pass, we saw a confused number of wolves standing just at the entrance.

On a sudden, at another opening of the wood, we heard the noise of a gun; and, looking that way, out rushed a horse, with a saddle and a bridle on him, flying like the wind, and sixteen or seventeen wolves after him full speed: indeed the horse had the heels of them; but as we suppose that he could not hold it at that rate, we doubted not but they would get up with him at last and no question but they did.

Here we had a most horrible sight; for, riding up to the entrance where the horse came out, we found the carcase of another horse and of two men devoured by these ravenous creatures, and of one the man was no doubt the same whom we heard fire a gun, for there lay a gun just by him fired off; but as to the man, his head and the upper part of his body were eaten up.

This filled us with horror, and we knew not what course to take; but the creatures resolved us soon, for they gathered us about pressently in hopes of prey and I verily believe there were three hundred of them: it happened very much to our advantage, that at the entrance into the wood, but a little way from it, there lay some large timber trees, which had been cut down the summer before, and I suppose lay there for carriage; I drew my little troop in among these trees, and placing ourselves in a line behind one long tree, I advised them all to alight, and keeping that tree before us for a breast-work, to stand in a triangle, or three fronts, inclosing our horses in the centre.

We did so, and it was well we did, for never was a more furious charge than the creatures made upon us in this place; they came on us

with a growling kind of a noise, and mounted the piece of timber (which, as I said, was our breastwork) as if they were only rushing upon their prey; and this fury of theirs, it seems, was principally occasioned by their seeing our horses behind us, which was the prey they aimed at. I ordered our men to fire as before, every man ; and they took their aim so sure, that indeed they killed several of the wolves at the first volley; but there was a necessity to keep a continual firing, for they came on like devils, those behind pushing on those before.

When we had fired our second volley of fusils, we thought they stopped a little, and I hoped they would have gone off, but it was but a moment, for others came forward again; so we fired our volleys of pistols, and I believe in these four firings we killed seventeen or eighteen of them, and lamed twice as many; yet they came on again.

I was loath to spend our last shot too hastily; so I called my servant, not my man Friday, for he was better employed; for, with the greatest dexterity imaginable, he charged my fusil and his own while we were engaged; but, as I said, I called my other man; and giving him a horn of power, I bade him lay a train all along the piece of timber, and let it be a large train; he did so, and had but time to get away, when the wolves came up to it, and some were got up upon it; when I, snapping an uncharged pistol close to the powder, set it on fire; and those that were upon the timber were scorched with it, and six or seven of them fell, or rather jumped in among us, with the force and fright of the fire. We dispatched these in an instant, and the rest were so frighted with the light, which the night, for now it was very near dark, made more terrible, that they drew back a little.

Upon which I ordered our last pistols to be fired off in one volley, and after that we gave a shout; upon this the wolves turned tail, and we sallied immediately upon near twenty lame ones, which we found struggling on the ground, and fell a-cutting them with our swords, which answered our expectation, for the crying and howling they made were better understood by their fellows; so they fled and left us.

We had, first and last, killed about three score of them; and had it been day-light, we had killed many more. The field of battle being thus cleared, we made forward again, for we had still near a league to go; we heard the ravenous creatures howl and yell in the woods as we went, several times; and sometimes we fancied we saw some of them, but the snow dazzling our eyes we were not certain; so in about an hour more we came to the town, where we were to lodge, which we found in a terrible fright, and all in arms; for it seems that the night before the wolves and some bears had broken into that village, and put them in a terrible fright; and they were obliged to keep guard night and day, but especially in the night, to preserve their cattle, and indeed their people.

The next morning our guide was so ill, and his limbs so swelled with the rankling of his two wounds, that he could go no further; so we were obliged to take a new guide there, and go to Thou ouse, where we found a warm climate, a

|

fruitful, pleasant country, and no snow, no wolves, or anything like them; but when we told our story at Thoulouse, they told us it was nothing but what was ordinary in the great forest at the foot of the mountains, especially when the snow lay on the ground; but they inquired much what kind of a guide we had gotten, that would venture to bring us that way in such a severe season, and told us it was very much we were not all devoured. When we told them how we placed ourselves and the horses in the middle, they blamed us exceedingly, and told us it was fifty to one but we had been all destroyed; for it was the sight of the horses that made the wolves so furious, seeing their prey, and that at other times they are really afraid of a gun; but they being excessive hungry, and raging on that ac count, the eagerness to come at the horses had made them senseless of danger; and that if we had not by the continued fire, and at last by the stratagem of the train of powder, mastered them, it had been great odds but that we had been torn to pieces; whereas, had we been content to have sat still on horseback, and fired as horsemen, they would not have taken the horses so much for their own, when men were on their backs, as otherwise; and withal they told us, that at last, if we had stood altogether, and left our horses, they would have been so eager to have devoured them, that we might have come off safe, especially having our fire-arms in our hands, and being so many in number.

For my part, I was never so sensible of danger in my life; for seeing above three hundred devils come roaring and open-mouthed to devour us, and having nothing to shelter us or retreat to, I gave myself over for lost; and as it was, I believe I shall never care to cross those mountains again; I think I would much rather go a thousand leagues by sea, though I were sure to meet with a storm once a week.

I have nothing uncommon to take notice of in my passage through France; nothing but what other travellers have given an account of with much more advantage than I can. I travelled from Thoulouse to Paris, and without any considerable stay came to Calais, and landed safe at Dover the fourteenth of January, after having had a severe cold season to travel in.

I was now come to the centre of my travels, and had in a little time all my new discovered estate safe about me, the bills of exchange, which I brought with me, having been very currently paid.

My principal guide and privy counseller was my good ancient widow, who, in gratitude for the money I had sent her, thought no pains too much, or care too great, to employ for me; and I trusted her so entirely with everything, that I was perfectly easy as to the security of my effects; and indeed I was very happy from my beginning, and now to the end, in the unspotted integrity of this good gentlewoman.

And now I began to think of leaving my effects with this woman, and setting out for Lisbon, and so to the Brazils; but now another scruple came in the way, and that was religion; for as I had entertained some doubts about the Roman religion, even while I was abroad, especially in my state of solitude, so I knew there was no going to the Brazils for me, much less going to settle

H

there, unless I resolved to embrace the Roman Catholic religion without any reserve; except, on the other hand, I resolved to be a sacrifice to my principles, be a martyr for religion, and die in the Inquisition: so I resolved to stay at home, and, if I could find means for it, to dispose of my plantation.

To this purpose I wrote to my old friend at Lisbon, who in return gave me notice that he could easily dispose of it there; but that if I thought fit to give him leave to offer it in my name to the two merchants, the survivors of my trustees who lived in the Brazils, who must fully understand the value of it, who lived just upon the spot, and who I knew to be very rich, so that he believed they would be fond of buying it, he did not doubt but I should make 4,000 or 5,000 pieces of eight the more of it.

Accordingly I agreed, gave him orders to offer it to them, and he did so; and in about eight months more, the ship being then returned, he sent me an account that they had accepted the offer, and had remitted 33,000 pieces of eight to a correspondent of theirs at Lisbon to pay for it. In return, I signed the instrument of sale in the form which they sent from Lisbon, and sent it to my old man, who sent me the bills of exchange for 32,800 pieces of eight for the estate; reserving the payment of 100 moidores a year to him (the old man) during his life, and 50 moidores afterwards to his son for his life, which I had promised them, and which the plantation was to make good as a rent charge. And thus I have given the first part of a life of fortune and adventure, a life of Providence's chequer-work, and of a variety which the world will seldom be able to show the like of: beginning foolishly, but closing much more happily than any part of it ever gave me leave so much as to hope for.

Any one would think that in this state of complicated good fortune, I was past running any more hazards, and so indeed I had been if other circumstances had concurred; but I was inured to a wandering life, had no family, nor many relations; nor, however rich, had I contracted much acquaintance; and though I had sold my estate in the Brazils, yet could not keep that country out of my head, and had a great mind to be upon the wing again; especially I could not resist the strong inclination I had to see my island, and to know if the poor Spaniards were in being there, and how the rogues I left there had used them.

My true friend the widow earnestly dissuaded me from it, and so far prevailed with me, that almost for seven years she prevented my running abroad; during which time I took my two nephews, the children of one of my brothers, into my care. The eldest having something of his own, I bred up as a gentleman, and gave him a settlement of some addition to his estate after my decease; the other I put out to a captain of a ship; and after five years, finding him a sensible, bold, enterprising young fellow, I put him into a good ship, and sent him to sea; and this young fellow afterwards dwew me in, as old as I was, to farther adventures myself.

In the meantime I in part settled myself

here; for, first of all, I married, and that not either to my disadvantage or dissatisfaction, and had three children, two sons and one daughter; but my wife dying, and my nephew coming home with good success from a voyage to Spain, my inclination to go abroad and his importunity prevailed, and engaged me to go in his ship as a private trader to the East Indies. This was in the year 1 r 1694.

In this voyage I visited my new colony in the island, saw my successors the Spaniards, had the whole story of their lives, and of the villains I left there; how at first they insulted the poor Spaniards, how they afterwards agreed, disagreed, united, separated, and how at last the Spaniards were obliged to use violence with them; how they were subjected to the Spaniards; how honestly the Spaniards used them; a history, if it were entered into, as full of variety and wonderful accidents as my own part; particularly also as to their battles with the Caribbeans, who landed several times upon the island, and as to the improvement they made upon the island itself; and how five of them made an attempt upon the main land, and brought away eleven men and five women prisoners; by which, at my coming, I found about twenty young children on the island.

Here I stayed about twenty days; left them supplies of all necessary things, and particularly of arms, powder, shot, clothes, tools, and two workmen, which I brought from England with me, viz. a carpenter and a smith.

Besides this, I shared the land into parts with them, reserved to myself the property of the whole, but gave them such parts respectively as they agreed on; and, having settled all things with them, and engaged them not to leave the place, I left them there.

From thence I touched at the Brazils, from whence I sent a bark, which I bought there, with more people, to the island; and in it, besides other supplies, I sent seven women, being such as I found proper for service, or for wives to such as would take them. As to the Englishmen, I promised them to send them some women from England, with a good cargo of necessaries, if they would apply themselves to planting, which I afterwards could not perform. The fellows proved very honest and diligent after they were mastered, and had their properties set apart for them. I sent them also from the Brazils five cows, three of them being big with calf, some sheep, and some hogs, which, when I came again, were considerably increased.

But all these things, with an account how 300 Caribbees came and invaded them, and ruined their plantations, and how they fought with that whole number twice, and were at first defeated and one of them killed; but at last a storm destroying their enemies' canoes, they famished or destroyed almost all the rest, and renewed and recovered the possession of their plantation, and still lived upon the island;-all these things, with some very surprising incidents in some new adventures of my own for ten years more, I may, perhaps, give a farther account of hereafter.

END OF THE FIRST PART.

[blocks in formation]

W. TAYLOR, AT THE SHIP IN PATERNOSTER ROW.

MDCCXIX.

« PreviousContinue »