follows: ‘Bien,’ says he, ‘como esta su huespedo?’ ‘mucho mejor,’ she
replied; ‘tiene gano muy vivo para beber y comer;’ ‘esta christiano?’
he asked, which made me smile. ‘Sin duda,’ she replied; ‘todas son
christianos en Norte America;’ ‘como los Inglesas y el pilota sabe las
nombres de todas los santas, y puede repeto el credo catolico.’ ‘Dios le
guarda,’ he replied; and to me, ‘a Dios, usted le passa bein;’ so saying,
he left the cottage.
On inquiring my health, and asking if I was a christian, she answered,
‘much better;’ and doubtless a christian, as all in America, as well
as the English, were christians; and that as evidence, I could repeat
the Catholic creed, and knew the names of all the saints; for which he
bestows his benediction.
When at times I would whistle and sing, to beguile the pain, my hostess
would ask the reason. I told her I did so to kill the pain. But I saw
she often thought from my strange behaviour, that my fever and pain had
rendered me delirious. My apprehensions, however, in this weak state,
and nervous debility of body and mind, gave me incessant and tormenting
anxiety.
The close of each day gave rise to painful fears, for the events of the
dreaded night; expecting constantly the breaking in of the guachas; and
knowing too well their merciless ferocity. The nightly barking of the
watchful dogs, giving notice of their approach, sounded in my ears like a
summons bell, tolling for execution. I was not certain of living out an
hour, nor was my chance of life of the value of a shilling.
One night, when all had retired to rest, and the guards lay snoring upon
the floor, the dogs set up a roaring yell, and we soon after heard the
tread of heavy footsteps, and violent thumping at the door. Pedro, who
lay at my side, aroused the guards and opened it; while the soldiers and
my hostess prepared for defence.
I saw by the moonshine, five hideous looking fellows, armed with swords
and bayonets, standing before the door. A sharp parley ensued between
them and the guard. They said that they had orders to search the hut for
any money or valuables, that the pilota, (myself,) might have recovered
from the wreck. But the guard presenting their pieces, told them it was
all false, and a contrivance to plunder; as they themselves were placed
there by the General for my defence, and they would directly fire upon
them, unless they instantly made off.
At this, they thought proper to make a speedy retreat, stealing in their
way a horse from the field.
I was now in anxious and daily expectation of some persons from Monte
Video, to convey me from this fearful situation and dangerous abode. On
the eighth day, I was agreeably relieved, by the arrival of two clerks,
an Englishman and Spaniard, from Monte Video, in consequence of receiving
my letters, from the house of the consignees, in order to effect my
removal to the city, and also to endeavor to secure some part of the
property.
The latter they found totally impossible, nothing of value being now left
on the strand, as all had been carried up country, by the natives.
I was extremely rejoiced at their coming, and we were soon concerting
plans for my departure. Lines and posts of defence had been established
between Toledo, the place where I was, and Monte Video, and these
prevented any cattle or provisions being carried from the country to the
Portuguese, in the city, whom they considered as invaders.
Oxen, therefore, not being allowed to pass into the city, mules not here
to be procured, it was at last agreed that they should return to Monte
Video, and send down a cart with mules, from the city. They slept one
night at the hut, and on the next day, Sunday, departed; having seen
sufficient of the character of the natives, and glad they had escaped
the knives of the guachas, and vowing they would not venture their lives
again among such a murderous crew, for the value of a ship and cargo.
On the eve of the next day, Monday, Pedro brought in the trunk which he
had drawn from the beach at my desire, at the time of my discovery, and
now opened it to examine what articles it might contain. He told me he
had hitherto kept it secreted in the grass, in the rear of the cot; and
had not dared to take out any articles to dry for fear of the deserters
and Indians; for should they discover any thing valuable hanging out,
they would certainly steal it, and search the house for more. But none of
them being now near the house, he had brought it in to the side of the
bed, for my inspection.
It was a large black English iron-bound trunk, of the largest size,
containing every article of clothing, but no money. These were all
thoroughly wet, and many indelibly spotted and mildewed, the effects
of the salt water. This stock of apparel was at this time a great
acquisition to me, as my whole wardrobe consisted of a borrowed shirt.[2]
Among the things he handed me, were a set of long muslin curtains for a
state room; which the old lady begged I would give to her. And Pedro in
his turn, thought that a couple pair of the pantaloons would make him
happy as a cavallero; to which I readily assented, and told them I laid
claim to nothing but their hospitality, for which I was a constant debtor.
At the bottom was found a large roll of papers, which he handed me, and
carefully unrolling them, I expected they were a set of interesting
manuscripts; but found them to be only a collection of beautiful colored
French engravings; such as the four seasons, twelves months, subjects
from scripture, Robinson Crusoe, &c.; in all about forty; which I
requested Pedro to hang on a line overhead to dry, which he did. Most of
the contents were then stowed again in the trunk, and Pedro dragged it
back to its place of concealment.
The next morning I awoke with earnest expectation of the cart from Monte
Video; but I waited in vain; and evening brought fresh cause of fear.
During this day, an Irishman, a laborer, who had lived many years in that
country, came; and after some conversation with my hostess, requested of
her the loan of a spade.
He said he had but just come from the beach, and that several bodies
of my companions lay exposed on the sand, and that the gulls were
devouring them; that the Indians were too intent on plunder, and getting
intoxicated, to assist in interring them; and that he would again go down
to perform this christian office, and bury them in the sand.
An old kind of shovel was mustered for him, and he went off with this
laudable design. Returning the next day, he informed me he had buried
several, and many bodies had come ashore in a shocking state; so broken
and bruised that it was impossible to distinguish them; some, he said,
were still in the surf, which he could not drag out; and of necessity,
had to leave, ‘food for gulls;’ their bones, doubtless, at this day, lie
bleaching on the sand.
I was still waiting with the most painful anxiety, for the arrival of the
conveyance from the city; and no poor and condemned malefactor, in hopes
of a reprieve, or pardon, ever waited with more emotion the mandate which
should restore him his liberty, than I did for a passport and conveyance
to the walls of Monte Video.
The cannibals were daily and hourly growing more barbarous; and our
danger every moment increased. I had every reason to believe that on this
night, they intended to make a desperate attack upon the cottage, and to
have murdered all in their power. But Providence otherwise ordered.
About sunset, the little lad came running into the hut, from his play,
exclaiming to his mother, that ‘a strange thing was coming towards the
house.’ My heart throbbed a little at this notice, and soon after, as I
hoped for, I was gratified with the entrance of the driver and guide, of
the long wished for cart. They were cordially welcomed; and as they slept
in the hut, I passed the night with a more temperate feeling, and a mind
less apprehensive of a midnight attack.
To death, and to danger the most terrific, I had been exposed, and had
faced them with manly firmness. I had escaped from wild beasts, and met
the fury of elements, without shrinking; but the horrid prospect of
having my flesh gashed and lacerated, by the knives of the savages, gave
me infinite anguish; and heated with fever, rage and indignation, I could
almost, at times, had it been in my power, have seized indiscriminate
destruction, and like Samson of old, have sacrificed my own life to
relieve it from such a state of torturing suspence, and to take revenge
upon the blood thirsty ruffians; for here were men, if I may so degrade
the term, (for they were not indeed in the image of their Maker,) ‘more
fierce and more inexorable far, than empty tigers, or the roaring sea.’
The twelfth day came, and we were to depart. I hailed it with pleasure,
as a day of second deliverance. The guide and the driver were employed
in the morning, in lining the side of the cart with rushes, to keep off
the wind; they had brought down with them a bed, with coverings and
blankets. The trunk was brought and laid across the fore part of the
cart, by Pedro; while his mother was busy in wrapping me up within, for
the journey. A great number of blankets and coverings, were also thrown
over me. My feet were bound up in woollen, and a flag handkerchief was
tied round my head; I had on, likewise, a large coat, loose pantaloons,
and flannel underdress. A chair was placed at the hinder part of the
cart, which now backed to the door of the cottage, from which I was
lifted inside and placed upon the blankets at the bottom.
At parting I shook the hands of the kind old woman, and my deliverer,
most heartily. A crowd of grateful recollections stifled for a moment my
expressions of gratitude, and started the tears of overpowered feelings.
I left them with fervent benedictions, and we drove off slowly on our way.
During our progress, I had leisure to contemplate my hopes and prospects;
and my mind wanted no food or exercise in considering this odd journey,
and in so odd a company.
The sun beamed forth gloriously, and the day appeared delightful; and
though I could not yet hear the busy hum of men, yet the cheering music
of the feathered warblers, the sight of the vast plains on one side, and
the boundless expanse of the great La Plata on the other; the novelty of
my situation, the memory of past dangers, the many aids of Providence,
whose unseen hand had protected me thus far, and the hopes of future
comforts yet in store, led my thoughts to adore that great and benevolent
Being, without whose notice, not even a sparrow falls to the ground.
Nothing remarkable, excepting one unlucky accident, happened on the road,
which was the loss of the engravings. The guide, who was an ill looking
and suspicious fellow, who lived in the vicinity, had collected them
from the lines in the hut, and put them under the bed at the tail of the
cart. When about half way on our journey, he suddenly dropped astern, and
saying he could go on no farther, pulling out the prints, thrust them
into his bosom, galloped off and vanished.
We were interrogated at the lines by some officers, who came out of a
decent house by the roadside, as we were now near the city, who asked
many questions, and allowed us freely to proceed; in a short time we
gained sight of the gates of Monte Video; at which we at last arrived
about 2 o’clock, P. M. Here I was also stopped by a number of Portuguese
officers, who were tall and well looking men, who asked also many
questions, having previously heard of the shipwreck; they expressed
themselves glad to see me, and we drove into the city.
The streets were not paved, but contained many large loose stones; and
the jolting of the cart over them, which now went at a smart trot, gave
me a severe shaking. The novelty of the sight drew many of the females to
the windows; and I beheld many wondering and fair faces, as I lay on my
back in the cart, exposed to the view of those above me.
We stopped at the house of an English merchant, the consignee, who
immediately came out, and with many friendly congratulations, personally
assisted his slaves in carrying me up stairs; passing along on the flat
roof of the lower story, round the court yard, in the centre, to a small
handsome chamber in the rear, which had been previously fitted up for the
use of one of our passengers. His family consisted of his wife, likewise
English, and an interesting and beautiful child, of about three years
old. His lady, (whom Heaven bless,) was constant in her acts of kindness.
I found I could not support myself in a chair, for this was the first
time, since the disaster, that I had made the attempt, and was therefore
helped to undress, and assisted to bed. This night I slept for the first
time soundly; for I had reached the desired place of security, and my
dreams were not disturbed by the clamor of the guachas.
The next day, my trunk was opened, and the clothes washed and put up in
the neatest order. Two whole pieces of black bombazette, and several
dozen of white cotton hose and socks, were likewise found in it; which
were sold, and brought me about thirty dollars.
Here I was confined for nearly thirty days, and my leg shrunk in that
time to as great an extreme as it was swelled before. By unexampled
kindness, I daily and rapidly improved; and in three weeks was able to
leave the room, and sit outside of the chamber, upon the walk.
One of the owners of the ship happening at this time to be in Monte
Video, instantly came to visit me, and hear the account of the loss
of his ship. When I had repeated the occurrences, and related the
hospitality of the old woman at the cottage, he immediately proposed a
subscription among the merchants for her recompense, generously and nobly
disregarding his own loss, though he was owner of half of the ship, and
uninsured. There came also next day, notaries to take my deposition on
oath, respecting the cause of the ship’s being thrown ashore. It was
accordingly set down as occasioned by the violence of the storm.
I was often solicited by my kind friends, to have medical assistance; but
this I constantly refused. I had never occasion for a physician, having,
doubtless unreasonably, a prejudice against them; nature therefore took
her course, and my leg, though once threatened with amputation, grew
daily stronger, to the surprise of all who first witnessed my situation,
and slowly resumed its natural shape; and in six weeks, I was able to
take the salutary exercise of a walk, with a cane; to ride a short
distance upon a gentle horse, and shortly after, eat at their table.
Gratitude must here be allowed a digression, to give vent to her
feelings, and to prevent her devoirs at the shrine of benevolence. While
under this hospitable roof, all that could contribute to alleviate
pain; everything that could add to my convenience and comfort; kindness,
which anticipated my wishes, I enjoyed in its fullest extent. Though a
distressed foreigner, I was treated as a brother; and though a stranger,
ever welcome to their board. For three weeks, while on the bed of
friendship, I was visited at the first dawn of the morning by the worthy
merchant, who with his own hands would dress my wounds, thus emulating
the example of the good Samaritan.
His name, JOHN L. DARBY, Esq. I with pleasure record. A name well known
to the mercantile community, at Monte Video; and while life continues,
will with me be held dear.
It would be well, if I could here conclude, and the hapless tale could
now be ended. But as a faithful narrator, I am constrained to give its
melancholy sequel.
After I had been in Monte Video about six weeks, I received the shocking
intelligence, that on the night of the same day on which I left the
cottage, the merciless savages attacked and entered the hut of the old
woman, and finding no opposition, as the guards had withdrawn to the
encampment, plundered the hut of all she possessed, wounded the slaves
who opposed them, and after repeatedly stabbing my worthy deliverer,
finished with cutting his throat from ear to ear! How just are the words
of the poet,
‘The ways of heaven are dark, and intricate;
Man, puzzled in mazes and perplexed with errors,
Sees not with how much art the windings turn,
Nor when the regular confusion ends.’
I was now rapidly gaining strength; my leg I could bear my weight on; and
after remaining here two months, I was strong enough to take passage for
Buenos Ayres, distant about a hundred and ten miles, farther up, and on
the opposite side of the river.
I arrived the next day, and found a great number of old acquaintance, who
were very kind and friendly. A subscription paper was immediately handed
round among the English merchants, by the goodness of the owners, Messrs.
MCFARLANE and EASTMAN, to whose friendship I must ever remain indebted,
and several hundred subscribed in an hour, and collected for my benefit.
About two hundred were also collected for the benefit of the old woman at
the hut, and two hundred more previously in Monte Video, and sent down to
her.
I remained some months on account of lameness in Buenos Ayres, and
applied for a passage in the Congress, Captain Sinclair, which was at
that time ready to return home with the three commissioners which she
conveyed out; but failing in this, I soon after had an application to the
birth of first officer of a large ship; the Manhattan, of 700 tons, sent
from the United States to be sold. Not succeeding in the sale, I entered
on board an Enserada, and we proceeded to fit her for her return home in
ballast.
On the 11th of July, 1818, we left the La Plata, and in forty days had
sight of Bermudas. On the 12th of September, we anchored off Fort Henry,
at Baltimore. I was detained here much against my will, twenty days,
in settling the ship’s accounts, taking an inventory, &c. and she was
publicly sold.
On Sunday morning, October 4th, I arrived at my native place, Boston,
after an absence of over two years; when I fully experienced the truth
of the observation, that the unavoidable evils and misfortunes of life,
afford by their contrast, a ten fold relish to its comforts, which are
many, but which before were unprised.
The meeting of relatives must be conceived. I will only add, that safe
in the embrace of parents and friends, forgotten like a dream, WERE THE
PERILS OF THE OCEAN.
APPENDIX.
THE SEA ... A SONG.
FIRST VOICE.
How frightful the sea!—how appalling and wild!—
With the howl of the tempest, the roaring waves pil’d,
And the black clouds contending together!
SECOND VOICE.
How fair is the sea!—and its quiet how deep;
The zephyrs breathe calmly—how soft is its sleep;
How sweet and inspiring the weather!
FIRST VOICE.
Here thunders the storm-king, in terror and gloom,
And soon yonder bark shall encounter her doom—
Dash’d, a wreck, and be heard of no more!
SECOND VOICE.
The goddess Eolia here trips o’er the sea,
And yon gallant vessel, so bounding and free,
Shall, in safety, again greet the shore.
FIRST VOICE.
The demons of night flap their wings o’er the wave;
’Tis the shark’s dread abode—’tis the sea-monster’s cave—
And perils unnumber’d abound!
SECOND VOICE.
The rainbow at eve glads the mariner’s eye,
And all the rich hues of a tropical sky,
Emblazon the horizon round.
FIRST VOICE.
The same sky above, and the same sea below—
Dark or bright, rough or smooth, all the change he can know;
For the sight of the land he’s in sorrow.
SECOND VOICE.
No duns here molest, and no creditors sue;
His bills are all paid, and his cares are but few,
And he smiles at the wants of tomorrow.
FIRST VOICE.
In his blest dreams of home, he’s arous’d from his sleep,
From fireside joys, to the roar of the deep;
And ‘Aloft! meet the storm,’ is the cry.
SECOND VOICE.
To the roar of the tempest he carelessly sings;
No fears to disturb, in his hammock he swings,
And visions of home hover nigh!
FIRST VOICE.
See the lover and friend, and the mother in tears!
Dread sea, thou hast ruin’d the promise of years,
And thy cruelty long they deplore.
SECOND VOICE.
Hark! the archangel’s trump shall one day thro’ the deep,
Wake to life and to light, the long lost ones that sleep,
And old ocean her dead shall restore!
RIO JENEIRO.
Rio Jeneiro, in English, the River January—probably so called from the
month in which it was discovered—embraces the varied prospect of a bay
incomparable in scenery, a smooth harbor, variegated with many pleasant
little islands, which secure and embellish it; the shores on every side
teeming in luxuriant vegetation, and where nature, dressed always in the
robe of spring—gay as in her prime—sports in all her youthful vigor and
beauty. On first beholding this coast, the mind of a stranger is struck
with wonder and pleasure—he beholds mountains piled on mountains, of
every shape and posture—some bending their enormous heads, as if to awe
the lesser hills below, or rising in majestic pomp far above the highest
range of clouds, which float and curl, like misty veils, around them. The
city, St. Sebastian, is surrounded with a range of these high mountains,
which rise at a short distance in the interior, and enclose it as in a
semicircle. This barrier prevents the circulation of the pure mountain
breezes, and occasions a pale and sickly appearance in the sallow
complexions of the inhabitants; the streets, too, which appear like lanes
to an European, are narrow, and the houses lofty, which gives them, at
first, a wild and gloomy appearance. The buildings are mostly of brick
or stone, and plastered; but the eye of the pedestrian is soon diverted
from them, and arrested by the endless change in the faces, dresses and
complexions of the passing swarms that press about him, and throng this
populous, transatlantic city.
Here may be seen at one view, the well-fed priest pushing his fat body
along, and the half starved slave who touches his cap to him, though he
is sweating under the weight of a puncheon, which he assists in bearing
along. The bold free negro, with his cocked hat, and the stiff, proud
courtier, with his ribbands and stars; the thievish soldier off duty,
watching a group of sailors over their pot of wine, at the chop house;
and the strapping female slave, who cries ‘aick!’ and sells water, the
weight of which, in the balanced vessel on her head, would crack any
skull of less solidity than her own; the naval captain in his full dress,
brushing by a noisy pack of young black children, with no dress at all;
the begging friar from the convent, who fills his wallet with provisions,
and never knew a different mode of living; the statesman in black, who
kisses on his knees at the palace door, the one hand of the prince, while
he is eating an apple, a favorite fruit, with the other; the royal guard
of grenadiers, whose antique lengthy coats, make them appear like men of
other days; the droves of blacks, whose skeleton shapes bespeak them
wretches just released from yonder slave ship—these may be seen at once.
But where, oh, where, is lovely woman? To the face of whom, from the face
of naught for tedious months, but boisterous waves and frowning clouds,
the seamen with most pleasure turns. But here he turns in vain, for none
are seen. The sounds too, which stun him, are as varied as the objects
around. The ceaseless clang of a hundred bells, ringing too, rapid as for
life and death; the song and chorus of the laboring slaves, at the quay;
guns firing, rockets mounting, drums beating, chains clanking, and rocks
blowing, would lead a stranger to suppose that they made all this clamor
to drive away ennui, and disperse evil spirits.