a distance, were so terribly frighted, first, at the flash of fire;
secondly, at the noise; and thirdly, at seeing their countryman killed,
that they stood like men stupid and amazed, at first, for some time; but
after they were a little recovered from their fright, one of them, at a
good distance from us, set up a sudden screaming noise, which, it
seems, is the noise they make when they go to fight; and all the rest
understanding what he meant, answered him, and ran together to the place
where he was, and we not knowing what it meant, stood still, looking
upon one another like a parcel of fools.
But we were presently undeceived; for, in two or three minutes more,
we heard the screaming roaring noise go on from one place to another,
through all their little towns; nay, even over the creek to the other
side; and, on a sudden, we saw a naked multitude running from all parts
to the place where the first man began it, as to a rendezvous; and, in
less than an hour, I believe there was near 500 of them gotten together,
armed some with bows and arrows, but most with lances, which they throw
at a good distance, so nicely that they will strike a bird flying.
We had but a very little time for consultation, for the multitude was
increasing every moment; and I verily believe, if we had stayed long,
they would have been 10,000 together in a little time. We had nothing
to do, therefore, but to fly to our ship or bark, where indeed we could
have defended ourselves very well, or to advance and try what a volley
or two of small shot would do for us.
We resolved immediately upon the latter, depending upon it that the fire
and terror of our shot would soon put them to flight; so we drew up all
in a line, and marched boldly up to them. They stood ready to meet us,
depending, I suppose, to destroy us all with their lances; but before
we came near enough for them to throw their lances, we halted, and,
standing at a good distance from one another, to stretch our line as far
as we could, we gave them a salute with our shot, which, besides what we
wounded that we knew not of, knocked sixteen of them down upon the spot,
and three more were so lamed, that they fell about twenty or thirty
yards from them.
As soon as we had fired, they set up the horridest yell, or howling,
partly raised by those that were wounded, and partly by those that
pitied and condoled the bodies they saw lie dead, that I never heard
anything like it before or since.
We stood stock still after we had fired, to load our guns again, and
finding they did not stir from the place we fired among them again; we
killed about nine of them at the second fire; but as they did not stand
so thick as before, all our men did not fire, seven of us being ordered
to reserve our charge, and to advance as soon as the other had fired,
while the rest loaded again; of which I shall speak again presently.
As soon as we had fired the second volley, we shouted as loud as we
could, and the seven men advanced upon them, and, coming about twenty
yards nearer, fired again, and those that were behind having loaded
again with all expedition, followed; but when they saw us advance, they
ran screaming away as if they were bewitched.
When we came up to the field of battle, we saw a great number of bodies
lying upon the ground, many more than we could suppose were killed or
wounded; nay, more than we had bullets in our pieces when we fired; and
we could not tell what to make of it; but at length we found how it
was, viz., that they were frighted out of all manner of sense; nay, I do
believe several of those that were really dead, were frighted to death,
and had no wound about them.
Of those that were thus frighted, as I have said, several of them, as
they recovered themselves, came and worshipped us (taking us for gods or
devils, I know not which, nor did it much matter to us): some kneeling,
some throwing themselves flat on the ground, made a thousand antic
gestures, but all with tokens of the most profound submission. It
presently came into my head, that we might now, by the law of arms, take
as many prisoners as we would, and make them travel with us, and carry
our baggage. As soon as I proposed it, our men were all of my mind; and
accordingly we secured about sixty lusty young fellows, and let them
know they must go with us; which they seemed very willing to do. But
the next question we had among ourselves, was, how we should do to trust
them, for we found the people not like those of Madagascar, but fierce,
revengeful, and treacherous; for which reason we were sure that we
should have no service from them but that of mere slaves; no subjection
that would continue any longer than the fear of us was upon them, nor
any labour but by violence.
Before I go any farther, I must hint to the reader, that from this time
forward I began to enter a little more seriously into the circumstance
I was in, and concerned myself more in the conduct of our affairs; for
though my comrades were all older men, yet I began to find them void of
counsel, or, as I now call it, presence of mind, when they came to the
execution of a thing. The first occasion I took to observe this, was in
their late engagement with the natives, when, though they had taken a
good resolution to attack them and fire upon them, yet, when they had
fired the first time, and found that the negroes did not run as they
expected, their hearts began to fail, and I am persuaded, if their bark
had been near hand, they would every man have run away.
Upon this occasion I began to take upon me a little to hearten them
up, and to call upon them to load again, and give them another volley,
telling them that I would engage, if they would be ruled by me, I'd make
the negroes run fast enough. I found this heartened them, and therefore,
when they fired a second time, I desired them to reserve some of their
shot for an attempt by itself, as I mentioned above.
Having fired a second time, I was indeed forced to command, as I may
call it. "Now, seigniors," said I, "let us give them a cheer." So I
opened my throat, and shouted three times, as our English sailors do on
like occasions. "And now follow me," said I to the seven that had not
fired, "and I'll warrant you we will make work with them," and so it
proved indeed; for, as soon as they saw us coming, away they ran, as
above.
From this day forward they would call me nothing but Seignior Capitanio;
but I told them I would not be called seignior. "Well, then," said the
gunner, who spoke good English, "you shall be called Captain Bob;" and
so they gave me my title ever after.
Nothing is more certain of the Portuguese than this, take them
nationally or personally, if they are animated and heartened up by
anybody to go before, and encourage them by example, they will behave
well enough; but if they have nothing but their own measures to follow,
they sink immediately: these men had certainly fled from a parcel of
naked savages, though even by flying they could not have saved their
lives, if I had not shouted and hallooed, and rather made sport with the
thing than a fight, to keep up their courage.
Nor was there less need of it upon several occasions hereafter; and I do
confess I have often wondered how a number of men, who, when they came
to the extremity, were so ill supported by their own spirits, had
at first courage to propose and to undertake the most desperate and
impracticable attempt that ever men went about in the world.
There were indeed two or three indefatigable men among them, by whose
courage and industry all the rest were upheld; and indeed those two or
three were the managers of them from the beginning; that was the gunner,
and that cutler whom I call the artist; and the third, who was pretty
well, though not like either of them, was one of the carpenters. These
indeed were the life and soul of all the rest, and it was to their
courage that all the rest owed the resolution they showed upon any
occasion. But when those saw me take a little upon me, as above, they
embraced me, and treated me with particular affection ever after.
This gunner was an excellent mathematician, a good scholar, and a
complete sailor; and it was in conversing intimately with him that I
learned afterwards the grounds of what knowledge I have since had in all
the sciences useful for navigation, and particularly in the geographical
part of knowledge.
Even in our conversation, finding me eager to understand and learn, he
laid the foundation of a general knowledge of things in my mind, gave
me just ideas of the form of the earth and of the sea, the situation of
countries, the course of rivers, the doctrine of the spheres, the motion
of the stars; and, in a word, taught me a kind of system of astronomy,
which I afterwards improved.
In an especial manner, he filled my head with aspiring thoughts, and
with an earnest desire after learning everything that could be taught
me; convincing me, that nothing could qualify me for great undertakings,
but a degree of learning superior to what was usual in the race of
seamen; he told me, that to be ignorant was to be certain of a
mean station in the world, but that knowledge was the first step to
preferment. He was always flattering me with my capacity to learn; and
though that fed my pride, yet, on the other hand, as I had a secret
ambition, which just at that time fed itself in my mind, it prompted in
me an insatiable thirst after learning in general, and I resolved, if
ever I came back to Europe, and had anything left to purchase it, I
would make myself master of all the parts of learning needful to
the making of me a complete sailor; but I was not so just to myself
afterwards as to do it when I had an opportunity.
But to return to our business; the gunner, when he saw the service I
had done in the fight, and heard my proposal for keeping a number of
prisoners for our march, and for carrying our baggage, turns to me
before them all. "Captain Bob," says he, "I think you must be our
leader, for all the success of this enterprise is owing to you." "No,
no," said I, "do not compliment me; you shall be our Seignior Capitanio,
you shall be general; I am too young for it." So, in short, we all
agreed he should be our leader; but he would not accept of it alone, but
would have me joined with him; and all the rest agreeing, I was obliged
to comply.
The first piece of service they put me upon in this new command was
as difficult as any they could think of, and that was to manage the
prisoners; which, however, I cheerfully undertook, as you shall hear
presently. But the immediate consultation was yet of more consequence;
and that was, first, which way we should go; and secondly, how to
furnish ourselves for the voyage with provisions.
There was among the prisoners one tall, well-shaped, handsome fellow,
to whom the rest seemed to pay great respect, and who, as we understood
afterwards, was the son of one of their kings; his father was, it seems,
killed at our first volley, and he wounded with a shot in his arm, and
with another just on one of his hips or haunches. The shot in his haunch
being in a fleshy part, bled much, and he was half dead with the loss of
blood. As to the shot in his arm, it had broke his wrist, and he was by
both these wounds quite disabled, so that we were once going to turn him
away, and let him die; and, if we had, he would have died indeed in a
few days more: but, as I found the man had some respect showed him, it
presently occurred to my thoughts that we might bring him to be useful
to us, and perhaps make him a kind of commander over them. So I caused
our surgeon to take him in hand, and gave the poor wretch good words,
that is to say, I spoke to him as well as I could by signs, to make him
understand that we would make him well again.
This created a new awe in their minds of us, believing that, as we could
kill at a distance by something invisible to them (for so our shot was,
to be sure), so we could make them well again too. Upon this the young
prince (for so we called him afterwards) called six or seven of the
savages to him, and said something to them; what it was we know not, but
immediately all the seven came to me, and kneeled down to me, holding up
their hands, and making signs of entreaty, pointing to the place where
one of those lay whom we had killed.
It was a long time before I or any of us could understand them; but one
of them ran and lifted up a dead man, pointing to his wound, which was
in his eyes, for he was shot into the head at one of his eyes. Then
another pointed to the surgeon, and at last we found it out, that the
meaning was, that he should heal the prince's father too, who was dead,
being shot through the head, as above.
We presently took the hint, and would not say we could not do it, but
let them know, the men that were killed were those that had first fallen
upon us, and provoked us, and we would by no means make them alive
again; and that, if any others did so, we would kill them too, and never
let them live any more: but that, if he (the prince) would be willing
to go with us, and do as we should direct him, we would not let him die,
and would make his arm well. Upon this he bid his men go and fetch a
long stick or staff, and lay on the ground. When they brought it, we saw
it was an arrow; he took it with his left hand (for his other was lame
with the wound), and, pointing up at the sun, broke the arrow in two,
and set the point against his breast, and then gave it to me. This was,
as I understood afterwards, wishing the sun, whom they worship, might
shoot him into the breast with an arrow, if ever he failed to be my
friend; and giving the point of the arrow to me was to be a testimony
that I was the man he had sworn to: and never was Christian more
punctual to an oath than he was to this, for he was a sworn servant to
us for many a weary month after that.
When I brought him to the surgeon, he immediately dressed the wound in
his haunch or buttock, and found the bullet had only grazed upon the
flesh, and passed, as it were, by it, but it was not lodged in the part,
so that it was soon healed and well again; but, as to his arm, he found
one of the bones broken, which are in the fore-part from the wrist to
the elbow; and this he set, and splintered it up, and bound his arm in a
sling, hanging it about his neck, and making signs to him that he should
not stir it; which he was so strict an observer of, that he set him
down, and never moved one way or other but as the surgeon gave him
leave.
I took a great deal of pains to acquaint this negro what we intended
to do, and what use we intended to make of his men; and particularly
to teach him the meaning of what we said, especially to teach him some
words, such as yes and no, and what they meant, and to inure him to
our way of talking; and he was very willing and apt to learn anything I
taught him.
It was easy to let him see that we intended to carry our provision with
us from the first day; but he made signs to us to tell us we need not,
for we should find provision enough everywhere for forty days. It was
very difficult for us to understand how he expressed forty; for he
knew no figures, but some words that they used to one another that they
understood it by. At last one of the negroes, by his order, laid forty
little stones one by another, to show us how many days we should travel,
and find provisions sufficient.
Then I showed him our baggage, which was very heavy, particularly our
powder, shot, lead, iron, carpenters' tools, seamen's instruments, cases
of bottles, and other lumber. He took some of the things up in his hand
to feel the weight, and shook his head at them; so I told our people
they must resolve to divide their things into small parcels, and make
them portable; and accordingly they did so, by which means we were fain
to leave all our chests behind us, which were eleven in number.
Then he made signs to us that he would procure some buffaloes, or young
bulls, as I called them, to carry things for us, and made signs, too,
that if we were weary, we might be carried too; but that we slighted,
only were willing to have the creatures, because, at last, when they
could serve us no farther for carriage, we might eat them all up if we
had any occasion for them.
I then carried him to our bark, and showed him what things we had here.
He seemed amazed at the sight of our bark, having never seen anything
of that kind before, for their boats are most wretched things, such as
I never saw before, having no head or stern, and being made only of the
skins of goats, sewed together with dried guts of goats and sheep, and
done over with a kind of slimy stuff like rosin and oil, but of a most
nauseous, odious smell; and they are poor miserable things for boats,
the worst that any part of the world ever saw; a canoe is an excellent
contrivance compared to them.
But to return to our boat. We carried our new prince into it, and helped
him over the side, because of his lameness. We made signs to him that
his men must carry our goods for us, and showed him what we had; he
answered, "Si, Seignior," or, "Yes, sir" (for we had taught him that
word and the meaning of it), and taking up a bundle, he made signs to
us, that when his arm was well he would carry some for us.
I made signs again to tell him, that if he would make his men carry
them, we would not let him carry anything. We had secured all the
prisoners in a narrow place, where we had bound them with mat cords, and
set up stakes like a palisado round them; so, when we carried the prince
on shore, we went with him to them, and made signs to him to ask them if
they were willing to go with us to the country of lions. Accordingly he
made a long speech to them, and we could understand by it that he told
them, if they were willing, they must say, "Si, Seignior," telling
them what it signified. They immediately answered, "Si, Seignior," and
clapped their hands, looking up to the sun, which, the prince signified
to us, was swearing to be faithful. But as soon as they had said so, one
of them made a long speech to the prince; and in it we perceived, by his
gestures, which were very antic, that they desired something from us,
and that they were in great concern about it. So I asked him, as well as
I could, what it was they desired of us; he told us by signs that they
desired we should clap our hands to the sun (that was, to swear) that we
would not kill them, that we would give them chiaruck, that is to say,
bread, would not starve them, and would not let the lions eat them.
I told him we would promise all that; then he pointed to the sun, and
clapped his hands, signing to me that I should do so too, which I did;
at which all the prisoners fell flat on the ground, and rising up again,
made the oddest, wildest cries that ever I heard.
I think it was the first time in my life that ever any religious thought
affected me; but I could not refrain some reflections, and almost tears,
in considering how happy it was that I was not born among such creatures
as these, and was not so stupidly ignorant and barbarous; but this soon
went off again, and I was not troubled again with any qualms of that
sort for a long time after.
When this ceremony was over, our concern was to get some provisions,
as well for the present subsistence of our prisoners as ourselves; and
making signs to our prince that we were thinking upon that subject, he
made signs to me that, if I would let one of the prisoners go to his
town, he should bring provisions, and should bring some beasts to carry
our baggage. I seemed loth to trust him, and supposing that he would
run away, he made great signs of fidelity, and with his own hands tied a
rope about his neck, offering me one end of it, intimating that I should
hang him if the man did not come again. So I consented, and he gave him
abundance of instructions, and sent him away, pointing to the light of
the sun, which it seems was to tell him at what time he must be back.
The fellow ran as if he was mad, and held it till he was quite out of
sight, by which I supposed he had a great way to go. The next morning,
about two hours before the time appointed, the black prince, for so I
always called him, beckoning with his hand to me, and hallooing after
his manner, desired me to come to him, which I did, when, pointing to a
little hill about two miles off, I saw plainly a little drove of cattle,
and several people with them; those, he told me by signs, were the man
he had sent, and several more with him, and cattle for us.
Accordingly, by the time appointed, he came quite to our huts, and
brought with him a great many cows, young runts, about sixteen goats,
and four young bulls, taught to carry burthens.
This was a supply of provisions sufficient; as for bread, we were
obliged to shift with some roots which we had made use of before. We
then began to consider of making some large bags like the soldiers'
knapsacks, for their men to carry our baggage in, and to make it easy
to them; and the goats being killed, I ordered the skins to be spread
in the sun, and they were as dry in two days as could be desired; so we
found means to make such little bags as we wanted, and began to divide
our baggage into them. When the black prince found what they were for,
and how easy they were of carriage when we put them on, he smiled a
little, and sent away the man again to fetch skins, and he brought two
natives more with him, all loaded with skins better cured than ours, and
of other kinds, such as we could not tell what names to give them.
These two men brought the black prince two lances, of the sort they use
in their fights, but finer than ordinary, being made of black smooth
wood, as fine as ebony, and headed at the point with the end of a long
tooth of some creature--we could not tell of what creature; the head was
so firm put on, and the tooth so strong, though no bigger than my thumb,
and sharp at the end, that I never saw anything like it in any place in
the world.
The prince would not take them till I gave him leave, but made signs
that they should give them to me; however, I gave him leave to take them
himself, for I saw evident signs of an honourable just principle in him.
We now prepared for our march, when the prince coming to me, and
pointing towards the several quarters of the world, made signs to know
which way we intended to go; and when I showed him, pointing to the
west, he presently let me know there was a great river a little further
to the north, which was able to carry our bark many leagues into the
country due west. I presently took the hint, and inquired for the mouth
of the river, which I understood by him was above a day's march, and, by
our estimation, we found it about seven leagues further. I take this to
be the great river marked by our chart-makers at the northmost part of
the coast of Mozambique, and called there Quilloa.
Consulting thus with ourselves, we resolved to take the prince, and as
many of the prisoners as we could stow in our frigate, and go about
by the bay into the river; and that eight of us, with our arms, should
march by land to meet them on the river side; for the prince, carrying
us to a rising ground, had showed us the river very plain, a great way
up the country, and in one place it was not above six miles to it.
It was my lot to march by land, and be captain of the whole caravan.
I had eight of our men with me, and seven-and-thirty of our prisoners,
without any baggage, for all our luggage was yet on board. We drove the
young bulls with us; nothing was ever so tame, so willing to work, or
carry anything. The negroes would ride upon them four at a time, and
they would go very willingly. They would eat out of our hand, lick our
feet, and were as tractable as a dog.
We drove with us six or seven cows for food; but our negroes knew
nothing of curing the flesh by salting and drying it till we showed them
the way, and then they were mighty willing to do so as long as we had
any salt to do it with, and to carry salt a great way too, after we
found we should have no more.
It was an easy march to the river side for us that went by land, and
we came thither in a piece of a day, being, as above, no more than six
English miles; whereas it was no less than five days before they came
to us by water, the wind in the bay having failed them, and the way, by
reason of a great turn or reach in the river, being about fifty miles
about.