TOM ROGERS SPINS A YARN--ADVENTURES IN BURMAH--UP THE IRRAWADDY--CAPTURE
OF MARTABAN--TOM'S WHISKERS--CAPTURE OF PROME--EXPEDITION ON SHORE--
GENERAL BUNDOOLAH THINKS DISCRETION THE BETTER PART OF VALOUR--CAMPING
OUT IN THE JUNGLE--ATTACK ON THE GUERILLA'S FORTRESS--DEATH OF CAPTAIN
LOCH--ARCHIE CORRECTS TOM'S LATIN--THE OPAL ORDERED TO SEYCHELLES--
DISEMBARKATION OF THE SLAVES.
The corvette did not sail so soon as Murray had at first intended, it
being necessary to allow the captured slaves a longer time in harbour to
recruit their exhausted strength, glad as all hands would have been to
get them out of the ship. Poor wretches! their unclean habits made them
far from pleasant visitors. They were housed under awnings rigged over
the deck, which it was necessary to wash down frequently with abundance
of water; but even then the sickly odour which pervaded the ship was not
only unpleasant, but calculated to produce sickness among the crew.
Notwithstanding this, the officers made themselves as happy as
circumstances would allow. The midshipmen of the corvette invited those
of the brig to a dinner on board, and Tom Rogers, with several
companions, arrived at the appointed hour.
"Satisfactory enough to capture slavers, but I don't envy you fellows
having to look after the poor slaves now you've got them," observed Tom,
as he glanced his eye over the long rows of negroes seated on the deck,
the men on one side, the women and young children on the other, all
looking pictures of stolid misery, and scarcely yet comprehending that
they were free. All they could think of was that they had been torn
from their homes and families, and were to be carried to a strange land,
where they must of necessity toil hard to support themselves. They
could not yet understand the real benefit they were to derive from the
change, that from henceforth they would live in peace, able to enjoy the
proceeds of their labour without any further expectation of attacks from
foes, and having their dwellings plundered and burned, and themselves
murdered; and, above all things, that they would be instructed in
Christianity and civilisation.
Archie had been looking into the subject. "You see, Tom," he observed,
"until the slave-trade can be altogether abolished on shore, we do all
we can to put a stop to it afloat. The atrocious Arabs are the cause of
all the misery and suffering the slaves endure. It is impossible to
return them to their homes; indeed, in most instances, those homes have
been utterly destroyed; but if they were not, the poor creatures would
run the risk of being again captured; so we do our best to place them in
a far better position than they before enjoyed; and though I'm afraid
that a large number are carried into perpetual slavery, and that many
more perish miserably, still that's not our fault."
"You're right," answered Tom; "I only wish that we had twenty times as
many cruisers out in these seas as we have at present, and that it was
lawful to hang up every skipper, if not the whole of the crews, of all
the dhows with slaves on board whom we could catch. If people in
England knew all the horrors the poor Africans endure, which seem to me
twice as bad as those of the West Coast traffic, I believe they would
rise to a man, and insist on its being put down at whatever cost."
The rest of the midshipmen responded to Tom's generous sentiments, and
the young ones, at all events, agreed that they should be ready to
devote their lives to the service.
A wind-sail brought sufficient air down below to enable the midshipmen
to sit with comparative comfort in their berth--comparative, for the
thermometer stood at not less than 85 degrees; but they were by this
time well accustomed to heat, and endured it with stoical indifference.
Archie and Desmond were especially eager to hear an account of Tom's
adventures since they parted, and he, having no objection to spin a long
yarn, was willing enough to recount them.
"I little thought, when Jack and I went out, that we should see so much
service in a short time," he began. "On our arrival in the Hooghly
river, we found that an expedition had been despatched to teach the King
of Ava better manners than he had lately been exhibiting towards the
British. You will understand that a large river, the Irrawaddy, flows
from north to south through the country. It has several mouths. On the
shores of one of them is situated the town of Rangoon, a biggish place,
with a good deal of trade. Higher up is Prome; while there is another
place, Martaban, on the shore of the gulf of that name. Ava, the
capital, where the king lives, is situated in the interior.
"The governor of Rangoon had been playing all sorts of tricks,
imprisoning several merchant skippers, and insulting and fining others.
They laid their complaints before the authorities at Calcutta, who
resolved to make the governor of Rangoon apologise and recompense the
sufferers. We were, therefore, immediately ordered off to the
Irrawaddy, as soon as we could get in a supply of fresh provisions and
stores. We found the squadron, with a considerable number of troops on
board, anchored off Rangoon. It is a pretty strong place, fortified by
stockades, with heavy batteries of guns. The commodore had sent on
shore to demand an apology of the viceroy, and, as it was supposed he
would at once give it, we had very little expectation of fighting.
However, in the evening, instead of an apology, came a message,
declaring that, if the British ships should attempt to pass the
stockades erected along the banks of the river, they would be fired on.
We had heard that a large number of troops, some said five thousand,
were collected within the fortifications; and each of the boats which
had been sent out reconnoitring brought word that, during the night and
day, they had seen no end of war-boats, full of men, coming down the
Pegu river, evidently to assist in the defence of the place.
Instructions were at once sent to the merchant-vessels to get under way,
and drop down out of the line of fire, while a steamer towed the
commodore's frigate within four hundred yards of the stockade. Here she
anchored to protect the merchant-vessels as they dropped down.
"We had heard, meantime, of a large Burmese war-vessel, of which one of
our steamers was sent in search, while the company's steamers proceeded
up the river to meet a fleet of war-boats, pouring in a tremendous fire
on the stockades on their way. The war-boats, in spite of their gay
flags, and the row their crews kicked up to frighten us barbarians, were
speedily sunk or sent to the right-about; while the batteries on shore,
having soon had enough of it, ceased firing. In a short time we saw our
steamer, the _Hermes_, come puffing up, with the huge Burmese
war-vessel, which she had captured, in tow. After this we did nothing
for some time, except blockading the mouths of the river, completely
putting a stop to the enemy's trade. It was thought by this that the
King of Ava would knock under, but he held out, till at length Admiral
Austin arrived in the _Rattler_, and some days afterwards General
Godwin, as commander-in-chief, with twelve of the company's steamers,
which had nearly six thousand troops on board.
"Our first work was to take Martaban. The steamers, running close into
the city, discharged broadside after broadside, our fire being returned
with considerable spirit; but the enemy's guns being silenced, the
troops were landed, and the Burmese, not liking the glitter of their
bayonets, took to their heels in all directions, we having completely
knocked to pieces all their defences. Leaving a garrison at Martaban,
we proceeded to Rangoon, which had not given in. The fleet, therefore,
took up a position before it, and began in earnest firing away shot and
shell into the batteries for the best part of the day. We soon knocked
the enemy's outer stockades to pieces, and set them on fire; but to do
the Burmese justice, they fought as obstinately as bull-dogs; so we sent
the naval brigade on shore to help the troops. For three days the
fighting continued; stockade after stockade was stormed and taken in
gallant style. Still the enemy retained possession of the city and the
great pagoda.
"On the third day a grand attack was made on it by all the troops and
the naval brigade, and, after some pretty sharp fighting, it fell into
our hands, though we lost several officers killed and wounded.
"We next attacked Basein, where the Burmese fought with a good deal of
bravery, defending themselves in the great pagoda of the city. Again
the naval brigade showed what they were made of. Having landed with a
party of troops, they stormed the great pagoda, into which a large body
of the enemy had thrown themselves; but the place was gallantly taken,
though not without some loss on our side. Meantime, we heard that
Martaban, which had been left with a very small garrison, had been
attacked by the Burmese. We were hurrying back to the assistance of our
friends, when we received intelligence that Major Hall, who had been
left there in command, had driven off the enemy. We had made pretty
sharp work of it already, but there were other and more important places
up the river to be taken. Orders were, therefore, received to send a
squadron of man-of-war's boats to accompany the _Phlegethon_, carrying
between two and three hundred soldiers and about a hundred bluejackets;
and I had the luck to go with them.
"Leaving Rangoon, the _Phlegethon_ steamed away with the boats in tow,
like a comet with its tail out. We came near Pegu, when we found
ourselves under a hot fire from the Burmese on the top of the high
banks. As we were unable to fire in return from the boats, a strong
party was landed under the command of Captain Tarleton. The Burmese
were driven from point to point, till they took shelter within the walls
of the city, when they began firing away pretty warmly with their
jingalls and muskets. As the enemy's shot were flying somewhat thickly
about us, it would never have done to halt. Captain Tarleton,
therefore, having found a native, who, for a bribe, undertook to show
the way, pushed on along the causeway till the city ditch was reached.
Here it was seen that, on one side of the gateway, part of the wall had
tumbled down. Halting for an instant to gain breath, Captain Tarleton
singing out, `On, my lads!' away all hands dashed right up to the wall,
and, scrambling over it like cats, jumped down inside, to the great
astonishment of the enemy, who, not liking their looks, fled for shelter
within their great pagoda; for these fellows always seemed to think that
their temples were the safest places.
"The boats had, in the meantime, been attacked, but were bravely
defended; and the troops, pushing on, soon made their way unexpectedly
into the city. Before the Burmese were aware what we were about, we
stormed the great pagoda, which we soon carried, and the city was ours,
with the loss of one man killed and three wounded. After blowing up the
fortifications, as we had not troops enough to hold the place, we
returned to Rangoon.
"After this we had a good deal of boat-work, cruising along the banks of
the rivers, and dislodging the enemy, who often appeared in some force,
for the purpose of trying to stop the provision-boats which came down to
supply the fleet with grub. Sometimes we landed and drove the fellows
far away into the country. Although they were ready enough to fire at
us from a distance, they never liked the look of our whiskers," whereat
there was a general laugh.
"Whose whiskers, Tom?" asked Archie.
"Well, those of the sogers and bluejackets, of course," said Tom; "how
could they tell that I hadn't a pair too?"
"Well, go on, Rogers," cried several voices; "what did you do next?"
"There was another large place," he resumed, "called Prome, high up the
river, which it was considered important to take, as it formed the chief
defence of the capital. Captain Tarleton was, therefore, ordered to
proceed up the Irrawaddy in the _Medusa_, with three other steamers, of
one of which my brother Jack had the command. Away we steamed for some
distance, without any of the enemy daring to show their faces. We had,
as you will understand, already put them all to flight. At length, at a
place with a precious hard name, Kononghee, about twenty-five miles
below Prome, we came in sight of a large body of men collected on the
banks. We threw a shell into their midst, as a hint to them to be off,
instead of which they began firing away at us with musketry and several
heavy guns. We returned the compliment pretty briskly, till they,
getting the worst of it, as usual, showed their discretion by scampering
off, and not stopping till they thought our shot would not reach them.
"As we were in a hurry to be at Prome, we didn't stop till they came
back, but steamed on till sunset, when we anchored off the town of
Meaoung. We found that the river divided just ahead of us into two
streams, the western and deepest being the only navigable channel for
the greater part of the year. We had arrived, however, at a time when
the eastern channel had plenty of water in it, as we learned from the
pilots. This was a fortunate circumstance, as you shall hear. When we
got near the western channel, we found an immensely strong fort at the
end of a range of hills which completely overlooked the river,
garrisoned by a force of not less than ten thousand men, under a certain
General Bundoolah, the most celebrated warrior in the Burmese army, so
the pilots told us. Though his troops were only armed with matchlocks,
and might have been bad shots, they would have committed a good deal of
mischief by peppering down on our decks; not to speak of what the heavy
guns might have done, placed in a position to rake us as we steamed up.
Had it been necessary, I have no doubt Captain Tarleton would have stood
on; but as there was no object in running the risk if it could be
avoided, just as we came close to the works, and the enemy had begun to
pepper us, he put his helm to port, and, greatly to their
disappointment, steered away up the eastern channel, where not one of
their shot could reach us. We kept the lead going, every moment fearing
that we might get aground, when we should have been somewhat in a mess.
We never had less than two fathoms of water, and sometimes more, so that
we got through without accident; and by steaming on all night, the next
morning at daylight came off Prome.
"At the south end of the city we made out four heavy guns, but the
troops, every man Jack of them, had gone off with General Bundoolah, and
left not one behind to fight them. We therefore brought up abreast of
the spot, and hove them off, spiking the iron guns, and carrying the
brass ones on board, twenty-three in all. Higher up we found between
twenty and thirty more.
"This done, we again got up steam, and paddled ten miles higher. We
were now within four days' steaming of Ava, with a broad, deep river,
easy of navigation, before us. We all hoped that the commodore would
push on and capture the capital. As far as we saw, there was nothing to
prevent him, but the orders he had received were simply to survey the
river as high as Prome, and then to return; so of course he had to obey
them. Why he had not been given discretionary powers to proceed
farther, I don't know. A golden opportunity was lost of catching the
King of Ava by the nose, for we had so nimbly doubled on old Bundoolah
that the chances were we should not have met with the slightest
opposition. You may fancy, therefore, our disappointment when the order
was received to `'bout ship,' and run down the stream again. But it
couldn't be helped--orders are orders--it wasn't the fault of our
gallant commodore.
"After holding Prome four-and-twenty hours, we evacuated the town, and
soon got back into the shallow channel up which we had come. On getting
into the main stream, we caught sight of General Bundoolah's army, some
of the troops on shore, some in boats crossing the river, evidently with
the intention of following us along the banks. I don't suppose they
much liked our looks, for they evidently didn't expect to see us so
soon. Steaming on, we quickly got up to them, and opened with shot and
shell, both on the boats and on the dark-skinned troops which, crowded
together, covered the shore. You may fancy what fearful havoc and
confusion our shells created among the masses of human beings. Many of
the boats were sunk, and the people in the others, finding escape
impossible, hauled down their flags, and made signs that they
surrendered. It was calculated that we captured or sunk forty or fifty
boats. Among them was the old general's state barge and several large
war canoes. On board them were found loot of all sorts, with two gold
umbrellas and a standard. It was some consolation to have these
trophies to exhibit; and as soon as we got back, the commander-in-chief,
who, I daresay, was somewhat vexed at not having beforehand told our
commodore that he was to do as he thought best, ordered us to go back
again with a large body of troops and to take possession of Prome.
"As soon as we got ready, away we steamed, and, the river being still
full, quickly reached our destination. There was not much fight in old
General Bundoolah, after all; one reason was that we had carried off all
his heavy guns. After battering the city, the troops were thrown on
shore, and though the Burmese stood their ground for a short time, they
quickly turned tail, and we entered the city in triumph, without a
single man killed, and only four wounded. As we left Pegu without any
defenders, though the inhabitants had taken a strong liking to us, while
we were away a pretty large Burmese army marched into the place and
began fortifying it. We had therefore to attack it again. Perhaps our
chiefs thought that there wouldn't otherwise be work enough, and so left
the cities we took unguarded.
"We proceeded up the river, and during the night came off the place. At
daybreak, during a thick fog, with as little noise as possible, a body
of troops and another of bluejackets were landed, and we making a dash
on the town, the Burmese, who had no notion we were at hand, were
completely taken by surprise, and away they scampered as hard as their
legs could carry them, as usual to the pagoda, just as rats do to their
holes; whether from being a sort of sacred place they fancied that it
was safer than any other spot, I don't know; at all events, it was more
easily defended. We, however, did not allow them to hold it long,
though they fought desperately. Our troops, making a rush, dashed into
the place and drove them out, not, however, without some considerable
loss, half a dozen of our men being killed, and more than thirty
wounded.
"We had now got hold of all their chief cities except Ava, and why that
was not taken is more than I can say. We might certainly have captured
it, with the king, his white elephant, and all his lords and ladies
together, not to speak of his treasure, which would have given us
something handsome in the way of prize-money. Perhaps it was thought
best not to drive him to desperation, as we had already punished him, or
rather, his unfortunate subjects, pretty severely.
"We had still no end of expeditions on shore; one especially turned out
most disastrously. The Government of Burmah, fancying that we had now
become pretty quiet, and that they could drive us into the sea, allowed
a number of guerilla bands to be organised, which scoured the country in
all directions, and mercilessly robbed the unfortunate people. Among
the most noted of the leaders was a fellow called Mya Toon. After
burning down a number of villages, and committing all sorts of mischief,
he threw himself into a stronghold about twenty-five miles inland from
Rangoon, or rather from a place called Donabew, on the river. A force
of about six hundred men was ordered to get ready to attack the daring
chieftain; about half were soldiers, the remainder seamen and marines,
with their officers. Jack and I had the luck to be chosen, and we
expected to see something of a new style of fighting, and to enjoy a
tramp of twenty miles or more through the country. The expedition was
placed under the command of Captain Loch, whom we all knew to be as good
an officer as any in the service. We carried with us two three-pound
field-guns, and on reaching Donabew landed, and began our march without
encountering an enemy. We were fortunate enough to get hold of some
natives who were willing to act as our guides; for you will understand
that the natives everywhere were friendly to the English, and the troops
only were our enemies.
"We started early on the 3rd of February, the natives drawing our guns
along the pathway, which lay through a thick jungle of tall trees and
brushwood. It was not the pleasantest style of country to traverse,
seeing that a tiger might spring out and carry off a fellow, and that
the enemy, if they had had the wits to do it, might have placed an
ambush, and shot us down without our being able to see one of them.
However, after marching about fifteen miles, we arrived at an open
valley, where we bivouacked. We could hear the enemy all night long
popping away ahead of us pretty smartly. I suppose it was under the
idea they should frighten us barbarians, and prevent our advancing.
However, in that they were mistaken. We lighted our fires and cooked
our suppers, and pretty hungry we were. We then lay down to sleep,
thinking of the work before us on the morrow, and we were of course all
very jolly, expecting to get hold of Mr Mya Toon, and to carry him back
with us in triumph. Little did many of the poor fellows who lay down
that night suppose that it was to be their last on earth.
"The bugle sounded at daybreak, and, springing up, we breakfasted and
recommenced our march, moving along the same sort of path as before,
till it suddenly terminated on the side of a broad nullah, a sort of
natural ditch. The bank on the opposite side was much higher than the
ground we stood on, and we soon saw that it was strongly fortified,
after the Burmese fashion, with sharp-pointed bamboos, over which it was
as difficult to leap as it was to force our way through. The path, too,
was here narrowed by an abattis of the same sharp-pointed bamboos, which
made it impossible to deploy the whole strength of our column; indeed,
our advance guard, consisting of seamen and marines, could only march
two abreast, while our two guns, hauled along by the natives, were in
the rear. Suddenly, as we were looking about us, and thinking what a
nasty sort of place it was, we found ourselves exposed to a tremendous
fire from a horde of banditti, who had hitherto been concealed behind a
breastwork on the opposite bank.
"A gallant officer of the _Fox_, Lieutenant Candy, who commanded the
advanced guard of the bluejackets, and Captain Price, of the Bengal
infantry, led on their men in the most dashing style, intending to force
their way across the nullah and to storm the breastworks. Before they
had gone many paces they were both shot dead, as were many of their
followers. Captain Loch now hurried to the front, and led another party
to the attack. It got some way across, when so murderous was the fire
that he was compelled to retreat, leaving a number of men behind who had
been killed close to him. Still undaunted, he again made the attempt,
and a second time was driven back.
"`We must take the place!' he shouted out; and a third time, rallying
the seamen and marines, he rushed forward, sword in hand, determined to
capture the fort. The Burmese must have had their marksmen, for one
after the other our officers were struck. This time everybody thought
he would succeed, when, as he was advancing, a fellow who had climbed up
a tree overlooking the nullah fired at him, and wounded him desperately,
driving his watch right into his body. Though he suspected that the
wound was mortal, he had strength sufficient to fall back to the rear,
when Commander Lambert, the son of the commodore, took his place.
Though our men were falling thickly around, two more attempts were made
to get across that horrible nullah. Commander Lambert, who had himself
received four shots through his clothes, though he had escaped unhurt,
seeing that success was impossible, as more than half our party had been
killed and wounded, at length ordered us to fall back. I had not
thought about myself, but I thought about my brother Jack a great deal,
and I was thankful to see him get off clear without a wound.
"The enemy kept firing at us as we retreated, but their shot did not
commit much damage, after we got to a little distance. One bad part of
the business was that we were obliged to leave the dead on the field,
for our rascally dhoolie bearers and guides had treacherously decamped,
and we had scarcely men enough remaining to carry the wounded. The
seamen undertook this duty, while the Bengal infantry, in a very gallant
way, for which we were heartily obliged to them, covered our retreat.
The only road that we could possibly take was the one we had come by.
The jungle on each side was so thick that we could not force our way
through it. Happily, for the same reason, I suppose, the enemy did not
get round and meet us in front. They followed, but were afraid to
advance near enough to molest us, the soldiers' rifles reaching farther
than their jingalls or Birmingham muskets.
"We all felt very downcast at the loss we had sustained, but more
especially for that of our brave leader, Captain Loch. He was still
alive, but the surgeon gave us no hopes that he would recover. The heat
was tremendous, the sun burning down on our heads, while we hadn't a
drop of water, and the men had to carry our leader and the rest of the
wounded for nearly twenty miles. Still, all hands did their best to
keep up their courage and discipline, the strongest helping, as far as
they could, the weakest; four or five of our officers, who were
themselves wounded, setting the rest an example. Thankful enough were
we when we caught sight of the river, after a march of twelve hours, and
found ourselves at length seated in the boats, the troops being embarked
on board the _Phlegethon_. Shoving off, we made our way back to
Rangoon, and the next day we heard that Captain Loch had expired within
two days after he had received his wound. We agreed that it was a very
sad affair, and it would have been better had we tried to catch the
robber and his band while they were out foraging.
"We buried Captain Loch on shore, near the great pagoda, at Rangoon, and
I am sure I never joined in a sadder procession than we formed, as,
shoving off, we followed the coffin of our late gallant chief on shore,
and marched to the neighbourhood of the great pagoda. He was buried
with all the honour we could show.
"The robber, Mya Toon, held out for some time longer, till a
considerable force, under Sir John Cheape, was sent against his
stronghold. Even then he showed much pluck, and was not dislodged till
several officers and men on our side had fallen. This was just before
the King of Ava knocked under and sued for peace, giving up the province
of Pegu, which was accordingly attached to the British dominions. The
soldiers had most of the fighting, but we had a good share of it,
_quorum pars magna fui_, and so ends my yarn."
"Bravo, Rogers! an excellent yarn, and capitally told," said several
voices.
"Ye dinna pit your light under a bushel, laddie," remarked Archie.
"Why should I?" exclaimed Tom; "it was for your sakes more than for
mine; you wouldn't have been half as interested if I'd only told you
what I'd heard, whereas I've enabled you, in imagination, to take part
in all the scenes in which my brother Jack and I were engaged."
"Then you should have said _quorum pars magna_ fuit _frater Jackus
meus_," said Archie; "but I suspect that he was the principal actor."
"Of course he was," said Tom; "there's not another fellow in the world
like my brother Jack; I always said so before I came to sea, and now I
have been with him so long, I can say it from my own observation. I
might have said a great deal more about him, only my object was to be
brief." Others of the _Romp's_ youngsters who had been in the
expedition corroborated all that had been said, and made Tom's hearers
wish to have the chance of sailing with Jack Rogers, who was sure, they
agreed, wherever he might be, to cut out work of some sort or other.
More yarns were spun, and many a song sung, before Tom and his shipmates
returned to the brig.
Next morning, as the corvette was weighing anchor, the frigate was seen
coming in from the southward. The _Opal_ accordingly again brought up,
and waited for her arrival. As she came to an anchor, the flags run up
to her masthead summoned Murray on board. The commodore, on hearing of
the number of slaves he had taken, ordered him, instead of going on to
Aden, to proceed to Seychelles, where arrangements had been made for the
reception of liberated Africans, and, as soon as he had landed them and
refreshed his ship's company, to return to the coast, and prosecute his
search for slavers.
"We must strike a blow at this abominable traffic, and put it down at
all cost," exclaimed the commodore; "we have done nothing effectual as
yet--for one vessel captured, fifty have escaped."
The commodore, having come on board the _Opal_ to inspect the slaves,
ordered Murray to get under way immediately. The corvette, running out
round the north end of the island, hauled her wind, and stood eastward
till she reached Seychelles. A look-out was still kept for slavers
which, having hugged the Madagascar shore, might be steering for the
Gulf of Persia. All hands, from the commander downwards, were eager to
arrive at their destination, and to land their cargo of blacks.
Everything possible was done to keep the poor creatures in health, but
notwithstanding this, several died on the voyage every day. Part of the
deck was cleared, and they were encouraged to dance and sing, and amuse
themselves after their own fashion. At first, when they stood up, they
appeared scarcely able to move, but in a short time, their spirits
rising, they began to snap their fingers, bend their bodies, and shuffle
round and round; then to clap their hands and shout and laugh as if all
thoughts of the miseries they had suffered had vanished. To the intense
satisfaction of all on board, the corvette at length, just as the sun
was setting, came in sight across the purple ocean of the green,
foliage-clad islands, in a setting of white sand, surrounded by coral
reefs, amid which she had carefully to pick her way. At some distance
rose the lofty mountains of the principal island of Mahd, while on
either hand were tree-fringed islets, backed by others far-off, blue and
indistinct.
The pilot, coming off, brought the ship to an anchorage a considerable
distance from the town. Anxious as Murray was to get the slaves on
shore, it was impossible to do so that night. Next morning the
disembarkation commenced. Those who wished it were allowed to engage
themselves either as domestic or agricultural servants to the
inhabitants, while the rest were placed on a island where they might
erect huts and cultivate the ground for their own advantage. Pango and
Bango had their choice of landing or remaining on board, but they
preferred continuing in the ship among the crew, whose goodwill they had
secured by their good-humour and willingness to oblige.
All hands luxuriated in the endless variety of fruits brought off by the
boats which were quickly alongside; oranges, plantains, bananas,
alligator-pears, limes, pineapples, and numberless others, including the
bread-fruit; and on going on shore, as some compensation for the
horrible odours they had lately inhaled, they enjoyed the scent of the
countless beautiful flowers which grew not only in every garden, but
lined the roadside and covered the slopes of the hills.
Though the islands belong to England, nearly all the inhabitants
appeared to be French, and French was everywhere spoken. Mr Mildmay,
the only officer who professed to care much for society, was sadly
disappointed on finding that there were no ladies in the place. He,
therefore, in some stanzas which he wrote, described it as a "Paradise
without an Eve."
The great drawback to the place was the heat; for behind the town rises
a precipice upwards of seven thousand feet in height, which effectually
shuts out the breeze, except from one quarter. The summit, however,
being covered by luxuriant vegetation, adds another beautiful feature to
the scenery of the island.