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A VOYAGE TO CACKLOGALLINIA
With a Description of the Religion, Policy, Customs and Manners
of that Country
by
CAPTAIN SAMUEL BRUNT
Reproduced from the Original Edition, 1727,
with an Introduction by
MARJORIE NICOLSON
Published for
THE FACSIMILE TEXT SOCIETY
By Columbia University Press
New York: MCMXL
INTRODUCTION
_A Voyage to Cacklogallinia_ appeared in London, in 1727, from the pen
of a pseudonymous "Captain Samuel Brunt." Posterity has continued to
preserve the anonymity of the author, perhaps more jealously than he
would have wished. Whatever his real parentage, he must for the present
be referred only to the literary family of which his progenitor "Captain
Lemuel Gulliver" is the most distinguished member. Like so many other
works of that period, _A Voyage to Cacklogallinia_ has sometimes been
attributed to Swift; its similarities to the fourth book of _Gulliver's
Travels_ are unmistakable. Again, the work has sometimes been attributed
to Defoe. There is, however, no good reason to believe that either Defoe
or Swift was concerned in its authorship, except in so far as both gave
impetus to lesser writers in this form of composition.
Fortunately the authorship of the work is of little importance. It
lives, not because of anything remarkable in the style or anything
original in its author's point of view, but because of its satiric
reflection of the background of its age. It is republished both because
of its historical value and because of its peculiarly contemporary
appeal today. Its satire needs no learned paraphernalia of footnotes; it
can be readily understood and appreciated by readers in an age dominated
on the one hand by economics and on the other, by science. Its satire--
not too subtle--is as pertinent in our own period as it was two
hundred years ago. Its irony is concerned with stock exchanges and
feverish speculation. It is a tale of incredible inflation and abrupt
and devastating depression. Its "voyage to the moon" has not lost its
appeal to men and women who can still remember a period when human
flights seemed incredible and who have lived to see "flying chariots"
spanning oceans and continents and ascending into the stratosphere.
The first and most obvious interest of the tale is in its reflection
of economic conditions in the early eighteenth century. The period
following the Revolution of 1688 saw tremendous changes in attitudes
toward credit and speculation. A new and powerful economic instrument
was put into the hands of men who had not yet discovered its dangers.
With the natural confusion which ensued between "credit" and "wealth,"
with a new emphasis upon the possible values inherent in "expectations
of wealth" rather than immediate control over money, an unheard-of
speculative emphasis appeared in business. The rapid increase in new
trades and new industrial systems afforded possibilities of immediate
rise to affluence. The outside public engaged in speculation to a degree
not before known. Exaggerated gains, violent fluctuations in prices,
meteoric rises and collapses--these gave rein to a gambling spirit
perennial in man. The word "Projects" enters into literature as a
recurrent motif, strangely familiar to our present generation, which
needs only to turn Defoe's _Essay on Projects_ into contemporary
language to see the similarities between the year 1697 and the year
1939. That essay is filled with talk of "new Inventions, Engines, and I
know not what, which have rais'd the Fancies of Credulous People to such
height, that merely on the shadow of Expectation, they have form'd
Companies, chose Committees, appointed Officers, Shares, and Books,
rais'd great Stocks, and cri'd up an empty Notion to that degree that
People have been betray'd to part with their Money for Shares in a
New-Nothing."
Of the many speculative schemes of the early eighteenth century, none
is better known than the "South Sea Bubble." After a long period during
which English trade with the Spanish West Indies was carried on by
subterfuge, an Act of Parliament in 1710 incorporated into a joint-stock
company the state creditors, upon the basis of their loan of ten million
pounds to the Government and conferred upon them the monopoly of the
English trade with the Indies. In spite of these advantages, however,
the South Sea Company found itself so hampered and limited in credit
that it offered to convert the national debt into a "single redeemable
obligation" to the company in return for a monopoly of British foreign
trade outside England. The immediate and spectacular effect of that
offer is reflected in the many descriptions, both serious and satiric,
of an era of speculation which to many generations might seem
incredible--though not to this generation which has itself lived
through an orgy of speculation.
Clearly the South Sea Bubble, which reached its climax in 1720, was the
chief source of Captain Samuel Brunt's satire, which has an important
place in the minor literature called forth by the wild speculation
connected with the Bubble.[1] If the "Projects" proposed to Captain
Brunt[2] seem extreme to any modern reader, let him turn to the list of
"bubbles," still accessible in many places.[3] Nothing in Brunt is so
fantastic as many of the actual schemes suggested and acted upon in
the eighteenth century. The possibility of extracting gold from the
mountains of the moon is no more fanciful than several of the proposals
seriously received by Englishmen under the spell of speculation. As in
the kingdom of Cacklogallinia, so in London, men mortgaged their homes
and women sold their jewels [4] in order to purchase shares in wildcat
companies, born one day, only to die the next. As the anonymous author
of one of many South Sea Ballads wrote in his "Merry Remarks upon
Exchange Alley Bubbles":
Our greatest ladies hither come,
And ply in chariots daily;
Oft pawn their jewels for a sum
To venture in the Alley.
The meteoric rise in the price of shares in the moon-mountain project
of the Cacklogallinians is no greater than the actual rise in prices of
shares during the South Sea Bubble, when, between April and July, 1720,
shares rose from £120 to £1,020. The fluctuating market of the
Cacklogallinian 'Change, which responded to every rumor, follows
faithfully the actual situation in London in 1720; and the final crash
which shook Cacklogallinian foundations--subtly suggested by Brunt's
unwillingness to return and face the enraged multitude--is an echo of
the crash which shook England when the Bubble was pricked.
But its reflection of the economic background of the age is not the only
reason for the interest and importance of _A Voyage to Cacklogallinia_,
either in its generation or in our own. The little tale has its place in
the history of science, particularly in that movement of science which,
beginning with the "new astronomy" in the early seventeenth century,
was to produce one of the most important chapters in the history
of aviation.[5] So far as literature is concerned, _A Voyage to
Cacklogallinia_ belongs to the literary _genre_ of "voyages to the moon"
which from Lucian to H.G. Wells (even to modern "pulp magazines") have
enthralled human imagination. Yet while its fantasy looks back to
Lucian's Icaro-Menippus, who flew to the moon by using the wing of
a vulture and the wing of an eagle, its suggestion of the growing
scientific temper of modern times makes it much more than mere fantasy.
In the semilegendary history of Iran is to be found a tale, retold by
Firdausi in the _Shaknameh_, of Kavi Usan, who "essayed the sky To
outsoar angels" by fastening four eagles to his throne. The Iranian
motif was adopted in the romances of Alexander the Great and so passed
into European literature. The researches of Leonardo da Vinci upon the
muscles of birds and the principles of the flight of birds brought over
to the realm of science ideas long familiar in tale and legend. Francis
Bacon did not hesitate to suggest in his _Natural History_ (Experiment
886) that there are possibilities of human flight by the use of birds
and "advises others to think further upon this experiment as giving
some light to the invention of the art of flying."
John Wilkins, one of the most influential early members of the Royal
Society, in his _Mathematicall Magick_,[6] in 1648, suggested "four
several ways whereby this flying in the air hath been or may be
attempted." He listed, as the second, "By the help of fowls." Ten years
earlier there appeared in England during the same year two works which
were to have great influence in popularizing the theme of light:
Wilkins's _Discovery of a World in the Moone_,[7] a serious
semiscientific work on the nature of the moon and the possibility of
man's flying thither, and a prose romance by Francis Godwin, _The Man in
the Moone: or, A Discourse of a Voyage thither by D. Gonsales._[8] These
two works were largely responsible for the emergence of the old theme of
flight to the moon in imaginative literature; the English translation of
Lucian at almost the same time perhaps aided in advancing the popularity
of the idea.
The similarities between Brunt's romance and Godwin's tale a century
earlier are too striking to be fortuitous, and, indeed, there is no
question that Brunt used Godwin as one of his chief sources. An earlier
_Robinson Crusoe_, an idyllic _Gulliver's Travels_, Godwin's _The Man in
the Moone_ helped to establish in English literature the vogue of the
traveler's tale to strange countries. Domingo, like Captain Samuel
Brunt, draws from the "exotic" tradition. Both travelers find themselves
in strange lands; both experience many other adventures before they make
their way to the moon, drawn by birds.
But the century which elapsed between Godwin's fanciful tale and Brunt's
fantastic romance felt the impact of the new science. No matter how
clearly both tales draw from old traditions of legend and literature,
no matter how many elements of fantasy remain, there is a profound and
fundamental difference between them. Godwin's hero made his way to the
moon by mere chance; it happened that he harnessed himself to his gansas
during their period of hibernation. Too late, he discovered that gansas
hibernate in the moon! The earlier voyage took only "Eleven or Twelve
daies"--and that by gansa power! The earlier author did not suggest that
his hero encountered any particular difficulties of respiration, nor did
he pause to consider in detail the problem of the nature of the
intervening air through which his hero passed.
But a hundred years of science had intervened between Godwin's tale and
that of Captain Samuel Brunt. The later voyage to the moon is no less
fantastic in its outlines than is the earlier, yet it shows clearly the
impact of science upon popular imagination. The imagination of man had
expanded with the expanding universe. Brunt takes care to indicate the
vast distance between the earth and the moon by subtle mathematical
suggestion. Although both travelers flew "with incredible swiftness,"
the eighteenth-century flyers found that it was "about a Month before
we came into the Attraction of the Moon." Brunt's account of the
preparation for the ascent into the orb of the moon is almost as careful
as a modern account of an ascent into the stratosphere. His bird flyers
lay their plans deliberately and upon the basis of the most recent
scientific discoveries. There is nothing fortuitous about their final
ascent. Brunt was clearly aware of the work of many scientists, notably
Boyle, upon the nature and rarefaction of the air. His flyers proceed
by slow stages, accustoming themselves gradually to the rarefied air,
assisting their respiration by the use of wet sponges. They learn by
experience the answer to the problems with which Godwin's mind had
played but which many later scientific writers had considered more
definitely: what is the nature of gravity; how far beyond the confines
of the earth does it extend; what would happen to man could he "pass the
Atmosphere"? The generation to which Captain Samuel Brunt belonged might
still delight in the fantastic; but like our own generation, it insisted
that fantasy must rest upon that which is at least scientifically
possible, if not probable.
_A Voyage to Cacklogallinia_ is republished today because of its appeal
to many readers. It offers something to the student of economic history;
something to the student of early science. It is one of several
little-known "voyages to the moon," of which the most famous are
those of Cyrano de Bergerac, a form of reading in which our ancestors
delighted and which deserve to be collected. But apart from having a
not-inconsiderable historical interest, it remains the kind of tale
which may be read at any time because it appeals to the fundamental love
of adventure in human beings. Its author was undoubtedly only one of
many men who, under the influence of Godwin, Swift, and others, could
weave a tale in an accepted pattern. Yet there are elements which
make it unique; and it deserves at least this opportunity of rising
phoenix-like from the ashes of the past and being treasured by
posterity.
MARJORIE NICOLSON
Smith College
Northampton, Mass.
Nov. 3, 1939
[1: The best treatment of the South Sea Bubble for students of
literature will be found in Lewis Melville, _The South Sea Bubble_,
Boston, 1923. The author has also included in his volume extracts
from dozens of satires which appeared after 1720. He does not,
however, mention _A Voyage to Cacklogallinia_.]
[2: Pages 107 ff.]
[3: The list of "bubbles" may be found in Melville, _op. cit._,
chap, iv; Cobbett, _Parliamentary History_, VII, 656 ff., Somers,
_Tracts_ [ed. 1815], XIII, 818.]
[4: Contemporary letters indicating the interest of both men and
women in speculation may be found in _Historical Manuscripts
Commission_, XLV, 200, and CXXV, 288, 294-95, 349-50.]
[5: I have discussed the relationship between aviation and the "new
astronomy" in several articles dealing with voyages to the moon.
Bibliography may be found in two of these, "A World in the Moon,"
in _Smith College Studies in Modern Languages_, Vol. XVII (No. 2,
January, 1936), and "Swift's 'Flying Island' in the 'Voyage to
Laputa,'" _Annals of Science_, II (October, 1937), 405-31.]
[6: _Mathematicall Magick; or, The Wonders That May Be Performed
by Mechanicall Geometry_, London, 1648; in _Mathematical and
Philosophical Works_, London, 1802, II, 199.]
[7: _The Discovery of a World in the Moone; or, A Discourse Tending
to Prove, That 'Tis Probable There May Be Another Habitable World in
That Planet_, London, 1638.]
[8: _The Man in the Moone; or, A Discourse of a Voyage thither
by D. Gonsales_, [By F.G.], London, 1638. This has recently been
republished from the first edition by Grant McColley in _Smith
College Studies in Modern Languages_ XIX (1937).]
* * * * *
[Illustration]
* * * * *
A VOYAGE TO CACKLOGALLINIA:
With a Description of the Religion, Policy, Customs and Manners,
of that Country
by
CAPTAIN SAMUEL BRUNT
London:
Printed by J. WATSON in Black-Fryers, and
sold by the Booksellers of London and
Westminster. 1727
[Price Sticht, Two Shillings and Sixpence.]
Nothing is more common than a Traveller's beginning the Account of
his Voyages with one of his own Family; in which, if he can't boast
Antiquity, he is sure to make it up with the Probity of his Ancestors.
As it can no way interest my Reader, I shall decline following a Method,
which I can't but think ridiculous, as unnecessary. I shall only say,
that by the Death of my Father and Mother, which happen'd while I was
an Infant, I fell to the Care of my Grandfather by my Mother, who was a
Citizen of some Note in _Bristol_, and at the Age of Thirteen sent me to
Sea Prentice to a Master of a Merchant-man.
My two first Voyages were to _Jamaica_, in which nothing remarkable
happen'd. Our third Voyage was to _Guinea_ and _Jamaica_; we slaved, and
arrived happily at that Island; but it being Time of War, and our Men
fearing they should be press'd (for we were mann'd a-peak) Twelve,
and myself, went on Shore a little to the Eastward of _Port Morante_,
designing to foot it to _Port Royal_. We had taken no Arms, suspecting
no Danger; but I soon found we wanted Precaution: For we were, in less
than an Hour after our Landing, encompass'd by about Forty Run-away
Negroes, well arm'd, who, without a Word speaking, pour'd in upon us a
Volley of Shot, which laid Eight of our Company dead, and wounded the
rest. I was shot thro' the right Arm.
After this Discharge, they ran upon us with their Axes, and (tho' we
cried for Mercy) cruelly butcher'd my remaining four Companions.
I had shared their Fate, had not he who seemed to Head the Party,
interposed between me and the fatal Axe already lifted for my
Destruction. He seized the designed Executioner by the Arm, and said,
_No kill te Boy, me scavez him; me no have him make deady_. I knew not
to what I should attribute this Humanity, and was not less surprized
than pleas'd at my Escape.
They struck off the Heads of my Companions, which they carried with 'em
to the Mountains, putting me in the Center of the Company.
I march'd very pensively, lamenting the Murder of my Ship-mates, and
often wish'd the Negro who saved me had been less charitable; for I
began to doubt I was reserved for future Tortures, and to be made a
Spectacle to their Wives and Children; when my Protector coming up to
me, said, _No be sadd_, Sam, _you no scavez me?_ I look'd earnestly at
the Fellow, and remember'd he was a Slave of a Planter's, a distant
Relation of mine, who had been a long while settled in the Island: He
had twice before run from his Master, and while I was at the Plantation
my first Voyage, he was brought in, and his Feet ordered to be cut off
to the Instep (a common Punishment inflicted on run-away Slaves) by my
Intercession this was remitted, and he escaped with a Whipping.
I ask'd if his Name was not _Cuffey_, Mr. _Tenant_'s Negro?
"My Name _Cuffey_, said he, me no _*Baccararo_ Negro now; me Freeman.
[*_Baccararo_, the Name Negroes give the Whites.] You no let cutty
my Foot, so me no let cutty your Head; no be sadd, you have _bumby
grande *yam yam_. [*_Yam yam_, in Negroes Dialect, signifies
victuals.]"
He endeavoured to comfort me under my Afflictions in this barbarous
Dialect; but I was so possess'd with the Notion of my being reserv'd to
be murdered, that I received but little Consolation.
We marched very slowly, both on account of the Heat, and of the Plunder
they had got from some Plantations; for every one had his Load of Kidds,
Turkies, and other Provisions.
About Three in the Afternoon, we reach'd a Village of run-away Negroes,
and we were received by the Inhabitants with all possible Demonstrations
of Joy. The Women sung, danc'd, and clapp'd their Hands, and the Men
brought _Mobby_ (a sort of Drink) and Rum, to welcome the return'd
Party. One of the Negro Men ask'd _Cuffey_, why he did not bring my
Head, instead of bringing me alive? He gave his Reason, at which he
seem'd satisfied, but said it was dangerous to let a _Baccararo_ know
their Retreat; that he would tell Captain _Thomas_, and he must expect
his Orders concerning me.
_Cuffey_ said he would go to give Captain _Thomas_ an Account of what
had happen'd in this _Sortie_, and would carry me with him. As they
spoke in the Negroes _English_, I understood them perfectly well. My
Friend then went to Captain _Thomas_, who was the Chief of all the
run-away Blacks, and took me with him. This Chief of theirs was about
Seventy Five Years old, a hale, strong, well-proportion'd Man, about Six
Foot Three Inches high; the Wooll of his Head and his Beard were white
with Age, he sat upon a little Platform rais'd about a Foot from the
Ground, accompanied by Eight or Ten near his own Age, smoaking Segars,
which are Tobacco Leaves roll'd up hollow.
_Cuffey_, at his Entrance, threw himself on his Face, and clapp'd
his Hands over his Head; then rising, he, with a visible Awe in
his Countenance, drew nearer, and address'd the Captain in the
_Cholomantæan_ Language, in which he gave an Account, as I suppose, of
his Expedition; for when he had done speaking, my Comrades Heads were
brought in, and thrown at the Captain's Feet, who returned but a short
Answer to _Cuffey_, tho' he presented him with a Segar, made him sit
down, and drank to him in a Calabash of Rum.
After this Ceremony, Captain _Thomas_ address'd himself to me in perfect
good _English_.
Young Man, _said he,_ I would have you banish all Fear; you are not
fallen into the Hands of barbarous Christians, whose Practice and
Profession are as distant as the Country they came from, is from
this Island, which they have usurp'd from the original Natives.
Capt. _Cuffey_'s returning the Service you once did him, by saving
your Life, which we shall not, after the Example of your Country,
take in cold Blood, may give you a Specimen of our Morals. We
believe in, and fear a God, and whatever you may conclude from the
Slaughter of your Companions, yet we are far from thirsting after
the Blood of the Whites; and it's Necessity alone which obliges us
to what bears the face of Cruelty. Nothing is so dear to Man as
Liberty, and we have no way of avoiding Slavery, of which our Bodies
wear the inhuman Marks, but by a War, in which, if we give no
Quarter, the _English_ must blame themselves; since even, with a
shew of Justice, they put to the most cruel Deaths those among us,
who have the Misfortune to fall into their Hands; and make that a
Crime in us (the Desire of Liberty, I mean) which they look upon
as the distinguishing Mark of a great Soul. Your Wound shall be
dress'd; you shall want nothing necessary we have; and we will see
you safe to some Plantation the first Opportunity. All the Return we
expect, is, that you will not discover to the Whites our Place of
Retreat: I don't exact from you an Oath to keep the Secret; for who
will violate his Word, will not be bound down, by calling God for a
Witness. If you betray us, he will punish you; and the Fear of your
being a Villain shall not engage me to put it out of your Power to
hurt us, by taking the Life of one to whom any of us has promised
Security. Go and repose your self, Captain _Cuffey_ will shew you
his House.
I made an Answer full of Acknowledgments, and _Cuffey_ carried me home,
where my Hurt, which was a Flesh Wound, was dress'd: He saw me laid on a
Matrass, and left me. About Eight, a Negro Wench brought me some Kid
very well drest, and leaving me, bid me good Night. Notwithstanding my
Hurt, I slept tolerably well, being heartily fatigued with the Day's
Walk.
Next Morning, _Cuffey_ saw my Wound drest by a Negro sent for from
another Village, who had been Slave to a Surgeon several Years, and was
very expert in his Business. The Village where I was contained about Two
and Fifty Houses, made of wild Canes and Cabbage Trees; it was the
Residence of Captain _Thomas_. Here were all sorts of Handicrafts, as,
Joyners, Smiths, Gunsmiths, Taylors, _&c._ for in _Jamaica_ the Whites
teach their Slaves the Arts they severally exercise. The Houses were
furnished with all Necessaries, which they had plundered from the
Plantations; and they had great Quantities of Corn and Dunghill
Fowl.
Captain _Thomas_ sometimes sent for me, and endeavour'd, by his
Kindness, to make my Stay among 'em as little irksome as possible. He
often entertain'd me with the Cruelty of the _English_ to their Slaves,
and the Injustice of depriving Men of that Liberty they were born
to.
In about a Fortnight, my Wound was thoroughly cured, and I begg'd of
Captain _Thomas_ to let me be directed to the next Plantation. He
promis'd I shou'd, as, soon as he could do it with Safety. I waited with
Patience, for I did not think it just he should, for my sake, hazard his
own, and the Lives of his Followers.
About a Week after this Promise, I reminded him of it, and he told me,
that a Party from a Neighbour Village being out, he could not send me
away: For shou'd those Men miscarry, he might be suspected of having, by
my Means, betray'd 'em to make his own Peace with the Whites; for (said
he) the Treachery our People have observed among those of your Colour,
has made 'em extreamly suspicious. I was obliged to seem contented with
his Reason, and waited the Return of this Party, which in about ten Days
after, came back, laden with Provisions, Kitchen Furniture and Bedding;
but the most acceptable part of their Booty, was Two small Caggs of
Powder, of Eight Pound Weight each, and near Two Hundred of Lead. They
also brought with 'em the Heads of the Overseer, and the Distiller
belonging to _Littleton_'s Plantation, both white Men, whom they met
separately in the Woods.
Captain _Thomas_ now promis'd me, that the next Day I should be guided
to _Plantane-Garden-River-Plantation_, which was no small Satisfaction
to me. I left the Captain at Eleven o' Clock who gave Orders for the
entertaining the Party, and the spending the Day in Merriment. About
Three, when they were in the midst of their Jollity, one of the Scouts
brought Word, that he had discovered a Party of white Men, who were
coming up the Mountain. The Captain immediately ordered all the Women
and Children to a more remote Village, and sent for the ablest Men from
thence, while he prepared to give the Enemy a warm Reception. Every Man
took a Fusil, a Pistol, and an Axe: Ambuscades were laid in all the
Avenues to the Village; he exhorted his Men to behave themselves
bravely, there being no way to save their Lives, but by exposing them
for the common Safety. He told 'em, they had many Advantages; for the
Whites did not so well, as they, know all the Passages to the Mountain;
and that they could not, at most, march in the widest, above Two
a-breast; that the Way was rugged, troublesome to climb, and expos'd
them to their Fire, while they lay hid in their Ambuscades he had
appointed 'em.
But (said he) were we to meet 'em upon even Terms, yet our
Circumstances ought to inspire Resolution in the most fearful: For,
were any among us of so poor a Spirit, to prefer Slavery to Death,
Experience shews us, all Hopes of Life, even on such vile Terms,
are entirely vain. It is then certainly more eligible to die bravely
in Defence of our Liberty, than to end our Lives in lingring and
exquisite Torments by the Hands of an Executioner. For my Part, I am
resolved never to fall alive into the Hands of the Whites, and I
think every one in the same Circumstances ought to take the same
Resolution.
After this Exhortation, and the Departure of those laid in Ambush, he
order'd me to go with the Women, Children, and _Cuffey_, whom he had
sent to head the Men he had commanded from the other Village. I had not
been gone a Quarter of an Hour, in which time I was hardly got Half a
Mile, before I heard a very warm Firing. We went still higher up the
Mountain, thro' a very difficult Passage; the Village we were order'd
to, was about half a League from that we left, than which it was much
larger, and more populous; for here were at least One Hundred and Twenty
Houses, and as many able Men, with about four times the Number of Women
and Children.
The Alarm had been given them by an Express from Captain _Thomas_, and
we met about half way, near Fifty Negroes arm'd in the manner already
mentioned. They were headed by an old Woman, whom they look'd upon a
Prophetess. _Cuffey_ recommended me to her Protection, took upon him the
Command of the Men, and return'd, after asking this Beldame's Blessing,
which she gave him with Assurance of repelling the Whites.
The Fire all this while was very brisk, and the old Woman said to me,
that she saw those in Ambush run away from the Whites, tho' she lay with
her Face on the Ground. _No matter_, continued she, _let the Cowards
perish, the Whites will burn _Cormaco (the Village I came from)_ that's
all. They come again another Day, then poor Negroes all
lost._
The Shot continued near two Hours, but not with near that Briskness it
began; and the old Woman rising, bid me see the Smoke of _Cormaco_.
_Captain Thomas_, said she, _send away the white Man._
I staid by my Protectress, whom I durst not quit, tho' I did not like
her Company. About half an Hour after the Shot began, and continued for
near that Space pretty brisk, and then ceas'd. Soon after, we saw a
Negro dispatch'd by Captain _Thomas_, who told us the Whites had burnt
_Cormaco_, but were gone away, and that Captain _Thomas_ was coming. He
appeared not long after with _Cuffey_, and about Forty other Negroes.
I learn'd from him, that the _English_, by Fault of their Scouts, had
seized the Places where he design'd his Ambushes, kill'd Part of the Men
he had sent, and pursued the rest to the Village, where they defended
themselves, till the Whites had broke thro' the back Part of some
Houses, and set Fire to the whole Village; that he then retired with his
Men up the Mountains, the Whites following him; but he having the Start,
while they were busied in burning and plundering, he wheel'd round, and
came upon their Backs, and from the Woods and Bushes poured in his Shot;
his Men being all well cover'd, the Whites did them no Harm, and thought
proper to retire with the Loss of Six Men, and many wounded, for there
were Thirty and a Captain. We have lost, said he, Twenty Two Men, and
our Village is burnt. Soon after, we were join'd by about Forty more
Negroes, and we all went to the Village I was order'd to, which they
called _Barbascouta_.
The next Morning, a Council was call'd, which breaking up, four Negroes,
who had not behaved well in this last Action, were brought bound, and
laid in the largest Street upon their Backs; all the Women and Children
piss'd upon them; after which, Captain _Thomas_ told 'em, That the
Example they had given, had it been follow'd, must have ended in the
Destruction of 'em all; and tho' their Crime was pardon'd, and their
Lives given 'em, yet they must not hereafter think of being Freemen,
since they did not deserve that Liberty which they were not zealous in
defending; neither cou'd they, after the Disgrace they had suffer'd,
and which they deservedly had brought on themselves, hope ever to be
admitted into the Company of brave Men, were they exempted from the
Slavery to which their Pusillanimity had condemn'd 'em. After this
they were sold to the best Bidder. I remember, he who was sold at the
greatest Price, brought no more than Two Dozen of Fowls and a Kid, to
be paid the next publick Festival. The Scout who had not given timely
Advice of the Enemy's Approach, was next brought out and beheaded; and
Three, who run away at the first Attack, were hang'd. Out-Centinels were
placed, and all the Men lay that Night on their Arms, for _Qwanaboa_,
their Prophetess, foretold another Attack, which she apprehended wou'd
prove their Ruine, if not prevented by uncommon Vigilance and
Bravery.
Four Days pass'd, and none of the Enemy appearing, they began to recover
their Spirits, and grew less cautious; their most advanced Scouts were
recalled, and they imagin'd the _English_ had no Knowledge of this
Village. The Fifth at Night, when they were in perfect Tranquillity,
the _English_, who had, by a distant and difficult way, climb'd the
Mountains, and got above the Village, about Twelve at Night, came down
upon 'em, and were in the Streets before the Negroes had any Inkling of
their being so near. They enter'd the Village with Thirty or Forty Men,
and about half that Number intercepted all the Ways. Here began a cruel
Slaughter, for none they could light on were spared, but Women and
Children, who were all taken. Capt. _Thomas_ fought, and died like a
Hero; my grateful _Cuffey_, join'd by about a Dozen more, made all
possible Resistance; but finding their utmost Efforts useless, taking
me with them, with Menaces, if I did not go freely, they clamber'd over
some Rocks, and skulking thro' the thick of the Woods, reach'd a Morass
on the top of the Mountain, where we lay hid Three Days. The Fourth,
press'd by Hunger, Six of 'em ventured out to get Plantanes, but they
never returned; for which Reason, the Fifth Day we went in Search of
Food. At Night we got into a Plantane Walk, from whence, after having
fill'd our Bellies, and loaded our Backs, with the ripe Fruit, we
retired to the Woods.
Next Day, _Cuffey_ went out by himself, and, at his Return, told us,
he had observ'd a large Canoe with Sails and Paddles, at the Sea Side,
which belonged he believ'd to some Fishing Negroes. He propos'd the
siezing, loading it with Plantanes, and going to the _Spanish_ Coast,
which he was sure he could make shift to find, having been there with
the _Buccaniers_. This was unanimously agreed to by the rest. I desired
to be left behind, but their Fear wou'd not let 'em consent to my Stay.
At Night we went again to the Plantane Walk, where I hop'd to make my
Escape; but one of 'em always held me by the Arm, suspecting I would
give 'em the slip. Being loaded, we follow'd _Cuffey_ to the Canoe,
where we found a Negro asleep, whom they bound, and having taken what
Plantanes they thought fit, and found two large Runlets of Water in the
Canoe, with Fishing-nets and other Tackle, they set Sail about Eleven
o' Clock with a fine Hand Breeze, which carried us before Day to the
last End of the Island.
The next Day about Even, we saw _Hispaniola_, and landed at Four o'Clock
the Day following in a Creek, where we filled our Runlets with fresh
Water, and going up into the Country, we catched a Number of Land
Crabbs, which we dress'd and eat.
We lay two Days in this Creek, and in the Night of the second, coasted
along the Island unperceived; but as we cross'd the Streights between
Cape _Maese_ and Cape _Nicholas_, which divides the Islands of
_Hispaniola_ and _Cuba_, we were seen and chased by a Sloop, which very
soon came up with us, and proved a Free-booter, whose Crew was of all
Nations and Colours. They offer'd the Seven Negroes their Liberty, and
each Half a Share of an able Seaman, which they readily accepted. To me
they would have given a whole Share, but I refusing to join 'em, they
resolved to set me on Shore with the first Conveniency, tho' some were
for throwing me over-board.
We were Eight Days without seeing a Sail, but the Ninth, about Break of
day the Man at the Top-mast Head, descried one on our Leeward Bow. The
Pyrates immediately prepared for an Engagement; we clapp'd our Helm
a-weather, eas'd out our Main-sheet, and gave Chase. She proved a tall
Ship, and did not seem to make Sail to avoid us; which was the Reason we
brought to, and a Consultation was held, whether it was safe or not to
venture upon her? It was resolved in the Affirmative. In Consequence of
this, we bore away for her, and when we were in less than Gun Shot, we
perceived she was very deep, _Spanish_ built, and mounted Thirty Guns by
the Number of Ports, tho' we were surprized they were all close, and not
a Man appeared on her Decks.
The Resolution was taken, to board on the Quarter, which they did; but
seeing no body appear, they feared some Stratagem. However, some of the
Crew ran into the Steerage and Great Cabbin; but seeing nobody, they
went between Decks, and, upon Examination, found her a Ship abandon'd,
and that she had Six Foot Water in the Hold. They took out of the Great
Cabbin Two Chests of Pieces of Eight, with some Hammocks and Cloaths
from between Decks, and so left her.
The next Day, we spied another Sail, which gave us Chase: We lay bye,
till we saw she was an Overmatch for us; for by the Canvass she spread,
we concluded her no less than a Man of War of Fifty Guns. We clapp'd
upon a Wind, and made all the Sail, and lay as close as we possibly
could, but it blowing a fresh Gale, we found she gain'd upon us. This
obliged our Men to throw over the Treasure which they had found the Day
before, and had been the Cause of no small Joy. Finding she still gained
upon us, we threw over our Eight Guns, which together with the Wind's
slackening, was the Means of our Escape; for now we visibly wrong'd the
Ship, and in less than Six Hours, lost her.
The Loss of the Money was a considerable Affliction to the Crew, but
that of their Guns was so great a one, it had well near set them all
together by the Ears. Some condemn'd the Captain for ordering them to be
thrown over, others justifying what he had done, as the only Means of
their Escape. At length, good Words, and a Bowl of Punch the Captain
made for each Mess, laid this Storm for a while; but that which at first
pacify'd these turbulent Spirits, was what blew them up again: For when
they were all drunk, the Boatswain said the Captain was a Coward, and
took a Merchant-man for a Man of War: That his Fear had magnified the
Object, and deprived them of the Means of either taking others, or
defending themselves. This he said in the Captain's Hearing, who,
without returning any Answer, took a Pistol from his Girdle, and shot
him dead; and then seizing another Mutineer, he ordered him a Hundred
Lashes at the Gangway, which were very honestly paid him.
After this, he called all Hands upon Deck, and told them he should not
be fit to command so many brave Fellows, would he suffer any to insult
him: That if any on board thought he was a braver Man than himself, he
was ready to shew him his Error, either with his Fusil, Pistol, or
Cutlass: That since they had done him the Honour to chuse him Captain,
he would carry Command, which all brave and experienced Men knew
necessary, and none but Cowards would murmur at. That, as to the
Boatswain, he had deserved his Death, since one Mutineer was enough to
breed Confusion in the Vessel, which must end in the Destruction of them
all.
What, _continued he_, I have already said, I repeat, If any Man
has a Mind to exchange a Ball with me, I am ready for him; but while
I am Captain, I will be Captain, and let the boldest of ye disobey
my Commands.
This resolute Procedure quash'd the Mutineers, and he ever after kept
a strict Command, and was esteemed a gallant Man.
Two Days after this, we fell in with a _Spanish Garde de Costa_, and Two
Sloops; they boarded, and with very little Resistance, took the Ship,
tho' she had Fourscore Hands on board, and our Sloop but Ninety. She was
mounted with Twenty Guns, but her great Shot did us but little Damage.
The two Sloops were _English_, going to the Bay of _Campechy_ with
Provisions, which we wanted very much. They were taken but the Day
before by the _Spaniards_, and tho' they endeavoured to get off, when
they saw we had carried the Frigate, yet our Sloop wrong'd 'em so much,
that we soon came up with, and took them. There were Twelve _Englishmen_
on board the Prize, Four of which took on with us.
Our Captain now quitted his Sloop, went on board the Ship, which he
called the _Basilisk_, and left the Three Sloops to the _Spaniards_.
The Eight _English_, who refused to take on with him, he kept on board,
promising to set them on shore on the East End of _Jamaica_ in few Days,
but refused them one of the Sloops, which they desired; I suppose,
fearing, at their Arrival, some Man of War might be sent in Search of
him, or, may be, hoping to bring them over, for, it's certain he had no
Design to land them as he promis'd.
Our Ship's Crew was now extreamly jocund, for they had Provisions for
at least Three Months, with what they took out of the _English_ Sloops,
and, in Money, they found upwards of an Hundred and Sixty Thousand
Pieces of Eight, and Two Thousand Gold Quadruples. We lost but Three Men
in boarding, so that our Crew, with the Four _English_ who join'd 'em,
consisted of Ninety and One Man.
For Three Weeks after we met with no Adventure; wherefore the Captain
resolved to cruize off the _Havana_, and many of our Water-casks being
emptied, and we not far from the River of _Chagre_, we made for, and
came to an Anchor at the Mouth of that River, and sent our Boats ashore
with the Casks.
After we had water'd, we steer'd for the _Havana_, and between
_Portobello_ and _Carthagena_, we spied a Sail; as she clapp'd upon a
Wind, as soon as she descry'd us, and we went upon One Mast, we soon
met, but were as willing to shake her off, as we had been to speak to
her. She proved a Forty Gun _French_ Ship, which handled us without the
least Ceremony. We began the Fight by a Broad-side, as we were under her
Stern, which raked her fore and aft, and must, doubtless, as she was
full of Men, do great Execution. She returned the Compliment; and tho'
we lost but few Men, yet they miserably cut our Rigging. Our Captain
found his Business was to board, or her Weight of Metal would soon send
us to the Bottom. We enter'd the greater Number of our Men, who were so
warmly received, that but few came off; and as she was preparing to
board us in her Turn, if we had not, by a lucky Shot, brought her
Main-top-mast by the board, by which Accident we got off, she had
certainly carried us. Upon this we got our Fore-Tack to the Cat-head,
hoisted our Top-sails a-trip, and went away all Sails drawing. In few
Hours we lost Sight of her, and then upon the Muster, we found that she
had kill'd us Two and Forty of our Men, and wounded Fifteen, which was a
very sensible Loss, and made the Captain alter his Course, and think of
lying off _Campechy_, in hopes of geting more Men.
He order'd all the well Men upon Deck, and proposed it to 'em: They all
agreed it was the best Course they cou'd take, and many of them advised
to quit the Ship, for the first good Sloop which should fall in their
Way. The Captain answered, it was Time enough to think of that when they
had met with one for their Turn.
They now fell to knotting and splicing the Rigging, when the Day began
to be overcast, and threaten dirty Weather: The Thunder growl'd at a
distance, and it began to blow hard; a smart Thunder-shower was
succeeded by a Flash of Lightning, which shiver'd our Main-mast down
to the Step. A dreadful Peal of Thunder follow'd; the Sea began to run
high, the Wind minutely encreas'd, and dark Clouds intercepted the Day;
so that we had little more Light, than what the terrifying flashes of
Lightning afforded us. Our Captain, who was an able Seaman, at the first
Signal of an approaching Storm, handed his Top-sails, took a Reef in his
Foresail, and the Men were furling the Mainsail, when the Lightning
shiver'd the Mast, which was cut away with the utmost Expedition. We lay
some time under a Mizzen-balast, but were at last forc'd to put before
the Wind, and, for Four Days, we scudded with the Goose-wings of our
Foresail, in which Time we had not the least Glimpse of Sun or Stars,
but by very short Intervals; nor indeed did I see them, till after we
struck, but by Slatches. The Fifth Day, about Noon, our Foremast came
by the board; we broach'd to, and a Sea fill'd us; we were at our Dying
Rowls, and every Man gave himself for lost. But in this Danger, which
ought to have awakened those unhappy Wretches, to some Care of their
future Happiness, the Ship rang with Imprecations, and not a Word was
uttered, not back'd with Oaths and Curses. However, it pleased the Great
Disposer of Life and Death, that the Ship cleared her self of the Water,
which had filled the Waist to the Top of the Gunnel. They did all they
could to keep her Head to the Sea, and setting up a small Jury-mast,
to which they clapp'd a Top-gallant-yard, we again scudded, altogether
ignorant where we were; for a Sea which pooped us the second Day, had
carried away the Binnacle with the Two Compasses; and they either had
not, or knew not, where to find another. We left our selves to the Mercy
of the Sea and Wind, for we had no other Party to take; and tho' the
former run Mountain-high, yet finding the Ship made no Water, the
Captain apprehended no Danger, but that of being drove on some Coast.
I had not the least Compassion for any of the Pyrates, he alone
excepted; for he was much more humane to us who would not take on with
him, than could be expected from one of his Profession, which he told
me, one Day, he had enter'd upon much against his Inclinations, and that
he would gladly quit that detestable Life, were it possible for him: But
as he had no Hopes of Pardon, having, on board a Man of War, killed a
Boatswain, who abused him, he was obliged to continue his Villainies for
his own Security. This Man alone shewed some Sense of a Deity. I never
heard him in the Storm swear an Oath; but, on the contrary, I often
heard him, as by stealth, say, _Lord have Mercy on me! Great God forgive
me!_ The Seventh Day, a Sea poop'd us, and wash'd away this unhappy Man,
and the Two who were at the Wheel, whom we never more set Eyes on. Two
others immediately stepp'd into their Places. The Loss of the Captain
was an Addition to our Misfortune, which together with the violent
Continuance of the Storm, took away all Hopes of Safety.
On the Tenth Day, about Nine in the Morning, we struck upon a Rock with
that Violence, that those who were in their Hammocks were thrown out,
and those who walk'd the Deck, were struck off their Legs. The Pumps
were immediately try'd, and some ran into the Hold, and found the Ship
made a great deal of Water. They plied the Pumps, but in less than ten
Minutes, she struck again, and a Sea coming over us, I saw no more
either of the Ship or the Crew. I rose by the Side of a large Timber,
which I laid hold of, and got upon, heartily recommending my self to my
Creator, and sincerely endeavouring to reconcile myself to my God, by an
unfeigned Repentance of the Follies of my past Life, and by making a
very solemn Resolution, that if his Mercy should preserve me from a
Danger which none but his Omnipotence could draw me out of, to have, for
the future, a strict Guard upon all my Thoughts, Words, and Actions, and
to shew my Gratitude, by the Purity and Uprightness of my future Life.
The Want of an Observation for so many Days, and the Loss of our
Captain, the only Artist on board, with the Want of a Compass, was the
Reason of our being altogether ignorant of the Coast on which our Vessel
perish'd. The Piece of the Wreck which I was upon, was, after being
toss'd some Hours, thrown ashore, and I got so far on Land, that the
returning Surf did not reach me. What became of the rest of the Crew,
I know not, but concluded they all perish'd, till some Years after,
I met in _England_ one of the _Englishmen_ who would not take on with
the Pyrates, and who told me, that, by a peculiar Providence, he and
the other Seven, were, after four Days floating on broken Pieces of the
Ship, taken up by some _Indian_ Canoes; that they were two Years among
the _Indians_, who treated them very humanly; and when they were one Day
a-fishing with them about three Leagues from the Shore, they spied a
Sail at a great Distance, and signifying their Desire to return to
_Europe_, the _Indians_ very courteously gave them a Canoe and Eight
Paddles, with which they reach'd the Ship, it being becalm'd, and found
her _French_. They were received on board in the Latitude of ----
Degrees North, and when they arrived at _Rochelle_, were kindly used,
and sent to _England_.
As we naturally are fond of Life, I return'd Thanks to Providence for my
Escape, and thought myself extreamly happy, tho' thrown on an unknown
Coast, and destitute of every thing necessary to sustain me: But I
trusted in that Goodness which had preserved, and which I hoped would
provide for me. To despond, I thought, would be mistrusting the Bounty
of our Creator, and might be the ready way to plunge me into the
Miseries Men naturally apprehend in my Circumstances. I therefore
heartily recommended me to the Divine Protection, and enter'd the Woods
which lay along the Coast.