A Book of Voyages

by Patrick O'Brian

  In order to what was next to be done, he took me by the hand and led me to the sea side, where I embark’d with himself and one more Indian in a canoe, that had brought him there, which the third man rowed over to that broken ground, where, not long before, we made discovery of a canoe newly laid there, and (as they told us) was lodg’d there on purpose to be ready for our transport, at such time as they thought fit to fetch us off; and the reason of their taking me with them was to help launch this weighty embarkation, as being made of the body of an oak or pine, some twenty-two foot in length, hollowed like a pig-trough, which is the true description of a canoe. The manner of its being put into motion is very particular; the labourers with long booms place their feet on the starboard and larboard sides of the boat, and with this fickle footing do they heave it forward.

  I cannot omit a passage of one major Stephens, who had been an officer in the late civil war, under Sir William Waller, and was now one of our fellow-sufferers. He could not be persuaded by any means to give his vote for prosecuting the way we were in for our relief, but differ’d as much in judgment with us, in this our design of going to the king of this country, as he had done in England, by engaging against his natural sovereign; he cry’d out these rogues would draw us into their power, and take away our lives, advising, rather than to put our trust in this king, we should put ourselves into one of these canoes, and taking advantage of the calm time, we should try to get the north cape.

  His fears and objections were so unreasonable, that they were not worth an answer, and his project of going thus by sea was so ridiculous, that it did exceed all chimera’s of knight-errantry, and his apprehending the king would ensnare us, was all esteemed vain, as nothing could be more childish: We had been in the king’s power (though we knew it not) ever since we set foot on that ground, so that had his mind been that way bent, he need use no other stratagem to end our lives, than to have forborn the sending us relief; every one dissented to the main project, and I did unfeignedly profess, for my own part, that I would much rather expose my life to the honour of a king (tho’ never so mean) than to the billows of the sea, in such a bottom; which would be to tempt God to destroy us, and punish our presumption by his justice, at the same time that he was saving us by a miracle of his mercy.

  I should not have remembred this passage of major Stephens, had he only shew’d his antipathy in this single instance, but because he repeated the rancor of his mind, in two other very small occasions, which will follow, ’tis just that the malignity of so ill an humour should suffer some reprimand.

  The canoes being fitted to take us in and waft us to the main, I made a fair muster of the remnant we had to carry off, and found we wanted six of the number we brought on shore (viz.) four men and two women: five of those six we knew were dead, but missing one of our living women, we made the Indians understand the same, who as readily made us know that she was in their thoughts, and should be cared for as soon as we were settled in our quarters.

  In passing the creek that was to lead us to an honest fisherman’s house, we entred a branch of it to the southward, that was the road-way to it. The tide was going out, and the water very shoal, which gave occasion to any one that had a knife, to treat himself with oysters all the way. At the head of that branch we were able in a short time to discover that heaven of happiness where our most courteous host did, with a chearful countenance, receive and entertain us. Several fires were kindled out of hand, our arms and powder were laid up in safety, and divers earthen pipkins were put to boil with such varieties as the season would afford. Every body had something or other to defend and save them from the cold; and my obligation to him, by a peculiar care that he had of me, exceeded all the rest. I had one intire side of the fire, with a large platform to repose on, to myself; furrs and deer skins to cover my body, and support my head, with a priority of respect and friendly usage, which, to my great trouble, I was not able to deserve at his hands, by any requital then in my power to return.

  Our kind entertainment in the house of this poor fisherman, had so many circumstances of hearty compassion and tenderness in every part of it, that as it ought to be a perpetual motive to engage all of us who enjoyed the benefit of it, to a daily acknowledgement of the Almighty’s goodness for conducting us in this manner by his immediate hand, out of our afflictions, so may it ever be look’d upon as a just reproach to christians, who, on all our sea-coasts, are so far from affording succour to those who, by shipwreck and misfortunes of the sea, do fall into their power, that they treat with all inhuman savage barbarity, those unhappy souls whom God hath thus afflicted, seizing on their goods as their proper perquisites, which the waves of the sea (by divine providence) would cast upon the shore for the true proprietors; and many times dispatching them out of the world to silence complaints, and to prevent all after-reckonings. And the better to intitle themselves to what they get in this way of rapine, they wickedly call such devilish acquests by the sacred name of God’s good, prophaning and blaspheming at the same time that holy name, as they violate all the laws of hospitality and human society: whereas, on the contrary, our charitable host, influenced only by natural law, without the least shew of coveting any thing we had, or prospect of requital in the future, did not only treat in this manner our persons, but did also, with as much honesty, secure for us our small stores of guns, powder, &c. as if he had read and understood the duty of the gospel, or had given his only child as a hostage to secure his dealing justly with us; so that I can never sufficiently applaud the humanity of this Indian, nor express the high contentment that I enjoyed in this poor man’s cottage, which was made of nothing but mat and reeds, and bark of trees fix’d to poles. It had a loveliness and symmetry in the air of it, so pleasing to the eye, and refreshing to the mind, that neither the splendour of the Escurial, nor the glorious appearance of Versailles were able to stand in competition with it. We had a boiled swan for supper, which gave plentiful repasts to all our upper mess.

  Our bodies thus refresh’d with meat and sleep, comforted with fires, and secured from all the changes and inclemencies of that sharp piercing cold season, we thought the morning (tho’ clad in sunshine did come too fast upon us. Breakfast was liberally provided and set before us, our arms faithfully delivered up to my order for carriage; and thus in readiness to set forward, we put our selves in a posture to proceed to the place where the king resided. The woman left behind at the island, had been well look’d to, and was now brought off to the care of her comrade that came with us, neither of them in a condition to take a journey, but they were carefully attended and nourished in this poor man’s house, till such time as boats came to fetch them to Virginia, where they did soon arrive in perfect health, and lived (one or both of them) to be well married, and to bear children, and to subsist in as plentiful a condition as they could wish.

  In beginning our journey thro’ the woods, we had not advanced half a mile till we heard a great noise of mens voices, directed to meet and stop our further passage. These were several Indians sent by the king to order us back to our quarters. Major Stephens (not cured of his jealous humour by the experience of what he felt the night before) took this alarm in a very bad sense, and as much different from the rest of the company as in his former fit. He was again deluded with a strong fancy, that these violent motions in the Indians who approach’d us, were the effect of some sudden change in their counsels to our detriment, and that nothing less than our perdition could be the consequence thereof, which he feared would immediately be put in practice by the clamorous men that made such haste to meet us, and (as he would apprehend) to kill and destroy us.

  This passion of major Stephens, cast in the same mould with that other he discovered in the island, had not (as we all thought and told him) whereon to raise the least foundation of terror to affright a child; for besides the earnest we had received of their good intentions the night before, these men who came so fast upon us, were all unarm’d; nor was it likely, that king would now possibly imbrew his ha
nds in our blood, and provoke he knew not how powerful a nation to destroy him, after such kind caresses, and voluntary expressions of a temper very contrary to such cruelty. In fine, we saw no cause in all the carriage of the Indians on which I could ground any fear, and therefore I long’d with all impatience to see this king, and to enjoy the plenty of his table, as we quickly did.

  When these Indians came up to us, this doubt was soon cleared. The good-natur’d king being inform’d of our bodily weakness, and inability to walk thro’ the woods to his house, on foot (which might be about four miles distant from our setting out) had a real tenderness for us, and sent canoes to carry us to the place nearest his house, by the favour of another branch of the same creek; and to the end we might take no vain steps (as we were going to do) and exhaust our strength to no purpose, these Indians made this noise to stop us.

  We entred the canoes that were mann’d, and lay ready to receive us. We had a pleasant passage in the shallow water, eat oysters all the way: for altho’ the breakfast we had newly made, might well excuse a longer abstinence than we were like to be put to, our arrear to our stomachs was so great, that all we swallowed was soon concocted, and our appetite still fresh and craving more.

  Having pass’d this new course for some three English miles in another branch of the creek, our landing place was contriv’d to be near the house of the queen then in waiting. She was a very plain lady to see to, not young, nor yet ill-favour’d. Her complexion was of a sad white: but the measures of beauty in those parts where they are exposed to the scorching sun from their infancy, are not taken from red and white, but from colours that will better lie upon their tawny skins, as hereafter will be seen.

  The beauty of this queen’s mind (which is more permanent than that of colour) was conspicuous in her charity and generosity to us poor starved weather-beaten creatures, who were the object of it. A mat was spread without the house, upon the ground, furnish’d with Pone, Homini, oysters, and other things. The queen made us sit down and eat, with gestures that shewed more of courtesy than majesty, but did speak as hearty welcome as could in silence be expected: and these were the graces that, in our opinion, transcended all other beauties in the world, and did abundantly supply all defects of outward appearance in the person and garb of the queen. The southerly wind made the season tolerable; but that lasted but little, the north-west gale coming violently on us again.

  When this collation of the queen was at an end, we took leave of her majesty with all the shews of gratitude that silence knew how to utter. We were now within half an hour’s walk of the king’s mansion; which we soon discovered by the smoak, and saw it was made of the same stuff with the other houses from which we had newly parted, namely, of mat and reed. Locust posts sunk in the ground at corners and partitions, was the strength of the whole fabrick. The roof was tied fast to the body with a sort of strong rushes that grow there, which supply’d the place of nails and pins, mortises and tenants.

  The breadth of this palace was about eighteen or twenty foot, the length about twenty yards. The only furniture was several platforms for lodging, each about two yards long and more, plac’d on both sides of the house, distant from each other about five foot; the space in the middle was the chimney, which had a hole in the roof over it, to receive as much of the smoak as would naturally repair to it; the rest we shared amongst us, which was the greatest part; and the sitters divided to each side, as our soldiers do in their corps de guarde.

  Fourteen great fires, thus situated, were burning all at once. The king’s apartment had a distinction from the rest; it was twice as long, and the bank he sat on was adorn’d with deer skins finely dress’d, and the best furrs of otter and beaver that the country did produce.

  The fire assign’d to us was suitable to our number, to which we were conducted, without intermixture of any Indian but such as came to do us offices of friendship. There we were permitted to take our rest until the king pleased to enter into communication with us. Previous to which he sent his daughter, a well-favour’d young girl of about ten or twelve years old, with a great wooden bowl full of homini (which is the corn of that country, beat and boiled to mash). She did in a most obliging manner give me the first taste of it, which I would have handed to my next neighbour after I had eaten, but the young princess interposed her hand, and taking the bowl out of mine, delivered it to the same party I aimed to give it, and so to all the rest in order. Instead of a spoon there was a well-shap’d muscle-shell that accompanied the bowl.

  The linen of that country grows ready made on the branches of oak trees (or pine), the English call it moss. It is like the threads of unwhited cotton-yarn ravelled, and hangs in parcels on the lower boughs, divine providence having so ordered it for the conveniency and sustenance of the deer, which is all the food they can get in times of snow. It is very soft, sweet and cleanly, and fit for the purpose of wiping clean the hands, and doing the duty of napkins.

  About three hours after this meal was ended, the king sent to have me come to him. He called me Ny a Mutt, which is to say, My brother, and compelled me to sit down on the same bank with himself, which I had reason to look upon as a mighty favour. After I had sat there about half an hour, and had taken notice of many earnest discourses and repartees betwixt the king and his crotemen (so the Indians call the king’s council) I could plainly discover, that the debate they held was concerning our adventure and coming there. To make it more clear, the king address’d himself to me with many gestures of his body, his arms display’d in various postures, to explain what he had in his mind to utter for my better understanding. By all which motions I was not edify’d in the least, nor could imagine what return to make by voice or sign, to satisfy the king’s demands in any thing that related to the present straights of our condition. In fine, I admir’d their patient sufferance of my dulness to comprehend what they meant, and shew’d myself to be troubled at it; which being perceiv’d by the king, he turn’d all into mirth and jollity, and never left till he made me laugh with him, tho’ I knew not why.

  I took that occasion to present the king with a sword and long shoulder-belt, which he received very kindly; and to witness his gracious acceptance, he threw off his Mach coat (or upper covering of skin), stood upright on his bank, and, with my aid, did accoutre his naked body with his new harness, which had no other apparel to adorn it, besides a few skins about his loyns to cover his nakedness. In this dress he seem’d to be much delighted; but to me he appear’d a figure of such extraordinary shape, with sword and belt to set it off, that he needed now no other art to stir me up to laughter and mirth, than the sight of his own proper person.

  Having made this short acquaintance with the king, I took leave, and returned to my comrades. In passing the spaces betwixt fire and fire, one space amongst the rest was blinded with a traverse of mat; and by the noise I heard from thence, like the beating of hemp, I took it to be some kind of elaboratory. To satisfy a curiosity I had to be more particularly inform’d, I edg’d close to the mat; and, by standing on tiptoe for a full discovery, I saw a sight that gave me no small trouble. The same special queen (whose courtesy for our kind usage the other day, can never be enough applauded) was now employed in the hard servile labour of beating corn for the king’s dinner, which raised the noise that made me thus inquisitive. I wish’d myself in her place for her ease: but the queens of that country do esteem it a privilege to serve their husbands in all kind of cookery, which they would be as loth to lose, as any christian queen would be to take it from them.

  Several Indians of the first rank followed me to our quarters, and used their best endeavours to sift something from us that might give them light into knowing what we were. They sought many ways to make their thoughts intelligible to us, but still we parted without knowing what to fix upon, or how to steer our course in advance of our way to Virginia.

  In this doubtful condition we thought it reasonable to fall upon a speedy resolution what was next to be done on our parts, in order to the accomplish
ment of our voyage by land, which we hop’d (by the divine aid) we might be able to effect after a little more refreshment by the plenty of victuals allowed us by the king, who was no less indulgent and careful to feed and caress us, than if we had been his children.

  Towards morning we were treated with a new regale brought to us by the same fair hand again. It was a sort of spoon-meat, in colour and taste not unlike to almond-milk temper’d and mix’d with boiled rice. The ground still was Indian corn boiled to a pap, which they call Homini, but the ingredient which performed the milky part, was nothing but dry pokickery nuts, beaten shells and all to powder, and they are like to our walnuts, but thicker shell’d, and the kernel sweeter; but being beaten in a mortar, and put into a tray, hollow’d in the middle to make place for fair water, no sooner is the water poured into the powder, but it rises again white and creamish; and after a little ferment it does partake so much of the delicate taste of the kernel of that nut, that it becomes a rarity to a miracle.

  Major Morrison, who had been almost at death’s door, found himself abundantly refreshed and comforted with this delicacy; he wished the bowl had been a fathom deep, and would say, when his stomach called on him for fresh supplies, that if this princess royal would give him his fill of that food, he should soon recover his strength.