A Book of Voyages

by Patrick O'Brian

  Our bodies growing vigorous with this plenty, we took new courage, and resolv’d (as many as were able) to attempt the finding out of Virginia. We guess’d the distance could not be great, and that it bore from us S. by W. to S. W. Our ignorance of the latitude we were in, was some discouragement to us; but we were confident, from what the seamen discoursed, we were to the southward of the Menados, then a Dutch plantation, now New York: Fair weather and full stomachs made us willing to be gone. To that end we laid out for a quantity of pone; and for our surer conduct we resolved to procure an Indian to be our pilot through the wilderness, for we were to expect many remora’s in our way, by swamps and creeks, with which all those sea-coasts do abound.

  The king remarking our more than ordinary care to procure more bread than amounted to our usual expence, gathered thence our design to leave him, and shift for ourselves. To prevent the rashness and folly of such an attempt, he made use of all his silent rhetorick to put us out of conceit of such design, and made us understand the peril and difficulty of it by many obstacles we must meet with. He shew’d us the danger we should expose ourselves unto, by rain and cold, swamps and darkness, unless we were conducted by other skill than we could pretend to: He pointed to his fires and shocks of corn, of which he had enough, and made it legible to us in his countenance, that we were welcome to it. All the signs the king made upon this occasion, we were content to understand in the best sense; and taking for granted our sojourning there was renewed to another day, we retired to our quarters.

  About midnight following, the king sent to invite me to his fire. He placed me near him as before, and in the first place shewing me quarters of a lean doe, new brought in. He gave me a knife to cut what part of it I pleased, and then pointing to the fire, I inferr’d, I was left to my own discretion for the dressing of it. I could not readily tell how to shew my skill in the cookery of it, with no better ingredients then appear’d in sight; and so did no more but cut a collop and cast it on the coals. His majesty laugh’d at my ignorance, and to instruct me better, he broach’d the collop on a long scewer, thrust the sharp end into the ground (for there was no hearth but what nature made) and turning sometimes one side, sometimes the other, to the fire, it became fit in short time to be served up, had there been a dining-room of state such as that excellent king deserved.

  I made tender of it first to the king, and then to his nobles, but all refused, and left all to me, who gave God and the king thanks for that great meal. The rest of the doe was cut in pieces, stewed in a pipkin, and then put into my hands to dispose of amongst my company.

  As soon as I had dispatch’d this midnight venison feast, and sent the rest to my comrades, the king was greatly desirous to make me comprehend, by our common dialect of signs and motions, the ingenious stratagem by which they use to take their deer in the winter season, especially when the surface of the earth is cover’d with snow. He shewed me in the first place a small leather thong, in which (said he) any kind of deer should be invited to hamper himself and lie fast ty’d on his back, until the engineer (or some body else for him) should take quiet possession of him. I could not conceive the particular structure of this machine, so as to direct the making of it elsewhere; but thus much in the general I did understand; they would fasten a pine green branch at the end of a pole (such as hops grow upon) which should lie athwart an oak, like the pole of a turner’s lath, and the green hanging dingle-dangle at the pole end, fastened by a string; it should be set at a heighth for a deer to reach, but not without mounting and resting on his hinder legs, that so in pulling the branch, as at a trigger, the machine discharging, his heels are struck up to fly in the air, and there he remains on his back so straitly hamper’d, that the least child may approach to touch and take him.

  Before I parted, the king attack’d me again, with reiterated attempts to be understood, and I thought by these three or four days conversation, I had the air of his expression much more clear and intelligible than at first. His chief drift for the first essay seemed to be a desire to know which way we were bound, whether north or south; to which I pointed to the south. This gave him much satisfaction, and thereupon steps in the little grotman before described, who by the motion of his hand seemed to crave my regard to what he was going about. He took up a stick, with which he made divers circles by the fire-side, and then holding up his finger to procure my attention, he gave to every hole a name; and it was not hard to conceive that the several holes were to supply the place of a sea-chart, shewing the situation of all the most noted Indian territories that lay to the southward of Kickotank.

  That circle that was most southerly, he called Achomack, which, tho’ he pronounc’d with a different accent from us, I laid hold on that word with all demonstrations of satisfaction I could express, giving them to understand, that was the place to which I had a desire to be conducted.

  The poor king was in a strange transport of joy to see me receive satisfaction, and did forthwith cause a lusty young man to be called to him, to whom, by the earnestness of his motions, he seemed to give ample instructions to do something for our service, but what it was we were not yet able to resolve. In two or three days time, seeing no effect of what he had so seriously said, we began again to despond, and did therefore resume our former thoughts of putting ourselves in posture to be gone; but the king seeing us thus ready at every turn to leave him, shewed in his looks a more than ordinary resentment; still describing (as he could) the care he had taken for us, and impossibility of accomplishing our ends by ourselves, and that we should surely faint in the way and die without help, if we would not be ruled by him.

  He shewed me again his stores of corn, and made such reiterated signs, by the chearfulness of his countenance, that we should not want, whilst he had such a plenty, as made us lay aside all thoughts of stirring till he said the word. But as oft as he look’d or pointed to the coast of Achomack, he would shake his head, with abundance of grimaces, in dislike of our design to go that way till he saw it good we should do so. I was abundantly convinced of our folly in the resolution we were ready to take of going away without better information of the distance from Achomack, and way that led to it; and having so frank a welcome where we were, we resolved to stay till the king should approve of our departure, which he was not able to determine till the messenger came back, that he had sent to Achomack, who, it now seemed more plainly, was dispatch’d upon my owning that place to be our home, tho’ we knew it not from any cause we could rely upon, before we saw the effect.

  While we liv’d in this suspense, the king had a great mind to see our fire-arms, and to be acquainted with the use and nature of them. That which best did please his eye I presented to him, and shew’d him how to load and discharge it. He was very shy at first essay, fearing it might hurt him, but I made him stand upon his lodging place, and putting him in a posture to give fire, he presented the mouth of his gun to the chimney hole, and so let fly. The combustible nature of the king’s palace not well consider’d, the fabrick was endangered by the king’s own hand, for the flashing of the powder having taken hold of the roof at the smoke-hole, all was in a flame; but a nimble lad or two ran up to quench it, and did soon extinguish it without considerable damage to the building, which was of mat and boughs of oak as aforesaid.

  The king’s eldest son, of about eighteen years of age, was hugely enamour’d with our guns, and look’d so wistfully on me, when he saw what wonders they would do, that I could not forbear presenting him with a birding-piece. Some of our company, who knew that by the laws of Virginia, it was criminal to furnish the Indians with fire-arms, gave me caution in this case, but I resolved, for once, to borrow a point of that law; for tho’ it might be of excellent use in the general, yet as our condition was, I esteemed it a much greater crime to deny those Indians any thing that was in our power, than the penalty of that law could amount to.

  Father and son abundantly gratify’d in this manner, the king thought himself largely requited for the cost we put him to in our en
tertainment. I taught his son to shoot at fowls, to charge his gun and clean it, insomuch that in a few minutes, he went among the flocks of geese, and firing at random he did execution on one of them to his great joy, and returned to his father with the game in his hand, with such celerity, as if he had borrowed wings of the wind.

  About three o’clock this afternoon, the king was pleased in great condescension to honour me with a visit, a favour which I may (without vanity) assume to myself, and my better habit, from the many particular applications that he made to me, exclusive of the rest of the company. He thought I was too melancholy, (for the Indians, as has been observ’d, are great enemies to that temper) and shew’d me by his own chearful looks, what humour he would have put me on; he would not have me in the least apprehensive of wanting any thing his country afforded, as his mien and gesture witnessed; and for the higher proof of his reality, he found me out a divertisement, that was very extraordinary. He came at this time attended by his young daughter, who had done us the good offices beforemention’d, and having first by kind words and pleasant gestures given us renewed assurance of hearty welcome, he singled me out, and pointed with his hand to a way he would have me take, but whither, or to what end, I was at liberty to guess, upon that he produced his little daughter for my conductrix to the place to which I should go, and shewed his desire that I should follow her where-ever she should lead me.

  Major Stephens, not yet enough convinc’d of the Indians fidelity, would have discouraged me from leaving the company in that manner, unreasonably fancying that this was a contrivance in the king to take away my life in a private way; but this I thought did so much out-strip all his other senseless jealousies, that after I had acknowledg’d the obligation I had to his care of my person, his needless caution had no other effect on me than to turn it into ridicule. These inordinate fears of this major in three foregoing instances, might (I confess) have been very well omitted, as not worthy the mention, and so they should have been, had his humour and constitution in prosperous times been any way suitable to this wary temper; but because his habits on shore were scandalously vicious his mouth always belching oaths, and his tongue proving him the vainest hector I had seen, I thought it was pity to lose such a strong confirmation of that known truth, (viz.) That true innate courage does seldom reside in the heart of a quarelling and talking hector.

  The weather (as I have said) was excessive cold, with frost, and the winds blowing very fresh upon my face, it almost stopt my breath. The late condition I had been in, under a roof, with great fires, and much smoke, did conduce to make me the more sensible of the cold air: but in less than half an hour that pain was over; we were now in sight of the house whereto we were bound, and the lady of the place was ready to receive us, (who proved to be the mother of my conductrix) and to shew me my apartment in the middle of her house, which had the same accommodation to sit and rest upon, as before has been described in other instances.

  The lusty rousing fire, prepared to warm me, would have been noble entertainment of itself, but attended (as it was quickly) with good food for the belly, made it to be that compleat good chear, I only aimed at; a wild turkey boiled, with oysters, was preparing for my supper, which, when it was ready, was served up in the same pot that boiled it. It was a very savoury mess, stew’d with muscles, and I believe would have passed for a delicacy at any great table in England, by palates more competent to make a judgment than mine, which was now more gratify’d with the quantity than the quality of what was before me.

  This queen was also of the same mould of her majesty whom we first met at our landing place, somewhat antient (in proportion to the king’s age) but so gentle and compassionate, as did very bountifully requite all defects of nature; she passed some hours at my fire, and was very desirous to know the occasion that brought us there (as her motion and the emphasis of her words did shew) but I had small hopes to satisfy her curiosity therein, after so many vain attempts to inform the king in that matter. In fine, I grew sleepy, and about nine o’clock every one retired to their quarters, separated from each other by traverses of mat, which (besides their proper vertue) kept the ladies from any immodest attempts, as secure as if they had been bars of iron.

  As soon as the day peeped in, I went out and felt the same cold as yesterday, with the same wind, N. W. I was not forward to quit a warm quarter, and a frank entertainment, but my young governess, who had her father’s orders for direction, knew better than myself what I was to do: she put herself in a posture to lead the way back from whence we came, after a very good repast of stew’d muscles, together with a very hearty welcome plainly appearing in the queen’s looks.

  My nimble pilot led me away with great swiftness, and it was necessary so to do; the weather still continuing in that violent sharpness, nothing but a violent motion could make our limbs useful. No sooner had I set foot in the king’s house to visit my comrades, but a wonderful surprize appeared to me in the change of every countenance, and as every face did plainly speak a general satisfaction, so did they with one voice explain the cause thereof, in telling me the messengers of our delivery were arriv’d, and now with the king.

  I hastened to see those angels, and addressing myself to one of them in English habit, ask’d him the occasion of his coming there? He told me his business was to trade for furs, and no more; but as soon as I had told him my name, and the accidents of our being there, he acknowledg’d he came under the guidance of the Kickotank Indian (which I imagin’d, but was not sure the king had sent) in quest of me and those that were left on shore, sent by the governor’s order of Virginia to enquire after us, but knew not where to find us until that Indian came to his house; he gave me a large account of the ship’s arrival, and the many dangers and difficulties she encountred before she could come into James river, where she ran ashore, resolving there to lay her bones. His name was Jenkin Price, he had brought an Indian of his neighbourhood with him that was very well acquainted in those parts, for our conduct back to Achomack, which Indian was called Jack.

  The king was very glad of this happy success to us, and was impatient to learn something more of our history than hitherto he had been able to extract from signs and grimaces. Jenkin Price, with his broken Indian, could make a shift to instruct Jack to say any thing he pleased, and Jack was the more capable to understand his meaning by some sprinklings of English, that he had learnt at our plantations. Betwixt them both they were able to satisfy the king in what he pleased to know. Jack told them of himself what a mighty nation we were in that country, and gave them caution not to imbezzle any goods we had brought with us, for fear of an after-reckoning. I wondered, upon this serious discourse he had with the king, to see guns and stockings, and whatever trifles we had given, offer’d to be return’d, and being told the reason of it by Jenkin Price, I was very much ashamed of Jack’s too great zeal in our service, which, tho’ it did proceed from a principle of honesty, and good morality in him, we were to consider that our dearest lives, and all we could enjoy in this world, was (next to divine providence) owing to the virtue and charity of this king, and therefore not only what they had in possession, but whatever else he should desire that was in my power, would be too mean an acknowledgement for so high obligations. I took care to let them know that I had no hand in the menace by which Jack brought them to refund what they had got of us; the right understanding whereof increased our good intelligence, and became a new endearment of affection betwixt us.

  By better acquaintance with these our deliverers, we learn’d that we were about fifty English miles from Virginia: That part of it where Jenkin did govern, was call’d Littleton’s Plantation, and was the first English ground we did expect to see. He gave me great encouragement to endure the length of the way, by assuring me I should not find either stone or shrub to hurt my feet thorow my thin-soaled boots, for the whole colony had neither stone nor underwood; and having thus satisfy’d my curiosity in the knowledge of what Jenkin Price could communicate, we deferred no longer to resolve h
ow and when to begin our journey to Achomack.

  The Indian he brought with him (who afterwards lived and died my servant) was very expert, and a most incomparable guide in the woods we were to pass, being a native of those parts, so that he was as our sheet-anchor in this our peregrination. The king was loth to let us go till the weather was better-temper’d for our bodies; but when he saw we were fully resolved, and had pitch’d upon the next morning to begin our journey, he found himself much defeated in a purpose he had taken to call together all the flower of his kingdom to entertain us with a dance, to the end that nothing might be omitted on his part for our divertisement, as well as our nourishment, which his small territory could produce. Most of our company would gladly have deferred our march a day longer, to see this masquerade, but I was wholly bent for Achomack, to which place I was to dance almost on my bare feet, the thoughts of which took off the edge I might otherwise have had to novelties of that kind.

  When the good old king saw we were fully determined to be gone the next day, he desired as a pledge of my affection to him, that I would give him my camblet coat, which he vowed to wear whilst he lived for my sake; I shook hands to shew my willingness to please him in that or in any other thing he would command, and was the more willing to do myself the honour of compliance in this particular, because he was the first king I could call to mind that had ever shew’d any inclinations to wear my old cloaths.

  To the young princess, that had so signally obliged me, I presented a piece of two-penny scarlet ribbon, and a French tweezer, that I had in my pocket, which made her skip for joy, and to shew how little she fancy’d our way of carrying them concealed, she retired apart for some time, and taking out every individual piece of which it was furnish’d, she tied a snip of ribbon to each, and so came back with scissars, knives and bodkins hanging at her ears, neck and hair. The case itself was not excus’d, but bore a part in this new dress: and to the end we might not part without leaving deep impressions of her beauty in our minds, she had prepared on her forefingers, a lick of paint on each, the colours (to my best remembrance) green and yellow, which at one motion she discharg’d on her face, beginning upon her temples, and continuing it in an oval line downwards as far as it would hold out. I could have wish’d this young princess would have contented herself with what nature had done for her, without this addition of paint (which, I thought, made her more fulsome than handsome); but I had reason to imagine the royal family were only to use this ornament exclusive of all others, for that I saw none other of her sex so set off; and this conceit made it turn again, and appear lovely, as all things should do that are honour’d with the royal stamp.