CHAPTER TWENTY ONE.
CONCLUSION.
Next morning Mr Mallet gave us the satisfactory intelligence thatArthur was sufficiently well to bear moving. We therefore at onceproceeded on our voyage. Each day after that he improved; and at lengthwe came in sight of the island where we had left our family. We hadsome, difficulty in finding our way up the narrow channel which led totheir camp. As we approached the spot, we saw a good-sized vessel onthe stocks, surrounded by a number of persons. One of them, discoveringus as we turned the point, shouted to his companions, when, suddenlyleaving their work, they advanced towards us with guns in their hands ina threatening attitude. We shouted out to them, when they, perceivingthat we were friends, came forward to meet us. Our father was among thefirst we saw. After he had received us affectionately, and warmlygreeted Houlston and Tony, we told him that Mr Mallet had come with us.No sooner did my father see him, than, taking his hand, he exclaimed,"What, my old friend and school-fellow! I little expected to find youout here! Where have you come from?"
"From the wilderness, where I have spent long years of banishment, andfrom whence my young son succeeded in thus too far dragging me forth. Icould not make him lead the life I have so long lived, and I cannot bearthe thought of parting from him."
"And what could make you wish to think of doing anything of the sort?"exclaimed my father. "You surprised all your friends by leavingEngland--so my brother long since wrote me word--and no one has beenable to account for it."
"Not account for it!" exclaimed Mr Mallet. "Surely my friends wouldnot have wished me to remain, dishonoured or disgraced, or doomed to afelon's death?"
He looked round as he spoke, and seeing that I was nearer than he hadsupposed, led my father to a distance. Meantime our mother, Fanny, andEllen, had come down.
I need not describe our meeting, or the concern Ellen exhibited athearing of Arthur's accident, and saw his still, pale face as we liftedhim out of the canoe. He was, however, able to walk with ourassistance. We found the whole party very anxious, as information hadreached them that the natives had discovered their retreat and intendedattacking them. They had therefore been hurrying on the large montariawith all speed, in hopes of getting away before the arrival of theenemy.
In a short time our father and Mr Mallet arrived. A wonderful changehad taken place in the countenance of the latter. He now looked brightand cheerful, and a smile played over his features such as I had neverbefore seen them wear. After being introduced to my mother and sisters,and Senhor Pimento's family, he hurried up to Arthur, and as he threwhis arms round his neck tears burst from his eyes, but they wereevidently tears of joy.
"But we must not lose time," said my father, pointing to the vessel, atwhich Domingos and Antonio and the other men were still busily working.We soon had occupation given us--ample to employ our minds as well asour hands. Arthur was taken good care of by my mother and sisters, andI was glad to see him play with Nimble and Toby, who at once knew him.We worked away till dark. The fires were lighted, and by their brightblaze we were still able to continue our labours. Thus we hoped in acouple of days to have our craft ready for launching. It was deckedover astern and forward, so as to afford a cabin to the ladies andshelter for our stores, which required protection from the weather. Wehad large mat-sails and long oars, so that she was well fitted, wehoped, to encounter the heavy seas we were likely to meet with towardsthe mouth of the mighty river. John suggested that we should erect astockade near the vessel, behind which we might defend ourselves, andprevent her from being burned, should the rebels make the threatenedattack. This we all set to work to do; and as we had an abundance ofmaterials at hand, a fort was soon erected, of sufficient strength, ifdefended by firearms, to repel any attack the natives were likely tomake against it.
"I hope the fellows will come on!" exclaimed Tony, who, with Houlston,was among the most active in the work. "I should like to be engaged ina skirmish. We have had but a tame life of it. I thought we might haveseen some of the fun going forward at Santarem; but the whites had allescaped out of the place before we passed by, and the red-skins hadpossession of it."
"I rather think we were fortunate in escaping those same red-skins!"exclaimed Houlston. "They murdered all the whites they could find, andthey would probably have treated us in the same way if we had fallen inwith them. If those fellows had attacked us, depend upon it we shouldhave had to fight hard for our lives."
"Perhaps, my friend, we can find some better means of keeping the enemyat bay than those you are taking," observed the recluse. "However,follow your own plan. I trust, for the sake of humanity that it may belabour lost."
I did not hear John's reply, but he continued the work. Scouts weresent out at night to watch the entrance of the channel, lest the rebelsmight attempt to steal upon us during the hours of darkness; while weall slept with our arms ready for instant use.
I was awakened by hearing a shot fired. Another followed. "The rebelsare coming!" I heard my father shouting out. "To your posts, myfriends!"
In less than a minute our whole party had assembled, and with my fatherat our head, we advanced in the direction whence the shots hadproceeded. Before we had gone many paces, our two scouts came runningup with the announcement that several canoes were approaching the mouthof the igarape. Daylight was just then breaking, though it had notpenetrated into the forest. The two Indians were again sent back towatch the further movements of the rebels. We meantime held a councilof war, and having conveyed all our stores and provisions within thestockade, retired to it, there to await the enemy. In a short time thescouts came back, reporting that the Indians had landed, and wereadvancing through the forest.
"Let me now try, my friends, what I can do with these people," said therecluse, standing up in our midst. "I resided among them for some time.They know me, and I trust will be more ready to listen to my argumentsthan to those with which you are prepared to receive them."
"Pray do as you judge best," said my father.
Senhor Pimento appeared to have little confidence in his success, andaddressing his people, entreated them to fight bravely, as the rebelswould certainly give them no quarter.
The recluse, without further delay, taking not even a stick in his hand,went forth from the fort, and was soon lost to sight among the shades ofthe forest. Our Portuguese friends were in a great state of agitation;but my sisters, especially Ellen, remained perfectly calm. Icomplimented her on her courage. "Oh, I am sure Arthur's father willaccomplish what he undertakes," she answered. "I have therefore no fearof an attack."
We, however, could not help looking anxiously for the return of therecluse. The time went slowly by. "I am afraid the wretches will shoothim before he has time to speak to them," observed Senhor Pimento.Pedro, who was of a generous, warm-hearted disposition, proposed thatsome of us should sally out, and try and overtake him before he reachedthe enemy.
This was overruled by my father. "Our friend does not act withoutjudgment," he observed. "He knows the character of the people betterperhaps than we do. Hark! what is that?" The sound of many voicesshouting came faintly through the forest, as from a distance.
"Hurrah! they are coming on to attack us!" cried Tony; "we will givethem a warm reception."
"I hope rather that those sounds betoken that the Indians haverecognised our friend," observed my father.
Still we waited, many of our party looking out, as if they expected tosee the rebels approaching in battle array. At length a single figureappeared emerging from the forest. It was the recluse. He hurriedforward towards us, and on entering the fort, took my father, John, andI aside.
"I have not been so successful as I should wish," he said. "They areperfectly ready to let the English, with whom they have no cause ofquarrel, go free, but they insist that the Portuguese gentleman and hisson should be delivered up to them, though they consent to allow therest of his family to accompany you if you wish it."
"We cannot accept
such terms," said my father at once. "We are resolvedto defend our friends with our lives!"
"I thought as much," said Mr Mallet. "I promised, however, to conveytheir message, in order to gain time. Is there no way by which yourfriends can escape by the other end of the igarape?"
"There may be, but the Indians know it as well as we do," observed myfather, "and would probably lie in wait to catch them. I must ask youto return and inform them that we cannot give up our friends who havehospitably entertained us, and that if they insist on attacking thefort, they must take the consequences."
The recluse once more went back to the insurgent Indians. Pedro, onhearing the message, tried to persuade his father to escape with him inone of the small canoes; but the old gentleman declared at once that hewould not make the attempt, as he was sure he should thus only fall intothe hands of his enemies.
We now anxiously awaited the return of our friend. An hour passed by,when we saw among the trees a large number of natives approaching thefort, some armed with muskets, but the greater number with bows andarrows.
"We shall have no difficulty in beating back that rabble!" exclaimedTony. "We must first pick off the fellows with firearms, and the otherswill soon take to flight."
I did not feel so confident as my friend. The enemy from their numbersalone were formidable, and if well led, might, I feared, easilyoverpower us. Their numbers increased, and they seemed on the point ofmaking a dash at the fort, when a loud shout was raised behind them.They turned round, looking eagerly in the direction from whence it came.Presently three persons came out from among them. One I recognised asthe recluse; but the other two I looked at again and again, and atlength was convinced that one was Don Jose, and the other his attendantIsoro. Don Jose, turning to the natives, addressed them in the LinguaGeral, which they all probably understood. They were sufficiently nearfor us to hear what was said.
"My friends," he exclaimed, "what is it you require? Do you seek theblood of these white people? What will that benefit you? Listen toPumacagua--a Peruvian cacique--who regards with affection the wholeIndian race; who would wish to see them united as one tribe, prosperousand happy, enjoying all the benefits of our magnificent country. If youdestroy these people, you will but bring down the vengeance of thepowerful whites on your heads. Some among them are my friends. Theyhave never harmed you. They wish you well, I know, and are even nowsufferers for the cause of liberty. Be advised by me. Return to yourhomes, and seek not by force to obtain your rights. It will, I know toowell by bitter experience, be in vain. Trust to me and my Englishfriends, who will not rest till we have gained for you the justice youdemand."
We saw the leaders among the Indians consulting together. The reclusenow went among them, and addressed them earnestly. His and Don Jose'swords seemed to have a powerful effect. Greatly to our relief, theybegan to retire through the forest. Our friends accompanied them totheir canoes, while Arthur and I followed at a distance to watch whatwould next take place. The canoes were launched, and the natives,bidding an affectionate farewell to the recluse, and a respectful one toPumacagua, leaped into them, and took their departure to the oppositebank of the river. We hurried on to meet our friends, and soonafterwards my father came out of the fort to welcome Don Jose. Theygreeted each other warmly.
"Finding that I could no longer render service to my countrymen, andthat my own life was in constant danger," Don Jose said, "I was on myway down the river to join you, when I saw a large number of canoesdrawn up on the beach, a few people only remaining with them. From themI learned what was taking place, and I at once suspected, from what theytold me, who it was they were about to attack. I instantly landed, andovertook the main body of insurgents. The rest you know."
Our friends then returned to the fort, and all hands at once set to workto complete our vessel. Tony alone was somewhat disappointed at sopacific a termination to the affair. The additional hands whom Don Josehad brought with him were of great assistance, as they were all expertboat-builders; and in less than a couple of days our craft was launched,and ready to proceed on her voyage. Don Jose and our father had, ofcourse, much to talk about. The former seemed greatly out of spirits atthe turn affairs had taken, and in despair of the establishment of trueliberty in his country. His affection for my father had induced him tofollow us, and he purposed to remain with him at Para till a change ofaffairs in Peru might enable him to return.
The rainy season was now completely over; though the heat was verygreat, the weather was fine. At length our new vessel, which we calledthe _Manatee_, with the canoes of Don Jose and Houlston in company,emerging from the igarape, made sail to the eastward.
I have not space to describe the voyage. Sometimes we navigated a wideexpanse of water, where the river's banks were several miles apart;sometimes we passed amid an archipelago, through narrow channels wherethe branches of the giant trees almost joined overhead. Sometimes wesailed on with a favourable breeze, and at other times had to lower oursails and take to the oars. For some hundred miles we had the greenforest alone in sight on either side, and here and there long extendingsand-banks, in which turtles are wont to lay their eggs. As we passednear the shore, vast numbers of wild fowl were seen on the banks, whilethe river swarmed with living creatures. Dolphins came swimming by,showing their heads above the surface, again to plunge down as theyadvanced up the stream. Now and then we caught sight of a huge manatee,and we saw alligators everywhere basking on the shores or showing theirugly snouts above the surface. At length a high, flat-topped range ofhills appeared on our left hand--the spurs, I believe, of the mountainsof Guiana. The river was now for some distance fully ten miles inwidth; so wide, indeed, that it looked more like an inland sea or theocean itself than a fresh-water stream. At length we entered one end ofthe Tajapuru, which is a curious natural canal, extending for onehundred miles or more from the main stream towards the city of Para. Itis of great depth in some places, and one hundred yards in width; but inothers so narrow that the topmost boughs of the trees almost met overour heads. Often as we sailed along we were hemmed in by two greenwalls, eighty feet in height, which made it seem as if we were sailingthrough a deep gorge. Emerging from it, we entered the Para river, andsailing on, were soon in a magnificent sea-like expanse, the only shorevisible being that of the island of Marajo, presenting a narrow blueline far away on our left. We passed a number of curious boats andrafts of various shapes and rigs, bringing produce from the villages andfarms scattered along the banks of the many vast rivers which pour theirwaters into the Atlantic. Still, all this time, we were navigatingmerely one of the branches of the mighty Amazon; for, though we had longfelt the influence of the tide, yet the water, even when it was flowing,was but slightly brackish.
At length, entering the sheltered bay of Goajara, we, with thankfulhearts, saw the city of Para stretching out before us along the shore,and our vessel was soon moored in safety alongside the quay. Houlstonand Tony hurried off to their friends, who came down to welcome us andtake us to their house. In most places we should have attracted nosmall amount of curiosity as we proceeded through the streets. Each ofthe ladies, as well as Maria and the Indian girl, with two or moreparrots and other birds on their shoulders; Nimble sitting on mine withhis tail round my neck; Arthur carrying Toby; while Tony and Houlstonhad a couple of monkeys apiece, which they had obtained on their voyage.Such a spectacle, however, was too common in Para to attract muchattention.
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I must now, as briefly as possible, bring my journal to a conclusion.My father here resolved to establish a house of business, of which MrMallet was to be made chief manager, with Arthur as his assistant.Maono and Illora, after remaining some time with us, considerably, Ihope, to their benefit, returned to their people with the intention ofshowing them the advantages of civilisation, and imparting a knowledgeof the true God and his plan of salvation, which they themselves hadobtained. We were tha
nkful that they consented to leave Duppo and Oriawith us. The two young Indians made rapid progress in English, besideslearning Portuguese; and Ellen and Arthur spared no pains in theirendeavours to instruct them in the more important truths of religion.Don Jose and his faithful Isoro returned at length to Ecuador, whenpeace was once more established in that long distracted province; andthe cacique wrote whenever an opportunity occurred for sending a letterdown the Amazon. Senhor Pimento and his family after a time returned totheir estate, and we never failed to pay them a visit when we went upthe river. The rebellion of the natives was at length happily quelled,with less bloodshed than often occurs under similar circumstances.
Houlston, Arthur, Tony, and I made not only one, but several excursionsup the mighty river, and throughout many parts of that wonderful regionembraced by the Brazils. I might give a long account of our adventures,which were not less interesting than those I have already described.Perhaps I may some day have an opportunity of doing so.
Nimble and Toby lived to the extreme end of monkey existence--thepatriarchs of Ellen's ever-increasing menagerie, which was superintendedby Domingos when she had more important duties to attend to, andguarded, I may add, by the two attached canine brethren, Faithful andTrue.
I made two trips to England, each time on board the _Inca_, stillcommanded by Captain Byles. The first time Sam was on board, but on ourreturn to Para he obtained his discharge, and settled down in that city,where I often had the pleasure of a long talk with him. "Ah, MassaHarry!" he used to say, "I chose de good part, and God take care of meas he promise; and his promise neber fail. He gib me good t'ings here,and I know him gib me better when I go up dere;" and he pointed to theblue sky, seen through the front of the provision store of which he wasthe owner.
I am thankful to say that the rest of my friends also, as Sam had done,chose "the good part." Arthur had the happiness of being the means ofbringing his father to a knowledge of the truth. His great wish was tomake the simple gospel known among the long benighted natives of thatmagnificent region in which we met with the adventures I have recorded,and, though hitherto opposed by difficulties which have appearedinsurmountable, he still cherishes the hope that they may be overcome,and that missionaries with the Bible in their hand may, ere long, befound traversing the mighty Amazon and its tributaries, now ploughed bynumerous steamers up to the very foot of the Andes, engaged in openingup to commerce the unmeasured resources of the Brazils. I should indeedbe thankful if my tale contributes to draw the attention of theChristian philanthropist to the unhappy condition of the numerous tribesof that interesting country which I have attempted to describe.
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