Having at this time an off-shore wind, we kept the wind close on board till we came to a head-land: it was near night before we got abreast of the head-land, and opening it discovered a very large bay to the northward, and another head-land to the westward, at a great distance. We endeavoured to cut short our passage to it by crossing, which is very seldom to be effected in these overgrown seas by boats; and this we experienced now, for the wind springing up, and beginning to blow fresh, we were obliged to put back towards the first head-land, into a small cove, just big enough to shelter the two boats. Here an accident happened that alarmed us much. After securing our boats, we climbed up a rock scarcely large enough to contain our numbers: having nothing to eat, we betook ourselves to our usual receipt for hunger, which was going to sleep. We accordingly made a fire, and stowed ourselves round it as well as we could, but two of our men being incommoded for want of room, went a little way from us into a small nook, over which a great cliff hung, and served them for a canopy.

In the middle of the night we were awakened with a terrible rambling, which we apprehended to be nothing less than the shock of an earthquake, which we had before experienced in these parts; and this conjecture we had reason to think not ill founded, upon hearing hollow groans and cries as of men half swallowed up. We immediately got up, and ran to the place from whence the cries came, and then we were put out of all doubt as to the opinion we had formed of this accident, for here we found the two men almost buried under loose stones and earth; but upon a little farther enquiry, we were undeceived as to the cause we had imputed this noise to, which we found to be occasioned by the sudden giving way of the impending cliff, which fell a little beyond our people, carrying trees and rocks with it and loose earth, the latter of which fell in part on our men, whom we with some pains rescued from their uneasy situation, from which they escaped with some bruises.

The next morning we got out early, and the wind being westerly, rowed the whole day for the head-land we had seen the night before; but when we had got that length, could find no harbour, but were obliged to go into a sandy bay, and lay the whole night upon our oars, and a most dreadful one it proved, blowing and raining very hard. Here we were so pinched with hunger, that we eat the shoes off our feet, which consisted of raw seal-skin. In the morning we got out of the bay, but the incessant foul weather had overcome us, and we began to be indifferent as to what befel us; and the boats in the night making into a bay, we nearly lost the yawl, a breaker having filled her and driven her ashore upon the beach. This, by some of our accounts, was Christmas-day; but our accounts had so often been interrupted by our distresses, that there was no depending upon them. Upon seeing the yawl in this imminent danger, the barge stood off and went into another bay to the northward of it, where it was smoother lying; but there was no possibility of getting on shore. In the night the yawl joined us again.

The next day was so bad, that we despaired reaching the head-land, so rowed down the bay in hopes of getting some seal, as that animal had been seen the day before, but met with no success; so returned to the same bay we had been in the night before, where the surf having abated somewhat, we went ashore and picked up a few shell-fish. In the morning we got on board early, and ran along shore to the westward for about three leagues, in order to get round a cape, which was the westernmost land we could see. It blew very hard, and there ran such a sea, that we heartily wished ourselves back again, and accordingly made the best of our way for that bay which we had left in the morning; but before we could reach it night came on, and we passed a most dismal one, lying upon our oars.

The weather continuing very bad, we put in for the shore in the morning, where we found nothing but tangle and sea-weed. We now passed some days roving about for provisions, as the weather was too bad to make another attempt to get round the cape as yet. We found some fine lagoons towards the head of the bay, and in them killed some seal, and got a good quantity of shell-fish, which was a great relief to us. We now made a second attempt to double the cape; but when we got the length of it, and passed the first head-land, for it consists of three of an equal height, we got into a sea that was horrid, for it ran all in heaps like the Race of Portland, but much worse. We were happy to put back to the old place, with little hopes of ever getting round this cape.

Next day, the weather proving very bad, all hands went ashore to procure some sustenance, except two in each boat, which were left as boat-keepers: this office we took by turns, and it was now my lot to be upon this duty with another man. The yawl lay within us at a grapnel; in the night it blew very hard, and a great sea tumbled in upon the shore; but being extremely fatigued, we in the boats went to sleep: notwithstanding, however, I was at last awakened by the uncommon motion of the boat, and the roaring of the breakers every where about us. At the same time I heard a shrieking, like to that of persons in distress; I looked out, and saw the yawl canted bottom upwards by a sea, and soon afterwards disappeared. One of our men, whose name was William Rose, a quarter-master, was drowned; the other was thrown ashore by the surf, with his head buried in the sand, but by the immediate assistance of the people on shore, was saved. As for us in the barge, we expected the same fate every moment, for the sea broke a long way without us. However, we got her head to it, and hove up our grapnel, or should rather say kellick, which we had made to serve in the room of our grapnel, hove overboard some time before to lighten the boat. By this means we used our utmost efforts to pull her without the breakers some way, and then let go our kellick again. Here we lay all the next day in a great sea, not knowing what would be our fate. To add to our mortification, we could see our companions in tolerable plight ashore, eating seal, while we were starving with hunger and cold. For this month past we had not known what it was to have a dry thread about us.

The next day being something more moderate, we ventured in with the barge as near as we could to the shore, and our companions threw us some seals liver, which having eat greedily, we were seized with excessive sickness, which affected us so much that our skin peeled off from, head to foot.

Whilst the people were on shore here, Mr Hamilton met with a large seal or sea-lion, and fired a brace of balls into him, upon which the animal turned upon him open-mouthed; but presently fixing his bayonet, he thrust it down its throat, with, a good part of the barrel of the gun, which the creature bit in two seemingly with as much ease as if it had been a twig. Notwithstanding the wounds it received, it eluded all farther efforts to kill it, and got clear off.

I call this animal a large seal or sea-lion, because it resembles a seal in many particulars; but then it exceeds it so much in size, as to be sufficiently determined, by that distinction only, to be of another species. Mr Walter, in Lord Anson's voyage, has given a particular description of those which are seen about Juan Fernandes; but they have in other climates different appearances as well as different qualities, as we had occasion to observe in this and a late voyage I made. However, as so much already has been said of the sea-lion, I shall only mention two peculiarities, one relative to its appearance, and the other to its properties of action, which distinguish it from those described by him. Those I saw were without that snout or trunk hanging below the end of the upper jaw; but then the males were furnished with a large shaggy mane, which gave them a most formidable appearance. And, whereas, he says those he saw were unwieldy and easily destroyed, we found some, on the contrary, that lay at a mile's distance from the water, which came down upon us when disturbed with such impetuosity, that it was as much as we could do to get out of their way; and, when attacked, would turn upon us with, great agility.

Having lost the yawl, and being too many for the barge to carry off, we were compelled to leave four of our men behind. They were all marines, who seemed to have no great objection to the determination made with regard to them, so exceedingly disheartened and worn out were they with the distresses and dangers they had already gone through. And, indeed, I believe it would have been a matter of indifference to the greatest part of the rest, whether they should embark or take their chance. The captain distributed to these poor fellows arms and ammunition, and some other necessaries. When we parted, they stood upon the beach, giving us three cheers, and called out, God bless the King! We saw them a little after setting out upon their forlorn hope, and helping one another over a hideous tract of rocks; but considering the difficulties attending this only way of travelling left them, for the woods are impracticable, from their thickness and the deep swamps every where to be met in them; considering too that the coast here is rendered so inhospitable by the heavy seas that are constantly tumbling upon it, as not to afford even a little shell-fish, it is probable that all met with a miserable end.

We rowed along shore to the westward in order to make one more attempt to double the cape; when abreast of the first head-land, there ran such a sea that we expected every moment the boat would go down. But as the preservation of life had now in a great measure lost its actuating principle upon us, we still kept pushing through it, till we opened a bay to the northward. In all my life I never saw so dreadful a sea as drove in here; it began to break at more than half a mile from the shore. Perceiving now that it was impossible for any boat to get round, the men lay upon their oars till the boat was very near the breakers, the mountainous swell that then ran heaving her in at a great rate. I thought it was their intention to put an end to their lives and misery at once, but nobody spoke for some time. At last Captain Cheap told them they must either perish immediately, or pull stoutly for it to get off the shore, but they might do as they pleased. They chose, however, to exert themselves a little, and after infinite difficulty got round the head-land again, giving up all thoughts of making any further attempt to double the cape. It was night before we could get back to the bay, where we were compelled to leave four of our men, in order to save, if possible, the remainder; for we must all have certainly perished, if more than sixteen had been crowded into so small a boat: this bay we named Marine Bay. When we had returned to this bay, we found the surf ran so high, that we were obliged to lay upon our oars all night; and it was now resolved to go back to Wager's island, there to linger out a miserable life, as we had not the least prospect of returning home.

But before we set out, in consequence of this resolution, it was necessary, if possible, to get some little stock of seal to support us in a passage, upon which, whenever we might put in, we were not likely to meet with any supply. Accordingly, it was determined to go up that lagoon, in which, we had before got some seal, to provide ourselves with some more, but we did not leave the bay till we had made some search after the unhappy marines we had left on shore. Could we have found them, we had now agreed to take them on board again, though it would have been the certain destruction of us all. This, at another time, would have been mere madness; but we were now resigned to our fate, which we none of us thought far off; however, there was nothing to be seen of them, and no traces but a musket on the beach.

Upon returning up the lagoon, we were so fortunate as to kill some seal, which we boiled and laid in the boat for sea-stock. While we were ranging along shore in detached parties in quest of this and whatever other eatable might come in our way, our surgeon, who was then by himself, discovered a pretty large hole, which seemed to lead to some den or repository within the rocks. It was not so rude or natural, but that there were some signs of its having been cleared and made more accessible by industry. The surgeon for some time hesitated whether he should venture in, from his uncertainty as to the reception he might meet with from any inhabitant; but his curiosity getting the better of his fears, he determined to go in, which he did upon his hands and knees, as the passage was too low for him to enter otherwise.

After having proceeded a considerable way thus, he arrived at a spacious chamber, but whether hollowed out by hands, or natural, he could not be positive. The light into this chamber was conveyed through a hole at the top; in the midst was a kind of bier, made of sticks laid crossways, supported by props of about five feet in height. Upon this bier five or six bodies were extended, which, in appearance, had been deposited there a long time, but had suffered no decay or diminution. They were without covering, and the flesh of their bodies was become perfectly dry and hard, which whether done by any art or secret the savages may be possessed of, or occasioned by any drying virtue in the air of the cave, could not be guessed. Indeed, the surgeon finding nothing there to eat, which was his chief inducement for his creeping into this hole, did not amuse himself with long disquisitions, or make that accurate examination which he would have done at another time; but crawling out as he came in, he went and told the first he met of what he had seen. Some had the curiosity to go in likewise.

I had forgot to mention that there was another range of bodies deposited in the same manner upon another platform under the bier. Probably this was the burial-place of their great men called Caciques; but from whence they could be brought we were utterly at a loss to conceive, there being no traces of any Indian settlement hereabout. We had seen no savages since we left the island, or observed any marks in the coves or bays to the northward where we had touched, such as of fire-places or old wig-wams, which they never fail of leaving behind them; and it is very probable, from the violent seas that are always beating upon this coast, its deformed aspect, and the very swampy soil that every where borders upon it, that it is little frequented.

We now crossed the first bay for the head-land we left on Christmas-day, much dejected; for under our former sufferings we were in some measure supported with the hopes, that as we advanced, however little, they were so much the nearer their termination; but now our prospect was dismal and dispiriting indeed, as we had the same difficulties and dangers to encounter, not only without any flattering views to lessen them, but under the aggravating circumstance of their leading to an inevitable and miserable death; for we could not possibly conceive that the fate of starving could be avoided by any human means, upon, that desolate island we were returning to. The shell-fish, which was the only subsistence that island had hitherto afforded in any measure, was exhausted; and the Indians had shewn themselves so little affected by the common incitements of compassion, that we had no hopes to build upon any impressions of that sort in them. They had already refused to barter their dogs with us, for want of a valuable commodity on our side; so that it is wonderful we did not give ourselves up to despondency, and lay aside all farther attempts; but we were supported by that invisible Power, who can make the most untoward circumstances subservient to his gracious purposes.

At this time our usual bad weather attended us; the night too set in long before we could reach the cove we before had taken shelter in, so that we were obliged to keep the boat's head to the sea all night, the sea every where astern of us running over hideous breakers. In the morning, we designed standing over for that island in which we had observed those strait and lofty trees before-mentioned, and which Captain Cheap named Montrose Island; but as soon as we opened the head-land to the westward of us, a sudden squall took the boat, and very near overset her. We were instantly full of water; but by baling with our hats and hands, and any thing that would hold water, we with difficulty freed her. Under this alarming circumstance, we found it advisable to return back and put in to the cove which the night before we were prevented getting into. We were detained here two or three days by exceeding bad weather, so that had we not fortunately provided ourselves with some seal, we must have starved, for this place afforded us nothing.

At length we reached Montrose Island. This is by much the best and pleasantest spot we had seen in this part of the world, though it has nothing on it eatable but some berries, which resemble goose-berries in flavour: they are of a black hue, and grow in swampy ground; and the bush or tree that bears them, is much taller than that of our goose berries. We remained here some time, living upon these berries and the remainder of our seal, which was now grown quite rotten. Our two or three first attempts to put out from this island were without success, the tempestuous weather obliging us to put back again. One of our people was much inclined to remain here, thinking it at least as good a place as Wager's Island to end his days upon; but he was obliged by the rest to go off with them. We had not been long out before it began to blow a storm of wind; and the mist came on so thick, that we could not see the land, and were at a loss which way to steer; but we heard the sea, which ran exceedingly high, breaking near us, upon which we immediately hauled aft the sheet, and hardly weathered the breakers by a boat's length. At the same time we shipped a sea that nearly filled us; it struck us with that violence as to throw me and one or two more down into the bottom of the boat, where we were half drowned before we could get up again. This was one of the most extraordinary escapes we had in the course of this expedition; for Captain Cheap and every one else had entirely given themselves up for lost. However, it pleased God that we got that evening into Red-wood Cove, where the weather continued so bad all night we could keep no fire in to dry ourselves with; but there being no other alternative for us but to stay here and starve, or put to sea again, we chose the latter, and put out in the morning again, though the weather was very little mended.

In three or four days after, we arrived at our old station, Wager's Island, but in such a miserable plight, that though we thought our condition upon setting out would not admit of any additional circumstance of misery, yet it was to be envied in comparison of what we now suffered, so worn and reduced were we by fatigue and hunger, having eat nothing for some days but sea-weed and tangle. Upon this expedition, we had been out, by our account, just two months; in which we had rounded, backwards and forwards, the great bay formed to the northward by that high land we had observed from Mount Misery.

The first thing we did upon our arrival was to secure the barge, as this was our sole dependence for any relief that might offer by sea; which done, we repaired to our huts, which formed a kind of village or street, consisting of several irregular habitations, some of which being covered by a kind of brush-wood thatch, afforded tolerable shelter against the inclemency of the weather. Among these, there was one which we observed with some surprise to be nailed up. We broke it open, and found some iron- work, picked out with much pains from those pieces of the wreck which, were driven ashore. We concluded from hence, that the Indians who had been here in our absence were not of that tribe with which we had some commerce before, who seemed to set no value upon iron, but from some other quarter; and must have had communication with the Spaniards, from whom they had learned the value and use of that commodity.

Thieving from strangers is a commendable talent among savages in general, and bespeaks an address which they much admire; though the strictest honesty with regard to the property of each other is observed among them. There is no doubt but they ransacked all our houses, but the men had taken care before they went off in the long-boat to strip them of their most valuable furniture, that is, the bales of cloth used for lining, and converted them into trowsers and watch-coats. Upon farther search, we found, thrown aside in the bushes at the back of one of the huts, some pieces of seal in a very putrid condition, which, however, our stomachs were far from loathing. The next business which the people set about very seriously, was to proceed to Mount Misery, and bury the corpse of the murdered person mentioned to have been discovered there some little time after our being cast away; for to the neglect of this necessary tribute to that unfortunate person the men assigned all their ill success upon the late expedition.

That common people in general are addicted to superstitious conceits, is an observation founded on experience, and the reason is evident; but I cannot allow that common seamen are more so than others of the lower class. In the most enlightened ages of antiquity, we find it to have been the popular opinion, that the spirits of the dead were not at rest till their bodies were interred; and that they did not cease to haunt and trouble those who had neglected this duty to the departed. This is still believed by the vulgar in most countries; and in our men this persuasion was much heightened by the melancholy condition they were reduced to, and was farther confirmed by an occurrence which happened some little time before we went upon our last expedition. One night we were alarmed with a strange cry, which resembled that of a man drowning. Many of us ran out of our huts towards the place from whence the noise proceeded, which was not far off shore, where we could perceive, but not distinctly, (for it was then moonlight) an appearance like that of a man swimming half out of water. The noise that this creature uttered was so unlike that of any animal they had heard before, that it made a great impression upon the men; and they frequently recalled this apparition at the time of their distresses, with reflections on the neglect of the office they were now fulfilling.

We were soon driven again to the greatest straits for want of something to subsist upon, by the extreme bad weather that now set in upon us. Wild sellery was all we could procure, which raked our stomachs instead of assuaging our hunger. That dreadful and last resource of men, in not much worse circumstances than ours, of consigning one man to death for the support of the rest, began to be mentioned in whispers; and indeed there were some among as who, by eating what they found raw, were become little better than cannibals. But fortunately for us, and opportunely to prevent this horrid proceeding, Mr Hamilton at this time found some rotten pieces of beef cast up by the sea at some miles distance from the huts, which he, though a temptation which few would have resisted in parallel circumstances, scorned to conceal from the rest, but generously distributed among us.

A few days after, the mystery of the nailing up of the hut, and what had been doing by the Indians upon the island in our absence, was partly explained to us; for about the 15th day after our return, there came a party of Indians to the island in two canoes, who were not a little surprised to find us here again. Among these, was an Indian of the tribe of the Chonos, who live in the neighbourhood of Chiloe.[117] He talked the Spanish language, but with that savage accent which renders it almost unintelligible to any but those who are adepts in that language. He was likewise a cacique, or leading man of his tribe, which authority was confirmed to him by the Spaniards; for he carried the usual badge and mark of distinction by which the Spaniards and their dependants hold their military and civil employments, which is a stick with a silver head. These badges, of which the Indians are very vain, at once serve to retain the cacique in the strongest attachment to the Spanish government, and give him greater weight with his own dependants: yet, withal, he is the merest slave, and has not one thing he can call his own.

This report of our shipwreck (as we supposed) having reached the Chonos, by means of the intermediate tribes, which handed it to one another from those Indians who first visited us, this cacique was either sent to learn the truth of the rumour, or, having first got the intelligence, set out with a view of making some advantage of the wreck, and appropriating such iron- work as he could gather from it to his own use; for that metal is become very valuable to those savages, since their commerce with the Spaniards has taught them to apply it to several purposes. But as the secreting any thing from a rapacious Spanish rey or governor (even an old rusty nail) by any of their Indian dependants, is a very dangerous offence, he was careful to conceal the little prize he had made till he could conveniently carry it away; for in order to make friends of these savages, we had left their hoard untouched.

Our surgeon, Mr Elliot, being master of a few Spanish words, made himself so far understood by the cacique, as to let him know that our intention was to reach some of the Spanish settlements if we could; that we were unacquainted with the best and safest way, and what track was most likely to afford us subsistence in our journey; promising, if he would undertake to conduct us in the barge, he should have it and every thing in it for his trouble as soon as it had served our present occasions. To these conditions the cacique, after much persuasion, at length agreed. Accordingly, having made the best preparation we could, we embarked on board the barge to the number of fifteen, including the cacique, whose name was Martin, and his servant Emanuel. We were, indeed, sixteen when we returned from our last fruitless attempt to get off the island, but we had buried two since that, who perished with hunger; and a marine, having committed theft, ran away to avoid the punishment his crime deserved, and hid himself in the woods, since which he was never heard of. We now put off, accompanied with the two Indian canoes, in one of which was a savage with his two wives, who had an air of dignity superior to the rest, and was handsome in his person. He had his hut, during his stay with us, separate from the other Indians, who seemed to pay him extraordinary respect; but in two or three nights, these Indians, being independent of the Spaniards, and living somewhere to the southward of our Chonos guide, left us to proceed on our journey by ourselves.

The first night we lay at an island destitute of all refreshment, where having found some shelter for our boat and made ourselves a fire, we slept by it. The next night we were more unfortunate, though our wants were increasing, for, having run to the westward of Montrose Island, we found no shelter for the barge, but were under the necessity of lying upon our oars, suffering the most extreme pangs of hunger. The next day brought us to the bottom of a great bay, where the Indian guide had left his family, a wife and two children, in a hut. Here we staid two or three days, during which we were constantly employed in ranging along shore in quest of shell-fish.

[117] Chiloe is an island on the western coast of America, situated in 42 deg. 40 of S. latitude, and the southernmost settlement under the Spanish jurisdiction on that coast.



CHAPTER V.

Navigation of the River.—One of our Men dies from Fatigue.—Inhumanity of the Captain.—Description of our Passage through a horrible and desolate Country.—Our Conductor leaves us, and a Party of our Men desert with the Boat.—Dreadful Situation of the Remainder.—The Cacique returns.—Account of our Journey Overland.—Kindness of two Indian Women.—Description of the Indian Mode of Fishing.—Cruel Treatment of my Indian Benefactress by her Husband.

We now again proceeded on our voyage, having received on board the family of our guide, who conducted us to a river, the stream of which was so rapid, that, after our almost efforts from morning to evening, we gained little upon the current, and at last were obliged to desist from our attempt, and return. I had hitherto steered the boat, but one of our men sinking under the fatigue, expired soon after, which obliged me to take the oar in his room, and row against this heart-breaking stream. Whilst I was thus employed, one of our men, whose name was John Bosman, though hitherto the stoutest man among us, fell from his seat under the thwarts, complaining that his strength was quite exhausted for want of food, and that he should die very shortly. As he lay in this condition, he would every now and then break out in the most pathetic wishes for some little sustenance, that two or three monthfuls might be the means of saving his life. The captain at this time had a large piece of boiled seal by him, and was the only one that was provided with any thing like a meal; but we were become so hardened against the impressions of others sufferings by our own, so familiarized to scenes of this and every other kind of misery, that the poor man's dying entreaties were vain. I sat next to him when he dropped, and having a few dried shell-fish (about five or six) in my pocket, from time to time put one in his mouth, which served only to prolong his pains; from which, however, soon after my little supply failed, he was released by death. For this, and another man I mentioned a little before to have expired under the like circumstances, when we returned from this unsuccessful enterprize, we made a grave in the sands.

It would have redounded greatly to the tenderness and humanity of Captain Cheap, if at this time he had remitted somewhat of that attention he shewed to self-preservation, which is hardly allowable but where the consequence of relieving others must be immediately and manifestly fatal to ourselves; but I would venture to affirm, that in these last affecting exigencies, as well as some others, a sparing perhaps adequate to the emergency, might have been admitted consistently with a due regard to his own necessities. The captain had better opportunities of recruiting his stock than any of us; for his rank was considered by the Indians a reason for supplying him when he would not find a bit for us. Upon the evening of the day in which these disasters happened, the captain producing a large piece of boiled seal, suffered no one to partake with him but the surgeon, who was the only man in favour at this time. We did not expect, indeed, any relief from him in our present condition, for we had a few small mussels and herbs to eat; but the men could not help expressing the greatest indignation at his neglect of the deceased, saying, that he deserved to be deserted by the rest for his savage behaviour.

The endeavouring to pass up this river was for us, who had so long struggled with hunger, a most unseasonable attempt, by which we were harassed to a degree that threatened to be fatal to more of us; but our guide, without any respect to the condition our hardships had reduced us to, was very solicitous for us to go that way, which possibly he had gone before in light canoes, but for such a boat as ours, was impracticable. We conceived, therefore, at that time, that this was some short cut, which was to bring us forward in our voyage; but we had reason to think afterwards, that the greater probability there was of his getting the barge, which was the wages of his undertaking, safe to his settlement by this, rather than another course, was his motive for preferring it to the way we took afterwards, where there was a carrying place of considerable length, over which it would have been impossible to have carried our boat.

The country hereabouts wears the most uncouth, desolate, and rugged aspect imaginable; it is so circumstanced as to discourage the most sanguine adventurers from attempts to settle in it: Were it for no other reason than the constant heavy rains, or rather torrents, which pour down here, and the vast sea and surf which the prevailing westerly winds impel upon this coast, it must be rendered inhospitable. All entrance into the woods is not only extremely difficult, but hazardous, not from any assaults you are likely to meet with from wild beasts, for even these could hardly find convenient harbour here, but from the deep swamp, which is the reigning soil of this country, and in which the woods may be said rather to float than grow; so that, except upon a range of deformed broken rocks which form the sea-coast, the traveller cannot find sound footing any where. With this unpromising scene before us we were now setting out in search of food, which nothing but the most pressing instances of hunger could induce us to do: We had, indeed, the young Indian servant to our cacique for our conductor, who was left by him to show us where the shell-fish was most plenty. The cacique was gone with the rest of his family in the canoe, with a view of getting some seal, upon a trip which would detain him from us three or four days.

After searching the coast some time with very little success, we began to think of returning to the barge; but six of the men, with the Indian, having advanced some few paces before the officers, got into the boat first, which they had no sooner done than they put off and left us, to return no more. And now all the difficulties we had hitherto endured seemed light in comparison of what we expected to suffer from this treachery of our men, who, with the boat, had taken away every thing that might be the means of preserving our lives. The little clothes we had saved from the wreck, our muskets and ammunition, were gone, except a little powder, which must be preserved for kindling fires, and one gun which I had, and was now become useless for want of ammunition; and all these wants were now come upon us at a time when we could not be worse situated for supplying them. Yet under these dismal and forlorn appearances was our delivery now preparing; and from these hopeless circumstances were we to draw hereafter an instance scarce to be paralleled, of the unsearchable ways of Providence.

It was at that time little suspected by us, that the barge, in which we founded all our hopes of escaping from this savage coast, would certainly have proved the fatal cause of detaining us till we were consumed by the labour and hardships requisite to row her round the capes and great headlands; for it was impossible to carry her by land as we did the boats of the Indians. At present, no condition could be worse than we thought ours to be: There ran at this time a very high sea, which breaking with great fury upon this coast, made it very improbable that sustenance in any proportion to our wants could be found upon it; yet unpromising as this prospect was, and though little succour could be expected from this quarter, I could not help, as I strolled along shore from the rest, casting my eyes towards the sea. Continuing thus to look out, I thought I saw something now and then upon the top of a sea that looked black, which, upon observing still more intently, I imagined at last to be a canoe; but reflecting afterwards how unusual it was for Indians to venture out in so mountainous a sea, and at such a distance from the land, I concluded myself to be deceived. However, its nearer approach convinced me, beyond all doubt, of its being a canoe; but that it could not put in any where hereabouts, but intended for some other part of the coast. I ran back as fast as I could to my companions, and acquainted them with what I had seen.

The despondency they were in would not allow them to give credit to it at first; but afterwards, being convinced that it was as I reported it, we were all in the greatest hurry to strip off some of our rags to make a signal withal, which we fixed upon a long pole. This had the desired effect: The people in the canoe seeing the signal, made towards the land at about two miles distance from us, for no boat could approach the land where we were. There they put into a small cove, sheltered by a large ledge of rocks without, which broke the violence of the sea. Captain Cheap and I walked along shore, and got to the cove about the time they landed. Here we found the persons arrived in this canoe to be our Indian guide and his wife, who had left us some days before. He would have asked us many questions, but neither Captain Cheap nor I understanding Spanish at that time, we took him along with us to the surgeon, whom we had left so ill that he could hardly raise himself from the ground.

When the Indian began to confer with the surgeon, the first question was, What was become of the barge and his companions? and as he could give him no satisfactory answer to this question, the Indian took it for granted that Emanuel was murdered by us, and that he and his family ran the same risk; upon which he was preparing to provide for his security, by leaving us directly. The surgeon seeing this, did all in his power to pacify him, and convince him of the unreasonableness of his apprehensions, which he at length found means to do, by assuring him that the Indian would come to no harm, but that he would soon see him return safe: which providentially, and beyond our expectation, happened accordingly, for in a few days after, Emanuel, having contrived to make his escape from the people in the barge, returned by ways that were impassable to any creature but an Indian. All that we could learn from Emanuel relative to his escape was, that he took the first opportunity of leaving them, which was upon their putting into a bay somewhere to the westward.

We had but one gun among us, and that was a small fowling-piece of mine; no ammunition but a few charges of powder I had about me; and as the Indian was very desirous of returning to the place where he had left his wife and canoe, Captain Cheap desired I would go with him and watch over him all night, to prevent his getting away. Accordingly I set out with him, and when he and his family betook themselves to rest in the little wigwam they had made for that purpose, I kept my station as centinel over them all night.

The next morning Captain Cheap, Mr Hamilton, and the surgeon joined us; the latter, by illness, being reduced to the most feeble condition, was supported by Mr Hamilton and Mr Campbell. After holding some little consultation together, as to the best manner of proceeding in our journey, it was agreed, that the Indian should haul his canoe, with our assistance, over land, quite across the island we were then upon, and put her into a bay on the other side, from whence he was to go in quest of some other Indians by whom he expected to be joined; but as his canoe was too small to carry more than three or four persons, he thought it advisable to take only Captain Cheap and myself with him, and to leave his wife and children as pledges with our companions till his return.

As it was matter of uncertainty whether we should ever recover the barge or not, which was stipulated, on our side, to become the property of the cacique upon his fulfilling his engagements with us; the inducements we now made use of to prevail upon him to proceed with us in our journey were, that he should have my fowling-piece, some little matters in the possession of Captain Cheap, and that we would use our interest to procure him some small pecuniary reward.

We were now to set off in the canoe, in which I was to assist him in rowing. Accordingly, putting from this island, we rowed hard all this day and the next, without any thing to eat but a scrap of seal, a very small portion of which fell to my share. About two hours after the close of the day, we put ashore, where we discovered six or seven wigwams. For my part, my strength was so exhausted with fatigue and hunger, that it would have been impossible for me to have held out another day at this toilsome work. As soon as we landed, the Indian conducted Captain Cheap with him into a wigwam, but I was left to shift for myself.

Thus left, I was for some time at a loss what I had best do, for knowing that in the variety of dispositions observable among the Indians, the surly and savage temper is the most prevalent, I had good reason to conclude, that if I obtruded myself upon them, my reception would be but indifferent. Necessity, however, put me upon the risk; I accordingly pushed into the next wigwam upon my hands and knees, for the entrance into these kind of buildings is too low to admit of any other manner of getting into them. To give a short description of these temporary houses called wigwams, may not be improper here, for the satisfaction of those who never saw any, especially as they differ somewhat from those of North America, which are more generally known from the numerous accounts of that country.

When the Indians of this part of the world have occasion to stop any where in their rambles, if it be only for a night or two, the men, who take this business upon them, while the women are employed in much more laborious offices, such as diving in the sea for sea-eggs, and searching the rocks for shell-fish, getting fuel, &c., repair to the woods, and cutting a sufficient number of tall strait branches, fix them in an irregular kind of circle of uncertain dimensions; which having done, they bend the extremities of these branches so as to meet in a centre at top, where they bind them by a kind of woodbine called supple-jack, which they split by holding it in their teeth. This frame, or skeleton of a hut, is made tight against the weather with a covering of boughs and bark; but as the bark is not got without some trouble, they generally take it with them when they remove, putting it at the bottom of their canoes: The rest of the wigwam they leave standing. The fire is made in the middle of the wigwam, round which they sit upon boughs; and as there is no vent for the smoke besides the door-way, which is very low, except through some crevices which cannot easily be stopped, they are not a little incommoded on that account, and the eyes of some of them are much affected by it.

But to return. In this wigwam, into which I took the liberty to introduce myself, I found only two women, who, upon first seeing a figure they were not accustomed to, and such a figure too as I then made, were struck with astonishment. They were sitting by a fire, to which I approached without any apology. However inclined I might have been to make one, my ignorance of their language made it impossible to attempt it. One of these women appeared to be young, and very handsome for an Indian; the other old, and as frightful as it is possible to conceive any thing in human shape to be. Having stared at me some little time, they both went out; and I, without farther ceremony, sat me down by the fire to warm myself and dry the rags I wore. Yet I cannot say my situation was very easy, as I expected every instant to see two or three men come in and thrust me out, if they did not deal with me in a rougher manner.

Soon after, the two women came in again, having, as I supposed, conferred with the Indian our conductor; and, appearing to be in great good humour, began to chatter and laugh immoderately. Perceiving the wet and cold condition I was in, they seemed to have compassion on me, and the old woman went out and brought some wood, with which she made a good fire; but my hunger being impatient, I could not forbear expressing my desire that they would extend their hospitality a little farther, and bring me something so eat. They soon comprehended my meaning, and the younger beginning to rummage under some pieces of bark that lay in the corner of the wigwam, produced a fine large fish; this they presently put upon the fire to broil, and when it was just warm through, they made a sign for me to eat. They had no need to repeat the invitation; I fell to, and dispatched it in so short a time, that I was in hopes they would comprehend, without further tokens, that I was ready for another; but it was of no consequence, for their stock of eatables was entirely exhausted.

After sitting some time in conference together, in which conversation I could bear no part, the women made some signs to me to lay down and go to sleep, first having strewed some dry boughs upon the ground. I laid myself down, and soon fell fast asleep; and about three or four hours after awaking, I found myself covered with a bit of blanket, made of the down of birds, which the women usually wear about their waist. The young woman, who had carefully covered me, whilst sleeping, with her own blanket, was lying close by me; the old woman lay on the other side of her. The fire was low and almost burnt out; but as soon as they found me awake they renewed it, by putting on more fuel. What I had hitherto eat served only to sharpen my appetite; I could not help, therefore, being earnest with them to get me some more victuals. Having understood my necessities, they talked together some little time; after which getting up, they both went out, taking with them a couple of dogs, which they train to assist them in fishing. After an hour's absence they came in trembling with cold, and their hair streaming with water, and brought two fish, which having broiled, they gave me the largest share, and then we all lay down as before to rest.

In the morning, my curiosity led me to visit the neighbouring wigwams, in which were only one or two men, the rest of the inhabitants were all women and children. I then proceeded to enquire after Captain Cheap and our Indian guide, whom I found in the wigwam they at first occupied: The authority of the cacique had procured the captain no despicable entertainment. We could not learn what business the men, whose wives and children were here left behind, were gone out upon; but as they seldom or never go upon fishing parties (for they have no hunting here) without their wives, who take the most laborious part of this pursuit upon themselves, it is probable they were gone upon some warlike expedition, in which they use bows and arrows sometimes, but always the lance. This weapon they throw with great dexterity and force, and never stir abroad without it.

About this time their return was looked for, a hearing by no means pleasant to me; I was therefore determined to enjoy myself as long as they were absent, and make the most of the good fare I was possessed of, to the pleasure of which I thought a little cleanliness might in some measure contribute; I therefore went to a brook, and taking off my shirt, which might be said to be alive with vermin, set myself about to wash it; which having done as well as I could, and hung on a bush to dry, I heard a bustle about the wigwams, and soon perceived that the women were preparing to depart, having stripped their wigwams of their bark covering, and carried it into their canoes. Putting on, therefore, my shirt just as it was, I hastened to join them, having a great desire of being present at one of their fishing parties.

It was my lot to be put into the canoe with my two patronesses and some others who assisted in rowing; we were in all four canoes. After rowing some time, they gained such an offing as they required, where the water here was about eight or ten fathoms deep, and there lay upon their oars. And now the youngest of the two women, taking a basket in her mouth, jumped overboard, and diving to the bottom, continued under water an amazing time; when she had filled the basket with sea-eggs, she came up to the boat-side, and delivering it so filled to the other women in the boat, they took out the contents and returned it to her. The diver then, after having taken a short time to breathe, went down and up again with the same success, and so several times for the space of half an hour. It seems as if Providence had endued this people with a kind of amphibious nature, as the sea is the only source from whence almost all their subsistence is derived. This element too, being here very boisterous, and falling with a most heavy surf upon a rugged coast, very little, except some seal, is to be got any where but in the quiet bosom of the deep. What occasions this reflection, is the early propensity I had so frequently observed in the children of these savages to this occupation, who, even at the age of three years, might be seen crawling upon their hands and knees among the rocks and breakers, from which they would tumble themselves into the sea without regard to the cold, which is here often intense, and shewing no fear of the noise and roaring of the surf.

This sea-egg is a shell-fish, from which several prickles project in all directions, by means whereof it removes itself from place to place. In it are found four or five yolks, resembling the inner divisions of an orange, which are of a very nutritive quality and excellent flavour.

The water was at this time extremely cold, and when the divers got into the boats, they seemed greatly benumbed; and it is usual with them after this exercise, if they are near enough their wigwams, to run to the fire, to which presenting one side, they rub and chafe it for some time; then turning the other, use it in the same manner till the circulation of the blood is restored. This practice, if it has no worse effect, must occasion their being more susceptible of the impressions of cold than if they waited the gradual advances of their natural warmth in the open air. I leave it to the decision of the gentlemen of the faculty, whether this too hasty approach to the fire may not subject them to a disorder I have observed among them, called the elephantiasis, or swelling of the legs.[118]

The divers having returned to their boats, we continued to row till towards evening, when we landed upon a low point. As soon as the canoes were hauled up, they employed themselves in erecting their wigwams, which they dispatch with great address and quickness. I still enjoyed the protection of my two good Indian women, who made me their guest here as before; they first regaled me with sea-eggs, and then went out upon another kind of fishery by the means of dogs and nets. These dogs are a cur-like looking animal, but very sagacious, and easily trained to this business. Though in appearance an uncomfortable sort of sport, yet they engage in it readily, seem to enjoy it much, and express their eagerness by barking every time they raise their heads above the water to breathe. The net is held by two Indians, who get into the water; then the dogs, taking a large compass, dive after the fish, and drive them into the net; but it is only in particular places that the fish are taken in this manner. At the close of the evening, the women brought in two fish, which served us for supper, and then we reposed ourselves as before. Here we remained all the next day, and the morning after embarked again, and rowed till noon; then landing, we descried the canoes of the Indian men, who had been some time expected from an expedition they had been upon. This was soon to make a great alteration in the situation of my affairs, a presage of which I could read in the melancholy countenance of my young hostess. She endeavoured to express herself in very earnest terms to me, but I had not yet acquired a competent knowledge of the Indian language to understand her.

As soon as the men were landed, she and the old Indian woman went up, not without some marks of dread upon them, to an elderly Indian man, whose remarkably surly and stern countenance was well calculated to raise such sensations in his dependants. He seemed to be a cacique or chief man among them, by the airs of importance he assumed to himself, and the deference paid him by the rest. After some little conference passed between these Indians and our cacique conductor, of which, most probably, the circumstances of our history and the occasion of our coming here might be the chief subject, for they fixed their eyes constantly upon us, they applied themselves to building their wigwams.

I now understood that the two Indian women with whom I had sojourned were wives to this chieftain, though one was young enough to be his daughter; and as far as I could learn, did really stand in the different relations to him both of daughter and wife. It was easy to be perceived that all did not go well between them at this time, either that he was not satisfied with the answers that they returned him to his questions, or that he suspected some misconduct on their side; for presently after breaking out into savage fury, he took the young one up in his arms, and threw her with violence against the stones; but his brutal resentment did not stop here, he beat her afterwards in a cruel manner. I could not see this treatment of my benefactress without the highest concern for her, and rage against the author of it; especially as the natural jealousy of these people gave occasion to think that it was on my account she suffered. I could hardly suppress the first emotions of my resentment, which prompted me to return him his barbarity in his own kind; but besides that this might have drawn upon her fresh marks of his severity, it was neither politic, nor indeed in my power to have done it to any good purpose at this time.

[118] There are two very different disorders incident to the human body, which bear the same name, derived from some resemblance they hold with different parts of the animal so well known in the countries to which these disorders are peculiar. That which was first so named is the leprosy, which brings a scurf on the skin not unlike the hide of an elephant. The other affects the patient with such enormous swelling of the legs and feet, that they give the idea of those shapeless pillars which support that creature; and therefore this disease has also been called elephantiasis by the Arabian physicians; who, together with the Malabrians, among whom it is endemial, attribute it to the drinking bad waters, and the too sudden transitions from heat to cold.



CHAPTER VI.

The Cacique's Conduct changes.—Description of the Indian Mode of Bird-fowling.—Their Religion.—Mr Elliot, our Surgeon, dies.—Transactions on our Journey.—Miserable Situation to which we are reduced.

Our cacique now made us understand that we must embark directly in the same canoe which brought us, and return to our companions; and that the Indians we were about to leave would join us in a few days, when we should all set out in a body, in order to proceed to the northward. In our way back nothing very material happened; but upon our arrival, which was the next day, we found Mr Elliot, the surgeon, in a very bad way; his illness had been continually increasing since we left him. Mr Hamilton and Mr Campbell were almost starved, having fared very ill since we left them; a few sea- eggs were all the subsistence they had lived upon, and these procured by the cacique's wife in the manner I mentioned before. This woman was the very reverse of my hostess; and as she found her husband was of so much consequence to us, took upon her with much haughtiness, and treated us as dependants and slaves. He was not more engaging in his carriage towards us; he would give no part of what he had to spare to any but Captain Cheap, whom his interest led him to prefer to the rest, though our wants were often greater. The captain, on his part, contributed to keep us in this abject situation, by approving this distinction the cacique shewed to him. Had he treated us with not quite so much distance, the cacique might have been more regardful of our wants. The little regard and attention which our necessitous condition drew from Captain Cheap, may be imputed likewise, in some measure, to the effects of a mind soured by a series of crosses and disappointments; which, indeed, had operated on us all to a great neglect of each other, and sometimes of ourselves.

We were not suffered to be in the same wigwam with the cacique and his wife, which, if we had had any countenance from Captain Cheap, would not have been refused. What we had made for ourselves was in such a bungling manner, that it scarce deserved the name even of this wretched sort of habitation. But our untoward circumstances now found some relief in the arrival of the Indians we waited for, who brought with them some seal, a small portion of which fell to our share. A night or two after, they sent out some of their young men, who procured us a quantity of a very delicate kind of birds, called shags and cormorants. Their manner of taking these birds resembles something a sport called bat-fowling. They find out their haunts among the rocks and cliffs in the night, when, taking with them torches made of the bark of the birch tree, which is common here, and grows to a very large size, (this bark has a very unctuous qaality, and emits a bright and clear light, and in the northern parts of America is used frequently instead of a candle) they bring the boat's side as near as possible to the rocks, under the roosting-places of these birds, then waving their lights backwards and forwards, the birds are dazzled and confounded so as to fall into the canoe, where they are instantly knocked on the head with a short stick the Indians take with them for that purpose.

Seal are taken in some less-frequented parts of these coasts with great ease; but when their haunts have been two or three times disturbed, they soon learn to provide for their safety, by repairing to the water upon the first alarm. This is the case with them hereabouts; but as they frequently raise their heads above water, either to breathe or look about them, I have seen an Indian at this interval throw his lance with such dexterity, as to strike the animal through both its eyes at a great distance; and it is very seldom that they miss their aim.

As we were wholly unacquainted with these methods of providing food for ourselves, and were without arms and ammunition, we were drove to the utmost straits, and found ourselves rather in worse condition than we had been at any time before; for the Indians, having now nothing to fear from us, we found we had nothing to expect from them upon any other motive. Accordingly, if they ever did relieve us, it was through caprice; for at most times, they would shew themselves unconcerned at our greatest distresses. But the good Indian women, whose friendship I had experienced before, continued, from time to time, their good offices to me. Though I was not suffered to enter their wigwams, they would find opportunities of throwing in my way such scraps as they could secrete from their husbands. The obligation I was under to them on this account is great, as the hazard they ran in conferring these favours was little less than death. The men, unrestrained by any laws or ties of conscience in the management of their own families, exercise a most despotic authority over their wives, whom they consider in the same view they do any other part of their property, and dispose of them accordingly: Even their common treatment of them is cruel; for though the toil and hazard of procuring food lies entirely upon the women, yet they are not suffered to touch any part of it till the husband is satisfied, and then he assigns them their portion, which is generally very scanty, and such as he has not a stomach for himself. This arbitrary proceeding, with respect to their own families, is not peculiar to this people only. I have had occasion to observe it in more instances than this I have mentioned, among many other nations of savages I have since seen.

These Indians are of a middling stature, well set, and very active, and make their way among the rocks with an amazing agility. Their feet, by this kind of exercise, contract a callosity which renders the use of shoes quite unnecessary to them. But before I conclude the few observations I have to make on a people so confined in all their notions and practice, it may be expected I should say something of their religion; but as their gross ignorance is in nothing more conspicuous, and as we found it advisable to keep out of their way when the fits of devotion came upon them, which is rather frantic than religious, the reader can expect very little satisfaction on this head. Accident has sometimes made me unavoidably a spectator of scenes I should have chosen to have withdrawn myself from; and so far I am instructed. As there are no fixed seasons for their religious exercises, the younger people wait till the elders find themselves devoutly disposed, who begin the ceremony by several deep and dismal groans, which rise gradually to a hideous kind of singing, from which they proceed to enthusiasm, and work themselves into a disposition that borders on madness; for, suddenly jumping up, they snatch fire-brands from the fire, put them in their mouths, and run about burning every body they come near; at other times it is a custom with them to wound one another with sharp mussel- shells till they are besmeared with blood. These orgies continue till these who preside in them foam at the mouth, grow faint, are exhausted with fatigue, and dissolve in a profusion of sweat. When the men drop their part in this frenzy, the women take it up, acting over again much the same kind of wild scene, except that they rather outdo the men in shrieks and noise. Our cacique, who had been reclaimed from these abominations by the Spaniards, and just knew the exterior form of crossing himself, pretended to be much offended at these profane ceremonies, and that he would have died sooner than have partaken of them. Among other expressions of his disapprobation, he declared, that whilst the savages solemnized these horrid rites, he never failed to hear strange and uncommon noises in the woods, and to see frightful visions, and assured us that the devil was the chief actor among them upon these occasions.

It might be about the middle of March that we embarked with these Indians. They separated our little company entirely, not putting any two of us together in the same canoe. The oar was my lot, as usual, as also Mr Campbell's; Mr Hamilton could not row, and Captain Cheap was out of the question; our surgeon was more dead than alive at the time, and lay at the bottom of the canoe he was in. The weather coming on too bad for their canoes to keep the sea, we landed again, without making any great progress that day. Here Mr Elliot, our surgeon, died. At our first setting out, he promised the fairest for holding out, being a very strong active young man: He had gone through an infinite deal of fatigue, as Mr Hamilton and he were the best shots amongst us, and whilst our ammunition lasted never spared themselves, and in a great measure provided for the rest; but he died the death many others had done before him, being quite starved. We scraped a hole for him in the sand, and buried him in the best manner we could.

Here I must relate a little anecdote of our Christian cacique. He and his wife had gone off at some distance from the shore in their canoe, when she dived for sea-eggs; but not meeting with great success, they returned a good deal out of humour. A little boy of theirs, about three years old, whom they appeared to be doatingly fond of, watching for his father and mother's return, ran into the surf to meet them: The father handed a basket of sea-eggs to the child, which being too heavy for him to carry, he let it fall; upon which the father jumped out of the canoe, and catching the boy up in his arms, dashed him with the utmost violence against the stones. The poor little creature lay motionless and bleeding, and in that condition was taken up by the mother, but died soon after. She appeared inconsolable for some time, but the brute his father shewed little concern about it.

A day or two after we put to sea again, and crossed the great bay I mentioned we had been to the bottom of, when we first hauled away to the westward. The land here was very low and sandy, with something like the mouth of a river, which discharged itself into the sea, and which had been taken no notice of by us before, as it was so shallow that the Indians were obliged to take every thing out of their canoes, and carry it over the neck of land, and then, haul the boats over into a river which at this part of it was very broad, more resembling a lake than a river. We rowed up it for four or five leagues, and then took into a branch of it, that ran first to the eastward, and then to the northward: Here it became much narrower, and the stream excessively rapid, so that we made but little way, though we worked very hard. At night we landed upon its banks, and had a most uncomfortable lodging, it being a perfect swamp; and we had nothing to cover us, though it rained very hard. The Indians were little better off than we, as there was no wood here to make their wigwams; so that all they could do was to prop up the bark they carry in the bottom of their canoes with their oars, and shelter themselves as well as they could to leeward of it. They, knowing the difficulties that were to be encountered here, had provided themselves with some seal; but we had not the least morsel to eat, after the heavy fatigues of the day, excepting a sort of root we saw some of the Indians make use of, which was very disagreeable to the taste. We laboured all the next day against the stream, and fared as we had done the day before. The next day brought us to the carrying-place. Here was plenty of wood, but nothing to be got for sustenance.

The first thing the Indians did was to take every thing out of their canoes, and after hauling them ashore, they made their wigwams. We passed this night, as generally we had done, under a tree; but what we suffered at this time is not easily to be expressed. I had been three days at the oar without any kind of nourishment but the wretched root I mentioned before. I had no shirt, as mine was rotted off by bits, and we were devoured by vermin. All my clothes consisted of an old short grieko, which is something like a bearskin with a piece of a waistcoat under it, which once had been of red cloth, both which I had on when I was cast away; I had a ragged pair of trowsers, without either shoe or stocking.

The first thing the Indians did in the morning was to take their canoes to pieces; and here, for the information of the reader, it will be necessary to describe the structure of these boats, which are extremely well calculated for the use of these Indians, as they are frequently obliged to carry them over land a long way together, through thick woods, to avoid doubling capes and head-lands, in seas where no open boats could live. They generally consist of five pieces or planks, one for the bottom, and two for each side; and as these people have no iron tools, the labour must be great in hacking a single plank out of a large tree with shells and flints, though with the help of fire. Along the edges of the plank, they make small holes, at about an inch from one to the other, and sew them together with the supplejack or woodbine; but as these holes are not filled up by the substance of the woodbine, their boats would be immediately full of water if they had not a method of preventing it. They do this very effectually by the bark of a tree, which they first steep in water for some time, and then beat it between two stones till it answers the use of oakum, and then chinse each hole so well, that they do not admit of the least water coming through, and are easily taken asunder and put together again. When they have occasion to go over land, as at this time, each man or woman carries a plank, whereas it would be impossible for them to drag a heavy boat entire.

Every body had something to carry except Captain Cheap, and he was obliged to be assisted, or never would have got over this march; for a worse than this I believe never was made. He, with the others, set out some time before me. I waited for two Indians who belonged to the canoe I came in, and who remained to carry over the last of the things from the side we were on. I had a piece of wet heavy canvas which belonged to Captain Cheap, with a bit of stinking seal wrapped in it, (which had been given him that morning by some of the Indians) to carry upon my head, which was a sufficient weight for a strong man in health through such roads, and a grievous burthen to one in my condition.

Our way was through a thick wood, the bottom of which was a mere quagmire, most part of it up to our knees, and often to our middle, and every now and then we had a large tree to get over, for they often lay directly in our road. Besides this, we were continually treading upon the stumps of trees, which were not to be avoided, as they were covered with water; and having neither shoe nor stocking, my feet and legs were frequently torn and wounded. Before I had got half a mile the two Indians had left me, and making the best of my way lest they should be all gone before I got to the other side, I fell off a tree that crossed the road into a very deep swamp, where I very narrowly escaped drowning, by the weight of the burthen I had on my head. It was a long while before I could extricate myself from this difficulty, and when I did, my strength was quite exhausted. I sat down under a tree, and there gave way to melancholy reflections. However, as I was sensible these reflections would answer no end, they did not last long. I got up, and marking a great tree, I then deposited my load, not being able to carry it any farther, and set out to join my company.

It was some hours before I reached my companions. I found them sitting under a tree, and sat myself down by them without speaking a word; nor did they speak to me, as I remember, for some time, when Captain Cheap breaking silence, began to ask after the seal and piece of canvas. I told him the disaster I had met with, which he might have easily guessed by the condition the rags I had on were in, as well as having my feet and ancles cut to pieces; but, instead of compassion for my sufferings, I heard nothing but grumbling from every one for the irreparable loss they had sustained by me. I made no answer, but after resting myself a little, I got up and struck into the wood, and walked back at least five miles to the tree I had marked, and returned just time enough to deliver it before my companions embarked, with the Indians, upon a great lake, the opposite part of which seemed to wash the foot of the Cordilleras. I wanted to embark with them, but was given to understand I was to wait for some other Indians that were to follow them. I knew not where these Indians were to come from: I was left alone upon the beach, and night was at hand. They left me not even a morsel of the stinking seal that I had suffered so much about.

I kept my eyes upon the boats as long as I could distinguish them, and then returned into the wood, and sat myself down upon the root of a tree, having eat nothing the whole day but the stem of a plant which resembles that of an artichoke, which is of a juicy consistence and acid taste. Quite worn out with fatigue, I soon fell asleep; and awaking before day, I thought I heard some voices at no great distance from me. As the day appeared, looking further into the wood, I perceived a wigwam, and immediately made towards it; but the reception I met with was not at all agreeable, for stooping to get into it, I presently received two or three hearty kicks in my face, and at the same time heard the sound of voices, seemingly in anger, which made me retire, and wait at the foot of a tree, where I remained till an old woman peeped out and made signs to me to draw near. I obeyed very readily, and went into the wigwam. In it were three men and two women; one young man seemed to have great respect shewn to him by the rest, though he was the most miserable object I ever saw. He was a perfect skeleton, and covered with sores from head to foot. I was happy to sit a moment by their fire, as I was quite benumbed with cold. The old woman took out a piece of seal, holding one part of it between her feet, and the other end in her teeth, and then cut off some thin slices with a sharp shell, and distributed them about to the other Indians. She then put a bit on the fire, taking a piece of fat in her mouth, which she kept chewing, every now and then spirting some of it on the piece that was warming upon the fire; for they never do more with it than warm it through. When it was ready, she gave me a little bit, which I swallowed whole, being almost starved.

As these Indians were all strangers to me, I did not know which way they were going; and indeed it was now become quite indifferent to me which way I went, whether to the northward or southward, so that they would but take me with them and give me something to eat. However, to make them comprehend me, I pointed first to the southward, and after to the lake, and I soon understood they were going to the northward. They all went out together, excepting the sick Indian, and took up the planks of the canoes, which lay near the wigwam, and carried them upon the beach, and presently put it together, and getting every thing into it, they put me to the oar. We rowed across the lake to the mouth of a very rapid river, where we put ashore for that night, not daring to get any way down in the dark, as it required the greatest skill, even in the day, to avoid running foul of the stumps and roots of trees, of which this river was full. I passed a melancholy night, as they would not suffer me to come near the wigwam they had made; nor had they given me the least bit of any one thing to eat since we embarked.

In the morning we set off again. The weather proved extremely bad the whole day. We went down the river at an amazing rate, and just before night they put ashore upon a stony beach. They hauled the canoe up, and all disappeared in a moment, and I was left quite alone; it rained violently, and was very dark. I thought it was as well to lay down upon the beach, half side in water, as to get into a swamp under a dropping tree. In this dismal situation I fell asleep, and awaked three or four hours after in such agonies with the cramp, that I thought I must die upon the spot. I attempted several times to raise myself upon my legs, but could not. At last I made shift to get upon my knees, and looking towards the wood, I saw a great fire at some distance from me. I was a long time crawling to it, and when I reached it, I threw myself almost into it, in hopes of finding some relief from the pain I suffered. This intrusion gave great offence to the Indians, who immediately got up, kicking and beating me till they drove me to some distance from it; however, I contrived a little after to place myself so as to receive some warmth from it, by which I got rid of the cramp.

In the morning we left this place, and were soon after out of the river. Being now at sea again, the Indians intended putting ashore at the first convenient place to look for shell-fish, their stock of provisions having been quite exhausted for some time. At low water we landed upon a spot that seemed to promise well, and here we found plenty of limpets. Though at this time starving, I did not attempt to eat one, lest I should lose a moment in gathering them, not knowing how soon the Indians might be going again. I had almost filled my hat when I saw them returning to the canoe. I made what haste I could to her, for I believe they would have made no conscience of leaving me behind. I sat down to my oar again, placing my hat close to me, every now and then eating a limpet. The Indians were employed the same way, when one of them seeing me throw the shells overboard, spoke to the rest in a violent passion, and getting up, fell upon me, and seizing me by an old ragged handkerchief I had about my neck, almost throttled me; whilst another took me by the legs, and was going to throw me overboard if the old woman had not prevented, them.

I was all this time entirely ignorant by what means I had given offence, till I observed that the Indians, after eating the limpets, carefully put the shells in a heap at the bottom, of the canoe. I then concluded there was some superstition about throwing these shells into the sea, my ignorance of which had very nearly cost me my life. I was resolved to eat no more limpets till we landed, which we did some time after upon an island. I then took notice that the Indians brought all their shells ashore, and laid them above high-water mark. Here, as I was going to eat a large bunch of berries I had gathered from a tree, for they looked very tempting, one of the Indians snatched them out of my hand and threw them away, making me to understand that they were poisonous. Thus, in all probability, did these people now save my life, who, a few hours before, were going to take it from me for throwing away a shell.

In two days after I joined my companions again, but don't remember that there was the least joy shewn on either side at meeting. At this place was a very large canoe belonging to our guide, which would have required at least six men to the oar to have made any kind of expedition; instead of that, there was only Campbell and myself, besides the Indian, his companion or servant, to row, the cacique himself never touching an oar, but sitting, with his wife all the time much at his ease. Mr Hamilton continued in the same canoe he had been in all along, and which still was to keep us company some way further, though many of the others had left us. This was dreadful hard work to such poor starved wretches as we were, to be slaving at the oar all day long in such a heavy boat; and this inhuman fellow would never give us a scrap to eat, excepting when he took so much seal that he could not contrive to carry it all away with him, which happened very seldom.

After working like galley slaves all day, towards night, when we landed, instead of taking any rest, Mr Campbell and I were sometimes obliged to go miles along shore to get a few shell-fish; and just as we have made a little fire in order to dress them, he has commanded us into the boat again, and kept us rowing the whole night without ever landing. It is impossible for me to describe the miserable state we were reduced to: Our bodies were so emaciated, that we hardly appeared the figures of men.

It has often happened to me in the coldest night, both in hail and snow, where we had nothing but an open beach to lay down upon, in order to procure a little rest, that I have been obliged to pull off the few rags I had on, as it was impossible to get a moment's sleep with them on for the vermin that swarmed about them, though I used as often as I had time, to take my clothes off, and putting them upon a large stone, beat them with another, in hopes of killing hundreds at once, for it was endless work to pick them off. What we suffered from this was ten times worse even than hunger. But we were clean in comparison to Captain Cheap, for I could compare his body to nothing but an ant-hill, with thousands of those insects crawling over it; for he was now past attempting to rid himself in the least from this torment, as he had quite lost himself, not recollecting our names that were about him, or even his own. His beard was as long as a hermit's; that and his face being covered with train-oil and dirt, from having long accustomed himself to sleep upon a bag, by the way of pillow, in which he kept the pieces of stinking seal. This prudent method he took to prevent our getting at it whilst he slept. His legs were as big as millposts, though his body appeared to be nothing but skin and bone.

One day we fell in with about forty Indians, who came down to the beach we landed on, curiously painted. Our cacique seemed to understand but little of their language, and it sounded to us very different from what we had heard before. However, they made us comprehend that a ship had been upon the coast not far from where we then were, and that she had a red flag: This we understood some time after to have been the Anne pink, whose adventures are particularly related in Lord Anson's Voyage; and we passed through the very harbour she had lain in.

As there was but one small canoe that intended to accompany us any longer, and that in which Mr Hamilton had been to this time intended to proceed no further to the northward, our cacique proposed to him to come into our canoe, which he refused, as the insolence of this fellow was to him insupportable; he therefore rather chose to remain where he was, till chance should throw in his way some other means of getting forward; so here we left him, and it was some months before we saw him again.



CHAPTER VII.

We land on the Island of Chiloe.—To our great Joy we at length discover Something having the Appearance of a House.—Kindness of the Natives.—We are delivered to the Custody of a Spanish Guard.—Transactions with the Spanish Residents.—Arrival at Chaco.—Manners of the Inhabitants.

We now got on, by very slow degrees, to the northward; and as the difficulties and hardships we daily went through would only be a repetition of those already mentioned, I shall say no more, but that at last we reached an island about thirty leagues to the southward of Chiloe. Here we remained two days for a favourable opportunity to cross the bay, the very thoughts of which seemed to frighten our cacique out of his senses; and indeed there was great reason for his apprehensions, for there ran a most dreadful hollow sea, dangerous indeed for any open boat whatever, but a thousand times more for such a crazy vessel as we were in. He at length mustered up resolution enough to attempt it, first having crossed himself for an hour together, and made a kind of lug-sail out of the bits of blankets they wore about them, sewed together with split supple-jacks. We then put off, and a terrible passage we had. The bottom plank of the canoe was split, which opened upon every sea; and the water continually rushing over the gunnel, I may say that we were in a manner full the whole way over, though all hands were employed in bailing, without ceasing a moment.

As we drew near the shore, the cacique was eager to land, having been terrified to that degree with this run, that if it had not been for us, every soul must have perished; for he had very near got in amongst the breakers, where the sea drove with such violence upon the rocks, that not even an Indian could have escaped, especially as it was in the night. We kept off till we got into smooth water, and landed upon the island of Chiloe, though in a part of it that was not inhabited. Here we staid all the next day, in a very heavy snow, to recover ourselves a little after our fatigue; but the cold was so excessive, having neither shoe nor stocking, we thought we should have lost our feet; and Captain Cheap was so ill, that if he had had but a few leagues further to have gone without relief, he could not have held out. It pleased God now that our sufferings, in a great measure, were drawing to an end.

What things our cacique had brought with him from the wreck, he here buried under ground, in order to conceal them from the Spaniards, who would not have left him a rusty nail if they had known of it. Towards evening we set off again; and about nine the same night, to our great joy, we observed something that had the appearance of a house, It belonged to an acquaintance of our cacique; and as he was possessed of my fowling-piece, and we had preserved about one charge of powder, he made us load it for him, and desired we would shew him how to discharge it; upon which, standing up, and holding his head from it as far as possible, he fired, and fell back into the bottom of the canoe. The Indians belonging to the house, not in the least used to fire-arms, ran out and hid themselves in the woods. But after some time, one of them bolder than the rest, got upon a hill and hollowed to us, asking who and what we were. Our cacique now made himself known, and they presently came down to the boat, bringing with them some fish and plenty of potatoes. This was the most comfortable meal we had made for many long months; and as soon as this was over, we rowed about two miles farther to a little village, where we landed. Here our cacique presently awaked all the inhabitants by the noise he made, and obliged one of them to open his door to us, and immediately to make a large fire, for the weather was very severe, this being the month of June, the depth of winter in this part of the world. The Indians now flocked thick about us, and seemed to have great compassion for us, as our cacique related to them what part be knew of our history. They knew not what countrymen we were, nor could our guide inform them; for he had often asked us if we were French, Dutch, or English, the only nations he had ever heard of besides the Spaniards. We always answered we were from Grande Bretagne, which he could make nothing of; for we were afraid, if he knew us to be English, as he had heard that nation was at war with the Spaniards, he never would have conducted us to Chiloe.

These good-natured compassionate creatures seemed to vie with each other who should take the most care of us. They made a bed of sheep-skins close to the fire for Captain Cheap, and laid him upon it; and indeed, had it not been for the kind assistance he now met with, he could not have survived three days longer. Though it was now about midnight, they went out and killed a sheep, of which they made broth, and baked a large cake of barley- meal. Any body may imagine what a treat this was to wretches who had not tasted a bit of bread, or any wholesome diet, for such a length of time. After we could eat no longer, we went to sleep about the fire, which the Indians took care to keep up. In the morning, the women came from far and near, each bringing with her something. Almost every one had a pipkin in her hand, containing either fowls or mutton made into broth, potatoes, eggs, or other eatables. We fell to work as if we had eat nothing in the night, and employed ourselves so for the best part of the day.

In the evening, the men filled our house, bringing with them some jars of a liquor they called chica, made of barley-meal, and not very unlike our oat- ale in taste, which will intoxicate those who drink a sufficient quantity of it, for a little has no effect. As soon as the drink was out, a fresh supply of victuals was brought in; and in this manner we passed the whole time we remained with these hospitable Indians. They are a strong well-made people, extremely well-featured, both men and women, and vastly neat in their persons. The men's dress is called by them a puncho, which is a square piece of cloth, generally in stripes of different colours, with a slit in the middle of it, wide enough to let their heads through, so that it hangs on their shoulders, half of it falling before and the other behind them: Under this they wear a short kind of flannel shirt without sleeves or neck. They have wide-knee'd breeches, something like the Dutch seamen, and on their legs a sort of knit buskins without any feet to them, but never any shoes. Their hair is always combed very smooth, and tied very tight up in a great bunch close to the neck; some wear a very neat hat of their own making, and others go without. The women wear a shift like the men's shirts, without sleeves, and over it a square piece of cloth, which they fasten before with a large silver pin, and a petticoat of different stripes. They take as much care of their hair as the men; and both have always a kind of fillet bound very tight about the fore-head, and made fast behind. In short, these people are as cleanly as the several savage nations we had met with before were beastly.

Upon our first coming here, they had dispatched a messenger to the Spanish corregidore at Castro, a town a considerable distance from hence, to inform him of our arrival. At the end of three days, this man returned with an order to the chief caciques of these Indians we were amongst, to carry us directly to a certain place, where there would be a party of soldiers to receive us. These poor people now seemed to be under great concern for us, hearing by the messenger the preparations that were making to receive us; for they stand in vast dread of the Spanish soldiery. They were very desirous of knowing what countrymen we were. We told them we were English, and at that time at war with the Spaniards, upon which they appeared fonder of us than ever; and I verily believe, if they durst, would have concealed us amongst them, lest we should come to any harm. They are so far from being in the Spanish interest, that they detest the very name of a Spaniard. And, indeed, I am not surprised at it, for they are kept under such subjection, and such a laborious slavery, by mere dint of hard usage and punishments, that it appears to me the most absurd thing in the world that the Spaniards should rely upon these people for assistance upon any emergency.

We embarked in the evening, and it was night before we got to the place where we were to be delivered up to the Spanish guard. We were met by three or four officers and a number of soldiers, all with their spados drawn, who surrounded us as if they had the most formidable enemy to take charge of, instead of three poor helpless wretches, who, notwithstanding the good living we had met with amongst these kind Indians, could hardly support ourselves. They carried us to the top of a hill, and there put us under a shed, for it consisted of a thatched roof without any sides or walls, being quite open; and here we were to lie upon the cold ground. All sorts of people now came to stare at us as a sight; but the Indian women never came empty-handed; they always brought with them either fowls, mutton, or some kind of provision to us, so that we lived well enough. However, we found a very sensible difference between the treatment we had met with from the Indians and what we now experienced from the Spaniards. With the former, we were quite at liberty to do as we pleased; but here, if we only went ten yards to attempt at getting rid of some of the vermin that devoured us, we had two soldiers with drawn spados to attend us.