When he had received this Answer from the Prisoners, he went to the Prince, and told him, ‘It was very odd he should make War on his Relations, however, he should keep them since he declared them such, till he could prove his Right better than the Prince could his Nearness of Blood; that as he had once taken them, he would try if he could not support the Justice of his Claim, and bid him therefore be upon his Guard, for he openly declared, he was no longer the Ally, but the profess’d Enemy of faithless People.’
Saying this, he and his Blacks separated themselves from the Mangorians, and North divided them into Companies, with his White Men at the Head of each, and order’d them to fire Ball over the Heads of their late Allies; the first Volley was a prodigious Astonishment to the Mangorians, several of whom ran away, but North firing two more immediately, and marching up to them, brought the Prince and the Head Officers of his Army to him, crawling on all four; they (as the Custom of shewing the greatest Submission is among them) kiss’d the Feet of the Whites, and begg’d they would continue their Friendship, and dispose of every Thing as they thought proper.
North told him, ‘Deceit was the Sign of a mean and coward Soul; that had he, the Prince, thought too considerable, what, however, was justly his Due, because not only promised to, but taken by him, he ought to have expostulated with him, North, and have told him his Sentiments, which might have, it was possible, made no Division, for neither he nor his Men were greedy or unreasonable; but as the Prince had not the Courage publickly to claim the Slaves, he would have basely stolen them by false Pretences of Kindred, it was a Sign he did not think such Claim justifiable, as certainly it was not, for all his Captains could witness their Prince had agreed the Prisoners taken should be given to the Whites, and his Companions, a sufficient Title, to mention no other. That he had resolved to shew them, by a severe Chastisement, the Abhorrence those of his Colour have to Ingratitude and Deceit, and what Difference there was in fighting on the Ground of Justice, and the supporting Wrong and Injury; but as they acknowledg’d their Error, he should not only forgive but forget what was past, provided no new Treachery, in his Return, which he resolved upon, refresh’d his Memory.’ He then order’d them to bring all the Slaves, and they punctually complied without Reply.
North chose out the finest and ablest among them, and dividing the whole Number of Prisoners into two equal Bands, he kept that in which he had placed the chosen Slaves, and sent the other to the Prince, telling him, ‘tho’ neither Fraud nor Compulsion could wring a Slave from him, yet Justice, as some of his Troops had shared the Danger, and a generous Temper, had sent him that Present, which was half the Spoil; tho’ he could not think of going any farther on with the War, that he ought to content himself with the taking a Town they thought impregnable, and blame his own Conduct, if he should continue in the Field, and hereafter find the Want of his Assistance.’
The Prince and his People admired the Penetration, Bravery, and Generosity of the Whites, and sent them Word, ‘He was more obliged to them for the Lesson they had taught him by their Practice, than for the Slaves they had presented him, tho’ he esteem’d the Present as he ought. That for the future he should have an Abhorrence from every mean Action, since he had learned from them the Beauty of a candid open Procedure. At the same Time he thank’d him for the Present, and the not suffering his Resentment to go farther than the frightning him into his Duty; for he was sensible his Balls were not fir’d over their Heads, but by Orders proceeding from the Humanity of the Whites, who, he observed, tender over the Lives of their Enemies, contrary to the Custom of his Countrymen, who give Quarter to none, the Females and Infants excepted, that there may hereafter be none to take Revenge; he begg’d, that he would suffer their Submission to get the better of his Design to depart.’ This could not prevail, the Whites and their Friends, who came with them, turn’d their Faces towards home, taking their Slaves and Cattle with them; tho’ the Mangorians were sensibly touch’d at the Obstinacy of North’s Resolution, yet they parted very amicably.
As the Whites were returning home with their Company, they fell in with another Nation, the Timouses, whose Prince join’d North, with 500 Men, and swore a strict Amity with him and his Crew.
The Ceremony used among the Natives, as it is uncommon, so an Account of it may, perhaps, be agreeable to my Readers. The Parties, who swear to each other, interweave their Toes and Fingers, so that they must necessarily sit very close to each other. When they have thus knit their Hands and Feet, they reciprocally swear to do each other all friendly Offices, to be a Friend or Enemy to the Friend or Enemy of the Party to whom they swear; and if they falsify the Oath they make, they imprecate several Curses on themselves, as may they fall by the Lance, be devoured by the Alligator, or struck dead by the Hand of God; then an Assistant scarifies each of the contracting Parties on the Chest, and wiping up the Blood with a Piece of Bread, gives this bloody Bread to each of them to eat, that is, each eats the Blood of the other; and this Oath whether it be with equal Parties, or with a Prince and his Subject, where the one promises Protection, and the other Obedience (which was the Nature of that taken between North and this Prince) is look’d upon inviolable, and they have few Examples of its being broken; but where any has been wicked enough to violate this solemn Oath, they say, they have been ever punish’d according to their Imprecations.
As this Prince had War with powerful Neighbours, he left his Country, taking with him all his great Men, Wives, and Relations, and with a Company of about 500 fighting Men, followed North, and settled by him, where he staid two Years, the Time North staid; during this Space, being supplied with Arms, Powder, and several Natives by Captain North, he made several Inroads into his Enemies Countries, and made all he conquer’d, swear Allegiance to Capt. North.
At the Expiration of two Years, Captain Halsey came in with a Brigantine, as is said in the Life of Captain White.
This Crew having made a broken Voyage were discontented with their Captain, and desired North to take the Command upon him; but he declined it, saying, Halsey was every Way as capable, and that they ought not to depose a Man, whom they could not tax with either Want of Courage or Conduct; and for his Part, he would never take the Command from any who did not justly merit to be turn’d out, which was not Halsey’s Case.