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 told him therefore to be upon his guard, for he openly declared, he was no longer the ally, but the professed 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 ordered 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 fours. They (as the custom of showing the greatest submission is among them) kissed the feet of the whites and begged 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 told him his sentiments, which might have, it was possible, made no division, for neither he nor his men were unreasonable; but as the prince had not the courage publicly 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 show 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 acknowledged their error, he should not only forgive but forget what was past, provided no new treachery, in his return, which he resolved upon, refreshed his memory.” He then ordered 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, “though 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, though he could not think of going any farther on with the war; that he ought to content himself with the taking a town hitherto 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, though he esteemed the present as he ought. That for the future he should have an abhorrence for every mean action, since he had learned from them the beauty of a candid, open, sincere procedure. At the same time, he thanked him for the present, and not suffering his resentment to go farther than the frightening him into his duty; for he was sensible his balls were not fired over their heads, but by orders proceeding from the humanity of the whites, who, he observed, were 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; and therefore begged 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, turned their faces towards home, taking their slaves and cattle with them; and though the Mangorians were sensibly touched 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 joined 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. 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 looked 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 punished 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, with a company of about 500 fighting men, followed North, and settled by him, where he remained two years. During this space, being supplied with arms and powder by Capt. North, he made several inroads into the countries of his enemies, and made all he conquered swear allegiance to Capt. North.
At the expiration of two years, Captain Halsey came in with a brigantine, as is related in the life of Capt. White. This crew, having made a broken voyage, where 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 one who did not justly merit dismission, which was not Halsey’s case.
The crew were not, however, satisfied, and they made the same offer to White, but by North’s industry, they were, at last, prevailed on to continue their old commander; and as North and his companions had expended their money in settling their plantations, and wanted clothes, the former, therefore, accepted the quarter-master’s post under Halsey, and the others went in the capacity of private gentlemen adventurers, I mean plain foremast men, as may be gathered in the life of that pirate, to which I refer for an account of the expedition they made in the Red Sea. Capt. Halsey on board a prize, left North to command the brigantine they set out in. The two commanders were separated by a storm, but both made for Madagascar Halsey got to Ambonavoula, but North fell in with Maratan, where finding the brigantine was very much worm eaten, and made a great deal of water, with one consent, they took ashore all their goods, and laid up their vessel.