After they had departed, I sat down on the beach and reflected on the forlorn situation of this unfortunate desperado. He well knew he must die from his wounds, or be murdered by Moody and Jim, or destroyed by tigers, his hut having no doors to protect him from wild beasts. When Prince returned I asked him if he had any conversation with Scotland on the passage. He replied, "Yes, I told Scotland that Moody and Jim would kill him this night. He replied, then they will say, there is a man dead."
At night I retreated to my lodgings in my store, where I slept for the protection of my property. At this time I had learned that the English traders on the coast had held a meeting and entered into an agreement, pledging themselves never to carry me, nor take any letters to Jamaica or elsewhere, to help me to get away from this coast. Having no white friends to console me, and being more than two thousand miles from my family and friends, I retired to bed with solitary feelings. Not having much inclination for sleep, I remained awake until about twelve o'clock, when I heard the report of a gun, which I imagined had ended the tragedy.
At daylight I arose and called on an old negro who had resided here with his family many years, the Indians called him darmer, equivalent to grandfather in the English language, who conducted me to Scotland's hut. I found the old negro laying dead on his crawl, or bed, a musket ball having passed through his body. Having met Moody and Jim, before our arrival at Scotland's house, I compelled them to go back with me. I accused them with having committed the murder, and endeavored to impress upon their minds the enormity of the crime. They denied the firing of the last fatal shot, by saying, Scotland had tied the trigger of his gun to the side of his house, placed the muzzle against his side, and by pulling the gun discharged the contents, becoming his own executioner. I selected a place to bury the remains of the old negro, but having no shovels to dig with, we were obliged to use wooden paddles, my only help being Moody and Jim, and they both cripples, we made but slow progress. Soon after Prince arrived, when I sent him to an Indian house some distance from the place, to borrow a hoe, to assist in digging the grave. The woman of the house refused to lend it, saying, "Her daughter was sick, and if she lent the hoe to dig a grave the doctor or sookerman, who attended her, would forsake the house if he knew the hoe had been used for that purpose." We finally succeeded in digging two or three feet deep, when I sent home and got a saw and cut Scotland's canoe in two pieces, then placing the corpse between them, put him, together with all his clothes in the grave, according to the custom of the country. Previous to interring the corpse, I offered to give away his clothes, but no person would accept of them, because the owner was dead. The funeral ceremonies being ended, I returned home, hoping to enjoy some repose after the long annoyance from these negroes.
Fresh reports were soon circulated that the king had commissioned one of his officers, called Sambo Tom to arrest Moody and Jim. They hearing of this report, determined to leave this part of the country, and pass through a border settlement inhabited by a tribe of Indians called the Woolwas, adjoining the Spanish settlements, and seek protection from the Spaniards. Sambo Tom pursued, but not daring to arrest them himself, he employed the Woolwas to do so. The negroes having arrived among the Woolwas, hired some of them to transport them in their canoes to the Spanish settlements; but being well armed, and having plenty of ammunition, the Indians were afraid to attack them, and therefore professed great friendship, agreeing to convey them where they wished to go. Two canoes joined in this expedition, and while passing a fall in the river the Indians upset the one containing the negroes, which wet their guns and ammunition, when the Indians in the other canoe threw their lances and killed them in the water. Their wives were given up to their former owners at St. Andreas.
Little did I think when I landed in this country among a mixed race of Indians, that I should find some blood relations, so called by the natives, among them. An Indian woman, calling her name Sally Bryant, the wife of Scipio, one of the king's quarter-masters, called on me and told me she was a blood-relation of mine, and claimed some present as an acknowledgment of it on my part. I asked her what evidence she had of our relationship. She replied, "That her father was an American." The argument was so conclusive that I did not think it necessary to contradict it, but gave her some small presents, which were well repaid. Sally often volunteered to assist me in selling my goods, and brought me many customers by saying to the Indians, "My countryman's goods are better and cheaper than them Englishman's, and he no rogue, like them English traders."
Soon after, a Curracoa man arrived from Bluefields, one of the wealthiest men of that place, who brought a message from his wife, known by the name of Mrs. Peggy, requesting me to furnish her with some goods to sell on commission, and she would deal honestly by me, having heard of my misfortune in losing my vessel, &c. that she wanted to see me very much, and pitied me more because I was a relative of hers, her father being an American. I forwarded Mrs. Peggy two or three hundred dollars' worth of goods to sell on commission, the greatest part of which she sold, made good returns, and I found her more honest than white relations generally are in their trade with each other.
CHAPTER VII.
Visit to Corn Island.
I sold the Biddle's sails, which I had saved from the wreck, for eighty pounds of tortoise-shell, payable at Corn Island, which lies in the wide ocean, forty miles from the main land. I soon received a message, saying the shell was ready for delivery, but I must come and receive it. Having been advised of the danger of leaving it there, and that delays were dangerous in dealing with those I had bargained with, and fearing I should lose my debt if I neglected it, I determined upon making the trip in my canoe, the only conveyance I had for getting there. The easterly trade-winds constantly prevail here, except the westerly land breezes, which blow during the night, and extend out a few miles from the shore. My canoe was fitted in Indian style, having a number of small holes bored in her sides near the top, and small cords attached to them, to which we tied our dinner-pot, gun, or any other articles we wished to carry with us, which I found a safe plan for preserving the necessaries we carry on board. If the canoe happens to turn over, such accidents having frequently happened to me, the whole crew swim along side, turn her up, and by rolling her quickly soon discharge most of the water. This being done, one man gets into the canoe and bails out the remainder with his hat or paddle, while the goods remain hanging by the ropes. After this is accomplished all hands get on board and go on.
I hired three Indians, took some provisions, a jug of rum and a dinner-pot on board, and proceeded on the voyage. After losing the land winds we had to paddle our canoe directly against the wind and a rough sea. We paddled about fifteen miles, when we landed on a small desolate island or sand bank, having no vegetation on it except half-a-dozen small trees about the size of a man's leg. It being nearly dark, we hauled our canoe up the beach, cooked and ate some fish, and then laid ourselves down on the ground to sleep. Soon after, it commenced raining, when the Indians got up and stripped themselves naked, turned the canoe bottom upwards and put their clothes under it. I followed their example, and we all sat down naked on the ground, leaning against some small trees, and remained in that situation until about daylight, the rain pouring down in torrents during the night. As the sun arose the weather became pleasant, and we proceeded on our voyage, arriving at Corn Island that evening, after a hard days' paddle.