In consequence of this information, Colonel Seyburg was detached, with the few men that remained able to carry arms, who through distress and famine were now almost ready to attack their own officers; and who being unsupplied with their favourite luxury, tobacco[2], sat [[170]]smoking grey paper, and chewing leaves and leather as a substitute for the want of it. Few men, however, were worse off than I was at this time; since, having neither provisions nor cloaths, I was almost naked as well as starved, with a running ulcer in my left foot, ever since the ambuscade and march to Pirica; nor had I a friend in the camp who could give me the smallest assistance. To compleat my misery, the little blood I had remaining was in two successive nights again nearly sucked away by the vampire-bat, or spectre: thus I fainted away in my hammock, and was almost sorry to recover, particularly upon being informed by a letter that Joanna and her boy were dying with a putrid fever at Paramaribo.
At last, on the 12th, Serjeant Fowler arrived from Mocha, with one of my boxes; when this poor fellow, notwithstanding my situation, made me laugh aloud by producing a letter from his mother in Europe, which made him extremely happy; and which I must beg leave verbatim to transcribe.
“Dair Shonny,
“I have relaved your girl from the Bridevail—and your shits from the panbroker—the baby is died—blessed be Goat, while I hop yow be living. I am your laffing mother tell death,
Maggy Fowler.”
The same evening Colonel Seyburg’s party returned, without having obtained any further intelligence.
On the 14th Colonel Fourgeoud was so dangerously [[171]]ill, that he at length was obliged to relinquish his command, and proceed to town for his recovery. Accordingly on the 15th, he set out by water for Paramaribo: thus, after having sacrificed all his troops, he became himself finally a victim to his unbounded ambition and obstinate perseverance in this worst of all climates, while by toiling less and living better both he and his soldiers might have rendered the colony, if not superior, at least an equal service.—A barge loaded with sick and dying was at the same time once more sent to the hospital at Devil’s Harwar.
The command of the remaining scarecrows now devolved upon the Lieutenant Colonel, who (strange to tell!) that very evening inherited the same distemper, as well as the chief command; the barge that rowed off the old hero having but just disappeared, when this gentleman was attacked also by the phrenzy fever; the above complaint was indeed at this time very common amongst all ranks and degrees who were broiling under a burning sun at Jerusalem; it being the dry season, when we ought to have been in the woods—but for those expeditions, as I have stated before, the rainy seasons were most unhappily preferred. Several officers would have before now thrown up their military commissions, could they with decency have taken such a measure, during an expedition on actual service; nor, in my opinion, ought such to be granted, cases of the very greatest necessity excepted. I could myself have wished to go for some time to Paramaribo, [[172]]but as this favour was not offered me, while all the others, and even the slaves, were relieved, I scorned to petition for it while I was able to stand.
On the 19th, however, my foot became so bad, that the surgeon reported me unfit for duty; yet I still remained in the camp, where I could be to none of any service.
A supply of fresh troops, slaves, and provisions being arrived on the 20th, Major Medlar, with 150 men, was detached to make new discoveries.
Among other plagues, the whole camp at this time swarmed with locusts, which appeared every where in most formidable troops, devouring every thing that lay in their way. Indeed the curse of Heaven seemed to visit us here in various shapes, and every vermin were so plenty at this time, that no exertion could keep us perfectly free. These locusts were brown, two inches in length, and shaped like a grasshopper; they did not fly, but crawled by millions on the very tables and seats as we sat at dinner, and at night they tormented us by crawling over our faces by scores.
The only desirable article we found at Jerusalem was fish, of which we seldom wanted plenty, particularly newmara and warrappa, also the patakee, and the old wifee, both very excellent; the former of which is about two feet long, shaped like a whiting, the other is the size of a large perch. A kind of needle-fish, called naaynaay-fisee, was found here in great abundance, these were very thin, and about one foot in length; also a kind of [[173]]dung-fish, about the size of a small herring, but these two last were only used by the negroes.