Peter goes to his father's—Traverses the Black Mountain—Takes a flight to Mount Alkoe—Gains the miners—Overcomes the governor's troops—Proclaims Georigetti king—Seizes the governor—Returns him the government—Peter makes laws with the consent of the people, and returns to Brandleguarp with deputies.
NO further project being ripe for execution, I took a journey home with my father to Arndrumnstake, and he would take all the children with him. Youwarkee and I stayed about six weeks, leaving all the children with my father.
Upon my return, I frequently talked with Maleck about his country; who they originally were, and how long it had been inhabited, and what other countries bordered thereon, and how they lay. He told me his countrymen looked upon themselves to be very ancient, but they were not very numerous; for the old stock was almost worn out by the hardships they had undergone; that about three hundred years before, he said, as he had it from good report, there were a people from beyond the sea, or, as they called themselves, from the Little Lands, had strangely overrun them; and he had heard say they would have overrun this country too, but they thought it would not answer. He said, "when those people first came, they began to turn up the earth to a prodigious depth; and now," says he, "bringing some nasty hard earth of several sorts, they put it into great fires till it runs about like water, and then beat it about with great heavy things into several shapes; and some of it, sir," says he, "looks just like that stuff that lay at the bottom of your ship, and some almost white, and some red; for when I was a boy I was to have been sent to work amongst them, as my father did; but it having killed him, I came hither, as many more have done, to avoid it."—"And what do they do with it," says I, "when they have beat it about as you say?"—"Then," says he, "they carry it a long way to the sea."—"What then?" says I.—"Why, then the Little-landers take it, and swim over the sea with it."—"And what do they do with it?" says I.—"Why," says he, "there are other people who take it from them, and go away with it."—"Why do they let them take it?" says I.—"Because," says he, "they give them clothes for it."—"Do they want clothes," says I, "more than you?" He told me they had no graundee.—"And what other countries have you hereabout?"— "There is one country," says he, "north of Alkoe, where they say there is just such another people as the Little-landers, and they get some of the things from Mount Alkoe."—"What do they do with them?" says I.—"I don't know," says he; "they fetch a great deal; but they won't let anybody come into their country."—"Is there nobody inhabits between the Mountain Alkoe and the sea?" He told me no, the Little-landers would not let them.
Having got what information I could from Maleck, and also from a countryman or two of his he had brought to me, I considered it all over; And, thinks I, if I could but get Mount Alkoe to submit (for they had told me they were only governed by a deputy from the Little Lands) to see the work done, I might, by intercepting the trade to the sea, turn the profit of the country my own way, and make it pass through our hands.
I next inquired of those who brought the fruits from the Great Forest, what sort of land they had there, and found, by their description, it was a light mould, and in many places well covered with grass and herbs; and by all the report I could hear, must be a fruitful country, well managed; and being a flat country and not encompassed on that side with the Black Mountain, was much higher than Doorpt Swangeanti. This news put me upon searching the truth of it; and I made the tour of the Black Mountain and the Great Forest, alighting often to make my observations.
The forest is a little world of wood without end, with here and there a fine lawn very grassy; and indeed the wood-grounds bear it very well, the trees not standing in crowds, but at a healthy distance from each other. I went abundantly farther than any one had before been, but saw no variation in the woody scene; and coming round westward home, I had a view of hoximo; which is nothing but a narrow cleft in the earth, on the top of the Black Mountain, of a most extraordinary depth; for upon dropping a stone down, you shall hear it strike and hum for a long time before all is quiet again; and laying my ear over the cleft, whilst I ordered one of my attendants to throw a large stone down, after the usual thumps and humming, I imagined I heard it dash in water, so that it is not impossible it may reach to the sea; which is at least six or seven miles below it. Into this hole all dead bodies are precipitated, from the king to the beggar; for four glumms holding by the ankles and wrists of the deceased, fly with them to hoximo and throw them down, whilst the air is filled with the lamentations of the relations of the deceased, and of such others as are induced to follow the corpse for the sake of the wines, on such occasions plentifully distributed to all comers by the gentry, and in the best proportion they are able by even the meanest amongst them.
After a stay of about fourteen days at home, I fixed my next trip for Mount Alkoe; and having told Maleck my design, he said he would go with me with all his heart, but feared I should get no Brandleguarpine to bear me; for he told me they had an old tradition that Mindrack lived there, and would not go for all the world; which has been the greatest security that country has had, for this would have devoured them else, says he.
I spoke to the king, to Nasgig, and the ragans, and found them all unanimous that the mountain Alkoe was the habitation of Mindrack, and that the noises which had been heard there were his servants beating bad men. Says I to myself, Here is one of the usefullest projects upon earth spoiled by an unaccountable prepossession; what must be done to overcome this prejudice?
I told Maleck I found what he said to be too true, as to the people of Brandleguarp: "But," says I, "are there not enough of your countrymen here to carry me thither?" He believing there were, I ordered him to contract with them; but it vexed me very much to be obliged to take these men. However, though I resolved to go, yet I chose to reason the ragans into the project if I could; thinking they would soon bring the people over.
I called several of the ragans together, and said: "Because you are a wiser and more thinking people than the vulgar, I have applied myself to your judgments in the affair of Mount Alkoe. Now, consider with yourselves whether you have any real reason beyond a prepossession, for thinking these people fiends, or devil's servants, as you call them, without further examination; for according to my comprehension, they only, understanding the nature of several sorts of earth, reduce them by labour and fire to solid substances for the use of mankind; and the want of these things is the reason of your living as you do, without a hundredth part of the benefits of life. These sort of people, these noises and these operations, which you hear and see carried on at Alkoe, are to be heard and seen in my country; and we deal and traffic with their labours, from one end of the world to the other; and we who are with them the happiest, without them should be the most miserable of people. Did not some of you see, at my entertainment, what I called my knives and forks and spoons, my pistols, cutlasses, and silver cup? All these, and infinitely more, are the produce of these poor men's industry. Now," says I, "if we settle a communication with these people, your dues will be all paid in these curious things; you will have your people employed in working them, and have strangers applying to you to serve them with what they want; who in return will give you what you want; and you will find yourselves known and respected in the world." Finding some of these arguments applied to the men had staggered them a little, I applied to their senses. Says I, "It still appears to me that you have your prejudices hanging on you; but what will you say if I go thither and return safe? will you be afraid to follow me another time?" They persuaded me from it, as a dangerous experiment; but said, if I did return, they would not think there was so much in it as they suspected.