184 N A R R A T I V E OF AN
CHAP, pointed an enfigh; which- gave me pleasure, and tooh
place at a very fuitable.time, fine® tips day ray poor En-
fign Macdonald was' fent dow-njvery fipk to Paramaribo.
I anfwered sto all this, that I was, .obliged to hiip ;f -a^ing,
that while I remained without reinforcement, I could
not be accountable for what.confe^uejaceg nyight^apftfn,
in a place where I was left to-; defend a whole, riyer^wit^
none but - lick people ; and eyen thefe without fuffi-
cient ammunition, ,and hourly j expiring £or- w a p t^ f
proper medicines, or a- furgeon to attend tfieip,, -there
being none here but? one or two Iprgepp’s mates belonging
to the troops jof the Society, - ^hpcoplelj do little - more
than occafionally .draw btood* and cut qfl^.p^eart]po£,.a
com.
Chi the 4th we buried another of my 'marine^, apd on
the following day another died; and T had. not one nod|!
remaining who was not ill, or who was.npt rendered ,pn-
ferviceable, by h is . fe*et ••.being-i%elledt,;.y?i^: $ $
called chigoes : thefe poor men were moftly Germans,
who had been accuftomed to a healthy dimatppK their
own country. I began now to be reconciled to, putting
my laft man under ground, and almoft wifhing tp. le^p
into the grave after him myfelf; when a barge arrived
from Paramaribo with the proper reinforcement, ammunition,
provifions, medicines, a furgeon,' and an order
from my chief to trace out the track of the rebel?; immediately,
on the former path of communication called
the Cordon, between Cottica and Perica, and to write him
the
E X P E D I T I O N TO S U R I NAM.
the refult of my difeoveries ; he intimated alfo that he
intended to keep his magazines at Devil’s Harwar, and
that I was not to make ufe of the fpot I had found out
for that purpofe at Barbacoeba Creek.
‘ On the 6th I prepared to march myfelf, having recovered
a little flxength, on the-grand project o f dif-
eovery, and. then placed the ammunition in the magazine.
As »the manner of marching in this country is lo very
different from that in Europe, I lhall, before we fet out,
endeavour briefly to deferibe the nature of thefe expedi-
j tions.
In the lirft place, in Surinam no fuch thing is practical)^
as three or even two ranks; thus there is no
marching by divifions . or platoons; —, but the whole
party being drefled in one rank, face to the right, and
every man folio,ws4iis leader, the negro Haves inter-
fperfed between the men, in order to guard their perfons
as1 well as what they c a rry a n d this manner o f marching
is called Indian file. With a detachment of fixty
men, confifting of one captain, two fubalterns, two
ferjeants, four corporals, one furgeon, and fifty privates,
twenty negro Haves at leaft Ought to be employed,
for the ufe of whom their mailers are paid at the rate
of two Ihillings ilerlmg a day by the colony; and this is
a much greater expence than waggons and horfes would
be, which in this country cannot be employed for military
fervice.
V o l . I . b b T h e