It
264 n a r r a t i v e o f a n
iff
E ill
ch a p. them gone, and who had only tied the tree acrofs. the
^ XL , river to deceive us.
To this opinion neither myfelf nor the qther officers
could fubfcribe; but no; arguments would prevail with
him, and. we marched dire£üy frpm them, viz. eaft,. in-
Read of croffing and purfuing them weft, as- # e rangers
would certainly have done 4 thus we kept on till it w%s
npar dark, though the bread was forgotten,
whole day not a; drop of water to be obtained, marching-
through high fandy heaths or favannahs. After inclining
a little to the right, we wer? juft ..upon the point of
making a camp, when a negro called out that \ye were
come to the Wana Greek., R » s W$ß ^3* a. alS§S;
come found,; and giving him a calebafh, and the belt
part of a bottle pf rny rum, | defirgd him to run to, thp
creek, and make me fome grog, and this he did ;■ but
the poor fellow, never haying made, g^og before, poured
in all the fpirits and but very little water,, doubtlefe, thinking,
that the ftronger it was the better; which beverage
I fwallowed to the bottom, without taking time to tafte
it, and I became inftanfly, fp much intoxicated tbatfT
could, hardly keep my feet.
On the .9th we found ourfelyes.returned to our old camp,
from a fruitlefs cruife,when ColonelFourgeoudfof the cap-
tive negro September at liberty, who followed like afhep-
herd’s dog attending a flock; but our commander in chief
was indefatigable, and not only, crofted and reconnoitred
the weft fide of thecreek himfelf,but filling our knapfacks,
m m ' we
E X P E D I T I O N . TO .S U R I N AM, 265
we the next morning fet out in the fame track we had c h ap.
kept the eighth, he ftill perfifting that he fhould overtake , XL .
the enemy. Having thus marched till towards dark, we
altered our cOurfe; arid paired the night in an old camp
of the rebel negroes, having again ‘palled the whole day
without Avater.
The foliowingday-we ftill proceeded, but neither1 enemies
nor'water were to be. found: the men and-officers
rioW.'began to be extremely faint, and fome- werC already
cafr^ed-in their hammocks*. It wasl^by' this*'time indeed
infufferably hot, being ih ithe ver-yheart of-'the dry fea-
fon. In this'dilemma we dug a-hole fix'feet-deep,; in
the , bottom of-which a ball cartridge being" fired, a little
moifture began tp trickle forth, butfofloWand fo black,
thafcit proved not to be of the' leaft- ufei- i.
^Wesftill marchedfon, and encamped in an old weedy-
field, where. the rebels fome time before had cultivated I
plantations. During the night it was truly affeiftihgito
hear the poor folc!ier$ lament for -want of ■- drink,, but to
no purpofe;. fbt in fpite of-all this mifery,'Foufgeoud
ftill perfifted in going forward, even the third day, build* I
isg. his hopes on meeting with fome creek or rivulet to
alleviate this general diftrefs. In this he Was however
miftaken ; for having again, on the 12th, marched over
burning fands till about noon, he dropped down himfelf,
amongft a number of others, a miferable fpe<ftacie> 3for
Want of means -to flake their raging and; intolerable
thirft. It was happy that in this fltuatioh we were not at-
Vol. I. M m tacked