that »between ih
This .fame day,» while at dinner on board a Dutcji vellel in'
the .roads,, the: »company,; wq.e : alarmed • ;by -the- rpofli ;trerj
mendous claps of thunder I eyer,he^d4nf.ipysli^;.!
our-fide;,of the.sontinent, feveral negroes an4rcattl£ were
kiliedi5yiightnipgf;| while,, on the. .pther.^dg,, .nearly. ^
the fame time, the-cityof; ^^atimala^in?^ d ^ p ^ ie q ?^y'as-
fwallowed up,by an.earthcjugke, hywiaiqh.eight tlaoufand
families .^re faid. toiiaye
OntheHth, theihip^ bein^ takepi againunto cpmmif-.'
fion, wrere ordered with all poffible expedition to prepare,
|or pur final,dep^ctpre, and, every-pun^as^making bimfelf
ready- for. the yoyagp,.
. Being thus apparently difengaged. from;military:>fpr-
vice, I received a polite invit^oR.j&otaaj|^j.g:^?g^^
who was .lodged with- ,a7Mr. Kerry,.afc n>y--|):iend: Kennedy’s,.
toLaocbmpany him;p^g,!;y||t- to7t^e?^ i ^4 of:W°*
bago, where I might -recruit my. .tlebilitated health. .and
dejedted fpirits, His plan was to peturnwith me hty thp
Leeward Iflandato Europe..; It was, .indped,,to mpr a -moli
agreeable -offer, all things confidered, and I fhould certainly
with pleafure have accepted-it, had not.my application
to Colonel Fourgeoud been prevented by a frefh
alarm, which was received on the 15th. The fubftance of
- this was no lefs, than that an officer of the Society, troops
had been fhot dead by the rebels, and his whole party, confuting
of about thirty men, entirely cut to pieces. So alarming
a piece of intelligence could not fail to throw the whole
2 colony
X P E D IT I O N T O S U R I N A M.
colony .once more into the utnioff confuffon and eonfter-'
nation,; the: above gentleman,.whofe name, was Lepper,
and only a lieutenant,4was in a great,meafure the caufe
o|Thi& misfortune,.-.by his impetudfity and.intrep|d%,
totally unregulated by temper or conduit*; but as this
cenfure in general te?ms may appear fevere, it becomes
in fome degree, incumbent on me to relate the
particulars.
.The period when this up^appy-event took place, was-
that which, in the language -of th e colony,ds termed the
Jhort-aay fw fifi,. During .this,-Mr. Lepper having been,
informed that between the rivers Patamaca and Upper
Cprmootibo, .a village of negroes had been difeovered by
thp rangers fome time before-; -he-detefmined with his
fmall party, which was only a detachment from tpe Pata~!
maca ppft, to,Tally through the -woods and attack them.
But the rebels being apprized!of his- intention's by -their-
fpies, whiEh theyconftantly employ, immediately marched '
out to receive him; in his way they laid themfelves main-
bufh, near the borders of a deep marfh, through which the
ioidiers were to pafs to the rebel fettlement. Nofooner had
the unfortunate men. got, into & e fwamp and up to their
arm-pits, than their black enemies rufhed out from under
cover, and fhot them dead at their leifure in the waten
* This gentleman formerly belonged
to the life-guards in Holland, from which
*e fled, after thruftihg his antagonift
y 01... I.
through the heart with his fword in »
duel.
Q while