HH
154 NAR RAT I V E O F lAM
CHAP.
XXII.
i l 1
H l
fame animal .(which I apprehend'it' to b ie )^ ^ I have
dcfècibêd, under the name o f the" bufh^rat,
On the 27th we agâirii broke, tip, and filially.arrived in
the forenoon,! and in a forlorn condition, y t theeftato
Sofibo,' on the r iv e r , Pirica, to defend the plantations!
again# Bonny and his rebel negroes'.
The river Piricci by its; many windings is; (hought jtw
extend .about three-f^ore miles. It tsyyeFy- deep butt'nar-
row, and haslts^bahfcs, li^§.all the others, lined.with,hge
coffee: and fugar plantations ; its jgeneral coturJfe4s from
to,N* W*: We were fcarcely arrived ^atfhis >poftr than,
I was.aGGpRed;by;fëyeral depuhes.,frojqçi:Golonel S,eyjbprg^
who earneftly intreated that I would only. ackjaoWledgp
my fe lf to have^b^en in fault* afluringmethat,I Ihould
then ^.be:.fet . at liberty,. and all wouldj ,lgp fprgotte.^ 4 s; I
was confcious, however, o f mÿfejwn 7innocgnce,T could
not in common jnftice criminate myfelf, in an inftance*
where.even my alledge# cringe amounted to .no mor&thanc
an anxious folicitude for the poor men and.the proyihpn§
who were entrufted to my care. I was, therefore,*placed
under the guard of ,a fqntinejl, for what, my commander,
was pleafed to term nnpliant ftubbornnefs, m,d difarmed.
In the mean time the marines, .caufed me fr„e£b uneafi-
nefs, and o f the moft ;po^i^atfld«id*.,:hf.
cning to mutiny in my,
prevented them, bur my decifiye declaration,: thaUas. nù
caufe could juftify militarj^ difobediehce and rebellion, I-
fliould be under the necèffity myfelf (however injurious
to
:"|s'
I f
■ fi I '
1 »
to my feelings) of taking an aótive part againft them, and
feeing the ringleaders1 brought to condign puhiftiment.
I ’felt that at‘thisflfrrnèl cottldwar with1 all the world, and’
nearly ‘With my félfv—+my 'hhkft #as: breaking “ apace-—my
life became a burden :
^ (D ependantSj’^iendsj" hIati.onsy.4ove himfel£ i
tc S(tmg’d h he,
" TJve. ®eefepg^emen|s o f F e e l i n g heart.”
The day after our arrival in this“’Ration, we received
the particulars o f the Pirica ’hews, which were, that oil
the 2bth the eftates' S'$'obfcÊQ&é:and Aliona had'heen pilJ
laged byJ the-rebels whom we had routed at Gado-Saby,
hut that at thé plantratibn^'P^/^Mthey had" been beaten
back by the flavés : that the-rangers'Rationed at an éftaté
called Ha&enbos had purfued. them ori the 21ft, overtaken
them, on the 23d, killed fevefal, and brought back
moft o f the bpoty : that oh the fame day another party
o f the rebels had made aiTattempt to feize the powder
magazine at Hagenbos ( which .Was no bad plan) but that
(while the. rangers were in phrfuit 'of their affociates)
they had been repulfed by the manly behaviour o f a few
armed flaves, one o f whom, belonging to the eft ate 77-
motibo, took an armed rebel himfelfi' and next difcovered
their camp at the back of his mafter’s plantations'; for
which he was handfomely rewarded. * From all which
intelligence, there was now no doubt remaining that
i f VSeyhurg’lfdetached party on the' i6th; M(l marched'
X 2 forwards