CXXYfP* ^obr» and lifting .up his filver-headedoane, alked me, H I f
c—'— ' “ that houfe ^ as mY -owni and if not, what bufirtefs t
« had to interfere? I am,” faid he, in a thundering
Yotce, “ Captain Fortune Dago S o ; and, i f I had you, in
« my , country ,a t Owca, I would make the very dearth’
“ drink u p your blood.” To which I replied, drawing
my fword, “ That my name was Stedman ; and that if W
“ dared to utter one infolent expreffion -more, my wea^
“ porifhould find the ffiorteft way through body.”
Upon which he fnapped h is fingers, and marched off,
leaving me much difpleafed, and blaming Fourgeoud for
Ihewing fo much indulgence to fuch a fiet. of banditti. In
the.evening, as I returned from dinner, I met the fame
biack fellow again, who, fiepping ihort up to me, faid,
“ Maficra, you a^-c a man, a very brave fellow; won’t
% y°u now glve fome money to the Owca Captain ?” This
I fternly refufed; ".he then kified my hand, an d ’ffiewe'd
his teeth (he faid) in token-of reconciliation,. promif-
ing to-fend me a prefen t of piftachio-nuts,-w-hichy.how-'
ever, never did arrive, nor indeed fliould I have tailed. * ■'
Though we .continued in Surinam fome time longer, ■
our future fervices could add but. very little to its .pro-
fperity, as our numbers were, now fo very few, and h u t:.
oftUis Dumbei1» % al1 as it was, pipe officers and above one
hundred andß x ty privates, all fick and incurable, ,embark-
ed again for Holland on.the ill of Auguft. I was ill with
an ague at this time, and had the offer of,making one of
the party, but declined it, being determined to lee the
end of the expedition if I could ; I however ..availed myfelf,
of
o f the opportunity to fend fome prefents to my friends c h a p .
in Europe ; amongft; thefe were a couple o f beautiful XXWh
parrots, two curious monkies, an elegant colle&ion o f
fine butterflies, three; chefts o f fwcetmeats, and fome
pickles*-, alb Ihipped oh board th e fliip Paramaribo, and
under the care Serjeant Fowler, who was, poor fellow,
one o f the, invalids bound for Amfterdam.
Major Medlar. > being quite emadatefi with fatigue and
hardftiips, now.alfo failed.for Holland; thus, during his
abfence aCl'ing as-major, I began to entertain an expectation
that I fliould fine day harry home the regiment
myfei!^ fib. very rapidly, were our‘officers dkjly diminifti-
in g ; and yet. a’mongfi: thofe few who remained two had
the courage at this time to vehtdre upon matrimony,
and married two Creole ladies, both widows.
Every thing now being peaceable and quiet, I recovered
my ftrength fb far as on the 10th to walk to Mrs.
Godefroy, when I acquainted her that I wiihed much to
emancipate a tib a fiJobnny Stedman^ and requelled her to
become bail before the, court, for the ufual fum o f £. 300,
as he fhould never be any charge to the Colony o f
Surinam, But this Ihe peremptorily declined, though
there was no rifque,*. it being only a matter o f form; at
which r could not help feeling fome aftonilhment, till I
was . acquainted , that Ihe had actually refufed -the fame
favour to her own ion.
The mention o f flavery reminds me o f a debt which
I feem to have incurred to my reader. I have from
time to time given fome account o f the mode in which'
V q l * % K k flaves