N A R R A T I V E O P A N
c h a p , ftarved, but indeed dreadfully haraffed by daily fatigue*.
' anc* nightly watchings-:,'
" “ They wandered in the wildcrnefs In a folitaty way,'they fbund
“ uo> city dwell ISv
« Hd%ry ind thirfty, their fool fainted within- tla&m/*-
On the-24th, a tta chm en t o f ..one- hundred .and forty
men, comnaanded by two'field officers, were ftill ordere^
to deffroy the fields, and the old lettlement called Cofaay j
©f this party I had the honour again to be pne. W e
fpon performed the.Xeryipe Awe.,,we^ef; fent upon, -and'
alf® picked up, opt o f the marffi, :feve;ral- utehifis,, fuch
as tea-kettles,; iron pots and pans,,,&c. .that the rebels.,
had formerly pillaged from the eftates,. and had thrown
iota the water, ta, qonceal them from us, with an intention,
no doubt, o f returning,to fiffi them up, as Toon
as we were gone from Gado-Sahy-.. r
Ujjon the return o f the detachment in the afternoon^
we immediately decamped, and began, to, retreat for Bar-
baGQeb^ :-_Here I muft remark in Golonel Fqprgeoucf
an inftance o f bad policy., at leafi, though many have?
not befitated to heftow upon it a harfher epithet. This,
evening, upon our return, when we entered, the ominous-
fwamp, he fuddenly caught up one o f the empty bread-,
boxes, and having fluffed a hammock into, it* he carried
it before him as a fliield, .crying aloud to, his men,
“ Sauve qui p e u tl” At this, momenta Walloon named.
ifiattow. ftepped up to him, and faid, “ Mon Ca/one/^hut
« few
“ few can> and I hope fewer 'flfli w ill,. follow your ex- c H a p.
“ amPle- DroP your fliield, and do not intimidate your XZL
“ ifdldi^rsV'o^ W^M-man ■ t r e a te d th’Gf?, then follow
« thy iffaftow, an|j^fi|rf'for. no'tbing)’.v Upon which he
inftantly threw open his bofom, and charging his bayonet
was the firft that mounted the oppofite beach: this
intrepidity infpired the^eft, arid >h^y faffed\fhe marfliy
fwamp ^without'- ‘©pfofitioh f'fo r -^ h k h 'acfl tj^flerbifm
this>private fince ferjeaht.I I ffiould '
think nfyfelf deficient i f I did 'hblfdbfefwe,“fiiat the Wal-
loons: • id? general- bbhaVqd W1 ^f^at. and/ Were in
-every r<M|e<ft V^higaeteninl we en- !
fcamped < upon the fame ground whdre' we had - paifid '
the night'hefpre the krigagWeSSj with1 exGfeffive bad
weather?and very; heavy rain. g
Early,|n the»m'dfning\ofr%he^th,fwe again marched,
and-prex^eded ofi ouf return, hayi%tdWa>bea&fi path
before ufcL fir will fuffice to-Tay,'‘ithat^We reached "our
place o f general rendezvous, Barbacoeba,-on the- after-'
noon of the following day, but in a rnoft ffiockmg condition
; the whole of the detachment being moftly
fpent and wore out -with fatigue, fome nearly ■ ftarved^
Others mortally wounded; whilft all the flaves were em-
ployed in carrying the fick and lame in their hammocks,
on long poles, though thefe poor' Wretches were' fcarcely
able to fupport themfelyes.— Such the- condoling
fcene o f the taking o f GadofSaby- However, i f during
this expedition, we neither captured any o f the rebels,
I 1 nor