By Sheer Pluck: A Tale of the Ashanti WarHenty, G. A. (George Alfred)
General
By Sheer Pluck: A Tale of the Ashanti War
Henty, G. A. (George Alfred)
Ashanti war, 1873-1874 -- Juvenile fiction
“Well, sar, when we tink it all safe, and we get widin a mile ob de huts
whar we had libed, all at once we came upon a lot of soldiers in camp.
Dey see us and make shout. I call to my wife to run, when dey fire. A
bullet hit de baby, which she hab at her back, and pass through both
deir bodies. I did not run any more, but jus' stood looking at my wife
and chile as if my senses had gone. Dere I stood till the soldiers came
up. Dey put a cord round my arms and led me away. After a time I was
taken down the country. Dere I was claimed, and when it was known I had
killed a white oberseer I was tried. But de new oberseer did not want me
to be hung, for I was a strong slave and worth money, so he told a story
about how it happen, and after dey had flogged me very hard dey sent me
back to plantation. Dere I work for a long time wid a great log of wood
chained to my ankle to prevent me from running away again.
“For a time I not care whether I lib or die, but at last I made up my
mind to 'scape again. After six months dey took off de log, tinking dat
I had had enuf of de mountains and would not try to 'scape, and de log
prevented my doing so much work. De bery next night I ran away again but
dis time I determined to make for de town in hopes ob getting on board
an English ship, for I had heard from de oder slabes dat de English did
not keep black men as slabes, but dat, on de contry, dey did what
dey could to stop de Spanish from getting dem away from Africa, and I
understood now dat de dreful noise we had heard on de first day we were
on board ship was an attack upon our vessel by an English cruiser.
“It was four days' journey down to de town by de sea. Dere was no
difficulty in finding de way, for de road was good, and I s'pose dat dey
only looked for me towards de hills. Anyhow I got dar safe, walking at
night and sleeping in the bushes by day. I got as near de town as I dar,
and could see seberal vessels lying near de shore. I could see dat some
ob dem had de Spanish flag--I knew dat flag--de oders had flags which
I did not know. When it was dark I walked boldly into the town; no one
asked me any question, and I make my way through de streets down to de
shore. Dere I get into a boat and lay quiet till all de town was asleep.
Den I get into water and swim off to a ship--one dat I had noticed had
a flag which was not Spanish. Dere was a boat alongside. I climb into it
and pull myself up by the rope on deck. Den some white men seize me and
say someting in language which I not understand. Den dey take me into
cabin and say someting to captain; me not know what it was, but de
captain laugh, and me not like his laugh at all. Howeber, dey give me
someting to eat, and den take me down into hold of ship and tell me to
go to sleep on some sacks of sugar, and throw some empty sacks ober me
to cover me. Den dey close up hatch and leab me alone.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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