Tales of an Old Sea Port: A General Sketch of the History of Bristol, Rhode Island, Including, Incidentally, an Account of the Voyages of the Norsemen, So Far as They May Have Been Connected with Narragansett Bay: and Personal Narratives of Some Notable Voyages Accomplished by Sailors from the Mount Hope Lands — John Shaqi
Tales of an Old Sea Port: A General Sketch of the History of Bristol, Rhode Island, Including, Incidentally, an Account of the Voyages of the Norsemen, So Far as They May Have Been Connected with Narragansett Bay: and Personal Narratives of Some Notable Voyages Accomplished by Sailors from the Mount Hope LandsMunro, Wilfred Harold
History
Tales of an Old Sea Port: A General Sketch of the History of Bristol, Rhode Island, Including, Incidentally, an Account of the Voyages of the Norsemen, So Far as They May Have Been Connected with Narragansett Bay: and Personal Narratives of Some Notable Voyages Accomplished by Sailors from the Mount Hope Lands
Munro, Wilfred Harold
Alaska -- Description and travel; Bristol (R.I. : Town) -- History; Fort Oyapoc (Guyana); Northwest Coast of North America; Potter, Simeon, 1720-1806; Siberia (Russia) -- Description and travel; Yankee (Brig)
As the boats were constantly going and coming, from the shore to the
vessel and from the vessel to the shore, transporting the pillage,
one came that very evening, bringing a French soldier and five
Indians. He was one of our soldiers, who, fifteen days before, had
been to seek the Indians to engage them to work, and, not knowing
that the English were masters of the fort, had run into their hands.
I represented to Captain Potter that, as the Indians were free among
us, he neither ought to nor could take them prisoners, particularly
as they had not been found with arms in their hands. But he answered
me “that this kind of people were used for slaves in Rodelan, and
that he should take them thither in spite of all that I could say.”
He has, in fact, carried them away, with the Aroüas whom he had first
captured in the Bay of Oyapoc. Perhaps he has a fancy to return to
this country, and intends to use these miserable beings in making his
descent on the coast, or perhaps he will release them at Surinam.
I had, nevertheless, on Monday morning, reminded him of the promise
he had made me that he would take me on shore; but he was not then
able to do any thing, and I was obliged to content myself with fair
words, so that I despaired of ever again visiting my old home. On
Tuesday, however, he came to me to say that, if I wished to go to
the fort, he would take me. I most willingly accepted the offer;
but, before I embarked, he strongly recommended to me not to attempt
flight, because, he assured me, I would be stopped by the discharge
of a gun. I reassured him on that point, and we set out.
The commander of the boat was the second lieutenant, the same who had
threatened to cut my tongue; and, as I complained to the captain, who
had, without doubt, spoken to him about it, he made the strongest
apologies on that point to me while on the way, and showed me a
thousand acts of politeness.
Before I was scarcely aware of it, we arrived at our destination; and
immediately I saw all those who were guarding the fort come to the
landing, some with guns and others with swords, to receive me. Little
accustomed to good faith, perhaps, they were always afraid that I
should escape from them, in spite of all that I was able to say to
quiet them on my account.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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