I saw the body of a seaman, but we rode not near enough for me to distinguish his features; he layed upon his back, clothed in a red baize shirt and trowsers. I looked around to see if there were others, but my friend assured me there were none. The beach was strewed with the wreck to a great length, lying in every kind of position and in confused masses.
The bright rays of the setting sun, now for a few moments enlivened our path, as we left the beach and turned off into the country, across the plains. A negro preceded us on horseback, to sound the way, as the land was wet and marshy. The raging waves had now subsided to an unruffled calm, and Icast my eyes mournfully towards that treacherous sea, which now looked so peaceful and flattering.
We arrived at last, about dusk, to a small cottage; having travelled as I computed nearly a league. A number of large dogs gave notice of our approach, but were soon silenced by my companions, who assisted me gently to dismount. I was welcomed with many blessings by an old woman; carried into her hut, seated in a chair, some clothing was brought forward, and I soon felt the comfort of a dry shirt. ‘I have no beef or mutton in the house,’ says the old woman, for the army take all our beasts; but we have some fowls, which may do as well. I was soon put in the only bed in the hut, to me a bed of down; and my kind hostess soon brought me a bowl of good broth. After this, my leg was washed with hot vinegar, and my wounds on my feet dressed as well as circumstances would permit.
This rancho, or hut, was a small place built like all others, of cane, fastened together with strips of green hide, plaistered with mud, and a thatch’d roof. The general came about dark, spent an half hour, and retired. I considered myself as peculiarly fortunate on being now under the care of an old woman, the indispensable attendant in sickness, and alleviator of calamity; developing those endearing and estimable traits of character, usefulness, patience and compassion. My leg was again bathed in hot vinegar, and bandages of woollen applied; and my hostess left me and retired to her repose.During the night I drank a great quantity both of wine and water, which had been set within reach, for my thirst was unquenchable. Two junk bottles of hot water were covered and placed in bed against my feet; which were much swelled, chilled, and wrinkled, and almost without feeling. This sudden application of artificial heat to the blood, though well intended, had a most pernicious effect; corrupting, stagnating, and destroying its natural temperature, and causing great pain; its effects were felt many months afterwards. During the night I slept but little. The rays of the sun breaking into the room, announced the morning of the Sabbath, and I could in truth hail it as a welcome and sweet day of rest.
I now took a view of the apartment and furniture; the room was partly separated by a partition of cane poles, inside of which slept my hostess and her two younger sons, upon the floor; as there was but one bedstead, upon which I lay. Her eldest son, my discoverer, lay near me, wrapped up in his pancho, or blanket; the old man, his father, lived in another hut, at a relations, for fear of the guaches, as he was a Spaniard.
At the further end of the hovel was kept constantly burning upon a table, on each side of a crucifix, two candles; which is the invariable custom when any one lies dangerously sick. A separate hut for the kitchen, was built outside. The furniture consisted of a few hide bottomed chairs, somehide sacks and baskets, a hide sieve, and several other necessary articles, of which hide was the principal material. During the day, I inquired of the old woman of the state of affairs about the country, and at Monte Video. She told me that the Portuguese were kept close within its walls by the natives; and that any communication between the city and country was very precarious and difficult, as a great animosity subsisted between them. Pedro at this time had mounted his cavallo, and taken an excursion to the beach; towards night he entered the hut, bringing in a hide sack of flour from the wreck, which he had drawn away by the aid of his horse; and soon after, brought in several other articles, such as bottles of wine and cordial, a keg of butter; some rum, and a keg of wine from a cask—these he stowed away in the interior of the hut, and then took his seat at my bedside as usual.
In conversation, he expressed to me his fears of the intemperate and remorseless guachas, whom he said, valued the life of a person no more than that of a dog; that they were unsettled, roving, and lived upon plunder. To beguile the evenings of my tedious confinement, he would also relate to me the products of the country, its animals, &c.; a choice horse might be bought for a dollar, though a bad saddle would cost twenty. Ostriches were plenty in the neighborhood, valuable only for their eggs and feathers, of which they made fans and dusters. The nature of this bird, he said, was verysingular, and he had often watched at a distance their method of depositing their eggs; the bird, after assuring herself of being unnoticed, would scratch a hole in the sand, deposite her egg, and carefully covering the place, retreat slyly to the thicket, and leave to the sun the care of hatching them.
The next day, the general came again, bringing with him several bottles of wine and cordial, which he had taken from the wreck.
A country fellow came in soon after, an acquaintance of my hostess; and she offered him a draught of the cordial. I shall never forget the inexpressible contortions of countenance, the heartfelt smack, the exclamation of wonder and relish with which he swallowed his glass of liquor, of the taste of which, he had before no conception.
I desired the general to inform me if it was possible to send a letter to Monte Video. He told me it was difficult, as there was but little intercourse; but that he knew of a patriot officer, who, having a passport, would go in a few days to the city. I therefore, the day following, procured of the old woman, materials for writing, and a chopping block. This I placed between my legs on the bed, and began writing; it was a tedious business, and I could sit up no longer than to write one line at a time. I however finished this necessary duty, and wrote two letters; one directed to W. P. White, Esq., the only person I was acquainted with at Monte Video, whom I had formerly known in the capital;and another to the owners in Buenos Ayres. I briefly related the loss of the ship, the fate of the crew, my own situation; and advising something to be done to save the property; of which a greater part had been washed ashore. These I gave to the girl, who in two days forwarded them to the capital.
Pedro, during this day, was still employed, assisted by the two slaves, in recovering articles and provisions, from the beach; which he said was now covered with the natives, who were breaking open trunks, chests, and bales of goods; staving in the pipes of wine, when any one wanted to drink; and exhibiting a confused scene of plunder, fighting, and wanton waste of goods; of which they knew not the value.
Getting drunk with the wine, on the beach, they frequently came to the cottage, and with brutal language and savage gestures, threatened the lives of its generous inhabitants.
As his mother was once bringing in some cakes for me from the kitchen, the ruffians snatched them from her hand; then entering the kitchen, seized and devoured what victuals were there, and threw away the plates.
She one day entered with tears in her eyes, and told me she was sadly afraid of her life and my own, from the Indians; they were very bad men;—and she had overheard a parley between them, of breaking into the hut during the night, to plunder and murder. Indeed, their looks alone spoke theirsavage character; for often, at times, laying on my bed, I have observed them attentively, as they would sometimes venture into the hut; and I never saw such rascally and ugly looking fellows. They were generally of large size, long black hair, hanging like snakes down their shoulders; thick bushy beard and mustachios; a coarse blanket or pancho wrapped round their waist; another with a hole in the middle, through which they thrust their heads; a turban or checked handkerchief on their heads; horse skin boots, stripped raw from the animal’s leg, and worn raw into the shape of the feet. These, with a sword nearly a fathom long, in an iron scabbard, gave them a most hideous appearance; they indeed looked like demons. All wore long knives stuck into a sheath, in the blanket behind, which they made use of for every purpose; to kill, cut up beef, eat with, and stab their fellow creatures.
The friendly general again came in the evening, attended by several soldiers; and at his departure, left a guard of three at our earnest request, who were well armed, for our defence. This military officer, whose name was Ortugues, appeared much like one of our own country farmers, excepting his formidable iron scabbard sword. His dress was a short jacket of coarse blue, over which was thrown his pancho, or square cloak, drab velvet breeches, and long boots; he seemed a well meaning and benevolent man; but no ways capable of commanding a horde of vagabond marauders, whom he was organisinginto an army, for the defence of the country, against the encroachments of the Portuguese.
The cause of the Indians’ animosity and attempts to attack and plunder, was, that they suspected as Pedro was the first who had discovered the wreck on the beach, he had the first chance of booty, and of course had obtained a great quantity of gold, silver, and other valuable property; and had secreted them in the cottage. Impressed with this notion, which I believe was false and groundless, they made several nightly attempts to force the door, but were repulsed by the guard.
I passed these days very unquietly at the cottage, and time seemed to roll most tediously slow. The old lady had some cigars and old books, and I endeavored, by smoking and reading, to beguile the hours. The books, though some were an hundred and fifty years old, were not uninteresting. They consisted partly of the ‘Lives of the Martyrs;’ ‘Sermons by a Priest at Madrid;’ and a large volume of the ‘History of the Conquest of Peru.’
In the evening, Pedro would take his seat at the bedside, and amuse and interest me by his conversation. On an occasion like this, he said, he would relate the following tale, which before he had no opportunity to do. It shows that my discovery and rescue were wholly owing to a circumstance purely fortuitous and accidental.
‘Early in the morning of Thursday,’ said he, ‘two days before you were found on the strand, a soldierof the army of Artigas was strolling on horseback nearer the beach than they usually travel. At about a mile from the scene of the wreck, he discerned in a small cove at the river side, something on the beach; and as it was uncommon to observe any object breaking the uniformity of the sandy plain, he resolved to ride down and examine it. It proved to be one of the kegs of butter, nearly the size of a half barrel, which had been separated by the sea from the other drifting articles, and washed and lodged into this little bay. The soldier alighted from his horse, turned it over, but could not tell what it contained. It being heavy, and thinking it of little value, he left it and rode away. Some time after, in his return, he came near our cottage; he had before frequently stopped here; and now resolved to go in. In the course of conversation with me, on different affairs, he mentioned the discovery, at the river side, of a small barrel, very heavy; containing he knew not what, and supposed it to have drifted ashore from some vessel. Soon after, he left the cottage, and proceeded on his journey. That day and the next, being very stormy, cold and rainy, prevented me from going abroad. On Saturday the weather was still unfair, but at noon it began to clear away. I mounted my cavallo in the afternoon, and took a ride in the direction described by the soldier, in search of the keg he had spoken of. This I soon saw at the edge of the water, and supposing that this was not all that hadbeen driven ashore by the storm, I was induced to make a further search; and recollecting that the wind had been for several days blowing obliquely up the river, I concluded to shape my course down the sea side for new discoveries. Accordingly, I rode on a great distance, without seeing any thing else, and was on the point of returning; when, on winding round a small point of land, I plainly saw at a short distance a thousand vestiges of the wreck covering the beach. I rode slowly through them, near the edge of the water, stopping at times to view them, but not dismounting. I passed the cask you lay in, which I saw was thrown very high up the beach. ‘It was rather strange,’ said he, ‘that you did not hear my horse’s steps.’ I told him I did not; for the tread on the sand was not loud, and the roar of the sea might serve to prevent it. ‘I traversed the whole length of the beach, and frequently stopped to examine different objects of the wreck. I had probably been half an hour on the beach, before I had a thought of one alive so near me.’ I told him I was, during the period of his survey, lying quietly in the cask, without a hope of again leaving it, and wholly unconscious deliverance was so near. ‘In returning,’ he continued, ‘I was passing close to the sand hill between the banks and your place of shelter, and should have passed the cask, if I had not heard a hollow voice from within.’ I inquired if the roll of bagging across the pipe’s mouth, did not attract his notice.‘No, my friend pilota,’ said Pedro, ‘I should certainly have rode on without regarding it; for I had seen a hundred things just before, in equally curious positions. Your voice alone, which started me at first, caused me to dismount, and look into the cask; and my God, I shall never forget the sight as long as I live.’ What a scene was this for the pencil of the painter!
On the eve of about the fourth day, I asked Pedro, if any of the bodies had washed ashore, besides the one we saw. He replied, not one; and wondered how that alone should be cast so far on shore.
I told him I presumed it was one of the stoutest of the seamen, who had fortunately cleared himself from the ship, without much damage, and had resolutely continued ‘breasting the lofty surge,’ till he reached the middle of the breakers; when, being there overpowered, he expired and sunk; and the force of the waves then propelled the body to the shore before it descended to the bottom.
It is surprising that human bodies will, when dead, sink and continue at the bottom, unmoveable; while other substances, of much greater proportionate weight, will be thrown on shore by the sea.
My friend brought in, and shew me, at different times, large detached pieces of iron, and ring bolts, &c. which he found half buried in the sand.
I was now slowly gaining strength; but each returning day brought fresh alarm from the murderousdesigns of the villain guachas. On the fourth night they went to the next hut upon the beach, about four miles off, where dwelt a poor and harmless family, and robbed it of every thing valuable, or worth taking; mortally stabbed the father; bound his daughters, and brutally abused them. One of them, an interesting white girl, came the next day to our hut, for some relief, and told in tears the dreadful story.
I had about this time, a great many visiters, who all considered me highly favored by my patron saint, to whom they attributed my hair breath escapes. Among them, were many old women, who came from a distance, and travelled on horseback, about the country, bartering their commodities.
A consultation was once held by them, respecting my fever, leg, and bruises; and they recommended a large leaf of an herb, which grows in that country; which, dipped in hot oil and vinegar, had a wonderful and salutary effect when applied to my limb; although the application caused a most uneasy sensation, combined with suffocating pain during two nights; the swelling greatly subsided, excepting about the bend of the knee. During this, for five days, I could lie in only one position in bed, and that on my right side; my wounded leg lying on pillows; the knee bent about half way; in which unvaried bend, it remained in fact, more than a month.
I could instantly perceive a change of wind, on the least motion; and once on moving, when thewind had shifted to the north, the effect was so electric as to cause me to scream aloud. And when, at last, I was compelled to relieve for a moment my painful and palsying posture, it was the task of half an hour to turn myself in bed.
My appetite, at this time, had become insatiate, and though I could not get so much to eat as I wanted, owing to the care of my old nurse, I ate great quantities, and drank all that came within my reach; keeping bottles of liquor under my pillow, for my night supply. The smallest lad’s chief occupation was to bring in water; of which, during the twelve days I remained here, I believe I drank fifty gallons, besides half a dozen bottles of cordial, a dozen of wine, ten gallons of port, in a keg, and several bottles of other liquors; all of which Pedro had saved from the beach.
My condition appeared to engross all the attention of my kind hostess, and occupy all her care and time. She never entered the apartment, nor went to sleep, without the kind question of ‘que quero usted, pilota?’ (what is wanting;) and the answer was usually, ‘water.’
I asked her one afternoon what reward she expected, or what recompense I should give; or what return I could make, for her untiring goodness. ‘Speak not of it, Don Horky,’ said she; ‘who can tell but that my son Pepe, may go to other countries by sea, and be shipwrecked, and cast ashore, and that your mother may then do that and more,for him, than I am doing now for you.’ It was an answer heartfelt, I believe, by us both, though I smiled to think on the improbability that Pedro could be thrown ashore in a storm, upon a wharf in Boston.
This family had lived many years happily and comfortably in Monte Video, previous to its surrender to the Patriots, in 1813; but were then compelled to quit their home; and since that period, had suffered, as well as many other families, all the hardships to which their adhesion to the cause of old Spain, exposed them. The old man, her husband, was in constant fear of his life; and during my stay at the hut, which drew many unwelcome visiters, appeared only once or twice, and then only in the evening; living otherwise, as before mentioned, at a relation’s, concealed.
On the second evening, he came and inquired of his wife about me, as follows: ‘Bien,’ says he, ‘como esta su huespedo?’ ‘mucho mejor,’ she replied; ‘tiene gano muy vivo para beber y comer;’ ‘esta christiano?’ he asked, which made me smile. ‘Sin duda,’ she replied; ‘todas son christianos en Norte America;’ ‘como los Inglesas y el pilota sabe las nombres de todas los santas, y puede repeto el credo catolico.’ ‘Dios le guarda,’ he replied; and to me, ‘a Dios, usted le passa bein;’ so saying, he left the cottage.
On inquiring my health, and asking if I was a christian, she answered, ‘much better;’ and doubtless a christian, as all in America, as well as theEnglish, were christians; and that as evidence, I could repeat the Catholic creed, and knew the names of all the saints; for which he bestows his benediction.
When at times I would whistle and sing, to beguile the pain, my hostess would ask the reason. I told her I did so to kill the pain. But I saw she often thought from my strange behaviour, that my fever and pain had rendered me delirious. My apprehensions, however, in this weak state, and nervous debility of body and mind, gave me incessant and tormenting anxiety.
The close of each day gave rise to painful fears, for the events of the dreaded night; expecting constantly the breaking in of the guachas; and knowing too well their merciless ferocity. The nightly barking of the watchful dogs, giving notice of their approach, sounded in my ears like a summons bell, tolling for execution. I was not certain of living out an hour, nor was my chance of life of the value of a shilling.
One night, when all had retired to rest, and the guards lay snoring upon the floor, the dogs set up a roaring yell, and we soon after heard the tread of heavy footsteps, and violent thumping at the door. Pedro, who lay at my side, aroused the guards and opened it; while the soldiers and my hostess prepared for defence.
I saw by the moonshine, five hideous looking fellows, armed with swords and bayonets, standing before the door. A sharp parley ensued betweenthem and the guard. They said that they had orders to search the hut for any money or valuables, that the pilota, (myself,) might have recovered from the wreck. But the guard presenting their pieces, told them it was all false, and a contrivance to plunder; as they themselves were placed there by the General for my defence, and they would directly fire upon them, unless they instantly made off.
At this, they thought proper to make a speedy retreat, stealing in their way a horse from the field.
I was now in anxious and daily expectation of some persons from Monte Video, to convey me from this fearful situation and dangerous abode. On the eighth day, I was agreeably relieved, by the arrival of two clerks, an Englishman and Spaniard, from Monte Video, in consequence of receiving my letters, from the house of the consignees, in order to effect my removal to the city, and also to endeavor to secure some part of the property.
The latter they found totally impossible, nothing of value being now left on the strand, as all had been carried up country, by the natives.
I was extremely rejoiced at their coming, and we were soon concerting plans for my departure. Lines and posts of defence had been established between Toledo, the place where I was, and Monte Video, and these prevented any cattle or provisions being carried from the country to the Portuguese, in the city, whom they considered as invaders.
Oxen, therefore, not being allowed to pass into the city, mules not here to be procured, it was at last agreed that they should return to Monte Video, and send down a cart with mules, from the city. They slept one night at the hut, and on the next day, Sunday, departed; having seen sufficient of the character of the natives, and glad they had escaped the knives of the guachas, and vowing they would not venture their lives again among such a murderous crew, for the value of a ship and cargo.
On the eve of the next day, Monday, Pedro brought in the trunk which he had drawn from the beach at my desire, at the time of my discovery, and now opened it to examine what articles it might contain. He told me he had hitherto kept it secreted in the grass, in the rear of the cot; and had not dared to take out any articles to dry for fear of the deserters and Indians; for should they discover any thing valuable hanging out, they would certainly steal it, and search the house for more. But none of them being now near the house, he had brought it in to the side of the bed, for my inspection.
It was a large black English iron-bound trunk, of the largest size, containing every article of clothing, but no money. These were all thoroughly wet, and many indelibly spotted and mildewed, the effects of the salt water. This stock of apparel was at this time a great acquisition to me, asmy whole wardrobe consisted of a borrowed shirt.[2]
Among the things he handed me, were a set of long muslin curtains for a state room; which the old lady begged I would give to her. And Pedro in his turn, thought that a couple pair of the pantaloons would make him happy as a cavallero; to which I readily assented, and told them I laid claim to nothing but their hospitality, for which I was a constant debtor.
At the bottom was found a large roll of papers, which he handed me, and carefully unrolling them, I expected they were a set of interesting manuscripts; but found them to be only a collection of beautiful colored French engravings; such as the four seasons, twelves months, subjects from scripture, Robinson Crusoe, &c.; in all about forty; which I requested Pedro to hang on a line overhead to dry, which he did. Most of the contents were then stowed again in the trunk, and Pedro dragged it back to its place of concealment.
The next morning I awoke with earnest expectation of the cart from Monte Video; but I waited in vain; and evening brought fresh cause of fear.
During this day, an Irishman, a laborer, who had lived many years in that country, came; and after some conversation with my hostess, requested of her the loan of a spade.
He said he had but just come from the beach, and that several bodies of my companions lay exposed on the sand, and that the gulls were devouring them; that the Indians were too intent on plunder, and getting intoxicated, to assist in interring them; and that he would again go down to perform this christian office, and bury them in the sand.
An old kind of shovel was mustered for him, and he went off with this laudable design. Returning the next day, he informed me he had buried several, and many bodies had come ashore in a shocking state; so broken and bruised that it was impossible to distinguish them; some, he said, were still in the surf, which he could not drag out; and of necessity, had to leave, ‘food for gulls;’ their bones, doubtless, at this day, lie bleaching on the sand.
I was still waiting with the most painful anxiety, for the arrival of the conveyance from the city; and no poor and condemned malefactor, in hopes of a reprieve, or pardon, ever waited with more emotion the mandate which should restore him his liberty, than I did for a passport and conveyance to the walls of Monte Video.
The cannibals were daily and hourly growing more barbarous; and our danger every moment increased. I had every reason to believe that on this night, they intended to make a desperate attack upon the cottage, and to have murdered all in their power. But Providence otherwise ordered.
About sunset, the little lad came running intothe hut, from his play, exclaiming to his mother, that ‘a strange thing was coming towards the house.’ My heart throbbed a little at this notice, and soon after, as I hoped for, I was gratified with the entrance of the driver and guide, of the long wished for cart. They were cordially welcomed; and as they slept in the hut, I passed the night with a more temperate feeling, and a mind less apprehensive of a midnight attack.
To death, and to danger the most terrific, I had been exposed, and had faced them with manly firmness. I had escaped from wild beasts, and met the fury of elements, without shrinking; but the horrid prospect of having my flesh gashed and lacerated, by the knives of the savages, gave me infinite anguish; and heated with fever, rage and indignation, I could almost, at times, had it been in my power, have seized indiscriminate destruction, and like Samson of old, have sacrificed my own life to relieve it from such a state of torturing suspence, and to take revenge upon the blood thirsty ruffians; for here were men, if I may so degrade the term, (for they were not indeed in the image of their Maker,) ‘more fierce and more inexorable far, than empty tigers, or the roaring sea.’
The twelfth day came, and we were to depart. I hailed it with pleasure, as a day of second deliverance. The guide and the driver were employed in the morning, in lining the side of the cart with rushes, to keep off the wind; they had brought downwith them a bed, with coverings and blankets. The trunk was brought and laid across the fore part of the cart, by Pedro; while his mother was busy in wrapping me up within, for the journey. A great number of blankets and coverings, were also thrown over me. My feet were bound up in woollen, and a flag handkerchief was tied round my head; I had on, likewise, a large coat, loose pantaloons, and flannel underdress. A chair was placed at the hinder part of the cart, which now backed to the door of the cottage, from which I was lifted inside and placed upon the blankets at the bottom.
At parting I shook the hands of the kind old woman, and my deliverer, most heartily. A crowd of grateful recollections stifled for a moment my expressions of gratitude, and started the tears of overpowered feelings. I left them with fervent benedictions, and we drove off slowly on our way.
During our progress, I had leisure to contemplate my hopes and prospects; and my mind wanted no food or exercise in considering this odd journey, and in so odd a company.
The sun beamed forth gloriously, and the day appeared delightful; and though I could not yet hear the busy hum of men, yet the cheering music of the feathered warblers, the sight of the vast plains on one side, and the boundless expanse of the great La Plata on the other; the novelty of my situation, the memory of past dangers, the many aids of Providence, whose unseen hand had protected me thusfar, and the hopes of future comforts yet in store, led my thoughts to adore that great and benevolent Being, without whose notice, not even a sparrow falls to the ground.
Nothing remarkable, excepting one unlucky accident, happened on the road, which was the loss of the engravings. The guide, who was an ill looking and suspicious fellow, who lived in the vicinity, had collected them from the lines in the hut, and put them under the bed at the tail of the cart. When about half way on our journey, he suddenly dropped astern, and saying he could go on no farther, pulling out the prints, thrust them into his bosom, galloped off and vanished.
We were interrogated at the lines by some officers, who came out of a decent house by the roadside, as we were now near the city, who asked many questions, and allowed us freely to proceed; in a short time we gained sight of the gates of Monte Video; at which we at last arrived about 2 o’clock, P. M. Here I was also stopped by a number of Portuguese officers, who were tall and well looking men, who asked also many questions, having previously heard of the shipwreck; they expressed themselves glad to see me, and we drove into the city.
The streets were not paved, but contained many large loose stones; and the jolting of the cart over them, which now went at a smart trot, gave me a severe shaking. The novelty of the sight drew many of the females to the windows; and I beheldmany wondering and fair faces, as I lay on my back in the cart, exposed to the view of those above me.
We stopped at the house of an English merchant, the consignee, who immediately came out, and with many friendly congratulations, personally assisted his slaves in carrying me up stairs; passing along on the flat roof of the lower story, round the court yard, in the centre, to a small handsome chamber in the rear, which had been previously fitted up for the use of one of our passengers. His family consisted of his wife, likewise English, and an interesting and beautiful child, of about three years old. His lady, (whom Heaven bless,) was constant in her acts of kindness. I found I could not support myself in a chair, for this was the first time, since the disaster, that I had made the attempt, and was therefore helped to undress, and assisted to bed. This night I slept for the first time soundly; for I had reached the desired place of security, and my dreams were not disturbed by the clamor of the guachas.
The next day, my trunk was opened, and the clothes washed and put up in the neatest order. Two whole pieces of black bombazette, and several dozen of white cotton hose and socks, were likewise found in it; which were sold, and brought me about thirty dollars.
Here I was confined for nearly thirty days, and my leg shrunk in that time to as great an extreme as it was swelled before. By unexampled kindness,I daily and rapidly improved; and in three weeks was able to leave the room, and sit outside of the chamber, upon the walk.
One of the owners of the ship happening at this time to be in Monte Video, instantly came to visit me, and hear the account of the loss of his ship. When I had repeated the occurrences, and related the hospitality of the old woman at the cottage, he immediately proposed a subscription among the merchants for her recompense, generously and nobly disregarding his own loss, though he was owner of half of the ship, and uninsured. There came also next day, notaries to take my deposition on oath, respecting the cause of the ship’s being thrown ashore. It was accordingly set down as occasioned by the violence of the storm.
I was often solicited by my kind friends, to have medical assistance; but this I constantly refused. I had never occasion for a physician, having, doubtless unreasonably, a prejudice against them; nature therefore took her course, and my leg, though once threatened with amputation, grew daily stronger, to the surprise of all who first witnessed my situation, and slowly resumed its natural shape; and in six weeks, I was able to take the salutary exercise of a walk, with a cane; to ride a short distance upon a gentle horse, and shortly after, eat at their table.
Gratitude must here be allowed a digression, to give vent to her feelings, and to prevent her devoirs at the shrine of benevolence. While under this hospitableroof, all that could contribute to alleviate pain; everything that could add to my convenience and comfort; kindness, which anticipated my wishes, I enjoyed in its fullest extent. Though a distressed foreigner, I was treated as a brother; and though a stranger, ever welcome to their board. For three weeks, while on the bed of friendship, I was visited at the first dawn of the morning by the worthy merchant, who with his own hands would dress my wounds, thus emulating the example of the good Samaritan.
His name,John L. Darby, Esq. I with pleasure record. A name well known to the mercantile community, at Monte Video; and while life continues, will with me be held dear.
It would be well, if I could here conclude, and the hapless tale could now be ended. But as a faithful narrator, I am constrained to give its melancholy sequel.
After I had been in Monte Video about six weeks, I received the shocking intelligence, that on the night of the same day on which I left the cottage, the merciless savages attacked and entered the hut of the old woman, and finding no opposition, as the guards had withdrawn to the encampment, plundered the hut of all she possessed, wounded the slaves who opposed them, and after repeatedly stabbing my worthy deliverer, finished with cutting his throat from ear to ear! How just are the words of the poet,
‘The ways of heaven are dark, and intricate;Man, puzzled in mazes and perplexed with errors,Sees not with how much art the windings turn,Nor when the regular confusion ends.’
‘The ways of heaven are dark, and intricate;Man, puzzled in mazes and perplexed with errors,Sees not with how much art the windings turn,Nor when the regular confusion ends.’
‘The ways of heaven are dark, and intricate;Man, puzzled in mazes and perplexed with errors,Sees not with how much art the windings turn,Nor when the regular confusion ends.’
‘The ways of heaven are dark, and intricate;
Man, puzzled in mazes and perplexed with errors,
Sees not with how much art the windings turn,
Nor when the regular confusion ends.’
I was now rapidly gaining strength; my leg I could bear my weight on; and after remaining here two months, I was strong enough to take passage for Buenos Ayres, distant about a hundred and ten miles, farther up, and on the opposite side of the river.
I arrived the next day, and found a great number of old acquaintance, who were very kind and friendly. A subscription paper was immediately handed round among the English merchants, by the goodness of the owners, Messrs.McFarlaneandEastman, to whose friendship I must ever remain indebted, and several hundred subscribed in an hour, and collected for my benefit. About two hundred were also collected for the benefit of the old woman at the hut, and two hundred more previously in Monte Video, and sent down to her.
I remained some months on account of lameness in Buenos Ayres, and applied for a passage in the Congress, Captain Sinclair, which was at that time ready to return home with the three commissioners which she conveyed out; but failing in this, I soon after had an application to the birth of first officer of a large ship; the Manhattan, of 700 tons, sent from the United States to be sold. Not succeeding in the sale, I entered on board an Enserada, and we proceeded to fit her for her return home in ballast.
On the 11th of July, 1818, we left the La Plata, and in forty days had sight of Bermudas. On the 12th of September, we anchored off Fort Henry, at Baltimore. I was detained here much against my will, twenty days, in settling the ship’s accounts, taking an inventory, &c. and she was publicly sold.
On Sunday morning, October 4th, I arrived at my native place, Boston, after an absence of over two years; when I fully experienced the truth of the observation, that the unavoidable evils and misfortunes of life, afford by their contrast, a ten fold relish to its comforts, which are many, but which before were unprised.
The meeting of relatives must be conceived. I will only add, that safe in the embrace of parents and friends, forgotten like a dream, WERE THE PERILS OF THE OCEAN.