On the 27th of August I relieved Captain Orzinga with his men, and took the command of Devil’s Harwar, having been on board the Charon exactly fifty-six days, in the most wretched condition that can be described: but I hoped now to get the better of my complaint by the help of a few refreshments, such as milk, &c. which could not be obtained in our former situation. The Society troops (above one hundred in number) being to set off next day with my empty barges to La Rochelle, in Patamaca, I reviewed my marines, when I found I had left out of five officers but two, who were both sick, the three others being dead; I had also only one serjeant, two corporals, and fifteen privates, out of fifty-four healthy men, who embarked with me on the 2d day of last July. This army was not more than sufficient to defend the hospital, (which was crouded with sick) the ammunition and victualling magazine, &c. on a spot where lately had been kept three hundred soldiers, particularly [179]while the enemy were certainly lurking not far off: in consideration of which, the Society Captain reinforced me with twenty of his men. The next evening he entertained me and my two subalterns with a supper of fresh meat, both roast and boiled, to our great comfort and surprize; but which, to my unspeakable mortification, proved to be the individual poor cow with her calf, on whom we had built all our hopes for a little relief. It appeared that one of his sentinels, as concerted between them, had shot it by a wilful mistake. Thus did Captain Orzinga, for the sake of a momentary gratification, deprive us all of that lasting comfort on which we had so much depended, and of which we had so much need, being altogether emaciated for want of wholesome and nutritive food.

On the morning of the 28th the Society troops rowed to Patamaca, when, examining the twenty soldiers they had left me, they proved to be the refuse of the whole, part with agues, wounds, ruptures, and rotten limbs, and most of them next day were obliged to enter the hospital.

On the 29th, having bastonaded my late pilot for stealing from the soldiers, I dispatched the information to Colonel Fourgeoud, that I had taken post, and acquainting him with my weak situation, requested a proper reinforcement. In the evening two of my men died.

All things now being regulated and settled, I thanked Heaven in the expectation of getting some rest, being [180]still extremely weak; and with these cheering hopes retired at ten o’clock at night to my hammock; but this tranquillity was again of short duration, for having scarcely closed my eyes I was awaked by my serjeant, and the following letter put into my hand, sent by an express from the captain of the militia, or bargers in Cottica.

“Sir,

“This is to acquaint you, that the rebels have burnt three estates by your side, Suyingheyd, Peru, and L’Esperance, the ruins of which are still smoking; and that they have cut the throats of all the white inhabitants that fell in their way. As on their retreat they must pass close by where you are posted, be on your guard.—I am in haste.

“Your’s, &c.

(Signed) “Stoeleman.”

Conscious of my defenceless situation, I immediately started up; and the express who brought the letter having spread the news the moment of his landing, there was no necessity for beating to arms, since not only the few soldiers who were well, but the whole hospital burst out; and several of them, in spite of my opposition, crawling on their hands and feet to their arms, dropped dead upon the spot.—May I never behold such another scene [181]of misery and distress! Lame, blind, sick, and wounded, in the hope of preserving a wretched existence, rushed upon certain death! They could only, in a word, be compared to the distressed army and navy at Carthagena, commanded by the British Admiral Vernon, whom Thomson describes—

For my own part, I was in a very weakly condition indeed; however, we continued to lie all night on our arms, during which I pressed the messenger to stay, in order to add one to our miserable number, being determined to sell our lives as dearly as possible. But no enemy appearing in the morning, we buried the dead in their hammocks, not having a board to make a coffin on the whole post. In this situation I lost all patience, and had the audacity to write to my commander, that (besides what had happened) my last men stood upon the brink of the grave, from hardships and for want of being properly supported; the very waiters of the hospital having deserted on the moment of my arrival here, and gone to Paramaribo. Our whole number, indeed, was [182]now melted down to twelve men, who were to protect twelve buildings, and that with no more than two very small chests of ammunition, and no retreat for the sick, as the barges were gone to Patamaca, and the last canoe dispatched with my letter to Colonel Fourgeoud; for I had set adrift that belonging to the express, who was a book-keeper of a neighbouring plantation, in order to prevent him or any other from making their escape. In this situation, I was now obliged to convert the slaves into soldiers: these I armed with a hatchet, not daring to trust them with a firelock. For this whole night we again watched under arms, and in the morning found two more of our little party dead on the ground.

I now began really to think we were all devoted to destruction, while the men, regardless of all order (self-preservation excepted) threw out the most bitter invectives against their persecutor, Fourgeoud, which I could not prevent; nor can I help remarking the generalship of the rebel negroes, who had kept lying quiet till the removal of the Society troops from Devil’s Harwar, and seized the very first day of their departure, convinced of its being guarded only by my sick and emaciated soldiers, in order to commit their depredations on the Cottica estates. They well knew that my force was not sufficient to pursue them, nay, hardly to stand in my own defence: all this, however, was but according to my expectation; while, on the contrary, had my strength been sufficient, they could never have escaped [183]at least from being cut off in their retreat, especially if the troops in Rio Perica had acted conjointly with those in Cottica, by patroling the path between the two rivers, across which the rebels were twice unavoidably obliged to pass.

On the 1st of September we waited once more till morning, and then buried another of my poor men; while I yet cannot conceive how any one was able to survive such a series of toil, in such a debilitated state, and in a tropical climate; yet some did, though few. At length, being persuaded that the rebels must have past the Cordon, without having thought proper to pay us a visit on their retreat, I determined to let the remaining few watch no longer, but permit them to die a natural death. At last, in the evening, when all was too late, there came down by water from the post La Rochelle to our assistance, one officer and ten men.—I having had but nine left to do the duty at the time of their arrival.

On the 2d another man died; and I once more reviewed my forces, which now amounted exactly to seven marines, the few scarecrows of the Society excepted; however, the chance of being massacred by the rebels was at this time over, thanks alone to their pusillanimity, or rather their hurry!

I now received a letter from Colonel Fourgeoud, condoling with me on the loss of so many good officers, acquainting me that I was to be reinforced; and that on my recommendation my serjeant, Mr. de Cabanus, was appointed [184]an ensign; which gave me pleasure, and took place at a very suitable time, since this day my poor Ensign Macdonald was sent down very sick to Paramaribo. I answered to all this, that I was obliged to him; adding, that while I remained without reinforcement, I could not be accountable for what consequences might happen, in a place where I was left to defend a whole river with none but sick people; and even these without sufficient ammunition, and hourly expiring for want of proper medicines, or a surgeon to attend them, there being none here but one or two surgeon’s mates belonging to the troops of the Society, who could do little more than occasionally draw blood, and cut off a beard or a corn.

On the 4th we buried another of my marines, and on the following day another died; and I had not one now remaining who was not ill, or who was not rendered unserviceable, by his feet being swelled with the insects called chigoes: these poor men were mostly Germans, who had been accustomed to a healthy climate in their own country. I began now to be reconciled to putting my last man under ground, and almost wishing to leap into the grave after him myself; when a barge arrived from Paramaribo with the proper reinforcement, ammunition, provisions, medicines, a surgeon, and an order from my chief to trace out the track of the rebels immediately, on the former path of communication called the Cordon, between Cottica and Perica, and to write him [185]the result of my discoveries; he intimated also that he intended to keep his magazines at Devil’s Harwar, and that I was not to make use of the spot I had found out for that purpose at Barbacoeba Creek.

On the 6th I prepared to march myself, having recovered a little strength, on the grand project of discovery, and then placed the ammunition in the magazine.

As the manner of marching in this country is so very different from that in Europe, I shall, before we set out, endeavour briefly to describe the nature of these expeditions.

In the first place, in Surinam no such thing is practicable as three or even two ranks; thus there is no marching by divisions or platoons;—but the whole party being dressed in one rank, face to the right, and every man follows his leader, the negro slaves interspersed between the men, in order to guard their persons as well as what they carry; and this manner of marching is called Indian file. With a detachment of sixty men, consisting of one captain, two subalterns, two serjeants, four corporals, one surgeon, and fifty privates, twenty negro slaves at least ought to be employed, for the use of whom their masters are paid at the rate of two shillings sterling a day by the colony; and this is a much greater expence than waggons and horses would be, which in this country cannot be employed for military service. [186]

The manner of interspersing them amongst the troops is as follows: The foremost are generally two negroes, with bill-hooks to cut a way, so as to make a practicable path, with one corporal and two men to reconnoitre the front, and, in case of necessity, to give the alarm; and then one subaltern, six privates, and a corporal, form the van. Then follows, at some distance, the corps in two divisions; in the first, one captain, one corporal, twelve privates, one surgeon, and two negroes to carry the powder; in the second, is one serjeant and twelve privates; and then again follows, at some distance, the rear guard, consisting of one subaltern, one serjeant, one corporal, and eighteen privates, with sixteen negroes to carry the medicines, beef, bread, spades, axes, rum, &c.; the sick also are carried. The three last of all being one corporal and two men at a distance, to give the alarm in case of an attack, as the others had orders to do in the front, which ends the train.

Every thing being ready, according to the above rules, for my small party, which consisted of myself, an officer of the Society, Mr. Hertsbergh, one surgeon’s mate, one guide, two serjeants, two corporals, forty privates, and only eight negro slaves to cut open the passage, and carry the baggage, we faced to the right at six o’clock in the morning, and sallied forth into the woods, keeping our course directly for the Perica river; and having marched till about eleven o’clock on the Cordon, I discovered, as I had expected, [187]the track of the rebels by the marks of their footsteps in the mud, by the broken bottles, plantain-shells, &c. and found that by appearance it bore towards Pinneburgh, already mentioned.

I had now indeed found the nest, but the birds were flown. We continued our march till eight o’clock, when we arrived at the Society post Soribo, in Perica, in a most shocking condition, having waded through water and mire above our hips, climbed over heaps of fallen trees, and crept underneath on our bellies. This, however, was not the worst, for our flesh was terribly mangled and torn by the thorns, and stung by the Patat lice, ants, and wassy-wassy or wild bees. This last is an insect not larger than an English blue-bottle fly, and is of a black colour, quite different from our bees; they are never kept in hives, but swarm wild in the forest, where they build in hollow trees or between the branches; their nests being sometimes as large as an inflated cow’s bladder, to which they bear no bad resemblance, both in colour and smoothness, except in being less regularly oval; from these abodes (when the nest or the branches are inadvertently touched) thousands of warriors sally forth; and this little flying army is extremely formidable, pitching always by instinct on the eyes, lips and hair, whence they cannot easily be dislodged; their stings generally cause a fever, and swell the parts so very much that they occasion blindness for several hours; their honey [188]is of a dark-brown colour, and so is their wax, but gummy, being both of little value.

The worst of our sufferings, however, was the fatigue of marching in a burning sun, and the last two hours in total darkness, holding each other by the hand; and having left ten men behind, some with agues, some stung blind, and some with their feet full of chigoes. Being in the most hospitable manner received at Soribo by the commanding officer, I went to my hammock very ill of a fever.

On the following morning I felt myself better for my night’s rest; but neither myself nor my men were able to march back, wherefore the other captain sent a small party of his soldiers to pick up the poor marines I had lost the day before, and of whom they brought with them seven, carried in hammocks tied to poles, each by two negroes, the other three having scrambled back to Devil’s Harwar.

During our stay here I wrote a letter to Colonel Fourgeoud, couched in such terms as few people in their full senses would do to their commanders, viz. that I had found the path; that if I had had support in time I might have cut off the enemy’s retreat, instead of finding their foot-steps only; but that now all was too late, and the party all knocked up to no purpose. This letter, I have been since told, incensed him, as it is easy to suppose, in the highest degree. Being sufficiently refreshed to renew my march, we left Soribo on the 9th, at four o’clock in [189]the morning, and at four o’clock P. M. arrived, after indescribable sufferings, at Devil’s Harwar, covered over with mud and blood, and our legs and thighs cut and torn by the thorns and branches; most of the men being without shoes and stockings of necessity, while I, who had gone this march in the same condition from choice, had absolutely suffered the least of the whole party, by having inured myself gradually to walk barefooted on the barges.

At Devil’s Harwar, I now found Lieutenant Colonel Westerloo and a quarter-master arrived to take the command, his troops not being expected till the next day. I was by this circumstance, however, made exceedingly happy, hoping at last to meet with some relief; and having ceded him my written orders, the magazine, hospital, &c. &c. I stripped and plunged into the river to wash myself and take a swim, by which (being before much over-heated) I found myself greatly refreshed, as well as by receiving a quantity of fine fruit, Jamaica rum, wine and sugar, from Joanna;—but how did my blood chill, when the quarter-master told me, as a secret, that my serjeant, one Fowler, having first got drunk with my wine, offered violence to this poor woman; and that he was to be at Devil’s Harwar next day, when I should see the marks of her just resentment on his face!

The reader will, I trust, excuse my violence, when I [190]tell him, that I vowed immediate destruction to the villain: and having ordered a negro to cut twelve bamboo canes, I retired like a person deprived of his senses, determined to punish him according to his supposed crime.

On the 10th there arrived two subalterns, with a second barge full of men, ammunition, medicine, and provisions, which having marched into quarters and stowed, I sent for the hapless Fowler, whose face being in three places wounded, I locked him up in a room, and, without asking one question, broke six of the bamboos over his head, till he escaped all bloody out at the window, and my resentment gradually abated. He certainly had suffered much, but nothing equal to what were my sensations, at being still further informed, that Colonel Fourgeoud had seized all my effects, which he had sealed and locked up in an empty store-room, in expectation of my decease, which, according to all appearances, might be looked for; while my house was given to another, by which means I could not procure so much as a clean shirt to relieve me from my disgraceful tatters: nevertheless, by the hope of going down myself, my spirits were supported. The other news, of more importance, was, that the hero in person, with most of the troops, had at last left Paramaribo; that he had quartered them partly at Devil’s Harwar, in Rio Cottica, the estate Bellair, in Rio Perica, [191]and at the estates Clarenbeek, and Cravassibo, in Rio Commewina; whence, conjunctly with the troops of the Society and the Rangers, he intended to move in quest of the rebels; that he had also ordered all the barges to be relieved at last, and their remaining troops to reinforce the above-mentioned posts, which I must remark was a very wise and well-planned regulation.

From Patamaca we were informed, that the rebels, on their repassing the river above La Rochelle, had again destroyed a small estate, and murdered its proprietor, a Mr. Nyboor.

It was either about this time, or very shortly after, that an overseer escaped by the assistance of a negro boy, who, desiring him to leap into a canoe, and lie down flat upon his belly, leaped himself into the water, where, by swimming with one hand, and guiding the canoe with the other, he ferried his master safe over the creek Patamaca, through a shower of musquet bullets, the rebels firing upon them all the while, but without execution; however, for this material piece of service, he was recompensed the week after with three hundred lashes by the same master, only for having forgotten to open one of the sluices or flood-gates.—On this act of inhumanity I shall make no comment, but proceed to my own miserable situation. Having remonstrated with Lieutenant Colonel Westerloo on the state of my health, which disabled me from joining the corps on their march, [192]I requested that I might be removed to Paramaribo for the chance of recovery; but this he peremptorily refused to allow me, by Colonel Fourgeoud’s express command. The refusal of so reasonable a request made me almost distracted, and agitated my spirits so much, that on the morning of the 12th, determined to exchange my wretched existence one way or other, I insisted on being immediately removed, or wished for death, which the surgeons declared must be the consequence soon, if I was not permitted to go down, and in the meanwhile I vowed that I should attribute my decease to their unprecedented barbarity. A consultation was now held on the subject; and at last, not without great difficulties, a boat was ordered to row me down to Paramaribo, but no white servant was permitted to attend me. Thus leaving the Lieutenant Colonel employed in fortifying Devil’s Harwar with pallisadoes, where now also was a numerous garrison, I at twelve o’clock at noon walked to the water-side, supported by a negro, on whose shoulder I rested, till I at length stepped into the boat, followed by my black boy Quaco, and finally left the diabolical spot where I had buried so many brave fellows.

On the 14th, having rowed day and night, at two o’clock in the morning, we arrived at the town, extremely ill indeed; where, having no residence of my own, I was hospitably received at the house of a Mr. [193]De La Marre, a merchant, this gentleman not only received me, but immediately sent a servant for poor Joanna, who was at her mother’s, and another for a physician to attend me, as my weak and hopeless condition now required every assistance that the town of Paramaribo could afford. [194]