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My little stock of goods began visibly to shrink, when I informed the greedy applicants that nothing beyond a leaf of tobacco and a demi verre of tafia would be given until I had seen my way to work. Presently appeared the chief huntsman appointed by Roi Denis to take charge of me, he was named Fortuna, a Spanish name corrupted to Forteune.
Torres commenced, then, by applying to his lips a flask which he carried at his side; it contained the liquor generally known under the name of "chica" in Peru, and more particularly under that of "caysuma" in the Upper Amazon, to which fermented distillation of the root of the sweet manioc the captain had added a good dose of "tafia" or native rum.
The soldiers and non-commissioned officers were satisfactorily assigned a share in the entertainment appropriate to their military rank and in consonance with their taste, and were even now carousing gayly in their quarters, where there was more Christmas spirit in circulation than spirituous liquor, for the commandant's orders were niggardly indeed as to serving out the portions of tafia, not in the interests of temperance so much as of discipline in view of their perilous situation so far from help, so alone in the midst of hordes of inimical savages; his parsimony in this regard passed with them as necessity, since they knew that rum was hard to come by, and even this meager dole was infrequent and a luxury.
"You laugh, Michie," he said to Nick, a little resentfully. "I who speak to you say that there is four foot on each side of ze bateau. Too much tafia, a little too much excite " and he made a gesture with his hand expressive of total destruction; "ze tornado, I would sooner have him " "Bah!" said Nick, stroking Xavier's black beard, "give me the tiller.
Soon after the expedition left Mauritius, the officers and crew were surprised to learn that the supplies of bread were short "and that for the future ships' biscuit and salt meat would constitute the principal part of the diet. The wine brought from France had also been nearly consumed. Instead of the latter, a cheap, unwholesome drink, tafia, bought at the island, was to be served out.
Then came a few kitchen and toilet utensils; and an iron pot the famous pot which was wanted so badly a kettle, a coffee-pot, a tea-pot, some spoons, some forks, some knives, a looking-glass, and brushes of all kinds, and, what was by no means to be despised, three cans, containing about fifteen pints of brandy and tafia, and several pounds of tea and coffee.
"Le vous demands pardon," said I, with a most abject salaam to my saddle bow. He knit his brows and shut his teeth hard, as he ground out between the glancing ivory, "Sacre! voila ces foutres blancs la," clutching the hilt of his couteau firmly all the while. I thought he would have struck me. But Mr S coming up, mollified the savage, and we rode on. The tafia estate was a sore affair.
I will see you through safely, and we will not spare the tafia either." And he began to sing a song of Xavier's own: "'Marianson, dame jolie, Ou est alle votre mari?" "Ah, toujours les dames!" said Xavier. "But I tell you, Michie, le diable, he is at ze bottom of ze Grand Gulf and his mouth open so." And he suited the action to the word.
He ordered some roasted plantains to be brought, and mixed some cruel bad tafia with water in an enormous gourd. He ate, and then took a pull himself we followed, and he then walked round the circle, and carefully observed that every one had tasted also. Being satisfied on this head, he abruptly ordered us to ascend the ladder, and to pass on our way. The poor fellow was mad, I believe.
Such as he was, Joam Garral in large matters at different times had employed him to take his rafts to Belem, and he had never had cause to repent it. It is as well to add that Araujo that was his name never saw better than when he had imbibed a few glasses of tafia; and he never did any work at all without a certain demijohn of that liquor, to which he paid frequent court.
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