United States or Saint Lucia ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
We halted for the night in the dry bed of a watercourse, abounding in grass, so that we again enjoyed the luxury of a soft bed. At first I thought that we were near natives from hearing a plaintive cry like that of a child, but Kaiber assured me that it was the cry of the young of the wild turkey.
The same arid barren country seemed spread on every side; and when at length I began occasionally to stumble and fall from weakness hope abandoned me, and I determined to return direct to my comrades and get them to make one more effort to proceed and search for it in a southerly direction. I therefore told Kaiber that such was my intention, and directed him to guide me to the party.
I nearly expired from cold and pain during this inclement night; the rheumatism in the hip in which I had been wounded was dreadful, and I lost the power of moving my extremities from cold. Kaiber must have suffered even more for he had nothing but a shirt on, whereas I had also a pair of trousers.
Presently, Kaiber accosted one of them by name, and at the sound of this name, Imbat, the strongest feeling was awakened; it was well known to the travellers, and they knew that their lives were safe, and the end of their journey at hand.
Kaiber soon plucked the cockatoo and roasted it: I gave him the entrails, the feet, and the first joint of the legs, eating the head and thighs myself and reserving the other portions as a store against future emergencies. I now felt assured that my life was saved and, rendering thanks to God for his many mercies, I laid down by the fire to watch for the first appearance of dawn. April 18.
Now the boyl-yas storms and thunder make; Oh wherefore would he eat the mussels?" At last I so completely lost my temper that I roared out, "You stone-headed fellow, Kaiber, if you talk of mussels again, I'll beat you." "What spoke I this morning?" replied Kaiber; "you are stone-headed. We shall be dead directly; wherefore ate you the mussels?"
Time however wore on, and some of the men finding a species of geranium with a root not unlike a very small and tough parsnip, we prepared and ate several messes of this plant. At length, no signs of Stiles having been seen, I sent Mr. Walker, Corporal Auger, and Kaiber to the top of the cliffs we had descended to try if they could discern anything of him or his tracks.
In the meantime Kaiber came in and told me that he had found some holes in which the natives had, according to their custom, buried a store of By-yu nuts,* and he at the same time requested permission to steal them.
We soon discovered several native wells dug in the bed of the swamp; but these were all dry, and I began again to fear that I was disappointed, when Kaiber suddenly started up from a thick bed of reeds and made me a sign which was unobserved by the others, as was evidently his intention. I hurried up and found him with his head buried in a small hole of moist mud, for I can call it nothing else.
No inducement of mine could however prevail upon Kaiber to share with me, and I therefore handed him the remains of the cockatoo. As soon as my repast was concluded I walked about three miles up the river in the hopes of getting a duck, Kaiber accompanying me. We saw several but killed none. There were some fine reaches in the river, as well as some good flats along its banks.
Word Of The Day