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We had not gone far before my guide began to swim, then the muletto and I were presently chin-deep, and I expected nothing but drowning every moment: however, having gone so far, I was ashamed to cry out; when getting out of my depth, and my reeds coming to their bearing, up I mounted, and was carried on with all the ease imaginable; my conductor guiding us between the trees so dexterously, that not one accident happened to either of us all the way, and we arrived safe on the opposite shore.
There is this comfort about being an Irishman, you can be entirely Irish, and claim thus to be as complete as a pebble or a star. But no Irish person can hope to be more than a muletto Englishman, and if that be an ambition and an end it is not an heroic one. But there is an Ulster difficulty, and no amount of burking it will solve it.
I shall not trouble you with a relation of the common accidents of our journey, which lasted two months and better, nor with the different methods we used to get subsistence, but shall at once conduct you to Quamis; only mentioning that we were sometimes obliged to go about, and were once stopped by a cut that my guide and companion received by a ragged stone in his foot, which growing very bad, almost deprived me of the hopes of his life; but by rest and constant sucking and licking it, which was the only remedy we had to apply, except green leaves chewed, that I laid to it by his direction, to supple and cool it, he soon began to be able to ride upon the muletto, and sometimes to walk a little.
"Why," says I, "is the muletto to carry them?" "No, they are to carry you," says he. "I can never ride upon these," says I. "Hush!" says he, "I'll not lose you, never fear. Come, cut me a good tough stick, the length of these reeds."
"Well," says I, "this is all conjuration; but I don't see a step towards my getting over the river yet, unless I am to ride the muletto upon these reeds, and guide myself with the stick." "I must own, Peter," says he, "you have a bright guess." So taking an armful of the reeds, and laying them on the ground, "Now, Peter," says he, "lay that stick upon those reeds and tie them tight at both ends."
He bid me never fear; and looking more soberly, ordered me to walk to the river, and so stand just within the bank till he came; then leading the muletto to me, he tied me to her, about a yard from the tail, and taking the cord in his hand, led the muletto and me into the water.
We had now got into a very low, close, swampy country, and our goat's flesh began to be very stale through the heat, not only of the sun, but the muletto's back: however, we pleased ourselves we should have one more meal of it before it was too bad to eat; so, having travelled about three miles from the river, we took up our lodging on a little rising, and tied our muletto in a valley about half a furlong below us, where he made as good a meal in his way as we did in ours.
Glanlepze was a little uneasy at the thoughts of quitting so good a lodging as we had found, but yet held it best to move farther; for as the lions had left the bones behind them, we must expect another visit if we stayed there, and could hope for no rest; and, above all, we might possibly lose our muletto; so we removed our quarters two miles farther, where we slept with great tranquillity.
As soon as day broke we packed up our goods, and filling our calabash with water, we loaded our muletto, and got forward very pleasantly that day and several others following, and had tolerable lodgings. About noon, one day, travelling with great glee, we met an adventure which very much daunted me, and had almost put a stop to my hopes of ever getting where I intended.
Here we fastened our muletto by his cord to a stake in the ground; but perceiving him not to have sufficient range to fill his belly in before morning, we, under Glanlepze's direction, cut several long slips from the mat, and soaking them well in water, twisted them into a very strong cord, of sufficient length for the purpose.
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