Our Guide, Rabonga, Who Had Accompanied Us From M'rooli, Had Absconded,
And We Were Left To Shift For Ourselves.
I was determined not to remain
on the island, as I suspected that the boats might be taken away, and
that we should be kept prisoners; I therefore ordered my men to take the
canoes, and to ferry us to the main land, from whence we had come.
The
headman, upon hearing this order, offered to carry us to a village, and
then to await orders from Kamrasi as to whether we were to be forwarded
to Shooa or not. The district in which the island of Patooan was
situated was called Shooa Moru, although having no connection with the
Shooa in the Madi country to which we were bound.
We were ferried across to the main shore, and my wife and I, in our
respective angareps, were carried by the natives for about three miles.
Arriving at a deserted village, half of which was in ashes, having been
burned and plundered by the enemy, we were deposited on the ground in
front of an old hut in the pouring rain, and were informed that we
should remain there that night, but that on the following morning we
should proceed to our destination.
Not trusting the natives, I ordered my men to disarm them, and to retain
their spears and shields as security for their appearance on the
following day. This effected, we were carried into a filthy hut about
six inches deep in mud, as the roof was much out of repair, and the
heavy rain had flooded it daily for some weeks. I had a canal cut
through the muddy floor, and in misery and low spirits we took
possession.
On the following morning not a native was present! We had been entirely
deserted; although I held the spears and shields, every man had
absconded. There were neither inhabitants nor provisions. The whole
country was a wilderness of rank grass that hemmed us in on all sides.
Not an animal, nor even a bird, was to be seen; it was a miserable,
damp, lifeless country. We were on elevated ground, and the valley of
the Somerset was about two miles to our north, the river roaring
sullenly in its obstructed passage, its course marked by the double belt
of huge dark trees that grew upon its banks.
My men naturally felt outraged and proposed that we should return to
Patooan, seize the canoes, and take provisions by force, as we had been
disgracefully deceived. The natives had merely deposited us here to get
us out of the way, and in this spot we might starve. Of course I would
not countenance the proposal of seizing provisions, but I directed my
men to search among the ruined villages for buried corn, in company with
the woman Bacheeta, who, being a native of this country, would be up to
the ways of the people, and might assist in the discovery.
After some hours passed in rambling over the black ashes of several
villages that had been burned, they discovered a hollow place, by
sounding the earth with a stick, and, upon digging, arrived at a granary
of the seed known as "tullaboon;" this was a great prize, as, although
mouldy and bitter, it would keep us from starving.
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