FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   7   8   9   10   11   12   13   14   15   16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   24   25   26   27   28   29   30   31  
>>  
every way well proportioned. He as a man of remarkable strength and resolution, affable, kind and gentle, ruling with equity and moderation. The army of the enemy was large, I should suppose consisting of about six thousand men. Their leader was called Baukurre. After destroying the old prince, they decamped and immediately marched towards the sea, lying to the west, taking with them myself and the women prisoners. In the march a scouting party was detached from the main army. To the leader of this party I was made waiter, having to carry his gun, &c. As we were a scouting we came across a herd of fat cattle, consisting of about thirty in number. These we set upon, and immediately wrested from their keepers, and afterwards converted them into food for the army. The enemy had remarkable success in destroying the country wherever they went. For as far as they had penetrated, they laid the habitations waste and captured the people. The distance they had now brought me was about four hundred miles. All the march I had very hard tasks imposed on me, which I must perform on pain of punishment. I was obliged to carry on my head a large flat stone used for grinding our corn, weighing as I should suppose, as much as 25 pounds; besides victuals, mat and cooking utensils. Though I was pretty large and stout of my age, yet these burthens were very grievous to me, being only about six years and a half old. We were then come to a place called Malagafco. When we entered the place we could not see the least appearance of either houses or inhabitants, but upon stricter search found, that instead of houses above ground they had dens in the sides of hillocks, contiguous to ponds and streams of water. In these we perceived they had all hid themselves, as I suppose they usually did upon such occasions. In order to compel them to surrender, the enemy contrived to smoke them out with faggots. These they put to the entrance of the caves and set them on fire. While they were engaged in this business, to their great surprise some of them were desperately wounded with arrows which fell from above on them. This mystery they soon found out. They perceived that the enemy discharged these arrows through holes on the top of the dens directly in to the air. Their weight brought them back, point downwards on their enemies heads, whilst they were smoking the inhabitants out. The points of the arrows were poisoned, but their enemy h
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   7   8   9   10   11   12   13   14   15   16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   24   25   26   27   28   29   30   31  
>>  



Top keywords:

suppose

 

arrows

 

scouting

 
perceived
 

houses

 

inhabitants

 

brought

 
immediately
 

leader

 

called


remarkable

 

consisting

 

destroying

 

burthens

 

grievous

 

ground

 

pretty

 

Though

 
contiguous
 

hillocks


entered

 
appearance
 

Malagafco

 
search
 

stricter

 

faggots

 
discharged
 
directly
 

wounded

 

mystery


weight
 
smoking
 

points

 

poisoned

 
whilst
 

enemies

 

desperately

 
occasions
 

compel

 

surrender


contrived

 

engaged

 

business

 
surprise
 

utensils

 

entrance

 
streams
 
detached
 
prisoners
 

taking