pride of Jamaica for pluck and sailing, when
folks of her character were not so unpopular as of late among the
British Islands; and many a banter passed between her commander and
myself, while I was unsuccessfully waiting till the governor resolved
his conscientious difficulties about the _exchange of flags_. At last
I offered a bet of five hundred dollars against an equal sum; and next
day a bag with the tempting thousand was tied to the end of my
mainboom, with an invitation for the boaster to "follow and take." It
was understood that, once clear of the harbor, the "Aguila" should
have five minutes' start of the Montesquieu, after which we were to
crowd sail and begin the race.

The contest was quickly noised throughout the port, and the captains
smacked their lips over the _dejeuner_ promised by the boaster out of
the five hundred dollars won from the "Yankee nutshell." Accordingly,
when all was ready and the breeze favored, the eastern cliffs of the
Isle were crowded with spectators to witness the regatta.

As we were first at sea and clear of the harbor, we delayed for our
antagonist; and without claiming the conceded start of five minutes,
did not shoot ahead till our rival was within musket shot. But _then_
the tug began with a will; and as the Aguila led, I selected her most
favorable trim and kept her two points free. The Montesquieu did the
same, but confident of her speed, did not spread all her canvas that
would draw. The error, however, was soon seen. Our Chesapeake clipper
crawled off as if her opponent was at anchor; and in a jiffy every
thing that could be carried was sheeted home and braced to a hair. The
breeze was steady and strong. Soon the island was cleared entirely;
and by keeping away another point, I got out of the Aguila her utmost
capacity as a racer. As she led off, the Montesquieu followed,--but
glass by glass, and hour by hour, the distance between us increased,
till at sunset the boaster's hull was below the horizon, and my bag
taken in as a lawful prize.

I did not return to Praya after this adventure, but keeping on towards
the coast, in four days entered the Rio Salum, an independent river
between the French island of Goree and the British possessions on the
Gambia. No slaver had haunted this stream for many a year, so that I
was obliged to steer my mosquito pilot-boat full forty miles in the
interior, through mangroves and forests, till I struck the trading
ground of "the king."