e in vindicating our banner. When I ventured to hope that _the
men_ would not hesitate to back their officers, a general shout went
up that they were ready to land and punish the negroes.

As soon as the enterprise was known on board the American, her captain
insisted on volunteering in the expedition; and by noon, our little
squadron was under way, with fifty muskets in the cabins.

The plan I roughly proposed, was, under the menacing appearance of
this force, to demand the murderer or murderers of Governor Findley,
and to execute them, either on his grave, or the spot where his corpse
was found. Failing in this, I intended to land portions of the crews,
and destroy the towns nearest the theatre of the tragedy.

The sun was still an hour or more high, when we sailed in line past
the native towns along the fatal beach, and displayed our flags and
pennants. Off the Rio San Joan, we tacked in man-of-war fashion, and
returning southward, each vessel took post opposite a different town
as if to command it.

While I had been planning and executing these manoeuvres, the
colonial settlers had heard of the catastrophe, and found poor
Findley's mangled corpse. At the moment of our arrival off the river's
mouth, an anxious council of resolute men was discussing the best
means of chastising the savages. When my servant inquired for the
governor he had spoken of him as a passenger in the Spanish craft, so
that the parade of our vessels alongshore and in front of the native
towns, betokened, they thought, co-operation on the part of the Mongo
of New Sestros.

Accordingly, we had not been long at anchor before Governor Johnson
despatched a Krooman to know whether I was aboard a friendly squadron;
and, if so, he trusted I would land at once, and unite with his forces
in the intended punishment.

In the interval, however, the cunning savages who soon found out that
we had no cannons, flocked to the beach, and as they were beyond
musket shot, insulted us by gestures, and defied a battle.

Of course no movement was made against the blacks that night, but it
was agreed in council at the American settlement, that the expedition,
supported by a field piece, should advance next day by the beach,
where I could reinforce it with my seamen a short distance from the
towns.

Punctual to the moment, the colonial flag, with drum and fife,
appeared on the sea-shore at nine in the morning, followed by some
forty armed men, dragging their ca