which he did: and
while he was wondering, and looking to see how the creature was killed, I
loaded my gun again. By-and-by I saw a great fowl, like a hawk, sitting
upon a tree within shot; so, to let Friday understand a little what I
would do, I called him to me again, pointed at the fowl, which was indeed
a parrot, though I thought it had been a hawk; I say, pointing to the
parrot, and to my gun, and to the ground under the parrot, to let him see
I would make it fall, I made him understand that I would shoot and kill
that bird; accordingly, I fired, and bade him look, and immediately he
saw the parrot fall. He stood like one frightened again, notwithstanding
all I had said to him; and I found he was the more amazed, because he did
not see me put anything into the gun, but thought that there must be some
wonderful fund of death and destruction in that thing, able to kill man,
beast, bird, or anything near or far off; and the astonishment this
created in him was such as could not wear off for a long time; and I
believe, if I would have let him, he would have worshipped me and my gun.
As for the gun itself, he would not so much as touch it for several days
after; but he would speak to it and talk to it, as if it had answered
him, when he was by himself; which, as I afterwards learned of him, was
to desire it not to kill him. Well, after his astonishment was a little
over at this, I pointed to him to run and fetch the bird I had shot,
which he did, but stayed some time; for the parrot, not being quite dead,
had fluttered away a good distance from the place where she fell:
however, he found her, took her up, and brought her to me; and as I had
perceived his ignorance about the gun before, I took this advantage to
charge the gun again, and not to let him see me do it, that I might be
ready for any other mark that might present; but nothing more offered at
that time: so I brought home the kid, and the same evening I took the
skin off, and cut it out as well as I could; and having a pot fit for
that purpose, I boiled or stewed some of the flesh, and made some very
good broth. After I had begun to eat some I gave some to my man, who
seemed very glad of it, and liked it very well; but that which was
strangest to him was to see me eat salt with it. He made a sign to me
that the salt was not good to eat; and putting a little into his own
mouth, he seemed to nauseate it, and would spit and sputter at it,
washing his mouth with f