spear wounds
and hacked and chopped about with tomahawks; while the deck was just a
puddle of blood, mixed with sticks of tobacco, pieces of print, knives,
and all sorts of trade goods.

"The first thing I did was to try and hoist the mainsail so as to get
under way, but the black devils had cut away a lot of the running gear,
and the halliards had been severed and lay on the deck, ready to be
taken on shore with the other loot littered about, though the sail
itself had not been damaged. The jib and staysail, also, I could not
hoist: they were lying in a heap on the windlass with a dead nigger on
top, and, further aft, were another two of the gentry, one dead and
one with a smashed thigh bone. I slung the wounded man overboard to the
sharks, and then began to consider what was best to do. The niggers, I
felt certain, would not tackle the cutter again, when they knew I was
safe on board, but I determined to make certain.

"You noticed those two brass three-pounders I carry? Well, the first
thing I did was to load them with heavy charges of round bullets, and
some nuts and bolts. Then I got up a dozen or so of rifles, and plenty
of ammunition, and laid them in readiness on the skylight; for, although
the niggers had turned my cabin upside down when looting the ship, there
were any amount of small arms and various stores in the little hatch
under the cabin table; besides these, I had some more in my own berth in
a locker.

"Just as I was taking a long drink at the scuttle butt, I saw some of
the niggers creeping back to the village through the trees, and watching
what I was doing. I soon let them know.

"The cutter had swung round, and was broadside on to the houses, so
taking the gun on the port side over to the starboard, I secured it
well, and then trained it with the other on the biggest house in the
village--a sort of meeting-house or temple, or some such darned thing.
I can tell you, gentlemen, I felt as if I could laugh when I saw quite
a score of the black swine go into this house, one after another. I had
friction tubes in both guns, and waited for another five minutes; then I
fired them one after another. Whether many or any niggers were killed, I
do not know; but there was a fearful howling, which did me good to hear,
and the front of the house went into splinters under the heavy charges
of the guns, and in five seconds the village was deserted again.

"Before I did anything more for my own safety, I got s