like ours, was a great
comfort. Moreover, when it grew colder, they dug a couple of holes in
the ground, about two paces distant from the cages, and having lined
them with flag-stones, filled them with sand. During the day they
burnt charcoal on these hearths, and by sitting close to the grating,
we could warm ourselves without being within reach of the coals. After
a few days, they gave us pipes with very long stems, to the middle of
which they tied wooden balls, which were too large to be drawn through
the pales. In this way we could smoke the pipes, which they filled for
us, as often as we wished, without having the power to draw them into
our prisons. This mistrust of us, raised our indignation to the
highest pitch; but when we expostulated with them, and told them, in
the strongest terms, what a horror and aversion the Europeans
entertained for suicide, they merely laughed, and appealed to their
laws, which enjoined on them the necessity of keeping from their
prisoners every thing with which they could hurt either themselves or
others. For this reason they would never trust us with needles to mend
our clothes, nor even with a pair of scissors to cut our nails,
obliging us to put our hands through the bars of our cages, that the
soldiers might perform the operation for us.

In the beginning of our captivity, they had not allowed us even to
change our clothes or wash our shirts, but now they provided us with
water for that purpose, which relieved one of our most pressing
necessities. They also invited us to get into a tub, in which water
was warmed by means of a pipe connecting with a little oven, and wash
ourselves. I took the lead, and we found that we had all to bathe in
the same water. This arrangement displeased us not a little, as we
held it to be treatment unworthy of the commonest criminals. But we
soon were silent on this point however, for to our great astonishment,
we saw the soldiers who guarded us, follow our example, and without
adding a drop of fresh water, use the same that we had bathed in! and
these soldiers did not by any means hold a low rank in society, but
were highly esteemed by their countrymen.

We had, in the meantime, by the command of the governor, by whose
orders we were supplied with pen and ink, and with the aid of several
interpreters, prepared a written defence which, when finished, we sent
to him. On the fifteenth of November, we were again led into the fort,
but this time with gr