ks started up, and telling our case,
required them to recover the cloak; and to enforce this requisition,
shewed one of his pocket-pistols, which he always kept about him. Upon
the sight of the pistol, the whole company took the alarm, and, instead
of assisting to catch the thief, or recover what had been stolen, began
with great precipitation to leave the place; one of them, however, was
seized, upon which he immediately offered to direct the chase: I set out
therefore with Mr Banks, and though we ran all the way, the alarm had
got before us, for in about ten minutes we met a man bringing back the
cloak, which the thief had relinquished in great terror; and as we did
not then think fit to continue the pursuit, he made his escape. When we
returned, we found the house, in which there had been between two and
three hundred people, entirely deserted. It being, however, soon known
that we had no resentment against any body but Mathiabo, the chief,
Wiverou, our host, with his wife and many others, returned, and took up
their lodgings with us for the night. In this place, however, we were
destined to more confusion and trouble, for about five o'clock in the
morning our sentry alarmed us, with an account that the boat was
missing: He had seen her, he said, about half an hour before, at her
grappling, which was not above fifty yards from the shore; but, upon
hearing the sound of oars, he had looked out again, and could see
nothing of her. At this account we started up greatly alarmed, and ran
to the water-side: The morning was clear and star-light, so that we
could see to a considerable distance, but there was no appearance of the
boat. Our situation was now such as might justify the most terrifying
apprehensions; as it was a dead calm, and we could not therefore suppose
her to have broken from her grappling, we had great reason to fear that
the Indians had attacked her, and finding the people asleep, had
succeeded in their enterprise: We were but four, with only one musquet
and two pocket-pistols, without a spare ball or charge of powder for
either. In this state of anxiety and distress we remained a considerable
time, expecting the Indians every moment to improve their advantage,
when, to our unspeakable satisfaction, we saw the boat return, which
had been driven from her grappling by the tide; a circumstance to which,
in our confusion and surprise, we did not advert.

As soon as the boat returned, we got our breakfast, and we