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SUFF 
 
 M 
 
 m 
 
 CONTAlf 
 
 riiE ci 
 
 Irlrl'sjicl 
 
 S! 
 
THE ADVENTURES, 
 
 SUFFERINGS AND OBSERVATIONS 
 
 OF 
 
 \i 1 
 
 I 
 
 JAlMES WOOD, 
 
 i 
 
 tJONTAlMNG AMONGST OTIIEU THINGS, A DEJ^CKIPT^U^ OF 
 VARIOUS PLACES LYING liETWEEN 
 
 rilE (.TLIS OF DAllIEN AND ST. LAWKENCK. 
 
 WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THE 
 
 1*1 
 
 I 
 
 MANNERS OF THE INHABITANTS 
 
 OK THE I'LACES DESClUHEl). 
 
 e^l 
 
 iitrisjicrsfd with remarks and cautious to thosf \\\u' lutnid to 
 
 Emigrate. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 •jJMrivlN. MARSILVLL, AND CO.; IPSWICH; BUHTON. 
 
 MDCCCXL. 
 
irswicu 
 
 MUNTKP nV .1. M. HUUION, IMl'KKlAL OFVKK 
 
 \ 
 
( ()i\ TKNTS. 
 
 I 
 
 M 
 
 & 
 
 PAGE 
 
 riitroductiun ...... 
 
 J Till' Autliur resolves to Emigrate uiuler the patronage of 
 a Company — Leaves Ipswich — Receives a FLittering 
 Account of Company's Sett h^ment — His Embarkation 
 for Vera Paz. . . . . - 
 
 II. Account of Voyage - - - • - 9 
 
 III. Setthnnent described — Sufferings there — Goes in search 
 of a better place, but fails— Returns to old one — Ap- 
 pointed Overlooker to a party of Indians — Lives partly 
 upon Monkeys — Visit from Marshal Bennet - 12 
 
 l\'. Second Ship arrives — Writes a Letter, and prevents 
 Emigrants coming to the Settlement — Goes to Tileman 
 — Returns to Settlement — Overlooks a party of Wood- 
 cutters — Description of Beasts and Birds seen in the 
 Woods—Account of different kinds of Wood — Drove of 
 Wild Boars — Want oi Provisions : obtain a supply — 
 Again in Avant of Provisions — Return to Settlement 19 
 
 W Arrival of the third ship, passengers take possession of 
 her; they insist on going to Belize — State of Settle- 
 ment at this time — Makes up his mind to leave - 25 
 
 \ I. Arrives atTileman — Proceeds toClmmekiem — Returns 
 to 'I'ileman — Portuguese Emigrants — Goes to Isabel — 
 Leaves Isabel — Alligators — Port Philip — Gulf of Dulcc 
 — Catches the Fever — Arrives at Belize — (iocs to St, 
 frcorge's Key — Returns io Belize - - - 20 
 
 \4 
 
IV 
 
 I'ACiE 
 
 I I- 
 
 I 
 
 \ II. Cfuitiou to Eini^riuits^Goc'S to Northern Triaiiples to 
 Unload a Stranded N'csscl : retnr;ip — Sail I'nr the Mos- 
 quito Shove — Rattan — A Stdrni — Kcachcs the Cape 
 (iraeios a Dios — Becomes Storekeo])er— Jndian.-i at the 
 ('ape — Store Burnt by Indians— Be.solve.s to Lf;i>r 
 {\ui Moscjuito Siiore ..... 
 
 \ III Loaves the (.'a])( — Description of an Indian Dmue — 
 iMU'ther Cautions to Setllei's — The Musliler lirink — 
 Heaihes Saeraliah— Civility ut" the C!arril>s^Goes li. 
 I'urt Uoyai llarhmii': iinds Mrs. l'opi)h'ton and lu.T Sun 
 — Obtains a passUf^'e to, and reac.'hes B(di/» — A horrid 
 Murder — Leaves B( lize — A Cluise between Iavo Slave 
 Sliips ivud an I''n^li.sh Manwjl'-war — (.iocs !(• lliilitax - 
 
 i\. IJeniMves III llorttni, uith deseription thereot'--'r;ike,-> 
 Shi]) to l'luladel])lua — Stale of that City —(Joes iVoiii 
 1 hence lo St. John's; with aeeount ol' the I'mxiiu-e oi' 
 New Brunswick — State of Maine — Mode ot' makinj- 
 Suirar iVom the Sap ol' the Maple — States in America 
 most suitable for Emiu:ran(s — A Fisiiin'': \'<Aa'ie — Tlie 
 
 >el is Set Fast in the Ice — Arrives at Pr 
 
 nice 
 
 Kd- 
 
 iif) 
 
 I.) 
 
 ward's Ishind — Perseverance of Scotch Settlers — (iocs 
 to Miranuchi — Miseral)le condition of Emifrrants in 
 New Biimswick — Advice to Settlers — Keturns Home -il 
 
i 
 
 (' Mus- 
 ■ Cape 
 s at tlu' 
 
 X} 
 
 )aiict — 
 Jr'w.k — 
 
 GtK'S til 
 
 lu.T ."^"iii 
 ^ linvriil 
 lu SlaM' 
 
 aliiux - 
 
 •--'I'like.^ 
 )cs iVoni 
 i)\iin<' •»! 
 luakiut: 
 America 
 lo-e — TIk' 
 ince Kd- 
 ;rs — (iot's 
 frrants in 
 •lis iliimc 
 
 If) 
 
 ;>/ 
 
 INT1U)D UCTION. 
 
 The object which the author of the tbllowuig j'agcs 
 has ill view, in |)iibhshirig them to tlie world, is partly 
 to ex{)Ose a system ol' injustice and cruelty practised 
 l)y a con'.paiiy of speculators Oii a number ol' indi- 
 viduals and families in a comparatively defenceless 
 condition: and partly to connnunicate to such as are 
 unable to buy large and expensive books, that know- 
 ledge of men and countries i)laced at a great distance 
 from Europe, which he has obtained from travelling, 
 and sometimes from living amongst them. He hopes 
 to accomplish both these purposes by a simple account 
 of his personal adventures, sufferings, and observations. 
 
 i'M 
 
 li;. 
 
 Hi 
 
 i 
 
\ 
 
 I. 
 
 as I Q] 
 and tc 
 being 
 towaiv 
 end o: 
 Orvvel 
 I app] 
 being 
 vvich 
 hearir 
 were 
 accor( 
 obtaii 
 On 
 lads, 
 joinin 
 her pi 
 put i] 
 staten 
 about 
 merl} 
 
N A R K A T 1 V R. 
 
 tl 
 
 I. My parents being in low circumstances, 1 found 
 as I grew up that I should have my own living to seek, 
 and to this end I used my best endeavours : but not 
 being so successful as I wished, I turned my thoughts 
 towards the subject of emigration ; and at the latter 
 end of April, J 836, a ship having entered the river 
 Orwell for the purpose of taking passengers to Canada, 
 I applied for a passage. But immediately afterwards 
 being informed that seven lads were going from Ips- 
 wich to the southern part of North America, and 
 hearing a good account of the place to which they 
 were going, I made up my mind to join them, and 
 accordingly applied for a passage, which I readily 
 obtained. 
 
 On the eighth of May, in company with the other 
 lads, I left Ipswich for London, for the purpose of 
 joining the ship which was waiting there to take in 
 her passengers and cargo. Here I had printed papers 
 put into my hands, containing the most flattering 
 statements concerning the place to which we were 
 about to sail. They stated that the province had for- 
 merly belonged to the Spaniards, that they had given 
 
 B 
 
 »! 
 
it up to a Ilritish i'oni[)iuiy, and that it was to \n' .srt- 
 iKmI uii c'l'ilaiii coiiditions. A spccilu'd miiiil)»'r of 
 si'ttlcrs weiv to ])v st'iit out in a i^ivcii time, lor wlioin 
 liousos wcro already erected hy a \)ody of Indians 
 acting under an ni^cnt sent out lor that [)urpose. 'i'hc 
 ehniate was stated to hi' tenij)t'riite and healthy, and 
 witliin a tew miles ol' sonu* S|)anish towns. The 
 country was said to ahound in hii>h land and line sa- 
 vannahs, with larm' (juantitics of cedar, rosewood, 
 logwood, mahogany, sarsaparella, and other vaiuahle 
 kinds of wood ; hesides pine a[)ples, plantains, hanan- 
 nas, peaches, oranges, and a great variety of other 
 fruits which the soil produc(>d spontaneously. Three 
 crops of Indian corn were to he raised in a year, and 
 coffee, cotton, silk, indigo, and nnmy useful and valu- 
 able articles in addition were to be produced in great 
 abundance. The woods were stated to be full of all 
 sorts of game, especially of wild hogs and antelopes. 
 And as a further encouragement, we were to have the 
 opi)ortunity of purchasing land, when cleared at ten 
 shillings })er acre, and the uncleared at five shillings. 
 
 Three ships were to follow each other, and a steam 
 packet was to foUovv' the first, having a })erson on 
 board belonging to the company, who was to trade 
 between the settlement and Belize, which is the near- 
 est British port. 
 
 The ' Mary Ann Arabella,' a schooner of about 200 
 tons burden, was a^jpointed to sail first, and was lying 
 in the London docks along with the steam packet, 
 which had also her colours flying as if r(\idy to start 
 as soon as she had completed her cargo. On the 
 
to 1)1' srt- 
 luinhrr oi 
 Inr wlioni 
 i Indians 
 osf. Thi' 
 Ithy, and 
 WHS. TIk' 
 11(1 tine sa- 
 rosfwood, 
 i-r valuable 
 ins, hanan- 
 ty of other 
 sly. 'rhri'u 
 a yuar, and 
 ul and valu- 
 u'imI ill groat 
 he full of all 
 lid antelopes, 
 e to have the 
 leared at ten 
 ive shillings. 
 , and a steam 
 a person on 
 was to trade 
 ;h is the near- 
 
 ■ of about 200 
 and was lying 
 steam packet, 
 r(\idy to start 
 irao. On the 
 
 V 
 
 iwelflb, all being in readiness, we cnibarkcd on board 
 the ' Mary Ann,' along with sixty-eight passengers 
 including u omen and children; and we left the Lcjii- 
 don (locks expecting that the steam packi't would 
 follow in a few days, and the other two ships in the 
 (bourse of a few weeks. 
 
 II. My fellow-})asse*ngers were most of them res- 
 pectab'U sort of people, following diU'erent trades, and 
 carrying out with them a little property. We were 
 well pleased with our prospects, and set out on our 
 voyage in good spirits. On Tuesday the thirteenth 
 we left the Downs. On reaching the Bay of Biscay, 
 we had to encounter a head wind and a very rough 
 sea, which made most of us very sick. We reached 
 the island of Madeira on the twenty-eighth, and three 
 days after came within the trade-winds, which, it may 
 be necessary for some of my readers to be informetl, 
 always blow in one direction. We now sailed along 
 by the help of these winds, the porpoises all the while 
 playing round the ship. As we got farther to the 
 south-west we found the heat beginning to increase, 
 but the weather was fine and clear; we were in good 
 health, and amused ourselves as well as we could upon 
 deck. On Saturday, the twenty-second of June, we 
 made the West Indies. When off the island of Ja- 
 maica we were becalmed the whole of one day, and 
 had a fine view of the blue mountains of that island. 
 On the twenty- fifth we ran by the island of Rattan, 
 then by Truxillo on the Spanish main, through the 
 bay of Honduras, and on Saturday, the last day of 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 !i 
 
 4 
 
10 
 
 June, we came to anchor in the bay of Amatique in 
 the gulf of Dulce, which lies on the southernmost 
 part of North America, about 90 west longitude, and 
 15.5 north latitude. At this place there were two 
 ships from England taking in a cargo of mahogany. 
 Here we expected the company's agent would have 
 met us, but found he was not arrived, so that the cap- 
 tain had to go up the river Dulce in search of him. 
 The captain was absent nearly a fortnight, during 
 which time we remained on board the ship. There 
 were but a few huts on the shore occupied by 
 Spaniards, who lived chiefly by fishing. During the 
 time we lay in the gulf, the Spaniards came off to us 
 in their canoes, with pine-apples, plantains, and ba- 
 nannas, which they exchanged with us for different 
 things we had on board; they were almost naked. 
 About the tenth of July our captain returned, and with 
 him came a small schooner, having a black captain 
 and crew, belonging to one Marshal Bennet, of whom 
 farther mention will be made hereafter. This schooner 
 was brought to take us up the river, which has but 
 six feet of water over the bar. Being so small she 
 eould take only part "f us up at a time; it was there- 
 fore agreed that all the young people should go up 
 first. But before leaving this place, some of us 
 took the long boat and went ashore. First we went 
 to the Spaniards' huts, and then we wandered a mile 
 or two into the forest, where we found some sugar- 
 cane growing, and as we had been told that sugar- 
 cane grew wild here, we cut some, not thinking that 
 it belonged to any one; but we soon found we were 
 
 :d 
 
latique in 
 uhernmost 
 itude, and 
 
 were two 
 mahogany, 
 vould have 
 lat the cap- 
 ch of him. 
 ;ht, during 
 lip. There 
 ccupied by 
 During the 
 [ne off to us 
 ns, and ba- 
 for different 
 most naked, 
 led, and with 
 )lack captain 
 net, of whom 
 rhis schooner 
 Kich has but 
 so small she 
 it was there- 
 should go up 
 
 some of us 
 First we went 
 iiidered a mile 
 
 some sugar- 
 d that sugar- 
 ; thinking that 
 ound we were 
 
 U 
 
 mistaken, for the Spaniards took it from us, muttering 
 something in their own language which we did not 
 understand. But when they found we did not know 
 that it belonged to them they gave us some: they 
 also gave us a littl'^^ white rum, of which some of our 
 peoi)le afterwards oought more, and got drunk with it. 
 Once as we were returning to the ship, some of us had 
 a narrow escape from drowning, for just after we had 
 crossed the bar in the long boat, the sea runnhig very 
 high, the captain met us in a canoe, and told us to 
 put back as we could not reach the ship in such a sea ; 
 and on crossing the bar on our return we grounded on 
 a rock. The water began to come over the side ot 
 the boat, and she began to fill ; but we got her off and 
 crossed the bar safely. If we had been on the rock a 
 few minutes longer, we should have been all lost ; but 
 we got ashore safe, and stayed in the Spaniards' huts 
 all night. Next morning we went on board the 
 schooner with our luggage, and proceeded up the river 
 Dulce, which is about fifty miles in length. The land 
 on both sides is very high and covered with wood, yet 
 it was very pleasant. The black captain and crew 
 were slaves, belonging to marshal Bennet, the owner 
 of the schooner, who were very civil and kind to us. 
 We passed through th^ river into a small lake, and 
 sailed across to a Spanish fort, when we hoisted our 
 jack and hove to. The soldiers came on board and 
 drank with our captain ; we then passed the fort into 
 a very large lake, partly surrounded by high rocky 
 mountains. We sailed across this to a small Spanish 
 tx)wn, called Isabel, where we came to an anchor on 
 
 tl 
 
12 
 
 Saturday, the I4th. Our captain with two of the pas- 
 sengers went ashore, where they found the Spaniards 
 sitting on the ground around a fire, cooking their 
 mean provisions, and nearly naked. The captain 
 hired some of them with their large canoes, to take us 
 up the next river. The next morning our captain left 
 us to return to the ship, for the purpose of getting 
 those who had been left behind ready against the 
 return of the schooner ; so we proceeded without him 
 up to the head of the lake with only the black captain 
 and his crew, and anchored for the night at the mouth 
 of the river Pollitique. 
 
 Next day the Spaniards came with their canoes. 
 We got into them, and the schooner returned to the 
 ship for the other passengers. We proceeded up the 
 river with these hired Spaniards ; but we were so 
 tormented with musquitoes that we could not rest. 
 The sides of the river were very swampy, so that we 
 could not go ashore to sleep; we were therefore obliged 
 to stay in the canoes all night, tormented by these 
 flies. We were four or five nights in this situation. 
 On the 20th of July, we reached our destination. 
 
 III. On the bank of the river where we were t(> 
 disembark, stood a number of copper-coloured Indi- 
 ans, almost naked, wearing only a piece of coarse 
 cloth round their middle. A shed had been built bv 
 them to put our luggage in, till such time as it could 
 be carried to the settlement, which was about two 
 miles off*. As soon as we were landed, tl. ,; boats re- 
 turned for the other passengers. We then walked 
 
13 
 
 of the pas- 
 e Spaniards 
 okiiig their 
 lie captain 
 s, to take ns 
 
 captain left 
 [i of getting 
 
 aoainst the 
 
 without him 
 
 black captain 
 
 at the mouth 
 
 their canoes. 
 ;turned to the 
 ceeded up the 
 ; we were so 
 ould not rest, 
 py, so that we 
 erefore ohliged 
 snted hy these 
 
 this situation, 
 estination. 
 
 ere we were to 
 coloured Indi- 
 iece of coarse 
 d heen built by 
 time as it could 
 was about two 
 id, tl. J boats re- 
 'e then walked 
 
 through the road which lead to the settlement. At 
 the very first sight of it we discovered how much w( 
 had been imposed on. It was a wild forest, inhabited 
 by all sorts of wild beasts, and surrounded by rocky 
 mountains, higher than the clouds. We afterwards 
 found it was very subject to storms ; indeed the 
 thunder and lightning were most dreadful, so that the 
 ground would sometimes shake beneath our feet ; and 
 there was nine months' rain during the year. The 
 agent was there, and had hired a body of Indians, who 
 had felled tlie trees, on a space extending about half-a- 
 mile in length and a quarter in breadth, laaving the 
 stumps standing, and the trees lying one across another. 
 The bmsh-wood was slightly burnt off; and a few 
 huts had been erected, with the stumps of trees stand- 
 ing in the middle of them. These were intended for 
 us to live in. We found we had been deceived, but 
 as there was no way of getting to a better place, we 
 were forced to stay ; yet we did not now foresee the 
 sufferings we should have to endure. In a few days 
 the remainder of the people came up, and the first 
 thing that we employed ourselves in, was taking the 
 stum})S up in the huts ; but the fli(>s were as annoying 
 in the settlement as they had been in the river, so that 
 we could not get any rest in the night. This fly, which 
 is about the size of a gnat, would bite through all our 
 clothes, making great holes in our legs, and causing 
 them to swell. The insect called the chigre would 
 also get into our feet, and make us so lame that we 
 could hardly walk. This insect is very small, but it 
 gets hito the feet, and produces a bladder about the 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
14 
 
 size of a pea, which after a time bursts. They filled 
 our feet so full, that we had to take needles and prick 
 them out, or they would have destroyed our feet. The 
 ground was also covered with ants of all sorts, which 
 would get into our huts and swarm our beds ; and the 
 place was also infested with scorpions, which annoyed 
 us continually by getting into our clothes. There was 
 likewise a fly, that would bite and breed a worm in the 
 flesh, called the beef-worm, which grows as large as 
 the end of the little finger, and would torment us in a 
 most dreadful manner. Cock-roaches would also get 
 into our boxes and destroy our clothes. In addition 
 to these sources of incessant molestation and pain, 
 there were also snakes, which in the rainy season 
 would harbour in the thatch of the huts, and some- 
 times drop down upon our beds in the night, when we 
 had to light pine torches and hunt them. There were 
 three sorts, the barber's pole, the coral snake, and 
 th'e tom o goss, or black snake, whose bite is instant 
 death. One of our people, when about to put on his 
 boot, found one of these snakes coiled up inside of it. 
 But besides the sufferings caused by the insects, and 
 the danger we were exposed to from the snakes and 
 the tempests, we had other hardships to endure ; for 
 some of our people caught the fever, which was a bad 
 sort of ague, and made them shake terribly ; and what 
 made our situation much worse was, our having no 
 provisions of any kind, except a small quantity we had 
 carried from the ship. 
 
 We suffered so much from these different things, 
 that we at last begged the agent to take us to another 
 
 meni 
 suffei 
 pack 
 Al 
 forty 
 cam( 
 charl 
 
15 
 
 It hey filled 
 
 f iiiid prick 
 
 feet. The 
 
 brts, which 
 
 Is ; and the 
 
 |ch annoyed 
 
 There was 
 
 worm in the 
 
 as large as 
 
 nent us in a 
 
 uld also get 
 
 In addition 
 
 )n and pain, 
 
 rainy season 
 
 s, and some- 
 
 ght, when we 
 
 There were 
 
 al snake, and 
 
 bite is instant 
 
 to put on his 
 
 p inside of it. 
 
 e insects, and 
 
 le snakes and 
 
 3 endure ; for 
 
 ich was a bad 
 
 bly ; and what 
 
 (ur having no 
 
 lantity we had 
 
 Terent things, 
 us to another 
 
 place; and on Friday, the third of August, he took 
 one Spaniard, five Indians, and ten of the English 
 emigrants, with guns, hammocks, and such other 
 things as he thought would be useful, and ascended 
 the rocky mountains ; but they were so high and so 
 steep that five of our number were obliged to return. 
 The rest of us reached the top about four o'clock in 
 the afternoon; and although on the low grounds the 
 heat was oppressive and sultry, yet on the top of the 
 mountain the temperature was beautifully cool: and 
 as there were no musquitoes, we slung our hammocks 
 upon the trees and enjoyed a good night's rest. In 
 the morning we proceeded on our journey, travelling 
 on a ridge of mountains until we arrived at a most 
 s[)lendid water-fall. Towards night we came to a 
 rivulet, where we erected our huts, but being in dan- 
 ger from the tigers we had to keep watch till the 
 dawn of morning. The declivities of the mountains 
 were so steep that we could not find a })lace for a new 
 settlement, so we returned to the old one, still urging 
 Mr. Fletcher, the agent, to take us to a better place. 
 He told us he could not till the steam packet came 
 out. Our scanty provisions being almost exhausted, 
 we were put on short allowance, and were still tor- 
 mented in a most dreadful manner ; but we bore our 
 sufferings as well as we could, expecting the steam 
 packet every day. 
 
 About the tenth, the agent sent to Cagabon, nearly 
 forty leagues distant, for some Indians; ab at thirty 
 came down, whom the agent set to work, giving me 
 charge of them. They immediately turned to and 
 
 b5 
 
 'III 
 
 i 
 
 n 
 
^i 
 
 1 1 
 
 If) 
 
 cleared the foot of the mountains, throwing the trees 
 down, but leaving a handsome pine here and there 
 standing. Some of the pine trees that were a little 
 hollow, swarmed with small flies almost like flying 
 ants, but harmless, which made a great deal of honey. 
 I have sometimes obtained three pints of honey from 
 one tree. 
 
 The Cagabon Indians are a very industrious and 
 ingenious sort of people, and will endure hunger and 
 great hardships. They go nearly naked, the women 
 wearing only a piece of cloth round their middle ; the 
 men will work for nine-pence per day, a little Indian 
 com and a few black beans, which is their general 
 food. They have little iron pots in which they boil 
 their corn with a little lime, which softens it; they 
 then rub it between two stones and make cakes, and 
 bake them in the ashes, or upon an iron. Sometimes 
 when they have to perform a long journey, they will 
 make enough cakes to last them till its termination ; 
 but the climate being so hot, the cakes often become 
 as sour as vinegar, yet the Indians will live upon them 
 in this state. Their religion is the roman catholic, 
 and they are under the Spanish government. 
 
 Our stock of provisions was now reduced so low 
 that we were forced to go on a hunting expedition, to 
 obtain meat for the settlement. Most of the people 
 were afflicted with the fever, so that a few of us had 
 to provide as well as we could for the whole. It 
 rained so very heavily every day that we could not 
 hunt much, the agent therefore proposed to send the 
 Spaniard, whom he had taken to interpret the Indian 
 
17 
 
 iii^ the trees 
 
 ■e and there 
 
 were a little 
 
 like flying 
 
 yd\ of honey. 
 
 honey from 
 
 ustrious and 
 e hunger and 
 
 the women 
 r middle ; the 
 a little Indian 
 their general 
 hich they boil 
 ftens it; they 
 ake cakes, and 
 
 Sometimes 
 mey, they will 
 ;s termination ; 
 3 often become 
 live upon them 
 Oman catholic, 
 ment. 
 
 educed so low 
 
 f exi)edition, to 
 
 of the people 
 
 few of us had 
 
 the whole. It 
 
 we could not 
 
 sed to send the 
 
 i3ret the Indian 
 
 language, to Tileman for some meat. Tileman is a 
 Spanish colony about sixteen leagues from our settle- 
 ment. About the last day of August he left, and was 
 gone about a week. About this time the agent and 
 myself went out hunting early one morning, taking 
 with us an Indian. After we had gone about tliree 
 miles we fell in witli some quams, or wild turk6:'ys, 
 but shot only one. We went further and shot a mon- 
 key, and tlien proceeded onwards for about eight 
 miles without seeing any thing else; so we determined 
 on returning to the settlement. On our way home 
 the dog stopped and barked at a hollow tree that was 
 lying on the ground. I cut a long stick and ran it in 
 at one end of the tree, whilst the agent stood at the 
 other with his gun. When I put tlie stick in, an ani- 
 mal ran to the other end and was instantly shot by the 
 agent. It was a harmless animal, called a lap, spotted 
 hke a leopard, and about half its size, with legs short 
 in proportion to its body. It was tine eating, better 
 than any fowl. We returned to the settlement witii 
 what we had, but it was not much to divide amongst 
 so many, for we were almost starving. The agent 
 divided the turkey and lap amongst the people who 
 were sick, and gave the monkey to the others, telling 
 them that monkeys were not bad eating, for lie had 
 tasted them himself. Part of the monkey was boiled 
 and part was roasted, and then some began to eat it; 
 this enticed others to do the same, so that nine or ten 
 ate of the monkey, which they would not have done 
 had they not been so short of food as to be driven to 
 eat almost any thing: n.'er this we were glad to get 
 
 h 
 
 I 
 
 f 
 
 in. 
 
18 
 
 even monkeys to eat. About the sixth of September, 
 the Spaniard returned from Tileman without anything, 
 so that we were in a sad, deplorable state, most of us 
 being likely to die of starvation, unless the steamer 
 should happen to arrive shortly with provisions. The 
 Indians brought us some corn from their settlement, 
 and made cakes for us. About September the eighth, 
 Marshal Bennet, whose name has been already men- 
 tioned, came to the settlement. He has a large estate 
 in Guatemala, and came to see if he could induce us 
 to go up the country. He told us that he had got a 
 place at St. o Ronemy, in the province of Guatemala ; 
 that it was a fine country, and much cooler than where 
 we were, and that all sorts of provisions were very 
 cheap; and that if we chose to go up the country and 
 work for him, he would order a lot of mules down to 
 Tilemam to take us up ; he also told us we should 
 have a cow and some land. We asked him what wages 
 he would give ; he said that the regular wages was a 
 real y medio per day, which is about equal to nine- 
 pence in British coin; but to agriculturists he would 
 give a quarter of a dollar, which is equivalent to one 
 shilling per day. Two or three families agreed to go 
 up, as they were determined to get away from the 
 horrid place they were in at present ; but most of us 
 resolved not to go up the country as we had been 
 already deceived; and indeed we began to think that 
 we had been in a manner sold to Marshal Bennet, for 
 it appeared to us impossible to make a colony where 
 we were. We accordingly determined to stay and see 
 if the steamer would come out. Bennet returned to 
 
 m 
 
19 
 
 Isabel, and sent some mules to take the few that had 
 agreed to go up the country. 
 
 IV. About the fourteenth of September, the second 
 ship arrived from England, as we learned from two 
 sailors, who were sent up to the settlement in quest of 
 the agent. We were also told that both the third 
 ship and the steamer were on their passage. When 
 the sailors returned to the ship, I gave them a letter 
 to carry to the passengers on board, and accompanied 
 them to the bo. . with a musket loaded with buckshot. 
 The sailors walked in advance of me through the 
 road ; but were soon stopped by a large serpent which 
 after entwining round the tree had hung its fore part 
 over a branch. I fired at it, and when we had killed 
 it, we found it was about twenty feet long, and nearly 
 as large as my thigh : this kind has no poison. We 
 then proceeded to the boat, when the agent and 
 captain joined us, after which they went to the ship, 
 and I returned to the settlement. I went out hunting 
 almost every day, sometimes I got a wild turkey, a 
 partridge, a wild pig, and now and then a monkey. 
 We lived chiefly upon what we procured by hunting, 
 with the addition of some Indian corn. 
 
 About the thirtieth, the agent came up to the settle- 
 ment, and two of the people with him, who said that 
 the sailors had given my letter to the passengers ; iVi il 
 who, after they had seen the contents of it, sai(' 1^ jy 
 would not come up to the settlement ; upon which 
 the agent told them he would land them at Santa 
 (vruz upon the lakes, where they were accordingly 
 
 W!" 
 
 
 M 
 m 
 
 hv[ 
 
 1" .. 
 
 
 ■'t»^i 
 
'i 
 
 k. 
 
 20 
 
 taken. The agent told us to make ourselves as con- 
 tented as we could for a tew days, as the steamer would 
 soon arrive. 
 
 Aljout the I, 1 of October, the agent determined 
 to send the Spauutrd a second time to Tileman, when 
 I agreed to go with him ; so the agent gave me a letter 
 written in Spanish, and directed to Don Pedro llliva. 
 The Spaniard and T started for Tileman ; I took my 
 musket and some powder and shot with me. We 
 travelled through the forest in a very heavy rain, which 
 liisted all day. In some places the trees were covered 
 with monkeys, which would make a tremendous noise 
 as we passed. At night we erected our hut and laid 
 ourselves down to sleep, leaving a lire burning all 
 night. Next morning we proceeded on our journey 
 through a wild forest without roads, and as it still 
 rained, we had to go through rivers sometimes up to 
 our waists. We reached Tileman about four o'clock 
 in the afternoon ; it is a small cleared place in the 
 forest, about a mile in length, and a quarter in breadth, 
 containing about five hundred inhabitants. I went to 
 Don Pedro Illiva's house, but he was not at home ; so 
 I stayed till the next day and walked about the place. 
 I had not been there long before some one called me 
 in English, and beckoned me to his house. I went 
 in, when he told me that he was from the United 
 States of America, and had come into this country 
 during the war; that he had married a Spanish woman, 
 and therefore could not well get away, or he would go 
 back to his own country. I stayed at his house all 
 day. Towards night, Don Pedro llliva and a Mr. 
 
 a 
 
 '1 
 
 I' 
 
 W( 
 
 hi 
 
 r 
 h r 
 
 w 
 
con- 
 voukl 
 
 when 
 
 letter 
 
 lliva. 
 ok my 
 We 
 
 which 
 Dvered 
 s noise 
 id laid 
 ing all 
 ourney 
 
 it still 
 s up to 
 o'clock 
 
 in the 
 ireadth, 
 went to 
 ime ; so 
 B place, 
 lied me 
 
 I went 
 United 
 country 
 woman, 
 ould go 
 ouse all 
 [ a Mr. 
 
 i 
 
 '^ 
 
 i 
 
 V. 
 
 21 
 
 Pecatly came on a pair of mules ; when I went outside 
 to them, they asked me to the house. Mr. Pecatly, 
 who was an Englishman, asked me it' I was irom the 
 settlement; I gave him the letter lor him to give to 
 Don Pedro lUiva. After they had opened and read it, 
 Mr. l*ecatly then asked me what the people were going 
 to do in the setth-ment ; for, says he, when I brought 
 hlack peoi)le out here, I could do nothing with them. 
 Although 1 had plenty of provisions and clothes for 
 them, yet 1 could not get them to work, much less 
 Englishmen : they never will make a colony there. 
 He gave me a couple of young cows which the Spa- 
 niard took to the settlement; he also gave me a letter 
 for the agent. I assisted the Spaniard with the cows 
 throufjh the forest. We had to swim them across the 
 rivers. W hen we arrived at the settlement, the agent 
 was just going out hunting. He told me that he was 
 going to shoot alligators for the people to eat. He 
 ordered one of the cows to be killed, and it was divided 
 amongst them. Being wet through for nearly a week 
 1 caught the fever, which lasted a fortnight. During 
 the time that I was sick, a Spaniard came U}) to the 
 settlement from Isabel with his canoe. Mr. Gough, 
 one of the settlers, a bricklayer by trade, offered the 
 Spaniard some money to take him and his wife and two 
 children down to the gulf of Dulce. The Spaniard agreed 
 to take them to the sea shore, which he accordingly 
 did. One of the people from the lower settlement 
 eame up with the Spaniard, who told us that the settlers 
 were dying off very rapidly witli the fever, and 
 had nothing to eat but a little rotten Indian corn. 
 
 
 ll.' 
 
 
 P 
 
 M 
 
 If*' 
 
 ' 'hi 
 
 m 
 
 m 
 1 
 
 ji.i 
 
 til 
 
 
i 
 
 ' ■ I 
 
 1 
 
 if 
 
 |1 
 
 22 
 
 which marslial T3onnet suppliinl thorn with. He said 
 that marslial neniiet had Ikhiti trying to get them up 
 the country, promising them fine things as he had 
 already done to us ; and by his fair speech and fine 
 promises, some were enticed, but others could see the 
 snare that was laid to entrap them ; for they said they 
 would rather die where they were, than go up the 
 country to be made slaves. When marshal Bonnet 
 found that he could not prevail upon them to ac- 
 company him, he would not give them any more com ; 
 but those who were willing to go, he took up the 
 country. In this emergency, the agent went down to 
 Isabel to procure provisions for the people in the 
 lower settlement, but all he obtained was some Indian 
 corn, which they were forced to make shift with. He 
 then returned to the upper settlement where some of 
 us were still in a most shockmg state. The children 
 and women were the greatest sufferers, and most of 
 the settlers began to repent of not having taken 
 Rennet's offer; but they were glad afterwards that 
 they did not. 
 
 Towards the end of October, the agent, proposed to 
 cut a temporary road through the forest from the 
 upper to the lower settlement, and hired about forty 
 Cagabon and ten Chumekiem Indians to assist in the 
 work ; we accordingly ground our cutlasses and axes, 
 and began the road. There were five of the settlers 
 (besides a Spaniard, who was employed to interpret the 
 Indian language,) and fifty Indians. The agent went 
 forward with the compass and trace, cutting a few 
 sticks as he went ; whilst I had the command of the 
 
 < 
 
said 
 
 n up 
 
 had 
 
 1 fine 
 
 e the 
 
 they 
 
 the 
 
 Icnnet 
 
 ac- 
 
 com ; 
 
 ip the 
 
 )vvn to 
 
 in the 
 
 Indian 
 
 1. He 
 
 ome of 
 
 lildren 
 
 nost of 
 
 taken 
 
 da that 
 
 iQsed to 
 )m the 
 Lit Ibrty 
 it in the 
 id axes, 
 settlers 
 pret the 
 it went 
 : a few 
 I of the 
 
 I 
 
 •23 
 
 Indians in carrying tlie main road up. We cut tor 
 aboat I'nnr or five days, and then returiu'd to thf settle- 
 ment. Some corn which had been planted tlicre by 
 the Indians before our arrival, being now ripe, we 
 liarvested it, and endeavoured to make out witli that 
 and what meat we could get by hunting. We then 
 returned to the road, loading the Indians with corn, 
 and taking an Indian woman with us to make cakes 
 for us. We made a camp, and had fires burning in it 
 ad night to keep off the wild beasts, for the woods were 
 full of various animals. There were monkeys of 
 different sorts, both large and small, and some with 
 white faces. Large baboons would roar and alarm the 
 forest with their noise. Sometimes they nursed their 
 little ones in their arms, and jumped with them from 
 bough to bough. The agent once shot at one with 
 two in her arms ; she fell to the ground with them, 
 but the young ones extricated themselves from her 
 embraces and ran up the tree again, whilst the old one, 
 being only wounded, attacked the agent, who knocked 
 her down with the but end of his gun, in doing which 
 he broke the stock. The monkeys are very numerous. 
 There were black tigers about the size of a large dog- 
 and on the mountains there were coloured ones. We 
 saw some deer and antelopes, but they were so wild 
 that it was seldom we could catch any of them. There 
 were three sorts of wild hogs; the small sort called 
 warra are about the size of a half-grown hog, but are 
 very fierce; the pecarry is much larger, of a greyish 
 colour, and exceedingly ferocious. The wild boars 
 are very large, going generally in droves of from sixty 
 
 if 
 
 hi 
 
 :'»■' 
 
 K 
 
 
 
 '!"' 
 
i 
 
 It 
 
 I 
 
 l! jli: 
 ■ 'II 
 
 V 
 
 \ 
 
 M 
 
 r I 
 
 24 
 
 to an hundred, and they have tusks as long as one's 
 little finger. Amongst the birds we saw were parrots, 
 macaws, partridges, currasows, wild turkeys, and hum- 
 ming birds. The country produced much excellent 
 wood, such as mahogany, cedar, rosewood, lignumvitae, 
 black ebony, and zebra-wood, which is used for ve- 
 neering, and is of different colours. There is iron- 
 wood, sappadilla, and santamaria or launch wood; 
 logwood, which is used for dying cloth; pitch pine, 
 which we cut up to travel with on account of its burn- 
 ing so readily; there is also sarsaparilla, which grows 
 like a bramble, the roots of which are used as me- 
 dicine. 
 
 We cut the road along part of the moimtains, and 
 then through a swampy place, where we met with a 
 drove of wild boars that turned upon us so that we 
 had to run and leave the road for about half an hour 
 till they were gone, after which we proceeded with our 
 work and cut till we got to the mountains again, when 
 we were at a stand to know what to do. We had to 
 cut over the top of them, and our corn being nearly 
 done we sent some of the Indians for some more ; but 
 we lived chiefly on monkeys, as there was nothing 
 else to be got on the mountains. In the vales we 
 could obtain partridges, wild turkeys, and other things, 
 but there the flies were so troublesome that it was 
 necessary to keep a bough in our hands to brush them 
 away with. We were every day expecting the Indians 
 back with the corn, having at last nothing to eat but 
 monkeys. 
 
 One night after we had returned to the camp we 
 
 I 
 
25 
 
 as one s 
 
 parrots, 
 
 d hum- 
 
 xcellent 
 
 umvitse, 
 
 for ve- 
 
 is iron- 
 
 hwood ; 
 
 ch pine, 
 
 ts burn- 
 
 h grows 
 
 1 as me- 
 
 iins, and 
 et with a 
 ) that we 
 f an hour 
 [ with our 
 lin, when 
 7e had to 
 ng nearly 
 lore; but 
 i nothing 
 vales we 
 er things, 
 it it was 
 ush them 
 e Indians 
 eat but 
 
 camp we 
 
 heard the report of a gun, and fired another in return. 
 It proved to be the Indians, who shortly made their 
 appearance laden with provisions. The captain of the 
 Lord Charles Spencer came with them. He left us 
 however the next day, when we resumed our labour 
 and continued cutting till these provisions were almost 
 exhausted. We then foimd it absolutely necessary to 
 return to the settlement ; during the last three days 
 of our journey we were without food. As I had no 
 shoes, and was rather sick and lame, I and an Indian 
 left the camp a day before the rest that we might ar- 
 rive at the settlement as soon as they. On our way 
 we fell in with a lot of warra, whom we attacked with 
 our cutlasses, for we wanted to get one of them; but 
 they came out of the bush so thick and attacked us so 
 sharply that we had to climb the trees to get away 
 from them, and to stay till they were gone. We 
 reached the camp where we spent the night without 
 any fire, for we had forgotten our fire-works, but we 
 gave a shout now and then to keep the wild beasts off. 
 In the morning we proceeded on our journey, and 
 about eight we met a drove of wild boars; they came 
 after us gnashing their teeth; we ran back until we 
 reached a tree that had been felled, and which in 
 falling had lodged in the crotch of another. We 
 climbed up and sat upon it. They kept us two hours 
 in this uncomfortable situation before they departed. 
 Next day we reached our destination with the rest. 
 
 V. W^e had not returned to the settlement long- 
 before the captain of the Britannia came up, and told 
 
 ¥ 
 
 % 
 
 m 
 
 » ';'' 
 
 fy^u 
 
 ■u 
 
 m 
 
26 
 
 I 
 
 1 
 
 ' I 
 
 us that the third ship was come out with a hundred 
 and twenty passengers, and that the steam packet was 
 not come out yet, but was to sail two or three days 
 after he left. During the time the captain was en- 
 gaged with the agent, as I afterwards learned, Mr. 
 Gough who had gone to the gulf, went on board the 
 ship, in a most deplorable state, with legs swoln and 
 filled with holes, such as I before stated were made 
 by the insects, and half starved. One of his children 
 had also died whilst he was going from the settlement 
 to the gulf. He told the emigrants on board what 
 was the state of the country, and after they had heard 
 his statement they took command of the vessel; and 
 no sooner had the captain come on board than he 
 was collared by a woman, who put him down the cabin 
 and barred him there. They then took off the hatches 
 and brought up the box containing muskets and am- 
 munition. They loaded the muskets and kept guard, 
 determined to fire into any boat that offered the cap- 
 tain any assistance. The agent went down with his 
 servant to the ship, and on reaching it was surprised 
 to see the guards walking the deck. He went along- 
 side the vessel, when the woman asked him who he 
 was; to which he replied that he was the agent of the 
 company. She then invited him on board, and sent 
 him into the cabin to the captain, who advised him to 
 get the passengers on shore as he had no provisions 
 to carry them any further, and as the packet was sure 
 to arrive in a few days. The agent accordingly went 
 on deck and asked the passengers whether they would 
 go on shore and stay till the steamer came out; but 
 
undred 
 ket was 
 
 e days 
 
 ^^as en- 
 
 3d, Mr. 
 
 )ard the 
 
 d\n and 
 
 e made 
 
 children 
 
 tlement 
 
 rd what 
 
 d heard 
 
 sel; and 
 
 than he 
 
 he cabin 
 
 [ hatches 
 
 and am- 
 
 Dt guard, 
 
 the cap- 
 
 with his 
 
 iurprised 
 
 it along- 
 
 who he 
 
 nt.^t'the 
 
 and sent 
 
 id him to 
 
 revisions 
 
 was sure 
 
 gly went 
 
 ey would 
 
 )ut: but 
 
 I 
 
 ,i 
 
 I 
 
 27 
 
 they declared that they would not stir off the deck, 
 for they were determined to go to Belize, which is a 
 British port two hundred miles north from the gulf. 
 The captain said he could not convey them there as 
 he had no provisions; the people then told him that 
 they would take the ship there themselves. The cap- 
 tain seeing that they were resolute, knew not what 
 to do; so he went below to consult with the agent. 
 The agent recommended him to get under weigh, 
 whilst he himself went and obtained some Spaniards 
 to take them ashore by force. With a view to carry 
 out this plan, the agent went on deck and asked the 
 passengers if they would allow him to go on shore 
 provided the vessel was got under weigh and bore for 
 Belize. To this they assented; accordingly the cap- 
 tain ordered the crew to weigh anchor and make sail. 
 The agent then inquired of the people it' they wanted 
 him any more, to which they replied 'yes,' for they 
 wished him to go to Belize with them, suspecting that 
 he had formed some scheme against them. Thus the 
 captain was forced to take the ship to Belize, and the 
 people played "Rule Britannia" as they went. They 
 were about three days on the passage. As soon as 
 they were arrived within sight of the fort, the captain 
 hoisted the ensign as signal of a mutiny. The soldiers 
 from the fort immediately rushed on board and se- 
 cured the passengers. Mr. Gough was allowed to go 
 on shore, when he went to the governor of Belize to 
 sohcit permission to stay there; but the governor told 
 him that he should suffer no ' Britannia* passengers 
 ashore, for they were a set of mutineers; and, said he, 
 
 Ha 
 
 51^1 
 
 
 : M 
 
 ! Uli 
 
 Wis 
 
 
 t'i:; 
 
 hi 
 
 m 
 
28 
 
 V, 
 
 1 1; I 
 
 n: 
 
 i'-i 
 
 I H 
 
 ( t 
 
 II 
 
 '«! 
 
 " I shall have them tried and punished.*' "Begging 
 your pardon," said Mr. Gough, "I am not a Britannia 
 passenger;'" and then giving the governor an account 
 of the settlement, he shewed him his legs. As soon 
 as the governor had heard his statement and seen his 
 legs, he gave him a few dollars with permission to stay 
 at Belize. He also said that he should rehnise the 
 passengers, and would send a message home to let 
 the government know of the affair. 
 
 On the sixteenth of Decemher the agent returned 
 to the settlement. The people in the lower place were 
 dying off very quickly with fever, and had nothing to 
 eat hut rotten Indian corn. The ])eople in the upper 
 place were also in a sad state and very ill. The agent 
 now prepared for cutting the road again, as he wanted 
 to cut it through in order that we might thereby reach 
 Isabel. We cut a few miles and then returned to the 
 settlement. 
 
 About the eighteenth of December the agent sent 
 to Belize for some provisions ; but the cholera being 
 in the town, the Spaniards would not let any thing 
 come u}) as it had to pass through their country; but 
 we obtained a young bullock from Tileman. I ought 
 to have mentioned that the Indians had gone to their 
 settlement till the next year. As there was no appear- 
 ance of the steamer coming out, we tried all methods 
 we could devise to get out of the place, but found 
 them ineffectual. The agent, seeing our determina- 
 tion to de})art, assured us that if the steamer did not 
 come out in a month's time, he would try some means 
 to get us out of the place; so we agreed to stay and 
 
29 
 
 Pegging 
 ritannia 
 account 
 Vs soon 
 seen his 
 1 to stav 
 \ise the 
 e to let 
 
 [•cturned 
 ice were 
 thing to 
 lie upper 
 he agent 
 E; wanted 
 hy reach 
 ed to the 
 
 ^ent sent 
 !ra being 
 my thing 
 [itry; but 
 I ought 
 I to their 
 o appear- 
 . methods 
 »ut found 
 etermina- 
 3r did not 
 me means 
 ► stay and 
 
 s})end the Christmas there. On the tenth of January, 
 1837 the Indians returned to the settlement, when 
 the agent prepared to cut the road again; but there 
 were only three that were able to sustain the fa eigne 
 of labour. The agent asked me to go with him, but 
 I told him that I would not as I had had enough of 
 the road the last time ; he said the sooner we com- 
 pleted the road the earlier we should get out of the 
 place: to this I replied that I was unable to go, and 
 that I was determined to remove to some more advan- 
 tageous spot. I afterwards made up my mind to go 
 to Tileman. 
 
 VI. About the twentieth I left the settlement. I 
 bade the settlers farewell, and with a person named 
 James Canham took my final leave, after having 
 struggled for six months with constant privation 
 and hardship. On Monday we reached Tileman, where 
 I stayed at a Spaniard's house for nearly a month, 
 whilst James Canham went further up the country to 
 a large town called San Miguel in the province of Gua- 
 temala. The Spaniards live in the vales and the In- 
 dians on the mountains. The Indians are called Chu- 
 mekeims ; they are industrious and clean, and all dress 
 in white from head to foot. During my residence at 
 Tileman one of the Indians flogged his wife, who made 
 a complaint to the governor. The governor ordered 
 a long chain, weighing about sixty pounds, to be fas- 
 tened on the husband's leg. It was to remain on a 
 fortnight, although he could go where he pleased if he 
 carried the chain with him. After the fortnight was 
 
 V, 
 
 ' m 
 
 m 
 
 
 r;'i' 
 
 
 '•'./ 
 
 I 
 

 n 
 
 30 
 
 expired the man threatened to leave his wife, but on 
 her saying that she was sorry for what she had done 
 he was again reconciled to her. 
 
 Soon after I left the settlement, four of the lads 
 came with the Indians to Tileman, three of whom went 
 further up the country, whilst the other stayed behind; 
 but he was not long for this world, for going into the 
 water to bathe, as is the custom in that country, he 
 ventured rather too far, so that the rapid current 
 carried him away, and he was drowned. He was a 
 serious (juiet lad, and attended to those things which 
 are necessary to secure future happiness. The people 
 with whom he lived were very I'ond of him ; they 
 dressed him after his death, and performed their pecu- 
 liar ceremonies over him, burying him after the 
 manner of the lloman Catholics. Two of the other 
 lads that went up the country died at Salamar. 
 
 I was told that Marshal Bennet, who had taken 
 some of the people out of the settlement and carried 
 them up the country, used them very ill in not giving 
 them enough to eat, whilst the people amongst whom 
 they lived were very treacherous; but they were so 
 far up the country that they could not return. One 
 of the settlers lost his wife and seven children there. 
 Several others shared a similar fate. When Marshal 
 Bennet found that the English could not stand the 
 climate, he sent to Portugal for some Portuguese. 
 
 I left Tileman about February the tenth, and pro- 
 ceeded to Chumekiem further up the country, which 
 place I reached about the thirteenth. It is a Spanish 
 town, containing about three thousand inhabitants. 
 
 i'\> 
 
31 
 
 I, but on 
 had done 
 
 [' the lads 
 horn went 
 id behind: 
 g into the 
 )untry, he 
 id current 
 
 He was a 
 ings which 
 rhe people 
 him ; they 
 their pecu- 
 
 at'ter the 
 [■ the other 
 mar. 
 
 had taken 
 and cairied 
 1 not giving 
 ongst whom 
 ley were so 
 3turn. One 
 Idren there, 
 len Marshal 
 Dt stand the 
 tuguese. 
 th, and pro- 
 iintry, which 
 is a Spanish 
 
 inhabitants. 
 
 It IS a neat place, with small plantations full of mango 
 and orange trees. There also are grown pine apples.^ 
 from which an excellent beverage is made; also maize, 
 water nu !on>i, and peaches : and the place is remarkable 
 for a chain bridge. The inhabitants are rigid l^)man 
 Catholics, as they are in all S})aiii.sh America, and are 
 chiefly governed by tlunr priests. They are ignorant 
 and treacherous, and if they murder any one it is 
 seldom they are punished, for they can go to the priest 
 and obtain pardon by paying money to him ; so that 
 they murder and rob each other, and little is thought of 
 it. Their shops are open all Sunday long, and so are 
 their markets ; but as soon as the convent bell rings, 
 they go down upon their knees and do penance, and 
 when the ceremony is over they return to public 
 business ; the priest resorting to the gambling table, 
 and the robber to his former sports. When any of 
 them go to the priest to have their sins forgiven, the 
 priest inflicts such a punishment as he pleases upon 
 them ; sometimes ordering them to go through the 
 town upon their knees, and receive a certain number 
 of stripes as they go. The people, as I before re- 
 marked, are entirely governed by their priests. During 
 the whole time I was amongst the Spaniards, I never 
 saw a bible in their j)ossession. 
 
 Wages being very low and clothing expensive, (it 
 cost me twelv(! shillings for a shu't) and provisions bad, 
 and not liking the people, I determined not to stay 
 any longer, nor to proceed further up the country ; so 
 about the twentieth I set oil' on my way back to Tile- 
 man, intending to go from thence to Belize as soon as 
 
 %}] 
 
 'h 
 
 mK 
 
 m 
 
 m 
 
 til'. 
 
 c: 
 
 ■ I--, 
 
 Hi' , 
 
 !■" ^ 
 V* i' 
 
 1(4'; 
 
 I 
 
 u 
 
 "''.(I 
 
 
II 
 
 ! I '• 
 
 I ' 
 
 f i 
 
 32 
 
 [ could. I arrived at Tileman on the twenty-second. 
 Two of the lads had come from tlie settlement and 
 were staying in Tileman ; they told me that the agent 
 had got throngh with the road to Santa Cruz, but the 
 remaining settlers were still in a most shocking state, 
 and were trying to get to Belize. Only one of the 
 lads out of the seven who left Ipswich with me, now 
 remained in the settlement. One of the two lads 
 went u}) to Guatemala. During my stay in Tileman, 
 several boats or large canoes came up filled with 
 Portuguese, being all males. It seems that a ship had 
 come from Portugal with four or five hundred, and 
 the canoes brought them up in divisions as they did 
 us ; they were for Marshal Bennet, and his agent was 
 with them. I told the Portuguese the state of the 
 country, and how the English had suffered, but they 
 would not listen to me, and said that English did not 
 care to go up, but Portuguese did ; I told them to do 
 as they please, but said, you will repent of going up. 
 March the 3rd, as the Spaniards were about to go 
 down with their canoes to Isabel after the Portuguese, 
 I asked for a passage, which I readily obtained, for 
 myself and the lad that was with me : on going down 
 the river we passed sand-banks with large alligators 
 sunning themselves upon them. In the night we 
 hauled up the canoes on one of these banks, and stop- 
 ped till the morning. Two large alligators were lying 
 not a stone's throw from the place where we slept ; I 
 awoke Stephen Watts, the lad who vras with me, and 
 showed them to him; he ran under the Spaniard's tent, 
 and the alligators being disturbed, ran into the water. 
 
 worst 
 
 live 
 
 brouj 
 
 perso 
 
 gany 
 
 and 
 
 and 
 
 the p 
 
second, 
 lent and 
 he agent 
 but the 
 iig state, 
 of the 
 me, now 
 two lads 
 Tileman, 
 led with 
 ship had 
 lied, and 
 they did 
 agent was 
 te of the 
 but they 
 sh did not 
 lem to do 
 going up. 
 out to go 
 3rtuguese, 
 ained, for 
 Ding down 
 alligators 
 night we 
 , and stop- 
 were lying 
 /e slept ; I 
 h me, and 
 iard's tent, 
 the water. 
 
 .a 
 
 33 
 
 Next morning we proceeded down the ri\er, and got 
 into the Polliti(pie, a few miles below the; settlement 
 that I first went to. We reached Isabel about the 
 ninth, where I fell in with the remaining })e()ple from 
 Santa Cruz; they were very sick, and in a sad state. 
 There was a schooner from Bohze, so I ;isked the 
 cajitain for a passage, and he would not give me one ; 
 but as I was determined to move, I agreed with a gen- 
 tleman to join his party, who were about to go into 
 his maliogany works ; and on the fourteenth left Isabel 
 for Port Philii), with some Spaniards, who were going 
 there in a canoe. We stayed there a few days, after 
 which we got into a snitill schooner and started for the 
 Gulf of Dulce. One of the Spaniards fell sick, and 
 died on board the ship ; he was taken ashore and 
 buried like a dog. In a few days we reached the gulf, 
 there was one shij) lying at anchor, taking in mahogany. 
 During my stay at the Gulf of Dulce, I caught the 
 fever, and was very sick ; but there was a Mrs. Popj)le- 
 ton there, who went out in the same ship with me 
 from London ; she was a widow with two sons, the 
 younger was up the country, and the elder at the gulf 
 with her ; but she also was very sick. I was getting 
 worse every day, and it was not expected that I should 
 live ; but it seems as if the hand of Providence had 
 brought on my si(;kness to preserve my life ; for the 
 [person with whom I engaged was going to cut maho- 
 trany in a wild swampy })lace, which was very unhealthy, 
 and where a great many people had lost their lives, 
 and if 1 had gone I should most likely have lost mme : 
 the place is called San Francisco. Being so ill, they 
 
 S? 
 
 i 
 
 
 llil 
 
 hi 
 
 , 'I" 
 
 B\ 
 
 
 ■:>*'\ 
 
 M 
 
 m 
 
 
 Mil 
 
"(" 
 
 '|:.j 
 
 fl 
 
 I i 
 
 i ! 
 
 f 
 
 i , 
 
 ■\ 
 
 hi 
 
 i; 
 
 i 
 ' 
 
 IK 
 
 
 
 ! 
 
 i 
 
 ^^ 
 
 34 
 
 were oblifrcHl to leave me at the Gulf of Dulee, and I 
 stayt'd there till a small sehooner came down from 
 I.sal)el, the captain of which gave me a pa.ssa<^e to Ik'- 
 lize ; we were seven days on the passage, and reached 
 Belize about the fourteenth of April; this was the lirst 
 time of my being in a British [)()rt after leaving Eng- 
 land. As I was verv sick durinix niv stay in Belize, 
 I got a light situation in a large store. 1 soon found 
 out Mr. (lOugh, and some of the settlers who had been 
 carried out in the third shi]) ; but most of them had 
 gone to the United States ; those few that were in 
 Belize were very sick, and were dying off very fast ; 
 those that had a little property were trying to get ofli' 
 to the United States. I was so ill that I was obliged 
 to leave my situation. During my stay at Belize I 
 attended a Baptist cha})el, where Mr. Andiuson had 
 collected a large congregation of blacks, and a number 
 of white people : there were day and Sunday schools 
 connected with the chapel. 1 here is also a W esleyan 
 chapel, and a cluirch : but the place is very unhealthy, 
 and the water is bad, the ground being very low and 
 swampy, and the place very hot. 
 
 Being so very sick, I left Belize for St. George's 
 Key, an island about forty miles from that place. 
 It is a spot employed for bathing, in which the gentry 
 stay in the dry season. It is a sandy isliind, about a 
 mile in length and a furlong in breadth, and has no 
 good water. The hihabitants are inider the necessity 
 of having tanks to catch the rain-water. Large parts 
 are covered with cocoa-nut trees. It is a healthy 
 island, for there is almost always a sea breeze blowing 
 
% and I 
 Ml from 
 ' to Be- 
 icju'hod 
 the first 
 iio' Eng- 
 Iklize, 
 )ii foiind 
 \iu\ been 
 leni had 
 were in 
 /cry fast ; 
 to get oft* 
 IS obliged 
 Belize I 
 u-son had 
 a number 
 ay schools 
 I Wesley an 
 unhealthy, 
 1 y low and 
 
 t. George's 
 hat place, 
 the gentry 
 id, about a 
 nd has no 
 le necessity 
 Large parts 
 5 a healthy 
 ?ze blowing 
 
 35 
 
 over it. After T liad recovered niv healtli a Htfle, 1 
 returned to Belize again, and went to my former situ- 
 ation, whi're i stayed till the latter part of July. Th( 
 remaining settlers from both the settlr^mcnts, with the 
 exce[)tion of one or two, now ame to Belize; but they 
 were few in number, many having been taken oft' by 
 disease. The inhabitants behavcil well to them. 
 
 VII. 1 should wish in this place to give a caution to 
 those who may think of going as emigrants to a foreign 
 country. Let them not go, till they have learned 
 from good authority, where the place is to which they 
 are invited, and what is its state as to heat, forwardness 
 in cultivation, and preparation to receive settlers. They 
 should also, if going under a company, make sure that 
 the persons who form that company are men who can 
 , be relied on, not only for humanity, but also for such 
 a knowledge of business, as would prevent their being 
 misled by others, who would draw them into a bad 
 speculation. For if they do not attend to these things 
 they may be exposed, as we were, to all sorts of cruel 
 hardships, and either by an unhealthy climate, or a 
 want of foresight in the managers, and conse(juent bad 
 arrangements, have their lives made miserable, and 
 perhaps cut off" in the midst of their days. 
 
 On Saturday, the fifth of August, 1837, I left Belize 
 to assist in unloading a vessel called the Barbadoes 
 Planter, which had been wrecked with a carero of 
 mahogany on board, and which had run ashore at a 
 place called the Northern Triangles, about two hundred 
 miles north-east of Belize. We left Belize in a small 
 
 h' 
 
 M 
 
 i 
 
 k.'l 
 
 il 
 
ii 
 
 ' I 
 
 
 ,11 
 
 36 
 
 schooner on .Sim<lav, » itli a liciicl wind mid a I rcmciKlous 
 sea, wliich wjihIuhI clean over hiT decks. TIicih; were 
 two or three other Hcliooiiers heating tor tlic wreck 
 whicli were ohliged to put back ; hut the captain whom 
 I was with determined to persevere. On Tues(hiy 
 afternoon we had a dreadl'ul thunder storm : as the 
 captain was hoUling the peak and tln'oat halyards with 
 me, the lightning struck him and he tell to the deck; 
 it also stnick me on the arm so that J let go, and down 
 came the mahisail ; but neither of us was hurt. On 
 Wednesday wo reached the wreck. We turned to 
 and first cut out her stern, after which we* began to 
 heave out the mahogany and raft it. On Friday, a 
 brig came up to take the mahogany, anchorini;' at some 
 distance from us. On Saturday we had a dr(>adl'ul gale, 
 the sea coming broadside npon the wreck, the schooner 
 being anchored under her lee-side. T^iv^ captain pulled 
 off his clothes to his flannel, and jumping over board, 
 swam to the schooner along with a black man, to take 
 us off the wreck hi case she should tiireaten to go to 
 pieces ; but she weathered the gale, and we got all her 
 mahogany out. We then returned to Belize, which 
 we reached about Monday the twenty-eighth. 
 
 At this time, the captain's brother asked me to go 
 and take care of a store for him upon the Mosquito 
 shore, which I agreed to do. He told me that he was 
 cutting mahogany there. When he had loaded a 
 schooner with provisions and dry goods for the ma- 
 hogany works, we left Belize for the Mosquito shore, 
 Cape Gracios a Dios, (which in English means cape 
 thank God) which hes about seven hundred miles to 
 
 gan 
 Dal 
 
 |, II !,• 
 
KMUIOUS 
 
 •It; were 
 \r vvivck 
 ill whom 
 Tuesday 
 : as thu 
 ids with 
 u' deck ; 
 lid down 
 art. On 
 iinied to 
 hejj^an to 
 Friday, a 
 o- at some 
 idl'ul gale, 
 schooner 
 ain pulled 
 ver hoard, 
 ill, to take 
 11 to go to 
 got all her 
 ize, which 
 li. 
 
 [ me to go 
 Mosquito 
 :hat he was 
 . loaded a 
 or the ma- 
 [uito shore, 
 neans cape 
 ed miles to 
 
 37 
 
 the H0uth-(!ast of Helize. On Saturday, the ninth ot 
 September, we made the island of Uattaii, or Uautau. 
 where we put in. It is a most beautiful island sur- 
 rounded with cocoa-nut trees, and has two (\ne harbours, 
 with plenty of (ish all round the island. It was for- 
 merly a resort for pirates, but is now inhabited by a 
 few English, Irish, and Scotch settlers. It is the l)est 
 of land, never re(piiring manure, and though a hot 
 climate it is healthy, a sea hreeze almost always blow- 
 ing in. The main island is surrounded by a number 
 of smaller ones, hi which the settlers have built some 
 houses. It is claimed both by the English and the 
 Spaniards. It is about fifty miles in length, and tifteen 
 in breadth. Beautiful shells and turtle abound on the 
 coast, and wild hogs in the bush. From that island 
 we sailed to the main after some Carrites for the maho- 
 gany works. We got about twelve men on board, when 
 we made sail for Cape Gracios a Dios ; but about ten 
 o'clock at night a heavy breeze set in from the south- 
 east, a dead iwad-wind, which obliged us to put back 
 to the island of Bonacco, which is very mountainous 
 and covered with cocoa-nut trees. We made another 
 attempt, but were unsuccessful, for we had to put back 
 again to the same island. In a few days the wind 
 shifted, and we ran to the main again ; then running 
 along the coast with a land breeze, we reached the 
 cape the last day of October, or the first of November. 
 I took the store till Christmas, and the schooner 
 returned to Belize. There were three gangs of maho- 
 gany cutters. Mr. Peddie, a Scotchman, and Mr. 
 Daly, an Enghshman, and a black man, were placed 
 
 
 > 
 
 I: 
 
 » "in 
 
 m 
 
 k 
 
 Mm 
 
 ■Mf 
 
 ■m 
 
m ■( 
 
 ij 
 
 !l .. 
 
 38 
 
 over the gangs, and 1 had the supplying of theni out 
 i)f the store with provisions, I had in the store tvv^o 
 hundred barrels of flour, one hundred barrels of pork, 
 and seventeen kegs of rum, besides dry goods, such as 
 ginghams and prints, cotton, fish-hooks and other 
 things. The rum was a dangerous thing in tlie store, 
 for the Indians will kill a man for the sake of a glass 
 of rum, and there were only five Europeans on the 
 cape. I had a demijohn of brandy for the Indian king, 
 but he was gone up the river. He and his brother 
 were taken from the Mosquito shore when young, and 
 carried to the island of Jamaica, where they were taught 
 to read and write the English language. After staying 
 there for several years they were brought back to the 
 Mosquito shore. One was made king, the other a 
 general, and although brought up in a civilized state, 
 yet they returned to the wild and savage habits in 
 which their [)eople live; getting drunk and giving 
 themselves up to most disgusting practices. No 
 sooner had the king heard I had a demijohn of brandy 
 for him, than he set out to return home. He went to 
 the house of a Frenchman named Bouchet, who came 
 down to the store and told me his majesty wished to 
 see me, I went up to the house where the king was 
 lying on a bed rather unwell. I made my compliments 
 to him, and asked how he did; he told me he was very 
 poorly, and that he wanted me to draw him a gallon of 
 brandy. Accordingly I went down to tlie store and 
 drew him a gallon, which I carried to him. Me asked 
 me to drink, and stay and dine witli liiin, wliich I did. 
 He told me that he loved me; 1 replied you love the 
 
 risl 
 
 UK 
 
 mil 
 
 SU] 
 
 
39 
 
 then* out 
 store two 
 Is oi' pork, 
 Is, such as 
 uid other 
 the store, 
 of a glass 
 ms oil the 
 ndianking, 
 his brother 
 young, and 
 were taught 
 Lfter staying 
 back to the 
 the other a 
 vihzed state, 
 I ere habits in 
 ; and giving 
 ictices. No 
 ihn of brandy 
 Ho went to 
 let, who came 
 •stv wished to 
 ! the king was 
 r comphments 
 le he was very 
 lini a gallon of 
 the store and 
 m. He asked 
 1, which I did. 
 d vou love the 
 
 \ 
 
 brandy better; but I turned it off with a laugh, or he 
 would have been offended with me. He stayed for 
 two or three days, and then left for Blue Fields. These 
 Indians far exceed all the Indians I have ever met with 
 in lying, thieving, and every thing that is disgusting. 
 They are given up to idolatry, and live an indolent 
 life. 
 
 What is termed the Mosquito shore is about eight 
 hundred miles in length and two hundred in breadth, 
 being chiefly a level country, with fine pine ridges and 
 large savannahs ; besides several large lakes, filled 
 with a great variety of fish, and the sea-shore abounds 
 with turtle. The ox-bill turtle is that from which the 
 shell is obtained, of which tortoise-shell combs are 
 made. The green turtle is that which is eaten. The 
 Mosquito men are very expert in the use of the har- 
 poon in striking fish. They stay at home till hunger 
 drives them out, and then they go and catch as many 
 fish as they can. The women go to the plantations 
 and dig the roots of the casada, which eat something 
 like potatoes, some of which grow a yard in length and 
 as big round as a carrot. After they have collected as 
 much as they can get together, they turn to and eat 
 day and night. They are very superstitious in their way. 
 There is a fish called the manatee which has breasts 
 like a woman, and which is supposed to have given 
 rise to the notion of the mermaid. The Mosquito 
 men strike them with their harpoons, and if they have 
 much trouble in taking them they ascribe it m their 
 superstition to the unfaithfulness of their wives, whom 
 on such occasions they treat with a degree of severity 
 
 cr> 
 
 L;';|l. 
 
 Nifi 
 
 'Jill 
 
! '* 
 
 '!« 
 
 I! 
 
 '( 
 
 1' 
 11 
 
 I I 
 
 bH 
 
 V k 
 
 40 
 
 corresponding with their supposed deserts. They 
 beheve there is a God, but that he is so good he will 
 not punish them nor bring death upon them. They 
 believe that the devil is the cause of sickness and death. 
 As soon as any are taken ill, the natives refuse to let 
 any one pass to windward of them, and compel all to 
 go leeward; they usually remove the sick man out of 
 the settlement into an out-house, and then the sookear- 
 man, or doctor, goes in the hut and sings out ' yahoi 
 hoi hoi,' as loud as he can, the whole night long. I 
 sometimes could not sleep for them. On one occasion 
 I got out of bed and went to the hut where one of 
 them was making this noise, and asked him why he 
 did so ; he replied " woman sick, no well.' " That is 
 enough to make her ten times worse than she is,"' said I, 
 " making such a noise as that." " It drives em devil 
 away," said the poor ignorant man. Such is the 
 ignorance of these people ! And when the person dies 
 they cut a canoe in two, paint it, put the body into one 
 part, and placing the other part on the top, carry it to 
 the grave, the parents following with ropes round 
 their necks, drawing them so tight that their faces are 
 black from suffocation. Others stand by to take them 
 off. They bury the pot which had been used by the 
 deceased for cooking, and a bottle of milk, also the 
 clothes of the deceased; they then return home. 
 
 They are also great drunkards, and are never easy but 
 when they arc dmnk. One night when I was asleep 
 they took one of the stockades out of the store, and 
 were drawing off a keg of rum, when 1 awoke and 
 jumped out of bed with my pistols. They yaw off, l)Ut 
 
 by 
 the 
 Hsi 
 th« 
 no| 
 to 
 
 pr 
 
 i! I 
 
They 
 (1 he will 
 They 
 nd death, 
 'use to let 
 pel all to 
 an out oi' 
 
 sookear- 
 ut ' yahoi 
 t long. I 
 i occasion 
 ere one of 
 n why he 
 
 '' That is 
 is,"' said I, 
 s em devil 
 ich is the 
 person dies 
 ly into one 
 , carry it to 
 )pes round 
 ;ir faces are 
 J take them 
 ased by the 
 k, also the 
 10 me. 
 
 ver easy but 
 [ Wcis asleep 
 e store, and 
 
 awoke and 
 
 ran off", but 
 
 41 
 
 if they had not I durst not have shot at them, for they 
 would have come down and burned the store and me. 
 I therefore put up the stockades and sat up till the 
 morning. I afterwards fired a musket every night, 
 and kept a light constantly burning, to let them know 
 that I was prepared for them. 
 
 The Indians are very revengeful, never forgiving an 
 injury, but they never forget a kindness that you do 
 them. There was a black man who had obtained a 
 grant to cut mahogany ; he hired some of these men and 
 sent them up the river for that purpose ; but he used 
 to flog them, and did not pay them half their due, and 
 when they ran away he would go and tell their king 
 who would have them flogged. These Indians make 
 beautiful canoes. I have seen some of them seven 
 feet on the beam and fifty feet long. A Mr. Neal took 
 one of them from the Indians and hauled it up along- 
 side his house ; but it was a fatal day for him, for the 
 Indians were determined to be revenged. This act ot 
 Mr. Neal leads me to remark, that the English on these 
 shores are almost as bad as the natives, and live in 
 almost as disgusting a manner. The bible, the only 
 sure source of happiness, is seldom or never looked at 
 by them. Some have taken the Indian women for 
 their wives ; most of whom can talk broken Eng- 
 lish. A missionary went there to preach to them, but 
 the Indians said, "what use all this talk? no give us 
 no grog to drink." There is no one on the shore now 
 to instruct them. 
 
 But to return to my former subject, Mr. Neal was 
 preparing to go to Belize, and a man of war having 
 
 'i ^ 
 
 /:a, 
 
 i'i'; 
 
 ! t».- 
 
 ill' J 
 
 ; 'ii'l 
 
If !'if"*^ 
 
 I 
 
 ii 
 
 ! I 
 
 w 
 
 i 
 
 % 
 
 42 
 
 coiiK,' to the Cape for the king, the governor being 
 
 desirous of seeing him, Mr. Neal and the king went 
 
 down to Belize in her, the former leaving his wife and 
 
 cliildren at the Cape, and Ca})tain Jinnet his foreman. 
 
 There was at the Cape a Mr. Bouchet, a Frenchman, 
 
 and a Mr. Daly. Daly, Jinnet, Bouchet, and myself, 
 
 were the onlv white men on the shore. After Mr. 
 
 Neal and the king had left, the Mosquito men having 
 
 determined to take revenge upon Mr. Neal's family for 
 
 what he bad done to them with respect to ihe canoe, 
 
 about thirty of them came down with their bows and 
 
 arrows, and lances, and proceeding to Mr. Neal's 
 
 house, they threatened to kill the family, and burn the 
 
 house : they then left, taking the canoe with them. 
 
 Captain Jinnet came to me and said they were about 
 
 to kill all the people at the Cape, and asked me to 
 
 assist him ; I replied that it was all Mr. Neal's fault, 
 
 and that I would not help him if he meant to attack 
 
 them; for if I did they would destroy the store and 
 
 take my life ; but in order to prevent bloodshed, I 
 
 would go to them and see what cou' 1 be done : then 
 
 giving Captain Jinnet a musket loaded with buck-shot, 
 
 and telling him to go and acquaint Mr. Daly and Mr. 
 
 Bouchet of the affair, I put a brace of pistols into my 
 
 bosom, and went to meet the Indians ; I met them 
 
 on the shore armed with bows and arrows, and lances; 
 
 they struck their lances into the sand, saying, "Nasty 
 
 English, this no Englishman's country, this Mosquito 
 
 mens country, we kill em, every Englishman on the 
 
 cape. That niggar-man, (referring to Mr. Neal) hire 
 
 Mosfjuito men, no pay em, send em up river, no give 
 
 ail 
 
43 
 
 r being 
 
 icr went 
 
 nfe and 
 
 oreman. 
 
 u'hnian, 
 myself, 
 
 t'ter Mr. 
 having 
 
 Lunily for 
 
 e canoe, 
 jows and 
 V. Neal's 
 
 burn the 
 ith them. 
 
 ere about 
 N.ed me to 
 eals fault, 
 t to attack 
 
 store and 
 >()dslied, 1 
 :>ne : then 
 buck-shot, 
 ly and Mr. 
 )ls into my 
 met them 
 and lances ; 
 ig, "Nasty 
 s Mosquito 
 lan on the 
 
 Neal) hire 
 
 or, no give 
 
 em nothing to eat, and take big canoe.'* I went up tu 
 them and enquired what they meant by saying that 
 they would kill all the Englishmen on the Cape? they 
 said, "What business have Englishman with Mosquito 
 men's business?" I said, "Who protect you from 
 the Si)aniards ? Who bring you harpoons, and beads, 
 and fish hooks, and axes, don't p]nglishmen ? Would 
 not the Spaniard put big chains round your legs, and 
 take you away and make you work like horses? What 
 would you kill Englishmen for?" "Well," said they, 
 "you know that nigger man hire Mosquito, no pay 
 him." We were now got in sight of Mr. Bouchet's 
 house, and were joined by Captain Jimiet and Mr. 
 Bouchet, the latter armed with a double-biiiTelledgun, 
 the former with tne musket I had lent him: Mr, Daly 
 also came armed with a gun. Captain Jinnet pointed 
 to one of the Mos(juito men, saying, " That's the man 
 that took the canoe :" The Indian flew up to him and 
 wrung the niusi t out of his hands ; the others at the 
 same time lifted up their lances. I pulled out my pis- 
 tols, for I expected we should be killed ; but the chief 
 came up to me and said, " We no want to hurt 
 Englishman, but you know that Mr. Neal take em one 
 canoe, we owe him notliing; he hire Moscjuito men, 
 no pay em ; you come to Mr. Bouchet's yard, and let's 
 have little bit of talk." We then went up the yard, 
 where I advised them to go away quietly, promising 
 that if Mr. Neal had done any thing wrong, or owed 
 them any thing, he should pay them when the king 
 came back from Belize. "Well," said they, "you 
 give us little bit rum, then we will go." So T went to 
 
 I'-'ji 
 
 
 '. ii'. 
 
 y 
 
 
I 
 
 
 i.j . m 
 
 r\ 
 
 m 
 
 W 
 
 I' I 
 
 I' I ! 
 
 44 
 
 the store and drew a gallon of rum for them, and made 
 them promise not to drink any till they got home, by 
 which means I got them off. 
 
 At Christmas time a schooner came up to Belize 
 with Mr. Cox and the king. Mr. Cox asked me how 
 I got on with the store ; I told him the affair, and in- 
 formed him that I could not stay any longer, for I 
 valued my life more than the store ; but he urged me 
 to stay, as he had no one else to take the store ; I at 
 last agreed to stop two months longer. During the 
 period that Mr. Cox was at the Cape, Mr. Daly drew 
 up a petition to the Queen of Great Britain, to send 
 soldiers to the shore for the protection of British pro- 
 perty ; to send school-masters to instruct the young 
 people; missionaries to teach religion ; and emigrants 
 to colonize the place. This petition was signed by all 
 the Cape, and then sent to Behze, where it was signed 
 by the governor. In January the king was almost 
 killed by one of his own people, who seized and grasped 
 him by the throat till the blood ran down his neck : 
 we took the man away from the king, and tried him 
 according to the British laws, but the king gave him 
 only a few lashes and let him go. 
 
 About February the twenty-eighth, the Indians set 
 tire to the store, and burned it to the ground, for the 
 sake of getting the rum. Thinking it not safe to stay 
 any longer, I bought a canoe for the purpose of getting 
 away, four feet wide and twenty-seven long : I made 
 a sail of oznaburg, and fixed my thwarts, and gave a 
 Mosquito man twenty dollars to go to Belize with me. 
 
 
 foi 
 
 wH 
 
 bn 
 ovi 
 
 bJ 
 
 11^ 
 
 ■^^ 
 
 a \. 
 
id made 
 )me, by 
 
 o Belize 
 
 me how 
 
 and iii- 
 
 r, for I 
 
 irged me 
 
 I at 
 
 re 
 
 liring the 
 
 aly drew 
 
 to send 
 
 itish pro- 
 
 le young 
 
 imigrants 
 
 [led by all 
 
 tas signed 
 
 as almost 
 
 d grasped 
 
 his neck : 
 
 tried him 
 
 gave him 
 
 ndians set 
 d, for the 
 ife to stay 
 of getting 
 : I made 
 md gave a 
 ? with me. 
 
 
 ; \ 
 
 45 
 
 VIII. On the first of March, we left the Cape, .md 
 pulled over the Lake, then down the river to the sea- 
 shore, where we stayed and took supper, as there was 
 no wind ; but in about an hour's time the moon arose 
 and the wind came down from the south-east, and our 
 course being north-west we hoisted our sail and 
 launched through the breakers : the canoe run at the 
 rate of seven knots an hour through a heavy sea. 
 About eleven o'clock we came in sight of the False 
 Cape; I could see the breakers ar a distance, and 
 thought it was a reef of rocks ; I asked the Mosquito 
 man what reef it was, he told me that it was one big big 
 reef, and, added he, " Better turn back one time, or 
 must lost." But I ran on till I got almost up to the 
 breakers, when 1 proposed to put about lest we should 
 be on the rocks: "No rocks there," says the Mosquito 
 man, "no more, one bar of sand, plenty water for 
 canoe, go over one time, if die, must die like one 
 brave man," says the Indian ; she went over like a 
 duck. We ran all night under easy sail, and early in 
 the morning made Carataska, which lies about sixty 
 miles from the Cape ; without stopping to put in here, 
 we continued our voyage, and sailing along with a tine 
 breeze and clear sky, the canoe gliding briskly over 
 the waves, and the main-land full in view, I thought I 
 never enjoyed any thing so much in all my life. About 
 four o'clock in the afternoon we reached Patook, 
 where the Indian advised me to put in for the night, 
 but as the bar was shallow, and a heavy sea rolled 
 over it, I was afraid to venture, but he told me I had 
 l)etter do so, for if I ran another night I should fall 
 
 
 f 
 
 ■ nil 
 
 ;y:'r 
 
 B^' 
 
 i»f 
 
 HI 
 
 III 
 
:fr- 
 
 I' i 
 
 ti!!!l 
 
 l! II 
 
 k 
 
 1 
 t* 
 
 ii I, 
 
 i\ 
 
 
 46 
 
 asleep and lose my paddle, and most likely upset 
 the canoe ; so I gave him the; managcMtient of the 
 eanoe, and he ran her over without damage, except she 
 was half filled with water. On going up the river 1 
 met with a black man who had been out with Captain 
 Mac Gregor, or Gregor Mac Gregor; I stayed at his 
 house for the night, and on the morning, as the wind 
 blew from the north-west, which was a head wind, I 
 found myself compelled to stay longer than I at fir«t 
 intended. 
 
 At this place there are large and beautiful savannahs 
 for feeding cattle, and excellent wood-land ; and 
 althouijh there is a miserable set of beiniirs, of the 
 Mosquito race, at the mouth of the river, yet it is a 
 pleasant place and well worth settling. The wind still 
 remaining contrary, and the black man having occa. ion 
 to go to General Lowry's, who lived about a hundred 
 miles to the north, proposed to me to take him up in 
 my canoe, to which I consented. We loaded the 
 canoe with sugar-cane, and set out, our party consisting 
 of the black man and his wife, my Indian and myself. 
 On going up the river we caught a great many iguana, 
 which are of the shape of a lizard, only much larger. 
 They lay a great quantity of eggs, and although very 
 ugly, are fnie eating ; so with these and plantains, used 
 as a substitute for potatoes, we lived pretty well. 
 
 Up the river we passed a sand bank, where some 
 Indians had erected their huts ; they had two or three 
 bushels of alligators' eggs, which they were cooking 
 and eating. These eggs are as large as those of a 
 ffoose, but longer. The alligators lay them in the sand 
 
y upset 
 
 of the 
 ce[)t she 
 river 1 
 
 Captain 
 L^d at his 
 
 he wind 
 
 wind, I 
 [ af^. fir«t 
 
 avannahs 
 nd ; and 
 ;s, of the 
 et it is a 
 
 wind still 
 2: occa ion 
 a hundred 
 him up in 
 oaded the 
 consisting 
 nd myself, 
 ny iguana, 
 ich larger, 
 lough very 
 itains, used 
 
 well. 
 
 diere some 
 wo or three 
 ;re cooking 
 
 those of a 
 
 in the sand 
 
 1 
 
 17 
 
 and cover them up ; the Indians go early in the morn- 
 ing and where they see the sand turned up afresli they 
 dig and secure the eggs, sometimes as many as an 
 hundred in one place. Alligators are am[)hil)ious and 
 resemble the crocodile. Further up we came to a 
 creek, where tiie Indians said the devil resided, and 
 that two or three men went into the creek and never 
 returned. I told them it was all superstition, but they 
 insisted that what they stated was true. I thought if 
 what they said was true, th-^^^ 5 must be a poison tree up 
 the creek, otherwise 1 should have gone into it. 
 About seven o'clock we reached another river, where 
 we stopped for the night. Early the next morning we 
 went down this river, which leads into a lake, and 
 reached what is called Brewer's Lagoon about three in 
 the afternoon. It is a fine large lake inland, connected 
 only by a narrow passage with the sea ; the country 
 around it being fine and healthv. We went into the 
 l)ush and cooked our dinner, for the wind was blowing 
 contrary. Whilst here we observed some huts to the 
 south-west of the lake and sailed across to them. It 
 was an Indian settlement, situated on the side of a 
 large savannah : on the other side of the savannah was 
 a large pine ridge with spar and pitch-pine. This and 
 the other lakes abound with fish. We stayed there one 
 day, and on the next started for the mouth of the 
 Lake, which we reached at night and hauled the 
 canoe up the shore. I then walked along the shore 
 till I came to the general's house. He was standing 
 outside, and as soon as he saw me, came up and shook 
 hands with me, asking me into his house. He laid a 
 
 l|< 
 
 It 
 
 ^1! 
 
 m 
 
 i 
 
f^ 
 
 i 
 
 iji 
 
 m 
 
 •! 1 
 
 i '^ 
 
 li 
 
 1 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 i 
 
 'ft 
 
 11 
 
 li 
 
 'i 
 
 1 i 
 
 If 
 
 IL. 
 
 ii 'H 
 
 18 
 
 cloth oil tho table and set things out English fashion, 
 and invited nie to sni)j)er. I had left the black man 
 with the canoe. The general sent some Indians to 
 fetch the sugar-cane, and other things which we had 
 in the canoe, up to his house. In the morning I 
 accompanied the general up Plantain river, amongst 
 the i^oyais Indians, a very civil, ingenious people, who 
 make fine silk grass hammocks and fhie frocks of wild 
 cotton. The cotton trees are very handsome. Some- 
 times the ground is strewed with wild cotton. In this 
 place are trees that bear the castor oil nut, growing in 
 abundance. I was present at one of the Indian dances. 
 Having prepared a pleasant beverage from the pine 
 apple, they paint their faces, and adorn themselves with 
 beads and ribands, the chiefs wearing crowns of 
 feathers on their heads. They then commence their 
 dance, showing at intervals their feats of war. They 
 set up a mark and shoot at it with their bows and 
 arrows, and then return to dancing. They are very 
 harmless in their amusements, which have nothing 
 disgusting in them. They have no religion whatever. 
 On the eleventh the general left for home, the wind 
 blowing still from the north-west. The general told 
 me he was going to have a mushier drink and invited 
 me to stop and see it. But previous to the mushier 
 drink, he had to go to the black river to get some 
 casada, and asked me to go with him. This was a 
 place to which Gregor Mac Gregor carried a lot of 
 settlers a few years ago, but from which they were 
 driven by the Spaniards. They had formed a little 
 settlement, which would by this time have become a 
 
 ) 
 
 sh( 
 
 th( 
 th( 
 it 
 sei 
 
 wcj 
 
 piJ 
 
 %^ 
 
ishioii, 
 ck mail 
 iaiis to 
 we had 
 >riiing I 
 mongst 
 1(», who 
 of wild 
 Some- 
 Tn this 
 owing in 
 1 dances, 
 the pine 
 Ives with 
 rowns of 
 !nce their 
 ar. They 
 bows and 
 J are very 
 e nothing 
 whatever. 
 !, the wind 
 eneral told 
 md invited 
 le mushier 
 I get some 
 This was a 
 3d a lot of 
 they were 
 lied a little 
 e become a 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 10 
 
 line place, had Mac Gregor protected tliom ; but In- 
 left tboiu to figlit th(Mr own battles. Tbis is bow 
 companies too often serve those who go out to tlieir 
 estates as settlers. They obtain inforniation tbut at a 
 certain ])lace there are fine savannahs or woods ; they 
 immediately a})ply for settlers, and begin to t'orni a 
 colony, not calculating what it will cost, or whether 
 they are strong enough to bear the expense. At such 
 a place as the Mosquito sbore, the settlers ought to be 
 provided with one whole year's provisions and two 
 years' clothing at the least, as well as a large stock of 
 good tools. The first settlers should consist chiefly of 
 strong agricultural labourers, and there should be a 
 sufficient number of soldiers to ])rotect them. But 
 before the settlers go out an agent ought to be sent, 
 who, with the assistance of the Indians, should clear a 
 space of gromid and erect houses suitable for Europeans. 
 Instead of this the people are sent out to a foreign 
 country, and landed with a small quantity of provisions. 
 They begin by putting their houses in order, and in a 
 short time feeling the effects of the change of climate 
 and food, they are disabled from doing much for the 
 first two mouths. Their provisions are done before 
 they can raise any thing for the soil, then they apply to 
 the company for a fresh supply ; the company sees that 
 it is not able to carry its project through and leaves the 
 settlers to get on as they can. But I must return to 
 my narrative. 
 
 On the thirteenth the general took six Mosquito 
 women and their paddles, and set out through a large 
 pine ridge, afterwards passed a large savannah to a 
 
 f ■ 
 
 III 
 
 If 
 
 
 
 
 f; 
 
 iiji 
 
:: 
 
 j i I' 
 1 
 
 i. » 
 
 50 
 
 criM'k where* was a mahogany canoo, whicli we got 
 into and paddli'd down the creek into a lart^t; hip^oon, 
 called IJlack river La<roon. We sailed ovi-r this lake 
 and then went nj> lUack river to the plantation where 
 the casada was growini^. Whilst the party were dig- 
 gini^ tin; casada, I took three Indians to |)addle me to 
 what was tbrm(»rly Mac Gregor's settlement. They 
 knew the spot by the cocoa-nut trees standing on the 
 l)anks. AftiM* the Indians had climbed the trees and 
 cut oft' some of the cocoa-nuts, we went into tin; woods 
 where were brick walls and distil houses (crumbling 
 down to the ground, and the trees grown as thick as 
 though the ])lace had never been hihabited. Some 
 fine lemon trees were growing there, from which we 
 gathered some of the fruit and then went to a cleared 
 place, where some guinea grass was growing, which 
 the settlers had planted. After this we rejoined the 
 general, who had dug the casada and was waiting our 
 return. On our arrival we immediately set out for 
 home. 
 
 On reaching home the casada was peeled and then 
 boiled, when boiled it was chewed and spit into barrels, 
 then left to stand a day or two to ferment. The next 
 thing was to make a drum, which was performed by 
 hollowing out a piece of mahogany and covering it 
 with deer skins. They cut a large cane, called the 
 bamboo, which they notch and it makes a trumping 
 noise ; they then make a john-canoe, by taking a piece 
 of wood, which they work into the form of a man's 
 head ; they then pahit it and put the sword of the 
 sword fisli on the head, and finally dress it with cocoa- 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
 I 
 
 m( 
 th 
 
 te 
 Oj 
 thl 
 ti-d 
 
 if !• 
 
• /x 
 
 I 
 
 we ^ot 
 
 lafj;()Oii, 
 
 this lake 
 
 11 wlu'i-e 
 
 vcru ili<^- 
 
 llo me to 
 
 it. They 
 
 li^ on the 
 
 trees and 
 
 lie woods 
 
 •nunhling 
 
 IS thick as 
 
 I. Some 
 
 which we 
 
 ) a cleared 
 
 ing, which 
 
 ^joined the 
 
 vaiting our 
 
 set out for 
 
 d and then 
 
 nto barrels, 
 
 The next 
 
 rtbrmed by 
 
 covering it 
 , called the 
 a trumping 
 ^ing a piece 
 
 of a man's 
 A^ord of the 
 with cocoa- 
 
 i 
 
 \ 
 
 nut leaves, variously painted, thus Ibrniing a liguic 
 similar to those exhibited in I'injL;laiid on May-day; 
 after all is ready they prepare for the mushier drink ; 
 they squeeze the sugar-cane between rollers, and mix 
 the juice obtained from it with the stiilV that they 
 chewed. livery tiling being now prepared they jiaint 
 their laces and dress themselves in a kimi ' elolh 
 interwoven with leathers, and put beads r -their 
 wrists, necks and ankles, and Ibrthwith begii. lo drink 
 the filthy stulf, playing the bamboo and drum, then 
 get into the john-canoe to dance and drink till they 
 are beastly drunk. Th': women play by themselves; 
 they have a calabash filled with nails and seeils, and 
 standing in a row they shake the calabashes, which 
 make a jingling noise, and to this noise they sing. 
 Such is a specimen oftln^ Mos(piito men's amusements; 
 and most of the English that live amongst them drink 
 the ( asada, and dance and play with them in the 
 same dc^grading manner. Ihit 1 looked on with con- 
 tempt and j)referred to wiilk in the woods and amuse 
 myself by reading " The Diary of a Physician ;" i'or I 
 never was so ashamed of my fellow creatures as when 
 with these brutish tribes. 
 
 At the time of the new moon the wind shifted, and 
 1 was not sorry for it. 1 sent my Indian down to the 
 mouth of Brewer's Lagoon, to fetch the canoe up to 
 the general's liouse ; and on the morning c^f the nine- 
 teenth left the general's, taking the Indian with me. 
 On my way to Belize we passed Black river, which is 
 three hundred miles from the cape and fom* hundred 
 from Belize. About six o'clock we made Fish river, 
 
 I 
 1 
 
 ■►■. 
 'it'' . 
 
 % 
 
 )«(i 
 
 ■n 
 
 i 
 

 Ijlliilii 
 lilt 
 
 !j 
 
 I i . J" 
 
 
 ! I 
 
 I I 
 
 11 
 
 itl 
 
 52^ 
 
 whore wo piu in for the night, amongst the Twakn 
 Indians, a line, stout and ingenious sort of people. 
 There are different tribes of tliese Indians hving on 
 the shore, and they ail speak dilferent languages, but 
 the Mos(jnito man could interprc^t to me. Next day 
 we sailed to Sacraliah and ])nt in anunigst the Carribs, 
 a race of black ])eople, whom the Knglish hire to cut 
 mahogany. They are a fnie sort of people and very 
 civil. Tlu^y mvited me into their honses, which are 
 neatly built, and asked me to stay with them a day 
 or two. Their honses are furnished in the English 
 fashion and tlu>ir table cloths are as white as snow. 
 Their plantations were neatly tilled. The casada is 
 cultivated by them, which they make into bread, in- 
 stead of using it in the disgusting niauner in which the 
 Mos(juit() men em|)loy it. 'I'bey have also rice, ba- 
 nannas, [)ine aj)ples, oranges, tobacco, peas, sweet 
 potatoes, and yams, which are similar to our potatoes, 
 only larger. They also grow cotton; but they obtain 
 a great many things from the Knglish for cutting 
 mahogany. They JU'c very alfable to strangers, 'fbey 
 
 •nmenl. 'I'lionirb so 
 
 (]U1 
 
 gOV( 
 
 near to the West Indies, there has never been a mis- 
 sionary anumgst them, which is what they very nuich 
 <lesire. Whilst 1 was in these parts, I never saw a 
 missionary, except in large settlements; but I hoj)e 
 the Hritish will take the state of these people into 
 consideration, and make an efi'ort to assist them. 
 
 On the twenty-third I lel't Sacraliah for the island ol 
 Hattan, with a land breeze, and sailed ail night : next 
 morning, about nine o'clock, it became calm, but at 
 
 it 
 
 V' 
 
J Twaka 
 ' people, 
 living on 
 ires, but 
 sicxt day 
 ! Carribs, 
 re to cut 
 and vorv 
 whicb are 
 em a day 
 e English 
 : as snow, 
 casada is 
 bread, in- 
 which the 
 ) rice, ba- 
 eas, sweet 
 r potatoes, 
 hey oljtain 
 lor eutting 
 ers. They 
 Hiough so 
 been a mis- 
 vcrv luueb 
 levor saw a 
 but I liope 
 people into 
 them. 
 
 (he island of 
 light : next 
 ealni, hut at 
 
 53 
 
 lour a stiir breeze set in from the soiith-east, vvliieh 
 eau:sed a heavy sea. About six the high liills of IJo- 
 nacco bi'gan to appear ; the moon arose, and we ran 
 down to the north-wewt end of the island, but on run- 
 ning in the canoe she upset, for we earried too nnicli 
 sail ; vve lost some of our things, l)ut righted her 
 again hy taking out the mast, and got to tlu; ishuid, 
 where we hauled lu'r U|», and slept under the cocoa-nut 
 trees. In the morning we sailed for Hattan, about 
 twenty miles further, but there being but a faint breeze; 
 vve did not uet in till live in the afternoon ; when we 
 reached the (irst little island, where some black Sj)an- 
 iards live, we ran to east pt)int, where a Frenchman 
 lived, and stayed there all night : the next day we 
 sailed to Port Royal harbour, where I found Mrs. 
 Poppleton and her son, who left l^ondon in the sanu' 
 ship as mysidf, and who were (piite pleased on seeing 
 me; we also found a Scotch family ol tlu; name of 
 Mac Nab, they possessed a line plantation, and they 
 all wished me to stay ; and Mrs. l\)pj)leton told me 
 that two of the lads were on the island with (.'aptain 
 Pollard at Coxe's Cove ; 1 told them that I had to go 
 to Belize, antl perhaps 1 should come back to the 
 island, so bidding them farewell, I left for the cove, 
 as I had a wish to see the lads. We reached it about 
 ten in the forenoon, and the lads canu' to the canoe 
 (juite pleased to see me ; thev advised me to stay, for 
 they said tlu;y liked the island well, that it was (piite a 
 heaven compared with Vera Paz, and that t hey thought 
 they should continui' thert', but I left the sanu' day for 
 ('oxenhole Key, wheie several people lived ; I hauled 
 
 
If;:- 
 
 iii 
 
 ilil! 
 
 ' If 
 
 I i 
 
 ii ' 
 
 ! i 
 
 f 
 ill 
 
 t 
 
 i ,'. ■ 
 
 1 '.' 1 
 
 Ih 
 
 51 
 
 the canoe up, and stayed there three days : they also 
 advised me to stay with ihem, and told me that I had 
 better not go to Belize in my canoe, anc^ tliat I had 
 rnn a great hazard of my life in coming SiO far in it. 
 About this time a sloop arrived, bound For Iklize, in 
 vv'hich I obtained a passage ibr myself and the Indian, 
 and lett the canoe, paddles and sail, with ibe intention 
 to return. 
 
 We made Belize on the second of A])ril. Sonu 
 of the young men that came down from tLu- sttitcs ot 
 Guatemala, brought news that six Englishmei: had 
 been shot by the Spaniards in attempting to make their 
 escape to Belize: a few days afterwards the British 
 consul came, bringiug with him one of the lpswi(di lads 
 named Joseph Chiverton. Another of tiie lads died 
 on board a ship, so that three only were leit. During 
 my stay in Belize, one Ca])tani Bull hired some Spa- 
 niards, gave them a large advance, and afterwards took 
 them in a small schooner lor the mahoaanv \\orks. 
 
 where he went on shore with them. As soon th 
 
 ey 
 
 were landed, tliey knocked liim Ciown and cut him up 
 alive with a lonu knife, his wiib b' m-^' on the deck, a 
 
 distressed witue 
 
 s--; H 
 
 .he iioriid jruidi roi iicr husl)ajid 
 
 the cauiain s so? \. as also on boarc'. wlu innnediatelv 
 took ;he schooner Lack to l^clizc, ind re [)orred the 
 affair '0 the goVv-viiur, v ho dispalclicd auo\("-umeut 
 schooner with . oric ofliceis ui sc arch of the Spaniards. 
 
 Th 
 
 Hi 
 
 ese oiucers 
 
 a I 
 
 tcr starchimr the island \^h<^re the 
 
 murder was c(>juh iticii. and nndUig trie Spaniards 
 
 th 
 
 had 
 
 escaped, j)roc(tH[ed d' the ?/;ain. At the lir?t place 
 'vhere thev st. |';'..tl Juti.> whs a j\.j'. , winch led them 
 
 'A 
 
 pej 
 
 thi 
 
 pi 
 rt'J 
 
 OJ] 
 
hey also 
 lat I hiul 
 lat I had 
 tar in it. 
 klize, ill 
 10 Iiuliaii, 
 intiiitioii 
 
 il. Sonu 
 r States C)!' 
 ■ me 'I had 
 iiake their 
 le British 
 .swich lads 
 
 lady died 
 
 During 
 
 some Spa- 
 
 rwards took 
 
 'aiiV \\orks. 
 
 soon they 
 c'u) liim lip 
 the deck, a 
 i>r hvishand: 
 innneil lately 
 eponed the 
 oo\e'-nuieiit 
 e Spaniards. 
 1 wh.'re the 
 paiiiardis had 
 (■ lii-t I'liice 
 eh K'd them 
 
 55 
 
 to suspect that the fugitive Spauian werii then^ The 
 officers went into the woods in search of thcnn, 
 whom they happily soon discovered. They aUacked 
 the officers, but three of them were secured, ahhough 
 one of the officers was severely wounded. They were 
 conveyed to Belize, and tried according to the Britisli 
 laws. The trial lasted three days, on account of some 
 difficulties made by the jury, which was composed of 
 merchants havhig an extensive trade with the Spani- 
 ards; hut the governor, Mac Donald, said, that he 
 never saw a clearer case in his life, and that if they were 
 not hung he was not judge of that court; so the jury 
 pronounced them guilty. Two of them afterwards 
 confessed the murder, who were hung, whilst the 
 other was transported for life. There have been two 
 more hung since then for murder. These Spaniards 
 are a most treacherous set of beings; the Mosquito 
 men hate the very sight of them. 
 
 I stayed at Belize for several days, endeavouring to 
 procure a passage to the island of Rattan, as Belize 
 was too ui'healthy for me; but a schooner, called the 
 Guatemala packet, being bound for the Havrnmah, in 
 the island of Cuba in the West Indies, I resolved to 
 visit that place. I accordingly sold my canoe to a 
 person in Belize ibr three pounds, which was not one- 
 third of its real value. 
 
 Belize 's a Ih'itish ])ort in the bay of Honduras; it 
 has about ten thousand inhabitants, mostly black peo- 
 |)le, except the British merchants. The slaves have 
 r(>gained their liberty. There is one English church, 
 one baptist, and one methodist : but Belize is not ;i 
 
 D 
 
 II I 
 
 k 
 
 k 
 
 m 
 
 n'< 
 
 f**!!/ 
 
 ill 
 
 ' HI 
 
111 I. 
 
 II 
 
 III 
 
 i: II' 
 
 
 I ii'iii 
 
 li: 
 
 
 h i 
 
 
 I 1 
 
 
 56 
 
 place for settlers to go to, for the land is very swampy 
 and full of flicL and the water also is bad. I would 
 advise no emigrants to go out there. 
 
 I left Belize on the twenty-second for Havannah; 
 we were seven days on our passage, which was about 
 eleven hundred miles. On reachins: the island we 
 witnessed a line chase, consisting of two slave ships 
 beating into Havannah, pursued by an English man- 
 of-war. The slave vessels ran in shore to elude the 
 man-of-war, and afterwards tan out with a fair wind; 
 the man-of-war continued the pursuit, and captured 
 one of them. The wind shifted fair for the Havan- 
 nah, w i re fore the other slaver, a brig, came down 
 with her royals and stud-sails set ; the m..n-of-war 
 with every sail that could be crowded upv.n her, ran 
 down upon her, and fired a shot through the main-sail, 
 which m;ide the slaver heave to. The brig and the 
 schooner were both taken to the Havannah, where the 
 slaves were brought on deck to dance, whilst the slaves 
 on shore shouted with joy. The slave ships were 
 taken as a prize, and the slaves were put on board a 
 receiving ship to be sent to their own country. The 
 Havannah, which is inhabited by Spaniards, is a tine 
 city, and is strongly fortified, the forts being at the 
 mouth of the harbour : it is a distinguished place for 
 trade. From this port I shipped in a brigantme, called 
 the Rein-deer, for Halifax, in Nova Scotia, about two 
 thousand miles to the north : we had a fair wind all 
 the way. We sailed on the third of May, and on the 
 sixteenth arrived at Halifax, which is a very cold 
 [)lace : the bushes had not yet begun to put forth their 
 
 i^ 
 
 cl 
 dl 
 
 ii I i \ 
 
swampy 
 I would 
 
 vaniiah ; 
 
 as about 
 
 land we 
 
 ve ships 
 
 ish niaii- 
 
 lude the 
 
 lir wind; 
 
 captured 
 
 e Havan- 
 
 nie down 
 
 i..n-of-war 
 
 her, ran 
 
 main -sail, 
 
 g and the 
 
 where the 
 
 the slaves 
 
 jhips were 
 
 on board a 
 
 I try. The 
 
 3, is a tine 
 
 eing at the 
 
 d place for 
 
 tme, called 
 
 about two 
 
 ir wind all 
 
 and on the 
 
 very cold 
 
 forth their 
 
 i 
 
 57 
 
 leaves ; the land about the town is very rocky, but tnc 
 harbour is good, and there were three scvcnly-f'our 
 vessels lying in it, l)csides some frigates which bad 
 brought troops from England for Canada. Ihilirax 
 contains about fifteen thoiusaud inhabitiuUs; ilif work- 
 ing classes are very poor. I stayed Ium'c for six weeks, 
 trying to get a passage to the United States. 
 
 IX. Not succeeding hi my efforts to obtain a pas- 
 sage, 1 started on July the third for Arnutpolis, about 
 two hundred miles through the province. On the 
 fifth 1 reached Windsor, a small town about ibrty-live 
 miles from Halifax : it being a busy time, and wrges 
 good, I stayed there till about the fourteenth, when I 
 left and went to Ilorton andKentville, and staved with 
 Mr. Hancock. It was a fine place, laid out in large 
 farms and orchards ; the land is good, but the winters 
 are severe, lasting nearly seven months. In the sum- 
 mer labourers get from four to live shillings per day ; 
 but there is not much doing in tiie winter, (iood land 
 is let at from twenty to forty shillings per acre, and 
 jjrovibious are moderately cheap, except meat. I think 
 that if people are getting a decent living at home, they 
 will do better to lemain than to go out there; but ii 
 they cannot get a living at home there is a chance o! 
 getting one there. The inhabitants are civil, and the 
 country is healthy. A ship came in bound for Phila- 
 delphia for the purpose of taking in a cargo of thre<' 
 thousand bushels of potatoes. About tlie middle oi' 
 September the frost set in and killed the growing cro]) 
 of potatoes. 
 
 il: 
 
 lil 
 
 >U\i\ 
 
 I 
 
\tr'. 
 
 i :,'! 
 
 ■rji 
 
 I '; 
 
 I ! 
 
 ■ iMi 
 
 . I 
 
 •)8 
 
 Oil the sixteonth T lef'tllorton, and shi|)j)0(1 on hoard 
 this vessel, with the intention of staying at Fliiladelphia, 
 provided the captain conld get another hand there to 
 take my place ; but if not, I meant to come back to 
 Saint John's, New Brnnswiek: we had a dreadful pas- 
 sag(\ On our way we called at Gloncester, in Cape 
 Ann, hi the United States of America, From Cape 
 Ann we sailed to Nantnekct shoals, wlu>re we lay to 
 nine days in a heavy sea; our fore yard was carried 
 away, and the main boom was sprung, but we spliced 
 it again and made the land ; when the pilot came on 
 board and took the vessel up the Delaware to Phila- 
 delphia, on the eighth of November : the city is built in 
 in squares ; the streets, which are wide, lie north and 
 and south, east and west, and is straight as a line; and 
 steam coaches, on railways, run to New York and 
 other places. The labourers get about four and six- 
 pence British money per day ; provisions are chea]), 
 and the religion and laws much tlie same as in England : 
 1 much wanted to remain there, for it is a place worth 
 staying at, but I iound it was impracticable, as thv caj)- 
 tain could not get another person to sujiply my place. 
 
 I left Philadelphia about the twenty-fifth for Saint 
 Johns, which we reached on the first of December. 
 It is a very cold and poor place in tiie winter, but in 
 the si)ring and autumn there are a gieat many shi])s 
 arrive, which take in deals and s(|iiare timb(;r; other- 
 wise the peo])le in Saint Johns would l)e starved. 
 Whilst I was there, about two hundred people were 
 standinij on the (juays seeking for work. The lal)ouring 
 classes are very poor, living upon fish and potatoes ; 
 
 c 
 \ 
 
 c 
 
board 
 
 c'lphia, 
 
 [lore to 
 
 )ack to 
 
 111 pas- 
 
 11 Cape 
 
 n Cape 
 
 T lay to 
 
 carried 
 
 spliced 
 
 came on 
 
 to Phila- 
 
 s built in 
 
 lorth and 
 
 iiie; and 
 
 ^ork and 
 
 • and six- 
 
 re cheap, 
 
 England : 
 
 ace worth 
 
 5 the cap- 
 
 iny place. 
 
 for Saint 
 
 )ecember. 
 
 ;er, but in 
 
 lany ships 
 
 )r ; other- 
 
 i starved, 
 
 'ople were 
 
 lal)ourinu 
 
 potatoes ; 
 
 clothing is very i'X])ensive ; and wages are al)OUt five 
 shillings per day. It is a good place tor ship carpenters, 
 who get from eight to ten shillings per day currency : 
 ten shillings currency is e(|ual to eight shillings British. 
 I left Saint Johns for Saint Andrews, which is distant 
 about sixty-seven miles, to get ship for the southern 
 states, and started on the twentieth, when it was cold 
 but good travelling. Sometimes I travelled for six or 
 seven miles through the woods without seeing a house, 
 and I had sometimes to })ay lifteen-pence for a meal. 
 Almost all the land that is not cultivated is swampy, 
 barren, or rocky; and owing to the coldness of the 
 climate, much of the good land has to be laid down 
 with grass to provide a sufficient quantity of hay to 
 keep the cattle during the winter. Eight or ten acres 
 of grain upon one farm is thought a great thing. 
 
 On the twenty-fifth I reached Saint Andrews, where 
 I spent my Christmas. As I could not get a passage 
 to the southern states, I left Saint Andrews for Saint 
 Stevens, abouty thirty miles off, which I reached on 
 the twenty-ninth, and went to Calais in the state of 
 Maine out of the British territories ; I then went to 
 east and west Machias, sixty miles off, which I reached 
 on new-year's day, and then to Cherryfield, and took 
 the stage to Elsworth. Erom thence I proceeded to 
 Castine. On my way to the latter place I put up for 
 the night at a house about three miles out of Elsworth. 
 The people of the house asked me some questions 
 concerning where I was going to settle, for I had been 
 travelling for three years, and without being able to 
 find a place fit to stay hi. My host asked me to stay 
 
 .'•»/ 
 
II .ijil 
 
 
 I 1. ::''i 
 
 S^ 
 
 ill 
 
 60 
 
 with liiMi tor the wiiiti'r, wliicli I cii»TeeMl to do. Il was 
 i\ cold piucc, but we made ourselves pretty conitortable, 
 and I think I passed as j)leasaut a winter there as ever 
 I did in mv lite. The people are civil and industrious : 
 they have their little i'arnis, some fii'ty acres, some a 
 hundr(>d, and so on, so that they are enabled to raise 
 their own provisions, and keep a few cattle, sheep, 
 ])igs, and |)oullry. They have their own liltle houses 
 on their land, and jdenty ol'wood, and springs of good 
 water close by. Wherever there are a lew houses, 
 schools are established for the education of chikuen, 
 and missionaries take their regular rounds. Almost all 
 are temperate in their habits, so much so indeed, that 
 at few of the places that I passed through could any 
 intoxicating licjiiors be obtained. The state of Maine 
 is about two hundred miles in length on the sea-coast, 
 and three hundred to the river St. Lawrance ; it is the 
 most northern of the United States. The girls and 
 women make all the stockings, and the young women 
 make fancy mittens lor the young men to get lace and 
 things for themselves in return. The land is very 
 rocky in places, but the best land is amongst the rocks, 
 which grows excellent potatoes. I believe there are 
 not better potatoes in the world than those grown in 
 North America, for it is their native soil. There has 
 not been much wheat raised in these ])arts till the last 
 two or three years, when the government ottered a 
 bounty to encourage the growth of il, and also to induce 
 people to settle here. It was then found that wheat 
 could be raised here as well as any thing else, but there 
 are hundreds and thousands of acres not yet occuj>ied. 
 
J I was 
 
 as I'vor 
 
 btrious : 
 
 soiiK' a 
 
 Ito raise 
 
 sheoj), 
 
 houses 
 
 lot" good 
 
 houses, 
 
 liildren, 
 
 luiost all 
 
 ed, that 
 
 ould any 
 
 of Maine 
 
 ea-eoast, 
 
 it is the 
 
 :»irls and 
 
 g women 
 lace and 
 
 I is very 
 he rocks, 
 there are 
 grown in 
 riuu'e has 
 
 II the last 
 o fie red a 
 to induce 
 liat wheat 
 but there 
 occupied. 
 
 It is an advantageous place for such agricultural peoj)le 
 as hcive but little to begin with. Trade is carried on 
 by barter, or mutual exchange. In the villages and 
 towns there are large stores, with almost every thing 
 the settlers can require ; they therefore go and take 
 what they want out of these stores, and when they get 
 their croj)s in, they pay for what they have had, in 
 wheat and barley and different things that they raise. 
 The merchants' shi})S convey the corn to larger towns 
 or cities, such as Boston, New York, and Philadelphia. 
 I intended to make that place my abode, and had 
 partly agreed for one hundred acres of land for sixty 
 pounds, to be paid by instalments in five years. It 
 was all wood-land ; the wood that was upon it would 
 have fetched the money when cut, being excellent 
 material, and suited for ship building, consisting of 
 rock and white maple, white ash and beech, yellow 
 birch, and horn beam, pine and Sjiruce fir, and juniper, 
 besides other hard wood, and various sorts of soft 
 wood. Towards the latter part of March it is the 
 custom to tap the maple, and set troughs under to 
 catch the sap ; sometimes they get a pail full from one 
 tree ; and they tap perhaps twenty or thirty trees at 
 one time. This sap is then boiled down to sugar, 
 which is of an excellent quality. Some of the people 
 make several hundred weight in one spring. They get 
 the sap after a sharp frost. The nights are very cold 
 and the days warm. This is the best place I have 
 ever been at for a poor man ; but people that have 
 sufficient money to buy a farm, should go to New 
 Hampshire, or the state of New York, or Massachu- 
 
 V\ 
 
 if 
 
 ■■•''. 
 
'tt 
 
 Ml 
 
 'r r 
 
 ! 1 -^ 
 
 (/2 
 
 setts, or Dclawiirr. or Pcmisylviuiia, or Marylami. 
 These states are the liiiest tliat tradesnicu or t'armers 
 can go out to, tor the climate, trade, and the general 
 state of things, are iiiuch the same as in Kngland. The 
 southern states art nut do healthy, as the yellow tever 
 and other sicknesses often rage there. In the Texas 
 wages are high, and it is a good place tor making 
 money ; but a great many Europeans cannot stand the 
 climate. There is nothing like a healthy country to 
 dwell in, for what enjoyment can people have if they 
 are always sick? Besides in those southern climes 
 the people are not so quiet and peaceable as they are 
 in the northern climes, nor are the provisions similar. 
 The same things are not orown there ; the meat is not 
 half so good, and potatoes and wheat will not grow 
 there. The states that I have mentioned are in the 
 best part of all America. I think the northern part of 
 the United States is the best place, and the healthiest 
 for emigrants to go to ; but it is as bad to go too far 
 North as it is to go too far to the South. I thought I 
 would go on a lishing voyage, and then return to 
 Elsworth and settle there. So I left Elsworth on the 
 twentieth of March for Castine, about fourteen miles 
 off, and stayed there till April. Castine is a small 
 sea-port town, which the British held possession of 
 whilst they were at war wi^h America. The old fort 
 that the British made is there still. I left Castine in a 
 fishing vessel in April for Magdalen, where we hoped 
 to have obtained a load of herrings, and then return to 
 Castine by way of Boston : but unfortunately we were 
 disappointed, for although we had a fair wind all the 
 
 set 
 al( 
 pr^ 
 
 the 
 
 pl( 
 
aryland. 
 
 t'annors 
 
 gi'iieral 
 
 11(1. The 
 
 ovv fever 
 
 le Texas 
 
 making 
 
 taud the 
 
 uiitry to 
 
 e if they 
 
 11 cHmes 
 
 they are 
 
 i similar. 
 
 eat is not 
 
 not grow 
 
 ire in the 
 
 m part of 
 
 healthiest 
 
 go too far 
 
 thought I 
 
 return to 
 
 rth on the 
 
 teen miles 
 
 s a small 
 
 session of 
 
 J old fort 
 
 astine in a 
 
 we hoped 
 
 I return to 
 
 y we were 
 
 tid all the 
 
 63 
 
 time, when we got to the gut of Cancer we wow stopped 
 by the ice. So we put into Cape Breton. The poor 
 there are mostly in a miserable condition, living in 
 wretched hovels and having scarcely a rag to cover 
 them. They obtain their living chiefly by lishing in 
 the summer. The girls live in idleness, having 
 nothing to do, and 1 think that in some pju'ts of the 
 caj)e the people do not hear a sermon from one year's 
 end to the other, bul are allowed to remain in ignorance. 
 In some parts of the cape some are doing well. 
 Sidney, which is the capital, is a fnie town, where the 
 people are more instructed. 
 
 From Cape Breton we went through the Gut, and 
 sailed across the bay towards Prince PMward's island, 
 when we got amongst the ice and could not extricate 
 ourselves for tv/o or three days : the ice chafed our 
 vessel's bows through and jammed her sides, but we 
 got her to Prince Edward's island, where she was con- 
 denmed. We stayed in the island trying to get a pas- 
 age home, but could not. The island is two hundred 
 and (itty miles in length, and sixty in breath ; it is the 
 best island in British North America, and has the 
 finest land. There are English, Irish, and Scotch 
 settlers. I travelled over nearly two hundred miles of 
 that island. 
 
 On or about the sixth I went to George town, a new 
 settlement on the island. There are settlers almost all 
 along the road. They have some very fme farms, and 
 provisions are cheaper here than in any other place 
 that ever I was in. The people are very civil and 
 pleasant. It is certainly the garden of British North 
 
 fii^i. 
 
 Ii 
 
 I 
 
64 
 
 Americii. George town will no doubt be a line plaee 
 in a tew years; tliree el\iu'(^hes are already being built. 
 The island \h the property of Urilish companies, who 
 let the land in lots to settlers at a yearly rent. For 
 this reason it is not so well settled as many other 
 places, i»s the settlers want to buy the land, so that 
 they can call it their own. 
 
 The Scotch have some line settlements on the island, 
 they are a very industrious and (juiet people, and I 
 think thev are an hont)r to (ireat Britain, tor they have 
 settled half the British colonies. They far excel the 
 Knglish in establishing anew colony, for they go with- 
 out money at once into the woods, build a temporary 
 hut for shelter, and then commence with their axes 
 and fell the trees on about four acres of land, leaving 
 the stumps in the ground ; when the wood is dry they 
 burn it. In the spring they hoe the ground, and plant 
 ])otatoes on al)0ut two or three acres, and on the other 
 they grow wheat, bailey, oats, and various other things, 
 thus they work hard and live hard, till they get their 
 farms into course. After obtaining two or three crops 
 oti' the land, they lay it down with grass, still continu- 
 ing to clear fresh land; and at the same time providing 
 themselves with a small number of cattle. In five 
 years the stumps which have been left become so de- 
 cayed, that they can plough the land. They have long 
 winters to endure, and when they have raised their 
 croj)s they immediately have to pay their rent, which 
 keeps them poor, because durhig the first three years 
 they can hardly raise enough to carry on their farms, 
 as they require tools, clothes, and a few heads of stock. 
 
 I 
 
 thii 
 
 an( 
 
 1 Th 
 
 ^et 
 
 1 the 
 
 ishi 
 
 1 sni 
 
 1 t'» 
 
 I sdi 
 
liic ])lacr 
 in^' huilt. 
 iiic's, who 
 lit. For 
 iiiv otlier 
 il, so tliat 
 
 ho island, 
 iK', and T 
 tliev have 
 excel the 
 'y go vvith- 
 li'mporarv 
 their axes 
 nd, leaving 
 is dry they 
 I, and plant 
 in the other 
 ther things, 
 ;y get their 
 three crops 
 ill continu- 
 e })roviding 
 e. In five 
 ;ome so de- 
 y have long 
 raised their 
 rent, which 
 three years 
 their farms, 
 ids of stock. 
 
 or, 
 
 The settlers are ()p()ressed hy the Fhitish companies 
 that own the land, IxH'anse they will not sell it to them; 
 for the e()nij)anies think that the land, hy this process 
 of preparation, will hecome valnahle to them in the 
 conrse of a few years. Why do not the C()inj)anies 
 sell it in lots of fd'ty or a hundred acres per lot? and 
 as to those who cannot afford to huy it, the com])any 
 should allow them live or six years to pay it in, and 
 then they would soon get the island populated, and 
 would remain suhject to (Jreat Britain. Hut if the 
 company will not adopt this j)ljin of procedure, they 
 will probahly have to be contented without any thing. 
 The island sui)plies almost all the other colonies on 
 the main-land with provisions, although not one-eighth 
 of the land is settled. Charlotte town is the capital, 
 containing about ten thousand inhabitants. There is 
 very little money in the i)lace, and clothing is very 
 expensive ; but there is no fear of starving, for you 
 may travel all through the island with very little 
 money, it being very seldom that they charge any 
 thing for provisions. It is also a Ihie place for ship- 
 building; a good fishery might be established there, 
 and would be, if the inhabitants were at all encouraged. 
 The people have sent a person home, with a view to 
 get the land transferred to the government, and I hope 
 they will succeed, for it will make one of the finest 
 islands in North America. 
 
 I left New London on the twenty-ninth of May in a 
 small schooner, for Miramichi. I reached Chatham on 
 the first of June, where there was about one hundred 
 sail of shipping from home after deals and s([uare tim- 
 
 II: 
 
 ■ ' II, 
 
 fill 
 II 
 
 !| 
 
 lit 
 
(Hi 
 
 hev. Wages were pretty high tor hihoiirers loading 
 ships, that is to say, from five to seven shilHngs per 
 day. But it is a wild looking ])]ace, and the land is 
 damp, barren, and rocky, and provisions are very dear: 
 single men could not obtain decent board and lodging 
 under a pound a vv^eek : there is a great deal of lumber- 
 ing carried on, which makes the place alive ; but for 
 emigrants to go out to it would be a folly, for there 
 were some sent out, or induced by some company, and 
 they were almost starved. The company reported 
 that it was an advantageous place, and that settlers 
 could liave excellent land, and would be furnished with 
 ample provisions till they could raise their own, so that 
 many poor Scotch and English families were carried 
 out to that cold region, and put into the wilds, under a 
 pretence of cultivating the land. The promised supply 
 of provisions is often discontinued after the lapse of a 
 few weeks, when they are under the necessity of apply- 
 ing themselves to hard labour in felling trees, at what 
 wages the company chooses to give : there is no alter- 
 native between this and starvation. In the perforai- 
 ance of their work in the wild forest, the poor men are 
 up to their waists in snow all day, and return to their 
 huts or camj)s at night. There they dwell all winter 
 long, destitute of society, having nothing but the dis- 
 mal bush to look at, and their wives and families living 
 upon potatoes, with hardly a rag to cover them. They 
 stay till the summer, when some wander one way and 
 some another, whilst many are obliged to stay, having 
 large families. Some go to the United States, and 
 otliers to Prince Edward's Island, by begging their 
 
 ver 
 
 Enii 
 
 wha 
 
 nali 
 
 line 
 
 com 
 
 Can 
 
 \v'ret 
 
 Ihe 
 
 emi< 
 
 l)Ut 
 
 Uni 
 wht 
 Uni 
 
67 
 
 rs loading 
 
 illings per 
 
 the land is 
 
 very dear: 
 
 nd lodging 
 
 ot'lumber- 
 
 e ; but for 
 
 for there 
 
 in})any, and 
 
 y reported 
 
 hat settlers 
 
 nished with 
 
 own, so that 
 
 vere carried 
 
 Ids, under a 
 
 lised supply 
 
 le lapse of a 
 
 ity of apply- 
 
 3es, at what 
 
 I is no alter- 
 he perforai- 
 toor men are 
 turn to their 
 
 II all winter 
 but the dis- 
 tnilies living 
 them. They 
 )ne way and 
 stay, having 
 States, and 
 gging their 
 
 way ; and the latter when they reaeh tlie island, take' 
 a piece of land, which the old settlers assist them to 
 cultivate, and kindly furnish them wilh necessities till 
 thev can raise their own provisions. It is best to 
 emigrate under the superintendtMice of the IJritish 
 government, for if it takes any thing in hand, it gene- 
 rally does the bushiess well. 
 
 Newfoundland is a poor, barren, rocky soil, and the 
 iiihabit;nits are in a state of great poverty ; but it has 
 large fishing establishments : it is the most lanious 
 place for fish in all America. The banks of Newfound- 
 land are noted for the cod fishery, and it is by fishing 
 that the peo])le get their living; but it is a very cold 
 region, where many people are frozen to death. Lower 
 Canada is much the same ; but as Upper Canada 
 stretches more to the south, the winter is not so severe 
 there. In the southern j)art of upper ('anada there is 
 very little winter, and the best descrii)tioii ol' land. 
 Emigrants that are sent out to Ciuiada, ought to know 
 what part they are going to before they leave then- 
 native shores ; because, although Upper CV.nada is a 
 line place, if they are left in the lower part of the 
 country, they will be at a great expense to get to I;p]ier 
 Canada, for Lower Canada is a most miserable and 
 wretched place. Lower Canada, Newfoundland, Cape 
 Bieton, and New Brunswick, are places I would advise 
 emigrants not to go to. Nova Scotia is a fair phice ; 
 l)ut Upper Canada. Prince Edwards island, and the 
 United States, can be safelv recommend(>d to those 
 who are in search of a better home. Esp.ecially are the 
 United States of Anu^rica worthv the attention of 
 
 1^1 
 
 ■ m 
 
68 
 
 I' II 
 
 1 ;J 
 
 emigrants. I should decidedly prefer them to any 
 other place, and I wanted to get back to them, but I 
 could not meet with a conveyance, and it was too great 
 a distance to travel on foot. 
 
 As I could not return to the States, I shipped for 
 Hull in Yorkshire, with the int^'ution of going back to 
 the United States of America. On the second of July 
 last, I left Cliatham in Miramichi, in the province of 
 New 13runs\vick, British North America, alter travel- 
 ling for full three years, both in some of the uncivilized 
 and the civilized parts of South and North America, 
 and in the principal places lying between the Isthmus 
 of Darien to the borders of Newfoundland. I arrived 
 at Hull on the thirtieth of August, and came from Hull 
 to London, where I found three of the people that went 
 out to the unfortunate place spoken of in the early 
 part of the narrative. I related the aflair to the Lord 
 Mayor of London ; the Aldermen said they knew that 
 great dece[>tion had been practised in relation to emi- 
 gration, and that the British goverinnent was about to 
 look hito the atl'air for the future. I arrived at Ipswich 
 on the twenty-third of October, 1839. 
 
 As soon as I reached home, I ielt it my duty to 
 show to the public the state of the intended settlement, 
 and how much we were imposed on by going to a 
 country that we knew nothing about, and had never 
 heard of, except by the flattering statements that were 
 given us by a company of speculators. Accordingly 
 I have given a detail of our sufferings, lest others 
 should be ensnared in the same manner, and share a fate 
 similar to that of my fellow adventurers. 
 
 
 I } 
 
im to any 
 em, but 1 
 ,s too great 
 
 shipped lor 
 Lug back to 
 )iid of July 
 province of 
 ifter travel- 
 uncivilized 
 th America, 
 the Isthmus 
 . I arrived 
 le from Hull 
 jle that went 
 in the early 
 to the Lord 
 jy knew that 
 ition to emi- 
 was about to 
 3d at Ipswich 
 
 It my duty to 
 'd settlement, 
 y gohig to a 
 ^d had never 
 'uts that were 
 Accordingly 
 s, lest others 
 lid share a fate 
 
 :H