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Article A NARRATIVE ← Page 8 of 10 →
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A Narrative
on our first arrival ; indeed we were perfectly astonished at it , ag no cause appeared for such behaviour ; the Governor , scarcely deigning to speak to us , sent for me and Mr . Wilton , the fourth officer , and , without ever enquiring into the reason of our putting back , or with what difficulties we had met , gave us to understand , that he was preparing to dispatch some letters for Killeman , and that we . must immediatel
y prepare to accompany the person who carried them . It was in vain that we represented our debilitated and sickly state , from the various and unremitting fatigues we had lately undergone ; it was in vain we urged the necessity of rest to repair our broken constitutions ; he continued inexorable . We next applied to him for " some kind of conveyance ; he offered to us two a sort of palanquinbut positively '
re-, fused any assistance to Mr . De Souza , or the seamen . This was rejected with indignation by us , and having provided ourselves with some cloth to purchase subsistence on our journey , we left Sofala on the ist of November . I was totall y at a loss to account for a conduct so repugnant to the princiles of humanityand as it is directlopposite to the treatment
p , y we experienced at other Portuguese settlements , nothing would have determined me to mention it , but a due regard to truth and impartiality which , I hope , will be found to characterise this narrative . The knowled ge I afterwards acquired of his character , removed my surprise excited at his inhospitable behaviour , as it appears that such acts arecongenial with nature .
By the 20 th November we had travelled upwards of zoo miles , through a miserable tract of country very thinly inhabited ( probably the consequence of the Slave-trade at Mosambique ) , sometimes for 40 miles not a hut or creature to be seen ; the precautions we took , of surrounding ourselves with fire at ni g ht , prevented any accident from the numerous species of wild beasts with which the country abounds ;
But now the excessive heat of the climate , added to the fatigue we experienced in being obliged to travel during the heat of the day , wholly overpowered us , and for a fortni ght we remained in a most deplorable state , when the Governor of Senna , hearing we were on the way , dispatched palanquins for us , and on the 6 th of December we arrived there . Here every care and attention was paid to us , and we received
that medical assistance the place afforded ; but , notwithstanding , two of the seamen , and Mr . Wilton , fourth mate , a most worthy , active , and able young officer , died during our stay . On the first notice of a vessel being ready to sail , the remainder of our party left Senna , and in a few days arrived at Killeman , where we embarked on board a sloopand the 12 th of February 1793 M . de Souza
, , and myself reached Mosambique , five months after leaving Madagascar . On our arrival there we immediately waited on the Governor , and detailed to him the loss of the Winterton , as well as every circumstance that had occurred since our departure from the island of Madagascar j I informed him , likewise , that I had been deputed by my unfortunate shipmates and friends to solicit the aid of the Mosambique government . }
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
A Narrative
on our first arrival ; indeed we were perfectly astonished at it , ag no cause appeared for such behaviour ; the Governor , scarcely deigning to speak to us , sent for me and Mr . Wilton , the fourth officer , and , without ever enquiring into the reason of our putting back , or with what difficulties we had met , gave us to understand , that he was preparing to dispatch some letters for Killeman , and that we . must immediatel
y prepare to accompany the person who carried them . It was in vain that we represented our debilitated and sickly state , from the various and unremitting fatigues we had lately undergone ; it was in vain we urged the necessity of rest to repair our broken constitutions ; he continued inexorable . We next applied to him for " some kind of conveyance ; he offered to us two a sort of palanquinbut positively '
re-, fused any assistance to Mr . De Souza , or the seamen . This was rejected with indignation by us , and having provided ourselves with some cloth to purchase subsistence on our journey , we left Sofala on the ist of November . I was totall y at a loss to account for a conduct so repugnant to the princiles of humanityand as it is directlopposite to the treatment
p , y we experienced at other Portuguese settlements , nothing would have determined me to mention it , but a due regard to truth and impartiality which , I hope , will be found to characterise this narrative . The knowled ge I afterwards acquired of his character , removed my surprise excited at his inhospitable behaviour , as it appears that such acts arecongenial with nature .
By the 20 th November we had travelled upwards of zoo miles , through a miserable tract of country very thinly inhabited ( probably the consequence of the Slave-trade at Mosambique ) , sometimes for 40 miles not a hut or creature to be seen ; the precautions we took , of surrounding ourselves with fire at ni g ht , prevented any accident from the numerous species of wild beasts with which the country abounds ;
But now the excessive heat of the climate , added to the fatigue we experienced in being obliged to travel during the heat of the day , wholly overpowered us , and for a fortni ght we remained in a most deplorable state , when the Governor of Senna , hearing we were on the way , dispatched palanquins for us , and on the 6 th of December we arrived there . Here every care and attention was paid to us , and we received
that medical assistance the place afforded ; but , notwithstanding , two of the seamen , and Mr . Wilton , fourth mate , a most worthy , active , and able young officer , died during our stay . On the first notice of a vessel being ready to sail , the remainder of our party left Senna , and in a few days arrived at Killeman , where we embarked on board a sloopand the 12 th of February 1793 M . de Souza
, , and myself reached Mosambique , five months after leaving Madagascar . On our arrival there we immediately waited on the Governor , and detailed to him the loss of the Winterton , as well as every circumstance that had occurred since our departure from the island of Madagascar j I informed him , likewise , that I had been deputed by my unfortunate shipmates and friends to solicit the aid of the Mosambique government . }