HOW CAPTAIN PAMPHILE, HAVING DISPOSED TO ADVANTAGE OF HIS BLACK IVORY AT MARTINIQUE AND HIS SPIRITS AT THE GRAND ANTILLES, CAME ACROSS HIS OLD FRIEND BLACK SNAKE AGAIN, NOW CAZIQUE OF THE MOSQUITOS, AND PURCHASED THAT DIGNITY FROM HIM FOR A HALF- PIPE OF BRANDY
After two months and a half of a prosperous voyage, during which, thanks to the paternal care exercised by Captain Pamphile over his cargo, he only lost thirty-two negroes, the “Roxelane “sailed into the harbour of Martinique.
The time was most opportune for the disposal of his cargo. Thanks to the philanthropic measures which by common agreement had been adopted by civilized nations against the slave trade, which was now exposed to quite ridiculous risks, the colonies had been driven to want.
Captain Pamphile’s wares were thus at a high premium when he landed at Saint-Pierre-Martinique; thus he had none but the richest for his customers. Moreover, the Captain’s cargo was really of the very best description. All these men captured on the battlefield were the bravest and strongest of their race; then they had little of the natural stupidity and animal apathy of the Congo negroes; their intercourse with the Cape had made them almost civilized. They were only a half-savage race. Thus the Captain sold them for a thousand dollars apiece, taking one with the other. This came to a total of nine hundred and ninety thousand francs, And, since he as commander was
entitled to a half-share, he pocketed, on his own account, after all expenses were paid, four hundred and twenty-two thousand francs (£16,880), a sum of money not to be sneezed at.
Then an unexpected occurrence gave another opportunity to Captain Pamphile to make a good profit on the other portion of his cargo. As the firm of Jackson and Co., of New York, had only received thirty-eight pipes of brandy instead of the fifty which had been expected from Ignace Nicolas Pelonge of Orléans, it had been obliged, contrary to its well-known principles of punctual delivery, to disappoint some of its customers. Consequently, Captain Pamphile heard at Saint-Pierre that the islands of the Great Antilles were entirely out of spirits. As he had on board, as will be remembered, eleven and three-quarter pipes of brandy which he had not used, he resolved to set sail for Jamaica.
Captain Pamphile had not been deceived; the inhabitants of Jamaica were longing for a taste of brandy, which they had been without for three months; so the worthy Captain’s arrival was welcomed as a providence. But as there is no bargaining with Providence, the Captain sold his pipes at the rate of twenty francs a bottle; this added to his first dividend of four hundred and twenty-two thousand francs an additional fifty thousand livres, which brought the sum total up to four hundred and seventy-two thousand francs. So, Captain Pamphile, who up to this time had never formed an aspiration beyond the aurea mediocritas of Horace, now resolved to sail immediately for Marseilles, where, by getting together all the funds which he had gathered in different parts of the globe, he would realize a small fortune of from seventy-two to eighty thousand livres of annual income. Man proposes and God disposes. The Captain had scarcely cleared the Bay of Kingston before he was caught in a gale which drove him towards the Mosquito Coast, which lies in the Gulf of Mexico, between the Bay of Honduras and the San-Juan River. Then, as the “Roxelane “was in need of some repairs, and required a new top-mast and flying jib-boom, the Captain decided to land, although the natives of the country were assembled in crowds on the shore, and some, armed with muskets, seemed disposed to resist his attempt. Thus, having got out the long-boat, and ordered that in case of accidents a small twelve-pound carronade should be mounted on a pivot in the bows, he manned her with twenty men and pulled vigorously to land, without troubling about the hostile demonstration of the natives, being resolved to get a top-mast and a jib-boom at any price.
The Captain had reckoned correctly on the effect which this prompt and precise demonstration of his intentions would produce; for as he neared the shore, the natives, who could see the Captain’s warlike preparations with the naked eye, retreated inland, where some poor huts could be seen, the largest of which carried a flag, whose device could not be made out, owing to the distance from the shore. The result of their retirement was, that when the Captain landed, the two forces were about the same distance apart, about a thousand yards, as before. This distance was too great for a conversation except by signals, and the Captain at once made his, by planting in the ground a staff from which floated a white handkerchief. This, all over the world, is understood as a sign that the makers of it are animated by friendly intentions.
It was doubtless so interpreted by the Mosquitos, for directly they saw it, a person who appeared to be their chief, dressed as such in an old uniform coat, which, for the sake of coolness, he wore without shirt or trousers, put down his musket/ tomahawk, and knife, and, raising both hands to show he was unarmed, advanced towards the shore. This demonstration was instantly understood by the Captain; for, not wishing to be behindhand, in his courtesy he put down his gun, pistols, and sword, raised his hands, and went to meet the savage with the same appearance of confidence as the latter had shown. When he got within fifty paces of the Mosquito Chief, Captain Pamphile stopped to look at him more attentively. It struck him that his face was not unknown to him and that this was not the first time he had the honour of meeting him. On his side, the savage appeared to have much the same idea, and the sight of the Captain seemed to stir up some confused and uncertain memories in his brain. At last, as they could not go on staring thus for ever, both advanced again till they were within about ten paces of each other, when both halted afresh with exclamations of surprise.
“Heuu!” said the Mosquito, gravely.
“Sacredié!” said the Frenchman, laughing.
“Black Snake is a great chief,” said the Huron.
“Pamphile is a great captain,” said the sailor.
“What does Captain Pamphile come to seek in the land of the Black Snake?”
“Two poor little sticks of willow, one to make a top-mast, the other a jib-boom.”
“And what will Captain Pamphile give Black Snake for them?”
“A bottle of fire-water.”
“Captain Pamphile is welcome,” said the Huron, after a short interval of silence, offering his hand as a token of consent. The Captain seized the Chief’s hand, and clasped it so tightly that he crushed his fingers, as a sign that the bargain was made. Black Snake bore the torture like a true Indian with calm eyes and smiling lips. Seeing this, the sailors on their side and the Mosquitos on theirs gave three mighty cheers to show their pleasure at the sight.
“And when will Captain Pamphile deliver the firewater?” asked the Huron, withdrawing his hand.
“On the spot,” replied the sailor.
“Pamphile is a great captain,” said the Huron, bowing.
“Black Snake is a great chief,” said the sailor, returning the salutation.
Upon this, both turning about with the same gravity, returned each to his own command, to tell how the conference had ended. An hour afterwards Black Snake had his bottle of fire-water and the same evening Captain Pamphile had selected two palm trees which exactly suited his purpose.
As the head carpenter wanted eight days to fit up his top-mast and jib-boom, the Captain, to prevent any breach of the peace between his crew and the natives occurring in the meanwhile, had a line drawn on the shore, which the sailors were forbidden to pass on any pretext whatsoever. Black Snake, on his side, also defined certain boundaries which his people were ordered to respect as their limit, and in the neutral zone between the camps a tent was pitched to serve as a meeting place when business relations rendered it desirable that the two commanders should hold conferences with each other.
The following day Black Snake took his-way towards the tent, calumet in hand. Captain Pamphile, noting the peaceful attitude of the Chief of the Mosquitos, strolled over from his side with his cutty in his mouth.
Black Snake had drunk his bottle of fire-water and wanted another. Captain Pamphile, without being inordinately inquisitive, was not at all sorry for the opportunity for finding out how it came to pass that he met on the Isthmus of Panama as Chief of the Mosquitos the man he had left on the River St. Lawrence as Chief of the Hurons.
Thus, as both were ready to make some concession with a view to satisfying their respective wishes, they met like two old friends delighted to renew their acquaintanceship, and as a mark of complete amity Black Snake took Captain Pamphile’s pipe and Captain Pamphile the Indian’s calumet, and both sat for a short time gravely puffing clouds of smoke in each other’s faces.
After a short space of silent contemplation, Black Snake began the conversation by observing:
“The tobacco of my brother the paleface is very strong.”
“Which is to say, that my brother the redskin would like to wet his lips with fire-water,” answered Captain Pamphile.
“Fire-water is the Huron’s milk,” replied the Huron, with a proud air which showed how superior he considered himself in this respect to the European.
“Let my brother drink, then,” said Captain Pamphile, taking a case-bottle from his pocket, “and when the vessel is empty, we will refill it.”
Black Snake took the flask, put it to his lips, and at the first draught emptied about a third of its contents.
The Captain took it back, gave it a shake to calculate the deficit, and applying his mouth to it, gave it a suck with a goodwill fully equalling that shown by his guest. The latter wanted it back again in turn.
“One moment!” said the Captain, placing it between his knees. “As the flask is two-thirds empty, suppose we talk a little about our doings since we last saw each other.”
“What would my brother like to know?” asked the Chief.
“Your brother wishes to hear,” said Captain Pamphile, “whether you -came here by sea or over land?”
“By sea,” answered the Huron, laconically. “And who brought you here?”
“The Chief of the Redcoats.”
“Let the tongue of Black Snake be loosened, and let him tell his story to his brother the paleface,” said the Captain, handing the case-bottle back to the Huron, who emptied the rest of it at a draught.
“Is my brother listening?” asked the Chief, his eyes beginning to sparkle.
“He listens,” replied the Captain, answering in the laconic manner of the Indian.
“After my brother left me in the middle of the storm,” said the Chief, “Black Snake continued his journey up the big river, no longer in his canoe, which was wrecked, but by marching on foot up the bank. He travelled thus for five days more, and then came to the shores of Lake Ontario. He crossed it to York, and was soon at Lake Huron, where his wigwam was situated. But during his absence great events had taken place.
“The English, pushing the red men back before them, had little by little made their way as far as the shores of Lake Superior. Black Snake found his village inhabited by palefaces, and strangers had taken his place in the home of his ancestors.
“Then he retired to the mountains in which the Ottawa has its source, and called on his young braves; they dug up the war hatchet, and flocked round him, numerous as were the elks and their hinds before the palefaces come to the springs of the Delaware and the Susquehanna. Then the palefaces were dismayed, and in the name of the Governor they sent an embassy to the Black Snake. They offered to give him six muskets, two barrels of powder, and fifty bottles of fire-water if he would sell the roof-tree of his father and the land of his ancestors. And instead of this homestead and of those fields they were to give him the country of the Mosquitos, which had just been ceded to the palefaces by the Republic of Guatemala. Black Snake resisted for a long time all the tempting offers made him, but at last he unfortunately tasted the fire-water, and then his heart became as wax. He gave his consent to the treaty, and the exchange was made. Black Snake took a stone and threw it away behind him, saying:
“‘As I throw away this stone, so may Manitu, the Great Spirit, cast me away from him if ever again I set foot, in the forests, the prairies, or the mountains which lie between Lake Erie and Hudson’s Bay, and between Lake Ontario and Lake Superior.’
“Forthwith he was taken to Philadelphia, placed on board ship, and conveyed to Mosquitos; there Black Snake and the young braves who accompanied him built the huts which my brother can see from here. When the houses were ready, the commander of the palefaces raised the English flag above the largest of them and returned to his ship, leaving with Black Snake a paper written in an unknown tongue.”
As he concluded his story Black Snake sighed, and drew a parchment from his breast, opening it for Captain Pamphile to peruse; it was the document by which was ceded to him all the territory lying between the Bay of Honduras and the Lake of Nicaragua, it being placed under the protection of England, and he reigning with the title “Cazique of the Mosquitos.”
The Britannic Government reserved to itself the right of constructing one or more fortresses, at such places as it might choose, in the territory of the Cazique.
England is the most far-sighted of nations; on the presumption that some day or other the Isthmus of Panama would be cut through, it might be at Chiapa, it might be at Cartago, she formed beforehand the project of establishing an American Gibraltar between the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. While reading the document Captain Pamphile was struck by a novel idea. He had speculated in everything — tea, indigo, coffee, cod, apes, bears, spirits, and Kaffirs; now he saw his way to purchasing a kingdom.
Only the last-named cost him rather more than he had at first expected. This was not on account of the sea teeming with fish which washed its shores, nor of the tall cocoanut trees which fringed the streams, nor yet again of the vast forests which clothe the mountains cutting the Isthmus in two, and form the border between the Guatemalians and the Mosquitos. No, Black Snake set but small store by all this potential wealth; but, on the other hand, he set an enormous value on the red seal which ornamented the foot of his parchment. Unfortunately, the deed was worthless without the seal, which was that of the English Foreign Minister. The seal cost the Captain one hundred and fifty bottles of fire-water; but he got the parchment thrown in into the bargain.