The Private Journal of William Reynolds: United States Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842 by William Reynolds

Author:William Reynolds [Reynolds, William]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Adventurers & Explorers, Autobiography, Biography, Diaries & Journals, Non-Fiction, Travel, Travelogues
ISBN: 9781440649356
Google: 5URrWfwP9jMC
Publisher: Penguin
Published: 2004-10-25T23:00:00+00:00

[CHAPTER 13: PORTENTS]

[Returning from another exhausting tour of boat duty, we] saw a Ship at anchor close to Rock Island. First thought it must be Captain Belcher—then the Vincennes—but at last made her out Peacock. Continued our work until sundown, & the 1st Cutter getting jammed among shoals, we did not get on board until 7. This was the 3rd of July, and our 12th day out.

I felt the most curious sensations on stepping on the Ship’s deck. The little motion which she had at her anchor was so different from the quick & irregular jumping of the boats that I tottered, lost my balance & staggered as a drunken man. We had a hearty welcome from all hands & were quite glad to be back. The Ship, we learned, was on her way to Sandal Wood Bay again to meet the Vincennes there.

But we had the most horrible tales to listen to. The mate of the Leonidas1 had been blown almost to pieces while firing the guns of that ship to measure a base2 for our boats. He had the Cartridge containing several pounds of powder in the Bosom of his Shirt. A spark from the touch hole caught it & the whole exploded, burning him like a cinder. He was brought 20 miles in a boat to the Ship, and at this time was lying in a cot on the open deck, the most ghastly & sickening sight, that ever met my eyes and so offensive that no one but Dr. G[uillou] could bear to be near him.

He was a very tall, thin man with prominent features & large bones. They had him completely covered with large patches of linen steeped in oil—face, limbs & all, so that he looked like a loathsome image of stained marble. Oh! ’twas piteous to see him so, & know that he was living. Death then would have been a mercy to the miserable suffering man, but he lingered on in the most intense pain & groaning continually, so that no one could rest in the Ship. And this was one yarn.

This same morning of the 3rd July, while the Ship was off Tavia, [the young chief] Nadembi, his Wife & 3 canoes full of natives came on board. They said they had taken three prisoners, belonging to the town on Wylea Rock, & had roasted them & eaten part! Nadembi’s Wife was the first to speak of it, & she said that two of the bodies had been sent over to Noloa Island, where there was to be a grand feast, and that part of the third was in the Canoe, wrapped up in plantain leaves.

The infernal devils were eager to show their Hellish food, and they held up the flesh in the Canoe alongside, that it might be seen. Not content with this, they brought a skull on board, all raw & bloody, with the marks of their teeth where they had torn away strips of flesh, and one of

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