gentleman being seconded by Major Fraser, with another party, were routed and fled, leaving Bowwood House in flames.

pre

At Miller's Redoubt another party of the Charaibs were defeated by Major M'Cleod; and, in the cipitancy of their flight, left behind them many of their muskets and cartouche boxes. On this ridge the English mounted a long six-pounder, which they directed against the enemy's position, and soon forced them to retire to the Vigie. Here they remained until the arrival of Sir Ralph Abercrombie, on the 8th of June, when they were enclosed and besieged in their position by the British forces, stationed around the heights on every side, and consisting of near four thousand strong.

The French found it beyond their power to resist the strong force and active measures now brought against them. They, therefore, surrendered themselves to General Abercrombie; and four hundred and sixty fine men marched out of their garrison, with all the honors of war, and were sent on board the British ships, leaving the Charaibs to fight their own battles.

Deprived of the French assistance, diminished in force, reduced in numbers, fatigued with the length of the war, and finding their enemies more powerful than ever, the Charaibs could do little more; and, after one or two skirmishes of slight importance, and a treacherous attempt to deceive the English, which proved unsuccessful, they were totally subdued.

On the 4th of July seven hundred and twenty-five

brigands, and four thousand six hundred and thirtythree Charaibs, men, women, and children, surrendered to the British troops, and were immediately sent out of the colony to the island of Baliseau, one of the Grenadines, whence they were shortly

after transported to the Island of Rattan, in the Bay of Honduras.

CHAPTER XXXIV.

PAST AND PRESENT STATE OF THE CHARAIBS.

"Since I saw you last,

"There is a change upon you."

Shakespeare.

THE English were excessively glad of the conclusion of the long and troublesome Charaib war; and I am not less pleased at the conclusion of

my narrative, which to me hath been equally long and troublesome. If it be disagreeable to hear, it is still more so to write of barbarities; and of a verity, the Charaibs were not idle in their execution. I could relate atrocities that would make my reader's "blood run cold;" but, as I know that to be a very unpleasant sensation, I shall forbear. The island of St. Vincent was certainly the scene of war more than of insurrection, for at that time the Charaibs were a numerous and warlike race, and the powerful assistance they received from the French rendered them no despicable enemies. The mere fact of their maintaining a war, from 1794 to 1796, against the whole English force, commanded by an experienced general, sufficiently proves that theirs was not the mere insurrection of a handful of rebels, that might be quelled, like many others, in a single week by active and decisive operations.

A brief history of what the Charaibs were, and a short comparison of their ancient, with their present state, manners, and customs, will, I am convinced, be interesting to the reader.

Many and various have been the traditions handed down to us respecting the original Charaibs found in the West India islands by the first settlers. All writers, however, agree that there were two races of people in these islands, who differed in color, one being black and the other red. In the island of St. Vincent immense numbers of both classes were found by the French, who went thither under pretence of assisting the black Charaibs against the red, with whom they were at war. Of the different traditions that pretend to account for the appearance of the black Charaibs, I am inclined to give most credit to that which asserts, that a merchant vessel from Africa, with a cargo of negroes, was wrecked on the coast, and that those who swam on shore were received by the red Charaibs with marks of kindness, and suffered to dwell among them as their own brethren.

If this account be true, the red people are the original Charaibs, and the blacks are only to be regarded, like the French or English inhabitants of St. Vincent, in the light of settlers. This supposition is also rendered more probable, by the very marked distinction between the two races. The manners and customs, the characters and dispositions, the ideas and propensities of the blacks differed in every respect from those of the red inhabitants; and the

highest disgrace on all the French officers who joined, and, in many instances, commanded the Charaibs, that they had not prevented, or at least endeavoured to alleviate the sufferings of the unfortunate prisoners. How the people of any civilised nation could reconcile to their minds the office of witnessing, with unconcern, the diabolical tortures inflicted by a set of barbarians on the persons of Europeans, however much their enemies, I know not. It must have been revolting to humanity to behold an innocent and unconscious infant murdered at the breast of its lovely and affectionate mother when receiving from her its natural support, to behold savages presenting to a wife the head of her slaughtered husband, with a fiendish grin of mockery and triumph.

Such, and numerous other actions of the same nature, were the atrocities of the Charaibs: their prisoners were always murdered; and a few men of the windward militia, whom they contrived to intercept, were put to death, by having their wrists and ankles severed by many blows from a blunt cutlass, and the infliction of other wounds on their bodies with the same weapon.

But to return to our narrative, Major Ecuyer, in obedience to the orders of General Meyers, who had now succeeded to the command of the British forces in the colony, commenced his march from Owia to Mount Young; but, finding it impracticable, was obliged to return to his former position, where his detachment was surprised and cut to pieces by six hundred of the enemy; only a few escaped.