

FESTIVAL OF ST. BENTO. 



359 



mencement of the prayers and singing in the 

 chapel, the black people extended several mats 

 upon the ground in the open air ; and our party 

 sat down upon them to converse and to eat 

 cakes and sweatmeats, of which many kinds 

 were exposed for sale in great abundance. All 

 went on quietly for three nights, for the mulatto 

 manager forbad the sale of rum ; but on the 

 fourth night some liquor unfortunately found 

 its way up the hill, and Nicolau, the manager, 

 came in haste to inform me that a few of my 

 Indians were earnestly bent on quarrelling with 

 a party of his people. I rose from the mat upon 

 which I had been seated, and followed by my 

 body guard, accompanied him back to the spot, 

 where I soon saw that a fight had commenced j 

 persuasion was of no avail, and therefore my 

 negroes made use of the butt-ends of their pikes, 

 and brought an Indian to the ground, who was. 

 delivered over to Sim^n, one of my fellows > 

 and I desired the two slaves who remained to 

 assist the St. Bento negroes. I thus proved, that 

 1 would not uphold my own people if they acted 

 irregularly ; and the matter fortunately ended 

 with only some trifling bruises, and one broken 

 head. The Indian was conveyed home by 

 Simam, who returned to tell me that he had 

 plaeed the man in the stocks, with the intent 

 of sobering him. No more quarrels were en- 

 tered into ; for this affair quite sickened all 

 a a 4 



