EXPEDITION TO SURINAM. 141: 

 drained valour, I afked Colonel Seyburg liberty to follow CHAP. 



■y VTT 



them ; and calling for volunteers, a gren.r number prefented ' , 



themfelves, which, however, the Colonel thought proper 

 to reduce to /o//r only^ with whom he fent me off; and 

 having fcrambled through thorns and briars woven to- 

 gether like a net or a mat, which tore one of my thighs 

 in a terrible manner, I overtook them at one mile's dif- 

 tance from the camp : fhortly after we difcovered thirteen 

 frefh huts, where the rebels, we conjectured, had flept but 

 a few nights before. In confequence of this, I now dif- 

 patched a ranger back to Colonel Seyburg to give him in- 

 telligence, and afk permiffion for the rangers and myfelf 

 to march forward to Pirica without delay, in hopes to meet 

 the enemy : but the anfwer was a peremptory order in- 

 ftantly to rejoin him with all hands. We now returned 

 difgufted back to the camp; my fable companions in par- 

 ticular extremely difcontented, and making many JJjrewd 

 and farcajlic remarks. 



Here we found a reinforcement juft arrived from Je- 

 rufalem, confifting of fixty men, black and white, with 

 politive orders for us to break up and march early the 

 next morning for Pirica River, while this whole night 

 a ftrong party lay once more in ambufh. 



Accordingly at fix o'clock, with the rifing-fun, all was 

 in readinefs, but by fome unac<:ountable delay it was very 

 late before we left the camp; during which time we 

 were informed that a canoe was feen croffing the river 

 with one lingle negro in it, who was no doubt the poor 



fellow 



