144 
to venture into the water, set fire to the reeds ; this 
soon drove him out, but taking advantage of the 
smoke, he eluded them, and by dint of stratagem, 
succeeded in reaching Fort Dauphin, where he com¬ 
municated the sad tidings of the disasters which had 
befallen his comrades. 
The governor, instead of pursuing a different con¬ 
duct in future, which alone could avert the dangers 
that threatened the colony, resolved to revenge their 
death by carrying fire and sword into the heart of the 
country. Putting himself at the head of forty French¬ 
men, and a body of Manamboulese, while Father 
Manuer, the only surviving priest, carried the bloody 
banner, he set out on his barbarous expedition. He 
spared neither age nor sex ; but murdered without 
distinction, men, women, and children, and destroyed 
every village that lay in his way. The deserted 
donac of Dian Manangue was razed to the ground, 
and, in short, death and devastation marked the 
course he took, and the transactions of that campaign 
have fixed infamy and execration on his character. 
At length a want of provisions obliged him to 
retreat. The natives, seeing no hope of success¬ 
fully opposing his march, took care to remove or 
destroy every thing that could contribute to the sup¬ 
port of the invaders. Thus situated, Chamargou 
was under the necessity of returning to Fort Dau¬ 
phin ; but while he was about to pass the river 
Mandrare, Dian Manangue, who had been watching 
his motions, appeared, wearing the surplice and 
