Under Drake's Flag: A Tale of the Spanish Main Page 8

  It was with a feeling of triumph, indeed, that the negroes, aftergaining their own fastness, looked back at the sky, lighted by thedistant conflagration. They had now, for the first time, inflictedsuch a lesson upon their oppressors as would make a deep mark. Theyfelt themselves to be really free; and knew that they, in theirturn, had struck terror into the hearts of the Spaniards.

  Retiring to the depths of the forest, great fires were made. Sheep,fowls, and other articles of provision, which had been broughtback, were killed and prepared. Huge bonfires were lit, and theparty, secure that, for twenty-four hours at least, the Spaniardscould attempt no retributive measures, sat down to enjoy thebanquet.

  They had driven with them a few small bullocks, and also somescores of sheep. These, however, were not destined for the spit.They were to be placed in the heart of their country; so that,unless disturbed by the Spaniards, they might prove a source offuture sustenance to them.

  There was wild feasting that night, with dances, and songs oftriumph in the negro and native dialects; and Ned and Gerald werelauded and praised, as the authors of the change which had takenplace in the condition of the fugitives. Even the stern severity ofNed's act was thoroughly approved; and it was agreed, again, thatanyone refusing to obey the orders of the white chiefs shouldforfeit his life.

  The blow which the negroes had struck caused intense consternationthroughout Hispaniola. The younger, and more warlike spirits werein favor of organizing an instant crusade, for sending to the otherislands for more troops, for surrounding the forest country, andfor putting the last of the negroes to the sword. More peacefulcounsels, however, prevailed; for it was felt that the whole opencountry was, as Ned had told the governor, at their mercy; that thedamage which could be inflicted would be enormous; and thesatisfaction of putting the fugitives to death, even if they werefinally conquered, would be but a poor recompense for the blowwhich might be given to the prosperity and wealth of the island.All sorts of schemes were mooted, by which the runaways could bebeguiled into laying down their arms, but no practicable plan couldbe hit upon.

  In the meantime, in the mountains, the bands improved in drill anddiscipline. They had now gained some confidence in themselves, andgave themselves up heartily to the work. Portions of land, too,were turned up; and yams and other fruits, on a larger scale thanhad hitherto been attempted, were planted. A good supply of goatswas obtained, huts were erected, and the lads determined that, atleast as long as the Spaniards allowed it, their lives should bemade as comfortable as possible.

  Fugitive slaves from time to time joined the party; but Nedstrongly discouraged any increase, at present, from this cause. Hewas sure that, were the Spaniards to find that their runaways weresheltered there, and that a general desertion of their slaves mighttake place; they would be obliged, in self defense, to root outthis formidable organization in their midst. Therefore, emissarieswere sent out among the negroes, stating that none would bereceived, in the mountains, save those who had previously askedpermission; this being only accorded in cases where such extremebrutality and cruelty had been exercised, by the masters, as wouldwholly justify the flight of the slave.

  For some months, a sort of truce was maintained between theSpaniards and this little army in the woods. The blacks observedthe promises, which Ned had made, with great fidelity. The plantersfound that no depredations took place, and that the desertionsamong their slaves were no more numerous than before; and had itdepended solely upon them, no further measures would have beentaken.

  The case, however, was different among the military party in theisland. To them, the failure of the expedition into the forest, andthe burning of the governor's house, were matters which seriouslyaffected their pride. Defeat by English buccaneers they wereaccustomed to; and regarding the English, at sea, as a species ofdemon against whom human bravery availed little. They were slightlytouched by it; but that they should be defied by a set of runawayslaves; and of natives, whom they had formerly regarded withcontempt; was a blow to their pride.

  Quietly, and without ostentation, troops were drafted into theisland from the neighboring posts, until a formidable force hadbeen gathered there. The foresters had now plenty of means ofcommunication with the negroes, who regarded them as saviors, towhom they could look for rescue and shelter, in case of theirmasters' cruelty; and were always ready to send messengers up intothe forest, with news of every occurrence which took place undertheir observation. The grown-up slaves, of course, could not leavethe plantation; but there were numbers of fleet-footed lads who,after nightfall, could be dispatched from the huts into themountains, and return before daylight; while, even should theyremain until the next night, they would attract no attention bytheir absence.

  Thus, then, Ned and Gerald learned that a formidable body ofSpaniards were being collected, quietly, in the town; and everyeffort was made to meet the coming storm. The various gorges wereblocked with high barricades; difficult parts of the mountain were,with great labor, scarped so as to render the advance of an armedforce difficult in the extreme; great piles of stones werecollected, to roll down into the ravines; and provisions of yams,sweet potatoes, and other food were stored up.

  The last stronghold had, after a great debate, been fixed upon at apoint in the heart of one of the hills. This was singularly welladapted for defense The hill itself was extremely precipitous onall sides. On one side, it fell sheer down. A goat track ran alongthe face of this precipice, to a point where the hill fell back,forming a sort of semicircular arena on the very face of theprecipice. This plateau was some two acres in extent. Herequantities of forage were heaped up in readiness, for the food ofsuch animals as might be driven in there. The track itself was,with great labor, widened; platforms of wood being placed at thenarrow points; and steps were cut in the hill behind the plateau toenable them, should their stronghold be stormed, to escape at thelast moment up to the hilltop above. In most places the cliffbehind the plateau rose so steeply as to almost overhang the foot;and in these were many gaps and crevices, in which a considerablenumber of people could take shelter, so as to avoid stones andother missiles hurled down from above.

  At one point in particular the precipice overhung, and under this astrong erection of the trunks of trees was made. This was for theanimals to be placed in. The heavy roof was amply sufficient tokeep out any bullet shots; while, from its position, no masses ofrock could be dropped upon it.

  It was not thought probable that the Spaniards would harass themmuch from above, for the ascent to the summit was everywhereextremely difficult; and the hillside was perfectly bare, andsloped so sharply upward, from the edge of the precipitous cliff,that it would be a difficult and dangerous task to descend, so asto fire down into the arena; and, although every precaution hadbeen taken, it was felt that there was little fear of any attackfrom above.

  At last all was in readiness, as far as the efforts of those in theforest could avail. A message was then sent in to the governor, tothe effect that the men of the forest desired to know for whatpurpose so many soldiers were being assembled in the island; andthat, on a given day, unless some of these were embarked and sentoff, they would consider that a war was being prepared againstthem, and that the agreement that the outlying settlements shouldbe left intact was therefore invalid.

  As the boys had anticipated, the Spaniards answered this missive byan instant movement forward; and some four hundred men werereported as moving out towards the hills. This the boys wereprepared for, and simultaneously with the movement the wholeband--divided into parties of six, each of which had its fixeddestination and instructions, all being alike solemnly pledged totake no life in cold blood, and to abstain from all unnecessarycruelties--started quickly from the forest.

  That night the Spanish force halted near the edge of the forest;but at midnight a general consternation seized the camp when, fromfifty different points, flames were seen suddenly to rise on theplain. Furious at this misfortune, the general in command put hiscavalry in motion, and scoured the country;
only to find, however,that the whole of the haciendas of the Spanish proprietors were inflames, and that fire had been applied to all the standing crops.Everywhere he heard the same tale; that those who had resisted hadbeen killed, but that no harm had been inflicted upon defenselesspersons.

  This was so new a feature, in troubles with the negroes, that theSpaniards could not but be surprised, and filled with admiration atconduct so different to that to which they were accustomed. Thesight of the tremendous destruction of property, however, rousedthem to fury; and this was still further heightened when, towardsmorning, a great burst of flame in the city proclaimed that thenegroes had fallen upon the town, while the greater portion of itsdefenders were withdrawn.

  This was, indeed, a masterly stroke on the part of the boys. Theyknew that, even deducting those who had set forth, there wouldstill be an amply sufficient force in the city to defeat and crushtheir band; but they thought that, by a quick stroke, they mightsucceed in inflicting a heavy blow upon them. Each of the bandstherefore had instructions, after doing its allotted share ofincendiarism, to make for the town, and to meet at a certain pointoutside it. Then, quietly and noiselessly, they had entered. Oneparty fell upon the armory, and another attacked with fury thegovernor's house. The guards there were, as had happened with hisresidence in the country, cut down. Fire was applied in a dozenplaces and, before the astonished troops and inhabitants couldrally, from the different parts of the town, the negroes were againin the country; having fulfilled their object, and carried off withthem a large additional stock of arms.

  Before the cavalry from the front could arrive, they were again farin the country; and, making a long detour, gained their fastness,having struck a terrible blow, with the cost to themselves of onlysome eight or ten lives.

  It was a singular sight, as they looked out in the morning fromtheir hilltops. Great masses of smoke extended over the wholecountry; for although most of the dwellings were, by this time,leveled to the ground--for, built of the lightest construction,they offered but little resistance to the flames--from the fieldsof maize and cane, clouds of smoke were still rising, as theconflagration spread; and at one stroke the whole agriculturalwealth of the island was destroyed. The boys regretted that thisshould necessarily be the case; but they felt that it was now war,to the knife, between the Spaniards and them, and that such adefeat would be beneficial.

  This, indeed, was the case; for the commander drew back his troopsto the town, in order to make fresh arrangements, before venturingupon an attack on foes who showed themselves possessed of suchdesperate determination.

  Another six weeks elapsed, indeed, before a forward movement wasagain commenced; and in that time considerable acquisitions offorce were obtained. Strong as the bands felt themselves, theycould not but be alarmed at the thought of the tremendous stormgathering to burst over their heads. The women had long since beensent away, to small native villages existing on the other side ofthe island, and living at peace with their neighbors Thither Nedalso dispatched several of the party whom he believed to be eitherwanting in courage, or whose constancy he somewhat doubted. Atraitor now would be the destruction of the party; and it wascertain that any negro deserting to the enemy, and offering to actas their guide to the various strongholds of the defenders, wouldreceive immense rewards. Thus it was imperative that every man, ofwhose fidelity and constancy the least doubt was entertained,should be carefully sent out of the way of temptation. All the bandwere, indeed, pledged by a most solemn oath; and death, by torture,was the penalty awarded for any act of treachery.

  The greater portion of the force were now provided with Europeanarms. The negroes had musketoons or arquebuses, the natives stillretained the bow, while all had pikes and spears. They wereundefended by protective amour, and in this respect the Spaniardshad a great advantage in the fight; but, as the boys pointed out,this advantage was more than counterbalanced by the extra facilityof movement, on the part of the natives, who could scale rocks andclimb hills absolutely inaccessible to their heavily armed andweighty opponents.

  The scouts, who had been stationed on the lookout at the edge ofthe forest, brought word that the Spaniards, nigh 1500 strong, haddivided in six bodies; and were marching so as to enter the forestfrom six different, and nearly equidistant, points. Each band wasaccompanied by bloodhounds, and a large number of other fierce dogsof the wolfhound breed, which the Spaniards had imported for thepurpose of attacking negroes in their hiding places. Of theseanimals the negroes had the greatest dread; and even the bravest,who were ready to match themselves against armed Spaniards, yettrembled at the thought of the encounter with these ferociousanimals.

  It was clear that no repetition of the tactics formerly pursuedwould be possible; for if any attempt at night attacks were made,the dogs would rush out and attack them; and not only proveformidable enemies themselves, but guide the Spaniards to theplaces where they were stationed. Ned and Gerald would fain havepersuaded the natives that dogs, after all, however formidable theymight appear, were easily mastered by well-armed men; and that anydog rushing to attack them would be pierced with spears and arrows,to say nothing of being shot by the arquebuses, before he couldseize any of them. The negroes, however, had known so many cases inwhich fugitives had been horribly torn, and indeed, frequentlykilled, by these ferocious animals, that the dread of them was toogreat for them to listen to the boys' explanations. The latter,seeing that it would be useless to attempt to overcome their fears,on this ground, abstained from the attempt.

  It had been agreed that, in the event of the Spaniards advancingfrom different quarters, one column only should be selected for amain attack; and that, while the others should be harassed by smallparties, who should cast down rocks upon them while passing throughthe gorges, and so inflict as much damage as possible, no attemptwould be made to strike any serious blow upon them. The columnselected for attack was, naturally, that whose path led through thepoints which had been most strongly prepared and fortified. Thisband mustered about three hundred; and was clearly too strong to beattacked, in open fight, by the forest bands. Gerald and Ned hadalready talked the matter over in every light, and decided that apurely defensive fight must be maintained; each place wherepreparations had been made being held to the last, and a rapidretreat beaten to the next barricade.

  The Spaniards advanced in heavy column. At a distance of a hundredyards, on each side, marched a body of fifty in compact mass,thereby sheltering the main body from any sudden attack.

  The first point at which the lads had determined to make a standwas the mouth of a gorge. Here steep rocks rose perpendicularlyfrom the ground, running almost like a wall along that portion ofthe forest. In the midst of this was a cleft, through which alittle stream ran. It was here that the boys had made preparations.The point could not be turned, without a long and difficult marchalong the face of the cliff; and on the summit of this sixty men,divided into two parties, one on each side of the fissure, werestationed.

  The Spaniards advanced until they nearly reached the mouth of theravine. It must be remembered that, although the forest was verythick, and the vegetation luxuriant; yet there were paths here andthere, made by the constant passing, to and fro, of the occupantsof the wood. Their main direction acted as a guide to theSpaniards; and the hounds, by their sniffing and eagerness, actedas a guide to the advancing force.

  They paused when they saw, opening before them, this entrance tothe rocky gorge. While they halted, the increased eagerness of thedogs told them that they were now approaching the point where theirfoes were concealed; and the prospect of an attack, on so strong aposition, was formidable even to such a body.

  A small party, of thirty men, was told off to advance andreconnoiter the position. These were allowed to enter the gorge,and to follow it for a distance of a hundred yards, to a pointwhere the sides were approached to their nearest point. Then, froma parapet of rock piled across the ravine came a volley ofmusketry; and, simultaneously, from the heights of either sidegreat stones came crashing
down. Such of the party as did not fallat the first discharge fired a volley at their invisibleassailants, and then hurried back to the main body.

  It was now clear that fighting, and that of a serious character,was to be undertaken. The Spanish commander rapidly reconnoiteredthe position; and saw that here, at least, no flanking movement waspossible. He therefore ordered his men to advance, for a directattack. Being more afraid of the stones from above than of thedefenders in the ravine, the Spaniards prepared to advance inskirmishing order; in that way they would be able to creep up tothe barricade of rocks with the least loss, to themselves, from thefire of its defenders; while the stones from above would prove farless dangerous than would be the case upon a solid column.

  With great determination, the Spanish troops advanced to theattack. As they neared the mouth of the gorge, flights of arrowsfrom above were poured down upon them; and these were answered bytheir own musketeers and bowmen, although the figures occasionallyexposed above offered but a poor mark, in comparison to thatafforded by the column below.

  The men on the ridge were entirely natives, the boys havingselected the negroes, on whose courage at close quarters they couldmore thoroughly rely, for the defense of the ravine. The firearmsin those days could scarcely be termed arms of precision. Thebell-mouth arquebuses could carry a large and heavy charge, butthere was nothing like accuracy in their fire; and although asteady fire was kept up from the barricade, and many Spaniardsfell; yet a larger number succeeded in making their way through thezone of fire, by taking advantage of the rocks and bushes; andthese gathered, near the foot of the barricade.

  The stones which came crashing from above did serious damage amongthem, but the real effect of these was more moral than physical.The sound of the great masses of stone, plunging down the hillside,setting in motion numbers of small rocks as they came, tearing downthe bushes and small trees, was exceedingly terrifying at first;but as block after block dashed down, doing comparatively littleharm, the Spaniards became accustomed to them; and, keeping underthe shelter of masses of rock, to the last moment, prepared alltheir energies for the attack. The Spanish commander found that thegreater portion of his troop were within striking distance, and hegave the command, to those gathered near the barricade, to springforward to the attack.

  The gorge, at this point, was some fifteen yards wide. Thebarricade across it was thirty feet in height. It was formed ofblocks of stone, of various sizes; intermingled with which weresharp stakes, with their points projecting; lines of bushes andarms of trees, piled outwards; and the whole was covered looselywith sharp prickly creepers, cut from the trees and heaped there. Amore difficult place to climb, even without its being defended fromabove, would be difficult to find. The covering of thorny creepershid the rocks below; and at each step the soldiers put their feetinto deep holes between the masses of rock, and fell forward,lacerating themselves horribly with the thorns, or coming facedownwards on one of the sharp-pointed stakes. But if, without anyresistance from above, the feat of climbing this carefully preparedbarricade was difficult; it was terrible when, from the ridgeabove, a storm of bullets swept down. It was only for a moment thatthe negroes exposed themselves, in the act of firing. Behind, thebarricade was as level and smooth as it was difficult upon theouter side. Great steps, some three feet wide, had been prepared ofwood; so that the defenders could easily mount and, standing inlines, relieve each other as they fired. The stones of the topseries had been carefully chosen of a form so as to leave, betweeneach, crevices through which the defenders could fire, whilescarcely exposing themselves to the enemy.

  The Spaniards behind endeavored to cover the advance of theircomrades, by keeping up a heavy fire at the summit of thebarricade; and several of the negroes were shot through the head,in the act of firing. Their loss, however, was small in comparisonto that of the assailants; who strove, in vain, to climb up thethorny ascent, their position being the more terrible inasmuch asthe fire from the parties on the rocks above never ceased, andstones kept up a sort of bombardment on those in the ravine. Eventhe fierce dogs could with difficulty climb the thorn-coveredbarriers, and those who reached the top were instantly shot, orstabbed.

  At last, after suffering very considerable loss, the Spanishcommander drew off his soldiers; and a wild yell of triumph rosefrom the negroes. The combat however had, as the boys were aware,scarcely begun; and they now waited, to see what the next effort ofthe Spaniards would be.

  It was an hour before the latter again advanced to the attack. Thistime the troops were carrying large bundles of dried grass andrushes; and although again suffering heavily in the attack, theypiled these at the foot of the barricade, and in another minute aflash of fire ran up the side. The smoke and flame, for a time,separated the defenders from their foes; and the fire ceased onboth sides, although those above never relaxed their efforts toharass the assailants.

  As the Spaniards had calculated, the flame of the great heap ofstraw communicated with the creepers, and burnt them up in itsfiery tongue; and when the flames abated, the rocks lay open anduncovered. The Spaniards now, with renewed hopes, advanced again tothe attack; and this time were able, although with heavy loss, tomake their way up the barricade.

  When they arrived within three or four feet of the top, Ned gavethe word; and a line of thirty powerful negroes, each armed with along pike, suddenly arose and, with a yell, threw themselves overthe edge and dashed down upon the Spaniards. The latter, strugglingto ascend, with unsteady footing on the loose and uneven rocks,were unable for an instant to defend themselves against thisassault.

  The negroes, barefooted, had no difficulty on the surface whichproved so fatal to the Spaniards; and, like the crest of a wave,they swept their opponents headlong down the face of the barricade.The heavily armed Spaniards fell over each other, those in fronthurling those behind backwards in wild confusion; and the firstline of negroes being succeeded by another, armed with axes, whocompleted the work which the first line had begun; the slaughter,for a minute, was terrible.

  For some thirty paces, the negroes pursued their advantage; andthen at a loud shout from Ned turned, and with a celerity equal tothat of their advance, the whole were back over the barricade,before the Spaniards in rear could awaken from their surprise; andscarcely a shot was fired, as the dark figures bounded back intoshelter.

  This time, the Spanish officer drew back his men sullenly. He feltthat they had done all that could be expected of them. Upwards ofsixty men had fallen. It would be vain to ask them to make theassault again. He knew, too, that by waiting, the other columnswould be gradually approaching; and that, on the morrow, somemethod of getting in the enemy's rear would probably be discovered.

  In the meantime, he sent off fifty men on either flank, to discoverhow far its rocky wall extended; while trumpeters, under strongguards, were sent up to the hilltops in the rear, and sounded thecall lustily. Musketoons, heavily charged so as to make as loud areport as possible, were also fired to attract the attention of theother columns.

  The boys were perfectly aware that they could not hope, finally, todefend this position. They had, however, given the Spaniards a veryheavy lesson; and the success of the defense had immensely raisedthe spirit and courage of their men. The signal was therefore givenfor a retreat; and in half an hour both the Indians, on the summitof the hill, and the negroes, behind the barricade, had fallenback; leaving only some half dozen to keep up the appearance ofdefense, and to bring back tidings of the doings of the enemy;while the rest hurried off, to aid the detached parties to inflictheavy blows upon the other columns.

  It was found that these were steadily approaching, but had lost agood many men. The reinforcements enabled the natives to make amore determined resistance, and in one or two places the columnswere effectually checked. The reports, when night fell, were thatthe Spaniards had altogether lost over two hundred men; but thatall their columns had advanced a considerable distance towards thecenter of the forest; and had halted, each as they stood; andbivouacked, keeping up h
uge fires and careful watches.

  It formed no part, however, of the boys' plan to attack them thus;and when morning dawned the whole of the defenders, each takingdifferent paths, as far as possible; some even making greatcircuits, so as to deceive the enemy, were directed to make for thecentral fortress. The intermediate positions, several of which wereas strong as the barricade which they had so well defended, wereabandoned; for the advance from other quarters rendered itimpossible to hold these.

  Chapter 9: Baffled.