I did not confine my lodging to it, but often reposed in thick cane-brakes, to avoid the savages, who, I believe, often visited my camp, but fortunately for me, in my absence.
The savages now learned the superiority of the Long Knife, as they call the Virginians, by experience; being out-generalled in almost every battle.
"Very grave ones; the natives are surrounding us in their canoes, and in a few minutes we shall certainly be attacked by many hundreds of savages."
I heard the noise of the savages, who stamped on the platform, uttering deafening cries.
In an instant, a signal yell was given; it was echoed on every side, knives and war-clubs were brandished in every direction, and the
savages rushed upon their marked victims.
The
savage spurned the worthless rags, and perceiving that the shawl had already become a prize to another, his bantering but sullen smile changing to a gleam of ferocity, he dashed the head of the infant against a rock, and cast its quivering remains to her very feet.
When these thoughts were over, my head was for some time taken up in considering the nature of these wretched creatures, I mean the
savages, and how it came to pass in the world that the wise Governor of all things should give up any of His creatures to such inhumanity - nay, to something so much below even brutality itself - as to devour its own kind: but as this ended in some (at that time) fruitless speculations, it occurred to me to inquire what part of the world these wretches lived in?
And then upon the jungle air there rose in unison from two
savage throats the victory cry of the bull-ape and the panther, blended into one frightful and uncanny scream.
Bankruptcy and repudiation are the springboards from which much of our civilization vaults and turns its somersets, but the
savage stands on the unelastic plank of famine.
"Hugh!" exclaimed the
savage, every dull thought instantly recalled from heaven to earth by the question.
For what sinister purpose could this
savage enemy be protecting her from the other denizens of his cruel jungle?
They liked our biscuit: but one of the
savages touched with his finger some of the meat preserved in tin cases which I was eating, and feeling it soft and cold, showed as much disgust at it, as I should have done at putrid blubber.
Scores of the
savages were vigorously plying their stone pestles in preparing masses of poee-poee, and numbers were gathering green bread-fruit and young cocoanuts in the surrounding groves; when an exceeding great multitude, with a view of encouraging the rest in their labours, stood still, and kept shouting most lustily without intermission.
Numa eyed him with growing resentment and rage as, between mouthfuls, the ape-man growled out his
savage warnings.
Among the precautions I used to take on the
savages landing on the island, it was my constant care to prevent them making the least discovery of there being any inhabitant upon the place: and when by any occasion they came to know it, they felt it so effectually that they that got away were scarce able to give any account of it; for we disappeared as soon as possible, nor did ever any that had seen me escape to tell any one else, except it was the three
savages in our last encounter who jumped into the boat; of whom, I mentioned, I was afraid they should go home and bring more help.
