Falkland Islands, when the Spaniards murdered some of their own
countrymen and all the Englishmen, a young friendly Spaniard was
running away, when a great tall man, by name Luciano, came at full
gallop after him, shouting to him to stop, and saying that he only
wanted to speak to him. Just as the Spaniard was on the point of
reaching the boat, Luciano threw the balls: they struck him on the legs
with such a jerk, as to throw him down and to render him for some time
insensible. The man, after Luciano had had his talk, was allowed to
escape. He told us that his legs were marked by great weals, where the
thong had wound round, as if he had been flogged with a whip. In the
middle of the day two men arrived, who brought a parcel from the next
posta to be forwarded to the general: so that besides these two, our
party consisted this evening of my guide and self, the lieutenant, and
his four soldiers. The latter were strange beings; the first a fine
young negro; the second half Indian and negro; and the two others
non-descripts; namely, an old Chilian miner, the colour of mahogany,
and another partly a mulatto; but two such mongrels with such
detestable expressions, I never saw before. At night, when they were
sitting round the fire, and playing at cards, I retired to view such a
Salvator Rosa scene. They were seated under a low cliff, so that I
could look down upon them; around the party were lying dogs, arms,
remnants of deer and ostriches; and their long spears were stuck in the
turf. Further in the dark background, their horses were tied up, ready
for any sudden danger. If the stillness of the desolate plain was
broken by one of the dogs barking, a soldier, leaving the fire, would
place his head close to the ground, and thus slowly scan the horizon.
Even if the noisy teru-tero uttered its scream, there would be a pause
in the conversation, and every head, for a moment, a little inclined.
What a life of misery these men appear to us to lead! They were at
least ten leagues from the Sauce posta, and since the murder committed
by the Indians, twenty from another. The Indians are supposed to have
made their attack in the middle of the night; for very early in the
morning after the murder, they were luckily seen approaching this
posta. The whole party here, however, escaped, together with the troop
of horses; each one taking a line for himself, and driving with him as
many animals as he was able to manage.
The little hovel, built of thistle-stalks, in which they slept, neither
kept out the wind nor rain; indeed in the latter case the only effect
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