When she was gone, Youwarkee finding me alone, was so full of Walsi's adventure she could not be silent; but after twenty roundabout speeches and promises that I was to make, not to be angry with anybody, or undo anything I had done that day, and I know not what, out came the story. I was prodigiously pleased with it, and wished I had taken more notice of her. Says Youwarkee, "I endeavoured to keep her till you had done, that you might have seen her."--"And why did not you?" says I.--"My dear," says Youwarkee, "had you seen the poor creature's uneasiness till she got off with it, yourself could not have had the heart to have deferred that pleasure you would have perceived she expected when she came home; nor could you in conscience have detained her."
_The race reconciles the two kingdoms--The colony proceeds--Builds a city--Peter views the country at a distance--Hears of a prophecy of the King of Norbon's daughter Stygee--Goes thither--Kills the king's nephew--Fulfils the prophecy by engaging Stygee to Georigetti--Returns._
THIS race, notwithstanding all that the ragans could say to keep up their credit, and to prevent the people's perceiving what fools they had made of them, had so good and sudden an effect on the people's prejudices, that upon issuing the first proclamation, there was no occasion for the second; for at least twenty-five thousand men appeared voluntarily at the rendezvous of the old slaves, whose masters, though they were declared free, had used divers devices to oppress them, and render even their freedom a sort of slavery, besides women and children; so that we had now only to pick and choose those who would be likeliest to be of service to the new colony.
Nasgig and I differed now about the choice of persons. He, as a soldier, was for taking mostly single young men, and I for taking whole families, though some were either too old or too young for war. And upon farther consideration he agreed with me; for I told him young men would leave a father, mother, or mistress, behind them, which would either cause a hankering after home, and consequently the bad example of desertion, or else create an uneasy spirit, and perhaps a general distaste to the settlement. So we chose those whole families where they offered, which had the most young men in them, first; then others in like order; after that, man by man, asking them severally if any woman they liked would go with them, and if so, we took her, till we had about thirteen thousand fighting men, besides old men, women, and children; and then, marching by the palace, the king ordered ten days' stores for every mouth, and with this we took our flight; but as I was always fearful of a concourse in the air, Nasgig led them, and I brought up the rear.