Sackett's Land (1974) by Louis - Sackett's 0 L'amour Read Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Louis - Sackett's 0 L'amour
waiting, it was said, for provisions.
Meanwhile, talking with diverse persons, I bargained for items I would take to the New World. Beads of glass and sharp knives, needles, bolts of highly colored cloth. I wished not to be heavily loaded, to have only what was necessary. I talked with men who knew about sailing westward, and there were a few who had traded across the Atlantic for many years.
One was a man from Bristol who scoffed at the "discovery" of the New World. "Our people have been fishing off the Banks for many years. We often landed on New Found Land, or the mainland shores, to dry fish or smoke them. But it was a harsh and savage land and who cared about it? We saw no gold. We saw only rocky coasts or long sandy shores with forest behind them."
It was exciting to listen to such men, and to hear the news. A witch named Doll Barthram had been hanged in Suffolk. We had heard talk of her even back in the fens.
Twice there were meetings with Captain Tempany. He listened to my list of purchases, added a suggestion or two, then commented, "We've little time. There's a ship's captain newly come to Plymouth who says the King of Spain will soon send a great fleet against us. We must be well out to sea before they come, or we'll be taken."
"Is your ship not armed?"
"Armed? Aye, she's armed, but what can six guns do against a fleet? No, no. I would prefer to slip down the river in the dark. There's nought to be gained by fighting, for even if we 'scaped we'd likely take a shot through the rigging or hull. Stand by now, for wordwill come quickly and move we shall, on the instant."
Tempany hesitated, rubbing his jaw. "There's another thing. You've heard of Nick Bardle?"
"A hard man, they say."
"Aye. A thief and a pirate, and whatever is evil and wrong. Well, he's moored close by my ship and I like none of it. He's a man will bear watching. Mind you, he'd think twice before troubling me, unless he could steal a bit of my cargo and make a run for it."
He drummed on the table with his fingers. "Know you aught of America?"
"I've read Hakluyt, and I've heard talk."
"You know more than most. The Spanish have settled in what they call Floridy. There were some French, but I think they've been driven out or killed by the Spanish. Raleigh settled some colonists with a man named Lane to head them, but they came back, first chance. Grenville left fifteen men ... all vanished. Killed by Indians or Spaniards, no doubt."
"Or picked up and gone elsewhere."
"The Indians ... well, you must be wary of them, lad. Today they will trade, and tomorrow if the notion takes them, they attack. If one gives you his word, it counts for something. But he speaks only for his own people.
"They've no sense of property. Not as we have. In a village each man uses what he needs. When they see something they want, they take it and go.
"Above all, go with no notions about gold. The Spanish found it in Mexico, but the French have not found it anywhere. The gold is to be had in the trading for furs, skins, freshwater pearls, fish and potash. Some of their hardwoods burn with a fine white ash, and there's a need for potash."
"What should I deal in?"
"Furs. You've only a little stake, so trade with care. Only furs, and only the best. Take second-grade furs and that's all you will ever get. The Indians are not fools. They've lived by barter all their lives, and they know what they want."
"A handful of beads for a fox-skin does not seem a very good trade for them."
"Ah, lad! He has plenty of fox-skins, but he has no beads such as ours. The scarcer the article the greater the value. You pay for what you want; so does the Indian.
"Good knives, they have need of them. They'll try for muskets, too, but do not be trading them. Arm them as well as us and they would soon have everything."
"They'd rob us?"
"Of course, and so would a Dunkirker. Trust no ship at sea, lad. Given a chance there's few of them will not turn pirate ... or privateer, or whatever you
Meanwhile, talking with diverse persons, I bargained for items I would take to the New World. Beads of glass and sharp knives, needles, bolts of highly colored cloth. I wished not to be heavily loaded, to have only what was necessary. I talked with men who knew about sailing westward, and there were a few who had traded across the Atlantic for many years.
One was a man from Bristol who scoffed at the "discovery" of the New World. "Our people have been fishing off the Banks for many years. We often landed on New Found Land, or the mainland shores, to dry fish or smoke them. But it was a harsh and savage land and who cared about it? We saw no gold. We saw only rocky coasts or long sandy shores with forest behind them."
It was exciting to listen to such men, and to hear the news. A witch named Doll Barthram had been hanged in Suffolk. We had heard talk of her even back in the fens.
Twice there were meetings with Captain Tempany. He listened to my list of purchases, added a suggestion or two, then commented, "We've little time. There's a ship's captain newly come to Plymouth who says the King of Spain will soon send a great fleet against us. We must be well out to sea before they come, or we'll be taken."
"Is your ship not armed?"
"Armed? Aye, she's armed, but what can six guns do against a fleet? No, no. I would prefer to slip down the river in the dark. There's nought to be gained by fighting, for even if we 'scaped we'd likely take a shot through the rigging or hull. Stand by now, for wordwill come quickly and move we shall, on the instant."
Tempany hesitated, rubbing his jaw. "There's another thing. You've heard of Nick Bardle?"
"A hard man, they say."
"Aye. A thief and a pirate, and whatever is evil and wrong. Well, he's moored close by my ship and I like none of it. He's a man will bear watching. Mind you, he'd think twice before troubling me, unless he could steal a bit of my cargo and make a run for it."
He drummed on the table with his fingers. "Know you aught of America?"
"I've read Hakluyt, and I've heard talk."
"You know more than most. The Spanish have settled in what they call Floridy. There were some French, but I think they've been driven out or killed by the Spanish. Raleigh settled some colonists with a man named Lane to head them, but they came back, first chance. Grenville left fifteen men ... all vanished. Killed by Indians or Spaniards, no doubt."
"Or picked up and gone elsewhere."
"The Indians ... well, you must be wary of them, lad. Today they will trade, and tomorrow if the notion takes them, they attack. If one gives you his word, it counts for something. But he speaks only for his own people.
"They've no sense of property. Not as we have. In a village each man uses what he needs. When they see something they want, they take it and go.
"Above all, go with no notions about gold. The Spanish found it in Mexico, but the French have not found it anywhere. The gold is to be had in the trading for furs, skins, freshwater pearls, fish and potash. Some of their hardwoods burn with a fine white ash, and there's a need for potash."
"What should I deal in?"
"Furs. You've only a little stake, so trade with care. Only furs, and only the best. Take second-grade furs and that's all you will ever get. The Indians are not fools. They've lived by barter all their lives, and they know what they want."
"A handful of beads for a fox-skin does not seem a very good trade for them."
"Ah, lad! He has plenty of fox-skins, but he has no beads such as ours. The scarcer the article the greater the value. You pay for what you want; so does the Indian.
"Good knives, they have need of them. They'll try for muskets, too, but do not be trading them. Arm them as well as us and they would soon have everything."
"They'd rob us?"
"Of course, and so would a Dunkirker. Trust no ship at sea, lad. Given a chance there's few of them will not turn pirate ... or privateer, or whatever you