While he was away the chief sent a flag of truce down to the
fort, which was fired on by some of the volunteers in the fort, because
there was a man among the truce party against whom they had a spite.
Just afterwards the officer returned, and was very angry that such a
thing had been done by Englishmen, whose duty it was, he said, to teach
all the world what honour meant.
"Now comes the brave part of the story. Without saying any more,
and notwithstanding the entreaties of his men, who knew that in all
probability he was going to a death by torture, for he was so brave that
the natives had set a great price upon him, wishing to kill him and use
his body for medicine, which they thought would make them as brave as
he was, that officer rode out far away into the mountains with only
an interpreter and a white handkerchief, till he came to the chief's
stronghold. But when the natives saw him coming, holding up his white
handkerchief, they did not fire at him as his men had fired at them,
because they were so astonished at his bravery that they thought he
must be mad or inspired. So he came straight on to the walls of the
stronghold, called to the chief and begged his pardon for what had
happened, and then rode away again unharmed.
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