Tim Severin - Sea Robber

Raising a hand, he waved them goodbye.

‘ONE OF THE forest people,’ said Mansur, when Hector got back to camp and reported what he’d seen. ‘They bring their catch, alive or skinned, to the town, sell them and then vanish back into the jungle. They are subject to no one, nor do they believe in Allah.’

They were standing beside the brass cannon, now back on its wooden gun carriage.

‘How much do you think the gun weighs?’ asked Mansur.

‘About half a ton,’ said Dan.

‘Let me talk to the kora-kora men to see if they can bring it to Haar by the route he showed you,’ said the chamberlain. He went to confer with several of the older men from the crew of the big war canoe, and returned to say that they were confident they could haul the gun up the steep incline.

‘Did you warn them the slope is overgrown with bushes and small trees?’ Hector asked.

‘I did, but they aren’t worried,’ said Mansur soothingly. ‘They say they will make a start tomorrow at dawn. All you need to do is bring them to the base of the landslide.’

Hector kept his doubts to himself next morning as he watched the Omoro dismantle the bamboo raft and use the materials to build a sturdy sledge. Within half an hour the cannon was balanced on its new platform and on the move. Thirty men tugged it along by the long rattans they used for ropes. Another team went ahead with heavy knives and slashed a path through the bush. Others placed skids under the runners of the sledge whenever it was checked. At the rear walked those with the jars of gunpowder, bullets and stores. Four men carried each lantaka slung on loops between them. Jezreel insisted on carrying the two precious round shots, one in each hand. When they arrived at the place where the ground began to rise steeply, the column came to a halt. Here, at the base of the landslip, the porters set down their loads and the hauling team paused to rest. With a clatter Jacques dropped the gunner’s tools he had been carrying and sat down on the ground beside Hector.

‘I wonder what those lads are up to?’ said the Frenchman. They watched a group of the younger men clambering up the landslip until they vanished over the crest of the slope.

A few minutes later Mansur came walking towards them. ‘The kora-kora men say where you are sitting is dangerous.’

Puzzled, Hector got to his feet, and he and Jacques moved aside. Soon afterwards there was a shrill whistle from above, immediately followed by a crashing noise, which grew in volume and suddenly came closer. A moment later a large tree trunk came slithering and bouncing wildly down the hill, and came to rest at the bottom of the landslide. Almost immediately a second massive log came careering down, following in the track of the previous one. As Hector looked on, a dozen more logs hurtled past, one after another, throwing up sprays of dirt as they ploughed through the ground.

There was another whistle from above, and the bombardment of timber stopped. The hauling team got to their feet. Hector hurried to help them tip the gun from its carriage, then attach their hauling cables to the trunnions. He had seen how the slithering logs had carved out the track up which the men now intended to pull their burden. Two teams of forty men began to heave in unison, gradually sliding the gun up the groove that the logs had gouged in the earth. Every few minutes they stopped to rest. Then the heaving began again. An hour later the cannon was over the lip of the plateau and on level ground. The gun carriage and the sledge followed.

‘The Omoro say that Haar is less than half a mile ahead,’ said Dan. ‘We need to take a look at the town’s defences before we go any farther.’

Hector and Jezreel accompanied him through the undergrowth until they came to the edge of the jungle where the undergrowth had been cut back in a straight line. ‘No farther,’ said the Miskito crouching down. ‘We’re just within range of their muskets.’

It was as Mansur had warned. The ground between the town and the forest had been cleared of all cover for a distance of a hundred paces. At the far side of this killing ground stood the ten-foot palisade that guarded the landward side of the town. It was made of tree trunks planted vertically in the soil. In the centre was a heavy double gate, also made of timber and now firmly shut. The turbaned heads of the defenders could be seen above the stockade. As Hector watched, there was a puff of smoke as a musket was fired towards them.

‘Telling us to keep our distance,’ said Dan. ‘Jezreel, what next?’

‘We bring up the two lantaka. Fire scatter-shot at intervals. That should keep the defence occupied while we organize something more damaging.’

Hector scanned the palisade. ‘Where’s the weakest point, do you think?’

‘The gate. It looks stout enough to stop a musket ball, but not a five-pound shot.’

‘Good, let’s put the Sultan’s lantaka to use,’ said Hector and they crawled away.

Ten minutes later he was explaining to Mansur that a dozen Omoro should be assigned to each of the little cannon. They were to bring the guns to the edge of the forest.

‘Jacques will go with them,’ he said. ‘He will show them how to load and aim and fire.’

‘It’s much like using a musket, but on a larger scale?’ asked the chamberlain.

‘Yes, but they must be sure to swab the barrels and clean out any embers that might ignite the next charge too early. Warn them that if they cram in too many bullets and stones, the barrel might burst or the range will be too short.’

‘What about the big gun?’ asked the chamberlain. ‘His Highness is most eager to see it in action.’ Hector could see the boy’s eyes were shining with excitement as he tried to follow their conversation.

‘Inform His Highness that Jezreel intends to bring the big gun up to the edge of the forest, directly in front of the town gate. From there he will fire at the palisade.’

Mansur translated Hector’s statement, but was met with a sharp retort from the prince. The chamberlain had a worried expression as he turned back to speak to Hector.

‘His Highness insists that he will fire the gun himself.’

Hector opened his mouth to say that the old brass gun had never been tested and might have flaws. If the barrel burst, it would kill anyone standing close by.

The prince cut him short with a single brief sentence.

Mansur flinched. ‘The prince says that is not a request. It is his command.’

‘Very well. We will bring the gun forward on the sledge. But it will be safer if we load it now, where we cannot be seen by the Sugala and we can take our time.’

Jezreel had already taken off his shirt and wrapped it around the head of the reamer. He was using it as a swab to clean out the barrel.

‘How much powder do you think she’ll need?’ he asked Dan.

The Miskito shrugged. ‘Half a ladle should be enough.’

Jezreel used his thumb to rub away at the bowl of the powder ladle brought from the wreck of the Westflinge . He eyed the faint lines marked on the scoop. ‘Let’s hope this is the correct ladle for this gun, and not for larger cannon,’ he said. He took the stopper out of a powder jar and tipped out a trickle of greyish-black gunpowder until the scoop was filled halfway.

‘Wait,’ said Dan. He was holding a thin strip of bamboo. He poked it into the cannon’s touch-hole and pushed it down as far as it would go. Marking the point where the bamboo strip emerged from the gun, he withdrew it and then held it vertically across the muzzle of the gun.

Behind him, the prince spoke to Mansur. ‘His Highness wishes to know what you are doing,’ said the chamberlain.