CHAPTER XVII
In a voyage which I made to the East Indies with Captain Hamilton, I
took a favourite pointer with me; he was, to use a common phrase,
worth his weight in gold, for he never deceived me. One day when we
were, by the best observations we could make, at least three hundred
leagues from land, my dog pointed; I observed him for near an hour
with astonishment, and mentioned the circumstance to the captain and
every officer on board, asserting that we must be near land, for my
dog smelt game. This occasioned a general laugh; but that did not
alter in the least the good opinion I had of my dog. After much
conversation pro and con, I boldly told the captain I placed more
confidence in Tray's nose than I did in the eyes of every seaman on
board, and therefore proposed laying the sum I had agreed to pay for
my passage (viz., one hundred guineas) that we should find game within
half an hour. The captain (a good, hearty fellow) laughed again,
desired Mr. Crowford the surgeon, who was prepared, to feel my pulse;
he did so, and reported me in perfect health. The following dialogue
between them took place; I overheard it, though spoken low, and at
some distance.
Captain - His brain is turned; I cannot with honour accept his wager.
Surgeon - I am of a different opinion; he is quite sane, and depends more upon
the scent of his dog than he will upon the judgment of all the
officers on board; he will certainly lose, and he richly merits it.
Captain - Such a wager cannot be fair on my side; however, I'll take him up, if
I return his money afterwards.
During the above conversation Tray continued in the same situation,
and confirmed me still more in my former opinion. I proposed the wager
a second time, it was then accepted.
Done! and done! were scarcely said on both sides, when some sailors
who were fishing in the long-boat, which was made fast to the stern of
the ship, harpooned an exceeding large shark, which they brought on
board and began to cut up for the purpose of barrelling the oil, when,
behold, they found no less than /six brace of live partridges/ in this
animal's stomach!
They had been so long in that situation, that one of the hens was
sitting upon four eggs, and a fifth was hatching when the shark was
opened!!! This young bird we brought up by placing it with a litter of
kittens that came into the world a few minutes before! The old cat was
as fond of it as of any of her own four-legged progeny, and made
herself very unhappy, when it flew out of her reach, till it returned
again. As to the other partridges, there were four hens amongst them;
one or more were, during the voyage, constantly sitting, and
consequently we had plenty of game at the captain's table; and in
gratitude to poor Tray (for being a means of winning one hundred
guineas) I ordered him the bones daily, and sometimes a whole bird.
