s done, was
sensibly surprised, trembled and shook, and looked so amazed, that I
thought he would have sunk down. He did not see the kid I shot at, or
perceive I had killed it, but ripped up his waistcoat, to feel whether
he was not wounded; and, as I found presently, thought I was resolved to
kill him: for he came and kneeled down to me, and embracing my knees,
said a great many things I did not understand; but I could easily see
the meaning was, to pray me not to kill him.

I soon found a way to convince him that I would do him no harm; and
taking him up by the hand, laughed at him, and pointing to the kid which
I had killed, beckoned to him to run and fetch it, which he did: and
while he was wondering, and looking to see how the creature was killed,
I loaded my gun again. By and by, I saw a great fowl, like a hawk,
sitting upon a tree, within shot; so, to let Friday understand a little
what I would do, I called him to me again, pointed at the fowl, which
was indeed a parrot, though I thought it had been a hawk; I say,
pointing to the parrot, and to my gun, and to the ground under the
parrot, to let him see I would make it fall, I made him understand that
I would shoot and kill that bird; accordingly, I fired, and bade him
look, and immediately he saw the parrot fall. He stood like one
frightened again, notwithstanding all I had said to him; and I found he
was the more amazed, because he did not see me put any thing into the
gun, but thought that there must be some wonderful fund of death and
destruction in that thing, able to kill man, beast, bird, or any thing
near or far off; and the astonishment this created in him was such, as
could not wear off for a long time; and I believe, if I would have let
him, he would have worshipped me and my gun. As for the gun itself, he
would not so much as touch it for several days after; but he would speak
to it, and talk to it, as if it had answered him, when he was by
himself; which, as I afterwards learned of him, was to desire it not to
kill him. Well, after his astonishment was a little over at this, I
pointed to him to run and fetch the bird I had shot, which he did, but
staid some time; for the parrot, not being quite dead, had fluttered
away a good distance from the place where she fell: however, he found
her, took her up, and brought her to me; and as I had perceived his
ignorance about the gun before, I took this advantage to charge the gun
again, and not to let him see m