On one
occasion, on visiting one of the outlying forts, he found that a party
of hostile natives, who were coming down to the fort on the previous day
with a flag of truce, had been accidentally fired upon, and had at once
retreated. As his system in native warfare was always to try and inspire
his enemy with perfect faith in the honour of Englishmen, and their
contempt of all tricks and treachery even towards a foe, he was very
angry at this occurrence, and at once, unarmed and unattended save by
his native servant, rode up into the mountains to the kraal from which
the white flag party had come on the previous day, and apologised to
the Chief for what had happened. When I consider how very anxious
Secocoeni's natives were to kill or capture Clarke, whom they held in
great dread, and how terrible the end of so great a captain would in
all probability have been had he taken alive by these masters of refined
torture, I confess that I think this act of gentlemanly courage is one
of the most astonishing things I ever heard of.
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