Part 26 (1/2)
Upon this they went back again, and there lay the fellows fast asleep still; so they resolved to awaken them, and take theely frighted when they were seized upon and bound, and afraid, like the women, that they should be murdered and eaten; for it see mens' flesh; but they were soon made easy as to that: and away they carried them
It was very happy for them that they did not carry them home to their castle; I mean to my palace under the hill; but they carried them first to the bohere was the chief of their country work; such as the keeping the goats, the planting the corn, &c; and afterwards they carried thelishh it was not ence in guarding theht the fellows could not mend the into the woods, they could never hear of hiain soon after in soes, who came on shore three or four weeks afterwards, and who, carrying on their revels as usual, went off again in two days tily; for they concluded, and that not without good cause indeed, that if this fellow got safe hoive them an account that there were people in the island, as also hoeak and few they were; for this savage, as I observed before, had never been told, as it was very happy he had not, how many they were, or where they lived, nor had he ever seen or heard the fire of any of their guns, much less had they shewn him any other of their retired places, such as the cave in the valley, or the new retreat which the two Englishmen had made, and the like
The first testience of thees, with about seven or eight, or tenthe north side of the island, where they never used to come before, and landed about an hour after sunrise, at a convenient place, about a lishovernor said, had they been all there the dae would not have been so much, for not a man of them would have escaped: but the case differed now very much; for two men to fifty were too much odds The two ue off, so that it was about an hour before they landed, and as they landed about a mile from their huts, it was soreat reason to believe that they were betrayed, the first thing they did was to bind the slaves which were left, and cause two of the three ht with the women, who, it seems, proved very faithful to them, to lead them with their tives, and whatever they could carry aith them, to their retired place in the woods, which I have spoken of above, and there to bind the two fellows hand and foot till they heard farther
In the next place, seeing the savages were all come on shore, and that they bent their course directly that way, they opened the fences where their oats to straggle into the wood, whither they pleased, that the savages ue who caave them an account of it all, for they went directly to the place
When the poor frighted oods, they sent the other slave they had of the three, who came with the women, and as at their place by accident, away to the Spaniards with all speed, to give them the alarm, and desire speedy help; and in the mean time they took their arms, and what ammunition they had, and retreated towards the place in the here their wives were sent, keeping at a distance; yet so that they es took
They had not gone far but that, froround, they could see the little army of their enemies come on directly to their habitation, and in a mo up together, to their great grief and reat loss, and to them irretrievable, at least for some time They kept their station for a while, till they found the savages, like wild beasts, spread the every way, and every place they could think of, in search for prey, and in particular for the people, of wholish themselves not secure where they stood, as it was likely soht coht it proper to , as it afterwards happened, that the farther they strolled, the feould be together
The next halt was at the entrance into a very thick grown part of the woods, and where an old trunk of a tree stood, which was hollow, and vastly large; and in this tree they both took their standing, resolving to see what , but two of the savages appeared running directly that way, as if they had already notice where they stood, and were co up to attack the after the the sahtanother way; for, in a word, they ran every way, like sportsreat perplexity, whether they should stand and keep their posture, or fly; but after a very short debate with theed the country thus before help caht, perhaps, find out their retreat in the woods, and then all would be lost; so they resolved to stand them there; and if there were too et to the top of the tree, from whence they doubted not to defend the as their aes that were landed, which were near fifty, were to attack the resolved upon this, they next considered whether they should fire at the two first, or wait for the three, and so take the middle party, by which the two and the five that folloould be separated: at length they resolved to let the two first pass by, unless they should spy thees also confir a little from them towards another part of the wood; but the three, and the five after them, calishht towards them, they resolved to take them in a line as they came; and as they resolved to fire but one at a tiht hit them all three; to which purpose, the man as to fire put three or four bullets into his piece, and having a fair loop-hole, as it were, fro seen, waiting till they ithin about thirty yards of the tree, so that he could not es came on, they plainly saw, that one of the three was the runaway savage that had escaped from them; and they both knew him distinctly, and resolved that, if possible, he should not escape, though they should both fire; so the other stood ready with his piece, that if he did not drop at the first shot, he should be sure to have a second But the first was too good a es kept near one another, a little behind in a line, he fired, and hit two of the shot in the head; the second, which was the runaway Indian, was shot through the body, and fell, but was not quite dead; and the third had a little scratch in the shoulder, perhaps by the sa dreadfully frightened, though not soin a hideous htened with the noise than sensible of the danger, stood still at first; for the woods er than it really was, the echoes rattling fro fro a different noise, according to their kind; just as it hen I fired the first gun that perhaps was ever shot off in the island
However, all being silent again, and they not knohat the matter was, came on unconcerned, till they came to the place where their conorant creatures, not sensible that they ithin reach of the sa, and, asof him how he came to be hurt; and who, it is very rational to believe, told them that a flash of fire first, and immediately after that thunder from their Gods, had killed those two and wounded hi is more certain than that, as they saw no un in all their lives, nor soand wounding at a distance with fire and bullets: if they had, one ht reasonably believe they would not have stood so unconcerned to view the fate of their felloithout some apprehensions of their own
Our two ed to kill so er; yet, having the loaded his piece again, resolved to let fly both together areeether, and killed, or very htened even to death, though not hurt, fell with the rest; so that our ht they had killed thees were all killed made our two ed their guns, which was a wrong step; and they were under some surprise when they came to the place, and found no less than four of them alive, and of theed them to fall upon them with the stocks of their e, that had been the cause of all the mischief, and of another that was hurt in the knee, and put them out of their pain; then the man that was not hurt at all came and kneeled down to them, with his two hands held up, and ns, for his life, but could not say one word to thens to him to sit down at the foot of a tree hard by; and one of the Englishreat chance in his pocket, tied his two hands behind him, and there they left him; and hat speed they couldthey, or any more of them, should find the way to their covered place in the woods, where their wives, and the few goods they had left, lay They careat distance; however, they had the satisfaction to see them cross over a valley towards the sea, the quite contrary way from that which led to their retreat, which they were afraid of; and being satisfied with that, they went back to the tree where they left their prisoner, who as they supposed was delivered by his coone, and the two pieces of rope-yarn hich they had bound him, lay just at the foot of the tree
They were now in as great a concern as before, not knohat course to take, or how near the eneo away to the place where their wives were, to see if all ell there, and to h to be sure; for though the savages were their own country-folks, yet they were most terribly afraid of thee they had of thees had been in the wood, and very near the place, but had not found it; for indeed it was inaccessible, by the trees standing so thick, as before, unless the persons seeking it had been directed by those that knew it, which these were not; they found, therefore, every thing very safe, only the woht While they were here they had the co to their assistance: the other ten with their servants, and old Friday, I one in a body to defend their bower, and the corn and cattle that were kept there, in case the savages should have roved over to that side of the country; but they did not spread so far With the seven Spaniards caes, who, as I said, were their prisoners forlishmen had left bound hand and foot at the tree; for it seehter of the sevenwith theain, us they had done the two others, ere left when the third run away
The prisoners began now to be a burden to theht they were under an absolute necessity to kill theovernor would not consent to it; but ordered, that they should be sent out of the way to my old cave in the valley, and be kept there, with two Spaniards to guard theive them food; which was done; and they were bound there hand and foot for that night
When the Spaniards caed, that they could not satisfy the five of the Spaniards, and the them, and two stout quarter-staves, away they went in quest of the savages And first, they came to the tree where the men lay that had been killed; but it was easy to see that soes had been there; for they atteed two of theiven it over; froround, where they had stood and seen their camp destroyed, and where they had the mortification still to see some of the ses: they then resolved, though with all possible caution, to go forward towards their ruined plantation; but a little before they caht of the sea-shore, they saw plainly the savages all eone
They seeive the blow; but upon the whole were very well satisfied to be rid of the noice ruined, and all their ireed to come and help them to rebuild, and to assist them with needful supplies Their three country the least inclination to do any thing good, yet, as soon as they heard of it (for they, living re till all was over), came and offered their help and assistance, and did very friendly work for several days to restore their habitations and make necessaries for theain
About two days after this they had the farther satisfaction of seeing three of the savages' canoes co onshore, and at some distance from them, with two drowned men; by which they had reason to believe that they had met with a storm at sea, which had overset soht after they went off
However, as soh of them escaped to inform the rest, as well of what they had done, as of what happened to them; and to whet them on to another enterprise of the same nature, which they, it seems, resolved to attempt, with sufficient force to carry all before them; for except what the first man told them of inhabitants, they could say little to it of their own knowledge; for they never saw onekilled that had affirmed it, they had no other witness to confirm it to them
It was five or six es, in which tiot their foriven over the hopes of better; when on a sudden they were invaded with a ht canoes, full of savages, arreat clubs, wooden swords, and such-like engines of war; and they brought such numbers with them, that in short it put all our people into the utmost consternation
As they ca, and at the easternht to consult and consider what to do; and in the first place, knowing that their being entirely concealed was their only safety before, and would much reat, they therefore resolved, first of all, to take down the huts which were built for the two Englishoats to the old cave; because they supposed the savages would go directly thither as soon as it was day, to play the old gaues of it