Part 3 (1/2)
The Englishmen inquired when they had had a feast of that kind; and they told theers; and that their great king had two hundred prisoners nohich he had taken in his war, and they were feeding thelish those prisoners; but the others ht they were desirous to have so So they beckoned to the; which was to signify that the nextsoht down five wolish so many cows and oxen down to a seaport town to victual a shi+p
As brutish and barbarous as these felloere at hoht, and they did not knohat to do To refuse the prisoners would have been the highest affront to the savage gentry that could be offered them, and what to do with them they knew not However, after some debate, they resolved to accept of theht them one of their hatchets, an old key, a knife, and six or seven of their bullets; which, though they did not understand their use, they see the poor creatures' hands behind theed the prisoners into the boat for our ed to coave them this noble present would certainly have expected that they should have gone to ith the, and perhaps have invited the donors to dinner But having taken their leave, with all the respect and thanks that could well pass between people, where on either side they understood not one word they could say, they put off with their boat, and came back towards the first island; where, when they arrived, they set eight of their prisoners at liberty, there being too e they endeavoured to have some communication with their prisoners; but it was i they could say to the to murder them They first of all unbound them; but the poor creatures screamed at that, especially the women, as if they had just felt the knife at their throats; for they immediately concluded they were unbound on purpose to be killed If they gave the; they then concluded it was for fear they should sink in flesh, and so not be fat enough to kill If they looked at one of them more particularly, the party presently concluded it was to see whether he or she was fattest, and fittest to kill first; nay, after they had brought thean to use them kindly, and treat them well, still they expected every day to make a dinner or supper for their new ive this unaccountable history or journal of their voyage, the Spaniard asked the told that they had brought them on shore, and put the some victuals for thelisho all down to the place and see them; and did so, and Friday's father with them When they came into the hut, there they sat, all bound; for when they had brought theht not take the boat and make their escape; there, I say, they sat, all of them stark naked First, there were three coht lie; and five woht be from thirty to forty, two more about four or five and twenty; and the fifth, a tall, coreeable persons, both in shape and features, only tawny; and two of them, had they been perfect white, would have passed for very handso pleasant countenances, and of a very modest behaviour; especially when they cah that dress was very indifferent, it ht, youuncouth to our Spaniards, ere, to give them a just character, ood humour, that ever I met with: and, in particular, of the utht was very uncouth, to see three naked ether bound, and in the most miserable circumstances that hu every ed out and have their brains knocked out, and then to be eaten up like a calf that is killed for a dainty
The first thing they did was to cause the old Indian, Friday's father, to go in, and see first if he knew any of them, and then if he understood any of their speech As soon as the old man came in, he looked seriously at them, but knew none of them; neither could any of then he could h to answer the end, which was to satisfy them that the men into whose hands they were fallen were Christians; that they abhorred eating ht be sure they would not be killed As soon as they were assured of this, they discovered such a joy, and by such aard gestures, several ways, as is hard to describe; for it seems they were of several nations The woman as their interpreter was bid, in the next place, to ask the to be servants, and to work for the ht the; and presently one fell to taking up this, and another that, anything that lay next, to carry on their shoulders, to intiovernor, who found that the having wo theht occasion some strife, and perhaps blood, asked the three men what they intended to do with these women, and how they intended to use thelishmen answered, very boldly and readily, that they would use the to restrain you from it--you are your owndisorders and quarrels a you, and I desire it of you for that reason only, viz that you will all engage, that if any of you take any of these wo taken one, none else shall touch her; for though we cannot marry any one of you, yet it is but reasonable that, while you stay here, the woman any of you takes shall be maintained by the man that takes her, and should be his wife--I mean,” says he, ”while he continues here, and that none else shall have anything to do with her” All this appeared so just, that every one agreed to it without any difficulty
Then the Englishned to take any of them? But every one of them answered ”No” Some of them said they had wives in Spain, and the others did not like woether declared that they would not touch one of them, which was an instance of such virtue as I have not lishmen took them every one a wife, that is to say, a te; for the Spaniards and Friday's father lived in ly within The three servants which were taken in the last battle of the savages lived with them; and these carried on the main part of the colony, supplied all the rest with food, and assisted the as they could, or as they found necessity required
But the wonder of the story was, how five such refractory, ill-ree about these women, and that some two of the two or three of thereeable than the others; but they took a good way enough to prevent quarrelling a themselves, for they set the five women by themselves in one of their huts, and they went all into the other hut, and drew lots a them who should choose first
Him that drew to choose first went away by himself to the hut where the poor naked creatures were, and fetched out her he chose; and it orth observing, that he that chose first took her that was reckoned the host the rest; and even the Spaniards laughed at it; but the fellow considered better than any of them, that it was application and business they were to expect assistance in, aselse; and she proved the best wife of all the parcel
When the poor women saw themselves set in a row thus, and fetched out one by one, the terrors of their condition returned upon the to be devoured Accordingly, when the English sailor came in and fetched out one of the about her, and took their leave of her with such agonies and affection as would have grieved the hardest heart in the world: nor was it possible for the Englishmen to satisfy them that they were not to be immediately murdered, till they fetched the old man, Friday's father, who immediately let them know that the five men, ere to fetch them out one by one, had chosen theht the women were in was a little over, the men went to work, and the Spaniards came and helped them: and in a few hours they had built the apart; for those they had already were croith their tools, household stuff, and provisions The three wicked ones had pitched farthest off, and the two honest ones nearer, but both on the north shore of the island, so that they continued separated as before; and thus ht say, three toere begun to be built
And here it is very orth observing that, as it often happens in the world (what the wise ends in God's providence are, in such a disposition of things, I cannot say), the two honest fellows had the torst wives; and the three reprobates, that were scarce worth hanging, that were fit for nothing, and neither seeood nor any one else, had three clever, careful, and ingenious wives; not that the first tere bad wives as to their te, quiet, passive, and subjected creatures, rather like slaves than wives; but enious, or industrious, or alike cleanly and neat Another observation I ent application on one hand, and to the disgrace of a slothful, negligent, idle temper on the other, that when I cas, and ement of the several little colonies, the two one the three, that there was no coround laid out for corn as they wanted, and the reason was, because, according to my rule, nature dictated that it was to no purpose to sow more corn than they wanted; but the difference of the cultivation, of the planting, of the fences, and indeed, of everything else, was easy to be seen at first view
The twotrees planted about their huts, so that, when you cah they had twice had their plantation demolished, once by their own countrymen, and once by the enemy, as shall be shown in its place, yet they had restored all again, and everything was thriving and flourishi+ng about theed like a vineyard, though they had theood ordering their vines, their grapes were as good again as any of the others They had also found themselves out a retreat in the thickest part of the woods, where, though there was not a natural cave, as I had found, yet they made one with incessant labour of their hands, and where, when the mischief which followed happened, they secured their wives and children so as they could never be found; they having, by sticking innurew so readily, rove iet over the outside part, and then went on by ways of their own leaving
As to the three reprobates, as I justly call theh they were much civilised by their settlement compared to what they were before, and were not so quarrelso not the saate mind never left them, and that was their idleness It is true, they planted corn and made fences; but Solomon's words were never better verified than in them, ”I went by the vineyard of the slothful, and it was all overgroith thorns”: for when the Spaniards came to view their crop they could not see it in soaps in it, where the wild goats had got in and eaten up the corn; perhaps here and there a dead bush was crammed in, to stop the the stable-door after the steed was stolen Whereas, when they looked on the colony of the other two, there was the very face of industry and success upon all they did; there was not a weed to be seen in all their corn, or a gap in any of their hedges; and they, on the other hand, verified Soloent hand rew and thrived, and they had plenty within and without; they had more tame cattle than the others, more utensils and necessaries within doors, and yet more pleasure and diversion too
It is true, the wives of the three were very handy and cleanly within doors; and having learned the English ways of dressing, and cooking frolishmen, who, as I said, was a cook's mate on board the shi+p, they dressed their husbands' victuals very nicely and well; whereas the others could not be brought to understand it; but then the husband, who, as I say, had been cook's mate, did it himself But as for the husbands of the three wives, they loitered about, fetched turtles'
eggs, and caught fish and birds: in a word, anything but labour; and they fared accordingly The diligent lived well and coarly; and so, I believe, generally speaking, it is all over the world
But I now come to a scene different from all that had happened before, either to thein of the story was this: Early onethere caes, call them which you please, and there is no roo upon their slaves; but that part was now so familiar to the Spaniards, and to our men too, that they did not concern the been made sensible, by their experience, that their only business was to lie concealed, and that if they were not seen by any of the savages they would go off again quietly, when their business was done, having as yet not the least notion of there being any inhabitants in the island; I say, having been ive notice to all the three plantations to keep within doors, and not show theive notice when the boats went to sea again
This ithout doubt, very right; but a disaster spoiled all these es that there were inhabitants there; which was, in the end, the desolation of ales were gone off, the Spaniards peeped abroad again; and soo to the place where they had been, to see what they had been doing Here, to their great surprise, they found three savages left behind, and lying fast asleep upon the ground It was supposed they had either been so gorged with their inhuman feast, that, like beasts, they were fallen asleep, and would not stir when the others went, or they had wandered into the woods, and did not coreatly surprised at this sight and perfectly at a loss what to do The Spaniard governor, as it happened, ith them, and his advice was asked, but he professed he knew not what to do As for slaves, they had enough already; and as to killing theovernor toldinnocent blood; for as to the, invaded none of their property, and they thought they had no just quarrel against them, to take away their lives And here I must, in justice to these Spaniards, observe that, let the accounts of Spanish cruelty in Mexico and Peru be what they will, I never n country, ere so universally ood-humoured, and so courteous, as these Spaniards: and as to cruelty, they had nothing of it in their very nature; no inhueous passions; and yet all of thee and spirit Their te the insufferable usage of the three Englishmen; and their justice and hues above After some consultation they resolved upon this; that they would lie still a while longer, till, if possible, these three overnor recollected that the three savages had no boat; and if they were left to rove about the island, they would certainly discover that there were inhabitants in it; and so they should be undone that way Upon this, they went back again, and there lay the fellows fast asleep still, and so they resolved to awaken them, and take theely frightened when they were seized upon and bound; and afraid, like the women, that they should be murdered and eaten: for it see men's 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 the 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 afterward they carried thelishh it was not ence in guarding theht the fellows could not mend the to 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 in two days' tily; for they concluded, and that not without good cause indeed, that if this fellow caive them an account that there were people in the island, and also ho and weak they were; for this savage, as observed before, had never been told, and it was very happy he had not, how many there were or where they lived; nor had he ever seen or heard the fire of any of their guns, much less had they shown him any of their other 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, 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 lishmen, where this escaped man had been kept
As the chief Spaniard 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 was too much odds The two ue off, so that it was above an hour before they landed; and as they landed a mile from their huts, it was soreat reason to believe that they were betrayed, the first thing they did was to bind the two 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 places 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 had bent their course directly that way, they opened the fences where the oats to straggle in the woods, whither they pleased, that the savages ue who caave them an account of it all, for they went directly to the place