at the Spanaird's making a jest of it, that, had he not been held by three men, and withal had no weapon near him, it was thought he would have attempted to have killed the Spaniard in the middle of all the company. This hair-brained carriage obliged them to consider seriously what was to be done: the two Englishmen, and the Spaniard who saved the poor savage, were of the opinion that they should hang one of the three, for an example to the rest; and that particularly it should be he that had twice attempted to commit murder with his hatchet; and, indeed, there was some reason to believe he had done it, for the poor savage was in such a miserable condition with the wound he had received, that it was thought he could not live. But the governor Spaniard still said no; it was an Englishman that had saved all their lives, and he would never consent to put an Englishman to death, though he had murdered half of them: nay, he said, if he had been killed himself by an Englishman, and had time left to speak, it should be that they should pardon him.

This was so positively insisted on by the governor Spaniard, that there was no gainsaying it; and as merciful counsels are most apt to prevail, where they are so earnestly pressed, so they all came into it; but then it was to be considered what should be done to keep them from doing the mischief they designed; for all agreed, governor and all, that means were to be used for preserving the society from danger. After a long debate, it was agreed, first, that they should be disarmed, and not permitted to have either gun, powder, shot, sword, or any weapon; and should be turned out of the society, and left to live where they would, and how they would, by themselves; but that none of the rest, either Spaniards or English, should converse with them, speak with them, or have any thing to do with them: that they should be forbid to come within a certain distance of the place where the rest dwelt; and if they offered to commit any disorder, so as to spoil, burn, kill, or destroy any of the corn, plantings, buildings, fences, or cattle belonging to the society, they should die without mercy, and they would shoot them wherever they could find them.

The governor, a man of great humanity, musing upon the sentence, considered a little upon it; and turning to the two honest Englishmen, said, "Hold; you must reflect that it will be long ere they can raise corn and cattle of their own, and they must not starve; we must therefore allow them provisions:" so he caused to be added, that they should have a proportion of corn given them to last them eight months, and for seed to sow, by which time they might be supposed to raise some of their own; that they should have six milch-goats, four he-goats, and six kids given them, as well for present subsistence as for a store; and that they should have tools given them for their work in the fields, such as six hatchets, an adze, a saw, and the like; but they should have none of these tools or provisions, unless they would swear solemnly that they would not hurt or injure any of the Spaniards with them, or of their fellow Englishmen.

Thus they dismissed them the society, and turned them out to shift for themselves. They went away sullen and refractory, as neither content to go away or to stay; but, as there was no remedy, they went, pretending to go and choose a place where they would settle themselves; and some provisions were given them, but no weapons.

About four or five days after, they came again for some victuals, and gave the governor an account where they had pitched their tents, and marked themselves out a habitation and plantation; and it was a very convenient place, indeed, on the remotest part of the island, N. E. much about the place where I providentially landed in my first voyage, when I was driven out to sea, the Lord alone knows whither, in my foolish attempt to sail round the island.

Here they built themselves two handsome huts, and contrived them in a manner like my first habitation, being close under the side of a hill, having some trees growing already on three sides of it, so that by planting others, it would be very easily covered from the sight, unless narrowly searched for. They desired some dried goats'-skins, for beds and covering, which were given them; and upon giving their words that they would not disturb the rest, or injure any of their plantations, they gave them hatchets, and what other tools they could spare; some peas, barley, and rice, for sowing; and, in a word, any thing they wanted, except arms and ammunition.

They lived in this separate condition about six months, and had got in their first harvest, though the quantity was but small, the parcel of land they had planted being but little; for, indeed, having all their plantation to form, they had a great deal of work upon their hands; and when they came to make boards and pots, and such things, they were quite out of their element, and could make nothing of it; and when the rainy season came on, for want of a cave in the earth, they could not keep their grain dry, and it was in great danger o spoiling; and this humbled them much: so they came and begged the Spaniards to help them, which they very readily did; and in four days worked a great hole in the side of the hill for them, big enough to secure their corn and other things from the rain; but it was but a poor place, at best, compared to mine, and especially as mine was then, for the Spaniards had greatly enlarged it, and made several new apartments in it.

About three quarters of a year after this separation, a new frolic took these rogues, which, together with the former villany they had committed, brought mischief enough upon them, and had very near been the ruin of the whole colony. The three new associates began, it seems, to be weary of the laborious life they led, and that without hope of bettering their circumstances; and a whim took them, that they would make a voyage to the continent, from whence the savages came, and would try if they could seize upon some prisoners among the natives there, and bring them home, so to make them do the laborious part of their work for them.

The project was not so preposterous, if they had gone no farther: but they did nothing, and proposed nothing, but had either mischief in the design, or mischief in the event: and, if I may give my opinion, they seemed to be under a blast from Heaven; for if we will not allow a visible curse to pursue visible crimes, how shall we reconcile the events of things with the divine justice ? It was certainly an apparent vengeance on their crime of mutiny and piracy that brought them to the state they were in; and they showed not the least remorse for the crime, but added new villanies to it, such as the piece of monstrous cruelty of wounding a poor slave, because he did not, or perhaps could not, understand to do what he directed, and to wound him in such a manner as made him a cripple all his life, and in a place where no surgeon o medicine could be had for his cure; and what was still worse the murderous intent, or, to do justice to the crime, the intentional murder, for such to be sure it was, as was afterwards the formed design they all laid, to murder the Spaniards in cold blood, and in their sleep.

But I leave observing, and return to the story :-The three fellows came down to the Spaniards one morning, and in very humble terms desired to be admitted to speak with them: the Spaniards very readily heard what they had to say, which was this :-That they were tired of living in the manner they did; and that they were not handy enough to make the necessaries they wanted, and that having no help, they found they should

be starved; but if the Spaniards would give them leave to take one of the canoes which they came over in, and give them arms and ammunition proportioned to their defence, they would go over to the main and seek their fortunes, and so deliver them from the trouble of supplying them with any other provisions.

The Spaniards were glad enough to get rid of them, but very honestly represented to them the certain destruction they were running into; told them they had suffered such hardships upon that very spot, that they could, without any spirit of prophecy, tell them they would be starved, or murdered, and bade them consider of it.

The men replied audaciously, they should be starved if they stayed here, for they could not work, and would not work, and they could but be starved abroad; and if they were murdered, there was an end of them; they had no wives or children to cry after them: and, in short, insisted importunately upon their demand; declaring they would go, whether they would give them any arms or no.

The Spaniards told them, with great kindness, that if they were resolved to go, they should not go like naked men, and be in no condition to defend themselves; and that though they could ill spare their fire-arms, having not enough for themselves, yet they would let them have two muskets, a pistol and a cutlass, and each man a hatchet, which they thought was sufficient for them. In a word, they accepted the offer ; and having baked them bread enough to serve them a month, and given them as much goat's flesh as they could eat while it was sweet, and a great basket of dried grapes, a pot of fresh water, and a young kid alive, they boldly set out in the canoe for a voyage over the sea, where it was at least forty miles

broad.

The boat, indeed, was a large one, and would very well have carried fifteen or twenty men, and therefore was rather too big før them to manage; but as they had a fair breeze, and flood-tide with them, they did well enough. They had made a mast of a long pole, and a sail of four large goats'-skins dried, which they had sewed or laced together; and away they went merrily enough: the Spaniards called after them, Bon veyajo; and no man ever thought of seeing them any

more.

The Spaniards were often saying to one another, and to the two honest Englishmen who remained behind, how quietly and comfortably they lived, now these three turbulent fellows

were gone; as for their coming again, that was the remotest thing from their thoughts that could be imagined; when, behold, after two and twenty days absence, one of the Englishmen, being abroad upon his planting work, sees three strange men coming towards him at a distance, with guns upon their shoulders.

Away runs the Englishman, as if he was bewitched, comes frightened and amazed to the governor Spaniard, and tells him they were all undone, for there were strangers landed upon the island, but could not tell who. The Spaniard, pausing a while, says to him, "How do you mean, you cannot tell who? They are the savages to be sure."-" No, no," says the Englishman; they are men in clothes, with arms."

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Nay then," says the Spaniard, "why are you concerned? If they are not savages, they must be friends; for there is no Christian nation upon earth but will do us good rather than harm."

While they were debating thus, came the three Englishmen, and standing without the wood, which was new planted, hollowed to them: they presently knew their voices, and so all the wonder of that kind ceased. But now the admiration was turned upon another question, viz. What could be the matter, and what made them come back again ?

It was not long before they brought the men in, and inquiring where they had been, and what they had been doing, they gave them a full account of their voyage in a few words, viz. That they reached the land in two days, or something less; but finding the people alarmed at their coming, and preparing with bows and arrows to fight them, they durst not go on shore, but sailed on to the northward six or seven hours, till they came to a great opening, by which they perceived that the land they saw from our island was not the main, but an island; upon entering that opening of the sea, they saw another island on the right hand, north, and several more west; and being resolved to land somewhere, they put over to one of the islands which lay west, and went boldly on shore: that they found the people very courteous and friendly to them; and that they gave them several roots and some dried fish, and appeared very sociable; and the women, as well as the men, were very forward to supply them with any thing they could get for them to eat, and brought it to them a great way upon their heads.

They continued here four days; and inquired, as well as they could of them, by signs, what nations were this way,