perceiving, avoided the blow, and with a shovel, which he had in
his hand (for they were all working in the field about their corn
land), knocked the brute down. Another of the Englishmen, running
up at the same time to help his comrade, knocked the Spaniard down;
and then two Spaniards more came in to help their man, and a third
Englishman fell in upon them. They had none of them any firearms
or any other weapons but hatchets and other tools, except this
third Englishman; he had one of my rusty cutlasses, with which he
made at the two last Spaniards, and wounded them both. This fray
set the whole family in an uproar, and more help coming in they
took the three Englishmen prisoners. The next question was, what
should be done with them? They had been so often mutinous, and
were so very furious, so desperate, and so idle withal, they knew
not what course to take with them, for they were mischievous to the
highest degree, and cared not what hurt they did to any man; so
that, in short, it was not safe to live with them.
The Spaniard who was governor told them, in so many words, that if
they had been of his own country he would have hanged them; for all
laws and all governors were to preserve society, and those who were
dangerous to the society ought to be expelled out of it; but as
they were Englishmen, and that it was to the generous kindness of
an Englishman that they all owed their preservation and
deliverance, he would use them with all possible lenity, and would
leave them to the judgment of the other two Englishmen, who were
their countrymen. One of the two honest Englishmen stood up, and
said they desired it might not be left to them. “For,” says he, “I
am sure we ought to sentence them to the gallows;” and with that he
gives an account how Will Atkins, one of the three, had proposed to
have all the five Englishmen join together and murder all the
Spaniards when they were in their sleep.
When the Spanish governor heard this, he calls to Will Atkins,
“How, Seignior Atkins, would you murder us all? What have you to
say to that?” The hardened villain was so far from denying it,
that he said it was true, and swore they would do it still before
they had done with them. “Well, but Seignior Atkins,” says the
Spaniard, “what have we done to you that you will kill us? What
would you get by killing us? And what must we do to prevent you
killing us? Must we kill you, or you kill us? Why will you put us
to the necessity of this, Seignior Atkins?” says the Spaniard very
calmly, and smiling. Seignior Atkins was in such a rage at the
Spaniard’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 kill the Spaniard in the middle of all the
company. This hare-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; 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