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 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 villainy 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 as to
make them do the laborious part of the work for them.
The project was not so preposterous, if they had gone no further.
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
was directed, and to wound him in such a manner as made him a
cripple all his life, and in a place where no surgeon or medicine
could be had for his cure; and, what was still worse, 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.
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 gave them any arms or not.
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 firearms, not having 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,