flaming up together, to their great grief and mortification; for
this was a great loss to them, irretrievable, indeed, for some
time. They kept their station for a while, till they found the
savages, like wild beasts, spread themselves all over the place,
rummaging every way, and every place they could think of, in search
of prey; and in particular for the people, of whom now it plainly
appeared they had intelligence.
The two Englishmen seeing this, thinking themselves not secure
where they stood, because it was likely some of the wild people
might come that way, and they might come too many together, thought
it proper to make another retreat about half a mile farther;
believing, as it afterwards happened, that the further they
strolled, the fewer would be together. Their 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 very large; and in
this tree they both took their standing, resolving to see there
what might offer. They had not stood there long before two of the
savages appeared running directly that way, as if they had already
had notice where they stood, and were coming up to attack them; and
a little way farther they espied three more coming after them, and
five more beyond them, all coming the same way; besides which, they
saw seven or eight more at a distance, running another way; for in
a word, they ran every way, like sportsmen beating for their game.
The poor men were now in great perplexity whether they should stand
and keep their posture or fly; but after a very short debate with
themselves, they considered that if the savages ranged the country
thus before help came, they might perhaps find their retreat in the
woods, and then all would be lost; so they resolved to stand them
there, and if they were too many to deal with, then they would get
up to the top of the tree, from whence they doubted not to defend
themselves, fire excepted, as long as their ammunition lasted,
though all the savages that were landed, which was near fifty, were
to attack them.
Having resolved upon this, they next considered whether they should
fire at the first two, or wait for the three, and so take the
middle party, by which the two and the five that followed would be
separated; at length they resolved to let the first two pass by,
unless they should spy them the tree, and come to attack them. The
first two savages confirmed them also in this resolution, by
turning a little from them towards another part of the wood; but
the three, and the five after them, came forward directly to the
tree, as if they had known the Englishmen were there. Seeing them
come so straight towards them, they resolved to take them in a line
as they came: and as they resolved to fire but one at a time,
perhaps the first shot might hit them all three; for which purpose
the man who was to fire put three or four small bullets into his
piece; and having a fair loophole, as it were, from a broken hole
in the tree, he took a sure aim, without being seen, waiting till
they were within about thirty yards of the tree, so that he could
not miss.
While they were thus waiting, and the savages 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 marksman to miss his aim; for as the savages kept
near one another, a little behind in a line, he fired, and hit two
of them directly; the foremost was killed outright, being 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