people from ever going home again; depending upon this, that if
even so much as one of them got back into their country to tell the
story, the colony was undone; so that, letting them know that they
should not have any mercy, they fell to work with their canoes, and
destroyed every one that the storm had not destroyed before; at the
sight of which, the savages raised a hideous cry in the woods,
which our people heard plain enough, after which they ran about the
island like distracted men, so that, in a word, our men did not
really know what at first to do with them. Nor did the Spaniards,
with all their prudence, consider that while they made those people
thus desperate, they ought to have kept a good guard at the same
time upon their plantations; for though it is true they had driven
away their cattle, and the Indians did not find out their main
retreat, I mean my old castle at the hill, nor the cave in the
valley, yet they found out my plantation at the bower, and pulled
it all to pieces, and all the fences and planting about it; trod
all the corn under foot, tore up the vines and grapes, being just
then almost ripe, and did our men inestimable damage, though to
themselves not one farthing’s worth of service.
Though our men were able to fight them upon all occasions, yet they
were in no condition to pursue them, or hunt them up and down; for
as they were too nimble of foot for our people when they found them
single, so our men durst not go abroad single, for fear of being
surrounded with their numbers. The best was they had no weapons;
for though they had bows, they had no arrows left, nor any
materials to make any; nor had they any edge-tool among them. The
extremity and distress they were reduced to was great, and indeed
deplorable; but, at the same time, our men were also brought to
very bad circumstances by them, for though their retreats were
preserved, yet their provision was destroyed, and their harvest
spoiled, and what to do, or which way to turn themselves, they knew
not. The only refuge they had now was the stock of cattle they had
in the valley by the cave, and some little corn which grew there,
and the plantation of the three Englishmen. Will Atkins and his
comrades were now reduced to two; one of them being killed by an
arrow, which struck him on the side of his head, just under the
temple, so that he never spoke more; and it was very remarkable
that this was the same barbarous fellow that cut the poor savage
slave with his hatchet, and who afterwards intended to have
murdered the Spaniards.
I looked upon their case to have been worse at this time than mine
was at any time, after I first discovered the grains of barley and
rice, and got into the manner of planting and raising my corn, and
my tame cattle; for now they had, as I may say, a hundred wolves
upon the island, which would devour everything they could come at,
yet could be hardly come at themselves.
When they saw what their circumstances were, the first thing they
concluded was, that they would, if possible, drive the savages up
to the farther part of the island, south-west, that if any more
came on shore they might not find one another; then, that they
would daily hunt and harass them, and kill as many of them as they
could come at, till they had reduced their number; and if they
could at last tame them, and bring them to anything, they would
give them corn, and teach them how to plant, and live upon their
daily labour. In order to do this, they so followed them, and so
terrified them with their guns, that in a few days, if any of them
fired a gun at an Indian, if he did not hit him, yet he would fall
down for fear. So dreadfully frightened were they that they kept
out of sight farther and farther; till at last our men followed