them, and almost every day killing or wounding some of them, they
kept up in the woods or hollow places so much, that it reduced them
to the utmost misery for want of food; and many were afterwards
found dead in the woods, without any hurt, absolutely starved to
death.
When our men found this, it made their hearts relent, and pity
moved them, especially the generous-minded Spaniard governor; and
he proposed, if possible, to take one of them alive and bring him
to understand what they meant, so far as to be able to act as
interpreter, and go among them and see if they might be brought to
some conditions that might be depended upon, to save their lives
and do us no harm.
It was some while before any of them could be taken; but being weak
and half-starved, one of them was at last surprised and made a
prisoner. He was sullen at first, and would neither eat nor drink;
but finding himself kindly used, and victuals given to him, and no
violence offered him, he at last grew tractable, and came to
himself. They often brought old Friday to talk to him, who always
told him how kind the others would be to them all; that they would
not only save their lives, but give them part of the island to live
in, provided they would give satisfaction that they would keep in
their own bounds, and not come beyond it to injure or prejudice
others; and that they should have corn given them to plant and make
it grow for their bread, and some bread given them for their
present subsistence; and old Friday bade the fellow go and talk
with the rest of his countrymen, and see what they said to it;
assuring them that, if they did not agree immediately, they should
be all destroyed.
The poor wretches, thoroughly humbled, and reduced in number to
about thirty-seven, closed with the proposal at the first offer,
and begged to have some food given them; upon which twelve
Spaniards and two Englishmen, well armed, with three Indian slaves
and old Friday, marched to the place where they were. The three
Indian slaves carried them a large quantity of bread, some rice
boiled up to cakes and dried in the sun, and three live goats; and
they were ordered to go to the side of a hill, where they sat down,
ate their provisions very thankfully, and were the most faithful
fellows to their words that could be thought of; for, except when
they came to beg victuals and directions, they never came out of
their bounds; and there they lived when I came to the island and I
went to see them. They had taught them both to plant corn, make
bread, breed tame goats, and milk them: they wanted nothing but
wives in order for them soon to become a nation. They were
confined to a neck of land, surrounded with high rocks behind them,
and lying plain towards the sea before them, on the south-east
corner of the island. They had land enough, and it was very good
and fruitful; about a mile and a half broad, and three or four
miles in length. Our men taught them to make wooden spades, such
as I made for myself, and gave among them twelve hatchets and three
or four knives; and there they lived, the most subjected, innocent
creatures that ever were heard of.
After this the colony enjoyed a perfect tranquillity with respect
to the savages, till I came to revisit them, which was about two
years after; not but that, now and then, some canoes of savages
came on shore for their triumphal, unnatural feasts; but as they
were of several nations, and perhaps had never heard of those that
came before, or the reason of it, they did not make any search or
inquiry after their countrymen; and if they had, it would have been
very hard to have found them out.
Thus, I think, I have given a full account of all that happened to
them till my return, at least that was worth notice. The Indians
were wonderfully civilised by them, and they frequently went among