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One of our men was killed with a lance that was thrown at him, juft at the beginning of the attack, as he fallied out of the tent we had made; the reft came off free, all but the fellow who was the occafion of all the mifchief, who paid dear enough for his black mistress, for we could not hear what became of him a great while. We lay upon the fhore two days after, though the wind presented, and made fignals for him; made our boat fail up fhore, and down fhore, feveral leagues, but in vain; fo we were obliged to give him over; and if he alone had fuffered for it, the lofs had been the less.

I could not fatisfy myself, however, without venturing on fhore once more, to try if I could learn any thing of him or them; it was the third night after the action, that I had a great mind to learn, if I could by any means, what mischief we had done, and how the game ftood on the Indian fide: I was careful to do it in the dark, left we should be attacked again; but I ought indeed to have been fure, that the men I went with had been under my command, before I engaged in a thing fo hazardous and mischievous, as I was brought into it without my knowledge or defire.

We took twenty ftout fellows with us as any in the ship, besides the fupercargo and myself; and we landed two hours before midnight, at the fame place where the Indians ftood drawn up the evening before: I landed here, because my defign, as I have said, was chiefly to fee if they had quitted the field, and if they had left any marks behind them, or of the mischief we had done them; and I thought, if we could fur

prife one or two of them, perhaps we might get our man again, by way of exchange.

We landed without any noife, and divided our men into two companies, whereof the boatswain commanded one, and I the other: We neither could hear nor fee any body stir when we landed; fo we marched up, one body at a distance from the other, to the field of battle: At first we could fee nothing, it be ing very dark; but by and by, our boatswain, that led the first party, stumbled and fell over a dead body: This made them halt there awhile; for knowing by the circumstances, that they were at the place where the Indians had stood, they waited for my coming up: Here we concluded to halt till the moon began to rife, which we knew would be in less than an hour; and then we could easily discern the havock we had made among them: We told two-and-thirty bodies upon the ground, whereof two were not quite dead. Some had an arm, and fome a leg, fhot off; and one his head: Thofe that were wounded, we fuppofed they had carried away.

When we had made, as I thought, a full discovery of all we could come at the knowledge of, I was for going on board again; but the boatswain and his party often fent me word, that they were refolved to make a visit to the Indian town, where these dogs, as they called them, dwelt; and defired me to go along with them; and if they could find them, as they still fancied they fhould, they did not doubt, they faid, getting a good booty; and it might be, they might find Thomas Jeffrys there that was the

man's name we had loft.

Had

Had they fent to afk my leave to go, I knew well enough what answer to have given them; for I would have commanded them inftantly on board, knowing it was not a hazard fit for us to run, who had a fhip, and a fhip's loading in our charge, and a voyage to make, which depended very much upon the lives of the men; but as they fent me word they were refolved to go, and only afked me and my company to go along with them, I pofitively refused it, and rofe up (for I was fitting on the ground) in order to go to the boat. One or two of the men began to importune me to go; and, when I ftill refused pofitively, began to grumble, and say they were not under my command, and they would go. Come, Jack, fays one of the men, will you go with me? I will go for one. Jack faid he would; and another followed, and then another; and, in a word, they all left me but one, whom, with much difficulty too, I perfuaded to ftay: fo the fupercargo and I, with one man, went back to the boat, where, I told them, we would ftay for them, and take care to take in as many of them as fhould be left; for I told them, it was a mad thing they were going about, and fuppofed most of them would run the fate of Thomas Jeffrys.

They told me, like feamen, they'd warrant it they would come off again; and they would take care, &c. So away they went. I intreated them to confider the ship, and the voyage; that their lives were not their own; and that they were intrufted with the voyage, in fome measure; that if they mifcarried, the fhip might be loft for want of their help;

and

and that they could not answer it to God and man. I said a great deal more to them on that head, but I might as well have talked to the main-maft of the ship; they were mad upon their journey; only they gave me good words, and begged I would not be angry; faid they would be very cautious, and they did not doubt but they would be back again in about an hour, at farthest; for the Indian town, they faid, was not above half a mile off; though they found it above two miles before they got to it.

Well, they all went away, as above; and though the attempt was defperate, and fuch as none but madmen would have gone about, yet, to give them their due, they went about it warily, as well as boldly. They were gallantly armed, that is true; for they had every man a fufil or mufquet, a bayonet, and every man a piftol; fome of them had broad cutlaffes, fome of them hangers; and the boatswain, and two more, had pole-axes: befides all which, they had among them thirteen hand-grenadoes. Bolder fellows, and better provided, never went about any wicked work in the world.

When they went out, their chief defign was plunder; and they were in mighty hopes of finding gold there; but a circumftance, which none of them were aware of, set them on fire with revenge, and made devils of them all: When they came to the few Indian houses, which they thought had been the town, which were not above half a mile off, they were under a great disappointment; for there were not above twelve or thirteen houses; and where the town was, or how big, they knew not: They con

fulted therefore what to do, and were fome time be fore they could refolve: for if they fell upon thefe, they must cut all their throats; and it was ten to one but fome of them might escape, it being in the night, though the moon was up; and if one efcaped, he would run away, and raise all the town, fo they fhould have a whole army upon them. Again, on the other hand, if they went away, and left those untouched (for the people were all asleep) they could not tell which way to look for the town.

However, the last was the best advice; so they refolved to leave those houses, and look for the town as well as they could: They went on a little way, and found a cow tied to a tree: this they prefently concluded would be a good guide to them; for they faid the cow certainly belonged to the town before them, or the town behind them; and if they untied her, they should fee which way fhe went: if she went back, they had nothing to fay to her; but if fhe went forward, they had nothing to do but to follow her; fo they cut the cord, which was made of twisted flags, and the cow went on before them: In a word, the cow led them directly to the town, which, as they reported, confifted of above 200 houfes, or huts; and in fome of these they found feveral families living together.

Here they found all filent; as profoundly fecure, as fleep and a country that had never feen an enemy of that kind, could make them. Upon this they called another council, to confider what they had to do; and, in a word, they refolved to divide themfelves into three bodies, and to fet three houses on