chor, with all Speed, he ftood as near the Shore as he durft with the Ship, and then sent another Boat with ten Hands in her to affift us; but we callď to them not to come too near, telling them what Condition we were in; however, they ftood in nearer to us, and one of the Men taking the End of a Tow-Line in his Hand, and keeping our Boat between him and the Enemy, lo that they could not perfectly fee him, fwam on board us and made faft the Line to the Boat; upon which, we flip'd our little Cable, and leaving our Anchor behind, they tow'd us out of Reach of the Arrows, we all the while lying close behind the Barricado we had made.

As foon as we were got from between the Ship and the Shore, that he could lay her Side to the Shore, fhe run along juft by them, and pour'd in a Broad-fide among them loaden with Pieces of Iron and Lead, fmall Bullets, and fuch Stuff, befides the great Shot which made a terrible Havock amongst them.

When we were got on board and out of Danger, we had Time to examine into the Occafion of this Fray; and indeed our Supra-Cargo who had been often in thofe Parts, put me upon it ; for he faid, he was fure the Inhabitants would not have touch'd us after we had made a Truce, if we had not done fomething to provoke them to it; at length it came out, (viz.) that an old Woman who had come to fell us fome Milk, had brought it within our Poles, with a young Wo man with her, who also brought fome Roots or Herbs; and while the old Woman, whether she was Mother to the young Woman or no, they could not tell, was felling us the Milk, one

of

of our Men offer'd fome Rudeness to the Wench that was with her, at which the old Woman made a great Noife: However, the Seaman would not quit his Prize, but carried her out of the old Woman's Sight among the Trees, it being almoft dark; the old Woman went away without her, and as we fuppofe, made an Out-cry among the People fhe came from; who upon Notice, rais'd this great Army upon us in three or four Hours; and it was great odds, but we had been all destroy'd.

One of our Men was killed with a Launce thrown at him juft at the beginning of the Attack, as he fally'd out of the Tent they 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 Miftrefs; for we could not hear what became of him, a great while; we lay upon the Shore two Days after, tho' the Wind prelented, and made Signals for him; made our Boat fail up Shore and down Shore, feveral Leagues, but in vain; fo we were oblig'd to give him over, and if he alone had fuffer'd for it, the Lofs had been the lefs.

I could not fatisfie my felf, however, without venturing on Shore 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 Mif chief we had done and how the Game ftood on the Indians Side: I was careful to do it in the dark leaft we should be attack'd again; but I ought indeed to have been fure, that the Men I went with had been under my Command, before I engag'd in a Thing fo hazardous and mif

chievous

chievous as I was brought into by it, without my Knowledge or Design.

We took twenty ftout Fellows with us as any in the Ship, befides the Supra-Cargo and my felf, 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 faid, was chiefly to fee if they had quitted the Field, and if they had left any Marks behind them of the Mifchief we had done them; and I thought, if we could furprize 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 Bodies, whereof, the Boatswain commanded one, and I the other; we neither faw or heard any Body ftir when we landed, and we march'd up one Body at a Distance from the other, to the Place, but at first could fee nothing it being very dark; till by and by, our Boatfwain that led the firft Party, ftumbled and fellover a dead Body; this made them halt a while,for knowing by theCircumftances 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, when we could easily difcern the Havock we had made among thom; 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 fuppofe, they had carried away.

When

When we had made, as I thought, a full Difcovery of all we could come at the Knowledge of, I was refolv'd for going on board; but the Boatfwain and his Party fent me Word, that they were refolv'd to make a Vifit to the Indian Town, where thefe Dogs as they call'd them dwelt, and ask'd me to go along with them; and if they could find, them as ftill they fancy'd they fhould, they did not doubt getting a good Booty, and it might be, they might find Tho. Jeffry there, that was the Man's Name we had loft.

Had they fent to ask my Leave to go, I knew well enough what Anfwer to have given them; for I fhould have commanded them inftantly on board, knowing it was not a Hazard fit for us to run, who had a Ship, and Ship-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 ask'd me and my Company to go along with them; I pofitively refus'd 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 refus'd pofitively, began to grumble, and fay they were not under my Command and they would go: Come Jack, fays one of the Men, will go with me? I'll go for one, Jack faid he would, and another followed, and then another; and in a Word, they all left me but one, who I perfuaded to ftay, and a Boy left in the Boat; fo the Supra-Cargo and I, with the third Man, went back to the Beat, where we told them we would ftay for them, and take Care to take in as many of them

Q2

them as fhould be left; for I told them it was a mad Thing they were going about, and fuppos'd most of them would run the Fate of Thom. Jeffry.

They told me, like Seamen,they would warrant it they would come off again, and they would take Care,&c. So away they went; I entreated them to confider the Ship and the Voyage; that their Lives were not their own, and that they were entrusted with the Voyage in fome Meafure; that if they mifcarried, the Ship might be loft for want of their Help, and that they could not answer it to God or Man; I faid a great Deal more to them on that Head, but I might as well have talk'd to the Main-maft of the Ship; they were mad upon their Journey, only they gave me good Words, and begg'd I would not be angry; that they would be very cautious, and they did not doubt but they would be back again in about an Hour at fartheft, for the Indian Town, they faid, was not above half a Mile off, tho' they found it a bove two Miles before they got to it.

Well, they all went away as above; and tho the Attempt was defperate, and fuch, as none but mad Men would have gone about, yet to give them their due, they went about it as warily, as boldly; they were gallantly arm'd that's true, for they had every Man a Fuzee or Mufquet, a Bayonet, every Man a Piftol fome of them had broad Cutlaffes, fome of them Hangers, and the Boatfwain 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