the next Feaft. The English Men feem'd mighty defirous to fee those Prisoners, but the other miftaking them, thought they were defirous to have fome of them to carry away for their own eating. So they beckoned to them, pointing to the fetting of the Sun, and then to the rifing, which was to fignify, that the next Morning at Sun rifing they would bring fome for them, and accordingly the next Morning they brought down five Women and eleven Men, and gave them to the English Men, to carry with them on their Voyage, juft as we would bring fo many Cows and Oxen down to a Sea-Port Town, to victual a Ship.

As brutish and barbarous as thefe Fellows were at Home, their Stomachs turn'd at this Sight, and they did not know what to do; to refufe the Prifoners, would have been the highest Affront to the Savage Gentry that offer'd them; and what to do with them they knew not; however upon fome Debates they refolv'd to accept of them, and in return they gave the Savages that brought them one of their Hatchets, an old Key, a Knife, and fix or feven of their Bullets, which tho' they did not understand, they feem'd extremely pleas'd with: And then tying the poor Creatures Hands behind them, they (the People) dragg'd the poor Prifoners into the Boat for our Men.

The English Men were obliged to come away as foon as they had them, or elfe they that gave them this noble Prefent, would certainly have expected that they should have gone to work with them, have kill'd two or three of them the next Morning, and perhaps have invited the Donors to Dinner.

But having taken their Leave with all the Refpe&s

fpects and Thanks that could well pafs between People, where on either Side they understood not one Word they could fay, they put off with their Boat and came back towards the first Island, where, when they arrived, they fet eight of their Prifoners at Liberty, there being too many of them for their Occafion.

In their Voyage they endeavoured to have fome Communication with their Prifoners, but it was impoffible to make them understand any thing; nothing they could fay to them, or give them, or do for them, but was look'd upon as going about to murder them. They first of all unbound them, but the poor Creatures skream'd at that, especially the Women, as if they had juft felt the Knife at their Throats; for they immediately concluded they were unbound on purpose to be kill❜d.

If they gave them any thing to eat it was the fame thing; they then concluded it was for fear they should fink in Flesh, and so not be fat enough to kill. If they look'd at one of them more particularly, the Party prefently concluded, it was to fee whether he or she was fatteft and fitteft to kill. Nay, after they had brought them quite over, and began to use them kindly, and treat them well, ftill they expected every Day to make a Dinner or a Supper for their new Masters.

When the three Wanderers had given this unaccountable Hiftory, or Journal of their Voyage, the Spaniard ask'd them, Where their new Family was, and being told that they had brought them on Shore, and put them into one of their Huts, and were come up to beg fome Victuals for them; they, (the Spaniards) and the other two English

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Men

Men, that is to fay, the whole Colony, refolv'd to go all down to the Place and fee them, and did fo, and Friday's Father with them.

When they came into the Hut, there they fat all bound; for when they had brought them on Shore, they bound their Hands that they might not take the Boat and make their Escape. There, I fay, they fat, all of them stark naked: First, there were three Men, lufty comely Fellows, well fhap'd, ftrait and fair Limbs, about thirty to thirty five Years of Age; and five Women, whereof two might be from thirty to forty, two more not above four or five and twenty, and the fifth a tall comely Maiden about fixteen or feventeen: The Women were well favour'd agreeable Persons, both in Shape and Features, only tawny, and two of them, had they been perfect white, would have pafs'd for very handfome Women even in London it felf, having pleasant agreeable Countenances, and of a very modest Behaviour, especially when they came afterwards to be cloathed, and drefs'd, as they call'd it, tho' the Drefs was very indifferent it must be confefs'd; of which hereafter.

The Sight, you may be fure, was fomething uncouth to our Spaniards; who were (to give them a juft Character) Men of the best Behaviour, of the most calm, fedate Tempers, and perfect good Humour that ever I met with, and in particular, of the most Modefty, as will presently appear: I fay, the Sight was very uncouth, to fee two naked Men, and five naked Women, all together bound, and in the most miserable Circumftances that human Nature could be fuppos'd to be, (viz.) to be expecting every Moment to be dragg'd out,

and:

and have their Brains knock'd out, and then to be eaten up like a Calf that is kill'd for a Dainty,

The first Thing they did, was to cause the old Indian, Friday's Father, to go in and see first if he knew any of them, and then if he understood any of their Speech: As foon as the old Man came in, he look'd seriously at them, but knew none of them; neither could any of them understand a Word he faid, or a Sign he could make, except one of the Women.

However, this was enough to answer the End, which was to fatisfy them, that the Men into whofe Hands they were fallen, were Chriftians; that they abhor'd eating of Men or Women, and that they might be fure they would not be kill'd: As foon as they were affur'd of this, they difcover'd fuch a Joy, and by fuch aukward, and feveral Ways, as is hard to defcribe; for it seems they were of feveral Nations.

The Woman, who was their Interpreter, was bid in the next Place to ask them, if they were willing to be Servants, and to work for the Men who had brought them away, to fave their Lives; at which they all fell a Dancing; and presently one fell to taking up this, and another that, any Thing that lay next, to carry on their Shoulders, to intimate that they were willing to work.

The Governour, who found, that the having Women among them would prefently be attended with fome Inconvenience, and might occafion fome Strife, and perhaps Blood; ask'd the three Men, what they intended to do with thefe Women, and how they intended to use them; whe

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ther

ther as Servants, or as Women? One of the Englih Men answer'd very boldly and readily, That they would use them as both: To which the Governour faid, I am not going to restrain you from it, you are your own Mafters as to that: But this I think is but juft, for avoiding Disorders and Quarrels among you, and I defire it of you, for that Reafon only, viz. That you will all engage, that if any of you take any of thefe Women, as a Woman or Wife, that he fhall take but one; and that having taken one, none elfe fhall touch her; for tho' we cannot marry any of you, yet 'tis but reasonable, that while you ftay here, the Woman any of you takes, fhould be maintain'd by the Man that takes her, and fhould be his Wife, I mean, fays he, while he continues here, and that none else fhall have any Thing to do with her : All this appear'd fo juft, that every one agreed to it without any Difficulty.

Then the English Men ask'd the Spaniards, if they defign'd to take any of them? But every one of them anfwer'd, NO: Some of them faid, they had Wives in Spain, and the others did not like Women that were not Chrifti+ ans; and all together declar'd, that they would not touch one of them, which was an Inftance of fuch Virtue, as I have not met with in all my Travels. On the other hand, to be fhort, the five English Men took them every one a Wife, that is to fay, a temporary Wife; and fo they fet up a new Form of Living; for the Spaniards and Friday's Father liv'd in my old Habitation, which they had enlarg'd exceedingly within.

The

three Servants, which were taken in the late Battle of the Savages, liv'd with them; and these carry'd on the main Part of the Colony, fupply