in a great consternation; for, some of the Spa. niards being out early one morning on the west side, or rather end of the island, which, by the way, was that end where I never went for fear of being discovered, they were surprised with seeing above twenty canoes of Indians just coming on shore. They made the best of their way home in hurry enough, and giving the alarm to their comrades, they kept close all that day and the next, going out only at night to make observation; but they had the good luck to be mistaken, for wherever the savages went, they did not land at that time on the island, but pursued some other design. One of the two honest Englishmen stood up, and said, they desired it might not be left to them; "for," says he, "I am sure we ought to sentence them to the gallows;" and with that gives an account how Will Atkins, one of the three, had proposed to have all the five Englishmen join together, and murder all the Spaniards, when they were in their sleep. When the Spanish governor heard this, he calls to Will Atkins.-"How, Seignior Atkins," says he, "will you murder us all? What have you to say to that?" That hardened villain was so far from denying it, that he said it was true. and G-d d-n him they would do it still before they had done with them." Well, but Seignior Atkins," says the Spaniard, "what have we done to you that you will kill us? And what would you get by killing us? And what must we do to prevent your killing us? Must we kill you, or will you kill us? Why will you put us to the necessity of this, Seignior Atkins?" says the Spaniard very calmly, and smiling. And now they had another broil with the three Englishmen; one of which, a most turbulent fellow, being in a rage at one of the three slaves, which I mentioned they had taken, because the fellow had not done something right which he bid him do, and seemed a little untractable in his shewing him, drew a hatchet out of a frog belt, in which he bore it by his side, Seignior Atkins was in such a rage at the and fell upon him, the poor savage, not to cor- Spaniard's making a jest of it, that had he not rect him, but to kill him. One of the Spaniards been held by three men, and withal had no weawho was by, seeing him give the fellow a bar-pons with him, it was thought he would have barous cut with the hatchet, which he aimed at his head, but struck into his shoulder, so that he thought he had cut the poor creature's arm off, ran to him, and entreating him not to mur. der the poor man, clapt in between him and the savage, to prevent the mischief. attempted to have killed the Spaniard in the middle of all the company. This hair-brained carriage obliged them to consider seriously what was to be done. The two Englishmen and the Spaniard, who saved the poor savage, were of the opinion, "That they should hang one of the three for an example to the rest, and that particularly it should be he that had twice attempted to commit murder with his hatchet; and indeed there was some reason to believe he had done it, for the poor savage was in such a miserable condition with the wound he had received, that it was thought he could not live. But the governor Spaniard still said; No, it was an Englishman that had saved all their lives, and he would never consent to put an Englishman to death though he had murdered half of them; nay, he said, if he had been killed himself by an Englishman, and had time left to speak, it should be, that they should pardon him. The fellow being enraged the more at this, struck at the Spaniard with his hatchet, and swore he would serve him as he intended to serve the savage, which the Spaniard perceiving, avoided the blow, and with a shovel which he had in his hand (for they were working in the field about the corn land), knocked the brute down; another of the Englishmen running at the same time to help his comrade, knocked the Spaniard down, and then two Spaniards more came to help their man; and a third Englishman fell upon them. They had none of them any firearms or any other weapons but hatchets and other tools, except the third Englishman; he had one of my old rusty cutlasses, with which he made at the last Spaniards and wounded This was so positively insisted on by the gothem both; this fray set the whole family in an vernor Spaniard, that there was no gainsaying uproar, and more help coming in, they took theit; and, as merciful counsels are most apt to three Englishmen prisoners. The next question was, what should be done with them? They had been so often mutinous, and were so furious, so desperate, and so idle withal, that they knew not what course to take with them, for they were mischievous to the highest degree, and valued not what hurt they did any man; so that, in short, it was not safe to live with them. The Spaniard who was governor, told them in so many words, that if they had been his own countrymen, he would have hanged them all; for all laws, and all governors, were to preserve society; and those who were dangerous to the society ought to be expelled out of it; but as they were Englishmen, and that it was to the generous kindness of an Englishman that they all owed their preservation and deliverance, he would use them with all possible lenity, and would leave them to the judgment of the other two Englishmen, who were their countrymen. prevail, where they are so earnestly pressed, so they all came into it; but then it was to be considered, what should be done to keep them from the mischief they designed; for all agreed, governor and all, that means were to be used for preserving the society from danger. After a long debate it was agreed, first, that they should be disarmed, and not permitted to have either gun, or powder, or shot, or sword, or any weapon, and should be turned out of the society, and left to live where they would, and how they could, by themselves; but that none of the rest, either Spaniards or English, should converse with them, speak with them, or have anything to do with them; that they should be forbid to come within a certain distance of the place where the rest dwelt; and that if they offered to commit any disorder, so as to spoil, burn, kill, or destroy any of the corn, plantings, buildings, fences, or cattle belonging to the society, that the side of the hill for them, big enough to secure their corn and other things from the rain; but it was a poor place at best compared to mine, and especially as mine was then, for the Spaniards had greatly enlarged it, and made several new apartments in it. they should die without mercy, and they would shoot them wherever they could find them. The governor, a man of great humanity, musing upon the sentence, considered a little upon it; and turning to the two honest Englishmen said, "Hold; you must reflect, that it will be long ere they can raise corn and cattle of About three quarters of a year after this se their own, and they must not starve; we must paration, a new frolic took these rogues, which, therefore allow them provisions." So he caused together with the former villany they had to be added, "That they should have a propor- committed, brought mischief enough upon them, tion of corn given them to last them eight || and had very near been the ruin of the whole months, and for seed to sow, by which time they colony. The three new associates began, it might be supposed to raise some of their own; seems, to be weary of the laborious life they led, that they should have six milch-goats, four he- and that without hope of bettering their circumgoats, and six kids given them, as well for present stances, and a whim took them, that they would subsistence, as for a store; and that they should make a voyage to the continent from whence the have tools given them for their work in the field, savages came, and would try if they could not such as six hatchets, an axe, and the like. But seize upon some prisoners among the natives they should have none of these tools or provi- there, and bring them home so as to make them sions, unless they would swear solemnly, that they do the laborious part of the work for them. would not hurt or injure any of the Spaniards with them, or of their fellow Englishmen." The project was not so preposterous, if they had gone no farther, but they did nothing, and Thus they dismissed them the society, and proposed nothing, but had either mischief in the turned them out to shift for themselves. They design, or mischief in the event, and if I may went away sullen and refractory, as neither con- give my opinion, they seemed to be under a blast tented to go away, or to stay; but as there was from heaven; for if we will not allow a visible no remedy, they went, pretending to go and curse to pursue visible crimes, how shall we rechoose a place where they should settle them-concile the events of things with divine justice? selves, to plant and live by themselves; and some It was certainly an apparent vengeance on their provisions were given them, but no weapons. crime of mutiny and piracy, that brought them About four or five days after, they came again to the state they were in; and, as they shewed for some victuals, and gave the governor an not the least remorse for the crime, but added account where they had pitched their tents, and new villanies to it, such as, particularly, that marked themselves out à habitation or planta-piece of monstrous cruelty of wounding a poor tion; it was a very convenient place indeed, on the remotest part of the island, N. E., much about the place where I providentially landed in my first voyage, when I was driven out to sea, the Lord alone knows whither, in my foolish at-where no surgeon or medicine could be had for tempt to surround the island. Here they built themselves two handsome huts, and contrived them in a manner like my first habitation, being close under the side of a hill, having some trees growing already to the three sides of it; so that by planting others, it would be very easily covered from the sight, unless narrowly searched for; they desired some dry goat skins for beds and covering, which were given them, and upon their giving their words that they would not disturb the rest, or injure any of their plantations, they gave them hatchets, and what other tools they could spare; some peas, barley, and rice, for sowing, and, in a word, anything they wanted but arms and ammunition. slave, because he did not, or perhaps could not, understand to do what he was directed; and to wound him in such a manner as no question made him a cripple all his life, and in a place his cure, and what was still worse, the murderous intent; or to do justice to the crime, the intentional murder, for such to be sure it was, as was afterwards the formed design they all laid, to murder the Spaniards in cold blood, and in their sleep. But I leave observing and return to the story. The three fellows came down to the Spaniards one morning, and in very humble terms desired to be admitted to speak with them; the Spaniards very readily heard what they had to say, which was this: that they were tired of living in the manner they did, that they were not handy enough to make the necessaries they wanted, and that, having no help, they should be starved, but that if the Spaniards would give them leave to take one of the canoes which they came over in, and give them arms and ammunition proportioned for their defence, they would go over to the main and seek their fortune, and so deliver them from the trouble of supplying them with any other provisions. They lived in this separate condition about six months, and had got in their first harvest, though the quantity was but small, the parcel of land they had planted being but little; for indeed, having all their plantation to form, they had a great deal of work upon their hands, and when they came to make boards and pots, and The Spaniards were glad enough to be rid of such things, they were quite out of their element, them, but yet very honestly represented to them and could make nothing of it; and when the the certain destruction they were running into, rainy season came on, for want of a cave in the told them they had suffered such hardships upon earth, they could not keep their grain dry, and it that very spot, that they could, without any was in great danger of spoiling; and this hum-spirit of prophecy, tell them that they would be bled them much, so they came and begged the starved or murdered; and bade them consider Spaniards to help them, which they very readily of it. did, and in four days worked a great hole in | The men replied audaciously, they should be starved if they stayed here, for they could not || work, and they could but be starved abroad, and if they were murdered, there was an end of them, they had no wives or children to cry after them, and, in short, insisted importunately upon their demand, declaring that they would go, whether they would give them any arms or no. The Spaniards told them with great kindness, that if they were resolved to go, they should not go like naked men, and be in no condition to defend themselves; and that though they could ill spare their fire-arms, having not enough for themselves, yet they would let them have two muskets, a pistol, and a cutlass, and each man a hatchet, which they thought sufficient for them. In a word, they accepted the offer; and having baked them bread enough to serve them a month, and given them as much goats' flesh as they could eat while it was sweet, and a great basket full of dried grapes, a pot full of fresh water, and a young kid alive to kill, they boldly set out in a canoe for a voyage over the sea, where it was at least forty miles broad. The boat was indeed a large one, and would have very well carried fifteen or twenty men, and therefore was rather too big for them to manage; but as they had a fair breeze and the flood-tide with them, they did well enough. They had made a mast of a long pole, and a sail of four large goat-skins dried, which they had sowed or laced together, and away they went merrily enough. The Spaniards called after them "Bon Veyajo;" and no man ever thought of seeing them any more. The Spaniards would often say to one another, and the two honest Englishmen who remained behind, how quietly and comfortably they || lved now those three turbulent fellows were gone. As for their ever coming again, that was the remotest thing from their thoughts could be imagined; when, behold, after twenty-two days' absence, one of the Englishmen being abroad upon his planting work, sees three strange men coming towards him at a distance, two of them with guns upon their shoulders. Away runs the Englishman as if he was bewitched, and came frightened and amazed to the governor Spaniard, and tells him they were all undone, for there were strangers landed upon the island, he could not tell who. The Spaniard, pausing awhile, says to him, "How do you mean you cannot tell who? They are savages, to be sure."-"No, no," says the Englishman, "they are men in clothes, with arms."-"Nay then," says the Spaniard, "why are you concerned? If they are not savages they must be friends; for there is no Christian nation upon earth but will do us good rather than harm."" While they were debating thus, came the three Englishmen, and, standing without the wood which was new planted, hallooed to them. They presently knew their voices, and so all the won.. der of that kind ceased. But now the admiration was turned upon another question, viz., what could be the matter, and what made them come back again. It was not long before they brought the men in; and, inquiring where they had been and what they had been doing, they gave them a full account of their voyage in a few words, viz., that they reached the land in two days, or something less, but finding the people alarmed at their coming, and preparing with bows and arrows to fight them, they durst not go on shore, but sailed on to the northward six or seven hours till they came to a great opening, by which they perceived that the land they saw from our island was not the main, but an island; that entering that opening of the sea, they saw another island on the right hand north, and several more west; and being resolved to land somewhere, they put over to one of the islands which lay west, and went boldly on shore; that they found the people were courteous and friendly to them, and they gave them several roots and some dried fish, and appeared very sociable, and the women, as well as the men, were very forward to supply them with anything they could get for them to eat, and brought it to them a great way upon their heads. They continued here four days, and inquired, as well as they could of them by signs, what nations were this way and that way, and were told of several fierce and terrible people, who, as they made known by signs to them, used to eat men; but as for themselves, they said that they never eat men or women, except only such as they took in the wars, and then they owned that they made a great feast and eat their prisoners. The Englishmen inquired when they had a feast of that kind, and they told them two moons ago, pointing to the moon and then to two fingers, and that their great king had two hundred prisoners now which he had taken in his war, and they were feeding them to make them fat for the next feast. The Englishmen seemed mighty desirous to see those prisoners, but the others mistaking them, thought they were desirous to have some of them to carry away for their own eating. So they beckoned to them, pointing to the setting of the sun, and then to the rising, which was to signify that the next morning, at sun-rising, they would bring some of them, and accordingly the next morning they brought down five women and eleven men, and gave them to the Englishmen to carry with them on their voyage, just as we would bring so many cows and oxen down to a sea-port town to victual a ship. As brutish and barbarous as these fellows were at home their stomachs turned at this sight, and they did not know what to do; to refuse the prisoners would have been the highest affront to the savage gentry who offered them, and what to do with them they knew not; however, upon some debate, they resolved to accept of them; and, in return, they gave the savages that brought them one of their hatchets, an old key, a knife, and six or seven of their bullets, which, though they did not understand, they seemed extremely pleased with; and then, tying the poor creatures' hands behind them, they (the people) dragged the pri soners into the boat for our men. The Englishmen were obliged to come away as soon as they had them, or else they that gave them this noble present would certainly have expected that they should have gone to work with them, have killed two or three of them the next morning, and perhaps have invited the donors to dinner. But, having taken their leave with all the re spect, and thanks that could well pass between || and then to be eaten up like a calf that is killed people, where, on either side, they understood for a dainty. not one word they could say, they put off with their boat, and came back towards the first island, where, when they arrived, they set eight of their prisoners at liberty, there being too many of them for their occasion. || In their voyage they endeavoured to have some communication with their prisoners, but it was impossible to make them understand anything; nothing they could say to them, or give them, or do for them, but was looked upon as going about to murder them. They first of all unbound them, but the poor creatures screamed at that, especially the women, as if they had just felt the knife at their throats; for they immediately con- || cluded they were unbound on purpose to be killed. 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 soon as the old man came in, he looked seriously at them, but knew none of them; neither could any of them understand a word he said, or a sign he could make, except one of the women. However, this was enough to answer the end, which was to satisfy them that the men into whose hands they were fallen were Christians; that they abhorred eating of men or women, and that they might be sure they would not be killed. As soon as they were assured of this, they discovered such a joy, and by such awkward and several ways, as is hard to describe; for it seems they were of several nations. If they gave them anything to eat it was the same thing; then they concluded it was for fear The woman, who was their interpreter, was they should sink in flesh, and so not be fat enough bid, in the next place, to ask them if they were to kill. If they looked at one of them more par-willing to be servants, and to work for the men ticularly, the party presently concluded it was to see whether he or she was fattest and fittest to kill first; nay, after they had brought them well, still they expected every day to make a dinner or supper for their new masters. When the three wanderers had given this unaccountable history or journal of their voyage, the Spaniard asked 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 to beg some victuals for them, they (the Spaniards) and the other two Englishmen, that is to say, the whole colony, resolved to go all down to the place, and see them, and did so, and Friday's father with them. When they came into the hut, there they sat 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 say, they sat, all of them stark naked. First, there were three men, lusty, comely fellows, well shaped, strait and fair limbs, about 30 or 35 years, and five women, whereof two might be from 30 to 40, two more not above 24 or 25, and the fifth, a tall, comely maiden, about 16 or 17. The women were well-favoured, agreeable persons, both in shape and features, only tawny; and two of them, had they been perfectly white, would have passed for handsome women, even in London itself, having very pleasant, agreeable countenances, and of a very modest behaviour, especially when they came afterwards to be clothed and dressed, as they called it, though that dress was very indifferent, it must be confessed of which hereafter. who had brought them away to save 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 governor, who found that the having women among them would presently be attended with some inconveniency, and might occasion some strife, and perhaps blood, asked the three men what they intended to do with these women, and how they intended to use them, whether as servants or as women? One of the Englishmen answered very boldly and readily, that they would use them as both. To which the governor said, I am not going to restrain you from it; you are your own masters as to that; but this I think is but just, for avoiding disorders and quarrels among you, and I desire it of you for that reason only, viz., that you will all engage that if any of you take any of these women, as a woman or wife, he shall take but one; and that, having taken one, none else should touch her; for though we cannot marry any of you, yet it is but reasonable that, while you stay here, the woman any of you take should be maintained by the man that takes her, and should be his wife; 1 mean," says he, "while he continues here; and that none else should have anything to do with her." All this appeared so just that every one agreed to it without difficulty. Then the Englishmen asked the Spaniards if they designed to take any of them? But every one answered, "No." Some of them said they had wives in Spain, and the others did not like women that were not Christians; and altogether declared that they would not touch one of them; which was an instance of such virtue as I have not met with in all my travels. On the other hand, to be short, the five Englishmen took them every one a wife; that is to say, a temporary wife; and so they set up a new form of living; for the Spaniards and Friday's father lived in my old habitation, which they had enlarged exceed The sight, you may be sure, was something uncouth to our Spaniards, who were (to give them a just character) men of the best behaviour, of the most calm, sedate tempers, and perfect good humour that ever I met with; and, in particular, of the most modesty, as will presently appear. I say the sight was very uncouth to see three naked men, and five naked women, all together bound, and in the most miserable cir-ingly within. The three servants, which they cumstances that human nature could be supposed, to be, viz., to be expecting every moment to be dragged out and have their brains knocked out, had taken in the late battle of the savages, lived with them, and these carried on the main part of the colony, supplying all the rest with food, and assisting them in anything as they could, or as they found necessity required. But the wonder of this story was, how five such refractory, ill-matched fellows should agree about these women, and that two of them should not pitch upon the same woman, especially seeing two or three of them were, without comparison, more agreeable than the others; but they took a good way enough to prevent quarrelling among themselves, for they set the five women by themselves in one of their huts, and they went all into the other hut, and drew lots among them who should choose first. He that drew to choose first went away by himself to the hut, where the poor naked creatures were, and fetched out her he chose; and it was worth observing that he that chose first took her that was reckoned the homeliest, and the oldest of the five, which made mirth enough among the rest, and even the Spaniards laughed at it; but the fellow considered better than any of them, that it was application and business that they were to expect assistance in as much as anything else; and she proved the best wife in the parcel. When the poor women saw themselves in a row thas, and fetched out one by one, the terrors of their condition returned upon them again, and they firmly believed that they were now going to be devoured. Accordingly, when the English sailor came in and fetched out one of them, the rest set up a most lamentable cry, and hung about her, and took their leave of her with such agonies and such affection, as would have grieved the hardest heart in the world; nor was it possible for the Englishmen to satisfy them that they were not to be immediately murdered, till they fetched the old man, Friday's father, who instantly let them know that the five men, who had fetched them out one by one, had chosen them for their wives. When they had done this, and the fright the women were in was a little over, the men went to work, and the Spaniards came and helped them; and, in a few hours, they had built them every one a new hut or tent for their lodging apart; for those they had already were crowded with their tools, household stuff, and provisions. The three wicked ones had pitched farthest off, and the two honest ones nearer, but both on the north shore of the island, so that they continued separate as before; and thus my island was peopled in three places, and, as I might say, three towns were begun to be planted. And here it is very well worth observing that, as it often happens in the world (what the wise ends of God's providences are in such a disposition of things, I cannot say), the two honest fellows had the two worst wives; and the three reprobates, that were scarce worth hanging, that were fit for nothing, and neither seemed born to do themselves good or any one else, had three clever, diligent, careful, and ingenious wives; not that the two first were ill wives as to their temper or humour, for all the five were most willing, quiet, passive, and subjected creatures, rather like slaves than wives; but my meaning is, they were not alike capable, ingenious, or industrious, or alike cleanly and neat. Another observation I must make, to the ho nour of a diligent application on the one hand, and to the disgrace of a slothful, negligent, idle temper on the other, that when I came to the place and viewed the several improvements, planting and inanagement of the several colonies, the two men had so far outgone the three that there was no comparison. They had, indeed, both of them, as much ground laid out for corn as they wanted; and the reason was, because, according to my rule, nature dictated that it was to no purpose to sow more corn than they wanted; but the difference of the cultivation, of the planting, of the fences, and indeed everything else, was easy to be seen at first view. The two men had innumerable young trees planted about their huts, that when you came to the place nothing was to be seen but a wood; and though they had their plantation twice demolished, once by their own countrymen, and once by the enemy, as shall be shown in its place, yet they had restored all again, and every. thing was flourishing and thriving about them: they had grapes planted in order, and managed like a vineyard, though they had themselves never seen anything of that kind; and by their good ordering, their vines their grapes were as good again as any of the others. They had also formed themselves a retreat in the thickest part of the woods, where, though there was not a natural cave, as I had found, yet they made one with incessant labour of their hands, and where, when the mischief which followed happened, they secured their wives and children, so as they could never be found, they having, by sticking innumerable stakes and poles of the wood, which, as I said, grew so easily, made a grove impassable, except in one place, where they climbed up to get over the outside part, and then went in by ways of their own leaving. As to the three reprobates, as I justly call them, though they were much civilized by their new settlement compared to what they were be fore, and were not so quarrelsome, having not the same opportunity, yet one of the certain companions of a profligate mind never left them, and that was their idleness. It is true they planted corn and made fences; but Solomon's words were never better verified than in them, "I went by the vineyard of the slothful, and it was overgrown with thorns;" for when the Spaniards came to view their crop, they could not see in it some places for weeds; the hedge had several gaps in it, where the wild goats had gotten in and eaten up the corn. Perhaps here and there a dead bush was crammed in to stop them out for the present, but it was only shutting the stable-door after the steed was stolen; whereas, when they looked on the colony of the other two, there was the very face of industry and success upon all they did; there was not a weed to be seen in all their corn, or a gap in any of their hedges; and they, on the other hand, verified Solomon's words in another place: "The diligent hand maketh rich;" for every thing grew and thrived, and they had plenty within and without; they had more tame cattle than the others, more utensils and necessaries within doors. and yet more pleasure and diversion too. It is true, the wives of the three were very ||handy and cleanly within doors; and having |