CHAP. XXV.
The Beginning and Proceedings of the new Plantation of St. Christopher by
Captain Warner.
Master Ralph Merifield and others, having furnished this worthy Industrious Gentleman, {MN-1} he arrived at St. Christophers, as is said, with fifteen Men, the 28th of January 1623, viz. William Tested, John Rhodes, Robert Bints, Mr. Benifield, Sergeant Jones, Mr. Ware, William Ryle, Rowland Grascock, Mr. Bond, Mr. Langley, Mr. Weaver, Edward Warner, their Captain's Son, and now Deputy Governour, till his Father's return, Sergeant Aplon, one Sailor and a Cook: At their arrival, they found three French Men, who sought to oppose Captain Warner, and to set the Indians upon us; but at last we all became Friends, and lived with the Indians a Month, then we built a Fort, and a House, and planting Fruits, by September we made a crop of Tobacco; {MN-2} but upon the nineteenth of September came a Hericano and blew it away, all this while we lived upon Cassada Bread, Potatoes, Plantanes, Pines, Turtles, Guanes, and Fish plenty; for drink we had Nicnobby.
{MN-1} 1623.
{MN-2} A Hericano.
{MN} The 18th March 1624 arrived Captain Jefferson, with three Men Passengers in the Hopewell of London, with some Trade for the Indians, and then we had another crop of Tobacco, in the mean time the French had planted themselves in the other end of the Isle; with this crop Captain Warner returned for England in September 1625.
{MN} 1624.
In his absence came in a French Pinnace, under the command of Monsieur de Nombe, that told us, the Indians had slain some French Men in other of the Caribbe Isles, and that there were six Peryagoes, which are huge great Trees, formed as your Canoos, but so laid out on the sides with Boards, they will seem like a little Gally: {MN} Six of those, with about four or five hundred strange Indians came unto us, we bade them be gone, but they would not; whereupon we and the French joyned together, and upon the fifth of November set upon them, and put them to flight: upon New years Even they came again, found three English going about the Isle, whom they slew.
{MN} Their Fight with the Indians.
{MN-1} Until the fourth of August, we stood upon our Guard, living upon the spoil and did nothing. But now Captain Warner arriving again with near an hundred People, then we fell to work and planting as before; {MN-2} but upon the fourth of September, came such a Hericano, as blew down all our Houses, Tobacco, and two Drums into the air we know not whither, drove two Ships on Shoar that were both split; all our Provision thus lost, we were very miserable, living only on what we could get in the wild Woods, {MN-3} we made a small party of French and English to go aboard for Provision, but in their returning home, eight French Men were slain in the Harbour.
{MN-1} 1625.
{MN-2} A Hericano.
{MN-3} Eight French Slain.
{MN} Thus we continued till near June that the Tortles came in 1627, but the French being like to starve, sought to surprize us, and all the Cassado, Potatoes, and Tobacco we had planted, but we did prevent them. The 26th of October, came in Captain William Smith, in the Hope-well, with some Ordnance, Shot and Powder, from the Earl of Carlisle, with Captain Pelham and thirty Men; about that time also came the Plow, also a small Ship of Bristow, with Captain Warner's Wife, and six or seven Women more.
{MN} 1627.
{MN} Upon the 25th of November, the Indians set upon the French, for some injury about their Women, and slew six and twenty French Men, five English, and three Indians. Their Weapons are Bows and Arrows, their Bows are never bent, but the string lies flat to the Bow; their Arrows a small Reed, four or five foot long, headed some with the poisoned Sting of the Tail of a Stingray, some with Iron, some with Wood, but all so poisoned, that if they draw but blood, the hurt is incurable.
{MN} Three Indians Slain.
{MN} The next day came in Captain Charles Saltonstall, a young Gentleman, Son of Sir Samuel Saltonstall, who brought with him good store of all Commodities to relieve the Plantation; but by reason some Hollanders, and others had been there lately before him, who carried away with them all the Tobacco, he was forced to put away all his Commodities upon trust till the next crop; in the mean time he resolved there to stay, and imploy himself and his Company in planting Tobacco, hoping thereby to make a Voyage, but before he could be ready to return for England, a Hericano happening, his Ship was split, to his great loss, being sole Merchant and owner himself, notwithstanding forced to pay to the Governour the fifth part of his Tobacco, and for fraught to England, three pence a pound, and nine pence a pound custom, which amounts together to more than threescore pound in the hundred pound, to the great discouragement of him and many others, that intended well to those Plantations. Nevertheless he is gone again this present year 1629, with a Ship of about three hundred Tuns, and very near two hundred People, with Sir William Tuffton Governour for the Barbadoes, and divers Gentlemen, and all manner of Commodities fit for a Plantation.
{MN} The arrival of many English Ships.
Captain Prinn, Captain Stone, and divers others came in about Christmas; so that this last year, there hath been about thirty Sail of English, French, and Dutch Ships, and all the Indians forced out of the Isle, for they had done much mischief amongst the French, in cutting their Throats, burning their Houses, and spoiling their Tobacco; amongst the rest Tegramund, a little Child, the King's Son, his Parents being slain, or fled, was by great chance saved, and carefully brought to England, by Master Merifield, who brought him from thence, and bringeth him up as his own Children.
{MN-1} It lieth seventeen degrees Northward of the Line, about an hundred and twenty Leagues from the Cape de tres Puntas, the nearest main Land in America, it is about eight Leagues in length, and four in breadth; an Island amongst 100 Isles in the West Indies, called the Caribbes, where ordinarily all them that frequent the West Indies, refresh themselves; those, most of them are Rocky, little, and Mountainous, yet frequented with the Canibals; many of them inhabited, as Saint Domingo, Saint Mattalin, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, Granada, and Margarita, to the Southward; Northward, none but Saint Christophers, and it but lately, yet they will be ranging Marigalanta, Guardalupo, Deceado, Mountserat, Antegua, Mevis, Bernardo, Saint Martin, and Saint Bartholomew, but the worst of the four Isles possessed by the Spaniard, as Portorico or Jamaica, is better than them all; as for Hispaniola, and Cuba, they are worthy the Title of two rich Kingdoms, the rest not respected by the Spaniards, for want of Harbours, and their better choice of good Land, and profit in the main. But Captain Warner, having been very familiar with Captain Painton, in the Amazon, hearing his information of this St. Christophers; and having made a years trial, as it is said, returned for England, joyning with Master Merifield and his Friends, got Letters Patents from King James to plant and possess it. Since then, the Right Honourable the Earl of Carlisle hath got Letters Patents also, not only of that, but all the Caribe Isles about it, who is now chief Lord of them, and the English his Tenants that do possess them; over whom he appointeth such Governours and Officers as their affairs require; and although there be a great Custom imposed upon them, considering their other charges, both to feed and maintain themselves; yet there is there, and now a going, near upon the number of three thousand People; where by reason of the rockiness and thickness of the Woods in the Isle, it is difficult to pass, and such a snuff of the Sea goeth on the Shoar, ten may better defend, than fifty assault. {MN-2} In this Isle are many Springs, but yet Water is scarce again in many places; the Valleys and sides of the Hills very fertile, but the Mountains harsh, and of a sulphurous composition; all overgrown with Palmetas, Cotten Trees; Lignum vitæ, and divers other sorts, but none like any in Christendom, except those carried thither; the air very pleasant and healthful, but exceeding hot, yet so tempered with cool breaths, it seems very temperate to them, that are little used to it; the Trees being always green, the days and nights always very near equal in length, always Summer; only they have in their Seasons great Gusts and Rains, and sometimes a Hericano, which is an over grown, and a most violent storm.
{MN-1} The Description of the Isle.
{MN-2} The Springs; Temper; and Seasons.
{MN} In some of those Isles, are Cattel, Goats, and Hogs, but here none but what they must carry; Guanes they have, which is a little harmless Beast, like a Crocodile, or Alligator, very fat and good Meat; she lays Eggs in the Sand, as doth the Land Crabs, which live here In abundance, like Conies in Boroughs, unless about May, when they come down to the Sea side, to lay in the Sand, as the other; and all their Eggs are hatched by the heat of the Sun.
{MN} A strange hatching of eggs for beasts.
{MN} From May to September, they have good store of Tortoises that come out of the Sea to lay their Eggs in the Sand, and are hatched as the other; they will lay half a peck at a time, and near a bushel ere they have done, and are round like Tenis-balls: This Fish is like Veal in taste, the Fat of a brownish colour, very good and wholsom. We seek them in the Nights, where we find them on shoar, we turn them upon their backs, till the next day we fetch them home, for they can never return themselves, being so hard, a Cart may go over them, and so big, one will suffice forty or fifty Men to dinner. Divers sorts of other Fish they have in abundance, and Prawenes most great and excellent, but none will keep sweet scarce twelve hours.
{MN} Fish.
{MN} The best and greatest is a Passer Flaminga, which walking at her length, is as tall as a Man; Pigeons and Turtle Doves in abundance; some Parrots, wild Hawks, but divers other sorts of good Sea-fowl, whose Names we know not.
{MN} Birds.
{MN} Cassado is a Root planted in the Ground, of a wonderful Increase, and will make very good White-bread, but the Juce Rank Poyson, yet boyled, better than Wine; Potatoes, Cabbages, and Radish plenty.
{MN} Roots.
{MN} Maize, like the Virginia Wheat; we have Pine-Apple, near so big as an Hartichock, but the most daintiest taste of any Fruit; Plantains, an excellent and most increasing Fruit; Apples, Prickle Pears, and Pease, but differing all from ours. There is Pepper that groweth in a little red Husk, as big as a Walnut, about four Inches in length, but the long Cods are small, and much stronger and better for use, than that from the East Indies. There is too sorts of Cotten, the silk Cotten as in the East Indies, groweth upon a small stalk, as good for Beds as Down; the other upon a shrub, and beareth a Cod bigger than a Walnut, full of Cotten wool: Anotto also groweth upon a shrub, with a Cod like the other, and nine or ten on a bunch, full of Anotto, very good for Dyers, tho' wild; Sugar Canes, not tame, four or five foot high; also Mastick, and Locus-trees; great and hard Timber, Gourds, Musk-Melons, Water-Melons, Lettice, Parsly; all places naturally bear Purslain of it self; Sope-berries like a Musquet Bullet, that washeth as white as Sope; in the middle of the Root is a thing like a Sedge, a very good Fruit, we call Pengromes; a Pappaw is as great as an Apple, coloured like an Orange, and good to eat, a small hard Nut, like a Hazel Nut, grows close to the Ground, and like this grows on the Palmetas, which we call a Mucca Nut; Mustard-seed will grow to a great Tree, but bears no seed, yet the Leaves will make good Mustard; the Mancinel Tree, the Fruit is Poison; good Figs in abundance; but the Palmeta serveth to build Forts and Houses, the Leaves to cover them, and many other uses; the juice we draw from them, till we suck them to Death, (is held restorative) and the top for meat doth serve us as Cabbage; but oft we want Powder'd Beef and Bacon, and many other needful necessaries.
{MN} Fruits.
By Thomas Simons, Rowland Grascocke, Nicholas Burgh, and others.