"The poor creatures, thoroughly humbled, being reduced to about thirty-seven, joyfully accepted the offer, and earnestly begged for food; hereupon we sent twelve Spaniards and two Englishmen well armed, together with Old Friday, and three Indian slaves were loaded with a large quantity of bread and rice cakes, with three live goats: and the poor Indians being ordered to sit down on the side of the hill, they ate the victuals very thankfully, and have proved faithful to the last, never trespassing beyond their bounds, where at this day they quietly and happily remain, and where we now and then visit them. They are confined to a neck of land about a mile and a half broad, and three or four in length, on the south-east corner of the island, the sea being before, and lofty mountains behind them, free from the appearance of canoes; and indeed their countrymen never made any inquiry after them. We gave them twelve hatchets, and three or four knives; have taught them to build huts, make wooden spades, plant corn, make bread, breed tame goats and milk them, as likewise to make wicker work, in which I must ingenuously confess, they infinitely out do us, having made themselves several pretty necessaries and fancies, as baskets, sieves, bird-cages, and cupboards, as also stools, beds and couches, no less useful than delightful; and now they live the most innocent and inoffensive creatures that ever were subdued in the world, wanting nothing but wives to make them a nation.
"Thus, kind Sir, have I given you, according to my ability, an impartial account of the various transactions that have happened, in the island since your departure to this day; and we have great reason to acknowledge the kind providence of Heaven in our merciful deliverance. When you inspect your little kingdom, you will find in it some little improvement, your flocks increased, and your subjects augmented, so that from a desolate island, as this was before your wonderful deliverance upon it, here is a visible prospect of its becoming a populous and well governed little kingdom, to your immortal fame and glory."
There is no doubt to suppose but that the preceeding relation of my faithful Spaniard was very agreeable and no less surprising to me, to the young priest, and to all who heard it: now were these people less pleased with those necessary utensils that I brought them, such as the knives, scissars, spades, shovels, and pick-axes, with which they now adorn their habitations.
So much had they addicted themselves to wicker-work, prompted by the ingenuity of the Indians, who assisted them, that when I viewed the Englishmen's colonies, they seemed at a distance as though they had lived like bees in a hive: for Will Atkins, who was now become a very industrious and sober man, had made himself a tent of basket-work round the outside; the walls were worked in as a basket, in pannels or strong squares of thirty-two in number, standing about seven feet high: in the middle was another, not above twenty-two paces round, but much stronger built, being of an octagonal form, and in the eight corners stood eight strong poles, round the top of which he raised a pyramid for the roof, mighty pretty, I assure you, and joined very well together, with iron spikes, which he made himself; for he had made him a forge, with a pair of wooden bellows and charcoal for his work, forming an anvil cut of one of the iron crows, to work upon, and in the manner would he make himself hooks, staples, spikes, bolts, and hinges. After he had pitched the roof of his innermost tent, he made it so firm between the rafters with basket-work, thatching that over again with rice-straw, and over that a large leaf of a tree, that his house was as dry as if it had been tiled or slated. The outer circuit was covered as a lean-to, quite round this inner appartment, laying long rafters from the thirty-two angles to the top posts of the inner house, about twenty-feet distant, so that there was a space like a wall between the outer and inner wall, near twenty feet in breadth. The inner place he partitioned off with the same wicker-work, dividing it into six neat apartments every one of which had a door, first into the entry of the main tent, and another into the space and walk that was round it, not only convenient for retreat, but for family necessaries. Within the door of the outer circle, there was a passage directly to the door of the inner house; on either side was a wicker partition, and a door, by which you go into a room twenty-two feet wide, and about thirty long, and through that into another of a smaller length; so that in the outer circle were ten handsome rooms, six of which were only to be come at through the apartments of the inner tent, serving as retiring rooms to the respective chambers of the inner circle, and four large warehouses, which went in through one another, two on either hand of the passage that led through the outer door to the inner tent. In short, nothing could be built more ingeniously, kept more neat, or have better conveniences; and here lived the three families, Will Atkins, his companion, their wives and children, and the widow of the deceased. As to religion, the men seldom taught their wives the knowledge of God, any more than the sailors' custom of swearing by his name. The greatest improvement their wives had, was, they taught them to speak English, so as to be understood.
None of their children were then above six years old; they were all fruitful enough; and I think the cook's mate's wife was big of her sixth child.
When I inquired of the Spaniards about their circumstances while among the savages, they told me, that they abandoned themselves to despair, reckoning themselves a poor and miserable people, that had no means put into their hands, and consequently must soon be starved to death. They owned, however, that they were in the wrong to think so, and for refusing the assistance that reason offered for their support, as well as future deliverance, confessing that grief was a most insignificant passion, as it looked upon things as without remedy, and having no hope of things to come; all which verified this noted proverb,
In trouble to be troubled,
Is to have your trouble doubled.
Nor did his remarks end here, for, making observations upon my improvement, and on my condition at first, infinitely worse than theirs, he told me that Englishmen had, in their distress, greater presence of mind than those of any other country that he had met with; and that they and the Portuguese were the worst men in the world to struggle under misfortunes. When they landed among the savages, they found but little provision except they would turn cannibals, there being but a few roots and herbs, with little substance in them, and of which the natives gave them but very sparingly. Many were the ways they took to civilize and teach the savages, but in vain; for they would not own them to be their instructors, whose lives were owing to their bounty. Their extremities were very great and many days being entirely without food, the savages there being more indolent and less devouring than those who had better supplies. When they went out to battle they were obliged to assist these people, in one of which my faithful Spaniard being taken, had like to have been devoured. They had lost their ammunition, which rendered their fire-arms useless; nor could they use the bows and arrows that were given them, so that while the armies were at a distance, they had no chance but when close, then they could be of service with halberts, & sharpened sticks put into the muzzles of their muskets. They made themselves targets of wood covered with the skins of wild beasts; and when one happened to be knocked down, the rest of the company fought over him till he recovered; and then standing close in a line, they would make their way through a thousand savages. At the return of their friend, who they thought had been entombed in the bowels of their enemies, their joy was inconceivable. Nor were they less surprised at the sight of the loaves of bread I had sent them, things that they had not seen for several years, at the same time crossing and blessing it, as though it was manna sent from Heaven: but when they knew the errand, and perceived the boat which was to carry them back to the person and place from whence such relief came, this struck them with such a surprise of joy as made some of them faint away, and others burst out into tears.
This was the summary account that I had from them. I shall now inform the reader what I next did for them, and in what condition I left them. As we were all of opinion that the savages would scarce trouble them any more, so we had no apprehensions on the score. I told them I was come purely to establish, and not to remove them; and upon that occasion, had not only brought them necessaries for convenience and defence, but also artificers, and other persons, both for their necessary employments, and to add to their number. They were altogether when I thus talked to them; and before I delivered to them the stores I brought, I asked them, one by one, if they had entirely forgot their first animosities, would engage in the strictest friendship; and shake hands with one another? On this Will Atkins, with abundance of good humour, said, they had afflictions enough to make them all sober, and enemies enough to make them all friends: as for himself, he would live and die among them, owning that what the Spaniards had done to him, his own mad humour had made necessary for them to do. Nor had the Spaniards occasion to justify their proceeding to me; but they told me, that since Will Atkins had behaved himself so valiantly in fight, and at other times showed such a regard to the common interest of them all, they had not only forgotten all that was past, but thought he ought as much to be trusted with arms and necessaries as any of them, which they testified by making him next in command to the governor: and they most heartily embraced the occasion of giving me this solemn assurance, that they would never separate their interest again, as long as they lived.