into another, that nothing but cutting them down first could discover the
place, except the only two narrow entrances where they went in and out
could be found, which was not very easy; one of them was close down at
the water's edge, on the side of the creek, and it was afterwards above
two hundred yards to the place; and the other was up a ladder at twice,
as I have already described it; and they had also a large wood, thickly
planted, on the top of the hill, containing above an acre, which grew
apace, and concealed the place from all discovery there, with only one
narrow place between two trees, not easily to be discovered, to enter on
that side.
The other colony was that of Will Atkins, where there were four families
of Englishmen, I mean those I had left there, with their wives and
children; three savages that were slaves, the widow and children of the
Englishman that was killed, the young man and the maid, and, by the way,
we made a wife of her before we went away. There were besides the two
carpenters and the tailor, whom I brought with me for them: also the
smith, who was a very necessary man to them, especially as a gunsmith, to
take care of their arms; and my other man, whom I called
Jack-of-all-trades, who was in himself as good almost as twenty men; for
he was not only a very ingenious fellow, but a very merry fellow, and
before I went away we married him to the honest maid that came with the
youth in the ship I mentioned before.
And now I speak of marrying, it brings me naturally to say something of
the French ecclesiastic that I had brought with me out of the ship's crew
whom I took up at sea. It is true this man was a Roman, and perhaps it
may give offence to some hereafter if I leave anything extraordinary upon
record of a man whom, before I begin, I must (to set him out in just
colours) represent in terms very much to his disadvantage, in the account
of Protestants; as, first, that he was a Papist; secondly, a Popish
priest; and thirdly, a French Popish priest. But justice demands of me
to give him a due character; and I must say, he was a grave, sober,
pious, and most religious person; exact in his life, extensive in his
charity, and exemplary in almost everything he did. What then can any
one say against being very sensible of the value of such a man,
notwithstanding his profession? though it may be my opinion perhaps, as
well as the opinion of others who shall read this, that he was mistaken.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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