Driven to the greatest distress, and in dread of being destroyed by those cruel wretches, the English planters, on the interior plantations, were constrained to abandon their estates, and to retire with their families to Roseau, as the only means of saving their lives, leaving their property to the mercy of the runaways. After they had done considerable mischief, but were still pursuing their destructive operations against the English inhabitants, unnoticed by the Marquis Duchilleau, it was found necessary to petition the Marquis de Bouillé at Martinico, setting forth the distressed situation of the English planters in this island; praying for arms, with permission to defend themselves against the runaway negros, and to endeavour to apprehend such of them as had been guilty of murder. In consequence of this petition, the Marquis de Bouillé gave directions to the Governor of Dominica, to give arms to such of the English as were on the plantations, to endeavour to put a stop to the sanguinary and shocking ravages committed against them, and to send out parties in the woods to apprehend the runaways, in order to their being punished for such daring crimes. These orders of the Marquis were accordingly put into execution; and though attended with no material service, in point of reducing the runaways, yet were the means of preventing, in a great measure, their further depredations, till after the island was restored to the English. However, at times, they still robbed the estates of provisions; especially plantations that were nigh their camps in the woods, yet not in so daring a manner as they had done heretofore, doing it generally in the most secret manner, in the night-time, when they were under no dread of being apprehended. This dread was, however, not occasioned by any apprehensions of being opposed by the English inhabitants, as afterwards appeared; but from that of the parties, who used at times to be sent out after them in the woods. But these latter being composed only of people of colour, were no ways industrious in that service, and actually never apprehended one of them. In this respect, however, an English manager of a plantation, Mr. John Tombs, had much greater success; for on the runaways coming to rob the estate on which he lived, he opposed them, and actually took some of them prisoners. But being apprehensive, that those who escaped being taken might, with others, take an opportunity to revenge the loss of their companions and booty, he contrived to learn their intentions, by means of a trusty negro belonging to the estate, whom he sent into the woods, as if he were a runaway himself, on account of bad usage.