They observed also, that this noise of the Indians went farther and
farther off, so that they were satisfied the Indians fled away, except
on one side, where they heard a doleful groaning and howling, and where
it continued a good while, which they supposed was from some or other
of them being wounded, and howling by reason of their wounds; or
killed, and others howling over them: but our men had enough of making
discoveries; so they did not trouble themselves to look farther, but
resolved to take this opportunity to retreat. But the worst of
their adventure was to come; for as they came back, they passed by a
prodigious great trunk of an old tree; what tree it was, they said, they
did not know, but it stood like an old decayed oak in a park, where the
keepers in England take a stand, as they call it, to shoot a deer; and
it stood just under the steep side of a great rock, or hill, that our
people could not see what was beyond it.
As they came by this tree, they were of a sudden shot at, from the top
of the tree, with seven arrows and three lances, which, to our great
grief, killed two of our men, and wounded three more. This was the more
surprising, because, being without any defence, and so near the trees,
they expected more lances and arrows every moment; nor would flying do
them any service, the Indians being, as appeared, very good marksmen.
In this extremity, they had happily this presence of mind, viz., to run
close to the tree, and stand, as it were, under it; so that those above
could not come at, or see them, to throw their lances at them. This
succeeded, and gave them time to consider what to do; they knew their
enemies and murderers were above; they heard them talk, and those above
knew those were below; but they below were obliged to keep close for
fear of their lances from above. At length, one of our men, looking a
little more strictly than the rest, thought he saw the head of one of
the Indians just over a dead limb of the tree, which, it seems, the
creature sat upon. One man immediately fired, and levelled his piece so
true that the shot went through the fellow's head; and down he fell out
of the tree immediately, and came upon the ground with such force, with
the height of his fall, that if he had not been killed with the shot,
he would certainly have been killed with dashing his body against the
ground.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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