This counsel was not accepted at first, but the natives soon gave them
reason to approve it, and also gave them an opportunity to put it in
practice; for, as our little traffic with the natives was hitherto upon
the faith of their first kindness, we found some knavery among them at
last; for having bought some cattle of them for our toys, which, as
I said, our cutler had contrived, one of our men differing with his
chapman, truly they huffed him in their manner, and, keeping the things
he had offered them for the cattle, made their fellows drive away the
cattle before his face, and laugh at him. Our man crying out loud of
this violence, and calling to some of us who were not far off, the negro
he was dealing with threw a lance at him, which came so true, that, if
he had not with great agility jumped aside, and held up his hand also
to turn the lance as it came, it had struck through his body; and, as it
was, it wounded him in the arm; at which the man, enraged, took up his
fuzee, and shot the negro through the heart.
The others that were near him, and all those that were with us at
a distance, were so terribly frighted, first, at the flash of fire;
secondly, at the noise; and thirdly, at seeing their countryman killed,
that they stood like men stupid and amazed, at first, for some time; but
after they were a little recovered from their fright, one of them, at a
good distance from us, set up a sudden screaming noise, which, it
seems, is the noise they make when they go to fight; and all the rest
understanding what he meant, answered him, and ran together to the place
where he was, and we not knowing what it meant, stood still, looking
upon one another like a parcel of fools.
But we were presently undeceived; for, in two or three minutes more,
we heard the screaming roaring noise go on from one place to another,
through all their little towns; nay, even over the creek to the other
side; and, on a sudden, we saw a naked multitude running from all parts
to the place where the first man began it, as to a rendezvous; and, in
less than an hour, I believe there was near 500 of them gotten together,
armed some with bows and arrows, but most with lances, which they throw
at a good distance, so nicely that they will strike a bird flying.
We had but a very little time for consultation, for the multitude was
increasing every moment; and I verily believe, if we had stayed long,
they would have been 10,000 together in a little time. We had nothing
to do, therefore, but to fly to our ship or bark, where indeed we could
have defended ourselves very well, or to advance and try what a volley
or two of small shot would do for us.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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