The Surprising Adventures of Bampfylde Moore Carew, King of the Beggars: Containing his Life, a Dictionary of the Cant Language, and many Entertaining Particulars of that Extraordinary ManUnknown
General
The Surprising Adventures of Bampfylde Moore Carew, King of the Beggars: Containing his Life, a Dictionary of the Cant Language, and many Entertaining Particulars of that Extraordinary Man
There happened an event which much facilitated this with the Indians.
The Susquehanocks, a warlike people, dwelling between Chesapeak Bay and
Delaware Bay, were wont to make incursions on their neighbours, partly
for dominion and partly for booty, of which the women were most desired
by them. The Yoamacoes, fearing these Susquehanocks, had a year before
the English arrived, resolved to desert their habitations, and remove
higher into the country; many of them were actually gone, and the rest
prepared to follow them. The ships and pinnaces arriving at the town,
the Indians were amazed and terrified at the sight of them, especially at
hearing their cannon thunder, when they came to anchor.
The first thing that Mr. Calvert did was to fix a court of guard, and
erect a storehouse; and he had not been there many days before Sir John
Harvey, governor of Virginia, came there to visit him, as did several of
the Indian Werowances, and many other Indians, from several parts of the
continent; among others, came the king of Patuxent, and, being carried
aboard the ship, then at anchor in the river, was placed between the
governor of Virginia and the governor of Maryland, at an entertainment
made for him and others. A Patuxent Indian coming aboard, and seeing his
king thus seated, started back; thinking he was surprised, he would have
fain leaped overboard, and could not be persuaded to enter the cabin,
till the Werowance came himself, and satisfied him he was in no danger.
This king had formerly been taken prisoner by the English of Virginia.
After the storehouse was finished and the ship unladen, Mr. Calvert
ordered the colours to be brought ashore, which was done with great
solemnity, the gentlemen and their servants attending in arms: several
volleys were fired on board and on shore, as also the cannon, at which
the natives were struck with admiration, such at least as had not heard
the firing of pieces of ordnance before, to whom it could not be
dreadful.
The kings of Patuxent and Yoamaco were present at this ceremony, with
many other Indians of Yoamaco; and the Werowance of Patuxent took that
occasion to advise the Indians of Yoamaco to be careful to keep the
league that had been made with the English. He staid in town several
days, and was full of his Indian compliments; when he went away he made
this speech to the governor: “I love the English so well, that, should
they go about to kill me, if I had so much breath as to speak, I would
command my people not to revenge my death, for I know they would not do
such a thing, except it were through my own fault.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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