by Daniel Defoe
any sign that therehad been any landing thereabout. These stakes also being of a wood veryforward to grow, as I had noted formerly, they took care to havegenerally very much larger and taller than those which I had planted,and placed them so very thick and close, that when they had been threeor four years grown there was no piercing with the eye any considerableway into the plantation. As for that part which I had planted, the treeswere grown as thick as a man's thigh; and among them they placed so manyother short ones, and so thick, that, in a word, it stood like apalisado a quarter of a mile thick, and it was next to impossible topenetrate it but with a little army to cut it all down; for a little dogcould hardly get between the trees, they stood so close.
But this was not all; for they did the same by all the ground to theright hand, and to the left, and round even to the top of the hill,leaving no way, not so much as for themselves to come out, but by theladder placed up to the side of the hill, and then lifted up and placedagain from the first stage up to the top; which ladder, when it wastaken down, nothing but what had wings or witchcraft to assist it, couldcome at them.
This was excellently well contrived, nor was it less than what theyafterwards found occasion for; which served to convince me, that ashuman prudence has authority of Providence to justify it, so it has,doubtless, the direction of Providence to set it to work, and, would welisten carefully to the voice of it, I am fully persuaded we mightprevent many of the disasters which our lives are now by our ownnegligence subjected to: but this by the way.
I return to the story: They lived two years after this in perfectretirement, and had no more visits from the savages; they had indeed analarm given them one morning, which put them in a great consternationfor some of the Spaniards being out early one morning on the west side,or rather end of the island which, by the way, was that end where Inever went, for fear of being discovered, they were surprised withseeing above twenty canoes of Indians just coming on shore.
They made the best of their way home in hurry enough, and, giving thealarm to their comrades, they kept close all that day and the next,going out only at night to make observation; but they had the good luckto be mistaken, for wherever the savages went, they did not land at thattime on the island, but pursued some other design.
And now they had another broil with the three Englishmen, one of which,a most turbulent fellow, being in a rage at one of the three slaveswhich I mentioned they had taken, because the fellow had not donesomething right which he bid him do, and seemed a little untractable inhis shewing him, drew a hatchet out of a frog-belt, in which he bore itby his side, and fell upon him, the poor savage, not to correct him butto kill him. One of the Spaniards who was by, seeing him give the fellowa barbarous cut with the hatchet which he aimed at his head, but struckinto his shoulder, so that he thought he had cut the poor creature's armoff, ran to him, and entreating him not to murder the poor man, claptin between him and the savage to prevent the mischief.
The fellow being enraged the more at this, struck at the Spaniard withhis hatchet, and swore he would serve him as he intended to serve thesavage; which the Spaniard perceiving, avoided the blow, and with ashovel which he had in his hand (for they were working in the fieldabout the corn-land) knocked the brute down; another of the Englishmenrunning at the same time to help his comrade, knocked the Spaniard down,and then two Spaniards more came to help their man, and a thirdEnglishman fell upon them. They had none of them any fire-arms, or anyother weapons but hatchets and other tools, except the third Englishman;he had one of my old rusty cutlasses, with which he made at the lastSpaniards, and wounded them both. This fray set the whole family in anuproar, and more help coming in, they took the three Englishmenprisoners. The next question was, what should be done with them? theyhad been so often mutinous, and were so furious, so desperate, and soidle withal, that they knew not what course to take with them, for theywere mischievous to the highest degree, and valued not what hurt theydid any man; so that, in short, it was not safe to live with them.
The Spaniard who was governor, told them in so many words, that if theyhad been his own countrymen he would have hanged them all; for all lawsand all governors were to preserve society, and those who were dangerousto the society ought to be expelled out of it; but as they wereEnglishmen, and that it was to the generous kindness of an Englishmanthat they all owed their preservation and deliverance, he would use themwith all possible lenity, and would leave them to the judgment of theother two Englishmen, who were their countrymen.
One of the two honest Englishmen stood up, and said they desired itmight not be left to them; "For," says he, "I am sure we ought tosentence them to the gallows," and with that gives an account how WillAtkins, one of the three, had proposed to have all the five Englishmenjoin together, and murder all the Spaniards when they were intheir sleep.
When the Spanish governor heard this, he calls to Will Atkins: "How,Seignior Atkins," says he, "will you murder us all? What have you to sayto that?" That hardened villain was so far from denying it, that he saidit was true, and G-d d-mn him they would do it still before they haddone with them. "Well, but Seignior Atkins," said the Spaniard, "whathave we done to you that you will kill us? And what would you get bykilling us? And what must we do to prevent your killing us? Must we killyou, or will you kill us? Why will you put us to the necessity of this,Seignior Atkins?" says the Spaniard very calmly and smiling.
Seignior Atkins was in such a rage at the Spaniard's making a jest ofit, that had he not been held by three men, and withal had no weaponswith him, it was thought he would have attempted to have killed theSpaniard in the middle of all the company.
This harebrained carriage obliged them to consider seriously what was tobe done. The two Englishmen and the Spaniard who saved the poor savage,were of the opinion that they should hang one of the three for anexample to the rest; and that particularly it should be he that hadtwice attempted to commit murder with his hatchet; and indeed there wassome reason to believe he had done it, for the poor savage was in such amiserable condition with the wound he had received, that it was thoughthe could not live.
But the governor Spaniard still said, no, it was an Englishman that hadsaved all their lives, and he would never consent to put an Englishmanto death though he had murdered half of them; nay, he said if he hadbeen killed himself by an Englishman, and had time left to speak, itshould be that they should pardon him.
This was so positively insisted on by the governor Spaniard, that therewas no gainsaying it; and as merciful counsels are most apt to prevail,where they are so earnestly pressed, so they all came into it; but thenit was to be considered what should be done to keep them from themischief they designed; for all agreed, governor and all, that meanswere to be used for preserving the society from danger. After a longdebate it was agreed, first, that they should be disarmed, and notpermitted to have either gun, or powder, or shot, or sword, or anyweapon, and should be turned out of the society, and left to live wherethey would, and how they could by themselves; but that none of the rest,either Spaniards or English, should converse with them, speak with them,or have any thing to do with them; that they should be forbid to comewithin a certain distance of the place where the rest dwelt; and that ifthey offered to commit any disorder, so as to spoil, burn, kill, ordestroy any of the corn, plantings, buildings, fences, or cattlebelonging to the society, that they should die without mercy, and wouldshoot them wherever they could find them.
The governor, a man of great humanity, musing upon the sentence,considered a little upon it, and turning to the two honest Englishmen,said, "Hold, you must reflect, that it will be long ere they can raisecorn and cattle of their own, and they must not starve; we musttherefore allow them provisions." So he caused to be added, that theyshould have a proportion of corn given them to last them eight months,and for seed to sow, by which time they might be supposed to raise someof their own; that they should have six milch-goats, four he-goats, andsix kids given them, as well for present subsistence as for a store; andthat they should have tools
given them for their work in the field; suchas six hatchets, an axe, a saw, and the like: but they should have noneof these tools or provisions unless they would swear solemnly that theywould not hurt or injure any of the Spaniards with them, or of theirfellow Englishmen.
Thus they dismissed them the society, and turned them out to shift forthemselves. They went away sullen and refractory, as neither contentedto go away or to stay; but as there was no remedy they went, pretendingto go and choose a place where they should settle themselves, to plantand live by themselves; and some provisions were given, but no weapons.
About four or five days after they came again for some victuals, andgave the governor an account where they had pitched their tents, andmarked themselves out an habitation or plantation: it was a veryconvenient place indeed, on the remotest part of the island, N.E. muchabout the place where I providentially landed in my first voyage when Iwas