“One morning, Sir, very early, there came five or six canoes of Indians on shore, indisputably upon their old custom of devouring their prisoners.  All that we had to do upon such an occasion, was to lie concealed, that they, not having any notice of inhabitants, might depart quietly after performing their bloody execution:  whoever first discovered the savages, was to give notice to all the three plantations to keep within doors, and then a proper scout was to be placed to give intelligence of their departure.  But notwithstanding these wise measures, an unhappy disaster discovered us to the savages, which was like to have caused the desolation of the whole island; for, after the savages were gone off in their canoes, some of my Spaniards and I looking abroad; and being inflamed with a curiosity to see what they had been doing, to our great amazement beheld three savages fast asleep on the ground, who, either being gorged, could not awake when the others went off, or having wandered too far into the woods, did not come back in time.

“What to do with them as first, we could not tell; as for slaves we had enough of them already; and as to killing them, neither Christianity or humanity would suffer us to shed the blood of persons who never did us wrong.  We perceived they had no boat left them to transport them to their own nation; and that, by letting them wander about, they might discover us, and inform the first savages that should happen to land upon the same bloody occasion, which information might entirely ruin us; and therefore I counselled my Spaniards to secure them, and set them about some work or other, till we could better dispose of them.

“Hereupon we all went back, and making them awake, took them prisoners.  It is impossible to express the horror they were in, especially when bound, as thinking they were going to be murdered and eaten, but we soon eased them of their fear as to that point.  We first took them to the bower, where the chief of our country work lay as keeping goats, planting corn, &c and then carried them to the two Englishmen’s habitation, to help them in their business; but happy it was for us all we did not carry them to our castle, as by the sequel will appear.  The Englishmen, indeed, found them work to do; but whether they did not guard them strictly, or that they thought they could not better themselves, I cannot tell; but certainly one of them ran away into the woods, and they could not hear of him for a long time after.

“Undoubtedly there was reason enough to suppose he got home in some of the canoes, the savages returning in about four weeks time, and going off in the space of two days.  You may be certain, Sir, this thought could not but terrify us exceedingly, and make us justly conclude, that the savage would inform his countrymen of our abode in the island, how few and weak we were in comparison to their numbers & we expected it would not be long before the Englishmen would be attacked in their habitations; but the savages had not seen their places of safety in the woods, nor our castle, which it was a great happiness they did not know.