I was extremely angry with every one of them, but particularly with the captain, who instead of cooling the rage of the men, had prompted them on to further mischief:  nor could he make me any other excuse, but that as he was a man, he could not master his passions at the sight of one of his men so cruelly murdered.  As for the rest, knowing they were not under my command, they took no notice of any anger, but rather boasted of their revenge.  According to all their accounts, they killed or destroyed about 150 men, women, and children, besides burning the town to ashes.  They took their companion Tom Jeffery from the tree, covered him with some of the ruins, and so left him.  But however this action of our men might seem to them justifiable, yet I always openly condemned it with the appellation, of the Massacre of Madagascar.  For tho’ the natives had slain this Jeffery, yet certainly he was the first aggressor, by attempting to violate the chastity of a young innocent woman, who ventured down to them, on the faith of the public capitulation, which was so treacherously broken.

While we were under sail, the boatswain would often defend this bloody action, by saying, that the Indians had broke the truce the night before, by shooting one of our men without just provocation:  and what if the poor fellow had taken a little liberty with the wench, he ought not to have been murdered in so villainous a manner:  and that they had acted nothing but what the divine laws commissioned to be done to such homicides.  However I was in the same mind as before, telling them that they were murderers, and bid them depend upon it that God would blast their voyage, for such an unparalleled piece of barbarity.

When we came to the Gulph of Persia, five of our men, who ventured on shore, were either killed or made slaves by the Arabians, the rest of them having scarce time to escape to their boat.  This made me upbraid them afresh with the just retribution of Heaven for such actions; upon which the boatswain very warmly asked me, Whether those men on whom the tower of Siloam fell, were greater sinners than the rest of the Galileans? and besides, Sir, said he, none of these five poor men that are lost, were with us at the Massacre of Madagascar, as you call it, and therefore your representation is very unjust, and your application improper.  Besides, added he, you are continually using the men very ill upon this account, and, being but a passenger yourself, we are not obliged to bear it; nor can we tell what evil designs you may have to bring us to judgment for it in England:  and, therefore, if you do not leave this discourse, as also not concern yourself with any of our affairs, I will leave the ship, and not sail among such dangerous company.