a little from them, whom he said they would kill next, and which fired the very soul within me.  He told me, it was not one of their nation, but one of the bearded men whom he had told me of, who came to their country in the boat.  I was filled with horror at the very naming the white-bearded man, and, going to the tree, I saw plainly, by my glass, a white man, who lay upon the beach of the sea, with his hands and his feet tied with flags, or things like rushes; and that he was an European, and had clothes on.

There was another tree, and a little thicket beyond it, about fifty yards nearer to them than the place where I was, which, by going a little way about, I saw I might come at undiscovered, and that then I should be within half-shot of them; so I withheld my passion, though I was indeed enraged to the highest degree; and going back about twenty paces, I got behind some bushes, which held all the way till I came to the other tree, and then I came to a little rising ground, which gave me a full view of them, at the distance of about eighty yards.

I had now not a moment to lose; for nineteen of the dreadful wretches sat upon the ground all close huddled together, and had just sent the other two to butcher the poor Christian, and bring him, perhaps limb by limb, to their fire; and they were stooped down to untie the bands at his feet.  I turned to Friday; “Now, Friday,” said I, “do as I bid thee.”  Friday said, he would.  “Then, Friday,” said I, “do exactly as you see me do; fail in nothing.”  So I set down one of the muskets and the fowling-piece upon the ground, and Friday did the like by his; and with the other musket I took my aim at the savages, bidding him do the like.  Then asking him if he was ready, he said, “Yes.”  “Then fire at them,” said I; and the same moment I fired also.

Friday took his aim so much better than I, that on the side that he shot, he killed two of them, and wounded three more; and on my side, I killed one, and wounded two.  They were, you may be sure, in a dreadful consternation; and all of them, who were not hurt, jumped up upon their feet immediately, but did not know which way to run, or which way to look; for they knew not from whence their destruction came.  Friday kept his eyes close upon me, that, as I had bid him, he might observe what I did; so as soon as the first shot was made, I threw down the piece, and took up the fowling-piece, and Friday did the like; he sees me cock, and present; he did the same again.  “Are you ready, Friday?” said I.  “Yes,” says he.  “Let fly then,” said I, “in the name of God;” and with that I fired again among the amazed wretches, and so did Friday; and as our pieces were now loaden with what I call swan shot, or small pistol-bullets, we found only two drop; but so many were wounded, that they ran about yelling and screaming like mad creatures, all bloody, and miserably wounded most of them; whereof three more fell quickly after, though not quite dead.