or being come to the shore, they plunged
into the water, to get to the boat with all the expedition they could,
being pursued by between three and four hundred men. Our men were but
nine in all, and only five of them had fusees with them; the rest had
pistols and swords, indeed, but they were of small use to them.

We took up seven of our men, and with difficulty enough too, three of
them being very ill wounded; and that which was still worse was, that
while we stood in the boat to take our men in, we were in as much danger
as they were in on shore; for they poured their arrows in upon us so
thick that we were glad to barricade the side of the boat up with the
benches, and two or three loose boards which, to our great satisfaction,
we had by mere accident in the boat. And yet, had it been daylight, they
are, it seems, such exact marksmen, that if they could have seen but the
least part of any of us, they would have been sure of us. We had, by the
light of the moon, a little sight of them, as they stood pelting us from
the shore with darts and arrows; and having got ready our firearms, we
gave them a volley that we could hear, by the cries of some of them, had
wounded several; however, they stood thus in battle array on the shore
till break of day, which we supposed was that they might see the better
to take their aim at us.

In this condition we lay, and could not tell how to weigh our anchor, or
set up our sail, because we must needs stand up in the boat, and they
were as sure to hit us as we were to hit a bird in a tree with small
shot. We made signals of distress to the ship, and though she rode a
league off, yet my nephew, the captain, hearing our firing, and by
glasses perceiving the posture we lay in, and that we fired towards the
shore, pretty well understood us; and weighing anchor with all speed, he
stood as near the shore as he durst with the ship, and then sent another
boat with ten hands in her, to assist us. We called to them not to come
too near, telling them what condition we were in; however, they stood in
near to us, and one of the men taking the end of a tow-line in his hand,
and keeping our boat between him and the enemy, so that they could not
perfectly see him, swam on board us, and made fast the line to the boat:
upon which we slipped out a little cable, and leaving our anchor behind,
they towed us out of reach of the arrows; we all the while lying close
behind the barricade we had made. As s