le
heard plain enough; after which they ran about the island like
distracted men; so that, in a word, our men did not really know at first
what to do with them.

Nor did the Spaniards, with all their prudence, consider that while they
made those people thus desperate, they ought to have kept good guard at
the same time upon their plantations; for though it is true they had
driven away their cattle, and the Indians did not find their main
retreat, I mean my old castle at the hill, nor the cave in the valley;
yet they found out my plantation at the bower, and pulled it all to
pieces, and all the fences and planting about it; trod all the corn
under foot; tore up the vines and grapes, being just then almost ripe,
and did our men an inestimable damage, though to themselves not one
farthing's-worth of service.

Though our men were able to fight them upon all occasions, yet they were
in no condition to pursue them, or hunt them up and down; for as they
were too nimble of foot for our men when they found them single, so our
men durst not go about single for fear of being surrounded with their
numbers: the best was, they had no weapons; for though they had bows
they had no arrows left, nor any materials to make any, nor had they any
edged tool or weapon among them. The extremity and distress they were
reduced to was great, and indeed deplorable, but at the same time our
men were also brought to very hard circumstances by them; for though
their retreats were preserved, yet their provision was destroyed, and
their harvest spoiled; and what to do or which way to turn themselves,
they knew not; the only refuge they had now was the stock of cattle they
had in the valley by the cave, and some little corn which grew there.
The three Englishmen, William Atkins and his comrades, were now reduced
to two, one of them being killed by an arrow, which struck him on the
side of his head, just under the temples, so that he never spoke more;
and it was very remarkable, that this was the same barbarous fellow who
cut the poor savage slave with his hatchet, and who afterwards intended
to have murdered the Spaniards.

I look upon their case to have been worse at this time than mine was at
any time after I first discovered the grains of barley and rice, and got
into the method of planting and raising my corn, and my tame cattle; for
now they had, as I may say, an hundred wolves upon the island, which
would devour every thing they could come at,