ere we had a most horrible sight; for riding up to the entrance
where the horse came out, we found the carcasses of another horse and of
two men, devoured by the ravenous creatures; and one of the men was no
doubt the same whom we heard fire the gun, for there lay a gun just by
him fired off; but as to the man, his head and the upper part of his
body were eaten up. This filled us with horror, and we knew not what
course to take; but the creatures resolved us soon, for they gathered
about us presently, in hopes of prey; and I verily believe there were
three hundred of them. It happened very much to our advantage, that at
the entrance into the wood, but a little way from it, there lay some
large timber-trees, which had been cut down the summer before, and I
suppose lay there for carriage. I drew my little troop in among those
trees, and placing ourselves in a line behind one long tree, I advised
them all to alight, and keeping that tree before us for a breastwork, to
stand in a triangle, or three fronts, enclosing our horses in the
centre. We did so, and it was well we did; for never was a more furious
charge than the creatures made upon us in this place. They came on with
a growling kind of noise, and mounted the piece of timber, which, as I
said, was our breastwork, as if they were only rushing upon their prey;
and this fury of theirs, it seems, was principally occasioned by their
seeing our horses behind us. I ordered our men to fire as before, every
other man; and they took their aim so sure, that they killed several of
the wolves at the first volley; but there was a necessity to keep a
continual firing, for they came on like devils, those behind pushing on
those before.

When we had fired a second volley of our fusees, we thought they stopped
a little, and I hoped they would have gone off, but it was but a moment,
for others came forward again; so we fired two volleys of our pistols;
and I believe in these four firings we had killed seventeen or eighteen
of them, and lamed twice as many, yet they came on again. I was loath to
spend our shot too hastily; so I called my servant, not my man Friday,
for he was better employed, for, with the greatest dexterity imaginable,
he had charged my fusee and his own while we were engaged; but, as I
said, I called my other man, and giving him a horn of powder, I bade him
lay a train all along the piece of timber, and let it be a large train.
He did so; and had but just time to get a