aching; and,
moreover, I had taken possession of land belonging to the Quibian. When
he saw what we did, and found the traffic increasing, he resolved upon
burning the houses, and putting us all to death; but his project did not
succeed, for we took him prisoner, together with his wives, his children,
and his servants. His captivity, it is true, lasted but a short time, for
he eluded the custody of a trustworthy man, into whose charge he had been
given, with a guard of men; and his sons escaped from a ship, in which
they had been placed under the special charge of the master.

In the month of January the mouth of the river was entirely closed
up,[403-1] and in April the vessels were so eaten by the shipworm,[403-2]
that they could scarcely be kept above water. At this time the river
forced a channel for itself, by which I managed, with great difficulty,
to extricate three of them after I had unloaded them. The boats were then
sent back into the river for water and salt, but the sea became so high
and furious, that it afforded them no chance of exit; upon which the
Indians collected themselves together in great numbers, and made an
attack upon the boats, and at length massacred the men.[403-3] My
brother, and all the rest of our people, were in a ship which remained
inside; I was alone, outside, upon that dangerous coast, suffering from a
severe fever and worn with fatigue. All hope of escape was gone. I toiled
up to the highest part of the ship, and, with a voice of fear crying, and
very urgently, I called upon your Highnesses' war-captains in every
direction for help, but there was no reply. At length, groaning with
exhaustion, I fell asleep, and heard a compassionate voice address me
thus: "O fool, and slow to believe and to serve thy God, the God of all!
what did He do more for Moses, or for David his servant, than He has done
for thee? From thine infancy He has kept thee under His constant and
watchful care. When He saw thee arrived at an age which suited His
designs respecting thee, He brought wonderful renown to thy name
throughout all the land. He gave thee for thine own the Indies, which
form so rich a portion of the world, and thou hast divided them as it
pleased thee, for He gave thee power to do so. He gave thee also the keys
of those barriers of the ocean sea which were closed with such mighty
chains;[404-1] and thou wast obeyed through many lands, and gained an
honorable fame throughout Christendom. What did