s
directly to a certain place, where there would be a party of soldiers to
receive us. These poor people now seemed to be under great concern for us,
hearing by the messenger the preparations that were making to receive us;
for they stand in vast dread of the Spanish soldiery. They were very
desirous of knowing what countrymen we were. We told them we were English,
and at that time at war with the Spaniards, upon which they appeared fonder
of us than ever; and I verily believe, if they durst, would have concealed
us amongst them, lest we should come to any harm. They are so far from
being in the Spanish interest, that they detest the very name of a
Spaniard. And, indeed, I am not surprised at it, for they are kept under
such subjection, and such a laborious slavery, by mere dint of hard usage
and punishments, that it appears to me the most absurd thing in the world
that the Spaniards should rely upon these people for assistance upon any
emergency.

We embarked in the evening, and it was night before we got to the place
where we were to be delivered up to the Spanish guard. We were met by three
or four officers and a number of soldiers, all with their spados drawn, who
surrounded us as if they had the most formidable enemy to take charge of,
instead of three poor helpless wretches, who, notwithstanding the good
living we had met with amongst these kind Indians, could hardly support
ourselves. They carried us to the top of a hill, and there put us under a
shed, for it consisted of a thatched roof without any sides or walls, being
quite open; and here we were to lie upon the cold ground. All sorts of
people now came to stare at us as a sight; but the Indian women never came
empty-handed; they always brought with them either fowls, mutton, or some
kind of provision to us, so that we lived well enough. However, we found a
very sensible difference between the treatment we had met with from the
Indians and what we now experienced from the Spaniards. With the former, we
were quite at liberty to do as we pleased; but here, if we only went ten
yards to attempt at getting rid of some of the vermin that devoured us, we
had two soldiers with drawn spados to attend us.

About the third day, a Jesuit from Castro came to see us, not from a motive
of compassion, but from a report spread by our Indian cacique, that we had
some things of great value about us. Having by chance seen Captain Cheap
pull out a gold repeating watch, the first t