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it, and by his side an axe. There were two of the wives who could not be
kept back, but would go out and fight with bows and darts.
The wild men came on with a bold and fierce mien, not in a line, but
all in crowds here and there, to the point were our men lay in wait for
them. When they were so near as to be in range of the guns, our men shot
at them right and left with five or six balls in each charge. As the foe
came up in close crowds, they fell dead on all sides, and most of those
that they did not kill were much hurt, so that great fear and dread came
on them all.
Our men then fell on them from three points with the butt end of their
guns, swords, and staves, and did their work so well that the wild men
set up a loud shriek, and flew for their lives to the woods and hills,
with all the speed that fear and swift feet could help them to do. As
our men did not care to chase them, they got to the shore where they had
come to land and where the boats lay.
But their rout was not yet at an end, for it blew a great storm that day
from the sea, so that they could not put off. And as the storm went on
all that night, when the tide came up, the surge of the sea drove most
of their boats so high on the shore, that they could not be got off save
with great toil, and the force of the waves on the beach broke some of
them to bits.
At break of day, our men went forth to find them, and when they saw the
state of things, they got some dry wood from a dead tree, and set their
boats on fire. When the foe saw this, they ran all through the isle with
loud cries, as if they were mad, so that our men did not know at first
what to do with them, for they trod all the corn down with their feet,
and tore up the vines just as the grapes were ripe, and did a great deal
of harm.
At last they brought old Jaf to them, to tell them how kind they would
be to them, that they would save their lives, and give them part of the
isle to live in, if they would keep in their own bounds, and that they
should have corn to plant, and should make it grow for their bread. They
were but too glad to have such good terms of peace, and they soon learnt
to make all kinds of work with canes, wood, and sticks, such as chairs,
stools, and beds, and this they did with great skill when they were once
taught.
From this time till I came back to the isle my friends saw no more wild
men. I now told the chief that I had not come to take off his men, but
to bring more, and to give them all such things as they would want to
guard their homes from foes, and cheer up their hearts.
The next day I made a grand feast for them all, and the ship's cook and
mate came on shore to dress it. We brought out our rounds of salt beef
and pork, a bowl of punch, some beer, and French wines; and Carl gave
the cooks five whole kids to roast, three of which were sent to the crew
on board ship, that they, on their part, might feast on fresh meat from
shore.
I gave each of the men a shirt, a coat, a hat, and a pair of shoes, and
I need not say how glad they were to meet with gifts so new to them.
Then I brought out the tools, of which each man had a spade, a rake, an
axe, a crow, a saw, a knife and such like things as well as arms, and
all that they could want for the use of them.
As I saw there was a kind will on all sides, I now took on shore the
youth and the maid whom we had brought from the ship that we met on her
way to France. The girl had been well brought up, and all the crew had
a good word for her. As they both had a wish to be left on the isle,
I gave them each a plot of ground, on which they had tents and barns
built.
I had brought out with me five men to live here, one of whom could turn
his hand to all sorts of things, so I gave him the name of "Jack of all
Trades."
One day the French priest came to ask if I would leave my man Friday
here, for through him, he said, he could talk to the black men in their
own tongue, and teach them the things of God. "Need I add," said he,
"that it was for this cause that I came here?" I felt that I could not
part with my man Friday for the whole world, so I told the priest that
if I could have made up my mind to leave him here, I was quite sure that
Friday would not part from me.
When I had seen that all things were in a good state on the isle, I set
to work to put my ship to rights, to go home once more. One day, as I
was on my way to it, the youth whom I had brought from the ship that
was burnt, came up to me, and said, "Sir, you have brought a priest with
you, and while you are here, we want him to wed two of us."
I made a guess that one of these must be the maid that I had brought
to the isle, and that it was the wish of the young man to make her his
wife. I spoke to him with some warmth in my tone, and bade him turn it
well in his mind first, as the girl was not in the same rank of life as
he had been brought up in. But he said, with a smile, that I had made a
wrong guess, for it was "Jack of all Trades" that he had come to plead
for. It gave me great joy to hear this, as the maid was as good a girl
as could be, and I thought well of Jack; so on that day I gave her to
him. They were to have a large piece of ground to grow their crops on,
with a house to live in, and sheds for their goats.
The isle was now set out in this way: all the west end was left waste,
so that if the wild men should land on it, they might come and go, and
hurt no one. My old house I gave to the chief, with all its woods, which
now spread out as far as the creek, and the south end was for the white