THE INDIANS AGAIN. 416

they afterwards found occasion for: which served to convince me
that as human prudence has the authority of Providence to justify
it, so it has, doubtless, the direction of Providence to set it to
work, And would we listen carefully to the voice of it, I am
fully persuaded we might prevent many of the disasters which our
lives are now, by our own negligence, subjected to. But this by
the way.

I return to the story. They lived two years after this in perfect
retirement, and had no more visits from the savages. They had,
indeed, an alarm given them one morning, which put them into a
great consternation ; for some of the Spaniards being out early one
morning on the west side, or rather the end of the island (which,
by the way, was that end where I never went, for fear of being
discovered),-they were surprised with seeing above twenty canoes
of Indians just coming on shore!

They made the best of their way home, in hurry enough; and
giving the alarm to their comrades, they kept close all that day
and the next, going out only at night to make observation. But
they had the good luck to be mistaken ; for wherever the savages
went, they did not land at that time in the island, but pursued
some other design.

And now they had another broil with the three Englishmen ;
one of which, a most turbulent fellow, being in a rage at one of
the three slaves which I had mentioned they had taken, because
the fellow had not done something right which he bid him do, and
seemed a little intractable in his showing him, drew a hatchet out
of a frog-belt in which he wore it by his side, and fell upon the
poor savage, not to correct him, but to kill him. One of the
Spaniards who was by, seeing him give the fellow a barbarous cut
with the hatchet, which he aimed at his head, but struck into his
shoulder, so that he thought he had cut the poor creature’s arm
off, ran to him, and entreating him not to murder the poor man,
clapped in between him.and the savage to prevent the mischief.

The fellow, being enraged the more at this, struck at the
Spaniard with his hatchet, and swore he would serve him as he
intended to serve the savage; which the Spaniard perceiving,

avoided the blow, and with a shovel which he had in his hand (for
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