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The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques, and Discoveries of The English Nation, Vol. XII., America, Part I. by Richard Hakluyt
page 195 of 488 (39%)
speedily followed, that they had little leisure left them to make any
escape. But so soone as they landed each of them brake his Oare, thinking
by that meanes to preuent vs, in carrying away their boates for want of
Oares. [Sidenote: A hot skirmish betweene the English and them of that
countrey.] And desperately returning vpon our men, resisted them manfully
in their landing, so long as their arrowes and dartes lasted, and after
gathering vp those arrowes which our men shot at them, yea, and plucking
our arrowes out of their bodies incountred fresh againe, and maintained
their cause vntill both weapons and life fayled them. [Sidenote: The
desperate nature of those people.] And when they found they were mortally
wounded, being ignorant what mercy meaneth, with deadly fury they cast
themselues headlong from off the rockes into the sea, least perhaps their
enemies should receiue glory or prey of their dead carcaises, for they
supposed vs belike to be Canibals or eaters of mans flesh. [Sidenote: The
taking of the woman and her child.] In this conflict one of our men was
dangerously hurt in the belly with one of their arrowes, and of them were
slaine fiue or sixe, the rest by flight escaping among the rockes, sauing
two women, whereof the one being old and vgly, our men thought shee had
bene a deuill or some witch, and therefore let her goe: the other being
yong, and cumbred with a sucking childe at her backe, hiding her selfe
behind the rockes, was espied by one of our men, who supposing she had bene
a man, shot through the haire of her head, and pierced through the childs
arme, whereupon she cried out, and our Surgeon meaning to heale her childes
arme, applyed salues thereunto. [Sidenote: A prety kind of surgery which
nature teacheth.] But she not acquainted with such kind of surgery, plucked
those salues away, and by continuall licking with her owne tongue, not much
vnlike our dogs, healed vp the childes arme. And because the day was
welneere spent our men made haste vnto the rest of our company which on the
other side of the water remained at the tents, where they found by the
apparell, letter, and other English furniture, that they were the same
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