The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques, and Discoveries of The English Nation, Vol. XII., America, Part I. by Richard Hakluyt
page 195 of 488 (39%)
page 195 of 488 (39%)
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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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