language) could not make a thousand of those naked creatures die at one
blow? Then he laughed, and said, yes, he believed it would. "Well, then,"
said I, "tell your men not to be afraid of these people, for we shall soon
give them a taste of what we can do if they pretend to meddle with us."
However, we considered we were in the middle of a vast country, and we knew
not what numbers of people and nations we might be surrounded with, and,
above all, we knew not how much we might stand in need of the friendship of
these that we were now among, so that we ordered the negroes to try all the
methods they could to make them friends.

Accordingly the two men who had gotten bows and arrows, and two more to
whom we gave the prince's two fine lances, went foremost, with five more,
having long poles in their hands; and after them ten of our men advanced
toward the negro town that was next to us, and we all stood ready to
succour them if there should be occasion.

When they came pretty near their houses our negroes hallooed in their
screaming way, and called to them as loud as they could. Upon their
calling, some of the men came out and answered, and immediately after the
whole town, men, women, and children, appeared; our negroes, with their
long poles, went forward a little, and stuck them all in the ground, and
left them, which in their country was a signal of peace, but the other did
not understand the meaning of that. Then the two men with bows laid down
their bows and arrows, went forward unarmed, and made signs of peace to
them, which at last the other began to understand; so two of their men laid
down their bows and arrows, and came towards them. Our men made all the
signs of friendship to them that they could think of, putting their hands
up to their mouths as a sign that they wanted provisions to eat; and the
other pretended to be pleased and friendly, and went back to their fellows
and talked with them a while, and they came forward again, and made signs