Page:The Granite Monthly Volume 8.djvu/134

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��Early Hisiory of the Bermuda Islands.

��struck by the proprietor tor the pur- pose, having a hog on one side, in com- memoration of the abundance of those animals found by the first settlers, and on the reverse a ship. Pieces of this curious hog money, as it is called, is fre- quently found, and it brings a high price.

Shortly after Governor Tucker ar- rived he sent to the West Indies for plants and fruit trees. The vessel re- turned with figs, pine-apples, sugar-cane, plantain and paw-paw, which were all planted and rapidly multi- plied. This ves- sel also brought the first slaves into the colony, an Indaian and a negro.

The com- p a n y d i s - patched a small bark, called the Hopewell, with supplies for the colony, under the command of Captain Powell. On his way he met a Portuguese vessel home- ward bound from Brazil, with a cargo of sugar, and, as Smith adds, " liked the sugar and passen- gers so well " he made a prize of her. Fearing to face Governor Tucker after this piratical act he directed his course to the West Indies. On his arrival there he met a French pirate, who pretended to have a warm regard for him, and invited him, with his offi- cers, to an entertainment. Suspecting nothing he accepted the invitation, but

��no sooner had they been well seated at tlic table than they were all seized and threated with instant death, unless they surrendered their prize. ITiis Powell was, of course, compelled to do, and finding his provisions failing him he put the Portuguese crew on shore and .sailed for Bermuda, where he managed to ex- cuse himself to the Governor. Powell again went to the West Indies pirating, and in May he arrived with three prizes, laden with meal, hides, and ammuni- tion. Tucker received him kindly and

treated him with consider- ation, until he had the goods in his own pos- session, when he reproached the Captain with his pirati- cal conduct and called him to account for his proceed- ings. The un- lucky bucca- neer was, in the end, glad to escape to Eng- land, leaving his prizes in the hands of the Governor. The disci- pline and hard labor required of the people reduced them to a condi- tion but little better than that of slaves, and caused many to make des- perate efforts to escape from the is- lands. Five persons, neither of whom were sailors, built a fishing boat for the Governor, and when completed they bor- rowed a compass from their preacher, for whom they left a farewell epistle. In this they reminded him how often

���HOG MONEY.

�� �