Page:The principal navigations, voyages, traffiques and discoveries of the English nation 15.djvu/171

 out of Santa Domingo came thither into the harborow, and tooke twenty of them, whereof the most part were hanged, and the rest caried into Spaine, and some (to the number of fiue and twenty) escaped in the pinnesse, and came to Florida; where at their landing they were put in prison, and incontinent foure of the chiefest being condemned, at the request of the souldiers, did passe the harquebuzers, and then were hanged vpon a gibbet.

This lacke of threescore men was a great discourage and weakening to the rest, for they were the best souldiers that they had: for they had now made the inhabitants weary of them by their dayly crauing of maiz, hauing no wares left to content them withall, and therefore were inforced to rob them, and to take away their victual perforce, which was the occasion that the Floridians (not well contented therewith) did take certeine of their company in the woods, and slew them; whereby there grew great warres betwixt them and the Frenchmen: and therefore they being but a few in number durst not venture abroad, but at such time as they were inforced thereunto for want of food to do the same: and going twenty harquebuzers in a company, were set vpon by eighteene kings, hauing seuen or eight hundred men, which with one of their bowes slew one of their men, and hurt a dozen, and droue them all downe to their boats; whose pollicy in fight was to be maruelled at: for hauing shot at diuers of their bodies which were armed, and perceiuing that their arrowes did not preuaile against the same, they shot at their faces and legs, which were the places that the Frenchmen were hurt in. Thus the Frenchmen returned, being in ill case by the hurt of their men, hauing not aboue forty souldiers left vnhurt, whereby they might ill make any more inuasions vpon the Floridians, and keepe their fort withall: which they must haue beene driuen vnto, had not God sent vs thither for their succour; for they had not aboue ten dayes victuall left before we came.

In which perplexity our captaine seeing them, spared them out of his ship twenty barrels of meale, and foure pipes of beanes, with diuers other victuals and necessaries which he might conueniently spare: and to helpe them the better homewardes, whither they were bound before our comming, at their request we spared them one of our barks of fifty tun. Notwithstanding the great want that the Frenchmen had, the ground doth yeeld victuals sufficient, if they would