University of Virginia Library

Chapter XXV.
The beginning and proceedings of the new plantation
of St. Christopher by Captaine Warner.

MASTER Ralfe Merifield

and others, having furnished this
worthy industrious Gentleman, hee arrived at St. Christophers,
as is said, with fifteene men, the 28. of Januarie, 1623. viz. William
Tested, John Rhodes, Robert Bims, Master Benifield, Sergeant
Jones, Master Ware, William Royle, Rowland Grascocke, Master
Bond, Master Langley, Master Weaver, Edward Warner their Captaines
sonne, and now Deputy-Governour till his fathers returne,
Sergeant Aplon, one Sailor and a Cooke: At their arrivall they found
three French-men, who sought to oppose Captaine Warner, and to
set the Indians upon us; but at last we all became friends, and lived
with the Indians a moneth, then we built a Fort, and a house, and
planting fruits, by September we made a crop of Tobacco; but upon
the nineteenth of September came a Hericano and blew it away, all
this while wee lived upon Cassada bread, Potatoes, Plantines, Pines,
∥ Turtels, Guanes, and fish plentie; for drinke wee had Nicnobbie.

The 18. of March 1624. arrived Captaine Jefferson with three
men passengers in the Hope-well of London, with some trade for the
Indians, and then we had another crop of Tobacco, in the meane
time the French had planted themselves in the other end of the Ile;
with this crop Captaine Warner returned for England in September,
1625.

In his absence came in a French pinnace, under the command
of Monsieur de Nombe,

that told us, the Indians had slaine some
French-men in other of the Charybes Iles, and that there were six
Peryagoes, which are huge great trees formed as your Canowes, but
so laid out on the sides with boords, they will seeme like a little Gally:
six of those, with about foure or five hundred strange Indians came
unto us, we bade them be gone, but they would not; whereupon we
and the French joyned together, and upon the fifth of November set
upon them, and put them to flight: upon New-yeares Even they
came againe, found three English going about the Ile, whom they
slue.

Until the fourth of August, we stood upon our guard, living
upon the spoile and did nothing. But now Captaine Warner arriving
againe with neere an hundred people, then we fell to worke and
planting as before; but upon the fourth of September, came such a
Hericano, as blew downe all our houses, Tobacco, and two Drums
into the aire we know not whither, drove two ships on shore that
were both split; all our provision thus lost, we were very miserable,
living onely on what we could get in the wilde woods, we made a
small party of French and English to goe aboord for provision, but in
their returning home, eight French men were slaine in the harbour.

Thus were continued till neere June that the Tortels

came in,
1627. but the French being like to starve, sought to surprize us, and
all the Cassado, Potatos, and Tobacco we had planted, but we did
prevent them. The 26. of October, came in Captaine William Smith,
in the Hope-well, with some Ordnance, shot and powder, from the
Earle of Carlile; with Captaine Pelham and thirty men, about that
time also came the Plow; also a small ship of Bristow, with Captaine
Warners wife, and six or seven women more.

Upon the 25. of November, the Indians set upon the French, for
some injury about their women, and slew six and twentie French

men, five English, and three Indians. Their weapons are bowes and
arrowes; their bowes are never bent, but the string lies flat to the
bow; their arrowes a small reed, foure or five foot long, headed some
with the poysoned sting of the taile of a Stingray, some with iron,
some with wood, but all so poysoned, that if they draw but bloud, the
hurt is incurable.

The next day came in Captaine Charles Saltonstall, a young
Gentleman, son of Sir Samuell Saltonstall,

who brought with him
good store of all commodities to releeve the plantation; but by reason
some Hollanders, and others, had bin there lately before him, who
carried away with them all the Tobacco, he was forced to put away
all his commodities upon trust till the next crop; in the meane time
hee resolved there to stay, and imploy himselfe and his company in
planting Tobacco, hoping ∥ thereby to make a voyage, but before he
could be ready to returne for England, a Hericano hapning, his ship
was split, to his great losse, being sole Merchant and owner himselfe,
notwithstanding forced to pay to the Governour, the fift part of his
Tobacco, and for fraught to England, three pence a pound, and nine
pence a pound custome, which amounts together to more than threescore
pound in the hundred pound, to the great discouragement of
him and many others, that intended well to those plantations. Neverthelesse
he is gone againe this present yeare 1629. with a ship of about
three hundred tunnes, and very neere two hundred people, with Sir
William Tuffton, Governour for the Barbados, and divers gentlemen,
and all manner of commodities fit for a plantation.

Captaine Prinne, Captaine Stone,

and divers others, came in
about Christmas; so that this last yeare there hathbeene about thirtie
saile of English, French, and Dutch ships, and all the Indians forced
out of the Ile, for they had done much mischiefe amongst the French,
in cutting their throats, burning their houses, and spoyling their
Tobacco; amongst the rest Tegramund, a little childe the Kings
sonne, his parents being slaine, or fled, was by great chance saved,
and carefully brought to England by Master Merifield, who brought
him from thence, and bringeth him up as his owne children.

It

lyeth seventeene degrees Northward of the line, about an
hundred and twenty leagues from the Cape de tres Puntas, the neerest
maine land in America, it is about eight leagues in length, and foure
in bredth; an Iland amongst 100. Iles in the West Indies, called the
Caribes, where ordinarily all them that frequent the West Indies,
refresh themselves; those most of them are rocky, little, and mountainous,
yet frequented with the Canibals; many of them inhabited,
as Saint Domingo, Saint Mattalin, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent,
Granada, and Margarita, to the Southward; Northward, none but
Saint Christophers, and it but lately, yet they will be ranging Marigalanta,
Guardalupo, Deceado, Monserat, Antigua, Mevis, Bernardo,
Saint Martin, and Saint Bartholomew, but the worst of the
foure Iles possessed by the Spanyard, as Portorico or Jamica, is better
than them all; as for Hispaniola, and Cuba, they are worthy the
title of two rich Kingdomes, the rest not respected by the Spanyards,
for want of harbors, and their better choice of good land, and profit
in the maine. But Captaine Warner, having beene very familiar
with Captaine Painton, in the Amazon, hearing his information of
this St. Christophers; and having made a yeares tryall, as it is said,
returned for England, joyning with Master Merifield, and his friends,
got Letters Pattents, from King James, to plant and possesse it. Since
then, the Right Honourable the Earle of Carlile, hathgot Letters
Pattents also, not only of that, but all the Caribes Iles about it, who
is now chiefe Lord of them, and the English his tenants, that doe
possesse them; over whom he appointeth such Governours and
Officers, as their affaires require; and although there be a great
custome imposed upon them, considering their other charges, both
to feed and maintaine themselves; yet there is there, and now a
going, neere upon the number of three thousand people; where by
reason of the rockinesse and thicknesse of the woods in the Ile, it is
∥ difficult to passe, and such a snuffe of the Sea goeth on the shore,
ten may better defend, than fifty assault. In this Ile are many springs,
but yet water is scarce againe in many places; the valleyes and sides
of the hills very fertile, but the mountaines harsh, and of a sulphurous
composition; all overgrowne with Palmetas, Cotten trees, Lignum
vitæ, and divers other sorts, but none like any in Christendome,
except those carried thither; the aire very pleasant and healthfull,
but exceeding hot, yet so tempered with coole breaths, it seemes very
temperate to them, that are a little used to it; the trees being alwaies
greene, the daies and nights alwayes very neere equall in length,
alwayes Summer; only they have in their seasons great gusts and
raines, and somtimes a Hericano, which is an overgrowne, and a
most violent storme.

In some of those Iles, are cattell, goats, and hogges, but here
none but what they must carry; Gwanes they have, which is a little
harmelesse beast, like a Crokadell, or Aligator, very fat and good
meat, she layes egges in the sand, as doth the land Crabs, which live
here in abundance, like Conies in Boroughs, unlesse about May,
when they come downe to the Sea side, to lay in the sand, as the
other; and all their egges are hatched by the heat of the Sunne.

From May to September they have good store of Tortasses,

that
come out of the Sea to lay their egges in the sand, and are hatched as
the other; they will lay halfe a pecke at a time, and neere a bushell
erethey have done; and are round like Tenis-balls: this fish is like
veale in taste, the fat of a brownish colour, very good and wholsome.
We seeke them in the nights, where we finde them on shore, we turne
them upon their backs, till the next day we fetch them home, for they
can never returne themselves, being so hard a cart may goe over
them; and so bigge, one will suffice forty or fifty men to dinner.
Divers sorts of other fish they have in abundance, and Prawnes most
great and excellent, but none will keepe sweet scarce twelve houres.

The best and greatest is a Passer Flaminga,

which walking at
her length is as tall as a man; Pigeons, and Turtle Doves in abundance;
some Parrots, wilde Hawkes, but divers other sorts of good
Sea fowle, whose names we know not.

Cassado

is a root planted in the ground, of a wonderfull increase,
and will make very good white bread, but the Juyce ranke
poyson, yet boyled, better than wine; Potatos, Cabbages and Radish
plenty.

Mayes,

like the Virginia wheat; we have Pine-apples, neere
so bigge as an Hartichocke, but the most daintiest taste of any fruit;
Plantains, an excellent, and a most increasing fruit; Apples, Prickell
Peares, and Pease, but differing all from ours. There is Pepper that
groweth in a little red huske, as bigge as a Walnut, about foure inches
in length, but the long cods are small, and much stronger, and better
for use, than that from the East Indies. There is two sorts of Cotten,
the silke Cotten as in the East Indies, groweth upon a small stalke,
as good for beds as downe; the other upon a shrub, and beareth a cod
bigger than a Walnut, full of Cotten wooll: Anotto also groweth upon
a shrub, with a cod like the other, and nine or ten on a bunch, full of
Anotto, very ∥ good for Dyers, though wilde; Sugar Canes, not tame,
4. or 5. foot high; also Masticke, and Locus trees; great and hard
timber, Gourds, Muske Melons, Water Melons, Lettice, Parsly; all
places naturally beare purslaine of it selfe; Sope-berries like a Musket
bullet, that washeth as white as Sope; in the middle of the root is a
thing like a sedge, a very good fruit, we call Pengromes; a Pappaw
is as great as an apple, coloured like an Orange, and good to eat; a
small hard nut, like a hazell nut, growes close to the ground, and like
this growes on the Palmetas, which we call a Mucca nut; Mustard-seed
will grow to a great tree, but beares no seed, yet the leaves will
make good mustard; the Mancinell tree the fruit is poyson; good
figs in abundance; but the Palmeta serveth to build Forts and houses,
the leaves to cover them, and many other uses; the juyce we draw
from them, till we sucke them to death, (is held restorative) and the
top for meat doth serve us as Cabbage; but oft we want poudered
Beefe, and Bacon, and many other needfull necessaries.