irectly; the foremost was killed outright,
being shot in the head; the second, which was the runaway Indian, was
shot through the body, and fell, but was not quite dead; and the third
had a little scratch in the shoulder, perhaps by the same ball that went
through the body of the second; and being dreadfully frightened, though
not so much hurt, sat down upon the ground, screaming and yelling in a
hideous manner.

The five that were behind, more frightened with the noise than sensible
of the danger, stood still at first; for the woods made the sound a
thousand times bigger than it really was, the echoes rattling from one
side to another, and the fowls rising from all parts, screaming, and
every sort making a different noise, according to their kind; just as it
was when I fired the first gun that perhaps was ever shot off in the
island.

However, all being silent again, and they not knowing what the matter
was, came on unconcerned, till they came to the place where their
companions lay in a condition miserable enough. Here the poor ignorant
creatures, not sensible that they were within reach of the same mischief,
stood all together over the wounded man, talking, and, as may be
supposed, inquiring of him how he came to be hurt; and who, it is very
rational to believe, told them that a flash of fire first, and
immediately after that thunder from their gods, had killed those two and
wounded him. This, I say, is rational; for nothing is more certain than
that, as they saw no man near them, so they had never heard a gun in all
their lives, nor so much as heard of a gun; neither knew they anything of
killing and wounding at a distance with fire and bullets: if they had,
one might reasonably believe they would not have stood so unconcerned to
view the fate of their fellows, without some apprehensions of their own.

Our two men, as they confessed to me, were grieved to be obliged to kill
so many poor creatures, who had no notion of their danger; yet, having
them all thus in their power, and the first having loaded his piece
again, resolved to let fly both together among them; and singling out, by
agreement, which to aim at, they shot together, and killed, or very much
wounded, four of them; the fifth, frightened even to death, though not
hurt, fell with the rest; so that our men, seeing them all fall together,
thought they had killed them all.

The belief that the savages were all killed made our two men come boldly
out fro