Page 469
An.1688
Their Sieness. The Tides here.
any thing in it, and when they were set on Land again, they ran away as fast as they could. At our first coming, before we were acquainted with them, or they with us, a Company of them who liv'd on the Main, came juft against our Ship, and standing on a pretty high Bank, threatened us with their Swords and Lances, by shaking them at us; at last the Captain ordered the Drum to be beaten, which was done of a fudden with much vigor, purposely to scare the poor Creatures. They hearing the noise, ran away as fast as they could drive, and when they ran away in hafte, they would cry Gurry, Gurry, speaking deep in the Throat. Those Inhabitants also that live on the Main, would always run away from us; yet we took several of them. For, as I have already observed, they had such bad Eyes, that they could not see us till we came close to them. We did always give them victuals, and let them go again, but the Islanders, after our first time of being a- mong them, did not stir for us.
When we had been here about a week, we hal'd our Ship into a small sandy Cove, at a Spring- tide, as far as she would float; and at low Water she was left dry, and the sand dry without us near half a mile; for the Sea rifeth and falleth here about 5 fathom. The Flood runs North by East, and the Ebb South by West. All the Neep-tides we lay wholly a ground, for the Sea did not come near us by about a hundred yards. We had therefore time enough to clean our Ships bottom, which we did very well. Most of our Men lay ashore in a Tent, where our Sails were mending; and our Strikers brought home Turtle and Mana- tee every day, which was our conftant food.
While we lay here, I did endeavour to persuade our men to go to some English Factory; but was threatened to be turned ashore, and left here for it.