A. E. Verritt — The Bermuda Islands. 549 



though planted too late (they arrived in July). But he states that 

 their second crop was nearly a failure. This may have been due 

 partly to the neglect of planting at the proper time, on account of 

 the pressing need of fortification work, and partly to the lack of 

 care later ; but the season may have been a bad one, with drouths 

 or tempests, and the Wood Rats may have been present, even then.* 



Besides, they were mostly ignorant and quite inexperienced, both 

 as to the crops and the climate. But whatever the cause, it is evi- 

 dent that the Company did very wrong to send out, during the first 

 years, so many ignorant and ill-provided poor people, taken largely 

 from the slums of London, expecting them to clear a densely wooded 

 country, plant crops, and build forts and houses, all in one year. 

 The governor had on his hands more than any man could do, with 

 the men and materials at his disposal. 



It is remarkable that he succeeded by his energy and wit in keep- 

 ing the colony alive. In fact, had not nature provided such an 

 abundance of birds and fish, at that time, most of the people would 

 surely have starved. It was by mere chance that a stray vessel, the 

 Edwin, loaded with meal, came to the islands from the West Indies, 

 in the middle of their second winter (about January, 1014), when 

 they were on the verge of starvation. This was the vessel said to 

 have introduced the wood-rats. (See Part III, ch. 33.) 



The following extract is from "A Plaine and true relation of the 

 Goodnes of God towards the Sommer Islands," London, 1621 (writ- 

 ten in the latter part of 1620). Mr. Hughes lived in Bermuda from 

 1615 to 1620. After a visit to London, he returned on the "Joseph " 

 in 1622 :— 



" Upon your second crop, (partly for the unthankfulnesse of some, 

 and partly for the trial of other some) God denied his blessing, so 

 as you received not your seede againe, therefore feare of great want 

 came upon you Then, even then when your hearts began to be 

 troubled with feare of want, Almighty God who never faileth nor 

 forsaketh them that are his, did send you a comfortable supply 

 unlooked for."f 



* It is not improbable that the unsuspected ravages of wood rats were the 

 chief causes of the failure of the crops in all these three earlier years, though 

 they did not attract attention till 1615, when they had apparently greatly 

 increased, perhaps largely due to their gathering, for food, in the vicinity of the 

 cultivated land. There is no sufficient evidence that they were first introduced 

 in 1614. (Seech. 33, ft.) 



f This is a refei^ence to the " runaway frigate " which came loaded with meal 

 from the West Indies, and was said to have also brought the wood-rats, January, 

 1614. 



