140 HISTORY OF 



peaceable, lest they bring you into a snare and you suffer 

 hurt for their faults. 



The Governor expects and requires, that if any 

 prisoners, by any means whatever, fall into any of your 

 hands, that he be quickly acquainted with it, and that 

 no person offer to take upon him to kill any stranger 

 prisoner, for it will not be suffered here. He has been 

 much displeased at what happened, and was done by 

 some amongst you last year in these parts, but is now 

 again a friend upon their promise and engagement to do 

 so no more, and will take no more notice of it, if they 

 observe and fulfil their words. It is indeed, a shameful 

 and base thing to treat a creature of their own shape 

 and kind worse and more barbarously than they would 

 a bear or wolf, or the most wicked creature upon earth. 

 It is not man-like to see a hundred or more people sing- 

 ing songs of joy for the taking of a prisoner, but it is 

 much worse to see them use all their contrivances of 

 torture and pain, to put that unfortunate creature to 

 death after such a manner, and was as other nations, 

 specially the English, now heard of; for if they in a 

 just war kill their enemies, it is like men, in the battle, 

 and if they take them prisoners, they use them well 

 and kindly, until their King gives orders to return them 

 to their own country. They take no pleasure meanly to 

 bum, pinch or slash, a poor man who cannot defend 

 himself, it shows mean spirits and want of true courage 

 to do so. For men of true courage are always full of 

 mercy. I am commanded to tell you, and should liave 

 you remember it well, that no person whatever offer, 

 after this time, to put any man to death by torture here, 

 for whosoever does it must answer it to the Governor 

 and Government at their peril. It is inconsistent with 

 the ways of nations ; it is a violent affront to our Govern- 



