302 A. EF. Verrill—The Bermuda Islands. 714 
whole place had once againe bin utterly and quite left voide of her 
reasonable inhabitants: and with out all question, this ill had not 
fayled to have befallen, had not God (who noe doubt hath an 
especiall worck in the peopling of thes partes with Christians), by 
his owne hand, in great merey, swept them all away in an instant, 
when it was least expected ; for not long after that the Governour 
(having thus received this loathed report of this ratt-warre in 
Somersett, and being at his non-plus of newe devises to helpe him- 
selfe), had determined once againe to fall upon another generall 
burneinge of the whole ilands, to the extreame discontent of all men, 
and especially of Mr. Lewes [Hughes] the minister, who openly 
preached against it, so that the Governour could never endure him 
afterwards ; behold by a soudaine fall of a great store of raine, and 
some cold northerly windes bloweinge with all, in a moment, and 
when noe man durst so much as hope for so happy a turne, thes 
mightie armies of ravenous ratts are clean taken awaye, vanish, 
and are scarce one to be found in a share; but in steed of 
- them, shortly after, come in marchinge towards the houses, whole 
troupes of great and fatte wild catts, who havienge formerly found 
foode ynough upon these vermin abroad, and so become wild and 
savage, are now againe in this their necessitie, and by want of wonted 
reliefe, forced to returne to their first tamenesse.” 
The Rev. Mr. Hughes, who was present during part of the time, 
gave the following account: 
“Tet not the hand of God, which lay heavy upon you in Captain 
Tucker’s time [1616-18], be forgotten, when the rats did abound, 
and goe by sea from Iland to Iland, so as no Iland was free, but all 
were like so many Coney-warrens: I say they went by sea from 
Iland to Iland, because fishes have at divers times been taken three 
leagues off at sea, with Rats in their mawes, which sheweth plainly 
that the Rats did swim, and were snapt up of the Fishes. Consider 
what a plague of God they were unto you beth within dores and 
without : within they devoured your Corne and other provision of 
foode, and your cloathes and shooes (as myselfe has good cause 
to remember :) without, they devoured your corne by scraping it out 
of the ground, when it was new set, the grains which were thrust in 
so deepe as they could not scrape [rotted], untill God in mercy hear- 
ing our poore prayers, tooke them away, on the sodaine in three or 
foure dayes. I mention the time, because I took good notice of it. 
As soon as the Rats were destroyed wild Cats, that were neither 
seene nor knowne to be in any such abundance, came marching out 
