MAMMALS OF BERMUDA. 159 
they used to destroy them, but could not prevaile, finding them still 
increasing against them; nay they so devoured the fruits of the earth 
that they were destitute of bread for a yeare or two; so that when they 
had it afterwards, they were so wained from it, they easily neglected to 
eat it with their meat. Besides, they endeauoured so much for the 
planting tobacco for present gaine, that they neglected many things 
might more have prevailed for their good, which caused amongst them 
much weakness and mortality, since the beginning of this vermine. 
“At last it pleased God, but by what meanes it is not well known, to 
take them away; in so much that the wilde cats and many dogs that 
lived on them were famished, and many of them leaving the woods 
came down to their homes, and to such places where they use to garbish 
their fish, and became tame. Some have attributed the destruction of 
them to the increase of wild cats, but that is not likely they should be 
so suddenly increased rather at that time, than four years before; and 
the chief occasion of this supposition was because they saw some com- 
panies of them leave the woods, and slew themselves for want of food; 
others by the coldnesse of winter which notwithstanding is neuer so 
great there, as with us in March, except it be in the wind; besides the 
rats wanted not the feathers of young birds and chickens which they 
daily killed, and Palmetto mosse to builde themselves warm nests out 
of the wind; as usually they did; neither doth it appeare that the cold 
was so mortal to them, seeing they would ordinarily swimme from place 
to place, and bee very fat even in the midst of winter. It remaineth 
then, that as God doth sometimes effect his will without subordinate 
and secondary causes, so we need not doubt, but that in the speedy 
increase of this vermine, as also by the preservation of so many of them 
by such weake meanes as they then enioyed, and especially in the so 
sudden remoual of this great annoyance, there was ioyned with and 
besides the ordinary and manifest meanes, a more mediate and secret 
work of God.” 
From this description it is evident that the amazing horde of rats 
which overran the islands at this early date were tree rats which at the 
present day usually construct their nests in trees, as they appear to have 
done two centuries and a half ago. But the question may arise, how 
could so vast a horde suddenly, as it were, come into being, for if we are 
to place any confidence in the accounts given by Jourdan not a rat was 
to be seen some five years previous. It certainly appears somewhat 
mysterious, and we cannot but think that rats existed on the islands 
