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a very low eftate. They have long fince embraced 

 the chriftian religion ; however, the Spaniards put 

 no great confidence in them, and in fo doing act 

 very wifely : for, befides that thefe chriftians, who 

 have been deftitute of all fpiritual afliftance for ma- 

 ny years, are only fuch an name; their conquerors 

 at firft treated them with fo much feverity, that they 

 ought always to confider them as enemies not quite 

 reconciled. It is very difficult to make good 

 chriftians of people, who were begun to be con- 

 verted by making chriftianity odious to them. 



We were told at St. Mark, that a refolution had 

 been taken to re-eftahlifh it on its former footing, 

 and that they expected five thoufand families : this 

 is much more than the Spaniards of Florida are 

 capable of furnifliing. The country is charming, 

 well wooded, well watered, and it is faid, the more 

 you advance up the country, the more fertile the 

 foil. They confirmed to us in the fort, what the 

 Spaniards we had met with had told us, that the 

 Indians at the Ifle of Martyrs, with their king 

 Don Diego, were a good-for-nothing fort of folks, 

 and that if we had not kept ftrictly on our guard, 

 they had certainly played us fome fcurvy trick. 

 They alfo told us, that a Spanifh brigantine had 

 been lately caft away near the place, where we faw 

 the four Indians in a pirogue, and that the whole 

 crew had been empaled and eaten by thofe fa- 

 vages. 



St. Mark is dependant on St. Auguftin, both in 

 a civil and military refpect; as it is on the Ha- 

 vannah in fpiritual matters. The chaplain, howe- 

 ver, is fent by the convent of the Francifcans of 

 St. Auguftin. I met with one of them here, who 

 was a very amiable perfon, and one who did us 



con- 



