79 
cliristian persecutors, " no compunctious 
visitings of nature," they would have 
destroyed the whole of my unfortunate 
crew, and this massacre might have been 
perpetrated without the natives running 
even the hazard of a punishment. The 
clothing of my people, although of little 
value in a country of trade and civilization, 
wouUi have been to them a most important 
acquisition, or they could have gratified, 
nay, even satiated cruelty, by stripping and 
leaving us naked to all the horrors of the 
wilderness, a prey to famine, or the wild 
and ferocious animals of the deserts. But 
these humane yet calumniated savages 
felt as men whose souls were truly af- 
fected at our misfortunes, and acting from 
the virtuous impulse of their nature, volun- 
tarily gave to the unhappy consolation and 
support. We were mostly whites, but still 
they were our friends. The black and vo- 
luminous catalogue of miseries, which they 
and their progenitors had so long endured 
from savages of our colour, faded at once 
on their remembrance when they beheld 
our distresses. — Such was the conduct, and 
