240 Discoveries Settlements Book I. ^ 
therefore to leave only thefe three Remarks with the in- 
genious and impartial Reader : Xhe firft is, that we have 
it in our Pov/er to bring from this Colony all the naval 
Stores that we now bring from the Baltic which, when- 
ever it is thoroughly confidered by our Parliament, will 
produce fome Law, v/hich cannot fail of rendering this 
Colony twice as beneficial to the Nation as it has hkberto 
been, or could be, till enabled by fuch a Law. In the 
fecond Place I muft obferve, that as we derive a great 
Part of our Sugars from the Affiftance given to th°Co- 
ionies which produce them by New Engla?id^ io this 
Part of their Produce ought to be placed to the New Eng- 
land Account. I am to remark laftly, that the Com- 
plaints which have been made of the Inhabitants of this 
Colony dealing in Goods, and employing themfelves in 
Manufaaures,which interfere with thofe of Great Britain, 
is a Complaint, which, though well founded, is ill ap- 
plied; for though it be true that this may be an Injury 
to us, yet the Fault lies in ourfelves, and not in the Peo- 
ple of New England, who only raife and manufablur'e 
for themfelves what they cannot purchafe from us •, fo 
that not content with having their All (for, as we have 
fliewn, the whole Ballance of their Trade comes hither) 
we feem_ to be angry that they endeavour to fupply them- 
felves with what we could fell, and they want v/here- 
withall to purchdfe ; which Want, however, might be 
removed, by taking their naval Stores. But it is now fit 
that we fhould give a ihort View of the Plantation of our 
next Colony, which though we cannot call it one of the 
moft profitable, yet it muft be allowed one of the moft 
pleafant of our Plantations. 
10. The Iflands of Bermudas were difcovered by one 
John Bermudas a Spaniard, after which they were fre- 
quently touched at by his Countrymen in their Paftage to 
the W ifi Indies, but were quite unknown to us till the 
Year i 593 » when one Henry May was fhipwrecked 
upon them in a French Veflel, whofe Report made them 
very famous p but they became more fo by the like Mif- 
fortune of Sir George Summers, and Sir Fho-mas Gates, in 
their Palfage to Virginia in 1609, of which we have be- 
fore given a particular Account, as well as of his being 
fent thither a fecond Time to fetch Hogs, when it was 
with great Difficulty he found thefe Hands, and not long 
after he breathed his laft in them, being upwards of 
threefcore, and much fatigued for many Months before. 
It was from him their Name was changed to Summers''^ 
Jjlands, which our Mariners call th.t Summer IJlands \ a Name 
they very well deferve for their Pleafantnefs and Fertili- 
ty. Sir George direfted his Men to return to Virginia 
with black Hogs, for the Relief of that Colony, but 
they refolved otherwife after his Death ; and ftoring their 
Cedar Ship with fuch Provifioijs as they had, they fet 
fail for England, where they . arrived at Whitchurch in 
Horfetjhire, having Sir George Summers’’^ Corps on board, 
only the Heart and Bowels they left at Bermudas, where 
Captain Butler, twelve Years afterwards, built a hand- 
fome Monument over them. 
Thefe Men, at their Return, gave fuch an Account of 
the Country to the V irginia Company, that they thought it 
worth their while to eftabliffi a Correfpondence between 
England and Bermudas \ accordingly they fold thefe Iflands 
to one hundred and twenty Perfons of the fame Society, 
who obtained a Charter from King James, and became the 
Proprietors of them. When Sir George Summers was firft 
here, two of his M!en ftaid behind, having committed 
fome Crime, for which they would have been put to 
Death. They were ftill there when Sir George returned, 
and had, ever fince his Departure, fupported themfelves 
on the Produftions of the Place, and built them a Hut, 
and took Poffeffion of *?/. George's Ifland. Thefe two 
Men, whofe Names were Chrijlopher Carter, and Ed- 
ward W 'iters, ftaid alfo behind Sir George's fecond Com- 
pany, of whom they perfuaded one Edward Chard to re- 
main v/ith them •, and now Carter, Waters, and Chard, 
were foie Lords of the Country, but foon fell out among 
themfelves ; Chard and Waters were coming to a pitched 
Battle ; but Car ter , though he hated them both, yet not 
liking to be left alone, prevented it, by threatening to de- 
dare againft the Man who ftruck firft. At laft Neceffity 
% 
made them good Friends, and they joined together in 'r 
making Difcoveries, in one of v/hich Expeditions they ' 
found the largeft Piece of Ambergreafe, among the Rocks, ' 
that ever was feen, weighing eighty Pounds, befides other ' % ' 
Imalier Pieces. 1 . his Trealure made them almoft mad ; v 
they grev/ giddy with the Thoughts of it, and, that they f: 
might have an Opportunity to make ufe of it, refolved, ,■ 
on the moft defperate Attempt that Men could run :] 
upon, which was to build a Boat after the beft Manner I 
they could, to fail to Virginia or Newfoundland, accord- ! 
ing as Wind and Weather ffiould prefent. | . 
But before they could put their Projedl in Execution, .y 
a Ship arrived from England \ for Captain Mathew Sum- 
mers. Sir George's Brother, had promifed to come to them, if 
or fend a Veftel to their Relief The Ship they difco- 'j , 
vered ftanding in with the Shore was the Plough', which . 
had fixty Perfons aboard, fent by the new Bermudas v ,■ 
Company to make a Settlement, of which Mr. Richard \ ■ 
Moor v/as Governor, who was an honeft induftrious Per- ' : 
fon. He pitched upon a Plain in St. George's IJland to j;' 
fettle on, and there firft built himfelf a Houfe, or rather ‘ 
Cabbin, for the Building Was only of Palmeto Leaves ; ' • 
yet he made it large enough for him, his Wife and - 
Family ; and the reft of the Adventurers following his ; ' 
Example, it became a fort of a Town, which in Time 
grev/ to a confiderable Bignefs, and is now St. George'^ , 
Town, one of the ftrongeft and beft built in our Ame- 
rican Colonies ; for all the Houfes are of Cedar, and all ' 
the Forts of hewn Stone. This Man proved an excellent 
Governor m every Refpedt ; and, in the Year 1614, dif- 
appointed the Spaniards in a Defign they had formed of 
landing upon, and conquering, theft Iflands. 
He was fucceeded by Captain Daniel Fucker, who was 
a Perfon of better Education, and more Experience in 
the World, who took upon him to eftablifli a regular 
Form of Government; to diftinguiffi and trace out Plan- 
tations ; to oblige every Man to build uniformly in the 
Town, and to plant regularly in the Country ; by which 
Method the Iflands were very much improved, and the 
Exportations for England increaftd ; he likewift eftabliffi- 
ed a tolerable Militia, and put the Iflands in fuch a pof- 
ture of Defence, as, together with their Situation, put it 
out of the Power of any of their Enemies to difembark / 
fuch a Force as might hurt them. But the Severity of 
his Government was fo grievous to fome licentious Per- 
fons, that five of them executed as defperate a Defign to 
eftape him, as Waters and his Companions had proje6l- 
ed to get away from the Ifland. They knew the Go- ^ 
vernor would not give them leave to go off, and there- 
fore invented this Contrivance to effeft it : Plearing Cap- ‘ 
tain Fucker had a great Defire to go a fiflning out at Sea, 
but Was afraid to do it, becaufe ftveral Fiflier-boats had 
been driven off by the Weather and the Men periffied, 
they propoftd to him to build a Boat of two or three 
Tons, with a Deck, and fo fitted that ffie ffiould live in. 
all Weathers. The Governor conftnting to it, they fell - 
to building in a private Place, pretending it was conve- 
nient for getting Timber and launching the Boat. They 
finiffied it fooner than was expefted ; and the Governor ; 
fent Hands to fetch it, intending to go in it aboard 
a Ship which he was then difpatching for England. When 
his Men came to the Place, neither the Boat nor the 
Builders were to be found ; all that they could hear of 
them was, that the Boat being finiffied the Night before, 
thoft that built it went off to Sea in it, to try how it 
would fail. At laft they found by fome Letters they , 
left behind’ them, that they were gone for England ; and ^ 
the Story of their Adventure is told us in this Manner : i 
They borrowed a Compafs-dial of a Neighbour, on > 
fome Pretence or other, and went on board the Ship 1 
bound for England, where they trucked with the Sea- , 
men fuch Things as they had, for Provifions. One of 
them, at parting, told the Mariners, that though they .• 
were forbidden to go with them, yet they hoped to be in 
England before them. At which the Mafter of the Ship 
laughed, and away theft fearlefs Adventurers failed, with 
a fair Wind and Weather for one and twenty Days ; they 
then met with a Storm, which reduced them to Extre- 
mity for eight and forty Hours, and obliging them to 
beat 
