Chap. III. ENGLISH AMERICA. 
five of their Body, among whom were two Perfons of 
Note, as Pledges to be fent to England. Their firft Settle- 
ment was on part of the Mountain that lies on the Weft- 
fide of the Entrance of the River, to which they gave the 
Name of Mount Howard. The Captain might have lived 
here a very quiet Life, and been very ufeful to his Country 
too, had he not had a mutinous and difcontented Com- 
pany. The next Year after, he fent his to England., 
in the Month of June, for frefh Supplies of fuch Things 
as he wanted, retaining thirty- five or his Men .and Boys 
with him, to fettle his fmall Village, and thereby fet this 
Colony upon a better Footing than it had till then been. 
They had fome Trade with the Natives, as well round 
about their Settlement, as farther up the River ; and the 
chief Merchandizes they obtained were Wax, fine white 
Feathers, Tobacco, Parrots, Monkeys green and black. 
Cotton, Yarn and Wool, fweet Gums, red Pepper, 
Spleen and Mafate Stones ; v/ith feveral forts of Wood, 
Roots, and Berries, partly for Medicine, and partly for 
Dying ; but the Flux, and other Diftempers, carried off 
a good Number of the Company *, and the Captain, be- 
ing feized with it himfelf juft as he was going on board 
iox England, to fetch a complete Loading of fuch Things 
as were needful for his Colony, died of it. It was by 
this unhappy Stroke, the whole Undertaking was quafhed, 
and every one fliifted for himfelf*, fome returned to 
England in their own Veffel, others in a French Ship, and 
others in two Hutch Ships, very much to the Regret of 
the Indians, and to the no fmall Lofs of Sir Olive Leigh, 
and Detriment of the Englijh Nation. 
Sir Olive Leigh refolving to fupport his Brother in 
the Eftablifhment of his Colony at Guiana, before he had 
any Account of his Succefs, fitted out another Ship called 
the Olive Blojfom, under Capt. Catalin and Capt. St. John, 
to carry him a frefli Supply of Men and Neceffaries. 
The Ship fet out from Woolwich for Wiag>oco, the 14th of 
April, 1 605 ; but, between contrary Winds and Currents, 
by the Unfkilfulnefsof the Mafter, Mr. Richard Chambers, 
they were put fo far to the Leeward, that they defpaired 
of ever recovering their intended Port in any due time ^ 
and therefore they put in firft at Barhadoes, and after- 
wards at the Ifland of St. Lucia, defigning from thence 
to return to England : However, examining their Stores 
of Provifions, and finding not near enough to ferve fo 
large a Company as they were, for fo long a Voyage, 
Capt. St. John himfelf, with feveral of the Paftengers to 
the Number of fixty-feven, refolved rather to flay, and 
take their Lot upon that Ifland, than to run the Hazard 
of their being ftarved at Sea. 
They foon made an Acquaintance with the Indians, 
who furnifhed them, in Exchange for Trifles, with 
Roots, Fruits, and fome Fowls ; and they every Night 
had an Opportunity, with very little Trouble, of taking 
delicate Tortoifes upon the Sands •, fo that they were in 
no Want of Food. They lived five or fix Weeks in 
little^ Huts, or Houfes which they had built, without 
making any Excurfions into the Country ; but the Captain 
feeing one Day certain Plates of Metal upon the Arms 
of fome of the Indians, and being informed by one 
Brown a Refiner in their Company, that they were at leaft 
three Parts Gold *, and enquiring of the Indians from 
whence ^ they had it, they pointed to a very high 
Mountain, in the North-weft Part of the Ifland. Upon 
this, the Captain himfelf, with feveral of the chief of his 
Men, went in queft of this golden Mountain, the reft 
being appointed to keep Guard at home, and affured they 
would return in a Week’s time. When this Part of 
the Company was gone, the other expe< 5 ted the Indians 
would have brought them Provifion, as they ufed to do ; 
but they heard nothing of them for three Days together. 
They had it feemed obferved when the Captain went, 
followed him, and moft barbaroufly cut him off with 
his whole Company. 
They were now intent upon making the fame Difpatch 
of their Companions, and to this End had got one Au~ 
gramart, a defperate Savage, and Captain of the Ifland of 
St. Vincent, to head them in this Enterprize. To cover 
however, they carried it fair to them, and 
vifited them frequently ; till one Day Augramart, having 
Voi.. II, Numb. 8 G 
dined with them, would have the Englijh go with him to 
his Quarters j where he promifed to furnilE them with 
whatever Provifions they wanted. Mr. St. John, with 
feventeen others, accepted of the Invitation ; but inftead 
of carrying them to their Quarters, they led them into an 
Ambufh of five hundred Savages ; where^ being fur- 
rounded, and attacked on ever Side with Vollies of Ar- 
rows, after doing all that Men could do in their own De- 
fence, they were over-powered, and all llain but one 
John Nichols, who made his Efcape from this bloody 
Slaughter, and was forced to hide himfelf in a Wood^ 
then fwimming a Lake, and fo with great Difficulty re- 
turned home, juft time enough to give his Companions 
the Alarm ; for it was not long before they appeared be- 
fore their Houfes j yet letting fly their fmall Pieces of 
Ordnance they quickly marched off again. In two of 
three Days time they returned, to the Number of 
thirteen or fourteen hundred Men ; who, after having 
attacked their little Fort and Houfes for feven Days 
together, with little Succefs, thought of throwing in Fire 
with their Arrows, which in a fhort time reduced the 
Habitations of the Englijh, and all they had^ to a Heap' 
of Afhes. They continued, however, to defend them- 
felves in fo brave a m^anner, that the Indians, feeing they 
could not accomplifh their Defign againft this Handful of 
Men, refolved at laft to abandon the Enterprize. 
After their Departure, fome of the neighbouring Sa- 
vages were prevailed upon, for a Reward of Hatchets, 
Knives, and Beads, to furnifh them with an old pitiful 
Boat *, this they fitted up as well as they could, and 
nineteen of them, the miferable Remains of fixty-eight, 
of which twelve were wounded, ventured out to Sea in her, 
without Chart or Compafs, and having only four or five 
Gallons of Water, with a few Plantains and Potatoes, 
about twenty Bifkets, and a little Rice ; and, what was 
worfe than all the reft, not one Mariner among them. 
In this little Boat they were fo over-laden that her Gunnel 
lay almoft even with the Water : They lived at Sea ten 
Days, four of them being obliged by Turns to keep 
Looping of the Water. The tenth Day, when all Hopes 
began to fail them, they difcovered Land ; but when 
they came upon it the Land proved to be an uninhabited 
Ifland, which afforded no manner of Suftenance. In this 
miferable State they had no Remedy, but to repair their 
Boat again as well as they could, and to fend five of their 
Men to the Continent to feek Relief. After many Diffi- 
culties thefe Men came to an Indian Town on the Conti- 
nent, called Tocoyo ; from whence, after fifteen Days 
Abfence, they carried Succour to their miferable Com- 
panions. They were now reduced to thirteen, who got 
together to a Spanijh Town, called Coro, where they were 
treated with great Humanity ; tvro more of them died 5 
three of them went from thence to Carthagena, and were' 
followed thither by two more ; where they procured a 
Paffage to Spain but vv^hat became of the reft does 
not any where appear. 
One would have imagined, that fuch a, Series of Mift 
fortunes as had attended the Attempts made for eftablifh- 
ing this Settlement, would have worn out all Defire of 
running further Elazards ; but fuch was the Credit of Sir 
Walter Raleigh, fuch the fettled Opinion of the vaft 
Riches to be found in this Part of America, and fuch the 
Remains of that Spirit which prevailed through the whole 
Nation in the Time of Queen Elizabeth, that in the Year 
1609, ^ Attempt was made, at a much greater 
Expence than the former, with the Participation, at 
leaft, if not under the Influence ol Sir Walter Raleigh, 
This Voyage was performed under the Direftion and 
Command of Robert Har court of St ant on-Har court, in 
the County of Oxford, Efq; and the VelTels employed 
in it were, the Rofe, a Ship of eighty Tons ; the Pa-- 
tience, a Ship of fix-and-thirty 1 ons ; and the L.illy-> 
Shallop, of nine Tuns. They fet fail from Dartmouth 
the 29th of March, and arrived the 17th of May in the 
Bay of Wyapoco. It was not long before feveral Canoes 
of Indians came to fee what they were *, and finding they 
were Englijh, came on board them without any Fear or 
Ceremony ; Such an advantageous Idea had Sir W alter 
Raleigh by his courteous Behaviour imprinted in them 
of the Englijh Nation.^ 
S f f 
Thefe 
