9 § HISTORY OF THE [boor m. 
“ Some years after, a ship from Guinea, with a 
large cargo of slaves, was either wrecked or run 
on shore upon the island of St. Vincent, into the 
woods and mountains of which great numbers of 
the negroes escaped.* Here, whether willingly 
or unwillingly is a little uncertain, the Indians suf¬ 
fered them to remain, and partly by the accession 
of runaway slaves from Barbadoes, partly by the 
children they had by the Indian women, they be¬ 
came very numerous; so that about the beginning 
of the current century they constrained the Indians 
to retire into the north-west part of the island. 
These people as may be reasonably supposed, were 
much dissatisfied with this treatment; and com¬ 
plained of it occasionally both to the English and to 
the French, that came to wood and water amongst 
them. The latter at length suffered themselves to 
be prevailed upon to attack these invaders, in the 
cause of their old allies; and from a persuasion 
that they should find more difficulty in dealing 
with these negroes, in case they were suffered 
to strengthen themselves, than with the Indians. 
* I am informed by Sir William Young, who is perfectly well ac¬ 
quainted with these people, that they were originally a race of Mocoes, 
a tube or nation from the Bight of Benin. They were wrecked on 
the coast of Bequin, a small island about two leagues from St. Vin¬ 
cent, in the year 1675, and were afterwards joined by great numbers 
of fugitive negroes- from the other islands. The Red Cbaraibes first 
kept them in slavery; but finding their numbers increase, came to a 
resolution to put to death all their maie children; upon which the 
blacks rose on their masters, who by degrees have almost all perished 
in the contest. 
