Accidents > Life and most surprising adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, mariner, who lived eight and twenty years in an uninhabited island on the coast of America, near the mouth of the great river Oroonoque

iC6 ROBIN SO N CRUSOE.
them of our unhappy condition. However, they
ventured ; when one of the men taking the end of a
tow-line in his one hand, and keeping our boat be¬
tween him and our adverfaries, fwam on board us,
and made faft our line to the boat; upon this, flip¬
ping our cables, they towed us out of the reach of
their arrow?, and quickly after, a broadfide was gi-
en them from the fliip, which made a moft dread¬
ful havock among them. When we got on board,
we examined into the occafion of this fray; the men
who fled informed us, that an old woman, who fold
milk within the poles, had brought a young woman
with her, who carried roots or herbs, the fight of whom
fo much tempted our men, that they offered rude-
nefs to the maid, at which the old woman fet up
a great cry ; nor would the failors part with the
prize, but carried her among the trees, while the
old woman went and brought a whole army down
upon them. At the beginning of the attack one of
our men was killed with a lance, and the fellow, who
began the mifchief, paid dear enough for his mif-
trefs, though as yet we did know what had become
of him ; the reft luckily efcaped. The third night
after the atftion, being curious to underftand how
affairs flood, I took the fupercargo, and twenty flout
fellows with me, and landed about two hours before
midnight, at the fame place where thofe Indians
flood the night before, and there we divided our
men into two bodies, the boatfwain commanding
one, and I another. It was fo dark that we could
fee no body, neither did we hear any voice near us:
But by and by the boatfwain falling over a dead body,
we agreed to halt till the moon fhould rife, which
we knew would be in an hour after. We perceived
here no fewer than two and thirty bodies upon the
ground, whereof two were not quite dead. Satis¬
fied with this difcovery, I was for going on board
asain ; but the boatfwain and the reft told me, they
would