Thomas Wentworth Higginson, A book of American explorers

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[227] unto them, and in them some sixteen savages, and brought with them some tobacco, and certain small skins, which were of no value; which Captain Gilbert perceiving, and that they had nothing else wherewith to trade, he caused all his men to come aboard. And, as he would have put from the shore, the savages perceiving so much, subtly devised how they might put out the fire in the shallop, by which means they saw they should be free from the danger of our men's pieces;¹ and, to perform the same, one of the savages came into the shallop, and taking the firebrand which one of our company held in his hand thereby to light the matches, as if he would light a pipe of tobacco, as soon as he had gotten it into his hand he presently threw it into the water, and leaped out of the shallop. Captain Gilbert, seeing that, suddenly commanded his men to betake them to their muskets, and the targetiers too, from the head of the boat; and had one of the men before, with his target on his arm, to step on the shore for more fire. The savages resisted him, and would not suffer him to take any, and some others holding fast the boat-rope, that the shallop could not put off. Captain Gilbert caused the musketeers to present their pieces, the which the savages seeing, presently let go the boat-rope, and betook them to their bows and arrows, and ran into the bushes, nocking² their arrows, but did not shoot, neither did ours at them. So the shallop departed from them to the farther side of the river, where one of the canoes came unto them, and would have excused the fault of the others. Captain