on the foremost, I knocked him down with the stock
of my piece, and laid him flat on the ground.
I was very unwilling to fire lest the rest should
hear, though at a distance, I question whether they
could or no; and being out of sight of the smoke, they
could not easily have known what to make of it.
The other savage seeing his fellow fall, stopped as
if he had been amazed; when advancing towards him,
I could perceive him take his bow from his back, and,
fixing and arrow to it, was preparing to shoot at
me, and, without dispute, might have lodged the arrow
in my breast; but, in this absolutely necessary case
of self preservation, I immediately fired at him,
and shot him dead, just as his hand was going to draw
the fatal string. All this while, the savage who
had fled before stood still, and had the satisfaction
to see his enemies killed, as he thought, who designed
to take away his life; so affrighted was he with the
fire and noise of my piece, that he stood as it
were like Lot’s wife, fixed and immoveable,
without either sense or motion. This obliged
me to halloo to him again, making the plainest signs
I could to him to draw nearer. I perceived he
understood those tokens by his approaching to me a
little way, when, as is afraid I should kill him too,
he stopped again. Several times did he advance,
as often stop in this manner, till coming more, to
my view, I perceived him trembling, as if he was to
undergo the same fate. Upon which I looked upon
him with a smiling countenance, and still beckoning
to him, at length he came close to me and kneeled
down, kissed my hand, laid his head upon it, and taking
me by the foot, placed it upon his head; and this,
as I understood afterwards, was in token of swearing
to be my slave for ever. I took him up, and,
making much of him, encouraged him in the best manner
I could. But my work was not yet finished; for
I perceived the savage whom I knocked down, was not
killed, but stunned with the blow, and began to come
to himself, Upon which I pointed to my new servant,
and shewed him that his enemy was not yet expired,
he spoke some words to me, but which I could not understand;
yet being the first sound of a man’s voice I
had heard for above twenty-five years, they were very
pleasing to me. But there was no time for reflection
now, the wounded savage recovering himself so far
as to sit upon the ground, which made my poor prisoner
as much afraid as before; to put him out of which fear,
I presented my other gun at the man, with an intent
to shoot him; but my savage, for so I must now call
him, prevented my firing, by making a motion to me,
to lend him my sword, which hung naked in my belt by
my side. No sooner did I grant his request, but
away he runs to his enemy, and at one blow cut off
his head as dextrously as the most accomplished executioner
in Germany could have done; for, it seems, these creatures
make use of wooden swords made of hard wood which will
bear edge enough to cut off heads and arms at one
blow. When this valorous exploit was done, he
comes to me laughing, as a token of triumph, delivered
me my sword again, with abundance of suprising gestures,
laying it, along with the bleeding and ghastly head
of the Indian, at my feet.