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with thirst? Whether any of the Codrington family would partake of one of those precious pintados, that had coft his countryman or his fellow-creature his life? Whether the man who fhould be convicted of having suffered a fick perfon to die at his door, would be fufficiently punished by the general execration? And whether he would not deserve to be dragged before the tribunals of justice as an affaffin?

Anguilla is feven or eight leagues in length, and is very unequal in its breadth, which never exceeds two leagues. Neither mountains, nor woods, nor rivers, are found upon it, and its foil is nothing more than chalk.

Some wandering Englishmen fettled upon this porous and friable rock towards the year 1650. After an obftinate labour, they at length fucceeded in obtaining from this kind of turf a little cotton, a small quantity of millet feed, and fome potatoes. Six veins of vegetating earth, which were in process of time difcovered, received fugar-canes, which, in the beft harveft, yield no more than fifty thoufand weight of fugar, and fometimes only five or fix thousand. Whatever else comes out of the colony hath been introduced into it clandeftinely from Santa Cruz, where the inhabitants of Anguilla have formed several plantations.

In feasons of drought, which are but too frequent, the island hath no other resource but in a lake, the falt of which is fold to the people of New-England; and in the fale of fheep and goats, which thrive better in this dry climate, and upon thefe arid plains, than in the reft of America,

Anguilla reckons no more than two hundred free inhabitants, and five hundred flaves: nevertheless it hath an affembly of its own, and even a chief, who is always chofen by the inhabitants, and confirmed by the governor of Antigua. A foreigner, who fhould be fent to govern this feeble fettlement, would infallibly be driven away, by men who have preferved fomething of the independent manners, and of the rather favage character of their ancestors.

The coaft of this ifland affords but two harbours, and even in thefe very fmall veffels only can anchor: they are both defended by four pieces of cannon, which, for half a century past, have been entirely unfit for førvice,

BERMUDAS, OR SOMMER's

ISLANDS.

THIS clufter of inlands lies almoft in the form of a fhepherd's

crook, in west longitude 65°, north latitude 32° 30', between two and three hundred leagues diftant from the nearest place of the continent of America, or of any of the other Weft-India islands. The whole number of the Bermudas islands is faid to be about four hundred, but very few of them are habitable, The principal is St. George's, which is not above fixteen miles long, and three at moft in breadth, It is univerfally agreed, that the nature of this and the other Bermudas islands has undergone a furprising alteration for the worfe, fince they were first disco. vered; the air being much more inclement, and the foil much more barren than formerly: this is afcribed to the cutting down thofe fine spreading cedar trees for which the iflands were famous, and which fheltered them from the blafts of the north wind, at the fame time that it protected the under-growth of the delicate plants and herbs. In fhort, the Sommer iflands are now far from being defirable spots; and their natural productions are but just fufficient for the support of the inhabitants, who chiefly, for that reafon perhaps, are temperate and lively even to a proverb. At first tobacco was raised upon these islands, but being of a worfe quality than that growing on the continent, the trade is now almolt at an end. Large quantities of ambergris were alfo originally found upon the coafts, and afforded a valuable commerce; but that trade is also reduced, as likewife their whale trade, though the perquifites upon the latter form part of the governor's revenue, he having ten pounds for every whale that is caught. The Bermudas iflinds, however, might fill produce fome valuable commodities, were they properly cultivated. There is here found, about three or four feet below the furface, a white chalk ftone which is easily chifelled, and is exported for building gentlemen's houses in the Weft-Indies. Their paline.to leaves, if properly manufac

tured, might turn to excellent account in making women's hats; and their oranges are ftill valuable. Their foil is alfo said to be excellent for the cultivation of vines, and it has been thought that filk and cochineal might be produced; but none of these things have yet been attempted. The chief refource of the inhabitants for subfiftence is in the remains of their cedar-wood, of which they fabricate fmall floops, with the affistance of the New-England pine, and fell many of them to the American colonies, where they are much admired. Their turtle-catching trade is alfo of fervice; and they are ftill able to rear great variety of tame-fowl, and have wild ones abounding in vast plenty. All the attempts to eftablish a regular whale fishery on these islands have hitherto proved unsuccessful; they have no cattle, and even the black hog breed, which was probably left by the Spaniards, is greatly decreased. The water on the ilands, except that which falls from the clouds, is brackish; and at present the fame diseases reign there as in the Caribbee iflands. They have feldom any fnow, or even much rain: but when it does fall, it is generally with great violence, and the north or north-caft wind renders the air very cold. The ftorms generally come with the new moon; and if there is a halo or circle about it, it is a fure fign of a tempeft, which is generally attended with dreadful thunder and lightning. The inhabited parts of the Bermudas islands are divided into nine districts, called tribes. 1. St. George. 2. Hamilton. 3. Ireland. 4. Devonshire, 5. Pembroke. 6. Pagets. 7. Warwick. 8. Southampton. 9. Sandys. There are but two places on the large ifland where a fhip can fafely come near the shore, and these are so well covered with high rocks, that few will chufe to enter in without a pilot: and they are fo well defended by forts, that they have no occafion to dread an enemy. St. George's town is at the bottom of the principal haven, and is defended by nine forts, on which are mounted feventy pieces of cannon that command the entrance. The town has a handfome church, a fine library, and a noble town-house, where the governor, council, &c. affemble. The tribes of Southampton and Devonshire have cach a parish church and library, and the former has a harbour of the fame name; there are also scattered houfes and hamlets over many of the islands, where particular plantations require them. The inhabitants are clothed chiefly with British manufactures, and all their implements for tilling the ground and building are made in Britain.

It is uncertain who were the firft difcoverers of the Bermu. das islands. John Bermudas, a Spaniard, is commonly faid to have discovered them in 1527; but this is difputed, and the difcovery attributed to Henry May, an Englishman. As the islands were without the reach of the Indian navigation, the Bermudas were abfolutely uninhabited when first discovered by the Europeans. May above-mentioned was fhipwrecked upon St. George's, and with the cedar which they felled there, affifted by the wreck of their own fhip, he and his companions built another which carried them to Europe, where they pub lifhed their accounts of the islands. When Lord Delawar was governor of Virginia, Sir Thomas Gates, Sir George Sommers, and Captain Newport, were appointed to be his deputy-governors; but their fhip being feparated by a form from the rest of the fquadron, was in the year 1609 wrecked on the Bermudas, and the governors difagreeing among themfelves, built each of them a new ship of the cedar they found there, in which they feverally failed to Virginia. On their arrival there, the colony was in such distress, that Lord Delawar, upon the report which his deputy-governors made him of the plenty they found at the Bermudas, difpatched Sir George Sommers to bring provifions from thence to Virginia, in the fame fhip which brought him from Bermudas, and which had not an ounce of iron about it except one bolt in the keel. Sir George, after a tedious voyage, at laft reached the place of his deftination, where, foon after his arrival, he died, leaving his name to the islands, and his orders to the crew to return with black hogs to the colony of Virginia. This part of his will, however, the failors did not chuse to execute, but fetting fail in their cedar fhip for England, landed fafely at Whitchurch in Dorfetfhire.

Notwithstanding this dereliction of the ifland, however, it was not without English inhabitants. Two failors, Carter and Waters, being apprehenfive of punishment for their crimes, had fecreted themfelves from their fellows when Sir George was wrecked upon the ifland, and had ever fince lived upon the natural productions of the foil. Upon the fecond arrival of Sir George, they enticed one Chard to remain with them; but differing about the fovereignty of the island, Chard and Waters were on the point of cutting one another's throats, when they were prevented by the prudence of Carter. Soon after, they had the good fortune to find a great piece of ambergris weighing about eighty pounds, befides other pieces, which in thofe days were fufficient, if properly difpofed of, to have

made each of them mafter of a large estate. Where they were, this ambergris was ufelefs, and therefore they came to the defperate refolution of carrying themfelves and it in an open boat to Virginia or to Newfoundland, where they hoped to difpofe of their treasure to advantage. In the mean time, however, the Virginia company claimed the property of the Bermudas islands, and accordingly fold it to one hundred and twenty perfons of their own fociety, who obtained a charter from King James for poffeffing it. This new Bermudas company, as it was called, fitted out a fhip with fixty planters on board to settle on the Bermudas, under the command of one Mr. Richard Moor, by profeffion a carpenter. The new colony arrived upon the island juft at the time the three failors were about to depart with their ambergris; which Moor having discovered, he immediately feized and difposed of it for the benefit of the company. So valuable a booty gave vaft spirit to the new company; and the adventurers fettled themfelves upon St. George's ifland, where they raised cabins. As to Mr. Moor, he was indefatigable in his duty, and carried on the fortifying and planting the island with incredible diligence; for we are told, that he not only built eight or nine forts, or rather blockhouses, but inured the fettlers to martial difcipline. Before the first year of his government was expired, Mr. Moor received a supply of provisions and planters from England, and he planned out the town of St. George as it now ftands. The fame of this fettlement foon awakened the jealousy of the Spaniards, who appeared off St. George's with fome veffels; but being fired upon by the forts, they fheered off though the English at that time were fo ill provided for a defence, that they had fcarce a fingle barrel of gunpowder on the island. During Moor's government, the Bermudas were plagued with rats, which had been imported into them by the English fhips. These vermin multiplied fo faft in St. George's ifland, that they even covered the ground, and had nefts in the trees. They destroyed all the fruits and corn within doors; nay, they increased to fuch a degree, that St. George's ifland was at laft unable to maintain them, and they fwam over to the neighbouring ifslands, where they made as great havoc. This calamity lafted five years, though probably not in the fame degree, and at last it ceased all of a fudden.

On the expiration of Moor's government, he was fucceeded by Captain Daniel Tucker, who improved all his predeceffor's fchemes for the benefit of the island, and particularly encou

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