By means of this the crew were saved.

But it would have been well for these bold navigators of Portugal if they had perished in the stormy sea, for they were spared by the ocean only to be murdered by the wild savages on whose shore they had been cast.
"All were slain save one,--Diego Alvarez Carreo, the captain of the ship.
Before grasping the rope by which he reached the shore, he thrust several cartridges into his bosom and caught up a loaded musket.

Wrapping the lock in several folds of cloth to keep it dry, he slid along the rope and gained the beach in safety.

Here he was seized by the natives, and would no doubt have been barbarously slain with his unfortunate companions; but, being a very powerful man, he dashed aside the foremost, and, breaking through their ranks, rushed towards the wood.

The fleet savages, however, overtook him in an instant, and were about to seize him when a young Indian woman interposed between them and their victim.