Perhaps Batacolo is here meant, on the east side of
Ceylon, in lat. 7 deg. 45' N.]
The 5th March, 1600, our victuals were poisoned, but God preserved us;
for one of our people tasting it by chance, or from greediness, was
infected. It was strongly poisoned before it came to us, being fresh
fish; for our surgeon took almost a spoonful of poison out of one fish.
But this is not the first time, if the grieved would complain.[45] The
10th March we fell in with the Cape of Good Hope, where we encountered a
heavy storm; and on the 26th we doubled that Cape.
[Footnote 45: This story is very unintelligible, as no circumstance is
mentioned as to where the fish were got, nor who was suspected of
introducing the poison. - E.]
We anchored at St Helena on the 13th March. This island is in lat. 16 deg.
S. [15 deg. 45'.] We here found plenty of water, with abundance of figs, and
as many fish as we chose to take. At sun-set, on the 15th, a caravel
came into the roads, and anchored a large musket-shot to windward of us.
She was totally unprepared for fighting, as none of her guns were
mounted. We fought her all night, giving her in that time, as I think,
upwards of 200 shots, though, in the course of eight hours, she did not
return a single shot, nor seemed to regard us.
