We Might Likewise Have Taken
Two Other Pegu Vessels, Laden With Pepper And Rice.
In this month also
we took a great Portuguese ship of six or seven hundred tons, chiefly
laden with
Victuals, but having chests of hats, pintados, and calicut
cloths.[25] We took likewise another Portuguese ship, of some hundred
tons, laden with victuals, rice, white and painted cotton cloth, (or
calicoes and chintzes,) and other commodities. These ships were bound
for Malacca, mostly laden with victuals, as that place is victualled
from Goa, San Thome, and other places in India, provisions being very
scarce in its own neighbourhood.
[Footnote 25: Painted and white calicoes or cotton cloths. - E.]
In November, 1592, we steered for the Nicobar Islands, some degrees to
the north-west of the famous island of Sumatra, at which islands we
found good refreshment, as the inhabitants, who are Mahometans, came on
board of us in their canoes, with hens, cocoas, plantains, and other
fruits; and within two days brought ryals of plate, which they gave us
for cotton cloth, which ryals they procured by diving in the sea, having
been lost not long before in two Portuguese ships bound for China, that
had been there cast away. Our ship's company was now so much wasted by
sickness, that we resolved to turn back to Ceylon, for which purpose we
weighed anchor in November, and arrived off Ceylon about the end of that
month. In this island grows excellent cinnamon; and the best diamonds in
the world are found there. Our captain proposed to have staid at this
island to make up our voyage, of which he had great hope, in consequence
of certain intelligence we had received; but our company, now reduced to
thirty-three men and boys, mutinied, and would not stay, insisting upon
going home, and our captain was very sick, and like to die.
We accordingly set sail, homeward bound, on the 8th December, 1592; but
some days before our arrival within sight of the Cape of Good Hope, we
were forced to divide our bread, to each man his portion, in his own
keeping, as certain flies had devoured most of it before we were aware.
We had now only thirty-one pounds of bread a man to carry us to England,
with a small quantity of rice daily. We doubled the Cape of Good Hope on
the 31st March, 1593, and came next month to anchor at the island of St
Helena, where we found an Englishman, a tailor, who had been there
fourteen months. Having sent ten men on shore in the boat, they found
this man in the chapel, into which he had gone to avoid the heat; and
hearing some one sing in the chapel, whom our people supposed to have
been a Portuguese, they thrust open the door, and went in upon him: but
the poor man, on seeing so many men of a sudden, and believing them to
be Portuguese, was at first in great fear, not having seen a human being
for fourteen months, and afterwards knowing them to be English, and
some of them his acquaintance, he became exceeding joyful, insomuch
that between sudden and excessive fear and joy, he became distracted in
his wits, to our great sorrow. We here found the carcasses of forty
goats, which he had dried. The party which left him had made for him two
suits of goats'-skins, with the hairy side outmost, like the dresses
worn by the savages of Canada. This man lived till we came to the West
Indies, and then died.
We remained at St Helena all the month of April, and arrived at the
island of Trinidada, in the West Indies, in June, 1593, hoping to
procure some refreshments there, but could not, as the Spaniards had
taken possession. We got here embayed between the island and the main;
and, for want of victuals, our company would have forsaken the ship, on
which our captain had to swear every man not to forsake her till the
most urgent necessity. It pleased God to deliver us from this bay,
called Boca del Dragone, from whence we directed our course for the
island of San Juan de Puerto Rico, but fell in with the small island
of Mona, between Porto Rico and Hispaniola, where we remained about
fifteen days, procuring some small refreshment. There arrived here a
ship of Caen, in Normandy, of which Monsieur Charles de la Barbotiere
was captain, who greatly comforted us by a supply of bread and other
provisions, of which we were greatly in need, after which we parted.
Having foul weather at Mona, we weighed anchor and set sail, directing
our course for Cape Tiberoon, at the west end of Hispaniola; and, in
doubling that cape, we had so violent a gust of wind from the shore,
that it carried away all our sails from the yards, leaving us only one
new fore-course, the canvass of which we had procured from the
Frenchman. Having doubled the cape in that distress, the
before-mentioned Captain de la Barbotiere gave us chase with his
pinnace; and when come near, I went on board to inform him of our
distress; and he now said, there was nothing in his ship but what he
would spare for our assistance; so we agreed with him for some canvass.
He said likewise, if we would accompany him to a harbour called
Gonnavy,[26] to the northward of Tiberoon, that he would procure us
plenty of fresh provisions. I went back to our ship, and reported this
to our captain, who made it known to the company, and it was unanimously
agreed to go there, which was done accordingly. We remained there
fifteen days along with the Frenchman, but could get very small
refreshment, as the Spaniards were in great fear of the Frenchman,
supposing him a man of war, and that our ship was Portuguese, which he
had captured, and could not be persuaded to the contrary by any thing he
could say.
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