In May Following We Arrived At Gran
Canaria, One Of The Fortunate Islands; And Towards The End Of That
Month, Being Within Three Degrees Of The Equator On The North Side, We
Took A Portuguese Ship, Bound For Brasil, Which Tended Much To Our
Refreshment.
The 29th July we came to Saldanha Bay.
(Aguada Saldania,)
a good harbour, near the Cape of Good Hope, where we staid about a
month, and whence we sent home the Merchant Royal for England, because
of great sickness among our people, with a considerable number of our
weak men. We here bought an ox for a knife worth three-pence, a sheep
for a broken knife, or any other odd trifle, from the natives, who are
negroes, clad in cloaks of raw-hides, both men and women.
[Footnote 23: Hakluyt, III. 52.]
[Footnote 24: In the account of this voyage, penned from the relation of
Edmund Barker, forming the immediately preceding section, the captain of
the Merchant Royal is named Abraham Kendal. - E.]
The 8th of September the Penelope and Edward Bonadventure weighed
anchor, and that day we doubled the cape. The 12th following we were
assailed by a fierce tempest, or hurricane; and in the evening we saw a
great sea break over our admiral, the Penelope, which struck out their
light, and we never saw them any more. In October we in the Edward fell
in with the westernmost part of the island of St Lawrence about
midnight, not knowing where we were. Next day we came to anchor at
Quitangone, a place on the main-land of Africa, two or three leagues
north of Mozambique, which is supplied from hence with fresh water. We
here took a pangaia, in which was a Portuguese boy, being a vessel
like a barge, with one mat-sail of cocoa-nut leaves. The hull of this
barge is pinned with wooden pins, and sewed with cord made of the bark
of trees. In this pangaia we found a kind of corn called millio, or
millet, a considerable number of hens, and some bales of blue calicut
cloth. We took the Portuguese boy with us, and dismissed the rest. From
this place we went to an island called Comoro, off the coast of Melinda,
in about 11 deg. S., where we staid all November, finding the people black
and comely, but very treacherous; for the day before we left that island
they killed thirty of our men on shore, among whom was William Mace our
master, and two of his mates, one of them being in the boat along with
him to fetch water, and the other on shore, over against the ship. They
first took possession of our boat, and then slaughtered our men. From
thence we went to the island of Zanzibar, on the coast of Melinda, where
we staid to winter, till the beginning of February, 1592.
The 2d February, 1592, we weighed anchor, and set sail for the East
Indies; but, having calms and contrary winds, we were not able to fetch
the coast of India, near Calicut, till the month of June, by which long
delay many of our men died for want of refreshments.
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