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. Thus staying long, and procuring very little refreshment, our
people begun to grow mutinous, pretending that the captain and I went on
board the Frenchman to make good chear ourselves, taking no care of
them; but I protest before God that our sole care was to procure
victuals that we might leave him.
[Footnote 26: Hakluyt, on the margin, gives Guanaba as a synonime: it
was probably Gonaives' Bay, in the northern part of the west end of
Hispaniola. - E.]
In the mean time a great part of our people entered into a conspiracy to
seize the Frenchman's pinnace, and with her to board the French ship;
but while this was concerting among them, one of themselves went on
board the Frenchman, and revealed the plot. Upon this Monsieur de la
Barbotiere sent for the captain and me to dine with him. We went
accordingly, and remained all the afternoon, being invited likewise to
supper. While we were at supper the French captain did not come to us
for a long time, and when he at length came into the cabin, he told us
we must either leave him, or he must go seek another port. Informing
Captain Lancaster of this, he desired me to say, that rather as be any
hindrance to him we would depart. While we were thus talking together,
the Frenchman weighed and set sail, which we perceived, and asked what
he meant. He said he proposed to keep us as his sureties, because our
men had plotted to seize his ship, as before mentioned.
When the French ship came athwart ours, it blowing then a stiff breeze,
their boat, which was astern, and had in her two Moors and two Peguers,
whom we had given to them, broke away. The French captain was now worse
than before, and threatened sore to make us pay for his voyage. Seeing
us pass, the Edward weighed and set sail, meaning to go for England; and
the people shared among them all the captain's victuals and mine, when
they saw us kept as prisoners.
Next morning the French ship went in search of her pinnace, which was at
Laguna, and on firing a gun she came off, having three of our people
on board, Edmund Barker our lieutenant, one John West, and Richard
Lackland, one of our mutineers. Of this I told the French captain, which
Lackland could not deny but that such a scheme was intended. I was then
put into the French pinnace to seek their boat, while they went to see
if they could overtake our ship.
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