Leaving That Place
With A Fair Gale On The 31st, We Arrived At The Salvages, 500 Leagues
From Thence, On The 10th Of April, And Came Next Morning In Sight Of The
Grand Canary.
Casting anchor there at midnight, we fired a gun for a
boat to come off:
But the Spaniards, fearing we were part of a squadron
of twelve Hollanders, expected in these seas, instead of sending any
one on board, sent into the country for a body of 150 horse and foot to
defend the town; neither were their fears abated till two of our factors
went ashore, and acquainted them that we were two English ships in want
of some necessaries. Next morning we fired another gun, when the
governor sent off a boat to know what we wanted. Having acquainted him,
he made answer, that it was not in his power to relieve our wants,
unless we came into the roads. Yet, having examined our factors upon
oath, they had a warrant for a boat at their pleasure, to go between the
shore and the ships with whatever was wanted. What we most wondered at,
was the behaviour of two ships then in the roads, known by their colours
to be English, the people of which had not the kindness to apprize us of
the customs of the subtile currish Spaniards. It is the custom here,
when any foreign ship comes into the roads, that no person of the same
nation even, or any other, must go on board without leave from the
governor and council.
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