We Were In Muster Giants, With Great Armed Bodies; But
In Action Babes With Wrens' Hearts.
Mr Tomkins and I undertook to order
these fellows, according to that excellent way which we had seen in your
lordship's most honourable actions.
Some consented to go with us, though
unwillingly; but most of them ran to the pottage pot, swearing it was
dinner time. We went all on board this night, except our great mastiff
dog, which we could not induce to follow us, for I think he was ashamed
of our cowardly behaviour. The land here is of an excellent soil, and
the climate is quite healthy; the soil being full of good herbs, as
mints, calamint, plantain, ribwort, trefoil, scabious, and such like. We
set sail from Saldanha bay on the 27th of December, and doubled the Cape
of Good Hope on the last day of the year.
The 6th of January, 1599, we doubled Cape Aguillas, the most southern
point of Africa, in lat. 35 deg. S. [34 deg. 45'] where the compass has no
variation.[35] The 6th of February we fell in with Madagascar, short of
St Romano, [or Cape St Mary, at its southern end;] and not being able to
double it, we bore room with [bore away to leeward for] the bay of St
Augustine on the south-west side of that island, in lat. 23 deg. 50' S. [23 deg.
30'.] The 3d of March we anchored in that bay, where we saw many people
on the shore, but they all fled when we landed; for when, our baas was
in this bay on the former voyage, he greatly abused the people, and
having taken one of them, he had him tied to a post and shot to death,
having besides used them otherwise most shamefully.
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