Where By Them It Was Agreed We Should
Furnish Ourselves With Fresh Water, To Be Taken By Our Own People
Quietly On The Land, And Have All Other Such Necessaries, Paying For
The Same, As The Place Would Afford.
When all our business was ended we departed, and took our way by the
Islands of Canaria, which are
Esteemed some 300 leagues from this part
of Spain; and falling purposely with Palma, with intention to have
taken our pleasure of that place, for the full digesting of many
things into order, and the better furnishing our store with such
several good things as it affordeth very abundantly, we were forced by
the vile sea-gate, which at that present fell out, and by the
naughtiness of the landing-place, being but one, and that under the
favour of many platforms well furnished with great ordnance, to depart
with the receipt of many of their cannon-shot, some into our ships and
some besides, some of them being in very deed full cannon high. But
the only or chief mischief was the dangerous sea-surge, which at shore
all alongst plainly threatened the overthrow of as many pinnaces and
boats as for that time should have attempted any landing at all.
Now seeing the expectation of this attempt frustrated by the causes
aforesaid, we thought it meeter to fall with the Isle Ferro, to see if
we could find any better fortune; and coming to the island we landed a
thousand men in a valley under a high mountain, where we stayed some
two or three hours. In which time the inhabitants, accompanied with a
young fellow born in England, who dwelt there with them, came unto us,
shewing their state to be so poor that they were all ready to starve,
which was not untrue; and therefore without anything gotten, we were
all commanded presently to embark, so as that night we put off to sea
south-south-east along towards the coast of Barbary.
Upon Saturday in the morning, being the 13th of November, we fell with
Cape Blank, which is a low land and shallow water, where we catched
store of fish; and doubling the cape, we put into the bay, where we
found certain French ships of war, whom we entertained with great
courtesy, and there left them. This afternoon the whole fleet
assembled, which was a little scattered about their fishing, and put
from thence to the Isles of Cape Verde, sailing till the 16th of the
same month in the morning; on which day we descried the Island of
Santiago. And in the evening we anchored the fleet between the town
called the Playa or Praya and Santiago; where we put on shore 1000 men
or more, under the leading of Master Christopher Carlile, Lieutenant-
General, who directed the service most like a wise commander. The
place where we had first to march did afford no good order, for the
ground was mountainous and full of dales, being a very stony and
troublesome passage; but such was his industrious disposition, as he
would never leave, until we had gotten up to a fair plain, where we
made stand for the assembling of the army.
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