At Their Return,
These Men Were Accompanied By More Than Twenty Natives, Who Brought Hens,
Gourds, And Cows Milk For Sale, And Who Said, If The General Would Send
Some Of His Men On Shore, He Might Have Abundance Of Dried Cinnamon, Hogs,
And Poultry:
But he dreaded treachery, and would not allow any of his
people to go on shore.
Next forenoon, when some of our men went to a part
of the shore at some distance from the ships to cut wood, they suddenly
came in sight of two boats lying close to the land, and returned with
intelligence of what they had seen; but the general would not send to
inquire what these might be until after dinner. In the mean time, one of
the men in the top gave notice that he saw eight large ships out at sea,
which were then becalmed. The general gave immediate orders to have every
thing in readiness in case of an attack, and as the wind served both
fleets, they soon came within two leagues of each other. The enemies
perceiving our fleet approaching, fled towards the shore; but one of
their rudders breaking, the men belonging to that ship escaped in their
boats, and Coello immediately took possession, expecting to find it laden
with rich commodities. Nothing was found however, except cocoa-nuts and a
kind of sugar called _melasus_, which is prepared from palms or date
trees. He also found on board many bows and arrows, swords, spears, and
targets.
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