From What I Could Pick Out, This Young Fellow Had Been In The
Castle Of Mina Among The Portuguese, And Had Got Away From Them, For He
Told Us That The Portuguese Were Bad Men, Who Made The Negroes Slaves
When They Could Take Them, And Put Irons On Their Legs.
He said also
that the Portuguese used to hang all the French or English they could
lay hold of.
According to his account, the garrison in the castle
consisted of 60 men, and that there came thither every year two ships,
one large and the other a small caravel. He told me farther that Don
John was at war with the Portuguese, which encouraged me to go to his
town, which is only four leagues from the castle, and from which our men
had been driven in the preceding year. This fellow came fearlessly on
board, and immediately demanded why we had not brought back the men we
took away the year before, for he knew that the English had taken away
five negroes. We answered that they were in England, where they were
well received, and remained there till they could speak the language,
after which they were to be brought back to serve as interpreters
between the English and the natives; with which answer he seemed quite
satisfied, as he spoke no more of that matter.
[Footnote 246: This is surely an error, as the troy or bullion pound
contains only 12 ounces. We ought therefore to read 3 pounds 9
ounces - E.]
Our boats being come on board, we weighed and set sail, and soon
afterwards noticed a great fire on the shore, by the light of which we
could discern a large white object, which was supposed to be the
Portuguese castle of St George del Mina; and as it is very difficult to
ply up to windward on this coast, in case of passing any place, we came
to anchor for the night two leagues from the shore, lest we might
overshoot the town of Don John in the night. This town lies in a great
bay which is very deep[247], and there the people were chiefly desirous
to procure basins and cloth, though they bought a few other trifles, as
knives, horse-tails, and horns; and some of our people who were on shore
sold a cap, a dagger, a hat, and other such articles. They shewed us a
coarse kind of cloth, which I believe was of French manufacture: The
wool was very coarse, and the stuff was striped with various colours, as
green, white, yellow, &c. Several of the negroes at this place wore
necklaces of large glass beads of various colours. At this place I
picked up a few words of their language, of which the following is a
short specimen:
Mattea! Mattea! Is their salutation.
Dassee! Dassee! I thank you.
Sheke, Gold.
Cowrte, Cut.
Cracca, Knives.
Bassina, Basins.
Foco, foco, Cloth.
Molta, Much, or great plenty[248]
[Footnote 247: This abrupt account of a town, &c. seems to refer back to
that of St John, which they had just left. - E.]
[Footnote 248: This language seems partly corrupted. - _Hakluyt_.
Two of the words in this short specimen have been evidently adopted from
the Portuguese, _bassina_ and _molta_. - E.]
In the morning of the 8th, we had sight of the Portuguese castle of
Mina, but the morning being misty we could not see it distinctly till we
were almost at Don Johns town, when the weather cleared up and we had a
full view of the fort, beside which we noticed a white house on a hill,
which seemed to be a chapel. We stood in towards the shore, within two
English miles of Don Johns town, where we anchored in seven fathoms. We
here found, as in many places before, that the current followed the
course of the wind. At this place the land by the sea is in some places
low, and in others high, everywhere covered with wood. This town of Don
John[249] is but small, having only about twenty huts of the negroes,
and is mostly surrounded by a fence about the height of a man, made of
reeds or sedge, or some such material. After being at anchor two or
three hours, without any person coming off to us, we manned our boats
and put some merchandize into them, and then went with our boats very
near the shore, where we anchored. They then sent off a man to us, who
told us by signs that this was the town belonging to Don John, who was
then in the interior, but would be home at sunset. He then demanded a
reward, as most of these people do on first coming aboard, and on giving
him an ell of cloth he went away, and we saw no more of him that night.
In the morning of the 9th we went again near the shore with our boats,
when a canoe came off to us, from the people in which we were informed
by signs that Don John was not yet come home, but was expected that day.
There came also a man in a canoe from another town a mile from this,
called Don Devis[250], who shewed us gold, and made signs for us to go
there. I then left John Saville and John Makeworth at the town of Don
John, and went in the Hind to the other town, where we anchored, after
which I went in the boat close to the shore near the town. Boats or
canoes soon came off to us, shewing a measure of 4-1/2 yards, and a
weight of an angel and 12 grains, as their rule of traffic, so that I
could make no bargain. All this day our people lay off Don Johns town
and did nothing, being told that he was still absent.
[Footnote 249: Or Don _Juan_. This place stands at Cape Korea or
Cors.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 116 of 226
Words from 117773 to 118776
of 230997