Cape Cors or Korea is now corruptly called Cape coast, at which there is
an English fort or castle of the same name, in lat. 5 deg. 10' N. long. 1 deg.
16' W. - E.]
[Footnote 250: Called afterwards the town of John De Viso. - E.]
We went on the 10th to the shore, when a canoe came off with a
considerable quantity of gold; and after long haggling we at length
reduced their measure to a nail less than three ells, and brought up
their weight to an angel and twenty grains, after which, in about a
quarter of an hour, I sold cloth for a pound and a quarter of an ounce
of gold. They then made signs for me to tarry till they had parted their
cloth among them on shore, after their custom, and away they went and
spread all their cloth on the sand. At this time a man came running from
the town and spoke with them, and immediately they all hastened away
into the woods to hide their cloth and gold. We suspected some
treachery, and though invited by signs to land we would not, but
returned on board the Hind, whence we could see 30 men on the hill, whom
we judged to be Portuguese, who went up to the top of the hill, where
they drew up with a flag. Being desirous to know what the people of the
Hart were about, I went to her in the Hind's boat, and on nearing her
was surprised on seeing her shoot off two pieces of ordnance. I then
made as much haste as possible, and met her boat and skiff coming with
all speed from the shore. We all met on board the Hart, when they told
me that they had been on shore all day, where they had given 3-1/2 yards
of cloth to each of Don Johns two sons, and three basins between them,
and had delivered 3 yards more cloth at the agreed weight of an angel
and 12 grains. That while remaining on shore for an answer, some
Portuguese had come running down the hill upon them, of which the
negroes had given them warning shortly before, but they understood them
not. The sons of Don John had conspired with the Portuguese against
them, so that they were almost taken by surprise; yet they recovered
their boat and pushed off from the shore, on which the Portuguese
discharged their calivers or muskets at them, but hurt none of them; in
revenge for which hostility, the people in the ship had fired off the
two guns formerly mentioned. We now laid _bases[251]_ into both the
boats and the skiff, manning and arming them all, and went again towards
the shore; but being unable to land on account of the wind, we lay off
at the distance of about 200 yards, whence we fired against the
Portuguese, but could not injure them as they were sheltered by the
hill. They fired upon us in return from the hills and rocks, the negroes
standing by to help them, more from fear than love. Seeing the negroes
in such subjection that they durst not deal with us, we returned on
board; and as the wind kept at east all night, we were unable to fetch
the Hind, but I took the boat and went on board in the night, to see if
any thing could be done there; and as in the morning we could perceive
that the town was overawed by the Portuguese like the other, we weighed
anchor and went along the coast to the eastwards.
[Footnote 251: Formerly conjectured to be musquetoons, or
wall-pieces. - E.]
This town of John de Viso stands on a hill like that of Don John, but
had been recently burnt, so that there did not remain above six houses
standing. Most of the gold on this part of the coast comes from the
interior country, and doubtless, if the people durst bring their gold,
which they are prevented from doing by the Portuguese, we might have got
abundance; but they are under such subjection to the Portuguese, that
they dare not trade with others.
While coasting along on the 11th, we saw a small town about 4 leagues to
the east of that we last came from. About half a league farther was
another town upon a hill, and half a league beyond that another large
town on the coast, to which we went to try what could be done in the way
of trade, meaning, if unsuccessful, to return to the towns we had left
behind, in hopes that the Portuguese would leave them on our departure.
All the way from the castle of Mina to this place, there were very high
hills to be seen rising above other hills, all covered with wood, and
the coast was lined with great red cliffs close to the sea. The boats of
this coast are larger than those we had seen hitherto, as one of them
could carry 12 men, but they were still of the same form with all the
boats along the coast. About these towns there seemed few rivers, and
their language seemed the same with that at Don Johns town, every person
being able to speak a few words of Portuguese, which they constantly
used to us. About five o'clock P.M. we saw 22 of the native boats or
canoes going along shore to the westwards, on which we suspected some
treachery; wherefore on the 12th we made sail farther along the coast
eastwards, and descried more towns, in which there were some larger
houses than any we had hitherto seen, and from these the people came out
to look at us, but we could see no boats on the shore. Two miles beyond
the eastermost town there are black rocks, which continue to the
uttermost cape or point of the land for the space of a league, after
which the land runs E.N.E. Some negroes came down to these black rocks,
whence they waved a white flag for us to land; but as we were near the
principal town, we continued our course along shore, and when we had
opened the point of land we perceived another head-land about a league
farther on, having a rock lying off to sea, which was thought to be the
place of which were in search.
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