For This Reason I Sent Off The
Master With The Hind, Accompanied By John Saville And John Makeworth, To
Seek The Other Place, While I And Richard Pakeman Remained Here To Try
Our Fortunes Next Day.
When the negroes perceived the Hind going away
they feared the other ship would follow, wherefore they sent off
Four
men in two canoes, asking us to remain, and offering two men to remain
with us, if we would give one as a pledge or hostage for his safety.
Accordingly, one Edward, who was servant to Mr Morley, seeing them so
much in earnest, offered himself as a pledge, and we let him go for two
of them who staid with us, one of whom had his weights and scales, with
a chain of gold about his neck and another round his arm. These men eat
readily of such things as we had to give them, and seemed quite
contented. During the night, the negroes kept a light on shore over
against us; and about one o'clock, A.M. we saw the flash of a _base_,
which was twice shot off at the light, and then two _calivers_ were
discharged, which in the end we perceived came from a Portuguese
brigantine that followed us from place to place, to warn the natives to
have no dealings with us.
[Footnote 253: In the margin, Hakluyt sets down the voyage of Robert
Gainsh to Guinea as in 1554; yet does not mention where that voyage is
to be found, or that it is the same voyage published in his second
edition, under the name of Lok, instead of Gainsh to whom it was
ascribed in his first edition. All the light we have into the matter
from the second edition, is from a marginal note at the beginning of
Loks voyage, in which Robert Gainsh is said to have been master of the
John Evangelist; neither is there any mention of this villainous
transaction in the relation of that voyage. Such crimes deserve severe
punishment; since a whole community may suffer for the fault of one bad
man. - Astl. I. 160, a.]
In the morning of the 15th, the negro chief came down to the coast
attended by 100 men, bringing his wife along with him, and many others
brought their wives also, as they meant to remain by the sea side till
they had bought what they wanted, and their town was eight miles up the
country. Immediately on his arrival, the chief sent our man on board,
and offered to come himself if we would give two of our men in pledge
for him. I accordingly sent him two, but he only retained one, and came
on board accompanied by his wife and several friends, bringing me a goat
and two great roots, for which I gave him in return a latten basin, a
white basin, six _manillios_ and a bottle of _Malmsey_, and to his wife
a small casket. After this we began to adjust our measure and weight.
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