It is not said how he had got away from the negroes.
- E.]
While between Cape Verd and Bonavista on the 26th, we saw many flying
fishes of the size of herrings, two of which fell into the boat which we
towed at our stern. The 28th we fell in with Bonavista, one of the Cape
de Verd islands, which is 86 leagues from that cape. The north side of
that island is full of white sandy hills and dales, being somewhat high
land. That day we came to anchor about a league within the western
point, in ten fathoms upon fine sand, but it is quite safe to go nearer
in five or six fathoms, as the ground is every where good. The 30th we
went into a bay within a small island about a league from our first
anchorage, where we took plenty of various kinds of fish. Whoever means
to anchor in this bay may safely do so in four or five fathoms off the
south point of the small island; but must beware of the middle of the
bay, where there is a ledge of rocks on which the sea breaks at low
water, although then they are covered by three fathoms water. The last
day of January, our general went on shore in the bay to some houses,
where he found twelve Portuguese, the whole island not having more than
30 inhabitants, who were all banished men, some condemned to more years
of exile and some to less, and among them was a simple man who was their
captain. They live on goat's flesh, cocks and hens, with fresh water,
having no other food except fish, which they do not care for, neither
indeed have they any boats wherewith to catch them. They told us that
this island had been granted by the king of Portugal to one of his
gentlemen, who had let it at 100 ducats of yearly rent, which was paid
by the profit on goats skins, of which 40,000 had been sent from that
island to Portugal in one year. These men made us very welcome,
entertaining us as well as they could, giving us the carcasses of as
many he-goats as we pleased, and even aided us in taking them, bringing
them down for us from the mountains on their asses. They have great
store of oil procured from tortoises, which are _fishes_ that swim in
the sea, having shells on their backs as large as targets. It only rains
in this island for three months in every year, from the middle of July
to the middle of October; and the climate is always very hot. Cows have
been brought here, but owing to the heat and drought they always died.
We left Bonavista, or Buenavista, on the 3d February, and fell in the
same day with another island called Mayo, 14 leagues distant; there
being a danger midway between the two islands, but it is always seen and
easily avoided.
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