By Shooting A Piece From Our Forecastle, We Set Fire To A
Mat At The Beak Head Of The Enemy,
Which kindled more and more,
communicating from the mat to the boltsprit, and thence to the
top-sail-yard; by
Which fire the Portuguese abaft were much alarmed, and
began to make show of a parley: But their officers encouraged them,
alleging that the fire could be easily extinguished, on which they again
stood stiffly to their defence; yet at length the fire grew so strong,
that I plainly saw it was beyond all help, even if she had yielded to
us. We then wished to have disentangled ourselves from the burning
carak, but had little hope of success; yet we plied water with great
diligence to keep our ship safe. At this time I had little hope but our
ship, myself, and several of our wounded men must have been all
destroyed along with the carak. Most of our people indeed might have
saved themselves in boats on board our consorts. When we were at the
worst, by Gods providence our spritsail-yard with the sail and ropes,
which were fast entangled with the spritsail-yard of the carak, were so
burned that we fell away, with the loss of some of our sails. The
Exchange also, being farther aft and more distant from the fire, was
more easily cleared, and fell off abaft.
As soon as God had put us out of danger, the fire caught hold of the
forecastle of the carak, where I think there was great store of benzoin,
or some such combustible matter, for it flamed and flowed over the
carak, which was almost in an instant all over in flames. The Portuguese
now leapt over-board in great numbers, and I sent captain Grant with
the boat, bidding him use his discretion in saving them. He brought me
on board two gentlemen. One of them was an old man named Nuno Velio
Pereira, who had been governor of Mozambique and Sofala in the year
1582, and had since been governor of a place of importance in the East
Indies. The ship in which he was coming home was cast away a little to
the east of the Cape of Good Hope, whence he travelled by land to
Mozambique, and got a passage in this carak. The other was named Bras
Carrero, who was captain of a carak that was cast away at Mozambique,
and came likewise as a passenger in this ship. Also three men of the
inferior sort; but only these two gentlemen we clothed and brought home
to England. The rest, and others which were saved by our other boats,
were all set on shore on the island of Flores, except two or three
negroes, one of whom was a native of Mozambique, and the other of the
East Indies.
This fight took place in the open sea, 6 leagues to the southward of the
sound or channel between Fayal and Pico.
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