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And when I came beyond the point I found it so, and withall a goodly bay, and we saw vpon the maine certaine Negros which waued vs on shore, and then we came to an ancre with the pinnesse, and went a shore with our cocke, and they shewed vs where their trade was, and that they had Elephants teeth, muske, and hides, and offered vs to fetch downe their Captaine, if we would send a man with them, and they would leaue a pledge for him: then we asked him when any ship had bene there; and some of them sayd not in eight moneths, others, in sixe moneths, and others in foure and that they were Frenchmen.
Two mile beyond the Eastermost towne are blacke rocks, which blacke rockes continue to the vttermost cape of the land, which is about a league off, and then the land runnes in Eastnortheast, and a sandy shoare againe: vpon these blacke rockes came downe certaine Negroes, which waued vs with a white flagge, but we perceiuing the principall place to be neere, would not stay, but bare still along the shoare: and as soone as we had opened the point of the land, we raysed another headland about a league off the point, which had a rocke lying off it into the sea, and that they thought to be the place which we sought.
And as it appeared by their owne speeches, they made full account to haue taken vs: it being a question among them, whether it were best to cary vs to S. Lucar, or to Lisbon. We waued ech other a maine. They hauing placed themselues in warlike order one a cables length before another, we began the fight.
The 21 we tooke 8 li. 7. ounces and a quarter. The 22. 3. li. 8. ounces and a quarter. And this night about 4 of the clocke the Captaine who had layen all this while vpon the shoare, went away with all the rest of the people with him. The 23 day we were waued a shoare by other Negroes, and sold them cloth, caskets, kniues, and a dosen of bels, and tooke 1 li. 10 ounces of gold.
And a litle after we had sight of three sayles of shippes and two pinnesses which were in the weather of vs, and hauing sight of them we made our selues readie to meete them, and halled off our ships to fetch the winde as neere as we could: and hauing sayled about an houre or two, they also went about, and went as we went to make themselues readie, and when we had them in chase, they went away from vs: but when they had made themselues readie, they kept about againe, and came with vs verie finely appointed with their streamers, and pendants and ensignes, and noyse of trumpets very brauely: so when we met, they had the weather of vs, and we being determined to fight, if they had bene Portugals, waued them to come vnder our Lee, which they denied stoutly: then we demaunded of them whence they were, and they sayd of France, we told them againe that we were of London in England.
The 13 day I tooke my boat and went along the shore, and passed by diuers small townes, and was waued to come on shore at 3 places, but the sea went so high vpon the shore, that it was not possible for vs to land, neither could they come to vs if they had had boats, as I could see none but at one place, where there was one that would haue come vnto vs, but the Land-wash went so sore that it ouerthrew his boat, and one of the men was drowned, which the people lamented, and cried so sore, that we might easily heare them, and they got his body out of the sea, and caried it amongst them to their towne.
After that we were with a small gale of winde runne past that vttermost head-land, we sawe a great red cliffe, which the Master againe iudged to be the towne of S. Iohns, and then wee tooke our boate with marchandize, and went thither, and when we came thither, we perceiued that there was a towne vpon the toppe of the hill, and so wee went toward it, and when we were hard by it, the people of the towne came together a great sort of them, and waued vs to come in, with a peece of cloth, and so we went into a very faire Bay, which lieth to the Eastward of the cliffe, whereupon the towne standeth, and being within the cliffe, wee let fall our grapnell, and after that we had taried there a good space, they sent a boate aboord of vs, to shewe vs that they had golde, and they shewed us a peece about halfe a crowne weight, and required to know our measure, and our weight, that they might shewe their Captaine thereof: and wee gaue them a measure of two elles, and a waight of two Angels to shew vnto him, which they tooke, and went on shoare, and shewed it vnto their Captaine, and then they brought vs a measure of two elles, one quarter and a halfe, and one Crusado-weight of gold, making vs signes that so much they would giue for the like measure, and lesse they would not haue.
In the midst of a great quadrangle railed about, hanged with course linnen, and agreeably vnto the foure partes of the world made with foure gates to goe in and out at, is digged a hole: in the hole is laied good store of wood, whereon is raised gallantly a waued roofe; before that stand two tables furnished with diuers kindes of meates, especially drie Figs, Pomegranates and Tartes good store, but neither Fish nor Flesh: vpon one of them standeth also a chafer with coales, and in it sweete wood to make perfumes.
The tenth day we went againe to the shoare, and there came out a boat with good store of gold, and hauing driuen the matter off a long time, and hauing brought the measure to a nayle lesse then three elles, and their weight to an angell and twentie graines, and could not bring them to more, I did conclude with them and solde, and within one quarter of an houre I tooke one pound and a quarter of an ounce of golde: and then they made me signes to tary, till they had parted their cloth vpon the shoare as their manner is, and they would come againe, and so they went away, and layde the cloth all abroad vpon the sande peece by peece, and by and by one came running downe from the towne to them, and spake vnto them, and foorthwith euery man made as much haste as he could away, and went into the woods to hide his golde and his cloth: we mistrusted some knauery, and being waued by them to come a shoare, yet we would not, but went aboorde the Hinde, and perceiued vpon the hill 30 men whom we iudged to be Portugals: and they went vp to the toppe of the hill and there mustered and shewed themselues, hauing a flagge with them.
Then certaine of our men with the Hindes boate went into the Bay which lieth to the Eastward of the towne, and within that Bay they found a goodly fresh riuer, and afterwards they came and waued to vs also to come in, because they perceiued the Negroes to come downe to that place, which we did: and immediately the Negroes came to vs, and made vs signes that they had golde, but none of them would come aboord our boates, neither could we perceiue any boates that they had to come withall, so that we iudged that the Portugals had spoiled their boates, because we saw halfe of their towne destroyed.
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