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Updated: June 18, 2025
The next day we left sight of Hispaniola, and haled off for Virginia, about foure of the clocke in the afternoone. The sixt day of Iuly we came to the Island Caycos, wherein Ferdinando sayd were two salt pondes, assuring vs that if they were drie we might find salt to shift with, vntill the next supply: but it prooued as true as finding of sheepe at Baque.
These things being thus ordered, and the ship of the burden of 260 tunnes, with 83 men of all sortes furnished, and fully appointed for the voyage, began to set saile from Hurst Castle vpon Friday the 20 of May, Anno 1583, and the 17 day of Iuly ensuing fell with the coast of Guinie, to take in fresh water, where, through meere dissolute negligence, she perished vpon a sand, with the most part of the men in her, as appeareth by the confession of one that escaped, the substance and tenor whereof is this.
The 12. of Iuly wee had a house offered vs within the towne. The 13. of the same month Reyner van Hel with eyght Gentlemen went into the towne, taking certaine wares with him, of euery thing a little, and laid it in the house appointed for the purpose: there to keep a ware house and to sel our marchandise, and presently both Gentlemen and Marchants came thither to buy and to sell vs Pepper.
On Sunday the 26 of Iuly plying to and fro betweene the Matanças and Hauana, we were espied of three small Pinasses of S. Iohn de Vilua bound for Hauana exceedingly richly loaden. These 3 Pinasses came very boldly vp vnto vs, and so continued vntill they came within musket shot of vs.
In this place their money is made of a kind of siluer round and thicke, to the value of twentie pence, which is very good siluer. It is marueilous great and a populous countrey. In their winter which is in Iune, Iuly, and August, there is no passing in the streetes but with horses, the waters be so high. The houses are made of lome and thatched.
The three and twentieth of Iuly the Gouernour with diuers of his company, walked to the North ende of the Island, where Master Ralfe Lane had his forte, with sundry necessary and decent dwelling houses, made by his men about it the yeere before, where wee hoped to find some signes, or certaine knowledge of our fifteene men.
The 8. of Iuly wee were vnder 33. degrees and 1/2. with an East wind, holding our course North and by East, and yet we saw much Sargosse driuing, but not so thicke as it did before.
The 7. of Iuly the Gouernour sent vs a man secretly by night willing vs to looke vnto our selues, and not to trust the Emperour, with whom all the Marchantes conspired, and went to inuade our ships, and that hee ment to rob vs, being very licentious and euill minded. The 11. of Iuly the Emperour perceyuing that his deuise would not take place; hee went from Bantam to Iacatra.
The next day being the 30 of Iuly, we sailed on Westward to find out other Islands which as yet we had not found 12 leagues and a halfe, among which there is a great Bay toward the North all full of Islands and great creekes, where many good harboroughs seeme to be: them we named S. Marthas Islands, from which about a league and a halfe further into the sea there is a dangerous shallow, wherein are fiue rockes, which lie from Saint Marthas Islands about seuen leagues as you passe into the sayd Islands, on the East and on the West side, to which we came the sayd day an houre after noone, and from that houre vntill midnight we sailed about fifteene leagues athwart a cape of the lower Islands, which we named S. Germans Islands.
Then hauing gathered our selues togither we proceeded on our purposed voyage, bearing off, and keeping our selues distant from the coast till the 19. day of Iuly; at which time the fogges brake vp and dispersed, so that we might plainely and clearly behold the pleasant ayre, which so long had bene taken from vs, by the obscuritie of the foggie mists: and after that time we were not much incumbred therewith vntill we had left the confines of the Countrey.
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