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In furtherance of his determination, amongst others, sir George Peckam knight shewed himselfe very zealous to the action, greatly aiding him both by his aduice and in the charge. Other gentlemen to their ability ioyned vnto him, resoluing to aduenture their substance and liues in the same cause.
Departing thence through Lycia, we fell into the hands of the Arabian theeues: and after we had beene robbed of infinite summes of money, and had lost many of our people, hardly escaping with extreame danger of our liues, at length we ioyfully entered into the most wished citie of Ierusalem.
The Indians here and their made fires, and were answered againe afarre off as orderly as wee for our liues could haue done, to giue their fellowes vnderstanding, how wee marched and where we arriued....
Whereupon the sayd Captaine with his companies, resolued to recouer the same ensigne, if it were so, from those base people, or els to lose their liues and all together. In the ende they discerned them to be their countreymen, and then they deemed them to haue lost their Ships, and so to be gathered together for their better strength.
During our voyage we liued of nothing else but raspices, of a certaine round graine little and blacke, and of the rootes of palmitos which we got by the riuer sides: wherein after we had sayled a long time in vaine, I was constrained to returne to the Fort: where the souldiers beginning to be wearie of working, because of the extreme famine which did consume them, assembled themselues and declared vnto me, that seeing we could get no victuals of the Indians, it was expedient for the sauing of their liues, to seaze vpon the person of one of the Kings of the Countrey: assuring themselues that one being taken, the subiects would not suffer our men to want victuals.
For not onely the liues of euery one were spared, but also there was an especial care had, that al the Religious, as wel men as women, should be well and fauourably intreated, whom freely without any maner of ransome or other molestation, they caused to be safely transported ouer to Port Saint Marie, a towne in a maner as fayre as Cadiz: but at that time, as the case did stand, certainly knowen to be of no wealth in the world, and it was some sixe or seuen miles distant ouer against Cadiz, in a maner as Paules is against Southwarke, on the other side of the Bay, in a part of Andaluzia, subiect to the territory of the Duke de Medina Sidonio.
And therefore laying their heads together, they promised to the king by secret mediatours, a mighty masse of money of a coyne called Byzantines: and that further they would yeerely pay a great tribute, vpon condition that ceasing to besiege and inuade their city, he would spare their liues.
And the cause why we haue done it is this: When wee should haue deliuered him with the rest of his felowes vnto the Voiuodaes officers, there were of our Englishmen more then 50. which fell on their knees vnto vs, requesting that he might be reserued in the ship, and caried back into England: and the cause why they so earnestly intreated for him, is, that some of those our Englishmen had bene taken with Freebooters, and by his meanes had their liues saued with great fauour besides, which they found at his hands.
And when those shipps were a little way in the Sea, they cast their anchors, and there remained. By this occasion the generals aforesaid enterprise was kept backe: we iudging it as a warning, that the Generall should spare and preserue his people from the bloud-thirsty Spaniards, which had their holes and dens in the hils, and perhaps might haue taken away many of our liues.
Our boate returned hauing found out such a place as we desired, but the winde would not suffer vs to come neere it, and againe if we could haue ankered there, it was thought likely that they would rather runne themselues a ground to saue their liues and liberties, and some of their goods, then come foorth to loose their liberties and goods to vs their enemies.
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