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finders thereof Hispaniola, is so great quantitie of cattell, and such increase therof, that notwithstanding the daily killing of them for their hides, it is not possible to asswage the number of them, but they are devoured by wilde dogs, whose number is such by suffering them first to range the woods and mountaines, that they eate and destroy 60000. a yeere, and yet small lacke found of them. And no marveile, for the said yland is almost as bigge as all England, and being the first place that was founde of all the Indies, and of long time inhabited before the rest, it ought therefore of reason to be most populous and to this houre the Viceroy and counsell royall abideth there as in the chiefest place of all the Indies, to prescribe orders to the rest for the kings behalfe, yet have they but one Citie and 13. villages in all the same yland, whereby the spoile of them in respect of the increase is nothing.

The 15. of the foresaid moneth wee departed from Curaçao, being not a little to the rejoycing of our Captaine and us, that wee had there ended our trafique : but notwithstanding our sweete meate, wee had sower sauce, for by reason of our riding so open at sea, what with blastes whereby our anckers being a ground, three at once came home, and also with contrary windes blowing, whereby for feare of the shore we were faine to hale off to have anker-hold, sometimes a whole day and a night we turned up and downe; and this happened not once, but halfe a dozen times in the space of our being there.

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Great

numbers of wilde dogs.

The 16. wee passed by an yland called Aruba, and Aruba. the 17. at night anckered sixe houres at the West ende of Cabo de la vela, and in the morning being the 18. weighed againe, keeping our course, in the which time the Captaine sailing by the shore in the pinnesse, came to the Rancheria, a place where the Spaniards use to La Rancheria. fish for pearles, and there spoke with a Spaniard, who tolde him how far off he was from Rio de la Hacha, which Rio de la because he would not overshoot, he ankered that night

Hacha.

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[III. 512.]

againe, & the 19. came thither; where having talke with the kings treasurer of the Indies resident there, he declared his quiet trafique in Burboroata, & shewed a certificate of the same, made by the governour thereof, & therefore he desired to have the like there also: but the treasurer made answere that they were forbidden by the Viceroy and council of S. Domingo, who having intelligence of our being on the coast, did sende expresse commission to resist us, with all the force they could, insomuch that they durst not trafique with us in no case, alleaging that if they did, they should loose all that they did trafique for, besides their bodies at the magistrates commaundement. Our Captaine replied, that hee was in an Armada of the Queenes Majesties of England, and sent about other her affaires, but driven besides his pretended voyage, was inforced by contrary windes to come into those parts, where he hoped to finde such friendship as hee should doe in Spaine, to the contrary whereof hee knewe no reason, in that there was amitie betwixt their princes. But seeing they would contrary to all reason go about to withstand his trafique, he would it should not be said by him, that having the force he hath, to be driven from his trafique perforce, but he would rather put it in adventure to try whether he or they should have the better, and therefore willed them to determine either to give him licence to trade, or else to stand to their owne harmes : So upon this it was determined hee should have licence. to trade, but they would give him such a price as was the one halfe lesse then he had sold for before, and thus they sent word they would do, and none otherwise, and if it liked him not, he might do what he would, for they were not determined to deale otherwise with him. WhereM. Hawkins upon, the captaine waying their unconscionable request, wrote to them a letter, that they dealt too rigorously with him, to go about to cut his throte in the price of his commodities, which were so reasonably rated, as they could not by a great deale have the like at any other mans handes. But seeing they had sent him this to

his letter to the Treasurer of Rio de la Hacha.

his supper, hee would in the morning bring them as good a breakefast. And therefore in the morning being the 21. of May, hee shot off a whole Culvering to summon the towne, and preparing one hundred men in armour, went a shore, having in his great boate two Faulcons of brasse, and in the other boates double bases in their noses, which being perceived by the Townesmen, they incontinent in battell aray with their drumme and ensigne displayed, marched from the Towne to the sands, of footemen to the number of an hundred and fiftie, making great bragges with their cries, and weaving us a shore, whereby they made a semblance to have fought with us in deed. But our Captaine perceiving them so bragge, commanded the two Faulcons to be discharged at them, which put them in no small feare to see, (as they afterward declared) such great pieces in a boate. At every shot they fell flat to the ground, and as wee approched neere unto them, they broke their aray, and dispersed themselves so much for feare of the Ordinance, that at last they went all away with their ensigne. The horsemen also being about thirtie, made as brave a shew as might be, coursing up and downe with their horses, their brave white leather Targets in the one hand, and their javelings in the other, as though they would have received us at our landing. But when wee landed, they gave ground, and consulted what they should doe, for little they thought wee would have landed so boldly: and therefore as the Captaine was putting his men in aray, and marched forward to have encountred with them, they sent a messenger on horsebacke with a flagge of truce to the Captaine, who declared that the Treasurer marveiled what he meant to doe to come a shore in that order, in consideration that they had granted to every reasonable request that he did demaund: but the Captaine not well contented with this messenger, marched forwards. The messenger prayed him to stay his men, and saide, if hee would come apart from his men, the Treasurer would come and speake with him, whereunto hee did agree to commune together. The

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Captaine onely with his armour without weapon, and the Treasurer on horsebacke with his javeling, was afraide to come neere him for feare of his armour, which he said. was worse then his weapon, and so keeping aloofe communing together, granted in fine to all his requests. Which being declared by the Captaine to the company, they desired to have pledges for the performance of all things, doubting that otherwise when they had made themselves stronger, they would have bene at defiance with us and seeing that now they might have what they would request, they judged it to be more wisedome to be in assurance then to be forced to make any more labours about it. So upon this, gages were sent, and we made our trafique quietly with them. In the mean time while we stayed here, wee watered a good breadth off from the shore, where by the strength of the fresh water running into the Sea, the salt water was made fresh. In this River we saw many Crocodils of sundry bignesses, but some as bigge as a boate, with 4. feete, a long broad mouth, and a long taile, whose skinne is so hard, that a sword wil not pierce it. His nature is to live out of the water as a frogge doth, but he is a great devourer, and spareth neither fish, which is his common food, nor beastes, nor men, if hee take them, as the proofe thereof was knowen by a Negro, who as hee was filling water in the River was by one of them caried cleane away, and never seene after. His nature is ever when hee would have his prey, to cry and sobbe like a Christian body, to provoke them to come to him, and then hee snatcheth at them, and thereupon came this proverbe that is applied unto women when they weepe, Lachrymæ Crocodili, the meaning whereof is, that as the Crocodile when hee crieth, goeth then about most to deceive, so doeth a woman most commonly when she weepeth. Of these the Master of the Jesus watched one, and by the banks side stroke him with a pike of a bill in the side, and after three or foure times turning in sight, hee sunke downe, and was not afterward seene. In the time of our being in the Rivers Guinie, wee sawe many

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of a monstrous bignesse, amongst the which the captaine [III. 513.) being in one of the Barks comming downe the same, shot a Faulcon at one, which very narowly hee missed, and with a feare hee plunged into the water, making a streame like the way of a boate.

Where

Now while we were here, whether it were of a feare that the Spaniards doubted wee would have done them some harme before we departed, or for any treason that they intended towards us, I am not able to say; but then came thither a Captaine from some of the other townes, with a dozen souldiers upon a time when our Captaine and the treasurer cleared al things betweene them, and were in a communication of a debt of the governors of Burboroata, which was to be payd by the said treasurer, who would not answer the same by any meanes. upon certaine words of displeasure passed betwixt the Captaine and him, and parting the one from the other, the treasurer possibly doubting that our Captaine would perforce have sought the same, did immediately command his men to armes, both horsemen and footemen: but because the Captaine was in the River on the backe side of the Towne with his other boates, and all his men unarmed and without weapons, it was to be judged he ment him little good, having that advantage of him, that comming upon the sudden, hee might have mischieved many of his men: but the Captaine having understanding thereof, not trusting to their gentlenesse, if they might have the advantage, departed aboord his ships, and at night returned againe, and demanded amongst other talke, what they ment by assembling their men in that order, & they answered, that their Captaine being come to towne did muster his men according to his accustomed maner. But it is to be judged to bee a cloake, in that comming for that purpose hee might have done it sooner, but the trueth is, they were not of force untill then, whereby to enterprise any matter against us, by meanes of pikes and harquebuzes, whereof they have want, and were now furnished by our Captaine, and also 3. Faulcons, which

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