1591. spared it, because wee found other contentment. And having taken our pleasure of the towne, as aforesayd, wee returned aboord our ships, standing backe againe for Truxillo, we discovered one of the shippes which was laden at Puerto de Cavallos: but they had espied us before, as it should seeme; for they had conveyed away as much as possibly they could ashore, and set their ship on fire; which so soone as we had discried, we made to her with our boats, and quenched the fire, and loaded up with hides the shippe which we tooke at our first comming; for she had but a thousand hides in her, and certeine jarres of balsamum: which being accomplished, wee sunke the shippe with the rest of the goods, and so stood alongst againe for Truxillo. It fell out to be so calme, that we were two and twenty dayes sailing backe that we had sailed in sixe dayes, which was about forty leagues: so that when we came before Truxillo, which was about the sixth of June, we found another of the ships there, but close under the castle, her ruther unhanged, her sailes taken from the yards, &c. notwithstanding we entered her, but they had placed such a company of musketiers under a rampire, which they had made with hides and such like, that it was too hote for us to abide, and so betaking us to our shippes againe, and standing out of the bay into the sea, wee discovered great store of shot intrenched in those places where they suspected we would have landed. That night there fell such a storme of raine, thunder, lightening and tempestuous weather, that our ships were dispersed either from other. And having determined all of us to meet at a certeine Island, where wee purposed to water and refresh our selves; by meanes of the storme and other contagious weather which followed, we were frustrated of that hope. We had lost our prize, and certeine frigats with the Two of our shippes went to seeke our prize and our men and other two of us came homeward. And so we parted, not hearing either of other untill we came into England. Our place of meeting should have beene at the Tortugas neere unto the point of Florida, but the Golden dragon and the Prudence were put to leeward of this place: neverthelesse wee fell with certeine islands within the point of Florida, where the captaine of the Dragon M. Christopher Newport sent his pinnesse on shore with certeine shot to seeke for fresh water, where wee found none; but found the Savages very courteous unto us, who came brest high into the sea, and brought us a line to hall in our boat on shore, and shewed us that up into the land Northward was fresh water, and much golde. And one Michael Bagge of Ipswich boatswaines mate of the Dragon, had given him by one of the Savages for an olde rusty hatchet, a piece of golde wound hollow, and about the bignesse and value of an English angell, which the Savage ware hanging about his knee, with two pieces of fine silver plate, whereof one the sayd Savage gave John Locke, masters mate of the Dragon, being foureteene groats in value, for an olde knife: the other piece he gave to one William Wright a sailer, for an olde knife which pieces of silver were in forme like unto the bosse of a bridle. These Savages were farre more civill than those of Dominica: for besides their courtesie, they covered their privities with a platted mat of greene straw, about three handfuls deepe, which came round about their waste, with the bush hanging downe behinde. The next day in the morning very early, there came a frigat of the iland of Cuba of 30 tunnes, put in by weather, which was bound for Havana, wherein were fifty hogges; to which we gave chase all that day, passing the gulfe of Bahama, and about five of the clocke in the afternoone, after a shot or two made at her, shee yeelded unto us: wee hoisted out our boat, and went aboord, where we found some five Spanyards, five and fifty hogs, and about some two hundred weight of excellent tabacco rolled up in seynes. We lightened them of their hogges and tabacco, and sent the men away with their frigat. In this voyage we tooke and sacked foure townes, 1591. 1591. [III. 570.] seventeene frigats, and two ships, whereof eight were taken in the bay of the Honduras; of all which we brought but two into England: the rest we sunke, burnt, and one of them we sent away with their men. And to make up the full number of twenty, the Spanyards themselves set one on fire in the bay of the Honduras, lest we should be masters of it. We shaped our course from Florida homeward by the isle of Flores one of the Azores, where we watered, finding sir John Burgh there, who tooke us to be Spanyards, and made up unto us; with whom wee joyned in the taking the mighty Portugall caracke called Madre de Dios, and our captaine M. Christopher Newport with divers of us was placed in her as captaine by the Generall sir John Burgh to conduct her into England, where we arrived in Dartmouth the seventh of September 1592. The voyage made to the bay of Mexico by M. William King Captaine, M. Moore, M. How, and M. Boreman Owners, with the Salomon of 200 tunnes, and the Jane Bonaventure of 40 tunnes of Sir Henry Palmer, from Ratcliffe the 26 of January 1592. He Salomon was manned with an hundred men, all mariners, and the Jane with sixe and twenty, all like wise mariners. Wee came first to the Downes in Kent, and never strooke saile in passing thence, untill we came to Cape S. Vincent on the coast of Portugall. From thence we shaped our course to Lancerota one of the Canarie islands, where we landed threescore men, and fetched a caravell out of an harborow on the South side, and from a small Island we tooke a demy-canon of brasse in despight of the inhabitants, which played upon us with their small shot at our first landing of whom we slew three; and gave them the repulse. Thence we went to the Grand 1592. Canaria, where wee boorded a barke lying at anker: out of which wee were driven by great store of shot from the Island. From thence wee directed our course for the West Indies, and fell with the isle of Dominica about the tenth of April. There at a watering place we tooke a shippe of an hundred tunnes come from Guiny, laden with two hundred and seventy Negros, which we caried with us to S. Juan de Puerto Rico, and there comming thorow El passaje, we gave chase to a frigat which went in to S. Juan de Puerto Rico, and in the night we sent in our shallope with foureteene men. And out of the harborow we tooke away an English shippe of seventy tunnes, laden with threescore tunnes of Canary-wines, in despight of the castle and two new bulwarks, being within caliver shot. These two prizes we caried away to the Westermost part of the island, and put the Negros, except fifteene, all on land in a Spanish caravell which the Jane Bonaventure tooke: and we caried away one of the former prizes, and set fire on the other. We passed thence by the isle of Mona, where we watered, and refreshed our selves with potatos and plantans, and so came to the isle of Saona: and from thence arrived at the mouth of the river of Santo Domingo. And as we sailed to Cape Tiburon, three leagues to the Westward of Santo Domingo we tooke a boat of fifteene tunnes, which had certeine jarres of malosses or unrefined sugar, with three men; which men with their boat wee caried with us to Cape Tiburon, which, in respect of service done unto us in furnishing us with fresh water, we dismissed. Thus contrary to other Englishmens courses we shaped ours to the Southward of Jamaica, and our shallop with Jamaica. 12 men ranged the coast but found nothing. Thence we ranged the three islands of the Caimanes, and landed at Grand Caiman, being the Westermost, where we found no people, but a good river of fresh water; and there we turned up threescore great tortoises; and of them we tooke our choise, to wit, fifteene of the females, which are the best and fullest of egges, whereof two served an A good river of fresh water Caiman. in Grand 1592. Preserving of hogs-flesh. The excellent haven of Cavannas. hundred men a day. And there with stones we might kill turtle doves, wilde geese, & other good fowles at our pleasures. Thence we came to Cape de Corrientes on Cuba to water, and from thence to Cape S. Antonio, and so went over for the Tortugas, without taking of any new prize and thence cut over to Rio de puercos on the coast of Cuba. There we tooke a small barke of twenty tunnes, with foure men and forty live hogs, with certeine dried porke cut like leather jerkins along, and dried hogs tongues and neats tongues, and 20 oxe hides. Then passing thence, within foure dayes we tooke a ship of 80 tunnes laden with hides, indico, & salsa perilla, North of an headland called Corugna: thence the current set us to the East to the old chanel. There we tooke a frigat of 20 tunnes, having certeine pieces of Spanish broad cloth & other small pillage: there continuing off the Matanças 12 dayes, with the winde so Westerly that we could hardly recover Havana in the moneth of May. Here we tooke two boats laden with tortoises, which we sunke, saving some of the tortoises, & setting the men on shore. Then at length we recovered up to Havana, where we came so neere to the forts, that for one houres fight they overreached us with their long ordinance. Then came out the two gallies, having 27 banks on a side, and fought with us another houre; which for that time left us by reason of the increasing of the winde. Then passing alongst nine leagues to the Westward we found out an excellent harbour, having three fadome water at the flood, able within to receive a thousand saile, where we found hog-houses, which they terme coralles, and tooke away certeine hogs and pigs. As we came out of this harbour, the weather being calme, we were incountered by the gallies, which had followed us, and fought with them three houres, oftentimes within caliver shot: but wee made such spoile of their men and oares, that they beganne to be weary, and gave us over, with their great losse. Here within foure dayes after, as we lay to the Northward sixe leagues off this harbour of Cavannas, we met with |