The 11th November We Came To Anchor In Saldanha Bay, In Lat.
34 deg.
S. ten
leagues short of the Cape of Good Hope, where there are three fresh
water rivers.[33] The people came to us with great plenty of oxen and
sheep, which they sold for spike nails and pieces of old iron, giving
the best for not more than the value of a penny. Their cattle are large,
and have a great lump of flesh on the shoulder, like the back of a
camel. Their sheep have prodigiously large tails, entirely composed of
fat, weighing twelve or fourteen pounds, but are covered with hair
instead of wool. The people are not circumcised; are of an olive black
colour, blacker than the Brazilians, with black curled hair like the
negroes of Angola. Their words are mostly inarticulate, and in speaking
they cluck with the tongue like a brood hen, the cluck and the word
being pronounced together in a very strange manner. They go naked,
except a short cloak of skins, and sandals tied to their feet, painting
their faces with various colours, and are a strong active people, who
run with amazing swiftness. They are subject to the King of
Monomotapa,[34] who is reported to be a mighty sovereign. Their only
weapons are darts.
[Footnote 33: It has been before remarked, that the Saldanha bay of the
older navigators was Table bay. What is now called Saldanha bay has no
river, or even brook, but has been lately supplied by means of a cut or
canal from Kleine-berg river, near twenty-five miles in length. - E.]
[Footnote 34: This is an error, the Hotentots having been independent
nomadic herders of cattle and sheep, divided into a considerable number
of tribes, and under a kind of patriarchal government. - E.]
As the Dutchmen offered them some rudeness, they absented themselves
from us for three days, during which time they made great fires on the
mountains. On the 19th of November, there came a great multitude of them
to us, with a great number of cattle, and taking a sudden opportunity
while bartering, they set upon us and slew thirteen of our people with
their hand-darts, which could not have hurt any of us at the distance of
four pikes' length. The Dutchmen fled from them like mice before cats,
basely throwing away their weapons. Our Baas or captain kept on board
to save himself, but sent us corslets, two-handed swords, pikes,
muskets, and targets, so that we were well laden with weapons, but had
neither courage nor discretion, for we staid at our tents besieged by
savages and cows. We were in muster giants, with great armed bodies; but
in action babes with wrens' hearts. Mr Tomkins and I undertook to order
these fellows, according to that excellent way which we had seen in your
lordship's most honourable actions. Some consented to go with us, though
unwillingly; but most of them ran to the pottage pot, swearing it was
dinner time. We went all on board this night, except our great mastiff
dog, which we could not induce to follow us, for I think he was ashamed
of our cowardly behaviour. The land here is of an excellent soil, and
the climate is quite healthy; the soil being full of good herbs, as
mints, calamint, plantain, ribwort, trefoil, scabious, and such like. We
set sail from Saldanha bay on the 27th of December, and doubled the Cape
of Good Hope on the last day of the year.
The 6th of January, 1599, we doubled Cape Aguillas, the most southern
point of Africa, in lat. 35 deg. S. [34 deg. 45'] where the compass has no
variation.[35] The 6th of February we fell in with Madagascar, short of
St Romano, [or Cape St Mary, at its southern end;] and not being able to
double it, we bore room with [bore away to leeward for] the bay of St
Augustine on the south-west side of that island, in lat. 23 deg. 50' S. [23 deg.
30'.] The 3d of March we anchored in that bay, where we saw many people
on the shore, but they all fled when we landed; for when, our baas was
in this bay on the former voyage, he greatly abused the people, and
having taken one of them, he had him tied to a post and shot to death,
having besides used them otherwise most shamefully. After seven days, we
enticed some of them to come to us, from whom we bought some milk and
one cow; but they soon left us, and would not have any more connexion
with us. They are a strong well-shaped people, of a coal-black colour,
having a sweet and pleasing language. Their weapons are spears or half
pikes, headed with iron, which they keep very clear; and they go quite
naked. The soil appeared very fertile, and we saw a vast number of
tamarind trees. We found another high tree producing beans very good to
eat, in pods two feet long, and the beans of a proportional size. We saw
here many cameleons. We English suffered no small misery, especially in
this bay: but God, the ever living commander, was our only succour.
[Footnote 35: This, it must be noticed, was in the year 1599. The
variation alters progressively, increasing to a maximum in one
deflexion; it then retrogrades till it points true north, which it
progressively overpasses in the opposite deflexion to a maximum again.
But these changes do not proceed with sufficient regularity to admit of
being predicted with any certainty. - E.]
This 8th of March we came on board hungry and meatless, and on the 14th
we set sail from this place, which we called Hungry bay, shaping our
coarse to the northward along the west side of the island. The 29th, we
came to the islands of Comoro, between 12 deg. and 13 deg. S. [12 deg. 32' and 15 deg.
16'.] There are five of these islands, named Mayotta, Anzuame,
Magliaglie, San Christophero, and Spiritu Santo.[36] The 30th, we
anchored at Mayotta close by a town, where there were many people who
seemed rejoiced at our arrival, and came on board, bringing us presents
of victuals.
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