The Principal Town Of This Island Is In A Valley, Fourteen Miles From
The Bay In Which The Revenge Came To Anchor, And Contains About 100
Families, The Inhabitants Being Of A Swarthy Complexion.
The country on
the sea is rocky and barren, but in the interior there are several
vallies, having plenty of grass, and in which vines are cultivated.
The
wine is of a pale colour, and tastes somewhat like Madeira, but is
rather thick.
From thence they went to Mayo, another of the Cape de Verd islands,
forty miles E.S.E. from St Nicholas, and anchored on its north side.
They wished to have procured some beef and goats at this island, but
were not permitted to land, because one Captain Bond of Bristol had not
long before, under the same pretence, carried away some of the principal
inhabitants. This island is small, and its shores are beset with shoals,
yet it has a considerable trade in salt and cattle. In May, June, July,
and August, a species of sea-tortoises lay their eggs here, but are not
nearly so good as those of the West Indies. The inhabitants cultivate
some potatoes, plantains, and corn, but live very poorly, like all the
others in the Cape de Verd islands.
After continuing here five or six days, they resolved to go to the
island of St Jago, in hopes of meeting some ship in the road, intending
to cut her cable and run away with her. They accordingly stood for the
east part of that island, where they saw from the top-mast head, over a
point of land, a ship at anchor in the road, which seemed fit for their
purpose: but, by the time they had got near her, her company clapped a
spring upon her cable, struck her ports, and run out her lower tier of
guns, on which Cooke bore away as fast as he could. This was a narrow
escape, as they afterwards learnt that this ship was a Dutch East
Indiaman of 50 guns and 400 men.
This is by far the best of the Cape de Verd islands, four or five
leagues west from Mayo; and, though mountainous, is the best peopled,
having a very good harbour on its east side, much frequented by ships
bound from Europe for the East Indies and the coast of Guinea, as also
by Portuguese ships bound to Brazil, which come here to provide
themselves with beef, pork, goats, fowls, eggs, plantains, and
cocoa-nuts, in exchange for shirts, drawers, handkerchiefs, hats,
waistcoats, breeches, and all sorts of linen, which are in great request
among the natives, who are much addicted to theft. There is here a fort
on the top of a hill, which commands the harbour. This island has two
towns of some size, and produces the same sort of wine with St Nicholas.
There are two other islands, Fogo and Brava, both small, and to the west
of St Jago. Fogo is remarkable, as being an entire burning mountain,
from the top of which issues a fire which may be seen a great way off at
sea in the night.
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