The Portuguese
Pursued Them To Their Boats, Which They Briskly Attached, Killing The
Admiral's Brother, And Had Nearly Captured The Whole Party.
In revenge
of this outrage, it was determined in a council of war to attack the
castle; but finding this enterprize too hazardous, they contented
themselves with burning all the sugar ingenios.
After this exploit,
having provided themselves with fresh water, they set sail on the 17th.
[Footnote 68: Cape Formosa is probably here meant, which is in 4 deg. 18'
N. - E.]
[Footnote 69: The latitude of Princes Island is 1 deg. 40' N. - E.]
They reached Cape Goncalves on the 25th, where the wind usually blows
from the land all night, and from the sea all day. Here they found two
Dutch ships, which informed them of the loss of Captain Sleerhagen and
most of his company at Princes Island; as also of the voyage of Peter
Verhagen, who had entered the river of Congo, and had afterwards buried
thirty-eight of his company at Cape Goncalves, whence he had gone some
time before their arrival to Annobon.
January 1st, 1589, they passed the island of Annobon, in lat. 2 deg. S. [1 deg.
30' S.] and on the 28th of that month had the sun in their zenith. The
5th of March they reached Cape St Thomas on the coast of Brazil, in lat.
22 deg. S. [21 deg. 15']. The 6th they passed Cape Fair, and came that evening
to Cape Frio, and on the 9th reached Rio de Janeiro. After some loss of
time, and having several of their men cut off by their grand enemy the
Portuguese, they went to the island of St Sebastian, in lat. 24 deg. S.
where the comforts of a good harbour, plenty of fresh water, and an
abundant supply of wood gave them much satisfaction; but no fruits were
to be had at that season.
They encountered a heavy storm on the 14th of March, by which the
vice-admiral and the Hope were separated from the admiral, but they met
again on the 17th. The scurvy now began to make rapid progress among the
company; which, together with the approach of the antarctic winter,
determined them to put in at St Helena. Missing that island, they next
endeavoured to fall in with the island of Ascension, or some other
island where they might procure refreshments; but their hard fortune
brought them to a very barren and desolate island in the lat. of 20 deg. 30'
S.[70] where they could procure no refreshments, except a few fowls
called Malle Mewen,[71] which they knocked down with clubs.
[Footnote 70: The island of Trinidad is nearly in the indicated
latitude. - E.]
[Footnote 71: These were probably young unfledged sea-gulls, called in
provincial English Malls, Maws, and Mews, not unlike the Dutch names
in the text; where perhaps we ought to read Malle or Mewen. - E.]
Soon leaving this inhospitable place, they put to sea again, and on the
1st of June, while endeavouring to reach Ascension, they got back to the
coast of Brazil. Not being suffered to land any where on the continent,
they sailed to the isle of Santa Clara, an island of about a mile round,
and as much from the continent, in lat. 21 deg. 15' S. This island afforded
little else beyond herbs, but they found here a sour fruit resembling
plums, which cured all their sick men in fifteen days. They sailed from
thence for Port Desire, in lat 47 deg. 40' S. on the 16th June, and reached
that place on the 20th September, after enduring much bad weather. They
procured abundance of penguins and fish, at an island three miles south
from Port Desire; killing to the number of 50,000 penguins, which are
nearly as large as geese, and procured a vast quantity of their eggs, by
which their people were greatly refreshed, and the sick restored. Going
up the river on the 5th October, and landing in the country, they found
animals resembling stags, together with buffaloes, and ostriches in
great numbers, and even found some of the nests of these birds, in which
were as far as nineteen eggs. The 20th, the admiral went ashore to view
the country, leaving orders with those who were left in charge of the
boats, not to leave them a moment on any account: But they, having a
mind also to see the country, ventured upon a short ramble, when they
fell into an ambush of the savages, who slew three of their number, and
wounded the fourth. These savages were very tall portly men, painted,
and armed with short bows, and arrows headed with stone.
Leaving Port Desire on the 29th September, they reached Cape Virgin at
the entrance into the Straits of Magellan on the 24th November. The land
here is low and plain, and from the whiteness of the coast somewhat
resembles the chalk cliffs of England in the channel. In many attempts
to enter the straits, they were beaten back by tempests of wind,
accompanied by rain, hail, and snow. They lost their anchors, and broke
their cables, and sickness, together with contention, which is worse
than any disease, were added to their other calamities. All these so
retarded the progress of the voyage, that it was near fifteen months
after leaving Holland before they could make their way into the straits.
They observed the land to trend from Cape Virgin to the S.W. and the
mouth of the straits to be fourteen miles distant from that cape, and
half a mile wide.[72] On the 25th November, they saw some men on two
islands near Cape Nassau, who shook their weapons at the Hollanders, as
in defiance. The Dutch landed, and pursued the savages into a cave,
which they bravely defended to the last man, and were all slain on the
spot. Going now into this dark cave, the Dutch found the women and
children of the slain savages, when the mothers, expecting present death
to themselves and their infants, covered their little ones with their
own bodies, as if determined to receive the first stab.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 49 of 221
Words from 48942 to 49975
of 224764
