Their Answer Was Fair And
Smooth, Declaring That They Meant To Treat Us Like Gentlemen And
Merchants, And Desired That Our General Might Come On Shore To Converse
With Their Captain.
When our general approached the shore in his skiff,
they came towards him in great numbers, with much seeming politeness,
bowing and taking off their bonnets, and earnestly requesting our
general and the merchants to come on shore.
He declined this however,
unless they would give sufficient hostages for our security. At length
they promised to send two satisfactory hostages, and to give us water,
provisions, money, and negroes in exchange for our merchandize, and
desired a list of our wares might be sent on shore; all of which our
general promised to do forthwith, and withdraw from the shore, causing
our _bases, curriers_[296], and arquebuses to be fired off in
compliment to the Portuguese, while at the same time our ships saluted
them with five or six cannon shot. Most of the Portuguese now left the
shore, except a few who remained to receive the list of our commodities;
but, while we meant honestly and fairly to trade with them as friends,
their intentions were treacherously to betray us to our destruction, as
will appear in the sequel.
[Footnote 296: Bases and curriers must have been some small species of
ordnance, capable of being used in boats; arquebuses were matchlock
muskets. - E.]
About two leagues to the west of where we lay, there was a town behind a
point of land, where the Portuguese had several caravels, and two
brigantines or row barges like gallies. With all haste the Portuguese
fitted out four caravels and these two brigantines, furnishing them with
as many men and cannon as they could carry; and as soon as it was night
these vessels made towards us with sails and oars, and as the land was
high, and the weather somewhat dark and misty, we did not see them till
they were almost close on board the May-flower, which lay at anchor
about a gun-shot nearer them than our other ships. When within gun-shot
of the May-flower, one of the watch chanced to see a light, and then
looking out espied the four ships and gave the alarm. The Portuguese,
finding themselves discovered, began immediately to fire their cannon,
_curriers_, and arquebuses; then lighted up certain tubes of wild fire,
and all their people both on shore and in their ships set up great
shouts, while they continued to bear down on the May-flower. With all
the haste we could, one of our guns was got ready and fired at them, on
which they seemed to hesitate a little; But they recharged their
ordnance, and again fired at us very briskly. In the mean time we got
three guns ready which we fired at them, when they were so near that we
could have shot an arrow on board. Having a fine breeze of wind from the
shore, we hoisted our foresail and cut our cable, making sail to join
our admiral to leeward, while they followed firing sometimes at us and
sometimes at our admiral. At length one shot from our admiral had the
effect to make them retire, when they made away from us like cowardly
traitors. During all this time, though they continually fired all their
guns at us, not a man or boy among us was hurt; but we know not what
were the effects of our shot among them.
Seeing the villany of these men, we set sail immediately for an island
named _Fuego_, or the Fire island, twelve leagues from St Jago, where we
came to anchor on the 11th February, opposite a white chapel at the west
end of the island, half a league from a small town, and about a league
from the western extremity of the island. In this island, there is a
remarkably high hill which burns continually, and the inhabitants told
us, that about three years before, the whole island had like to have
been destroyed by the prodigious quantity of fire which it discharged.
About a league west from the chapel we found a fine spring of fresh
water, whence we supplied our ships. They have no wheat in this island,
instead of which they grow millet, which makes good bread, and they
likewise cultivate peas like those of Guinea. The inhabitants are
Portuguese, and are forbidden by their king to trade either with the
English or French, or even to supply them with provisions, or any other
thing unless forced. Off this island is another named Brava, or St John,
not exceeding two leagues over, which has abundance of goats and many
trees, but not above three or four inhabitants.
On the 25th of February we set sail for the Azores, and on the 23d of
March we got sight of one of these islands called Flores, to the north
of which we could see another called Cuervo, about two leagues distant.
The 27th we came to anchor at Cuervo, opposite a village of about a
dozen mean houses; but dragging our anchors in the night during a gale
of wind, we went to Flores, where we saw strange streams of water
pouring from its high cliffs, occasioned by a prodigious rain. The 18th
April we took in water at Flores, and sailed for Fayal, which we had
sight of on the 28th, and of three other islands, Pico, St George, and
Graciosa, which are round about Fayal. The 29th we anchored in 22
fathoms water in a fine bay on the S.W. side of Fayal, over against a
small town, where we got fresh water and fresh provisions. In this
island, according to the report of the inhabitants, there grows green
woad, which they allege is far better than the woad of St Michael or of
Tercera.
The 8th of May we came to Tercera, where we found a Portuguese ship, and
next morning we saw bearing down, upon us, a great ship and two
caravels, which we judged to belong to the royal navy of Portugal, as
they really were, and therefore made ready for our defence.
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