After Their Departure From Madeira The Worthy Captain Pinteado Began To
Experience Affliction From Captain Windham, Who Had Hitherto Carried
A
fair appearance of good will, but now assumed to himself the sole
command, setting both captain Pinteado and the
Merchants factors at
nought, giving them opprobrious words and sometimes abusing them most
shamefully with threats of personal ill-treatment. He even proceeded to
deprive captain Pinteado of the service of the boys and others who had
been assigned him by order of the merchant adventurers, reducing him to
the rank of a common mariner, which is the greatest affront that can be
put upon a Portuguese or Spaniard, who prize their honour above all
things. Passing the Canaries, they came to the island of St Nicholas,
one of the Cape Verds, where they procured abundance of the flesh of
wild goats, being almost its only produce. Following their voyage from
thence, they tarried by the way at certain desert islands, not willing
to arrive too early on the coast of Guinea on account of the heat. But
being under an arbitrary rule, they tarried too long, and came at length
to the first land of Guinea at the river _Cesto_[194], where they might
have exchanged their merchandise for a full lading of the _grains_, or
spice of that country, which is a very hot fruit and much like figs; the
fruit being full of grains which are loose within the pod[195]. This
kind of spice is much used in cold countries, and may be sold there to
great advantage in exchange for other commodities. But, by the
persuasion or command rather of our tyrannical captain, our people made
light of this commodity in comparison with the fine gold for which they
thirsted, wherefore they made sail an hundred leagues farther till they
came to the golden land or gold coast.
[Footnote 194: Or Sestre, a river on the Grain coast or Malaguette. - E.]
[Footnote 195: This is the Guinea pepper, called grains of Paradise by
the Italians, whence this part of Guinea was named the grain coast. The
text describes the pods as having a hole on each side, which, it was
afterwards learnt, were for putting thongs, strings or twigs on which to
dry the pods. These pods grow on a humble plant, not above a foot and a
half or two feet from the ground, and are bright red when first
gathered, - Astl.]
At this part of the coast, not venturing to come near the castle of St
George del Mina belonging to the king of Portugal, they made sale of
their goods only on this side and beyond that place, receiving the gold
of the country in exchange to the extent of 150 pounds weight[196], and
they might have bartered all their merchandise for gold at that place,
if the pride of Windham had allowed him to listen to the counsel and
experience of Pinteado: but not satisfied with what he had got or might
still have procured, if he had remained in the neighbourhood of Mina, he
commanded Pinteado to navigate the ships to Benin under the equinoctial,
150 leagues beyond the Mina, where he expected to have laden the ships
with pepper.
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