He Likewise Sent Some Of His Officers To
Conduct Our People To The Water-Side, And To Carry Our Wares From The
Pinnace To His Residence.
These things being done, the king engaged to
our merchants that in 30 days he would provide a sufficiency
Of pepper
to load all our ships, and in case our merchandise might not amount to
the whole value of the pepper, he promised to give credit till next
season, and immediately sent orders over all the country to gather
pepper, so that in 30 days 80 tons of pepper were procured.
[Footnote 196: Or 1800 ounces, which at L.3, 17s. 6d. per ounce, is
equal to L.6975 sterling, a large sum in those days. - E.]
In the meantime our men lived without any rule, eating without measure
of the fruit of the country, drinking the palm wine which runs in the
night from the cut branches of that tree, and continually running into
the water to assuage the extreme heat of the season; and not being used
to these sudden transitions, which are excessively dangerous, they fell
into swellings and agues, by which about the end of the year they were
dying sometimes 3, 4, or 5 in a day. When the 30 days were expired, and
Windham saw his men dying so fast, he sent orders to Pinteado and the
rest to come away without any more delay. Pinteado and the others wrote
back to inform him of the large quantity of pepper already gathered, and
that they looked daily for more, desiring him to consider the great
praise they would all get on their return if the voyage turned out
profitable, and the shame that must attend returning without a full
loading.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 369 of 842
Words from 100159 to 100450
of 230997
