SECTION XII.
The next day the wind became southerly, and somewhat too much, and my shipps being all deepe loaden, beganne to feel the tempest, so that wee not able to lye by it, neither a hull nor a try, and so with an easie sayle bare up before the wind, with intent to put into Falmouth; but God was pleased that comming within tenne leagues of Sylly, the wind vered to the north-east, and so we went on in our voyage.
Thwart of the Flees of Bayon,[42] wee met with a small ship of master Wattes, of London, called the Elizabeth, which came out of Plimouth some eyght dayes after us; of whom wee enformed ourselves of some particularities, and wrote certaine letters to our friends, making relation of what had past till that day, and so tooke our farewell each of the other. The like we did with a small carvell[43] of Plimouth, which wee mett in the height of the rocke in Portingall.[44]
From thence wee directed our course to the ilands of Madera; and about the end of June, in the sight of the ilands, we descryed a sayle some three leagues to the east-wards, and a league to windward of us, which by her manner of working, and making, gave us to understand, that shee was one of the kings frigatts; for shee was long and snugg, and spread a large clewe, and standing to the west-wards, and wee to the east-wards to recover her wake, when we cast about, shee beganne to vere shete, and to goe away lasking;[45] and within two glasses, it was plainely seene that shee went from us, and so we followed on our course, and shee seeing that, presently stroke her top-sayles, which our pynace perceiving, and being within shot continued the chase, till I shot off a peece and called her away; which fault many runne into, thinking to get thereby, and sometimes loose themselves by being too bold to venture from their fleete; for it was impossible for us, being too leeward, to take her, or to succour our owne, shee being a ship of about two hundreth tunnes.
The dutie of pynaces.
And pynaces to meddle with ships, is to buy repentance at too deare a rate. For their office is, to wayte upon their fleete, in calmes (with their oares) to follow a chase, and in occasions to anchor neere the shore, when the greater ships cannot, without perill; above all, to be readie and obedient at every call. Yet will I not, that any wrest my meaning; neither say I, that a pynace, or small ship armed, may not take a great ship unarmed; for daily experience teacheth us the contrary.[46]
The Madera Ilands.
The Madera Ilands are two: the greater, called La Madera, and the other, Porto Santo; of great fertilitie, and rich in sugar, conserves, wine, and sweet wood, whereof they take their name. Other commodities they yeeld, but these are the principall. The chiefe towne and port is on the souther side of the Madera, well fortified; they are subject to the kingdome of Portingall; the inhabitants and garrison all Portingalles.
Canarie Ilands.
The third of July, we past along the Ilands of Canaria, which have the name of a kingdome, and containe these seaven ilands: Grand Canaria, Tenerifa, Palma, Gomera, Lancerota, Forteventura, and Fierro. These ilands have abundance of wine, sugar, conserves, orcall,[47] pitch, iron, and other commodities, and store of cattell, and corne, but Gorgosho. that a certaine worme, called gorgosho, breedeth in it, which eateth out the substance, leaving the huske in manner whole. The head iland, where the justice, which they call Audiencia, is resident, and whither all sutes have their appealation and finall sentence, is the grand Canaria, although the Tenerifa is held for the better and richer iland, and to have the best sugar; and the wine of the Palma is reputed for the best. The pitch of these ilands melteth not with the sunne, and therefore is proper for the higher works of shipping. Betwixt Forteventura and Lancerota is a goodly sound, fit for a meeting place for any fleete; where is good anchoring and aboundance of many sorts of fish. There is water to be had in most of these ilands, but with great vigilance. For the naturalls of them are venturous and hardie, and many times clime up and downe the steepe rockes and broken hills, which seeme impossible, which I would hardly have beleeved, had I not seene it, and that with the greatest art and agilitie that may be. Their armes, for the most part, are launces of nine or ten foote, with a head of a foote and halfe long, like unto boare-spears, save that the head is somewhat more broad.
Two things are famous in these ilands, the Pike of Tenerifa, which is the highest land in my judgement that I have seene, and men of credit have told they have The description of Tenerifa. seene it more than fortie leagues off.[48] It is like unto a sugar loafe, and continually covered with snow, and placed in the middest of a goodly vallie, most fertile, and temperate round about it. Out of which, going up to the Pike, the colde is so great, that it is insufferable, and going downe to the townes of the iland, the heate seemeth most extreame, till they approach neere the coast. The other Of a tree in Fierro. is a tree in the iland of Fierro, which some write and affirme, with the dropping of his leaves, to give water for the sustenance of the whole iland, which I have not seene, although I have beene on shoare on the iland;[49] but those which have seene it, have recounted this mysterie differently to that which is written; in this manner: that this tree is placed in the bottome of a valley, ever florishing with broad leaves, and that round about it are a multitude of goodly high pynes, which over-top it, and as it seemeth were planted by the divine providence to preserve it from sunne and wind. Out of this valley ordinarily rise every day great vapours and exhalations, which by reason that the sunne is hindered to worke his operation, with the heighte of the mountaines towards the south-east, convert themselves into moysture, and so bedewe all the trees of the valley, and from those which over-top this tree, drops down the dewe upon his leaves, and so from his leaves into a round well of stone, which the naturalls of the land have made to receive the water, of which the people and cattle have great reliefe; but sometimes it raineth, and then the inhabitants doe reserve water for many days to come, in their cisternes and tynaxes,[50] which is that they drinke of, and wherewith they principally sustaine themselves.
The citty of the Grand Canaria, and chiefe port, is on the west side of the iland; the head towne and port of Tenerifa is towards the south part, and the port and towne of the Palma and Gomera, on the east side.
In Gomera, some three leagues south-ward from the towne, is a great river of water, but all these ilands are perilous to land in, for the seege[51] caused by the ocean sea, which always is forcible, and requireth great circumspection; whosoever hath not urgent cause, is either to goe to the east-wards, or the west-wards of all these ilands, as well to avoyd the calmes, which hinder sometimes eight or ten dayes sayling, as the contagion which their distemperature is wont to cause, and with it to breed calenturas, The first discoverers of these Ilands. which wee call burning fevers. These ilands are sayd to be first discovered by a Frenchman, called John de Betancourt, about the year 1405.[52] They are now a kingdome subject to Spaine.