[Footnote 286: Astley I. 180. Hakluyt, II. 523-531. The prose abstract here inserted is chiefly taken from Astleys collection, carefully compared with the original versified narrative in Hakluyt.--E.]
After we had been at sea two days and a night, the man from the main-top descried a sail or two, the tallest of which they immediately made up to, judging her to be the most valuable; and, as captains are in use to do[287], I hailed her to know whence she was. She answered from France, on which we waved her, but she nothing dismayed, waved us in return. I immediately ordered armed men aloft into the main and fore-tops, and caused powder to be laid on the poop to blow up the enemy if they should board us that way. At the sound of trumpets we began the fight, discharging both chain and bar-shot from our brazen artillery; while the Frenchmen, flourishing their swords from the main-yard, called out to us to board their ship. Willing to accept their invitation, we plied them warmly with our cannon, and poured in flights of arrows, while our arquebuses plied them from loop-holes, and we endeavoured to set their sails on fire by means of arrows and pikes carrying wildfire. I encouraged, the men to board, by handing spiced wine liberally among them, which they did with lime-pots, after breaking their nets with stones, while those of our men who were aloft entered the enemys tops, after killing those who defended them. Then cutting the ropes, they brought down the yard by the board, and those who entered the ship plied the enemy so well with their swords, that at length the remaining Frenchmen ran below deck and cried out for quarter. Having thus become masters of the ship, we carried her to the Groin in Spain, or Corunna, where we sold the ship and cargo for ready money.
[Footnote 287: In these early trading voyages, the chief factor, who here appears to have been Baker, seems to have had the supreme command--Astl. I. 180. b.]
After this we proceeded on our voyage and arrived in Guinea. One day about noon, I went with eight more in a boat towards the shore to trade, meaning to dispatch my business and be back before night. But when we had got near the shore, a furious tempest sprung up, accompanied with rain and thunder, which drove the ships from their anchors out to sea; while we in the boat were forced to run along the coast in search of some place for shelter from the storm, but meeting none, had to remain all night near the shore, exposed to the thunder, rain, and wind in great jeopardy. We learnt afterwards that the ships returned next day in search of us, while we rowed forward along the coast, supposing the ships were before us, and always anxiously looked out for them; but the mist was so great that we could never see them nor they us. The ships continued, as we were told afterwards, looking out for us for two or three days; after which, concluding that we had inevitably perished in the storm, they made the best of their way for England.
Having been three days in great distress for want of food, we at length landed on the coast and exchanged some of our wares with the negroes for roots and such other provisions as they had, and then put to sea again in search of the ships, which we still supposed were before us or to leeward, wherefore we went down the coast to the eastwards. We continued in this manner ranging along shore for twelve days, seeing nothing but thick woods and deserts, full of wild beasts, which often appeared and came in crowds at sunset to the sea shore, where they lay down or played on the sand, sometimes plunging into the water to cool themselves. At any other time it would have been diverting to see how archly the elephants would fill their trucks with water, which they spouted out upon the rest. Besides deer, wild boars, and antelopes, we saw many other wild beasts, such as I had never seen before.
We often saw a man or two on the shore, who on seeing us used to come off in their almadias or canoes; when casting anchor we offered such wares as we had in the boat for fish and fresh water, or provisions of their cooking, and in this way we procured from them roots and the fruit of the palm tree, and some of their wine, which is the juice of a tree and is of the colour of whey. Sometimes we got wild honeycombs; and by means of these and other things we relieved our hunger; but nothing could relieve our grief, fatigue and want of sleep, and we were so sore depressed by the dreadful situation in which we were placed, that we were ready to die, and were reduced to extreme weakness. Having lost all hope of rejoining the ships, which we now concluded were either lost or gone homewards, we knew not how to conduct ourselves. We were in a strange and distant country, inhabited by a people whose manners and customs were entirely different from ours; and to attempt getting home in an open boat destitute of every necessary was utterly impossible. By this time we found we had passed to leeward of Melegete or the grain coast, and had got to the Mina or gold coast of Guinea, as the negroes who now came on board spoke some Portuguese, and brought off their weights and scales for the purpose of trade, asking where were our ships. To this we answered, in hopes of being the better treated, that we had two ships at sea, which would be with them in a day or two.
We now consulted together how they should best proceed. If we continued at sea in our boat, exposed by day to the burning heat of the sun which sensibly consumed us by copious perspiration, and to the frequent tornadoes or hurricanes by night, accompanied with thunder, lightning and rain; which deprived us of all rest, we could not possibly long hold out. We were often three days without a morsel of food; and having sat for twenty days continually in our boat, we were in danger of losing the use of our limbs for want of exercise, and our joints were so swollen by the scurvy, that we could hardly stand upright. It was not possible for us to remain much longer in the boat in our present condition, so that it was necessary to come to some resolution, and we had only three things to choose. The first was to repair to the castle of St George del Mina, which was not far off, and give ourselves up to the Portuguese who were Christians, if we durst trust them or expect the more humanity on that account. Even the worst that could happen to us from them was to be hanged out of our misery; yet possibly they might have some mercy on us, as nine young men such as we were might be serviceable in their gallies, and if made galley slaves for life we should have victuals enough to enable us to tug at the oar, whereas now we had both to row and starve.
The next alternative was to throw ourselves upon the mercy of the negroes, which I stated was very hopeless and discouraging, as I did not see what favour could be expected from a beastly savage people, whose condition was worse than that of slaves, and who possibly might be cannibals. It was likewise difficult for us to conform ourselves to their customs, so opposite to ours; and, we could not be expected, having always lived on animal food, to confine ourselves to roots and herbs like the negroes, which are the food of wild beasts. Besides, having been always accustomed to the use of clothes, we could not for shame go naked. Even if we could get the better of that prejudice, our bodies would be grievously tormented and emaciated by the scorching heat of the sun, for want of that covering and defence to which we had been accustomed. The only other course was to stay at sea in the boat, and die miserably. Being determined to run any risk at land, rather than to continue pent up in a narrow boat, exposed to all the inclemencies of the weather day and night, and liable to be famished for want of victuals, I gave it as my opinion that we had better place confidence in the Christian Portuguese than in the negroes who lived like so many brutes. We how determined to throw ourselves on the mercy of the Portuguese, and hoisting sail shaped our course for the castle of St George del Mina; which was not above 20 leagues distant. We went on all day without stopping till late at night, when we perceived a light on shore. Concluding that this might be a place of trade, our boatswain proposed to cast anchor at this place, in hopes that we might be able to procure provisions next morning in exchange for some of our wares. This was agreed upon, and on going next morning near the shore we saw a watchhouse upon a rock, in the place whence the light had proceeded during the night, and near the watchhouse a large black cross was erected. This made us doubtful whereabout we were, and on looking farther we perceived a castle which perplexed us still more[288].
[Footnote 288: It appears in the sequel that this fort or castle had been recently erected by the Portuguese at the western point or head-land of Cape Three-points, and of which there are no notices in any of the preceding voyages on this part of the coast.--Astley, I. 132, a.]
Our doubts were quickly solved by the appearance of some Portuguese, one of whom held a white flag in his hand which he waved as inviting us to come on shore. Though we were actually bound in quest of the Portuguese, yet our hearts now failed us, and we tacked about to make from the shore. On being seen from the castle, a gun was fired at us by a negro, the ball from which fell within a yard of our boat. At length we turned towards the shore to which we rowed, meaning to yield ourselves up; but to our great surprise, the nearer we came to the shore the more did the Portuguese fire at us; and though the bullets fell thick about us we continued to advance till we got close under the castle wall, when we were out of danger from their cannon. We now determined to land in order to try the courtesy of the Portuguese, but were presently assailed by showers of stones from the castle: wall, and saw a number of negroes marching down to the beach with their darts and targets, some of them having bows and poisoned arrows. Their attack was very furious, partly from heavy stones falling into the boat which threatened to break holes in her bottom, as well as from flights of arrows which came whizzing about our ears, and even wounded some of us: Therefore being in desperation, we pushed off from the shore to return to sea, setting four of our men to row, while the other five determined to repay some part of the civility we had received, and immediately handled our fire-arms and bows. We employed these at first against the negroes on the beach, some of whom soon dropped; and then against the Portuguese who stood on the walls dressed in long white-shirts and linstocks in their hands, many of which were dyed red by means of the English arrows. We thus maintained our ground a long while, fighting at our leisure, regardless of the threats of the enemy, as we saw they had no gallies to send out to make us prisoners. When we had sufficiently revenged their want of hospitality, we rowed off, and though we knew that we must pass through another storm of bullets from the castle, we escaped without damage.