There commeth not any ship upon this coast, whereof these cannoas give not notice presently to every place. And wee were certified in Isla Grand, that they had sent and discover us. an Indian from the river of Ienero, through all the mountaines and marishes, to take a view of us, and accordingly made a relation of our shippes, boates, and the number of men which we might have. But to prevent the like danger that might come upon us being carelesse and negligent, I determined one night, in the darkest and quietest of it, to see what watch our company kept on the shore; manned our light horsman, and boat, armed them with bowes and targetts, and got a shore some good distance from the places where were our boothes, and sought to come upon them undiscovered: we used all our best endevours to take them at unawares, yet comming within fortie paces, we were discovered; the whole and the sicke came forth to oppose themselves against us. Which we seeing, gave them the hubbub, after the manner of the Indians, and assaulted them, and they us; but being a close darke night, they could not discerne us presently upon the hubbub.[127]
From our shippe the gunner shott a peece of ordinance over our heads, according to the order given him, and thereof we tooke occasion to retyre unto our boates, and within a little space came to the boothes and landing places, as though wee came from our shippes to ayd them. They The events of a good watch. began to recount unto us, how that at the wester poynt of the iland, out of certaine cannoas, had landed a multitude of Indians, which with a great out-cry came upon them, and assaulted them fiercely; but finding better resistance then they looked for, and seeing themselves discovered by the shippes, tooke themselves to their heeles and returned to their cannoas, in which they imbarked themselves, and departed. One affirmed, he saw the cannoas; another, their long hayre; a third, their bowes; a fourth, that it could not be, but that some of them had their payments. And it was worth the sight, to behold those which had not moved out of their beds in many moneths, unlesse by the helpe of others, gotten some a bow-shoot off into the woods, others into the toppes of trees, and those which had any strength, joyned together to fight for their lives. In fine, the boothes and tents were left desolate.[128]
To colour our businesse the better, after we had spent some houres in seeking out and joyning the companie together, in comforting, animating, and commending them, I left them an extraordinary guard for that night, and so departed to our shippes, with such an opinion of the assault given by the Indians, that many so possessed, through all the voyage, would not be perswaded to the contrary. Which impression wrought such effect in most of my companie, that in all places where the Indians might annoy us, they were ever after most carefull and vigilant, as was convenient.[129]
In these ilands it heigheth and falleth some five or six foot water, and but once in two and twentie houres; as in all this coast, and in many parts of the West Indies; as also in the coast of Perew and Chely, saving where are great bayes or indraughts, and there the tydes keep their ordinary course of twice in foure and twentie houres.
Palmito iland.
In the lesser of these ilands, is a cave for a small ship to ryde in, land-lockt, and shee may moore her sele to the trees of either side. This we called Palmito iland, for the aboundance it hath of the greater sort of palmito trees; the other hath none at all. A man may goe betwixt the ilands with his ship, but the better course is out at one end.
In these ilands are many scorpions, snakes, and adders, with other venemous vermine. They have parrots, and a certaine kinde of fowle like unto pheasants, somewhat bigger, and seeme to be of their nature. Here we spent above a moneth in curing of our sicke men, supplying our wants of wood and water, and in other necessary workes. And the tenth of December, all things put in order, we set sayle for Cape Frio, having onely six men sicke, with purpose there to set ashore our two prisoners before named; and anchoring under the Cape, we sent our boat a shore, but they could not finde any convenient place to land them in, and so returned.[130] The wind being southerly, and not good to goe on our voyage, we succoured our selves within Isla Grand, which lyeth some dozen or fourteene leagues from the cape, betwixt the west, and by south and west south-west; the rather to set our prisoners a shore.
In the mid-way betwixt the Cape and this iland, lyeth Ienero. the river Ienero, a very good harbour, fortified with a garrison, and a place well peopled. The Isla Grand is some eight or ten leagues long, and causeth a goodly harbour for shipping. It is full of great sandie bayes, and in the most of them is store of good water; within this iland are many other smaller ilands, which cause divers sounds Little iland. and creekes; and amongst these little ilands, one, for the pleasant scituation and fertilitie thereof, called Placentia. This is peopled, all the rest desert: on this island our prisoners desired to be put a shore, and promised to send us some refreshing. Whereto we condescended, and sent them ashore, with two boates well man’d and armed, who found few inhabitants in the iland; for our people saw not above foure or five houses, notwithstanding our boats returned loaden with plantynes, pinias,[131] potatoes, sugar-canes, and some hennes. Amongst which they brought a kind of little plantyne, greene, and round, which were the best of any that I have seene.
With our people came a Portingall, who said, that the island was his; he seemed to be a Mistecho, who are those that are of a Spanish and an Indian brood, poorely apparelled and miserable; we feasted him, and gave him some trifles, and he, according to his abilitie, answered our courtesie with such as he had.
The wind continuing contrary, we emptied all the water wee could come by, which we had filled in Saint James his Isla Grand. iland, and filled our caske with the water of this Isla Grand. It is a wildernesse, covered with trees and shrubs so thicke, as it hath no passage through, except a man make it by force. And it was strange to heare the howling and cryes of wilde beastes in these woods day and night, which we could not come at to see by any meanes; some like lyons, others like beares, others like hoggs, and of such and so many diversities, as was admirable.