Yet, by means of an honest true-hearted man which I had with me, one Captain Grant, nothing was neglected.
Until midnight, when the Admiral came up; the May Flower and the Sampson never left, by turns, to ply her with their great ordnance: but then Captain Cave wished us to stay till morning; at what time each one of us should give her three bouts with our great ordnance, and so should clap her aboard.
But indeed it was long lingered in the morning, until ten of the clock, before we attempted to board her. The Admiral laid her aboard in the mid ship: the May Flower coming up in the quarter, as it should seem, to lie at the stern of the Admiral on the larboard side.
[William Anthonie] the Captain of the said May Flower was slain at the first coming up: whereby the ship fell to the stern of the out-licar of the Carrack; which, being a piece of timber, so wounded her Foresail, that they said they could come no more to [the] fight. I am sure they did not; but kept aloof from us.
The Sampson were aboard on the bow [of the Carrack]; but having not room enough, our quarter lay on the [Royal] Exchange's and our bow on the Carrack's bow.
The Exchange also, at the first coming, had her Captain, Master [George] Cave, shot in both the legs; the one whereof he never recovered: so he, for that present, was not able to do his office; and, in his absence, he had not any that would undertake to lead out his Company to enter upon the Enemy.
My friend, Captain Grant, did lead my men on the Carrack's side; which, being not manfully backed by the Exchange's men, his forces being small, made the Enemy bolder than he would have been: whereby I had six men presently slain, and many more hurt; which made them that remained unhurt to return aboard, and [they] would never more give the assault. I say not but some of the Exchange's men did very well: and many more, no doubt, would have done the like, if there had been any principal man to have put them forward, and to have brought all the Company to the fight; and not to have run into corners themselves. But I must needs say that their ship [the Carrack] was as well provided for defence as any that I have seen.
And the Portugals, peradventure encouraged by our slack working, played the men; and had Barricadoes made where they might stand without any danger of our shot. They plied us also very much with fire, so that most of our men were burnt in some place or other: and while our men were putting out the fire, they would ever be plying them with small shot or darts. This unusual casting of fire did much dismay many of our men, and made them draw back as they did.
When we had not men to enter; we plied our great ordnance much at them, as high up as they might be mounted: for otherwise we did them little harm. And by shooting a piece out of our forecastle, being close by her, we fired a mat on her beak-head: which [fire] more and more kindled, and ran from thence to the mat on the bowsprit; and from the mat, up to the wood of the bowsprit; and thence to the topsail-yard; which fire made the Portugals abaft in the ship to stagger, and to make show of parlé. But they that had the charge before, encouraged them; making show that it might easily be put out, and that it was nothing. Whereupon again they stood stiffly to their defence.