As the Dutchmen offered them some rudeness, they absented themselves from us for three days, during which time they made great fires on the mountains. On the 19th of November, there came a great multitude of them to us, with a great number of cattle, and taking a sudden opportunity while bartering, they set upon us and slew thirteen of our people with their hand-darts, which could not have hurt any of us at the distance of four pikes' length. The Dutchmen fled from them like mice before cats, basely throwing away their weapons. Our _Baas_ or captain kept on board to save himself, but sent us corslets, two-handed swords, pikes, muskets, and targets, so that we were well laden with weapons, but had neither courage nor discretion, for we staid at our tents besieged by savages and cows. We were in muster giants, with great armed bodies; but in action babes with wrens' hearts. Mr Tomkins and I undertook to order these fellows, according to that excellent way which we had seen in your lordship's most honourable actions. Some consented to go with us, though unwillingly; but most of them ran to the pottage pot, swearing it was dinner time. We went all on board this night, except our great mastiff dog, which we could not induce to follow us, for I think he was ashamed of our cowardly behaviour. The land here is of an excellent soil, and the climate is quite healthy; the soil being full of good herbs, as mints, calamint, plantain, ribwort, trefoil, scabious, and such like. We set sail from Saldanha bay on the 27th of December, and doubled the Cape of Good Hope on the last day of the year.