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. Anon the fire grew so strong that I saw it [to be] beyond all help; although she had been already yielded to us. Then we desired to be off from her, but had little hope to [have] obtained our desire. Nevertheless we plied water very much to keep our ship well. Indeed I made little other reckoning for the ship, myself, and divers hurt men; [but] then to have ended there with the Carrack: but most of our people might have saved themselves in boats. And when my care was most, by GOD's Providence only, by the burning asunder of our spritsail-yard with [its] ropes and sail, and the ropes about the spritsail-yard of the Carrack, whereby we were fast entangled, we fell apart; with [the] burning of some of our sails which we had then on board. The _Exchange_ also, being further from the fire, afterward was more easily cleared; and fell off from abaft. As soon as GOD had put us out of danger, the fire got into the Fore-castle [of the Carrack]; where, I think, was store of Benjamin [_the gum Benzoin_] and such other like combustible matter: for it flamed and ran all over the Carrack in an instant, in a manner. The Portugals leapt overboard in great numbers. * * * * * Then sent I, Captain GRANT with the boat; with leave to use his own discretion in saving of them. So he brought me aboard two Gentlemen: The one, an old man, called NUNO VELIO PEREIRA which, as appeareth by the Fourth Chapter in the First Book of the worthy _History_ of [JAN] HUYGHEN VAN LINSCHOTEN, was Governor of Mozambique and Cefala [_Sofala_] in the year 1582 [See _English Garner_ III, 27, 28.]: and since that time, had been likewise a Governor in a place of importance in the East Indies. And the ship [_a Carrack_], wherein he was coming home, was cast away a little to the east of the Cape of _Buona Speranza_ [Cape of Good Hope]: and from thence, he travelled overland to Mozambique; and came, as a passenger, in this Carrack. The other was called BRAS CARRERO, and [he] was Captain of a Carrack which was cast away near Mozambique; and [he] came likewise in this ship for a passenger.