Terror of past depredations, committed by the French Corsairs, had made the Brazilians very suspicious of strangers, and Rogers says "his boat was fir'd on several times when trying to land with a present to the Govenour of Angre de Reys; but on finding them to be English the fryars begged pardon and invited them to their Convent." Besides wooding, watering, and careening his frigates, while at the Isle of Grande, Rogers appears to have unrigged the "Duke's" main and fore masts, for he speaks of "seeking for wood to repair our main and fore trustle trees" (supports of the round tops) "which were broke," and that while so engaged "they found abundance of Frenchmen's graves, which the Portuguese told them were those of near half the crews of two great French ships that water'd in this place nine months before. But," adds Rogers, "God be thank'd ours are very healthy." [Illustration: _Captain Rogers gives the "Duke" a great list._] [Sidenote: _A monstrous animal eaten here by the inhabitants._] The weather is now described "as violent hot," spite of which Rogers speaks of "cleaning one side of the 'Dutchess,' on the afternoon of the 24th, and the other side the next morning; giving the ships great lists; and that having men enough, he let the pinnace, with Captain Dover, Mr. Vanbrugh, and others, go whilst the 'Duke' was cleaning, to take their pleasure, but to return by twelve o'clock, when we should want our boat. And when they did so, they brought with 'em a monstrous creature, which they had kill'd, having prickles like a hedgehog, with fur between them, and a head and tail like a monkey's. It stunk," says Rogers, "intolerably, which the Portuguese told us was only the skin, that the meat of it is very delicious and that they often kill'd them for the table. But our men, being not yet at very short allowance, none of 'em had stomach good enough to try the experiment, so that we were forc'd to throw it overboard to make a sweet ship." That some of those forming the crews of the "Duke" and "Dutchess," should not enjoy their cruising voyage as well as Rogers and his officers did, is not surprising, and this was evidently the case with "Michael Jones and another, two Irish land-men who," says Rogers, "while we lay at the Isle of Grande run into the woods thinking to get away;" in spite of the experiences "of two such sparks that run away the day before from the 'Dutchess,' and in the night were so frighted with tygers as they thought, but really by monkeys and baboons, that they ran into the water hollowing to the ship till they were fetch'd aboard again." [Sidenote: _A Portuguese canoe attack'd by mistake, and one of their men kill'd._]