Having sighted various places, on the 26th of August the squadron put into the harbour of Sierra Leone. The following day two negroes came off and gave the information that there was a Portuguese vessel higher up the harbour. In order to learn more about her, some of the crew went on shore and danced and amused themselves with the negroes, from whom they learned that it would be impossible to approach her with the ships. Disappointed in this. Cavendish and seventy of his men landed the following day, attacked the town, set some of the houses on fire, and took what little spoil they could find. On their return the negroes who had fled, having rallied in a wood, shot poisoned arrows at them, and hurt three or four. Notwithstanding this, the crew again landed for the purpose of filling their water-casks and washing their clothes. While they were thus occupied a party of negroes rushed out upon them from the woods, and shooting their arrows, hurt several of the men, among whom was a soldier, who, breaking off the shaft, allowed the head to remain in the wound rather than have it cut out. It being poisoned, his body swelled and became black, and he died the next morning. Touching at the Cape de Verde Islands, the squadron steered a west-south-west course across the Atlantic, and on the 31st of October sighted a lofty mountain in Brazil, twenty-four leagues from Cape Frio. The next day the ships came to an anchor between the island of San Sebastian and the main. Here the greater part of a month was spent in setting up a pinnace, preparing casks, and other necessary works. Again sailing on the afternoon of the 17th of December, the squadron entered a hitherto unknown harbour, to which the Admiral gave the name of Port Desire, in memory of his own ship. Here vast numbers of seals were found, and also penguins. As the tides ebbed and flowed considerably, the ships were put on shore to be careened and graved. No water, however, being found near the harbour, the people had to go a considerable distance to fetch it. A man and a boy were thus employed, when they were set upon by fifty huge savages, who shot their arrows, and wounded them sorely. They would have been killed had not the Admiral, with nineteen men, coming up, put the natives to flight. Though the English followed, so rapidly did the savages run that they soon made their escape. As they were seen above the rocks they appeared like giants, and the print mark of one of their feet being measured, was found, it is asserted, to be eighteen inches in length. This, however, was not a correct way of judging of their height, and was probably an exaggeration, as none have since been found much taller than the tallest Europeans. Cavendish had after this no communication with the natives of this part of the coast.