The fleet assembled for this third voyage comprised six ships. The “admiral” was again the “Jesus of Lubec,” commanded by Hawkins. Young Drake had charge of the smallest of the lot—the “Judith,” a staunch little craft of only fifty tons. The others were the “Minion,” the “William and John,” the “Angel,” and the “Swallow.” Hakluyt gives us Hawkins’s signed narrative of the adventure under a title foreshadowing its unhappy nature: “The third troublesome voyage made with the Jesus of Lubeck, the Minion, and foure other ships, to the parts of Guinea, and the West Indies, in the yeeres 1567 and 1568 by M. John Hawkins.” The fleet left Plymouth on the second of October. After only a week out the first trouble came with a dispersion of the ships in an “extreme” storm, which raged for four days and with such damage to the “Jesus” that Hawkins felt obliged to turn her back homeward. Soon afterward, however, the wind veered and the weather cleared, when she was returned to the outward course. The other ships were met at the Canaries, where repairs were made. Again in sailing trim the hunt for Negroes was begun along the African coast. As before, the natives were found ready to fight for their liberty. Arrived at Cape Verde, Hawkins landed one hundred and fifty men, expecting to make a large catch here. But a battle ensued in which many of the English force, Hawkins among them, were hurt, and several mortally, by the natives’ envenomed arrows; and only a few captures were made. Similar luck followed down to Sierra Leone, scarcely one hundred and fifty Negroes having been got together. Since this number was too small profitably to take to the West Indies, and it was now quite time to get away, Hawkins decided to give over further quest and to go to the “coast of the Mine” (the Gold Coast) in the hope of obtaining enough gold for his merchandise at least to meet the expenses of the voyage. But just as this decision was reached it was overruled by an unexpected opening to more captures. A messenger from a Negro “king” at war with neighbouring “kings” came aboard the flag-ship asking the Englishmen’s aid in his war, with the promise that all the natives he might capture should be “at their pleasure” as well as those taken by them. The proposal was eagerly accepted and one hundred and twenty men were sent ashore to join the king’s forces. The allies began an assault upon a fortified town of eight thousand inhabitants. It was, however, so strongly impaled, and so valiantly defended, that they could not prevail against it. Six of the English were killed and forty wounded in this attack, and reinforcements were called for. Thereupon Hawkins himself took a hand. An assault now opened both by land and sea, Hawkins with the king leading the land attack. Shortly the frail little houses, covered with dry palm leaves, were set afire and the inhabitants put to flight. So the town fell. Hawkins and his men captured two hundred and