The Boy's Hakluyt: English Voyages of Adventure and DiscoveryHakluyt, Richard
History
The Boy's Hakluyt: English Voyages of Adventure and Discovery
Hakluyt, Richard
Discoveries in geography -- English -- Juvenile literature; Voyages and travels -- Juvenile literature
Then followed a sylvan banquet: “In the meane time while our English
Generall and the Spanish Governour discussed betwixt them of divers
matters, and of the state of the Countrey, the multitude of the Townes
and people, and the commodities of the Iland, our men provided two
banquetting houses covered with greene boughes, the one for the
Gentlemen, the other for the servants, and a sumptuous banquet was
brought in served by us all in plate, with the sound of trumpets, and
consort of musicke, wherewith the Spaniards were delighted.” The feast
ended, the Spaniards in their turn, in recompense of the English
courtesies, provided a bull fight, or hunt, for them. “They caused a
great heard of white buls, and kyne to be brought together from the
mountaines, and appoynted for every Gentleman and Captaine that would
ride, a horse ready sadled, and then singled out three of the best of
them to be hunted by horsemen after their maner, so that the pastime
grewe very pleasant for space of three houres, wherein all three of the
beasts were killed, whereof one tooke the Sea and was slain with a
musket.” After this brutal sport rare presents were exchanged. The next
day the thrifty Englishmen “played the Marchants in bargaining with them
by way of trucke and exchange of divers of their commodities, as horses,
mares, kine, buls, goates, swine, sheepe, bull-hides, sugar, ginger,
pearle, tobacco, and such like commodities of the Iland.”
On the seventh of June they departed, with great good will, from these
Spaniards and Hispaniola. “But,” the diarist shrewdly observed, “the
wiser sort doe impute this great shew of friendship and courtesie used
towards us by the Spaniards rather to the force that wee were of, and
the vigilancie and watchfulnesse that was amongst us, then [than] to any
heartie good will or sure friendly intertainement: for doubtless if they
had been stronger then wee, wee might have looked for no better
courtesie at their handes then Master John Haukins received at Saint
John de Ullua, or John Oxnam neere the streights of Dariene, and divers
others of our Countreymen in other places.”
Resuming the voyage, short stops were made at some of the Bahama
Islands, and on the twentieth of June they fell in with the mainland of
Florida. On the twenty-third they were in great danger of wreck “on a
beach called the Cape of Feare,” so first named by these voyagers. The
next day they came to anchor in a harbour where they caught “in one tyde
so much fish as would have yeelded us twentie pounds in London.” Here
they made their first landing on the continent. Two days afterward they
had arrived at Wocokon.
In entering the shallow harbour three days later the flagship struck
aground and, according to the diarist, “sunk,” but she was not lost. On
the third of July word of their arrival at Wocokon was sent by Manteo to
king Wingina at Roanoke Island. And ultimately the company went up to
Roanoke Island and began their settlement there.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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