The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation — Volume 11Hakluyt, Richard
History
The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation — Volume 11
Hakluyt, Richard
Discoveries in geography -- English; Voyages and travels
Our boates being come aboord, we wayed and set saile and a litle after
spied, a great fire vpon the shoare, and by the light of the fire we might
discerne a white thing, which they tooke to be the Castle, and for feare of
ouersbooting the towne of Don Iohn we there ankered two leagues off the
shoare, for it is hard to fetch vp a towne here, if a ship ouershoot it.
This day we tooke seuen pound, and fiue ounces of gold.
This towne lieth in a great Bay, which is very deepe.
The people in this place desired most to haue basons and cloth. They would
buy some of them also many trifles, as kniues, horsetailes, hornes: and
some of our men going a shoare, sold a cap, a dagger, a hat, &c.
They shewed vs a certain course cloth, which I thinke to be made in France,
for it was course wooll, and a small threed, and as thicke as wosted, and
striped with stripes of greene, white, yellow &c. Diuers of the people did
weare about their neckes great beades of glasse of diuerse colours. Here
also I learned some of their language, [Marginal note: This language
seemeth partly to be corrupt.] as followeth:
Mattea, mattea, Is their salutation.
Dassee, dassee, I thanke you.
Sheke, Golde.
Cowrte, Cut.
Cracca, Kniues.
Bassina, Basons.
Foco, foco, Cloth.
Molta, Much, or great store.
[Sidenote: Sight of the casle of Mina.] The eight day in the morning we had
sight of the Castle, but by reason of a miste that then fell we could not
haue the perfect sight of it, till we were almost at the towne of Don Iohn,
and then it cleared vp, and we saw it and a white house, as it were a
Chappell, vpon the hill about it, and then we halled into the shoare,
within two English miles of Don Iohns towne, and there ankered in seuen
fadome water. Here, as in many other places before, we perceiued that the
currant went with the winde.
The land here is in some places low and in some high, and full of wood
altogether.
[Sidenote: Don Iohns towne described.] The towne of Don Iohn is but litle,
of about twentie houses, and the most part of the towne is walled in with a
wall of a mans height, made with reede or sedge, or some such thing. Here
we staied two or three houres after we had ankered, to see if any man would
come vnto vs: and seeing that none did come, we manned our boates and put
in marchandize, and went and ankered with our boates neere to the shoare:
then they sent out a man to vs who made vs signes that that was the towne
of Don Iohn, and that he himselfe was in the Countrey, and would be at home
at the going downe of the Sunne, and when he had done, he required a
reward, as the most part of them will doe which come first aboord, and I
gaue him one ell of cloth and he departed, and that night we heard no more
of him.
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