And rowing long, at last a riuer we espie, In at the which we bare full fast to see what there might be. And entring in, we see a number of blacke soules, Whose likelinesse seem'd men to be, but as blacke as coles. Their Captaine comes to me as naked as my naile, Not hauing witte or honestie to couer once his taile. By which I doe here gesse and gather by the way, That he from man and manlinesse was voide and cleane astray. And sitting in a trough, a boate made of a logge, The very same wherein you know we vse to serue a hogge, Aloofe he staide at first, put water to his cheeke, A signe that he would not vs trust vnlesse we did the like. That signe we did likewise, to put him out of feare, And shewd him much braue marchandise to make him come vs neare. The wilde man then did come, by signes nowe crieth the fiend Of those gay things to giue him some and I should be his friend. I traffikt there that time for such things as they had, At night to ship I caried him, where I with clothes him clad, Yea, made him there good cheere, and he by signes againe Tolde vs that he would fraight vs then after a day or twaine. And eene thus as we were in talke, looking about, Our boate he sawe with wares that there was tied at sterne without: Which boate he viewing still, as then well stuft with ware. We thinking he had ment no ill, had thereof little care. And the next morne, againe we caried him a shore, Eke bartred there that day with them as we had done before. But when Phoebus began somewhat for to draw neare To Icarus his Court, the sonne of Dedalus most deare, (Whose chaunce it is to dwell amids the Ocean flood, Because that he obseru'd not well his fathers counsell good) We then with saile and ore to ship began to hie, That we might fetch aboorde, before the day had lost his eye. To ship we come at last, which rid foure leagues from shore Refresht vs after trauaile past taken that day before. Then, as it was our guise, our boate at sterne we tie, Eke therin leaue our marchandise, as they were wont to be. With troughes then two or three [The theft of the Negroes.] this Captaine comes by night Aboord our boate, where he with wares himselfe now fraighteth quight. The watch now hearing this, the boate they hal'd vp fast: But gone was all the marchandise, and they escapte and past. The next morne then by day againe we went to shore, Amends to haue for that which they had stolne the night before. But all in vaine was it, our signes were now too bad, They would not vnderstand a whit of any thing they had. But as though they had wrong [A conflict between the Negros for to reuenged be, and our men.] As we row'd downe the streame along