SIR JOHN HAWKINS ad. 



1568. 

 winde, and being left onely with two ankers and two 

 cables (for in this conflict we lost three cables and two 

 ankers) we thought alwayes upon death which ever was 

 present, but God preserved us to a longer time. 



The weather waxed reasonable, and the Saturday we 

 set saile, and having a great number of men and little [HI- 5^5-] 

 victuals our hope of life waxed lesse and lesse : some ^,!"J^^^ ^^^^^ ^ 

 desired to yeeld to the Spaniards, some rather desired to 

 obtaine a place where they might give themselves to the 

 Infidels, and some had rather abide with a little pittance Hard choke. 

 the mercie of God at Sea : so thus with many sorowful 

 hearts we wandred in an unknowen Sea by the space of 

 14 dayes, till hunger inforced us to seek the land, for 

 hides were thought very good meat, rats, cats, mice and Miseries. 

 dogs, none escaped that might be gotten, parrats and 

 monkeyes that were had in great price, were thought 

 there very profitable if they served the turne one dinner : 

 thus in the end the 8 day of October we came to the land 

 in the botome of the same bay of Mexico in 23 degrees 

 and a halfe, where we hoped to have found inhabitants of 

 the Spaniards, reliefs of victuals, and place for the repaire 

 of our ship, which was so sore beaten with shot from our 

 enemies and brused with shooting off our owne ordinance, 

 that our wearie and weake armes were scarce able to defende 

 and keepe out water. But all things happened to the con- 

 trary, for we found neither people, victuall, nor haven of 

 reliefe, but a place where having faire weather with some 

 perill we might land a boat : our people being forced with 

 hunger desired to be set on land, whereunto I consented. 



And such as were willing to land I put them apart, and 

 such as were desirous to goe homewardes, I put apart, so 

 that they were indifferently parted a hundred of one side ^^^ hundred 

 and a hundred of the other side : these hundred men we f ^V^^ °^ 

 set a land with all diligence in this little place beforesaid, ^^p. ^^^ ^' 

 which being landed, we determined there to take in fresh hdje. 

 water, and so with our little remaine of victuals to take 

 the sea. 



The next day having a land with me fiftie of our 



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