A.D. 

 1592. 



[III. 572.] 



The isle of 

 Nicubar. 



THE ENGLISH VOYAGES 



tunnes with wooden ankers, and about fiftle men in her, 

 with a pinnesse of some eighteene tunnes at her stearne, 

 both laden with pepper. But their pinnesse stole from us 



in a gust in the morning. 



Here we might have taken 



two shippes more of Pegu laden likewise with pepper and 

 rice. In this moneth also we tooke a great Portugall 

 ship of six or seven hundred tun, laden chiefly with 

 victuals, chests of hats, pintados, and Calicut clothes. 

 Besides this we tooke another Portugall ship of some 

 hundred tun, laden with victuals, rice, Calicos, pintados, 

 and other commodities. These ships were bound for 

 Malaca with victuals : for those of Goa, of S. Thomas, 

 and of other places in the Indies doe victuall it, because 

 that victuals there are very scarce. 



In the moneth of November 1592 we shaped our 

 course for the island of Nicubar lying certeine leagues to 

 the Northwest of the famous island of Sumatra ; whereas 

 within short time wee came to anker : and here wee had 

 very good refreshing : for after wee arrived there, the 

 people (whom we found in religion Mahumetans) came 

 aboord us in their canoas, with hennes, cocos, plantans, 

 and other fruits : and within two dayes they brought unto 

 us reals of plate, giving us them for Calicut cloth : which 

 reals they found by diving in the sea, which were lost not 

 long before in two Portugall ships which were bound for 

 China, & were cast away there. This was the furthest 

 place that we were at to the Southeast : and heere because 

 our company by this time was much wasted and dimin- 

 ished, we resolved to turne backe to the isle of Zeilan. 

 They returne Wherfore we weyed anker in the moneth of November, 

 and arrived at Zeilan about the end of the same moneth. 

 In this island groweth great store of excellent cinamom, 

 and the best diamonds in the world. Here our captaine 

 meant to stay to make up our voyage : whereof hee 

 conceived great hope, by certeine intelligence which wee 

 had received ; but the company, which were in all but 

 33 men and boyes, being in a mutiny, and every day 

 ready to go together by the eares (the captaine being sicke 



196 



homezuard. 



