A.D. THE ENGLISH VOYAGES 



1597- 

 The lie and the people all on horsebacke made shew of great matters, 

 chiefe towne of but did nothing. Now being masters of the towne and 

 Jamaica whole Isle, the people submitted themselves to our Generals 



mercy : and here they provided for us great store 

 of dried beefe, and Cassavi meale, a base food, yet 

 the best that the countrey yeeldeth, to continue at sea. 

 This Isle is a marveilous fertil Isle, & is as a garden 

 or store house for divers parts of the maine. It is 

 full of plaine champion ground, which in the rest of 

 the Indies we have not seene : it aboundeth with beeves 

 and Cassavi, besides most pleasant fruits of divers sorts. 

 We have not found in the Indies a more pleasant and 

 holsome place. During the time that we remained in 

 this Isle the captaine of the Isle came often aboord us, 

 we having pledges for the security of their promise. 

 They were in fine at our Generals devotion, to dis- 

 pose of al things, and in all things as he pleased, so 

 that now we were as one people & in one peace 

 together. Being almost ready to depart, M. captaine 

 Parker of Plimmouth came into the rode in his ships 

 boat the second of March, with whom our Generall 

 consorted to goe for the bay of Honduras, where by 

 his perswasion we had great hope of a very good 

 voyage. And departing from Jamaica the 6 of March, 

 we sailed to Cape de Corrientes in Cuba, to looke for 

 a barke of M. Parkers for our better strength : but 

 not finding her, we went for the cape of Honduras, 

 where we purposed to entrap the watch, & so to sacke 

 the towne of Truxillo, but the watch discovering us, 

 made great fires, and the towne presently shot off a 

 great piece, and answered with fires. Notwithstanding 

 the next day being the 31 of March we brought our 

 ships under the fort, and landed our men, but it was 

 a vaine purpose : for the towne is not to be taken but 

 by exceeding multitudes, for it is invincible by nature. 

 It standeth upon the top of a very steepe hill, bordering 

 close to the sea : so environed with woods of such 

 exceeding thicknes, that there is no passage among the 



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