THE DISCOVERY OF GUIANA ad. 



1595. 

 with which, even those browne and tawnie women spot 

 themselves, and colour their cheekes. All places yeeld 

 abundance of cotton, of silke, of balsamum, and of those Cotton, silke, 

 kindes most excellent, and never knowen in Europe, of balsamum, 

 all sortes of gummes, of Indian pepper: and what else p^pp^j.' 

 the countries may afford within the land we knowe not, 

 neither had we time to abide the triall, and search. The [III. 661.] 

 soile besides is so excellent and so full of rivers, as it 

 will Carrie sugar, ginger, and all those other commodities, 

 which the West Indies have. 



The navigation is short, for it may be sayled with an The short, 



ordinarie winde in sixe weekes, and in the like time ^^^^^' ^f 

 . . 111 -111 • commodious 



backe agame, and by the way neither lee snore, enemies navigation to 



coast, rockes, nor sandes, all which in the voyages to the Guiana. 



West Indies, and all other places we are subject unto, as 



the chanell of Bahama, comming from the West Indies, 



cannot well be passed in the Winter, & when it is at the 



best, it is a perilous and a fearefull place. The rest of 



the Indies for calmes, and diseases very troublesome, and 



the sea about the Bermudas a hellish sea for thunder, 



lightning, and stormes. 



This very yeere* there were seventeene sayle of Spanish 1595. 



ships lost in the chanell of Bahama, and the great Philip 



like to have sunke at the Bermudas was put backe to 



Saint Juan de Puerto rico. And so it falleth out in that 



Navigation every yeere for the most part, which in this 



voyage are not to be feared : for the time of yeere to 



leave England is best in July, and the Summer in Guiana 



is in October, November, December, Januarie, Februarie, 



and March, and then the ships may depart thence in 



Aprill, and so returne againe into England in June, so as 



they shall never be subject to Winter-weather, either 



comming, going, or staying there : which for my part, I 



take to be one of the greatest comforts and incourage- 



ments that can be thought on, having (as I have done) 



tasted in this voyage by the West Indies so many calmes, 



so much heat, such outragious gustes, foule weather, and 



contrarie windes. 



427 



