WILLIAM TOWERSON 



Our boates being come aboord, we wayed and set 

 sayle and a litle after spied a great fire upon the 

 shoare, and by the light of the fire we might discerne 

 a white thing, which they tooke to be the Castle, and 

 for feare of overshooting the towne of Don John we 

 there ankered two leagues off the shoare, for it is hard 

 to fetch up a towne here, if a ship overshoot it. This 

 day we tooke seven pound, and five ounces of golde. 



This towne lieth in a great Bay, which is very deepe. 



The people in this place desired most to have basons 

 and cloth. They would buy some of them also many 

 trifles, as knives, horsetailes, homes : and some of our 

 men going a shoare, sold a cap, a dagger, a hat, &c. 



They shewed us a certain course cloth, which I thinke 

 to be made in France, for it was course wooll, and a 

 small threed, and as thicke as wosted, and striped with 

 stripes of greene, white, yellow &c. Divers of the 

 people did weare about their neckes great beades of 

 glasse of diverse colours. Here also I learned some 

 of their language, as followeth : 



A.D. 

 1556. 



Mattea, mattea, 

 Dassee, dassee, 

 Sheke, 

 Cowrte, 

 Cracca, 

 Bassina, 

 Foco, foco, 

 Molta, 



' Is their salutation. 

 I thanke you. 

 Golde. 



\ i S ut ' 



1 Knives. . 

 Basons. 

 Cloth. 

 Much, or great store. 



This language 

 seemeth partly 

 to be corrupt. 



The eight day in the morning we had sight of the 

 Castle, but by reason of a miste that then fell we 

 could not have the perfect sight of it, till we were 

 almost at the towne of Don John, and then it cleared 

 up, and we saw it and a white house, as it were a 

 Chappell, upon the hill about it : then we hailed into 

 the shoare, within two English miles of Don Johns 

 towne, and there ankered in seven fadome water. 

 Here, as in many other places before, we perceived that 

 the currant went with the winde. 



Sight of the 

 castle of Mina. 



