WILLIAM TOWERSON ad. 



1556. 

 The boates of these places are somewhat large and bigge, 

 for one of them will carrie twelve men, but their forme 

 is alike with the former boates of the coast. There are 

 about these townes few rivers : their language differeth 

 not from the language used at Don Johns towne : but 

 every one can speake three or foure words of Portuguise, 

 which they used altogether to us. 



We sawe this night about 5 of the clocke 22 boates 

 running along the shoare to the Westward, whereupon 

 we suspected some knavery intended against us. The 

 12 day therefore we set sayle and went further along 

 the coast, and descried more townes wherein were greater 

 houses then in the other townes, and the people came out 

 of the townes to looke upon us, but we could see no 

 boates. Two mile beyond the Eastermost towne are 

 blacke rocks, which blacke rockes continue to the utter- 

 most cape of the land, which is about a league off, and 

 then the land runnes in Eastnortheast, and a sandy shoare 

 againe : upon these blacke rockes came downe certaine 

 Negroes, which waved us with a white flagge, but we 

 perceiving the principall place to be neere, would not 

 stay, but bare still along the shoare : and as soone as 

 we had opened the point of the land, we raysed another 

 head-land about a league off the point, which had a rocke 

 lying off it into the sea, and that they thought to be the [II. ii. 34.] 

 place which we sought. When we came thwart the place 

 they knew it, and we put wares into our boate, and the 

 ship being within halfe a mile of the place ankered in five 

 fadome water and faire ground. We went on shoare 

 with our boate, and ankered about ten of the clocke in the 

 forenoone : we saw many boates lying upon the shoare, 

 and divers came by us, but none of them would come 

 neere us, being as we judged afraid of us: because that 

 foure men were taken perforce the last yeere from this Foure men 

 place, so that no man came to us, whereupon we went ^ ke1 ! a ^ 

 aboord againe, and thought here to have made no saile : 

 yet towardes night a great sort came downe to the water 

 side, and waved us on shoare with a white flagge, and 



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