A.D. 

 1592. 



A poor e allow- 

 ance of 

 victuals. 



[III. 851.] 



The hie of 

 Placencia in 

 BrasilL 



THE ENGLISH VOYAGES 



of our Master we got 14000 of our birds, and had almost 

 lost our captaine in labouring to bring the birds aboord : 

 & had not our Master bene very expert in the set of 

 those wicked tides, which run after many fashions, we 

 had also lost our ship in the same place : but God of his 

 goodnes hath in all our extremities bene our protector. 

 So the 22 at night we departed with 14000 dried Pen- 

 guins, not being able to fetch the rest, and shaped our 

 course for Brasil. Nowe our captaine rated our victuals, 

 and brought us to such allowance, as that our victuals 

 might last sixe moneths ; for our hope was, that within 

 sixe moneths we might recover our countrey, though 

 our sailes were very bad. So the allowance was two 

 ounces & a halfe of meale for a man a day, and to 

 have so twise a weeke, so that 5 ounces did serve for 

 a weeke. Three daies a weeke we had oile, three 

 spoonfuls for a man a day ; and 2 dayes in a weeke 

 peason, a pint betweene 4 men a day, and every day 

 5 Penguins for 4 men, and 6 quartes of water for 4 

 men a day. This was our allowance ; wherewith (we 

 praise God) we lived, though weakly, and very feeble. 

 The 30 of January we arrived at the He of Placencia 

 in Brasill, the first place that outward bound we were 

 at : and having made the sholde, our ship lying off at 

 sea, the Captaine with 24 of the company went with 

 the boat on shore, being a whole night before they 

 could recover it. The last of January at sun-rising 

 they suddenly landed, hoping to take the Portugales 

 in their houses, & by that meanes to recover some 

 Casavi-meale, or other victuals for our reliefe : but 

 when they came to the houses, they were all razed, and 

 burnt to the ground, so that we thought no man had 

 remained on the Hand. Then the captaine went to 

 the gardens, & brought from thence fruits & roots for 

 the company, and came aboord the ship, and brought 

 her into a fine creeke which he had found out, where 

 we might more her by the trees, and where there was 

 water, and hoopes to trim our caske. Our case being 



412 



