Chap. 1. S E B A L D D 
nlfh him. But it was only a Pretence ; the true Meaning 
was, they were afraid the Dutch would come in in the 
Night, and take away the King, and his Retinue. The Dutch 
Captain went back into the Palace ; but they told him, 
the King was not there : Upon which, fearing the Negroes 
had an ill Defign* he refolved to force his Way to his 
Sloop. The Noife awakened the King, who came out of 
his Palace naked, and quarrelled with them, but they did 
not feem much concerned at his Anger. De JVeert told 
him the Occafion of their Difpute : The King defired him 
to ftay with him, on Condition that his Men, or Part of 
them, foould have the Liberty to go on board their Sloop. 
So he Laid m the Town with Eight of his Men. The Ne- 
groes, thinking themfelves not fafe enough, would not per- 
mit de JVeert to be with the King ; therefore they con- 
ducted him into another Houfe, and kept a Watch all 
Night about him. The next Morning, the Captain going 
out of the Houfe, to wait on the King, an old Woman 
came to him, and looked him in the Face : She had a Box 
in her Hands, covered with loofe Leather, which was fatt- 
ened to it like the Leather of a Pair of Bellows, and, turn- 
ing Three times round about him, muttered fome Words, 
and beat at the lame time the extended Leather with her 
Hand, which occafioned the flying of fome Allies out of 
the Box upon the Captain’s Cloths ; nobody knew what 
lire meant by it, or what fhe intended to do •, but de JVeert 
and the Negroes laughed at her. At lafh the Negroes 
brought fome Bananas, Two Goats, and Four Pullets, to 
exchange with the Dutch : The Captain took them, and, 
feeing he could exped nothing elfe from fuch a People, 
took his Leave of the King, and went on board again : 
But, while he was in the Town, fome of his Men went in- 
to the Woods, and killed a wild Boar, Two Buffs, and 
fume Birds, which were diftributed to the Sick. 
9. The General v/ent afhore every Day to vifit thefe 
poor Men Morning and Evening, taking an extraordinary 
Care of them, and fupplying them with all Neceffaries. 
December 4. a Ship named the More , arrived in the Road 
from the Ilha del Principe , and the next Day the Yatch of 
Laurence Chrijlian came into the fame Road from the fame 
Ifland. Some of the Sick recovered, but many that were 
well fell fick, becaufe the Air was very unwholfome ; 
therefore the General, having loft Sixteen of his Men, 
who died there, refolved to quit the Country. December 
8. the whole Crew came on board, and the fame Day Cap- 
tain de JVeert fell lick of a Fever, which kept him Two 
Months a-bed. The 9th, the Fleet failed towards the 
Ifland of Annobon , with a Defign to land in it, becaufe 
the Sicknefs continued and increafed among them. On the 
26th, in the Afternoon, they arrived under that Ifland : 
The Admiral having detached dwo Sloops with Captain 
Derrick to go on Shore, the Portuguefe and the Negroes 
oppofed them : But Dirrick telling them they were come 
as Friends, and only to buy Refrefoments, they promifed 
to fupply them ; but it being too late to go and fpeak to 
the Governor, they defired th t Dutch to ftay till the next 
Day, and then they would certainly furnifh them with Pro- 
viflons. 
10. On the 17th, in the Morning, they fent Two Sloops 
afhore ; but they found a great many Men armed with Fu- 
fils, who told them, that, if they came near the Shore, 
they would look upon them as Enemies. The General, 
having Advice of it, armed all the Sloops, and fent them 
afhore under the Command of Captain Bockholt , and the 
Serjeant major ; the Sloops made to the Shore in Order, 
Two on the Left Hand, and the reft on the Right : But the 
Pcrtuguefe , and the Blacks, who had carried away every 
thing out of their Huts in the Night, fet them all on 
Fire, and, abandoning their Fort, retired into the Moun- 
tains. The Shore being free, the Admiral ordered, that 
all the Sick ftiould land : The Seamen, who longed to eat 
fome Fruit, went about the Ifland to get fome Bananas 
and Oranges, which are plentiful there : But the Portuguefe , 
who fpied them, killed fome of them : And the 19th of 
the fame Month they murdered one, whom they expofed 
in the Highway to infult the Dutch. The General, to 
prevent focli Accidents, forbad any Seaman to go alone 
and difaimed to leek for Fruit without Leave 1 But his 
Command being not obeyed, to the great Prejudice of thofe 
that flighted his Order, he caufed a Gibbet to be fet iip* 
to fright thofe who ftiould be fo bold, for the future^ 
as to difobey him. Then he fent a Party of his Men;, 
well armed', who brought into their little Camp Twenty- 
feven Head of Cattle, which Prize was more agreeable to 
them, than if they had taken fome of their Enetnies Pri- 
foners ; however, they were fo carelefs, they foil the befl; 
Part of their Booty. The 24th, the Admiral detached an- 
other Party of 1 50 Men-, with Orders to advaiice into the 
Country, and to the Mountain* where they found the Por- 
tuguefe intrenched, who fell upon them-, and put them in 
Diforder : However, th t Dutch, lofing no Courage, conti- 
nued their March up the Mountain, and found Two Paf~ 
fages ; upon which they divided in Two Companies* who 
got up to the Mountain by each of thefe Ways* with 
much Fatigue : Being advanced pretty nigh* the P optic- 
guefe foot at them, and threw down many Stones * Cap- 
tain de JVeert ’s Enfign, who led them, was killed with a 
Mufquet-foot, and many more were Wounded : But the 
Dutch , not difeouraged, got up the Mountain, put the 
Enemies to Flight, and took the Fort, where they found a 
Ton of Bifcuit hid under Grafs* Two Dutch Cheefes, and 
fome Earthen Pots full of Spanijh Wine. They burnt the 
Two Houfes that were near the Fort* which were full of 
Cotton ; and* after this Expedition, returned to their own 
Camp 
1 1. The Air of the Ifland of Annobon being worfe than 
that of Guiney , the Difeafes among the Seamen encreafecl 
every Day; therefore January 2. 1599. they Refolved to 
put to Sea ; but, before their Departure, they buried their 
Dead, and burnt the Huts, and the Church. The next 
Day they failed for the Streight of Magellan , with a De- 
fign to ftop no-where elfe. The 2 2d, they paffed the 
Shelves and Rocks of Brqfil, called by the Portuguefe Ab- 
colhos. March 9. one of the Vice-admiral’s Seamen, who 
had feveral times broken open the Cook’s Cupboard, and 
ftolen Bread, was, by Council, condemned to be hanged 
on the Bowfprit Maft. About that Time the Sick began to 
be better, and they got fo good Stomachs, that their Share 
was not fufficient. The 12th, the Fleet being near the 
Rio de Plata , the Sea appeared as red as Blood : They 
drew up fome of the Water, and found Abundance of 
fmall red Worms in it, which leaped out of it like Fleas ; 
fome are of Opinion, that thefe Worms come out of the 
Whale’s Belly in certain Seafons of the Year. Eight Days 
after, an Englijh Seaman died ftrangely on board the Fi- 
delity : He was eating very heartily, when, on a hidden* 
he fell down upon his Back, rolling his F,yes, foaming and 
fpeechlefs, and expired in that Condition. Two Days 
after, a young Man of Utrecht fell fick of the fame Diftem- 
per, and was like a Madman, biting, fighting, andfcratch- 
ing every body : He was carried into his Cabin, where he 
was Three Days and Three Nights without eating : The 
fourth Day he began to mutter fome Words, and devoured 
a Bifcuit they gave him, but at laft he died miferably ; fot 
he was fo fcnfelefs, that he could not clean himfelf, or void 
his Excrements in a regular Way : and it being then very- 
cold, the Moifture that was about him freezed, and be- 
numbed his Flefti, infomuch that they were forced to cut 
off his Legs. 
12. April 6 . the Ships got into the Streight; about 
Evening they caft Anchor under the leaft .of the Two 
Blands of Penguins, Fourteen Leagues off the Mouth of 
the Streight ; there they law great Quantities of thofe 
Birds called Plungeons, becaufe they dive into the Water 
to catch Fifh : They killed Thirteen or Fourteen with 
Sticks, and could have killed enow for the whole Fleet, but 
that they would not lofe Time, nor the Opportunity of the 
fair Wind. The 9th, they put to Sea again, and the next 
Day the General fent Fifty Men afoore, to fee whether 
they could find any Inhabitants and Cattle ; but, having 
walked about Three Leagues along the SeaSide* they found 
nothing. On the 13th, they arrived in a fine Bay, One- 
and-twenty Leagues off the Mouth of the Streight, called 
by the Englijh, Muff el Bay , becaufe of the great Quantities 
of Muffels found there. In that Place they provided them- 
felves with frefo Water and Wood, which are there very 
plentiful. The 17th* they jailed between Two rocky 
Coafts, and lay fo clofe, and fo high, that they thought 
they 
