the Lat. of io° 30b From the Time we paiTed Cape VeYd* 
we had but little Wind, and the Tides run againft us W. 
N. W. 
The nineteenth about Noon, we defcried the Idol 
Iflands, about eight Leagues off to the E. N. E, and our 
own Pinnace making into the Shore. The-fe Iflands lie in 
9° 3o / N. L. They are covered with Wood, and bating 
Tagrin, are the higheft Land between Cape Verd and Cape 
Sierra Liona, Great Idol being the iargeft and rnoft fouth- 
ern of thofe Iflands, affords Water, and feveral Sorts of 
Fruits and Fowls ; but its Inhabitants, who are very nu- 
merous, are not to be dealt with without Hoftages. The 
Lejfer Idol affords likewife Water: Befides thefe two, there 
are other fmaller Iflands, which are fo inconsiderable, that 
they are not diftinguifhed by any Name. The Names of 
thefe two are taken from a River fo called in the Continent, 
the Mouth of which lies oppoflte to them about three or 
four Leagues off. The King of this Country refides up 
that River; the Natives are Negroes, Idolaters, great 
Hunters, and Eaters of Elephants. They have no Com- 
merce with the Continent, and it is hard to get afhore up- 
on them, becaufe their Goaf! lies very high : I believe they 
put off their Elephants Teeth in the River of Tagrin. At 
Night we loft Sight of thofe iflands, which are diftant 25 
Leagues from Cape Sierra Liona , or Tagrin. Next Day 
we faw, about a Quarter of a League off, feveral Spouts, 
or Guts of Wind, whirling about upon the Sea, and forc- 
ing up the Water with great Violence, two of which were 
very formidable. As foon as we perceived them, we furl- 
ed all our Sails, for fear of any Mifchief from them. 
3. We arrived November the 23d, at Cape Sierra Liona , 
and caft Anchor at Tagrin , where feveral Negroes coming 
on Board, gave me to underftahd, that there was an Eng- 
UJh Veffel about four Leagues off at Safana , the Refldence 
of the King of Tagrin. On the 28 th I caufed the Rudder 
to be taken off the Stern-poft, and hauled afhore, where 
having polled a ftrong Guard, and fortified the Place with 
felled Trees, I fet the Carpenters to work. Having walked 
a little further into the Country, I found it very pleafant. 
At the Bottom of the Creek there was a fmall Brook of 
fweet and clear Water, the Banks of which, towards the Sea, 
were decked with great Quantities of Citron Trees, Wil- 
lows, and pretty thick Woods. I likewife found fome 
Plains good for Pafture ; but the Soil is nothing but Stone, 
or Iron-coloured Rock. Their Eloufes are infinitely better 
than thofe at Cape Verd. The Natives, who are Negroes, 
worfhip little horrible Images refembling Devils, and fmall 
Lumps of black Earth in the Form of Sugar Bifcuits, which 
I understood to be the Neft of Ants. To thefe they offer 
Fruits, the Heads of Monkies, Baboons, and other Beafts. 
They cail the Idols Gigris , which Name I take to be de- 
rived from the French ; for they commonly falute one an- 
other in thefe Words, Tout r Haut ; but when they falute a 
White, they cry Tu. As Men, they are a much better 
fort of People than the other Negroes, though they begin 
now to improve their Cunning, by converfing with the 
People of feveral Nations that touch there. The Place 
where we lay being the third Creek from Cape Sierra Liona , 
is very convenient for taking in Water, Wood, Citrons, 
Oranges, and Hoops for Water-Cafks, which are all to be 
had for little or nothing. There we had very good Rice 
in Exchange for equal Quantities of Salt. It affords no 
Flefh, unlefs Pullets, which are very fcarcc-, and has little 
Accommodation for Hunting ; but all its Creeks are well 
ftored with feveral forts of Fifh. 
The Cape lies in 8° of North-Latitude, and the Needle 
vanes there 2 43 North-Eaft. One of our Trumpeters 
that could not fwim was unfortunately drowned in a little 
River near this Place, which was nine or ten Foot deep. 
a Tis prefumed he was deceived by the extream Clearnefs of 
the Water, which reprefen ted the Bottom of the River to 
be nearer the Surface than it was, and that thereupon going 
to wafh himfelf, but not meeting with the expected Ground, 
was fo frightened with the Surprize, that he negledled 
taxing hold of the Banks or the River, which was not above 
ten Foot broad. December the 3d two Negroes came on 
Board, one of whom was armed with a Bow, Arrows, 
Sword, and Knife ; the other, who was the Interpreter, told 
me, that he who bore the Arms was lent by the King to 
acquaint me that the Portuguese up the River had murdered 
the Captain and the whole Crew of a St. Malo’s Bark ‘ That 
his Mailer was forry fuch a thing fhould happen near his 
Territories, and that if I had a mind to refent it, he would 
furnifh me with Negroes to conduct me to the Place where 
the Portugueze had lodged the Bark. This I underftood 
to be about fev-en or eight Leagues above the Safena , whi- 
ther the St. Malo’s Captain had gone to buy a fort of Wood 
not unlike that of St. Martha , which in France might be 
worth eight or nine Livres a hundred Weight. 
When I firft heard the News, I fulpedled. that the Por- 
tugueze, underftanding that my Rudder and many of my 
Men were afhore, had contrived the Mefiage to induce 
me to fend a Detachment out of the Land Guard, and ftj 
give them an Opportunity of pofleffing themfelves of the 
Rudder and Water-Cafks that were afhore; but upon fe- 
cond Thoughts, calling to mind the Humour of the Pcrtu- 
gueze in that Country, and the Weaknefs of the St. Malo’s 
Ship, I concluded the Account not improbable, and 
withal faw that the flighting fuch Intelligence might leffen 
the Reputation of the French in that Country. At laft, 
having refolved to fend out a Detachment; purl'uant to the 
King’s Meffage, the Interpreter, with feveral other Ne- 
groes, offered to go along with my Men to the Place, fay- 
ing, they would go any where to have an Opportunity of 
killing Portugueze. To carry on this Affair with more 
Security, I ordered the Rudder to be brought aboard, for 
the Carpenter’s Work being then finifhed, there wanted 
nothing but the Iron-work, which might be done on Board, 
by fetting up a Forge in the Ship. 
I reinforced the Land Guard with ten Men, ordering 
them to plant Barricades of Water-Cades before the princi- 
pal Avenues of the Place where they lay, and to fuffer nei- 
ther White nor Black to come near them in the Night- 
time, and got Captain Pile to accompany my Men in the 
Expedition, Accordingly, the next Day 1 lent up the 
River our Sloop, with an Addition of ten Men to her 
Complement, together with Captain Pile’s Bark manned 
with his own Men, and the Hope’s Long-boat, with twenty 
Men and four Padereroes, all under the Command of 
Monfieur Monteurier. December the 8 th, Captain Datel 
of Dieppe arrived in the Bay, and told me, that at the Ifle 
of St. Vincent he met a Dutch Ship of four hundred Tuns, 
manned with Dutch and Englijh , bound for Bantam , in 
order to convey thither the News of the Agreement between 
thofe two Nations. At Three of the Clock in the After- 
noon M. Monteurier returned with the Hope’s Long-boat, 
and Captain Pile’s Bark, our Pinnace not being able to 
keep up with their Oars, and reported that he had been ten 
or twelve Leagues up the River, where, finding the Rivet- 
very narrow and rocky, infomuch that the Bark ftruck 
feveral times, and having no Commiflion from me to ven- 
ture the Lofs of the Bark, he returned back without meet- 
ing any Portugueze , or their Veffels. 
4. On the 31ft we were in 3 0 30' North- Latitude ; after 
our Departure from Tagrin the Weather was various, lome- 
times ftormy, and fometimes very calm, as it ufes to be in 
thofe Seas, and we found our Rudder much more fervice- 
able tnan Before. ‘January ift, 1620, at Sun-rifing we 
found the Needle 3 0 30' North-Eaft, and the Latitude^ 0 5' 
North. The 6th we eroded the Equinoctial Line, and 
celebrated the ulual Cuftom of throwing Sea- Water upon 
thofe who had never paffed it. From the third of this 
Month we had the Wind at South-Eaft and South-South- 
Eaft, and failed clofe to the Wind, in order to raife the 
South Pole, purfuant to the common Courfe of Naviga- 
tion. The 24th we were under the Tropick of Capricorn, 
and the Needle varied 13 0 to the North-Eaft from our 
paffing the Line ; we had the Wind at Eaft and Eaft-South- 
Eaft. On the ift of February we began to have the 
wefterly and other variable Winds, being then in 13 0 South 
Latitude, and the Needle varying 13 0 30' North-Eaft. 
The 3d, being becalmed, I observed at the Sun-rifing 
that the Needle was 13° N. E. ; whereas at my laft Obfer- 
vation, when I was almoft a Degree farther from the an- 
tai Click Pole, it was 1 3 0 30 J that inftead of increasing it 
decreafed, upon which I concluded its Variation to be irre- 
gular, and that it is not fixed on two Meridians cutting the 
World in four Parts, as the Portugueze and others imagined. 
During 
