Page:An English Garner Ingatherings from Our History and Literature (Volume 1 1877).pdf/139

 than men, and no marvel, when that many women also pass [the seas] very well. The setting forth from the port, I need not to tell how solemn it is, with trumpets and shooting of ordnance. You may easily imagine it, considering that they go in the manner of war.

The tenth of the aforesaid month, we came to the sight of Porto Santo, near unto Madeira; where an English ship set upon ours (which was then also alone) with a few shots, which did no harm; but after that our ship had laid out her greatest ordnance, they straight departed as they came. The English ship was very fair and great, which I was sorry to see so ill occupied; for she went roving about, so that we saw her again at the Canary Isles: unto the which we came the 13th of the said month, and good leisure we had to wonder at the high mountain of the island of Teneriffe; for we wandered between that and the Great Canary four days by reason of contrary winds. And briefly, such evil weather we had until the 14th of May, that they despaired to compass the Cape of Good Hope that year.

Nevertheless taking our voyage between Guinea and the islands of Cape Verde, without seeing any land at all, we arrived at length unto the coast of Guinea, which the Portuguese so call chiefly that part of the burning zone which is from the sixth degree unto the equinoctial; in which parts they suffered so many inconveniences of heat and lack of winds, that they think themselves happy when they have passed it. For sometimes the ship standeth there almost by the space of many days; sometimes she goeth but in such order that it were almost as good to stand still. And the greatest part of this coast is not clear but thick and cloudy; full of thunder and lightning, and rain so unwholesome that if the water stand a little while, all is full of worms: and falling on the meat which is hung up, it maketh it straight full of worms. Along all that coast we oftentimes saw a thing swimming upon the water like a cock's comb (which they call a Ship of Guinea) [a Nautilus] but the colour much fairer; which comb standeth upon a thing almost like the swimmer [bladder] of a fish in colour and bigness, and beareth under the water, strings; which saveth it from turning over. This thing is so poisonous that a man cannot touch it without great peril. In this coast, that is to say, from the 6th degree