Page:The principal navigations, voyages, traffiques and discoveries of the English nation 15.djvu/164

 and therefore we went to the Northwest to fetch wind, and also to the coast of Florida to haue the helpe of the current, which was iudged to haue set to the Eastward: so the 29. wee found our selues in 27. degrees, and in the soundings of Florida, where we kept our selues the space of foure dayes, sailing along the coast as neere as we could, in tenne or twelue fadome water, hauing all the while no sight of land.

The fift of Iuly we had sight of certeine Islands of sand, called the Tortugas (which is lowe land) where the captaine went in with his pinnesse, and found such a number of birds, that in halfe an houre he laded her with them; and if they had beene ten boats more, they might haue done the like. These Islands beare the name of Tortoises, because of the number of them, which there do breed, whose nature is to liue both in the water and vpon land also, but breed onely vpon the shore, in making a great pit wherein they lay egges, to the number of three or foure hundred, and couering them with sand, they are hatched by the heat of the Sunne; and by this meanes commeth the great increase. Of these we tooke very great ones, which haue both backe and belly all of bone, of the thicknes of an inch: the flesh whereof we proued, eating much like veale; and finding a number of egges in them, tasted also of them, but they did eat very sweetly.

Heere wee ankered sixe houres, and then a fair gale of winde springing, we weyed anker, and made saile toward Cuba, whither we came the sixt day, and weathered as farre as the Table, being a hill so called because of the forme thereof: here we lay off and on all night to keepe that we had gotten to wind-ward, intending to haue watered in the morning, if we could haue done it, or els if the winde had come larger, to haue plied to wind-ward to Hauana, which is an harborow whereunto all the fleet of the Spanyards come, and doe there tary to haue one the company of another. This hill we thinking to haue beene the Table, made account (as it was indeed) that Hauana was but eight leagues to wind-ward, but by the perswasion of a French man, who made the captaine beleeue he knew the table very well, and had beene at Hauana, sayd that it was not the Table, and that the Table was much higher, and neerer to the sea side, and that there was no plaine ground to the Eastward, nor hilles to the Westward, but all was contrary,