Page:The principal navigations, voyages, traffiques and discoveries of the English nation 15.djvu/185

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the estimation three hundred men placed in her secretly, immediatly fell aboord the Minion, but by Gods appointment, in the time of the suspicion we had, which was onely one halfe houre, the Minion was made readie to auoide, and so leesing her hedfasts, and hayling away by the sternefastes she was gotten out: thus with Gods helpe she defended the violence of the first brunt of these three hundred men. The Minion being past out, they came aboord the Iesus, which also with very much a doe and the tosse of manie of our men were defended and kept out.

Then there were also two other ships, that assaulted the Iesus at the same instant, so that she had hard getting loose, but yet with some time we had cut our head-fastes, and gotten out by the stern-fastes.

Nowe when the Iesus and the Minion were gotten about two shippes length from the Spanish fleete, the fight beganne so hotte on all sides that within one houre the Admirall of the Spaniards was supposed to be sunke, their Viceadmirall burned, and one other of their principall ships supposed to be sunke, so that the shippes were little able to annoy vs.

Then it is to be vnderstood, that all the Ordinance vpon the Ilande was in the Spaniardes handes, which did vs so great annoyance, that it cut all the mastes and yardes of the Iesus in such sort that there was no hope to carrie her away: also it sunke our small shippes, whereupon we determined to place the Iesus on that side of the Minion, that she might abide all the batterie from the land, and so be a defence for the Minion till night, and then to take such reliefe of victuall and other necessaries from the Iesus, as the time would suffer vs, and to leaue her. As we were thus determining, and had placed the Minion from the shot of the land, suddenly the Spaniards had fired two great shippes which were comming directly with vs, and hauing no meanes to auoide the fire, it bredde among our men a maruellous feare, so that some sayd, let vs depart with the Minion, other said, let vs see whether the winde will carrie the fire from vs. But to be short, the Minions men which had alwayes their sayles in a readinesse, thought to make sure worke, and so without either consent of the Captaine or Master cut their saile, so that very hardly I was receiued into the Minion.

The most part of the men that were left aliue in the Iesus,