Page:The principal navigations, voyages, traffiques and discoveries of the English nation 15.djvu/288

 be found store of fresh water. This Island is diuided all into broken Islands; and the greatest part I was vpon, which might be some 4 or 5 miles long, and two miles and a halfe ouer; being all woods, as Cedar and other timber, but Cedar is the chiefest.

Now it pleased God before our ship did split, that we saued our carpenters tooles, or els I thinke we had bene there to this day: and hauing recouerd the aforesaid tooles, we went roundly about the cutting downe of trees, and in the end built a small barke of some 18 tun, for the most part with tronnels and very few nails.

As for tackling we made a voyage aboord the ship before she split, and cut downe her shrowds, and so we tackled our barke and rigged her. In stead of pitch we made lime, and mixed it with the oile of tortoises; and assonne as the carpenters had calked, I and another, with ech of vs a small sticke in our hands, did plaister the morter into the seames, and being in April, when it was warm and faire weather, we could no sooner lay it on, but it was dry, and as hard as a stone. In this moneth of April, 1594, the weather being very hot, we were afraid our water should faile vs; and therefore made the more haste away: and at our departure we were constrained to make two great chests, and calked them and stowed them on ech side of our maine mast, and so put in our prouision of raine-water, and 13 liue tortoises for our food, for our voyage which we intented to Newfoundland.

In the South part of this Island of Bermuda there are hogs, but they are so leane that you can not eat them, by reason the Island is so barren: but it yeeldeth great store of fowle, fish and tortoises.

And to the Eastward of the Island are very good harbours, so that a shippe of 200 tun may ride there land-locked, without any danger, with water enough.

Also in this Island is as good fishing for pearles as is any in the West Indies, but that the place is subiect to foule weather, as thundering, lightning and raine: but in April and part of May we had very faire and hot weather. The 11 of May it pleased God to set vs cleere of the Island, to the no little ioy of vs all, after we had liued in the same almost the space of 5 moneths. And the 20 of May we fell with the land nere to Cape Briton, where we ran into a fresh water riuer, whereof there be many, and tooke in wood, water, and ballast.