Page:The principal navigations, voyages, traffiques and discoveries of the English nation 15.djvu/370

 resolued here to enter vp to the bottome of Rio dolce, and to passe ouerland vnto the South sea.

Wherefore wee set forward, and entred aboue thirty leagues vp the sayd Rio dolce, thinking to haue passed ouerland with two companies of men, and to haue caried a pinnesse in sixe quarters to be set together with skrewes, and therein to haue embarked our selues in the South sea, and there for a time to haue tried our fortune; and to haue returned ouerland to the bay of Honduras. But this our diligence tooke no effect, because of the huge highnes of the mountaines, and the length of the way, being more then was giuen out at the first Then with much griefe we returned out to Truxillo, where I departed from Sir Anthony Sherley.

After my departure from this worthy knight, I set my course for Cape de Cotoche which lieth on the East part of Iucatan from whence I ranged al the North coast of the said promontory of Iucatan, vntill I came vnto Cape Desconoscido, where I put 56 of my men into a Periago, or long Indian Canoa; and leauing my ship sixe leagues from the towne of Campeche at three of the clocke in the morning I landed hard by the monasterie of San Francisco, and tooke the sayd towne of Campeche, with the captaine and Alcalde, finding therein fiue hundreth Spaniards, and in two townes close adioyning to the same eight thousand Indians. The multitude of the Spaniards which fled vpon my first assault by ten of the clocke in the morning assembling together renued their strength, and set furiously vpon me and my small company. In which assault I lost some sixe of my men, and my selfe was shot vnder the left brest with a bullet, which bullet lieth still in the chine of my backe. Being thus put vnto our shifts wee deuised on the sudden a newe stratagem: for hauing diuers of the townesmen prisoners, we tied them arme in arme together, and placed them in stead of a baricado to defend vs from the fury of the enemies shot.

And so with ensigne displayed, taking with vs our sixe dead men, wee retired with more safetie to the hauen, where we tooke a frigat which rode ready fraught with the kings tribute in siluer and other good commodities, which were presently to bee transported to S. Iuan de Vllua, and brought the same and our Periago or Canoa to my ship, which lay in two fadome water sixe leagues from the town,