Page:The principal navigations, voyages, traffiques and discoveries of the English nation 15.djvu/443

 faces with their nailes, whereof issued abundance of blood. But wee vsed signes to them of disliking this, and stayed their hands from force, and directed them vpwards to the liuing God, whom onely they ought to worship.

They shewed vnto vs their wounds, and craued helpe of them at our hands, whereupon he gaue them lotions, plaisters, and oyntments agreeing to the state of their griefes, beseeching God to cure their diseases. Euery third day they brought their sacrifices vnto vs, vntill they vnderstood our meaning, that we had no pleasure in them: yet they could not be long absent from vs, but dayly our company to the houre of our departure, which departure seemed so greeuous vnto them, that their ioy was turned into sorrow. They intreated vs, that being absent we would remember them, and by stealth prouided a sacrifice, which we misliked.

Our necessarie businesse being ended, our Generall with his company trauailed vp in the Countrey to their villages, where we found herdes of Deere by 1000. in a company, being most large, and fat of body.

We found the whole Countrey to bee a warren of a strange kinde of Connies, their bodies in bignesse as be the Barbary Connies, their heads as the heads of ours, the feete of a Want, and the taile of a Rat being of great length: vnder her chinne is on either side a bag, into the which she gathereth her meate, when she hath filled her bellie abroad. The people eate their bodies, and make great accompt of their skinnes, for their Kings coate was made of them.

Our Generall called this Countrey Noua Albion, and that for two causes: the one in respect of the white bankes and cliffes, which lie towards the sea: and the other, because it might haue some affinitie with our Countrey in name, which sometime was so called.

There is no part of earth heere to be taken vp, wherein there is not some probable shew of gold and siluer.

At our departure hence our Generall set vp a monument of our being there, as also of her Maiesties right and title to the same, namely a plate, nailed vpon a faire great poste, whereupon was engrauen her Maiesties name, the day and yeere of our arriuall there, with the free giuing vp of the prouince and people