Page:The principal navigations, voyages, traffiques and discoveries of the English nation 16.djvu/32

 building, where are continually an hundred souldiers in garisons who had heard of vs and had sent for sixtie more for feare of burning of the shippes and towne. Our Generall not any whit discouraged either at the sight of the balsas vnlooked for, or for hearing of the threescore souldiers not vntill then spoken of, with a braue courage animating his companie in the exployte, went presently forward, being in the night in a most desert path in the woods, vntill such time as hee came to the place; where, as it seemed, they had kept watch either at the waters side, or at the houses, or else at both, and were newly gone out of the houses, hauing so short warning, that they left the meate both boyling and rosting at the fire and were fledde with their treasure with them, or else buried it where it could not bee found, being also in the night. Our companie tooke hennes and such things as wee thought good, and came away.

The 29 day of May our Generall went in the ship-boate into a little Iland there by, whereas the sayd Casique which was the lord of Puna, had caused all the hangings of his chambers, which were of cordouan leather all guilded ouer, and painted very faire and rich, with all his houshold stuffe, and all the ships tackling which was riding in the road at our comming in, with great store of nailes, spikes of yron, and very many other things to be conueyed: all which wee found, and brought away what our Generall thought requisite for the ships businesse.

This Iland is very pleasant for all things requisite, and fruitful: but there are no mines of gold nor siluer in it.

There are at the least 200 houses in the towne about the Casiques pallace, and as many in one or two townes more vpon the Iland, which is almost as bigge as the Ile of Wight in England.

There is planted on the one side of the Casiques house a faire garden, with all herbes growing in it, and at the lower end a well of fresh water, and round about it are trees set, whereon bombasin cotton groweth after this maner: The tops of the trees grow full of cods, out of which the cotton groweth, and in the cotton is a seede of the bignesse of a pease, and in euery codde there are seuen or eight of these seedes: and if the cotton bee not gathered when it is ripe, then these seedes fall from it, and spring againe.

There are also in this garden fig-trees which beare continually,