mined our factors upon
oath, they had a warrant for a boat at their pleasure, to go between the
shore and the ships with whatever was wanted. What we most wondered at,
was the behaviour of two ships then in the roads, known by their colours
to be English, the people of which had not the kindness to apprize us of
the customs of the _subtile currish_ Spaniards. It is the custom here,
when any foreign ship comes into the roads, that no person of the same
nation even, or any other, must go on board without leave from the
governor and council.

[Footnote 272: Astley, I. 336.--In Astley's Collection, this person is
named captain; but it does not appear wherefore he had this title.--E.]

During five days that we remained here, some of the Spaniards came on
board every day, and eat and drank with us in an insatiable manner. The
general also made a present to the governor of two cheeses, a gammon of
bacon, and five or six barrels of pickled oysters, which he accepted
very thankfully, and sent in return two or three goats and sheep, and
plenty of onions. We there took in fresh water, Canary wine, marmalade
of quinces at twelve-pence a pound, little barrels of _suckets_, or
sweetmeats, at three shillings a barrel, oranges, lemons, _pame
citrons_, and excellent white bread baked with aniseeds, called
_nuns-bread_.

We set sail on the 18th April in the morning, with a fair wind, which
fell calm in three hours, which obliged us to hover till the 21st, when
a brisk gale sprung up, with which we reached Mayo, one of the Cape Verd
islands, in the afternoon of the 27th, 300 leagues from the Canaries,
where we came to anchor, determining to take in water at Bonavista; but
finding the water not clear, and two or three miles inland, we took the
less, but had other good commodities. At our arrival we were told by two
negroes, that we might have as many goats as we pleased for nothing; and
accordingly we got about 200 for both ships. They told us also, that
there were only twelve men on the island, and that there was plenty of
white salt _growing out of the ground_,[273] so that we might have
loaded both ships. It was excellent white salt, as clear as any that I
ever saw in England. Eight leagues from Mayo is the island of St Jago.

[Footnote 273: This must be understood as formed naturally by
evaporation, owing to the heat of the sun, in some places where the
sea-water stagnates after storms or high tide.--E.]

We left Mayo on the 4th M