aue mee the better courage to goe to his towne, which lieth not
foure leagues from the Castle, wherehence our men were beaten the last
yeere.

[Sidenote: The English in anno 1544 tooke away 5 Negroes.] This fellowe
came aboord our shippe without much feare, and assoone as he came, he
demaunded, why we had not brought againe their men, which the last yeere we
tooke away, and could tell vs that there were fiue taken away by
Englishmen: we made him answere, that they were in England well vsed, and
were there kept till they could speake the language, and then they should
be brought againe to be a helpe to Englishmen in this Countrey: and then he
spake no more of that matter:

Our boates being come aboord, we wayed and set saile and a litle after
spied, a great fire vpon the shoare, and by the light of the fire we might
discerne a white thing, which they tooke to be the Castle, and for feare of
ouersbooting the towne of Don Iohn we there ankered two leagues off the
shoare, for it is hard to fetch vp a towne here, if a ship ouershoot it.
This day we tooke seuen pound, and fiue ounces of gold.

This towne lieth in a great Bay, which is very deepe.

The people in this place desired most to haue basons and cloth. They would
buy some of them also many trifles, as kniues, horsetailes, hornes: and
some of our men going a shoare, sold a cap, a dagger, a hat, &c.

They shewed vs a certain course cloth, which I thinke to be made in France,
for it was course wooll, and a small threed, and as thicke as wosted, and
striped with stripes of greene, white, yellow &c. Diuers of the people did
weare about their neckes great beades of glasse of diuerse colours. Here
also I learned some of their language, [Marginal note: This language
seemeth partly to be corrupt.] as followeth:

Mattea, mattea, Is their salutation.
Dassee, dassee, I thanke you.
Sheke, Golde.
Cowrte, Cut.
Cracca, Kniues.
Bassina, Basons.
Foco, foco, Cloth.
Molta, Much, or great store.

[Sidenote: Sight of the casle of Mina.] The eight day in the morning we had
sight of the Castle, but by reason of a miste that then fell we could not
haue the perfect sight of it, till we were almost at the towne of Don Iohn,
and then it cleared vp, and we saw it and a white house, as it were a
Chappell, vpon the hill about it, and then we halled into the shoare,
within t