put into Catwater and there stayed vntill the 28 of September, by
reason of want of men and sicknesse.

The nine and twentieth we set sayle from Plimouth, and arriued at London
the second of October 1589.

The commodities that we caried in this voyage were cloth both linnen and
woollen, yron worke of sundry sorts, Manillios or bracelets of copper,
glasse beades, and corrall.

The commodities that we brought home were pepper and Elephants teeth, oyle
of palme, cloth made of Cotton wool very curiously wouen, and cloth made of
the barke of palme trees. Their monie is pretie white shels, for golde and
siluer we saw none. [Sidenote: Inamia, a kind of bread in Benin.] They haue
also great store of cotton growing: their bread is a kind of roots, they
call it Inamia, and when it is well sodden I would leaue our bread to eat
of it, it is pleasant in eating, and light of digestion, the roote thereof
is as bigge as a mans arme. Our men vpon fish-dayes had rather eate the
rootes with oyle and vineger, then to eate good stockfish. [Sidenote: Wine
of palm trees.] There are great store of palme trees, out of which they
gather great store of wine, which wine is white and very pleasant, and we
should buy two gallons of it for 20 shels. They haue good store of sope,
and it smelleth like beaten violets. Also many pretie fine mats and baskets
that they make, and spoones of Elephants teeth very curiously wrought with
diuers proportions of foules and beasts made vpon them. There is vpon the
coast wonderfull great lightning and thunder, in so much as I neuer hard
the like in no Countrey, for it would make the decke or hatches tremble
vnder our feete, and before we were well acquainted with it, we were
fearefull, but God be thanked we had no harme. The people are very gentle
and louing, and they goe naked both men and women vntill they be married,
and then they goe couered from the middle downe to the knees. [Sidenote:
Abundance of honey.] They would bring our men earthen pottes of the
quantitie of two gallons, full of hony and hony combes for 100 shelles.
They would also bring great store of Oranges and Plantans which is a fruit
that groweth upon a tree, and is like vnto a Cucumber but very pleasant in
eating. It hath pleased God of his mercefull goodnesse to give me the
knowledge how to preserue fresh water with little cost, [Marginal note:
This preseruatiue is wrought by casting into an hogshead of water an
handful of bay-salt, as the aut