l inhabitants, wher ther are only salvage & brutish
men, which range up and downe, litle otherwise then y^e wild beasts of
the same. This proposition being made publike and coming to y^e scaning
of all, it raised many variable opinions amongst men, and caused many
fears & doubts amongst them selves. Some, from their reasons & hops
conceived, laboured to stirr up & incourage the rest to undertake &
prosecute y^e same; others, againe, out of their fears, objected against
it, & sought to diverte from it, aledging many things, and those neither
unreasonable nor unprobable; as that it was a great designe, and
subjecte to many unconceivable perills & dangers; as, besids the
casulties of y^e seas (which none can be freed from) the length of y^e
vioage was such, as y^e weake bodys of women and other persons worne out
with age & traville (as many of them were) could never be able to
endure. And yet if they should, the miseries of y^e land which they
should be [17] exposed unto, would be to hard to be borne; and lickly,
some or all of them togeither, to consume & utterly to ruinate them. For
ther they should be liable to famine, and nakednes, & y^e wante, in a
maner, of all things. The chang of aire, diate, & drinking of water,
would infecte their bodies with sore sickneses, and greevous diseases.
And also those which should escape or overcome these difficulties,
should yett be in continuall danger of y^e salvage people, who are
cruell, barbarous, & most trecherous, being most furious in their rage,
and merciles wher they overcome; not being contente only to kill, & take
away life, but delight to tormente men in y^e most bloodie ma[=n]er that
may be; fleaing some alive with y^e shells of fishes, cutting of y^e
members & joynts of others by peesmeale, and broiling on y^e coles, eate
y^e collops of their flesh in their sight whilst they live; with other
cruelties horrible to be related. And surely it could not be thought but
y^e very hearing of these things could not but move y^e very bowels of
men to grate within them, and make y^e weake to quake & tremble. It was
furder objected, that it would require greater su[=m]es of money to
furnish such a voiage, and to fitt them with necessaries, then their
consumed estats would amounte too; and yett they must as well looke to
be seconded with supplies, as presently to be tr[=a]sported. Also many
presidents of ill success, & lamentable misseries befalne others in the
like designes, were easi