and those
with great hurt and damage to our men, which chiefly proceeded from
their envenomed arrows; although in the beginning they seemed to be but
small hurts, yet there hardly escaped any that had blood drawn of them
but died in strange sort, with their mouths shut, some ten days before
they died, and after their wounds were whole; where I myself had one of
the greatest wounds, yet, thanks be to God, escaped. From thence we
passed the time upon the coast of Guinea, searching with all diligence
the rivers from Rio Grande unto Sierra Leone till the 12th of January,
in which time we had not gotten together a hundred and fifty negroes:
yet, notwithstanding the sickness of our men and the late time of the
year commanded us away: and thus having nothing wherewith to seek the
coast of the West Indies, I was with the rest of our company in
consultation to go to the coast of the Myne, hoping there to have
obtained some gold for our wares, and thereby to have defrayed our
charge. But even in that present instant there came to us a negro sent
from a king oppressed by other kings, his neighbours, desiring our aid,
with promise that as many negroes as by these wars might be obtained,
as well of his part as of ours, should be at our pleasure. Whereupon
we concluded to give aid, and sent one hundred and twenty of our men,
which the 15th of January assaulted a town of the negroes of our
allies' adversaries which had in it 8,000 inhabitants, and very
strongly impaled and fenced after their manner, but it was so well
defended that our men prevailed not, but lost six men, and forty hurt,
so that our men sent forthwith to me for more help; whereupon,
considering that the good success of this enterprise might highly
further the commodity of our voyage, I went myself, and with the help
of the king of our side assaulted the town, both by land and sea, and
very hardly with fire (their houses being covered with dry palm leaves)
obtained the town, and put the inhabitants to flight, where we took 250
persons, men, women, and children, and by our friend the king of our
side there were taken 600 prisoners, whereof we hoped to have our
choice, but the negro (in which nation is seldom or never found truth)
meant nothing less; for that night he removed his camp and prisoners,
so that we were fain to content us with those few which we had gotten
ourselves.

Now had we obtained between four and five hundred negroes, wherewith we
thought it some