The treason of the Portugals against M. William Hawkins. voyage he made 4. or 5. yeeres before, when as they did both breake their promise, and murthered many of his men, whereof I iudge you haue vnderstood, and therefore it is needlesse to be repeated. But since they came not at vs, we left written in sundry places, as also in the spittle house, (which building was only appointed to be spared) the great discontentment and scorne we tooke at this their refraining to come vnto vs, as also at the rude maner of killing, and sauage kind of handling the dead body of one of our boyes found by them stragling al alone, from whom they had taken his head and heart, and had stragled the other bowels about the place, in a most brutish and beastly maner.
In reuenge whereof at our departing we consumed with fire all the houses, as well in the countrey which we saw, as in the towne of S. Iago.
From hence putting off to the West Indies, wee were not many dayes at Sea, but there beganne among our people such mortalitie, as in fewe dayes there were dead aboue two or three hundred men. And vntil some seuen or eight dayes after our comming from S. Iago, there had not died any one man of sicknesse in all the fleete: the sicknesse shewed not his infection wherewith so many were stroken, vntill we were departed thence, and then seazed our people with extreme hot burning and continuall agues, whereof very fewe escaped with life, and yet those for the most part not without great alteration and decay of their wittes and strength for a long time after. In some that died were plainely shewed the small spots, which are often found vpon those that be infected with the plague: wee were not aboue eighteene dayes in passage betweene the sight of Saint Iago aforesaid, and the Island of Dominica, being the first Island of the West Indies that we fell withall, the same being inhabited with sauage people, which goe all naked, their skinne coloured with some painting of a reddish tawney, very personable and handsome strong men, who doe admit litle conuersation with the Spanyards: for as some of our people might vnderstand them, they had a Spaniard or twaine prisoners with them, neither doe I thinke that there is any safetie for any of our nation, or any other to be within the limits of their commandement, albeit they vsed vs very kindly for those few houres of time which wee spent with them, helping our folkes to fill and carry on their bare shoulders fresh water from the riuer to our ships boates, and fetching from
