Page:The principal navigations, voyages, traffiques and discoveries of the English nation 16.djvu/23

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he determined the next day to send into the countrey to find their towne, and to haue taken the spoyle of it, and to haue fired it if they could haue found it.

Our men march 7. or 8. miles into their enemies land. The last of March Captaine Hauers went vp into the Countrey with 50. or 60. men with their shot and furniture with them, and we trauailed 7. or 8. miles into the land: and as we were marching along, we espied a number of herdes of cattell, of kine and bullockes which were wonderfull wilde: we saw also great store of horses, mares, and coltes which were very wilde and vnhandled: there is also great store of hares and conies, and plenty of partriges and other wild foules. The countrey is very fruitful with faire fresh riuers all along full of wilde foule of all sorts. Hauing trauailed so farre that we could goe no further for the monstrous high mountaines, we rested our selues at a very fayre fresh Riuer running in and alongst faire lowe medowes at the foote of the mountaines, where euery man drunke of the Riuer, and refreshed themselues. Hauing so done, we returned to our Ships the likest way that we thought their Towne should bee: so wee trauailed all the day long, not seeing any man, but we mette with many wilde dogges: yet there were two hundred horsemen abroad that same day by meanes of the Spaniard which they had taken the day before from vs, who had tolde them that our force was but small, and that wee were wonderfully weake; who though they did espie vs that day, yet durst they not giue the on-sette vpon vs. For wee marched along in array, and obserued good order, whereby wee seemed a great number more then we were, vntill we came vnto our ships that night againe.

The next day being the first of Aprill 1587, our men went on shoare to fill water at a pit which was a quarter of a mile from the waters side: and being earely hard at their businesse were in no redinesse.

24 Spaniards slaine. In which meane while there came powring downe from the hilles almost 200 horsemen, and before our people could returne to the rockes from the watering place, twelue of them were cut off, part killed, and part taken prisoners, the rest were rescued by our souldiers which came from the rocks to meete with them, who being but fifteene of vs that had any weapons on shoare, yet we made the enemie retire in the end with losse of some foure and twentie of their men, after we had skirmished with them an houre.