Page:The Captivity of Hans Stade of Hesse.pdf/144

When we arrived there we found a vessel from France, loading Brazil wood, we attacked it, intending to capture. it, but they destroyed our mainmast with one shot, and they escaped us: several belonging to our ship were shot dead, while others were wounded.

After this we agreed to return to Portugal, for we could no longer get to wind-ward of the harbour, where we intended to obtain our victual. The wind was against us, we sailed with a small stock of provisions to Portugal, and we suffered great famine, some of us eating goatskins, which we had in the ship. To each of us daily was given one small cup of water, and a little Brazilian root meal (cassava); we were one hundred and eight days on the water, and on the 12th of August we came to some islands, called Losa Sores,^[1] belonging to the king of Portugal. At that place we anchored, rested and fished, and there we saw a ship at sea, to which we sailed to learn what ship it was. It proved to be a pirate, and prepared to resist us, but we gained the upper hand and took the vessel from them, they escaping from us in the boat to the islands. The ship contained much wine and bread, wherewith we refreshed our Selves.

Hereafter we encountored five ships, belonging to the king of Portugal, which were to await at the islands the arrival of the ships from India, to convoy them to Portugal. We remained with them; and helped to pilot an Indiaman, which arrived at an island called Tercera, and there we remained. Many ships, which had all come from the new countries, some bound for Spain, others for Portugal, had met at the island. We sailed from Tercera nearly one