Page:The Captivity of Hans Stade of Hesse.pdf/153

thought, who could have placed it there? We passed it, and found it was a large wooden cross, secured with stones to the rock, and to it was tied a piece of the bottom of a barrel, upon which letters were cut. But we could not easily read them, and we wondered what ships those could have been that had erected it there, still not knowing whether this was the harbour where we were to meet.

Thereupon, we again sailed further in from the cross, to seek other land further on the bottom of the barrel we took with us, As we so sailed along, one of us sat down, and reading the letters on the bottom of the barrel, began to understand them. The following was carved thereon in the Spanish language: Si vehn por ventura, eckila armada desu majestet, Tiren uhn Tire ay Averan Recado.^[1]

That is to say in German: "If peradventure any of His Majesty's ships should come here, they may fire a gun, when they will receive further information."

And we sailed forthwith back to the cross, and fired off a falconet, and proceeded to sail further into the country.

As we so advanced, we sighted five canoes full of savages, that came rowing straight down upon us, our guns being in readiness. Now when they came near us, we saw a man who wore clothes and had a beard. He stood in the forepart of the canoe, and we perceived that he was a Christian. Then we called upon him to stop, and to come in a canoe for parley with us.

When he drew near in such a manner, we asked him in what country we were, and he answered, "You are in the harbour of Schirmirein,^[2] so called in the savage tongue."