and our squadron, whose non-appearance gave me great uneasiness, and so greatly dismayed the people who were with me that they were reduced almost to despair.  While in this forlorn condition, we espied on the eighth day a sail on the horizon, and went off immediately in our boat to meet them, hopeful that they would take us to a better port.  On getting up with this vessel, we were informed that the admirals ship, which we had left in great danger, had gone to the bottom.  This melancholy intelligence gave us vast uneasiness, as we were 1000 leagues from Lisbon.  But putting our trust in Providence, we returned with the ship to the before-mentioned island, on purpose to take in wood and water for the voyage.

This island was wild and uninhabited, but had many pleasant rills of excellent water, with great abundance of trees, and prodigious numbers both of land and water-fowl, which were so tame, from being unaccustomed to man, that they allowed themselves to be caught by hand, so that we caught as many as filled one of our boats.  The only quadrupeds were large rats, and lizards having forked tails, besides which there were several serpents.  Having taken in such refreshments as the island afforded, we set sail on a S.S.W. course, the king having ordered us to follow the same direction we had pursued in our preceding voyage.  We at length reached a port, to which we gave the name of the Bay of all Saints[8], which we reached in seventeen days sail, being favoured with a fair wind, although 300 leagues distance from the before-mentioned island[9].  Although we waited here two months and four days, we were not joined by any of the ships belonging to our squadron.  It was therefore agreed upon between the master and me to proceed farther along this coast, which we did accordingly for 260 leagues to a certain harbour, where we determined upon erecting a fort, in which we left twenty-four of our men who had been saved out of the admirals ship[10].  We remained five months at this harbour, occupied in building the fort, and in loading our ships with Brazil-wood; our stay being protracted by the small number of our hands and the magnitude of our labour, so that we only made slow progress.

Having finished our labours, we determined on returning to Portugal, for which we required a wind that would allow us to hold a N.N.E. course.  We left twenty-four of our men in the fort, with twelve cannon, abundance of other weapons, and provisions for six months, having entered into a treaty of friendship with the natives.  Of these I omit any particular notice, although we saw vast numbers of them, and had much and frequent intercourse with them during our long stay; having penetrated about forty leagues into the interior of the country, accompanied by thirty of the natives.  In that expedition I saw many things worthy of notice, which I do not here insert, but which will be found in my book describing my four voyages.  The situation of this fort and harbour is in latitude 18 deg.