150 leagues beyond the Mina, where he expected to have laden the ships with pepper.  When Pinteado urged the lateness of the season, and advised that instead of going farther they should continue to dispose of their wares for gold, by which great profit would have been gained, Windham flew into a passion, called Pinteado a Jew, and gave him much opprobrious language, saying, “This rascally Jew promised to conduct us to places that either do not exist or to which he knows not the way, but if he does not I will cut off his ears and nail them to the mast.”  The advice given by Pinteado, not to go farther, was for the safety of the mens lives, which would have been in great danger at that late season, during their winter or rossia, not so called on account of cold, but from the heat accompanied with close and cloudy air, alternating with great tempests, during which the air was of so putrifying a quality as to rot the clothes on their backs.  He had formerly lingered by the way, to prevent them arriving too soon on the coast, when the heat of the sun is scorching and unbearable.

Thus constrained contrary to his wish, he brought the ships to anchor off the mouth of the river Benin, whence the pinnace was sent 50 or 60 leagues up the river.  They then landed, and Pinteado, with Francisco another Portuguese, Nicholas Lambert a gentleman, and other merchants were conducted to the kings court, ten leagues from the river, where they were brought into the kings presence by a great company.  The king was a black Moor or negro, though not quite so black as the rest, and sat in a long wide hall having earthen walls without windows, roofed with thin planks open in many parts to let in air.  These people give wonderful reverence to their king, even the highest of his officers when in his presence never daring to look him in the face, but sit cowering on their buttocks with their elbows on their knees, and their hands on their faces, never looking up till the king commands them.  When coming towards the king they shew him the utmost reverence from as far off as they can see him; and when they depart they never turn their backs towards him.  In the communication of our men with the king, he used the Portuguese language, which he had learnt when a child.  Commanding our men to stand up, he inquired the reason of their coming into his country; on which he was answered by Pinteado, that we were merchants who had come from a distant country into his dominions, to procure the commodities of the country in exchange for wares which we had brought from our own country, to the mutual convenience of both countries.  The king had then 30 or 40 quintals or hundred weights of pepper, which had long lain in a store-house, which he desired our people to look at, and that they should exhibit to him such commodities as they had brought for sale.  He likewise sent some of his officers to conduct our people to the water-side, and to carry our wares from the pinnace to his residence.  These things being done, the king engaged to our merchants that in 30 days he would provide a sufficiency of pepper to load all our ships, and in case our merchandise might not amount to the whole value of the pepper, he promised to give credit till next season, and immediately sent orders over all the country to gather pepper, so that in 30 days 80 tons of pepper were procured.