They now brought us such provisions as they used themselves, and being very hungry we fed heartily, the negroes all the while staring at us with much astonishment, as the common people are used to do in England at strange outlandish creatures.  Notwithstanding all this apparent humanity and kindness, we were still under great apprehensions of the negroes, all of whom were armed with darts.  That night we lay upon the ground among the negroes, but never once closed our eyes, tearing they might kill us while asleep.  Yet we received no hurt from them, and for two days fared well; but finding the ships did not come for us, as they expected would soon have been the case, when likewise they looked to have had a large quantity of goods distributed among them in reward for their hospitality, they soon became weary of us; and after lessening our allowance from day to day, they at length left us to shift for ourselves.  In this forlorn state, we had to range about the woods in search of fruits and roots, which last we had to dig from the ground with our fingers for want of any instruments.  Hunger had quite abated the nicety of our palates, and we were glad to feed on every thing we could find that was eatable.  Necessity soon reconciled us to going naked, for our clothes becoming rotten with our sweat fell from our backs by degrees, so that at length we had scarcely rags left to cover our nakedness.  We were not only forced to provide ourselves in food, but had to find fuel and utensils to dress it.  We made a pot of clay dried in the sun, in which we boiled our roots, and roasted the berries in the embers, feasting every evening on these varieties.  At night we slept on the bare ground, making a great fire round us to scare away the wild beasts.

What with the entire change in our manner of living, and the heat and unhealthiness of the climate, our people sickened apace; and in a short time our original number of nine was reduced to three.  To those who died it was a release from misery, but we who remained were rendered more forlorn and helpless than before.  At length, when we had abandoned all hopes of relief, a French ship arrived on the coast, which took us on board and carried us to France, which was then at war with England, where we were detained prisoners.

   A prisner therefore I remaine,
     And hence I cannot slip
   Till that my ransome be
     Agreed upon and paid: 
   Which being levied yet so hie,
     No agreement can be made. 
   And such is lo my chance,
    The meane time to abide;
   A prisner for ransome in France,
     Till God send time and tide. 
   From whence this idle rime
     To England I do send: 
   And thus, till I have further time,
     This tragedie I end.

SECTION XI.

A Voyage to Guinea, in 1564:, by Captain David Carlet[289].