6 leagues distant.  The 17th September we fell in with a ship belonging to Plymouth bound from the West Indies.  Next day we had sight of another sail; and this day died Mr Wood one of our company.  The 23d we spoke the Dragon belonging to my Lord Cumberland, of which master Ivie was maister[320].  The 2d October we met a ship belonging to Newcastle coming from Newfoundland, out of which we got 300 couple of Newland fish.  The 13th we put into Dartmouth, where we staid till the 12th December, when we sailed with a west wind, and by the blessing of God we anchored on the 18th December 1591, at Limehouse in the river Thames, where we discharged 589 sacks of pepper, 150 elephants teeth, and 32 barrels of palm oil.

[Footnote 320:  This distinction of master and maister often occurs in these early voyages.—­Astl.  I. 205. a.]

The commodities we carried out on this my second voyage were, broad cloth, kersies, bays, linen cloth, unwrought iron, copper bracelets, coral, hawks bells, horse-tails, hats, and the like.  This voyage was more comfortable to us than the former, because we had plenty of fresh water and that very sweet.  For even yet, being the 7th June 1592, the water we brought out of Benin on the 1st of April 1591, is as clear and good as any fountain can yield.  In this voyage we sailed 350 leagues within half a degree of the equator, where we found the weather more temperate than at our anchorage on the coast of Benin.  Under the line we killed many small dolphins, and many other good fish, which were very refreshing to us; and the fish never forsook us till we were to the north of the Azores:  But God be thanked we met with several ships of our own country, during the five months we were at sea, which were great comfort to us, having no consort.

SECTION XVIII.

Voyage of Richard Rainolds and Thomas Dassel to the Rivers Senegal and Gambia adjoining to Guinea, in 1591[321].

PREVIOUS REMARKS [322].

In virtue of her majestys most gracious charter, given in the year 1588, being the 30th of her reign, certain English merchants were privileged to trade, in and from the river of Senega or Senegal, to and in the river of Gambra or Gambia on the western coast of Africa.  The chiefest places of trade on that coast, in and between these rivers are:  1. Senegal river, where the commodities are hides, gum, elephants teeth, a few grains or pepper, ostrich feathers, ambergris, and some gold. 2. Beseguiache[323], a town near Cape Verd, and ——­ leagues[324] from the river Senegal.  The commodities here are small hides and a few teeth. 3. Rufisque, or Refisca viejo, a town 4 leagues from Beseguiache, producing small hides and a few teeth now and then. 4. Palmerin, a town 2 leagues from Rufisque[325], having small hides and a few elephants teeth occasionally.