th any weapon of fire, be it musket or other
piece, shall keep it clean, and if he be not able to amend it being
out of order, he shall presently acquaint his officer therewith, who
shall command the armourer to mend it.

36. No man shall play at cards or dice either for his apparel or arms
upon pain of being disarmed and made a swabber of the ship.

*37. Whosoever shall show himself a coward upon any landing or
otherwise, he shall be disarmed and made a labourer or carrier of
victuals for the rest.

*38. No man shall land any man in any foreign ports without order from
the general, by the sergeant-major[13] or other officer, upon pain of
death.

*39. You shall take especial care when God shall send us to land in
the Indies, not to eat of any fruit unknown, which fruit you do not
find eaten with worms or beasts under the tree.

*40. You shall avoid sleeping on the ground, and eating of new fish
until it be salted two or three hours, which will otherwise breed a
most dangerous flux; so will the eating of over-fat hogs or fat
turtles.

*41. You shall take care that you swim not in any rivers but where you
see the Indians swim, because most rivers are full of alligators.

*42. You shall not take anything from any Indian by force, for if you
do it we shall never from thenceforth be relieved by them, but you
must use them with all courtesy. But for trading and exchanging with
them, it must be done by one or two of every ship for all the rest,
and those to be directed by the cape merchant[14] of the ship,
otherwise all our commodities will become of vile price, greatly to
our hindrance.

*43. For other orders on the land we will establish them (when God
shall send us thither) by general consent. In the meantime I shall
value every man, honour the better sort, and reward the meaner
according to their sobriety and taking care for the service of God and
prosperity of our enterprise.

*44. When the admiral shall hang out a flag in the main shrouds, you
shall know it to be a flag of council. Then come aboard him.

*45. And wheresoever we shall find cause to land, no man shall force
any woman be she Christian or heathen, upon pain of death.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] The articles marked with an asterisk do not appear in the Gorges
set, and were presumably those which Ralegh added to suit the conditions
of his expedition or which he borrowed from other precedents.

[2] Cape Finisterre.

[3] Cape St. Vincent.

[4] MS. Cape