.M. we spoke a French ship riding near a place called _Ratere_,
there being another place hard bye called Crua[309]. The Frenchman
carried a letter from us on shore for Mr Newton; and as we lay to while
writing the letter, the current set us a good space along shore to the
S.S.E. The 25th we were in the bight of a bay to the west of Cape
Three-points, the current setting E.N.E. The 31st January we were off
the middle part of Cape Three-points at 7 in the morning, the current
setting to the E. Saturday 1st February we were off a round foreland,
which I considered to be the easternmost part of Cape Three-points,
within which foreland was a great bay and an island in the bay.

[Footnote 309: Krou Sestra, nearly in lat. 5 deg. N.]

The 2nd February we were off the castle of Mina; and when the third
glass of the watch was run out, we spied under our larboard quarter one
of their boats with some negroes and one Portuguese, who would not come
on board. Over the castle upon some high rocks, we saw what we thought
to be two watch houses, which were very white. At this time our course
was E.N.E. The 4th in the morning we were athwart a great hill, behind
which within the land were other high rugged hills, which I reckoned
were little short of _Monte Redondo_, at which time I reckoned we were
20 leagues E.N.E. from the castle of Mina; and at 11 o'clock A.M. I saw
two hills within the land, 7 leagues by estimation beyond the former
hills. At this place there is a bay, having another hill at its east
extremity, beyond which the land is very low. We went this day E. N E.
and E. by N. 22 leagues, and then E. along shore. The 6th we were short
of Villa Longa, and there we met a Portuguese caravel. The 7th, being a
fair temperate day, we rode all day before Villa Longa, whence we sailed
on the 8th, and 10 leagues from thence we anchored again, and remained
all night in 10 fathoms water. The 9th we sailed again, all along the
shore being clothed with thick woods, and in the afternoon we were
athwart a river[310], to the eastward of which a little way was a great
high bushy tree which seemed to have no leaves. The 10th we sailed E.
and E. by S. 14 leagues along shore, the whole coast being so thick of
woods that in my judgment a person would have much difficulty in passing
through them. Towards night we anchored in 7 fathoms. The 11th we sailed
E. by S. and 3 leagues from shore we had only 5 fathoms water, all the
wood along shore being a