from their cannon, while the people on shore, to the number
of about 150, continually fired at us with muskets and calivers, we
answering them with our five muskets. At this time the shot from my
musket, being a bar-shot, happened to strike the gunner of the fort
dead, while he was levelling one of his great guns; and thus we got off
from them without loss or wound on our part. Having thus taken five[337]
sail in all, we did as we had done with the ship with the fish, we
turned them off without hurting them, save that we took from one of them
her mainmast for our admiral, and sent her away with all our Spanish and
Portuguese prisoners, except Pedro Sarmiento, three other principal
persons, and two negroes, leaving them within sight of land, with bread
and water sufficient to serve them ten days.

[Footnote 337: Four only are mentioned in the text; and it appears that
they only sent away at this time the first taken ship, in which they had
captured Sarmiento.--E.]

We now bent our course for England, taking our departure from off the
western islands in about the latitude of 41 deg. N. and soon afterwards one
of our men descried a sail from the foretop, then ten sail, and then
fifteen sail. It was now concluded to send off our two prizes, by
manning of which we did not leave above 60 men in our two pinnaces. When
we had dispatched them, we made sail towards the fleet we had
discovered, which we found to consist of 24 sail in all; two of them
being great caraks, one of 1200 and the other of 1000 tons, and 10
galeons, all the rest being small ships and caravels, laden with
treasure, spices, and sugars. In our two small pinnaces we kept company
with this fleet of 24 ships for 32 hours, continually fighting with them
and they with us; but the two huge caraks always kept between their
fleet and us, so that we were unable to take any one of them; till at
length, our powder growing short, we were forced to give over, much
against our wills, being much bent upon gaining some of them, but
necessity compelling us by want of powder, we left them, without any
loss of our men, which was wonderful, considering the disparity of force
and numbers.

We now continued our course to Plymouth, where we arrived within six
hours after our prizes, though we sent them away forty hours before we
began our homeward course. We were joyfully received, with the ordnance
of the town, and all the people hailed us with willing hearts, we not
sparing