The Admirable Adventures and Strange Fortunes of Master ANTONIE KNIVET, Which Went with Master THOMAS CANDISH in His Second Voyage to the South Sea. 1591.: III

Summary

His strange travailes with twelve Portugals, whom the Savages did eate. His life with the Canibals: and after that with the Portugals, from whom hee fleeth to Angola, is brought backe, and after manifold chances, is shipped to Lisbone.

I and the twelve aforesaid, tooke our leave of the Captaine, determining to goe to the South Sea, rather then returne againe without any thing. The names of the Portugals were these, Francisco Tavares, Lewes de Pino, Gonsalo Fernandes, Tomas Delvare, Lewis Loello, Matheas del Galo, John de Silvesa, Petro de Casta, Antonio fernandes Gorgedias, Manuell Caldera, and my selfe Anthony Knivet. After we had departed from our Captaine, we made a great Canoa of a barke of a tree, and went downe the River called Janary for the space of a weeke, that we came where we found a little Village of sixe houses, and it seemed it had beene a long time sithence any inhabitants were there; when we came to this Village we left our Canoa, and determined to goe by land. In this Towne we found great store of earthen Pots, and in some of them peeces of Gold tied at lines that the Indians fish withall; likewise we found Stones as greene as grasse, and great store of white glistering Stones like Christall, but many of them were blew and greene, red and white wonderfull faire to behold: when we saw the peeces of Gold and those Stones, we made accompt that we were very neere Potasin, then we tooke our way South-west, and went up a great Mountaine of Wildernesse. After that, we came to a place of dry Browne earth, full of hils, rocks, and many small Rivers at the head; by many of these Rivers we found little peeces of Gold, as bigge as an Hasell nut, and great store in dust like sand. After which, we came into a faire Countrie, and we saw a great glistering Mountaine before us, ten daies before we could come to it, for when we came into the plaine Countrie, and were out of the Mountaines, and the Sunne began to come to his height, wee were not able to travaile against it, by the reason of the glistering, that dazeled our eyes.