[Footnote 280:  They must have fallen far to leeward, as San Thome is to the east of the Bight of Benin, almost 8 degrees or 160 leagues to the east of St George del Mina.—­E.]

This is a very high island, and being on the west side of it, we had sight of a very high small and upright peak, like the steeple of a church, which peak is directly under the equator, and to the westward of the south end of the island there is a small islet about a mile from the larger one.  The 3d of August we set sail from San Thome with the wind at S.W.  The 22d we fell in with the island of Salt, one of the Cape Verds; and being told by a Scotsman whom we had taken among the French on the coast of Guinea, that there were fresh provisions to be had at this place, we came to anchor.  The 24th we went on shore, where we found no houses, and only saw four men who would not come near us.  We found plenty of goats, but so wild that we could only take three or four of them; but we got plenty of fish, and great quantities of sea-fowl on a small isle close to the larger one.  At night the Christopher broke her cable and lost an anchor, so that we were all obliged to weigh and put to sea.  On this occasion the Scotsman was left on shore, by what means we could not tell, unless that he had been found asleep by the inhabitants and carried off-prisoner.

The 25th the master of the Tiger came on board, and reported his ship to be in so leaky a condition and his men so weak, that he was unable to keep her afloat, and requested therefore that we would return to the island to take every thing out of her, that she might be abandoned:  This day on mustering the companies of all the three ships, we had not above 30 sound men altogether[281].  The 25th we had sight of St Nicholas, and the day following of St Lucia, St Vincent, and St Anthony, four of the Cape Verd islands, which range with each other from N.W. by W. to S. E by E. The 26th we were unable to weather the Cape of St Anthony, and this day Philip Jones the master of the Christopher came on board and reported that they were not able to keep the Tiger from sinking as she was so leaky, and the master and crew were very weak.  The 3d September I went on board the Tiger, accompanied by the masters and merchants to survey her, and we found her in a very leaky condition with only six men fit for duty, one of whom was master gunner.  It was agreed accordingly to take all the men into the other ships, with all the goods we could save, and then to abandon her.  We began discharging her on the 5th, and having taken out her guns, victuals, gold, and every thing we could by the 8th, we set her adrift in lat. 25 deg.  N.

[Footnote 281:  At this place Hakluyt observes in a note, the great inconvenience of staying late on the coast of Guinea.  He ought rather to have said, the impropriety of sailing too late for that coast.—­E.]