But this time things went wrong from the first.  A tremendous autumnal storm scattered the ships.  Then the first negroes that Hawkins tried to ‘snare’ proved to be like that other kind of prey of which the sarcastic Frenchman wrote:  ’This animal is very wicked; when you attack it, it defends itself.’  The ‘envenomed arrows’ of the negroes worked the mischief.  ’There hardly escaped any that had blood drawn of them, but died in strange sort, with their mouths shut some ten days before they died.’  Hawkins himself was wounded, but, ‘thanks be to God,’ escaped the lockjaw.  After this the English took sides in a native war and captured ‘250 persons, men, women, and children,’ while their friend the King captured ’600 prisoners, whereof we hoped to have had our choice.  But the negro, in which nation is seldom or never found truth, that night removed his camp and prisoners, so that we were fain to content ourselves with those few we had gotten ourselves.’

However, with ‘between 400 and 500 negroes,’ Hawkins crossed over from Africa to the West Indies and ’coasted from place to place, making our traffic with the Spaniards as we might, somewhat hardly, because the King had straitly commanded all his governors by no means to suffer any trade to be made with us.  Notwithstanding, we had reasonable trade, and courteous entertainment’ for a good part of the way.  In Rio de la Hacha the Spaniards received the English with a volley that killed a couple of men, whereupon the English smashed in the gates, while the Spaniards retired.  But, after this little bit of punctilio, trade went on under cover of night so briskly that two hundred negroes were sold at good prices.  From there to Cartagena ’the inhabitants were glad of us and traded willingly,’ supply being short and demand extra high.

Then came a real rebuff from the governor of Cartagena, followed by a terrific storm ’which so beat the Jesus that we cut down all her higher buildings’ (deck superstructures).  Then the course was shaped for Florida.  But a new storm drove the battered flotilla back to ’the port which serveth the city of Mexico, called St. John de Ulua,’ the modern Vera Cruz.  The historic Vera Cruz was fifteen miles north of this harbor.  Here ’thinking us to be the fleet of Spain, the chief officers of the country came aboard us.  Which, being deceived of their expectation, were greatly dismayed; but ... when they saw our demand was nothing but victuals, were recomforted.  I [for it is Hawkins’s own story] found in the same port 12 ships which had in them by report L200,000 in gold and silver, all which, being in my possession [i.e., at my mercy] with the King’s Island ...  I set at liberty.’