ABSTRACT

Meanwhile ... a man came to this city who was one of eight who escaped from the English fleet at Cape San Anton. It lay there five days hurriedly taking on firewood and water. This man tells how there, at Cape San Antonio, he procured wood and water, after which the corsair summoned a council of pilots and captains and they considered what they should do, and decided that from there they would sail straight for the Newfoundland Banks. They did not dare to attempt to take this city and harbour because they feared this, Your Majesty's fortress, and the careful preparations we had made to serve Your Majesty, and because his forces were few and sick. He had in all not 1200 effectives in the fleet, including seamen and soldiers, for many had died of illness and continued to die daily. And there he put all the artillery below decks, in each ship leaving four or five pieces above decks, lashed down, and closed the gunports.