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A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 08 by Robert Kerr
page 51 of 661 (07%)
We understood, in the East Indies, from certain Portuguese, that they
have lately discovered the coast of China as high as the latitude of
59° N. finding the sea still open to the northwards, by which great
hopes are entertained of finding the north-east or north-west passage.

Witness, JAMES LANCASTER.


SECTION VII.

_Supplementary Account of the former Voyage, by John May_.[23]

We departed from Plymouth on the 10th April, 1591, with three tall
ships; the Penelope, Captain Raimond admiral; the Merchant Royal,
Captain Samuel Foxcroft[24] vice-admiral; and the Edward Bonadventure,
Captain James Lancaster rear-admiral; on board of which I sailed,
together with a small pinnace. In May following we arrived at Gran
Canaria, one of the Fortunate Islands; and towards the end of that
month, being within three degrees of the equator on the north side, we
took a Portuguese ship, bound for Brasil, which tended much to our
refreshment. The 29th July we came to Saldanha Bay. (_Aguada Saldania_,)
a good harbour, near the Cape of Good Hope, where we staid about a
month, and whence we sent home the Merchant Royal for England, because
of great sickness among our people, with a considerable number of our
weak men. We here bought an ox for a knife worth three-pence, a sheep
for a broken knife, or any other odd trifle, from the natives, who are
negroes, clad in cloaks of raw-hides, both men and women.

[Footnote 23: Hakluyt, III. 52.]

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