The Consideration of which makes vs with thankefulnesse to commemorate this our great Deliuerance , from so imminent dangers , and sharpe Assaults , as few , or none hath more cause to be thankfull for the like , and not to attribute any thing to my selfe being the Maister of the Ship , or with ostentation to puffe vp any of my Company , but giuing the glory to whom glory belongs , I proceed .

About the end of this last yeare , our affaires beeing accomplisht at Zant , our Ship called the Dolphin of London , of the burthen of 220. Tunne , hauing in her 19. cast Pieces , and 5. Murtherers 36. Men and two Boyes , the Maisters name Edward Nichols , a man whose courage , industry , knowledge , and integrity , are manifested by his actions in former times , but now more particularly in this last and perilous aduenture , we being laden weyed our Anchor , and set saile from Zant the first of Ianuary 1616. with a faire gale of winde at North and by East the 8. of Ianuary , we had sight of the Iland of Sardaine , then the wind beeing come Westerly , wee on the ninth day stood for Callery , we came close by two litle watch Towers , who shot two shot neere vs to giue warning to vs , that they would speak with vs , which night would not permit , for if wee could haue sent a shore to them , their intent was to haue informed vs of the Turkes men of war , which after we met withall to our cost and perrill and theirs to , for these townes were not aboue two Leagues off from the place where wee made our fight . At night ( being calme ) we sailed towards Cape Pola , which small gale brought vs neere to the Cape the 11. day About 2. of the Clock after noone . Three Leagues Eastward of the aforesaid Cape , we descryed a Satty , which is a small coasting Vessell , sent at that time for a scout or spye , belonging to the Turks men of Warr : who kept ●ight of vs in the euening neere the I le of Serdine , which belongs to the King of Spaine : The said Satty putting forth a light aloft , to giue a signe to the rest of his associates that hee had espied vs , and the more to delude vs , they let th● light sodainly fall , that we might immagine it to be the shooting of a Starre .

The 12. of Ianuary in the morning about 4. of the clocke we had better sight of the Sattie , and we perceiued that she stood in to get betwixt the shore and vs , which made vs doubt she had more fellowes not far off , as not long after wee found : the Mr. presently sent one to the top mast head who presently discouered 5. Ships more making towards vs before the wind being then at west South west , which the Maister with a prospectiue glasse perceiu'd to be the Turks men of war . The first of them booming by himselfe before the wind with al his sailes abroad , without colours or Flag , yet at present boording he put his flag out as we immagined : After him came 2. ships more of greater burthen then the first , and next one more which put his Flag in the main top as we perceiued afterward : then came the 5. and last much greater in bignes and force then any of the rest , all strongly prepared to offend and defend in any Godles desperate assault ; our M. perceiuing their readines , made speedy preparation for the incounter with our Ordinance and small shot , and other defensiue munition , first perswading his men with most Christian and manly Resolution by prayer first to recommend their soules , their bodies , and their actions to their God and Sauiour , which being done they went to dinner , after which the Mr. againe exhorted them in this manner . Contrymen and fellowes , you see into what an exigent it hath pleased God to suffer vs to fall into , let vs remember that we are but men , and must die of necessity , when , where and how , is only in Gods knowledge & appointment , but if it be his pleasure , that this must be the last of our dayes , his will be done , and let vs for his glory , our soules welfare , our Countries honor & the credit of our selues , fight it valiantly to the last gaspe : let vs prefer a noble death before a slauish life , & if we die let vs die to gaine a better life , for mine own part qd. he , I will see that if we escape this danger , that if any be hurt & maimd in the fight they shall bee carefully prouided for their health and maintenance whilst they liue afterward , therefore bee resolute stand to it , heere is no shrinking , but force perforce we must be men or slaues , die with me , or if you will not , I by Gods grace will dye with you .

These cheerfull words had been sufficient to put courage into faint hartles Cowards : but much more it emboldened vs that were feareles before , for wee all expected greedily to make proofe of the successe : at which the Maister caused his Trumpets twice to haile them , but they not regarding vs , scornd to answer vs , then the M. went vp the poop and waued his sword 3. or 4. times ouer his head , brandishing it with such dreadles resolution , as if the day had beene ours already : then the Trumpets sounded a charge , which warlik noyse inspird vs with new courage , & beeing within shot of them our Mr. commanded his Gunner to make his leuell & to shoot , went close by his quarter that was neerest vs , shot on purpose to misse him , as a warning what kind welcome they were to haue at our hands at which the formost ship came vp to vs apace , being almost becalmed , or with very little winde , returning vs worse then wee sent for their first shot kild vs a man , so betwixt vs for a good space was a most furious encounter , they hauing aduantage of vs by reason of the winde , presently layde vs a boord with one of their shippes , this was neere about eleauen of the clocke , then they sounded their Trumpets , and gaue such a showt as if they had won the victory already . But God , that neuer leaues those that put their confidence in him , cheared our Maister and Company with such manly fortitude , that presently our Trumpets sounded and answered them with a charge . ( Which Trumpeter was presently slaine , as shal be after related , ) and the Boatswaine winding his whistle , that pell-mell we fell to it , in such feirce manner that their great ordinance had torne our shippe that wee vsed our Gunes cleare of the ports , for they had left vs no port on the quarters but all open , but we not failing to pay them as well on their bow , to their great dismaying , for we had not left them one man aliue from their maine-mast forward ; besides we dismounted their ordinance , & tore them so neer the water that their cheife Commanders were forced with their Cuttleaxes to beate their owne men , to force them to make more hast to vngrapple from vs then they did to boord vs .

All this time the Maister , Vigillently went to and frow encouraging his men , sometimes in the Gunner roome , sometimes at the healme , sometimes on the port as ocasion serued , and where his presence was most needfull . This first fight continued two howers , the ship was in burden , two hundred tunnes , or there abouts , and had in her 25. peices of ordinance , and about 250. men , the Captaine of her , wee imagine was one Walsingham , which should be an English man by that name , and Admirall of himselfe for so it signifide by his Flag in his maine top , they boorded vs on our Larboord quarter , armd with fauchions , hatchets , and halfe pikes , they staid aboord vs halfe an hower , tearing vp our naileboords , vpon the poope and the Trap-hatch , but wee hauing a murtherer in the round house kept the larbboord-side cleare , whilest our men with the other ordinance , and muskets , and a murtherer in our Trap-hatch , playd vpon them and their ship , yet for all this they paide our gallery with smal shot that we were much endangered , but at last we shot her through and through , and they vs likewise , that being fearefull to be sunke she bore a head from vs and lay by the lee to mend her leakes , this fight was so neere the shore , that the inhabitants set vp a glasse and found it lasted two howers and a halfe , and this was the first encounter in which was kild fiue men and a little boy , the manner how they were slaine shal be at the end of the booke .

Now the Second incounter as wee suppose was with Captaine Kelleies Ship that came likewise vp with his flag in the maine top , and another Ship with his Flag in the fore top , which Shippes were at least three hundred tunne apeece or there abouts , and had in each of them twenty eight or thirty peeces of Ordinance , and about two hundred & fifty men , so they laid vs aboard on the Starbord quarter , and the other on the Larbor , where entring our ship thicke and threefold , with their semiters , hatchets , halfe pikes and other weapons , put vs in great danger both of the losse of our Ship and our liues , for they performed much man-hood and many dangerous hazards , amongst which there was one of their company , that desperately went vp into our maine top to fetch downe our Flag , which being spied by the Steward of our Ship , presently shot him with his Musquet that hee fell tumbling vpon our decke , and presently Cast ouerbord by their owne men , as they did the rest , leauing the Flag behind him , so these two shippes fought with vs with great resolution , playing vppon vs with their Ordinance and small shot , for the space of an hower and a halfe , of whom we receiued some hurt , and likewise they of vs , but when they could not preuaile , nor any way make vs to yeeld , they bore vp and passed from vs to lay their ships by the leeto stop their leaks , for wee had grieuously batterred them with our great Ordinance , and this was the second attempt they made vpon vs .

Now for the third , there came one more of theirs ships of two hundred tunne that had 30. pieces of Ordinance , and at the least two hundred and 50. men all well prouided as might be , which was as we thought too great a number for vs , beeing so few in our ship , but God that was our friend gaue vs such strength and successe that they little preuailed against vs , for at their first comming vp , notwithstanding all their multitude of men , wee shot her quite thorough and thorough , we entertaind her with two minion and three sacre , on our starboard side , then she fell to our Larboard side , and then we welcom'd her with a sacre in our bow , two minion and , one demiculuerin , which made her forsake vs and lye by the lee , as the others did before : but the other ship remaining , greater then the rest , in burden 500. tunnes with 650. men , laid vs aboard on the Starbord side , and in that quarter they entred our ship , with their Semiters , Fauchions , halfe Pikes , and other weapons , running to and fro vpon the deck crying still in the Turkish tongue , and some English , yeeld your selues , promising we should be well vsed , and one third part of our goods deliuered backe , with such like faire promises ; at which one of our company told , the Maister of the large offer of the Turkes , perswading him to yeeld , but the Maister replied , away villaine , I will neuer giue them part or quarter , whilst I haue quarters to my body . Who beeing thus resolued , some of our men plyed our Ordinance against them , some played with the small shot , some with other weapons , as swords and halfe Pikes and such like , in middest of which skirmish , it so happened by ill chance that they seeing that we would not yeeld to composition firde our ship in three places in the Maisters Cabbin , the gallery , with wild fire balls cast into the hold and so left vs , besides our gunnes and theirs fired the Carpenters cabbin , that wee and the ship was fired , and in great danger to be lost and cast away , had not the Lord in his mercy preserued vs , and sent vs meanes happily to quench it , but now marke the accident , the fier being perceiued by our enemies to burne outragiously , and thinking that our Shippe would haue therewith beene sodainly burned to the water , they left vs to our fortunes , falling a sterne from vs , and so wee put to the shoare vnder a Towre , for some succour , where wee let an Anchor fall thinking to ride there all that night , which wee had no sooner done , but we saw the great ship that parted from vs , in our iudgement beare vpon vs , and at that time the ship that neuer boorded vs shot a peece of ordinance , while wee were preparing for another incounter and so we were forced to wey our Anchor , and set sayle to get better succour , and the enemy being weary of our company hoyst out their boates to mend their leakes , wherevpon we put into the roade betweene the two little towers , where wee sent our maymed gunner a shore to one of those towers , to make shot at the enemy if need were , where we lay fiue daies , mending the bruises and leakes of our ship : the losses we receiued in the aforesaide fight , were sixe Men and one Boy , which were killed outright , and there were hurt eyght men and one Boy more : but the Lord doth know what damage we put them to , and what number wee slew in their ships .

There is one thing more worthy of rememberance of our Chirurgion whose name was Robert Groue , who as hee was dressing one of our men in the hold of our Ship , a Ball of Wildfire fell into his Bason which he thinking to cast ouer boord it fell vpon the decke , which had greatly indangered vs but that hee resolutly fell vpon it and rouling in it smothered it out with his body . The Turkes trumpeters were aboard and sounded their Trumpets , yet notwithstanding , our men assaulted them so fiercely , that they forced them off , and the Boswaine ( seeing them flye ) most vndantedly with a whistle blourd them to the skirmish , if so they durst . The Captaines of three of their Ships were Englishmen , as we thinke , who tooke part with the Turks thus to rob and spoyle vpon the Ocean , their names were Walsingham , Kelley , and Sampson .

Vpon the 13. of Ianuary there came aboard certaine Spaniards in the morning betimes to witnes what hurts wee had receiued , who seing our men dead , went a shore with vs , and showed vs where wee might bury them , but as wee wore busie in making their graues , and couering the bodies with earth , there came sayling by a Flemish Ship of tweluescore tunne , which the enemy in the darke thought had beene vs , and so let her passe , which had in her fiue or sixe thousand pounds , which had beene chased with those men of warre that had fought with vs before , all which mony they brought in a long boate to this shore , and left in the ship onely three men , which were two Saylers and one Soldier , that afterwards within two daies brought the said ship into the Road of Callery , not any thing at all indangered , God be praised .

Vpon the 15. of the same Month when we came from the burying of our men , & had rested our selues in our Shippe some two or 3. houres , as God would haue it , the wind began to blow a strong gale , and by little & little grew to be a terrible tempest , through which from Sunday night till Friday in the euening . wee lay in such extremity of weather , as raine , winde , lightening and thunder , that we thought we should neuer haue got cleere from the Road where we lay : during which storme and tempest there dyed one of our men , that had beene hurt in the fight , whose body wecast ouerbord , into the Sea , without any other buriall , and so when the winde and sea a little calmed , wee set vp saile and came forward : but within three dayes after we buried 3. men more in the sea , and the same afternoone we arriued in the Road of Callery , and lay at anchor , where againe searching our Ship , we found it rent and torne in many seueral places , so in Callery we mended our Ship , and hired certaine men there to help vs to stop her leakes , and fish her Masts , and hauing all thinges fitting for our Voyage homewards , vpon the 30. day of Ianuary we committed our selues againe vnto the Sea , so leauing Callery wee came foreward with a Frenchman , who was bound to a place Orestone , some thirty Leagues from Callery , where after two daies we left his company being the first day of February , and after that putting forewards still towards England , we are now by Gods assistance safely ariued at London , to the contentation of our Owners , and the comfort of our selues that ( by the Almighties protection ) haue escaped so many dangers . God be praised .