By the same manner of fishing, we caught so many of them, as refreshed and recreated all my people for that day. Their bodies were great, but of little flesh and tender; in taste answerable to the food whereon they feed.[147]
They were of two colours, some white, some gray; they had three joynts in each wing; and from the poynt of one wing to the poynt of the other, both stretched out, was above two fathomes.
The wind continued good with us, till we came to forty-nine degrees and thirty minutes, where it tooke us westerly, being, as we made our accompt, some fiftie leagues from the shore. Betwixt forty-nine and forty-eight degrees, is Port Saint Julian, a good harbour, and in which a man may grave his ship, though shee draw fifteene or sixteene foote water: but care is to be had of the people called Pentagones. They [Care of the Pentagones.] are treacherous, and of great stature, so the most give them the name of gyants.[148]
The second of February, about nine of the clocke in the morning, we discryed land, which bare south-west of us, which wee looked not for so timely; and comming neerer and neerer unto it, by the lying, wee could not conjecture what land it should be; for we were next of anything in forty-eight degrees, and no platt nor sea-card which we had made mention of any land which lay in that manner, neere about that height; in fine, wee brought our lar-bord tacke aboord, and stood to the north-east-wardes all that day and night, and the winde continuing westerly and a fayre gale, wee continued our course alongst the coast the day and night following. In which time wee made accompt we discoverd well neere threescore leagues of the coast. It is bold, and made small shew of dangers.
The land is a goodly champion country, and peopled: we saw many fires, but could not come to speake with the people; for the time of the yeare was farre spent, to shoot [A caveat for comming suddenly too neere an unknowne land.] the Straites, and the want of our pynace disabled us for finding a port or roade; not being discretion with a ship of charge, and in an unknowne coast, to come neere the shore before it was sounded; which were causes, together with the change of winde (good for us to passe the Straite), that hindered the further discovery of this land, with its secrets: this I have sorrowed for many times since, for that it had likelihood to be an excellent country. It hath great rivers of fresh waters; for the out-shoot of them colours the sea in many places, as we ran alongst it. It is not mountaynous, but much of the disposition of England, and as temperate. The things we noted principally on the coast, are these following; the westermost poynt of the land, with which we first fell, is the end of the land to the west-wardes, as we found afterwards. If a man bring this poynt south-west, it riseth in three mounts, or round hillockes: [Sidenote: Poynt Tremountaine.] bringing it more westerly, they shoot themselves all into one; and bringing it easterly, it riseth in two hillocks. This we call poynt Tremountaine. Some twelve or foureteene leagues from this poynt to the east-wardes, fayre by the shore, lyeth a low flat iland of some two [Fayre Iland.] leagues long; we named it Fayre Iland; for it was all over as greene and smooth, as any meddow in the spring of the yeare.