Scheeps-togt van Martin Pringe, gedaan in 't jaar 1603. Van Bristol na 't noorder-gedeelte van Virginien....

Find lignum vitae wood of life.

500 eggs in one sea turtle.

On the 20th, we went ashore again to search elsewhere for lignum vitae wood of life, which we, thank God, found to our satisfaction. Toward evening, we opened our sea turtle, in which we found 500 eggs, being a sweet and tasty food, as was the whole fish.

Working to get their load of it.

On the 21st, we all went ashore, except for two or three, to fell trees, as we indeed cut down a multitude. The remaining days of that month, and three of the next, we were continuously occupied with sawing the trees at the ground and then into logs that one could carry out of the dense forest to the beach and into the boat, and thus brought them on board, in which Mr. Gilbert untiringly led others with his example: for he was never idle, but continuously busy searching for more trees, or bringing drink for the laborers, or doing one thing or another; thus, in the 14 days we lay here, we got a load of about 20 tons on board.

Sea turtle provides food for 20 people for 4 days.

When we had finished our sea turtle, God sent us another a few days later. From such a sea turtle, 20 people could eat for three or four days, if one knew how to keep it well; but in this region, no salting helps to preserve anything for longer than two days.

The island of St. Christopher.

But as the wood on this island turned out thin and was scarce, the captain did not find it advisable to stay here longer, but to go to Virginia and search for a larger space there: in consequence of which we lifted our anchor on the 3rd of July, being Sunday, sailed North-West by North, and passed St. Christopher late in the evening, and yet another small island.

On the 4th of July, in the morning, we had the island in sight. Coming closer, we stepped ashore and went into the forest to look for our lignum vitae wood of life, but found no more than one tree of it, which we cut and brought on board.