Drake and his companions stayed in this port for thirty-six days and had wonderful intercourse with the natives. These people greatly marvelled at the things they brought and the presents they bestowed and thought their visitors to be gods. The Englishmen pitched their tents and built a temporary fort about them near the waterside at the foot of a hill, while from its summit groups of natives gazed, wide-eyed, down upon their work. Then followed a succession of stately ceremonies.
First, the people, assembled on the hill-top, put forth one of their number as spokesman, who “wearied himself” with a long oration directed at the Englishmen mustered below. This over, the men, leaving their bows and arrows behind them, came down the hill bearing presents to the Englishmen, feathers and bags of “tobac,” assumed to have been tobacco. Meanwhile the women, remaining on the hill-top, “tormented themselves lamentably, tearing their flesh from their cheekes,” which was understood to be a sacrifice, a pagan performance that distressed the Englishmen, who expressed their disapproval of it by gestures and endeavoring to offset it with a service of prayer and scripture reading. Then the presents were delivered and this ceremony ended. Next the native king, accompanied by his chief men and a throng of his people, formally welcomed the newcomers with a great demonstration. Of this spectacle the chronicler furnished a minute description, warranted by the novelty of it and the surprising climax:
"The people that inhabited round about came downe and amongst them the King himselfe, a man of a goodly stature & comely personage, with many other tall and warlike men: before whose comming were sent two Ambassadors to our Generall to signifie that their King was comming, in doing of which message their speach was continued about halfe an houre. This ended, they by signes requested our Generall to send some thing by their hand to their King as a token that his comming might be in peace: wherein our Generall having satisfied them, they returned with glad tidings to their King, who marched to us with a princely majestie, the people crying continually after their manner, and as they drew neere unto us, so did they strive to behave themselves in their actions with comelinesse. In the forefront was a man of a goodly personage who bare a scepter or mace before the King, whereupon hanged two crownes, a lesse and a bigger, with three chaines of a marveilous length: the crownes were made of knit worke wrought artificially with fethers of divers colours; the chaines were made of a bonie substance, and few be the persons among them that are admitted to weare them: and of that number also the persons are stinted, as some ten, some twelve &c. Next unto him which bare the scepter, was the King himselfe with his Guard about his person, clad with Conie skins, & other skins; after them followed the naked common sort of people, every one having his face painted, some with white, some with blacke, and other colours, & having in their hands one thing or another for a present, not so much as their children, but they also brought their presents.