"with show of great courtesy, bringing potatoes, roots, and
two fat sheep, for which they received a suitable return ;
and, as it was then late, it was agreed that the ship should
take water there on the morrow ". Drake accordingly went
in the boat with twelve men, and set two of them, with their
vessels, ashore : the Indians lay in ambush by the watering
place, sprang upon them, and either seized or slew them ;
and when the boat was hastening to their succour, a flight
of arrows was discharged at it with such effect as to wound
every one of the crew, the general himself under the right
eye. It was not without difficulty that the boat escaped
from this imminent danger, for the Indians pursued their
advantage with such resolution that they seized four of the
oars, and kept possession of them. None of the assailants
*This he himself told to Sir Richard Hawkins.
252 ENGLISH SEAMEN
were hurt, for the English had not time to use a harquebuss.
No attempt was made to take vengeance for this unprovoked
attack : it was supposed to have been made under a mistaken
notion that they were Spaniards ; and it seems Drake ad-
mitted that, in that case, the Indians would have acted
rightly, and, therefore, that it did not behove him to punish
the offence. He sailed the same day, and, happily, none of
the wounded died, though they had lost their principal
surgeon.
A hope still remained of meeting with the two missing
ships. It had been appointed that in case of separation
they should look for each other on the coast of Peru, about
the latitude of 30 S., and Drake accordingly made diligent
search as he sailed along. On the last of November an
Indian was found fishing, and brought on board : he was
made to comprehend that the ship wanted provisions, and
would pay for them, and was then dismissed with gifts.
This man's report pleased the natives so well that they
brought to the seaside a fat hog, poultry, and other food ;
and an Indian, of some apparent consequence, went on
board. He spoke Spanish ; told them that they had passed
the Port of Valparaiso six leagues ; that a Spanish ship was
then lying at anchor there, and that he would pilot them
thither, which he did accordingly, having no suspicion that
they were enemies to the Spaniards, who had never yet seen
an enemy in those seas. Felipe, as this civilised Indian was
called, did the English good service in conducting them to
this port. They found the ship riding at anchor, with eight
Spaniards and three negroes aboard : who, taking the new
comers for friends, saluted them with beat of drum, and
made ready a jar of Chili wine to drink with them. The
pirates (they are entitled here to no better name) were no
sooner aboard, than one of them, Thomas Moon, struck at a
Spaniard, exclaiming: "'Abaxoperrof down dog! and began to
lay about him ". " One of these Spaniards, seeing persons
HAWKINS AND DRAKE 253
of that quality in these seas, all-to-crossed and blessed him-
self." Another leaped overboard, and swam ashore to give
the alarm ; the rest were secured under hatches. The town
was not more prepared for resistance than the ship, and less
capable of it. It consisted of some nine families, who took
flight before the English landed and fell to spoil. Little
booty was found there : a small chapel contained nothing
that was thought wortli taking, except a silver chalice, two
cruets, and an altar cloth, which Drake transferred to the use
of his own chaplain ; but there was store of Chili wine in a
warehouse, which, with other provisions and some cedar
planks for fuel, was canned on board. The prisoners were
set ashore, one man excepted, who, being a Greek by trirth,
was called Juan Griego, and whom they detained to serve as
a pilot to Lima. The prize they rifled when they got out to
sea : they found in her 1770 jars of Chili wine, 60,000 pieces
of gold, some pearls, and some merchandise. Well pleased
with this adventure, they rewarded Felipe the Indian, and
landed him at that place which was most convenient for him.
From hence they ran along the coast, looking anxiously
for their lost consorts ; and because the ship was too large
to examine close in-shore, and a boat not strong enough in
case of an attack, they put together a pinnace, which might
safely look into every bay and creek. A fortnight after their
departure from Valparaiso they anchored about cannon-shot
from the mouth of the Coquimbo, and sent a party to get
water. Not far to the north was a Spanish town, of which
they were not aware, and a considerable body of horse and
foot came down upon the men while they were filling their
casks. The English, however, who were keeping good
watch, retreated to their boat, and pushed off in time ; one
Richard Minivy only, in a fit of fool-hardiness, refused to
escape, killed one of their horses, and was himself killed,
and his body thrown upon a horse, and earned off. This
place not suiting their purpose, nor the entertainment being
254 ENGLISH SEAMEN
such as they desired, they weighed anchor. The next day
Drake, having anchored in a bay in 27 55 ' S., embarked in
the pinnace, and turned back in it to make one more search
for the lost ships : the wind baffled him, and after one day's
trial he gave up the attempt ; yet, in apparent hope that as
much diligence would be used in seeking him as had been
manifested on his part, he remained in this bay more than
four weeks, then proceeded slowly along the coast.
They landed next at a place called Tarapaca, and, while
looking for water, found a Spaniard lying asleep, and thirteen
bars of silver lying by him, which were worth 4000 ducats.
No personal injury was offered to the man ; nor to another,
whom, on a second landing not far off, they met with an
Indian in his company, driving eight llamas, each carrying
a hundredweight of silver, divided equally in two leathern
bags. The llamas as well as their freight were taken on
board. From this part of the coast many Indians came off
to exchange fish for knives and glasses ; and even at an
Indian town, where two Spaniards resided as governors, they
obtained some llamas in the way of traffic. At Arica they
found two ships at anchor, one of which yielded some 40
bars of silver, weighing about 20 Ibs. each ; the other 200
jars of wine. Only a negro was on board : the people,
mistrusting no danger, were gone to the town ; " which,"
says one of the adventurers, " we would have ransacked, if
our company had been better and more in number ". The
sight of certain horsemen ready to have attacked them if
they had landed deterred them from the attempt. But they
learnt from the negro that there was a ship not far before
them richly laden. Taking with him one of his prizes, Drake
went in pursuit, he himself in the pinnace close along shore,
the ships keeping their course a league to seaward ; and
having proceeded thus about five and forty leagues they saw
the vessel at anchor. But the tidings that a sea-rover was
in pursuit had reached the Spaniards a few hours before, and
HAWKINS AND DRAKE 255
they had landed 800 bars of silver belonging to the king :
everything else of any value had been removed in time.
Here, too, there was a muster on the shore, which it would
have been rash to encounter. Drake, therefore, held on his
way : but taking this vessel and his other prizes with him,
one excepted, which he had burnt at Arica, when they were
about a league out at sea, he ordered all their sails to be set,
and then let them drive before the wind ; while he with only
his own ship and the pinnace proceeded to Callao, the port
of Lima.
Leisurely as Drake had proceeded, he arrived in sight of
the capital of Peru before it was known there that an enemy's
ship had entered those seas. When he landed at Valparaiso,
the Governor of Chili was in the interior, prosecuting that war
against the Araucans which has given so great a celebrity
to their name ; and the authorities did not venture to take
upon themselves the responsibility of sending- a vessel with
despatches to Peru. * A few leagues off that harbour, Drake
boarded a barque laden with silks and other goods, which the
owner, a Portuguese, was glad to redeem by engaging to
pilot the English into Callao. t He brought them in after
night-fall, " sailing in between all the ships that lay there,
seventeen in number," twelve of which were moored, and
had all their sails ashore, " for the master and merchants
were here most secure, having never been assaulted by
enemies ". They rifled these ships, and found in one of them
a chest of silver reales, and good store of silk and linen.
Their inquiry was for the ship that had the silver on board :
the silver, it was replied, was on shore ; but they were like-
wise informed that a richly laden treasure ship called the
* The viceroy, D. Francisco de Toledo, states this in his letter to the
Governor of the Rio de la Plata: if such advice had been sent, he says,
" Se habieran escusado hartas perdidas y gastos que se han recaecido a
S. M. ya los particulares " (Viageal Estrecho par Pedro Sarmiento, Ixxx.).
t Herrera, 385.
256 ENGLISH SEAMEN
Cacafuego (a name not to be translated) had lately sailed
for Payta. They cut the cables of these ships, and the
masts of the two greatest, and let them drive, not for wanton-
ness, but in provident foresight, that they might be disabled
from pursuing him. While he was thus employed, a vessel
from Panama, laden with Spanish goods, entered the harbour,
and anchored close by the Golden Hind. A boat came from
the shore to search it ; but because it was night they deferred
the search till the morning, and only sent a man on board.
"The boat then came alongside Drake's vessel, and asked
what ship it was ? A Spanish prisoner answered, as he was
ordered, that it was Miguel Angel's from Chili. Satisfied with
this, the officer in the boat sent a man to board it ; but he,
when on the point of entering, perceived one of the large
guns, and retreated into the boat with all celerity, because
no vessels that frequented that port, and navigated those seas,
carried great shot." The speed with which the boat made
off upon this discovery alarmed the Panama ship, which forth-
with cut her cable, and put to sea. Drake's men manned
their pinnace, and pursued. The Spainards, instead of strik-
ing at their summons, shot one of the crew, upon which the
pinnace returned. But the Golden Hind presently set sail,
and gained so fast upon the Panama ship, that the men took
to their boat, and escaped ashore, leaving the ship with
everything on board. *
Drake's great object was now to overtake the Cacafuego :
the wind failed, and boats were put out to tow the ship.
Meantime the alarm had been given in Lima ; and the
viceroy, Don Francisco de Toledo, hastened instantly to
Callao, and exerted himself through the remainder of the
night with such success that two vessels, with 200 men in
each, were despatched in pursuit before Drake was out of
sight of the port. Their orders were to board the rover if
* Nunho da Sylva. Hakluyt, 746.
HAWKINS AND DRAKE 257
they could come up with her, for they had no artillery.
The wind, however, sprung up, of which the English made
eager use ; and the Spaniards were as little desirous of
coming up with them as they were of being detained by an
action in which nothing was to be gained. So manifest, in-
deed, was this unwillingness, that though there were persons
of some distinction on board, the viceroy punished many for
cowardice,* not allowing the excuse they had devised for
themselves by following the Panama, which Drake dismissed
with Juan Griego and his other pilot on board. Drake now
made all speed to the north, the pinnace keeping close in-
shore, the ship about a league and half from land. After
some days they stopped a vessel bound for Callao, from
which they " took a lamp and a fountain of silver," and
learnt that she had seen the treasure ship three days before.
At Payta they boarded another, and were told that the
Cacqfuego had left that port two days ago. Neither of these
vessels did they detain, but taking from the latter some pro-
visions and a negro, hastened on. On the morrow t they
captured a ship bound for Panama, and sent the crew and
passengers, among whom were two friars, ashore. In this
prize they found forty bars of silver, eighty pounds weight of
gold, and a golden crucifix, " set with goodly great emeralds".
This booty cost one of the men his life ; he had secreted two
plates of gold, denied it when accused, and was hanged when
they were found upon him.
They crossed the line on 24th February ; and Drake pro-
mised to give his chain of gold to the man who should have
the good fortune first to descry the golden prize, for which
all eyes were eagerly looking out. On St. David's Day they
* " Aunque yvan en ellos gente honrada, de miedo se bolvieron, y Don
Francisco de Toledo castigo por ello a muchos" (Herrera, 385). Nunho
da Sylva relates the excuse, and says nothing of the cowardice.
t Hakluyt, 735, 747. Burney, 336.
17
258 ENGLISH SEAMEN
made Cape St. Francisco in latitude 40 ' N., and if Drake
had been a Welshman, the day would have been rendered
doubly dear to him, for at three in the afternoon a certain
John Drake, going into the top, espied the object of their
long chase about four leagues to seaward. And here the
Portuguese pilot describes what Hakluyt calls "a pretty
device to make their ship sail more swiftly ". " Because the
English ship was somewhat heavy before, whereby it sailed
not as they would have it, they took a company of bolijas, or
Spanish pots for oil, and filling them with water, hung them
by ropes at the stern of the ship to make her sail the better."
The device was not wanted ; for the Spanish captain, Juan
de Anton,* made towards the English shipt to know what
she was, thinking her to be one of the ships that used to sail
along the coasts and traffic in the country. When they were
near enough Drake hailed them to strike, and the other
refusing, "with a great piece he shot her mast overboard,
and having wounded the master with an arrow, the ship
yielded ". They took possession, sailed with her further
into the sea all that night, and the next day and night,
making all the way they could. Being then at safe distance
from the coast, they stopped, and lay by their prize four days,
taking out her cargo and transferring it to their own ship.
They found in her great riches, as jewels and precious stones,
thirteen chests full of reales of plate, eighty pounds weight of
gold, and twenty-six tons of silver : 300 bars of the silver be-
longed to the king, and the rest was the property of private
merchants. The whole value was estimated at 360,000
pieces of gold, that of the silver alone being 212,000/. ; and
the captors congratulated themselves that their ship might
now well be called the Golden Hind. A little of the ex-
* Santona ?
t Herrera says that had it not been for this mistake the English
would not have captured her, because the South Sea ships were excellent
sailers, better than any others in the world (385).
HAWKINS AND DRAKE 259
ultation of success was shown upon this occasion. Among
other plate, two very fair gilt bowls of silver were found, be-
longing to the pilot, to, whom Drake said, " Sennor pilot, you
have here two silver cups, but I must needs have one of
them ! " The pilot, who knew that need has no law, and
that the adventurer who addressed him had just then as
little, assented, "because lie could not otherwise choose,"
and gave the other also to the steward of the general's ship.
In a better spirit Drake called for the register of the
treasure on board, and wrote a receipt in the margin for the
whole amount.*
Many a witticism was passed upon the unseemly name f
of their unfortunate prize, which, at the end of four days,
was dismissed, and three men put on board, whom Drake
had taken on the way for pilots. Drake gave the captain
* C. Suarez de Figueroa, 209 : Lope de Vega also relates this, and says
that the Spaniards themselves were amused at it.
tomaste la rica presa opima
De un millon y seyscientos mil ducados ;
Donde Espana ha tenido en mas estima
Aquellos tus donayres celebrados,
Quando al maestre y del navio ministro
Pediste de la plata el gran registro.
Las margenes del qual por recibidas
Satisfaciendo con estrafias veras,
Firmaste de tu nombre las partidas,
Como si dueno de la plata fueras.
Hasta las letras oy estan corridas
De que esta burla a su registro hizieras,
Bolviste el libro, que fue en tanto estrago
Para el dueno gentil recibo y pago.
Dragontea, canto i.
t " When this pilot departed from us, his boy said thus unto our
general : ' Captain, our ship shall be called no more the Cacafuego, but
the Cacaplata, and yours shall be called the Cacafuego ' ; which pretty
speech of the pilot's boy ministered matter of laughter to us, both then
and long after " (Hakluyt, 736).
260 ENGLISH SEAMEN
a letter of safe-conduct, in case he should fall in with the
Elizabeth or the Man/gold. This letter, which has been pre-
served by the Portuguese pilot, is remarkable for its kind-
ness and religious feeling. The contents, as retranslated
in Hakluyt from the Portuguese or Spanish version, were
these :
" Master Winter, if it pleaseth God that you should chance
to meet with this ship of Senor Juan de Anton, I pray you
use him well, according to my word and promise given unto
them ; and if you want anything that is in this ship of Senor
Juan de Anton, I pray you pay them double the value of it,
which I will satisfy again ; and command your men not to do
her any hurt ; and what composition or agreement we have
made, at my return into England I will, by God's help, per-
form ; although I am in doubt that this letter will never come
to your hands. Notwithstanding I am the man I have pro-
mised to be, beseeching God, the Saviour of all the world,
to have us in His keeping, to whom only I give all honour,
praise, and glory. What I have written is not only to you,
Master Winter, but also to M. Thomas, M. Charles, M. Caube,
and M. Anthony, with all our other good friends, whom I
commit to the tuition of Him that with His blood redeemed
us ; and am in good hope that we shall be in no more trouble,
but that He will help us in adversity ; desiring you, for the
passion of Christ, if you fall into any danger, that you will
not despair of God's mercy, for He will defend you, and pre-
serve you from all danger, and bring us to our desired haven :
to whom be all honour, glory, and praise, for ever and ever.
Amen. *
" Your sorrowful captain,
" Whose heart is heavy for you,
" FRANCIS DRAKE."
* Hakluyt, 747.
HAWKINS AND DRAKE 261
The general had now no other object in these seas ; * how
to make his way home with this great booty was the next
consideration. To return by the strait was, on many accounts,
unadvisable ; the season was unfavourable, and they knew
the difficulties and dangers of that passage : moreover, the
Spaniards expecting them to take that course, would be
likely both to have despatched ships in quest of them, and
a force to intercept them there. This was no vain surmise :
the whole coast of Chili and Peru was in such alarm, that a
stop was put to all maritime trade ; for it was known that
Drake expected to be joined by his two consorts, and in every
port the people were under arms to resist them. All the
consequences of such an invasion, and more than all, were
apprehended by the Spanish authorities : they thought that
nothing less than the King of Spain's dominion in those seas,
and the properties and lives and souls of the inhabitants,
were at stake, f It was not Drake's business now to encoun-
ter any danger that could be avoided ; but greater proof of
his ability as a seaman, and of his enterprising genius, was
never given than at this time ; for instead of at once resolving
to follow the course of Magellan, and so compass the globe,
he conceived the hope of rivalling that great navigator by
exploring a passage between the two great seas, at the
opposite extremity of America. J This he propounded to
his ship's company. " All of us," says one, who writes as if
he had been present, " willingly hearkened and consented to
our general's advice ; which was, first, to seek out some con-
venient place to trim our ship, and store ourselves with wood
* " Thinking himself, both in respect of his private injuries received
from the Spaniards, as also of their contempts and indignities offered to
our country and prince in general, sufficiently satisfied and revenged,
and supposing that her majesty, at his return, would rest satisfied with
this service " (Hakluyt, 736).
t Viage del Sarmiento, 4.
J World Encompassed. Burney, 339.
262 ENGLISH SEAMEN
and water, and such provisions as we could get ; and thence
forward to hasten on our intended journey for the discovery
of the said passage, through which we might with joy return
to our longed homes." *
They now sailed for the coast of Nicaragua, which they
made on 16th March, "near a small island named Canno,"
two leagues from the mainland ; there they found a small
bay, wherein they anchored, at five fathom deep, close by
the land, and near a fresh water stream. On the 20th, a
vessel was seen attempting to pass close by. The pinnace
was sent in chase, and brought her in. She was laden with
sarsaparilla, butter, and honey, and other things. The sarsa-
parilla they threw ashore ; and used the vessel as a receptacle
for their stores, while they laid their own ship down to ex-
amine her bottom. The island afforded them wood and fish,
and would have supplied alligators and monkeys if they had
chosen to take any on board. While they remained here
they felt the shock of an earthquake. In eight days the re-
pairs, wooding and watering were completed, and they sailed
westward, taking Avith them their prize ; which, however,
after keeping two days longer, they dismissed, detaining
some of the men to serve as pilots, and taking " the sea cards,
wherewith they should make their voyage, and direct them-
selves in their course ".t And so sailing until 6th April,
about evening, they discovered a ship that held two leagues
to seaward from the land ; and before the next day, in the
morning, they were hard by her, and suddenly fell upon her
while her men slept. She was apparently from Manilla,
* Camden (p. 252) is mistaken in saying that the viceroy had at this
time sent ships to fortify the strait. He could not do this till the Panama
fleet arrived ; and the expedition appointed for this service was not ready
to sail from Callao till Oct. n (Vlagc del Sarmicnto, pp. 4, 40).
t Admiral Burney says : " Whether these were charts of those seas
or only the cards of steering compasses was not explained ". I have no
doubt that the former are intended.
HAWKINS AND DRAKE 263
laden with " linen cloth (which probably means muslins),
fine China dishes of white earth, and great store of China
silks ; of all which," says the relater, " we took as we listed ".
He adds, that the owner of the ship was on board, who was
a Spanish gentleman ; and that the general took from him a
falcon of gold, with a great emerald in the breast thereof.
They took a negro out of this vessel, and dismissed her with
all her crew, one man excepted, whom they detained to show
them some watering place. He brought them into the haven
of Guatulco. They landed there, in happy hour for some
negroes, upon whom the criminal court was then sitting in
judgment for having conspired to set the town on fire.
Judges and prisoners were conveyed on board ; and the chief
judge was made to write to the inhabitants, ordering them
to leave the town, while the English might remain here.
There were but seventeen Spaniards residing here ; and
neither they nor the coloured population had much to lose,
for the adventurer who tells us that the town was ransacked
boasts of no other plunder than a pot as big as a bushel full
of silver reales, and a gold chain and some jewels which one
" Thomas Moon took from a Spanish gentleman, whom he
caught as he was flying out of the place ".
Drake remained here nearly a fortnight ; and before he
departed he released all his prisoners, and put the Portuguese,
Nunho da Sylva, on board a ship in the harbour, to find his
way to Portugal as he could.* From Guatulco they steered
* This is injuriously represented, as if the poor man had been left in
an enemy's country. It was hardship enough for him to lose his ship
and his goods, and be carried from the Cape de Verds through the strait