> 1585. his Governor did desire to take a course for the common benefit of the people and countrey, his best way were to come and present himselfe unto our noble and mercifull Governour sir Francis Drake, whereby hee might bee assured to find favour, both for himselfe and the inhabitantes. Otherwise within three dayes wee should march over the land, and consume with fire all inhabited places, and put to the sword all such living soules as wee shoulde chance upon: so thus much he tooke for the conclusion of his answere, and departing, [III. 538.] hee promised to returne the next day, but we never heard more of him. Upon the foure and twentieth of November, the Generall accompanied with the lieutenant generall and sixe hundred men marched foorth to a village twelve miles within the land, called Saint Domingo, where the Governour and the Bishoppe with all the better sort were lodged, and by eight of the clocke wee came to it, finding the place abandoned, and the people fled into the mountaines: so we made stand a while to ease our selves, and partly to see if any would come to speake to us. After we had well rested our selves, the Generall commaunded the troupes to march away homewards, in which retreat the enemie shewed themselves, both horse and foote, though not such force as durst encounter us and so in passing sometime at the gase with them, it waxed late and towards night before we could recover home to S. Iago. On Munday the sixe and twentieth of November, the Generall commaunded all the pinnesses with the boates, to use all diligence to imbarke the Armie into such shippes as every man belonged. The Lieutenant generall in like sort commanded Captaine Goring and Lieutenant Tucker, with one hundred shot to make a stand in the market place, untill our forces were wholly imbarked, the viceadmiral making stay with his pinnesse & certaine boats in the harbour, to bring the sayd last 1585. A wise course to be imitated in all great actions. companie aboord the ships. Also the Generall willed forthwith the gallie with two pinnesses to take into them the company of Captaine Barton, and the company of Captaine Bigs, under the leading of captaine Sampson, to seeke out such munition as was hidden in the ground, at the towne of Praya or Playa, having bene promised to be shewed it by a prisoner, which was taken the day before. The Captaines aforesayd comming to the Playa, landed their men, and having placed the troupe in their best strength, Captaine Sampson tooke the prisoner, and willed him to shewe that hee had promised, the which he could not, or at least would not: but they searching all suspected places, found two pieces of ordinance, one of yron, an other of brasse. In the after noone the Generall ankered with the rest of the Fleet before the Playa, comming himselfe ashore, willing us to burne the towne and make all haste aboord, the which was done by sixe of the clocke the same day, and our selves imbarked againe the same night, and so we put off to Sea Southwest. But before our departure from the towne of S. Iago, wee established orders for the better government of the Army, every man mustered to his captaine, and othes were ministred to acknowledge her Majestie supreme Governour, as also every man to doe his uttermost endevour to advance the service of the action, and to yeeld due obedience unto the directions of the Generall and his officers. By this provident counsell, and laying downe this good foundation before hand, all things went forward in a due course, to the atchieving of our happy enterprise. In all the time of our being here, neither the Governour for the king of Spaine, (which is a Portugall) neither the Bishop, whose authoritie is great, neither the inhabitants of the towne, or Island ever came at us (which we expected they should have done) to intreate us to leave them some part of their needfull provisions, 1585. The treason of or at the least, to spare the ruining of their towne at our going away. The cause of this their unreasonable distrust (as I doe take it) was the fresh remembrance of the great wrongs they had done to old M. William Hawkins of Plimmouth, in the voyage he made 4. or 5. the Portugals yeeres before, when as they did both breake their promise, against M. and murthered many of his men, whereof I judge you William have understood, & therefore it is needlesse to be re- Hawkins. peated. But since they came not at us, we left written in sundry places, as also in the spittle house, (which building was only appointed to be spared) the great discontentment & scorne we tooke at this their refraining to come unto us, as also at the rude maner of killing, & savage kind of handling the dead body of one of our boyes found by them stragling al alone, from whom they had taken his head and heart, and had stragled the other bowels about the place, in a most brutish and beastly maner. In revenge whereof at our departing we consumed with fire all the houses, aswell in the countrey which we saw, as in the towne of S. Iago. From hence putting off to the West Indies, wee were not many dayes at Sea, but there beganne among our people such mortalitie, as in fewe dayes there were dead above two or three hundred men. And until some seven or eight dayes after our comming from S. Iago, there had not died any one man of sicknesse in all the fleete: the sicknesse shewed not his infection wherewith so many were stroken, untill we were departed thence, and then seazed our people with extreme hot burning and continuall agues, whereof very fewe escaped with life, and yet those for the most part not without great alteration and decay of their wittes and strength for a long time after. In some that died were plainely shewed the small spots, which are often found upon those that [III. 539.] be infected with the plague: wee were not above eighteene dayes in passage betweene the sight of Saint Iago aforesaid, and the Island of Dominica, being the 1586. men into two partes, to enterprise both the gates at one instant, the Lieutenant Generall having openly vowed to Captaine Powel (who led the troope that entred the other gate) that with Gods good favour he would not rest untill our meeting in the market place. Their ordinance had no sooner discharged upon our neere approch, and made some execution amongst us, though not much, but the Lieutenant generall began forthwith to advance both his voice of encouragement, and pace of marching: the first man that was slaine with the ordinance being very neere unto himselfe and thereupon hasted all that hee might, to keepe them from the recharging of the ordinance. And notwithstanding their Ambuscados, we marched or rather ran so roundly in to The citie of them, as pell mell wee entred the gates, and gave them S. Domingo more care every man to save himselfe by flight, then taken. reason to stand any longer to their broken fight. Wee forthwith repayred to the market place: but to be more truely understood, a place of very faire spacious square ground, whither also came as had bene agreed Captaine [III. 540.] Powel with the other troope: which place with some part next unto it, we strengthened with Barricados, and there as the most convenient place assured our selves, the Citie being farre too spacious for so small and weary a troope to undertake to guarde. Somewhat after midnight, they who had the guard of the Castle, hearing us busie about the gates of the said Castle, abandoned the same: some being taken prisoners, and some fleeing away by the helpe of boates to the other side of the Haven, and so into the countrey. The next day we quartered a litle more at large, but not into the halfe part of the towne, and so making substantiall trenches, and planting all the ordinance, that ech part was correspondent to other, we held this towne the space of one moneth. In the which time happened some accidents, more then are well remembred for the present, but amongst other things, it chanced that the Generall sent on his message A Locus vbi Anglica clafsis primù nin anchoris fubftitit. H Binx tormentariorum cohortes, que quafi dextra erant alı B Locus ab oppido ad quartum milliare,vbi Anglici milites ex My- prime cici. oparonibus & nauiculis terram confcenderunt. C Vinqua Angli montes fuperauerunt. 1) Planities magna voi acies inftructe, vnde ad opilum per exe. 1 S. LAGO Magnum haftatorum agmen, fiue acies media quæ vnà cum fita, quas perennis riuuius ex interioti regione profufus irrigat,& fo- P Haftatorum agmen, fiue poftrema acies que cum fuis cohorti- QTormentariorum cohortes que ad poftremam aciem pertine bant. M Atera & maior bombardatiorum colors, quæ mediam aciem runt. Tormentariorum cokortes quæ ad medium aciem fpecta. R T ura fpecies odoris iucundi & faporis optimi: fcilicet dactili, nuces co- tum. cum, |