1568. Jesus and the Minion were gotten about two shippes Sharpe wars. length from the Spanish fleete, the fight beganne so hotte on all sides that within one houre the Admirall of the Spaniards was supposed to be sunke, their Viceadmirall burned and one other of their principall ships supposed to be sunke, so that the shippes were little able to annoy us. 3. ships of the Spaniards consumed. A hard case. Small hope to be had of tyrants. A storme. Then it is to be understood, that all the Ordinance upon the Ilande was in the Spaniardes handes, which did us so great annoyance, that it cut all the mastes and yardes of the Jesus, in such sort that there was no hope to carrie her away: also it sunke our small shippes, wereupon we determined to place the Jesus on that side of the Minion, that she might abide all the batterie from the land, and so be a defence for the Minion till night, and then to take such reliefe of victuall and other necessaries from the Jesus, as the time would suffer us, and to leave her. As we were thus determining, and had placed the Minion from the shot of the land, suddenly the Spaniards had fired two great shippes which were comming directly with us, and having no meanes to avoide the fire, it bredde among our men a marvellous feare, so that some sayd, let us depart with the Minion, other said, let us see whither the winde will carrie the fire from us. But to be short, the Minions men which had alwayes their sayles in a readinesse, thought to make sure worke, and so without either consent of the Captaine or Master cut their saile, so that very hardly I was received into the Minion. The most part of the men that were left alive in the Jesus, made shift and followed the Minion in a small boat, the rest which the little boate was not able to receive, were inforced to abide the mercie of the Spaniards (which I doubt was very little) so with the Minion only and the Judith (a small barke of 50 tunne) we escaped, which barke the same night forsooke us in our great miserie: we were now remooved with the Minion from the Spanish ships two bow-shootes, and there rode all that night: the next morning we recovered an Iland a mile from the Spaniardes, where there tooke us a North winde, and being left onely with two ankers and two cables (for in this conflict we lost three cables and two ankers) we thought alwayes upon death which ever was present, but God preserved us to a longer time. life. 1568. The weather waxed reasonable, and the Saturday we set saile, and having a great number of men and little [III. 525.] Small hopes of victuals our hope of life waxed lesse and lesse: some desired to yeeld to the Spaniards, some rather desired to obtaine a place where they might give themselves to the Infidels, and some had rather abide with a little pittance Hard choice. the mercie of God at Sea: so thus with many sorowful hearts we wandred in an unknowen Sea by the space of 14 dayes, till hunger inforced us to seek the land, for hides were thought very good meat, rats, cats, mice and Miseries. dogs, none escaped that might be gotten, parrats and monkeyes that were had in great price, were thought there very profitable if they served the turne one dinner : thus in the end the 8 day of October we came to the land in the botome of the same bay of Mexico in 23 degrees and a halfe, where we hoped to have found inhabitants of the Spaniards, reliefe of victuals, and place for the repaire of our ship, which was so sore beaten with shot from our enemies and brused with shooting off our owne ordinance, that our wearie and weake armes were scarce able to defende and keepe out water. But all things happened to the contrary, for we found neither people, victuall, nor haven of reliefe, but a place where having faire weather with some perill we might land a boat: our people being forced with hunger desired to be set on land, whereunto I consented. And such as were willing to land I put them apart, and such as were desirous to goe homewardes, I put apart, so that they were indifferently parted a hundred of one side and a hundred of the other side: these hundred men we land in 23. set a land with all diligence in this little place beforesaid, deg. and a which being landed, we determined there to take in fresh halfe. water, and so with our little remaine of victuals to take the sea. The next day having a land with me fiftie of our An hundred men set on 1568. The greatest miserie of all. hundreth men that remained for the speedier preparing But yet God againe had mercie on us, and sent faire weather, we had aboord our water, and departed the sixteenth day of October, after which day we had faire and prosperous weather till the sixteenth day of November, which day God be praysed we were cleere from the coast of the Indies, and out of the chanell and gulfe of Bahama, which is betweene the Cape of Florida, and the Ilandes of Lucayo. After this growing neere to the colde countrey, our men being oppressed with famine, died continually, and they that were left, grew into such weakenesse that we were scantly able to manage our shippe, and the winde being alwayes ill for us to recover England, we determined to goe with Galicia in Spaine, with intent there to relieve our companie and other extreame wantes. And being arrived the last day of December in a place neere unto Vigo called Ponte Vedra, our men with excesse of fresh meate grew into miserable disseases, and died a great part of them. This matter was borne out as long as it might be, but in the end although there were none of our men suffered to goe a land, yet by accesse of the Spaniards, our feeblenesse was knowen to them. Whereupon they ceased not to seeke by all meanes to betray us, but with all speede possible we departed to Vigo, where we had some helpe of certaine English ships and twelve fresh men, wherewith we repaired our wants as we might, and departing the 20 day of January 1568 arrived in Mounts bay in Cornewall the 25 of the same moneth, praised be God therefore. If all the miseries and troublesome affaires of this sorowfull voyage should be perfectly and throughly written, there should neede a painefull man with his pen, and as great a time as he had that wrote the lives and deathes of the Martyrs. JOHN HAWKINS. The first voyage attempted and set foorth by the 1572. Here was a certaine English man named Francis Drake, who having intelligence how the towne of Nombre de Dios in Nueva Espanna, had but small store of people remaining there, came on a night, and entred the Port with foure Pinnesses, and landed about 150 men, & leaving 70 men with a trumpet, in a Fort which was there, with the other 80 he entred the towne, without doing any harme, till he came to the market place, and [III. 526.] there discharged his calivers, & sounded a trumpet very loud, and the other which he had left in the Fort answered him after the same maner, with the discharging their calivers, and sounding their trumpets: the people hereupon not thinking of any such matter, were put in great feare, and waking out of their sleepe fled all into the mountaines, inquiring one of another what the matter should be, remaining as men amazed, not knowing what that uprore was which happened so suddenly in the towne. But 14 or 15 of them joyning together with their harquebuzes, went to the market place to know what they were that were in the towne, and in corner of the market place they did discover the Englishmen, and seeing them to be but fewe, discharged a 1572. The valiant Francis Drake betwixt Nombre de their calivers at those Englishmen: their fortune was such that they killed the Trumpetter, and shot one of the principall men thorow the legge, who seeing himselfe hurt, retyred to the Fort, where the rest of their company was left they which were in the Fort sounded their Trumpet, and seeing that they in the towne did not answere them, and hearing the calivers, thought that all they in the towne had bene slaine, and thereupon fled to their Pinnesses: the English captaine comming to the Fort, and not finding his men which he left there, he and his were in so great feare, that leaving their furniture behind them, and putting off their hose, they swamme, and waded all to their Pinnesses, and so went with their ships againe out of the Port. Thus this English Captaine called Francis Drake, departed from Nombre de Dios, & slew onely one man in the towne which was looking out of a windowe to see what the matter was, and of his men had onely his Trumpetter slaine. But he being discontented with the repulse which he exploit of M. had received there, came to the sound of Dariene, and having conference with certaine Negros which were fled Panama and from their masters of Panama, and Nombre de Dios, the Negros did tell him, that certaine Mules came laden with gold and silver from Panama to Nombre de Dios, who in companie of these Negros went thereupon on land, and stayed in the way where the treasure should come with an hundred shot, and so tooke two companies of mules, which came onely with their drivers mistrusting nothing, and he carried away the gold onely, for they were not able to carrie the silver through the mountaines. And two dayes after he came to the house of Crosses, where he killed sixe or seven marchants, but found no golde nor silver but much marchandize: so he fired the house, where was burnt above 200000 Duckets in marchandize, and so went to his ship againe: and within halfe an houre after he was a ship-boord, there came downe to the sandes three hundred shot of the Spaniards M. Francis Drake burnt the house of Crosses. |