The voiage of the right honorable George Erle of Cumberland to the Azores, &c. Written by the excellent Mathematician and Enginier master Edward Wright.

THE right honorable the Erle of Cumberland having at his owne charges prepared his small Fleet of foure Sailes onely, viz. The Victorie one of the Queenes ships royall; the Meg and Margaret small ships, (one of which also he was forced soone after to send home againe, finding her not able to endure the Sea) and a small Caravell, and having assembled together about 400 men (or fewer) of gentlemen, souldiers, and saylers, embarked himself and them, and set saile from the Sound of Plimmouth in Devonshire, the 18 day of June 1589. being accompanied with these captaines and gentlemen which hereafter folow.

Captaine Christopher Lister a man of great resolution, captaine Edward Carelesse, aliâs Wright, who in sir Francis Drakes West-Indian voyage to S. Domingo and Carthagena, was captaine of the Hope. Captaine Boswell, M. Mervin, M. Henry Long, M. Partridge, M. Norton, M. William Mounson captaine of the Meg, and his viceadmirall, now sir William Mounson, M. Pigeon captaine of the Caravell.

About 3 dayes after our departure from Plimmouth we met with 3 French ships, whereof one was of Newhaven, another of S. Malos, and so finding them to be Leaguers & lawful Prises, we tooke them and sent two of them for England with all their loding, which was fish for the most part from New-found land, saving that there was part thereof distributed amongst our small Fleet, as we could find Stowage for the same: and in the third, all their men were sent home into France. The same day & the day folowing we met with some other ships, whom (when after some conference had with them, we perceived plainly to bee of Roterodam and Emden, bound for Rochell) we dismissed.

The 28 and 29 dayes we met divers of our English ships, returning from the Portugall voiage which my lord relieved with victuals. The 13 day of July being Sonday in the morning, we espied II ships without sight of ye coast of Spaine, in the height of 39 degrees, whom wee presently prepared for, & provided to meet them, having

first set forth captaine Mounson in the Meg, before us, to descry whence they were. The Meg approching neere, there passed some shot betwixt them, whereby, as also by their Admiral and Viceadmirall putting foorth their flags, we perceived that some fight was likely to follow. Having therefore fitted our selves for them, we made what hast we could towards them with regard alwayes to get the wind of them, and about 10 or II of the clocke, we came up to them with the Victory. But after some few shot & some litle fight passed betwixt us, they yeelded themselves, & the masters of them all came aboord us, shewing their several Pasports from the cities of Hamburg and Lubeck, from Breme, Pomerania and Calice.

They had in them certaine bags of Pepper & Synamom, which they confessed to be the goods of a Jew in Lisbon, which should have bene caried by them into their countrey to his Factor there, and so finding it by their owne confession to be lawful Prise, the same was soone after taken and devided amongst our whole company, the value wherof was esteemed to be about 4500 pounds, at two shillings the pound.

The 17 day the foresaid ships were dismissed, but 7 of their men that were willing to go along with us for sailers, we tooke to helpe us, and so held on our course for the Azores.

The of August being Friday in the morning, we had sight of the Iland of S. Michael, being one of the Eastermost of the Azores toward which we sailed all that day, and at night having put foorth a Spanish flag in our main-top, that so they might the lesse suspect us, we approched neere to the chiefe towne and road of that Iland, where we espied 3 ships riding at anker and some other vessels: all which we determined to take in the darke of the night, and accordingly attempted about 10 or II of the clocke, sending our boats well manned to cut their cables and hausers, and let them drive into the sea. Our men comming to them, found yt one of those greatest ships was the Falcon of London being there under a Scottish Pilot who bare the name of her as his own. But 3 other smal ships that lay neere under the castle there, our men let loose and towed them away unto us, most of the Spaniards that were in them leaping overboord and swimming to shore with lowd and lamentable outcries, which they of the towne hearing were in an

uprore, and answered with the like crying. The castle discharged some great shot at our boats, but shooting without marke by reason of the darknesse they did us no hurt. The Scots likewise discharged 3 great pieces into the aire to make the Spaniards thinke they were their friends and our enemies, and shortly after the Scottish master, & some other with him, came aboord to my lord doing their dutie, and offring their service, &c. These 3 ships were fraught with wine and Sallet-oile from Sivil.

The same day our Caravel chased a Spanish Caravel to shore at S. Michael, which caried letters thither, by which we learned that the Caraks were departed from Tercera 8 dayes before.

The 7 of August we had sight of a litle ship which wee chased towards Tercera with our pinnasse (the weather being calme) and towards evening we overtooke her, there were in her 30 tunnes of good Madera wine, certaine woollen cloth, silke, taffata, &c. The 14 of August we came to the Iland of Flores, where we determined to take in some fresh water and fresh victuals, such as the Iland did affoord. So we manned our boats

with some 120 men and rowed towards the shore; whereto when we approched the inhabitants that were assembled at the landing place, put foorth a flag of truce, whereupon we also did the like.

When we came to them, my Lord gave them to understand by his Portugall interpreter, that he was a friend to their king Don Antonio, and came not any way to injury them, but that he ment onely to have some fresh water and fresh victuals of them, by way of exchange for some provision that he had, as oile, wine, or pepper, to which they presently agreed willingly, & sent some of their company for beeves and sheepe, and we in the meane season marched Southward about a mile to Villa de Santa Cruz, from whence all the inhabitants yong and old were departed, and not any thing of value left. We demanding of them what was the cause hereof, they answered, Feare; as their usuall maner was when any ships came neere their coast.

We found that part of the Iland to be full of great rockie barren hils and mountains, litle inhabited by reason that it is molested with ships of war which might partly appeare by this towne of Santa Cruz (being one of their

chiefe townes) which was all ruinous, and (as it were) but the reliques of the ancient towne which had bene burnt about two yeeres before by certaine English ships of war, as the inhabitants there reported.

At evening as we were in rowing towards the Victory, an huge fish pursued us for the space well nigh of two miles together, distant for the most part from the boats sterne not a speares length, and sometimes so neere that the boat stroke upon him, the tips of whose finnes about the ghils (appearing oft times above the water) were by estimation 4 or 5 yards asunder, and his jawes gaping a yard and an halfe wide, which put us in feare of overturning the pinnasse, but God bee thanked (rowing as hard as we could) we escaped.

When we were about Flores a litle ship called the Drake, brought us word that the Caraks were at Tercera, of which newes we were very glad, & sped us thitherward with all the speed we could: and by the way we came to Fayal road the seven and twentieth day of August, after sunne set, where we espied certaine shippes ryding at anker, to whom we sent in our Skiffe with Captaine Lister and Captaine Monson in her to discover the roaders and least any daunger should happen to our boate, we sent in likewise the Sawsie Jacke and the small Caravell; but the wind being off the shoare, the shippes were not able to fet it so nigh as the Spaniards ride, which neverthelesse the boate did, and clapped a shippe aboord of two hundred and fiftie tunnes, which caried in her fourteene cast peeces, and continued fight alone with her for the space of one houre untill the comming up of other boates to the reskue of her, which were sent from the shippes, and then a fresh boording her againe one boate in the quarter, another in the hause, wee entred her on the one side, and all the Spaniards lept overboord on the other, save Juan de Palma the Captaine of her and two or three more, and thus we became possessors of her. This shippe was mored to the Castle which shot at us all this while the onely hurt which we received of all this shot was this, that the master of our Caravell had the calfe

of his legge shot away. This shippe was laden with Sugar, Ginger, and hides lately come from S. Juan de Puerto Rico; after we had towed her cleare off the castle, we rowed in againe with our boats, and fetched out five small ships more, one laden with hides, another with

Elephants teeth, graines, coco-nuts, and goates skins come from Guinie, another with woad, and two with dogge-fish, which two last we let drive in the sea making none account of them. The other foure we sent for

England the 30 of August.

At the taking of these Prizes were consorted with us some other small men of warre, as Maister John Davis, with his shippe, Pinnesse, and Boate, Captaine Markesburie with his ship, whose owner was Sir Walter Ralegh, the Barke of Lime, which was also consorted with us before.

The last of August in the morning we came in sight of Tercera, being about some nine or ten leagues from shoare, where we espied comming towards us, a small boat under saile, which seemed somewhat strange unto us, being so farre from land, and no shippe in sight, to which they might belong : but comming_neere, they put us out of doubt, shewing they were English men (eight in number) that had lately beene prisoners in Tercera, and finding opportunitie to escape at that time, with that small boat committed themselves to the sea, under Gods providence, having no other yard for their maine saile, but two pipe staves tyed together by the endes, and no more provision of victuals, then they could bring in their pockets and bosomes. Having taken them all into the Victorie, they gave us certaine intelligence, that the Carackes were departed from thence about a weeke before.

Thus beeing without any further hope of those Caraks, we resolved to returne for Fayall, with intent to surprize the towne, but untill the ninth of September, we had either the winde so contrary, or the weather so calme, that in all that time, we made scarce nine or ten leagues way, lingring up and downe not farre from Pico.

The tenth of September, being Wednesday in the afternoone, wee came againe to Fayal roade. Whereupon immediatly my Lord sent Captaine Lister, with one of Graciosa (whom Captaine Munson had before taken) and some others, towards Fayal, whom certaine of the Inhabitants met in a boat, and came with Captaine Lister to my Lord, to whom hee gave this choice: either to suffer him quietly to enter into the platforme there without resistance, where he and his companie would remaine a space without offering any injurie to them, that they (the Inhabitants) might come unto him and compound for the