LIVES AND VOYAGES
OF
DRAKE, CAVENDISH, AND DAMPIER;
INCLUDING AN INTRODUCTORY VIEW OF THE
EARLIER DISCOVERIES IN THE SOUTH SEA.
AND THE
HISTORY OF THE BUCANIERS.
8lWtb ortraftx on steeL
NEW  YORK:
HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS,
FRANKLIN SQUARE.
1864.








PREFACE.
THIS volume is devoted to the LivEs of three of
the most eminent men that England has ever sent
forth into the field of her highest achievement.
The relation of their Voyages, Discoveries, and
Adventures is in so far the history of the rise of
her naval power. If it be that the first inspiring
thoughts of our youth are inseparably connected
with maritime enterprise,-with the perils, vicissitudes, new scenes, romantic incidents, the boldness, fortitude, and endurance of men tasked to
the utmost of man's physical and moral powers,
which are displayed in the narratives of the elder
voyagers,- this work cannot want interest.  It
contains, from the very nature of the subject, much
curious and valuable information, gleaned from
many sources, and in every instance verified by
scrupulous examination and reference to the fountain-head; while it is believed that, together with
the voyages, fuller and more accurate pbrsonal
memoirs of Drake, Cavendish, and Dampier are
given here than any that have yet been submitted
to the public. Early Spanish discovery in the
South Sea, and the first circumnavigation of the
globe in the ever-memorable voyage of Magellan,
form a subordinate, but it is hoped an appropriate




10                 PR]KFACE.
branch of the work: and the History of the Bues.
neers,those daring rovers, whose wild adventures
afford so much to charm the youthful mind, is so
closely interwoven with the Memoirs of Dampier
as to form one tissue. Instead of proving a blem.
ish, it is therefore presumed that the brief history
of this remarkable fraternity may be found no incongruous episode in a volume intended by the
author as a contribution to popular nautical history, of which the subject, though complete in
itself, forms also an interesting chapter in the
annals of maritime enterprise and adventure.
Edinburgh, Novembei, 1831,




CONTENTS.
CHAPTER 1.
FVr'CH OF EARLY DISCOVERIES IN THE SOUTH SSA.
Drake sees the Pacific —Spirit of Maritime Enterprise in EnglandNidtice of Early Attempts to reach India by thfe West-Voyages to
discover a Passage to the Spice Isles through the Continent of America-Attempts of Columbus —Pinzon-Juan Ponce-Vasco Nunez
beholds the South Sea-Voyage of Magellan-He discovers and
passes the Straits —The Patagonians-Discovers the Ladrones-The
Archipelago of St. Lazarus-Customs and Manners at Mazagua and
Zebu-Conversion of the King and People-Battleat Matan-.Magellan
killed-Massacre of the Spaniards-Progress and further Discoveries
of Magellan's Squadron-Customs of Borneo-The Moluccas —The
Vitoria returns to Spain, having circumnavigated the Globe-Expedition of Loyasa-Discoveries of Saavedra-Voyageof VillalobosSpanish Settlement in the Philippines-Discoveries of Juan Fernandez
and Mendana-Robinson Crusoe's Island-The Solomon Isles-Summary of Discovery in the South Sea prior to Drake's Circumnavigation..................................................... Page 15
DRAKE.
CHAPTER n.
tifE 01 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE.
Drake's Birth and Parentage-He goes to Sea-Purser of a Biscay
Trader-Voyage to the Guinea Coast-Sir John Hawkins-Slave
Trade-Affiir at St Juan de Ulloa-Drake returns to England-Ex.
pa*menfal Voyages-Expedition to Nombre de Dios-Journey across
the Isthmus-Rich Booty-Returns Home-Fits out Frigates-Irish
ItRbellion-Patronage of Essex; of Sir Christopher Hatton-Intro.
duced at Court..................... 53
CHAPTER m.
DRAKE'8 CIRCUMNAVIGATION.
The Queen approves the new Expedition-Drake's Squadron-Cop
Cantin-Muley Moloch-Cape Blanco-Mayo and Brava —The fi.
zilians-Ostriches-Natives of Seal Bay-Their Manners and Disposition-Patagonians-Unfortunate Affay —Stature of the Indians
-Port St. Jtlian-Doughty's Trial and Execution-Passage of the




XI1                      CONTENTS.
Strait-The Natives-The Fleet separated-Tierra del Fuego-Fat*
of the Shallop's Crew-Cape Horn-The Elizabethides-Capture of
Spanish Prizes-Lamas with Treasure —Capture of the CacafuegoThe Hind proceeds in Search of the North-west Passage-Indians
of New Albion discovered-Singular Manners cf the IndiansDrake crosses the Pacific-The Ladrones-The Moluccas-Remarkable Preservation-Barptane-Java-The Voyage Home-The Cape
of Good Hope-Arrival at Plymouth-Drake's Fame-The Queen
visits his Ship............................................. 63
CHAPTER IV.
EXPEDITIONS TO THE WEST INDIES.
Comumencement of Hostilities with Spain-Drake captures St. JagoCruelty of the Portuguese-Storming of St. Domingo and Carthagena
-The Fever of the West Indies-Sir Walter Raleigh's ColonyDrake destroys the Spanish Shipping-Observations on his Character
-The Spanish Armada-Capture of the Galleon of Don Pedro Valdez
-Expedition to restore Don Antonio-Expedition with Hawkins to
the Spanish Settlements in the West Indies-Attempt against Porto
Rico-Failure of Baskerville's Expedition across the IsthmusDeath of Sir Francis Drake-Estimate of his Character and Public
Services...................~,. ~ ll....................  110
CAVENDISH.
CHAPTER V.
VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD.
Policy of Queen Elizabeth-Public Spirit of the English NobilityAncestry of Cavendish-His Voyage to Virginia-Equipment of his
Squadron-Discovery of Port Desire-Colony of Pedro SarmientoMisery of New Settlers-Sarmiento made Prisoner-Natives of the
Straits-Indian Tributaries of Santa Maria-Escape of Tom6 Hernandez-A Watering Party cut off-Capture of Spanish Ships-Use
of Torture by Cavendish-Paita stormed-Cacique of Puna —Skir
mish with the Spaniards-March into the Woods-Progress of the
Squadron-Capture of the Santa Anna......~.......~... )23
CHAPTER VL
SECOND VOYAGE TO THE SOUTH SEA.
New Expedition to the South Sea-Attack on the Portuguese Settlements-Delay of the Squadron-Letter of Cavendish.-Relation by
-ne —Sufferings in Magellan's Straits-Separation of Davis-DavisI
Southern Islands-Piety of the Captain-Natives of Port Desire-.ine Men lost-Homeward Voyage of Davis-Adventures of Caven
tshb-He loses twenty-four Men-Unfortunate Affair at Spirito Santo
-Fury and Indignation of Cavendish-Separation of tie RoebuckDiscontent of the Crew —Firmness of the Commander-They miss
Stl Heleta-Death,of Cavendish-tlis Cl.aracter.............. 149




CONTENTI.                        xi
DAMPIER.
CHAPTER VII.
THE BUCANIERS OF AMERICA.
Origin. of the Bucaniers-Cattle-hunters of Hispaniola-Policy ot
France and England-Cruelty to the Caribs-Seizure of St. Christo.
pher's-Bucanier Settlement of Tortuga-Customs of the Bacaniers-Their Maxims-Manner of dividing their Spoils-Their Character-Capture of Jamaica-Enterprise of Legrand-Portugues and
Mansvelt-The Blcanier Chief Lolonnois-His Cruelties-Manners
of the Bucaniers-Montbar the Exterminator-First Expedition of
Morgan-Pillage of Puerto del Principe-Storming of Porto BelloHeroism of the Spanish Gove rnor-Capture of Maracaibo and Gibraltar-Stratagems of Morgan-Projected Bucanier Settlement-Storming of the Castle of Chagre-March of the Bucaniers to PanamaBattle with the Spaniards-Cruelty of the Freebooters-Return of
the Bucaniers to Chagre-Perfidy of Morgan-Proclamation of the
Governor of Jamaica-Concluding History of Morgan-The Bucaniers again increase-Capture of Vera Cruz-They direct their Attention to Peru-Narrative of Dampier..................... 164
CHAPTER VIm.
ADVENTURES AMONG THE WOODCUTTERS AND BUCANIERS.
Ancestry and Education of Dampier-His Voyage to India-Goes to
Jamaica as a Planter-Becomes a Logwood-cutter in CampeachyHabits of the Wood-cutters-Appearance of the Country-Its Natural
Productions-The Wild Pine-Snakes-Ants-The Humming-birdAlligators-Dampier loses himself in the Woods-Copartnership with
three Scotchmen-Dreadful Hurricane in the Bay-Its Consequences
-Beef Island-The Indians-John d'Acosta-Mode of hocksing Cattle
-Dampier joins'the Bucaniers —The Manatee, or Sea-cow-The
River Tobasco-Indians under the Spanish Priests-Their Manners
and Condition-Attack of Alvarado-Escape of the Bucaniers from
the Spanish Armadilloes-lMfunjack-Dampier rejoins the Logwood.
cutters-Returns to England................................. 204
CHAPTER IX
ADVENTURES WITH THE BUCANIERS.
Dampier leaves England for Jamaica-Joins the Bucaniers-Assault
of Porto Bello-Description of the Mosquito Indians-Their Ingenuity
in Fishing-In using the Harpoon-Acuteness of their Senses-Their
Customs-The Bucaniers under Captain Sharp cross the Isthmus
of Darien-Sea-fight in the Road of Panama-Differences among the
Bucaniers-Sharp leaves the South Sea-Retreat of Dampiex and a
Party of Bucaniers across the Isthmus-Difficulties of the Journey
-They reach the Samballas Isles-Cruise of Dampier with the Bucaniers-Adventures of Wafer among the Indians of the DarienA




X1V                      CONTENTS.
Carthagena, and the Monastery there-Dtch Governor-Wreck of
the French Fleet-Stratagem of a French Bucanier-Pillage of Rio
de la Hacha-Pearl-fishery-The Tropic-bird-Iguanas-Negro Doetor-Dampier's farther Adventures indicated................. 232
CHAPTER X.
CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE.
Dampler's New Voyage-Cape de Verd Isles-Bachelor's Delight-Fa!k
land Isles-Mosquito William-Nautical Remarks of Dampier-Juno
tion of Cook and Eaton-The Galapagos Islands-Death of CookEscape of the Bucaniers-Descent at Amapalla-Spanish IndiansThe Bucaniers separate-La Plata and Manta-The Cygnet joins the
Bucaniers-Descent on Paita-Attempt on Guayaquil-Dampier's
Scheme of working the Mines-Indians of St. Jago-The Bucaniers
watch the Plate-fleet-Battle in the Bay of Panama-Assault of Leon
-Dampier remains in the Cygnet-His Sickness-Crosses the Pacific
-Island of Guahan-Mindanao-Its Customs-The Bucaniers desert
Swan-Future Cruise of the Cygnet-Pulo Condore-The Bashee
Isles-Character and Manners of the Islanders-Cruise to New-Holland-The Country and People-The Nicobar Islands-Dampier leaves
the Bucaniers-His Voyage to Acheen-Voyages with Captains Bowry
and Weldon-Remains at Bencoolen-Prince Jeoly-Dampier's Return
to England-Publication of his Voyages-Employment by the Admiraty.....................................      246
CHAPTER XI.
VOYAOE TO NEW-HOLLAND.
Voyage of Discovery to New-Holland and New-Guinea-Dampier on
the Coast of New-Holland-Dirk Hartog's Reede-Appearance and
Productions of the Country-Discoveries on the Northern CoastsPlants and Animals-Appearance and Character of the NativesVoyage to New-Guinea-New Islands and their Productions —Discovery of King William's Island-Slingers' Bay-Manners of the
Natives-Discovery of Cape St. George and Cape Orford-Natives of
Port Montague-Their suspicious, inhospitable Character-Afray with
the Natives-Volcanic Island-Discovery of Nova Britannia-Islands
in Dampier's Strait-Return to King William's Island, and Second
Voyage to the Coast of New-Holland-Dampier's Shipwreck-Ungrateful Reception-His Voyage in the St. George-Bad Conduct of
his Officers-Dampier's Imprisonment by the Dutch-Return to England-Voyage in the Duke-Testimony borne to his Merits-Refections on his Character and Fate-The End 3................... 307
PORTRAITS.
Sra FRAwNcI DRAKE......................... To face tk6 Title-page.
THOaAss CAVENDISH.~............Page 123
WILLM DAPIEB........~..~......... ~..a-~..  - 104




LIVES
o0
EARLY ENGLISH NAVIGATORS, &e.
CHAPTER I.
Sketch of Early Discoveries in the South Sea.
Drake sees the Pacific-Spirit of Maritime Enterprise in EnglandNotice of Early Attempts to reach India by the West-Voyages to
discover a Passage to the Spice Isles through the Continent of America-Attempts of Columbus-Pinzon-Juan Ponce-Vasco Nunez
beholds the South Sea-Voyage of Magellan-He discovers and
passes the Straits-The Patagonians-Discovers the Ladrones-The
Archipelago of St. Lazarus-Customs and Manners at Mazagua and
Zebu-Conversion of the King and People-Battle at Matan-Magellan
killed-Massacre of the Spaniards-Progress and further Discoveries
of Magellan's Squadron-Customs of Borneo-The Moluccas-The
Vitoria returns to Spain, having circumnavigated the Globe-Expedition of Loyasa-Discoveries of Saavedra —Voyage of VillalobosSpanish Settlement in the Philippines-Discoveries of Juan Fernandez
and Mendana-Robinson Crusoe's Island-The Solomon Isles.-Stmmary of Discovery in the South Sea prior to Drake's Circumnaigation.
THE early records of maritime enterprise relate no incident more striking than the adventure of Captain FitANCI
DRAKE forcing his way across the Isthmus of Darien, and
atcending that " goodly and great high tree" from  which
he could look back upon the eastern shores of the Atlantic
where his ship lay, and forward in the distance descry that
new and mighty ocean, the subject of so many golden dreams
and ambitious hopes.  When we read that in the enthusiasm of that moment Drake lifted up his hands, " and besought Almighty God of his goodness to give him life and
leave to sail once an English ship upon that sea," time and
space are firgotten as we unconsciously breathe " Amen,"
to a prayer so gloriously fulfilled.




16        DRAKE SEES' THE SOUTH SEA.
Though the previous voyages of Magellaa and his successors deny Sir Francis Drake the honour of being the
first navigator in the South Seas, he was not only the first
Englishman that traversed a large portion of the Pacific in
its length and breadth, and circumnavigated the terraqueous
globe, but an eminent and successful discoverer in the most
brilliant era of maritime adventure. Drake is remembered
for other qualities more essentially English; for firmness,
skill, the talent of command, perseverance, generosity, and
bravery.
In the age of Drake navigation as a science was still very
imperfect; but the spirit of enterprise had reached the
height, and among the mpre distinguished of the early
voyagers was animated and guided by'soaring and generous motives. Inspired by the love of adventure, and the
ambition of discovery and conquest, the leaders regarded
the spoils, which formed the sole object of their mercenary
bands, chiefly as the means of rewarding faithful and gallant service, and of stimulating to new exploits.  The
same zeal and gallantry which led the Spaniards to propagate the faith or extend the empire of their sovereign in
the New World animated the English in extending the
glory of England and of Elizabeth, and in chastising and
despoiling the " proud Don," now regarded as the national
enemy. These reigning motives gave a character of loftiness and a tincture of chivalry to the early emprises of the
English in the New World, even when their expeditions
were undertaken to promote private and mercenary interests, In the instance of Raleigh, "chivalry had left the
land and launched upon the deep';" and Sir Philip Sidney,
the knight who "nourished high thoughts in a heart of
courtesy," would have been the volunteer companion of the
enterprises of Drake, and was only overruled in this put
pose by the commands of his royal mistress.
Before entering upon the life of Drake,-or, more prop
erly the narrative of those adventures and exploits which
form its interest and an animating episode in English his
tory, —it may be necessary to give a brief and rapid sketch
of the voyages and discoveries of some of the early
navigators in the SOUTH SEA previous to his memorable
circumnavigation, selecting the more interesting and -uw
ceasful of these attempts.




DISCOYERIES OF CO O.MBUS.               t7
In attempting to discover a passage to Eastern India by
the west, a short road to the gums and spices, the gold and
gems of known and of imaginary regions, Columbus had,
as it were by accident, stumbled upon America,-on those
islands of the Western Indies which he at first concluded
to be the rich countries his sagacity and boldness had taught
him to search for in this new direction. The discovery of
the continent soon followed that of the islands of America;
and though the real wealth and importance of this New
World could not be magnified beyond their value by the
exaggerations and flatteries of the first voyagers, the)were
soon overlooked, and ambition and cupidity pointed to other
regions of more abounding riches and higher civilization,
overflowing with all that the sordid covet or the ambitious
desire. The discoveries of the Portuguese had extended
to regions where the harvest of the European adventurer
was prepared before he visited the field. This inflamed
the avidity of the Spaniards; and the land discovered by
Columbus, after a time, came to be regarded as almost an
impediment to the progress of adventure which might be
crowned with like rewards. Cortez had not yet discovered
Mexico; Peru and New Spain were still unknown; and
though the few strange animals: and beautiful birds, and
the rich vegetable productions brought home as the firstfruits of discovery in a savage and unsettled country, were
admired as specimens and symbols, these were not the wealth
which the Old World valued, nor were the lands that produced them the regions which vwere to realize the romantic
dreams of an immediate and overflowing acquisition of the
most rare and precious commodities of the East. Colum;
bus had at first mistaken the islands he discovered forthose
of Eastern India; Cuba he fancied a part of Asia; but,
once convinced of his mistake by the discovery of the continent of America, and by farther research, his bold genius
and instinctive sagacity suggested the necessity of a sea
farther west, washing the opposite side of the new continent, and dividing it, probably by a harrow passage, from
the land he sought. It has been alleged that his conjecture
was confirmed by very early information of the actual existence of this western sea; and, as we shall afterward
see, the shores of the new continent were explored from
the Gulf of St. Lawrence to Rio de la Plata, to discover




18           MXERIMAt:  - o  PARTITION.
the strait which must form the channel of communication.
The search for this passage to the oriental islands was the
last labour in which Columbus engaged,-his final and
most disastrous voyage being undertaken for this especial
object. But the discovery remained a legacy, which this
great man bequeathed to spirits cast in similar mould with
his own. From the mount he had obtained aview of the
promised land, but was denied the felicity of reaching it,
or of tasting its fruits.
The court of Spain was soon fully aware of the importance of following up the researches to which Columbus fell
a martyr, and in which so many brave men had perished,
though their fate only enkindled anew the ardour of discovery.  The New World was become the grand lottery
of the Old, in which each adventurer, unwarned by the failure and disappointment of his predecessor, promised himself the great prize. State policy and ambition were thus
powerfully seconded by individual enterprise, zeal, or rapacity. Portugal and Spain, in their successive discoveries,
reacted upon each other. The discoveries of the navigators of the former nation, so rapid and splendid in the earlier part of the fifteenth century, and the more illustrious
success of Columbus, had now planted the cross and the
devices of their sovereigns and nations, as the insignia
of conquest and possession, on many a league of barbarous
coast in Africa and in America; and though those unexplored dominions may be thought to have lain too far apart
to produce clashing interests, the discovery of the Brazils
vby' the Portuguese on the one hand, and the probability of
the Spaniards attaining easy access to their East India possessions on the other, begot great international jealousies.
Rome was still the court of final appeal to Christendom,
and the pope the source whence all new rights of sovereignty were derived. A bull of donation issued by the too
famous Alexander VI. fixed as limits of partition a meridian
drawn 100 leagues west of the Azores and Cape de Verd
Islands; and assigned to Spain the dominion of all lands
newly discovered, or to be discovered, as far as 180 degrees
to the west of this line; and to Porthgal all that lay within
the sane extent eastward of the meridian assumed.
Neither England nor France acknowledged any right
inherent in the pope to make such magnificent gifts of




JOHN CABOT'S  VOYAG.                19
unknown territory. The former power sent out discoverers
without demanding leave of his holiness; and the French
king shrewdly remarked, that he should like to see the will
of FATHER ADAM before he believed such donations were
made exclusively to these favoured princes. Though neither
Spain nor Portugal questioned the inherent right of the
pope to gift the world to them as a theatre for plunder and
spoliation, where they might at their pleasure rob the heathen or gentiles, as the Indians were called by the early
voyagers, the limits of partition became a long and fertile
subject of difference between themselves.
After the discovery of Cuba by Columbus, it was for a
time believed to be a part of Asia, and the continent so ardently sought; and, by a subtle and selfish interpretation
of the papal grant, the Spaniards pretended to believe that
all lands reached by a course taken from the west of this
must be their territory, and that Portuguese discovery and
lawful dominion could only be prosecuted and acquired from
the east. This belief, real or pretended, afforded Spain another motive to the prosecution of more distant discoveries
in the western direction. But time passed on; and though
the existence of the South Sea, long a probable conjecture,
became every year more confirmed, little progress was made
in useful discovery previous to the memorable voyage of
Magalhanes; though repeated attempts, which we shall
briefly notice, had been made by different nations to discover
the desired ocean.
So early as 1496 the English, emulous of the maritime
glory recently acquired by Spainand Portugal, and indifferent to the pope's charter of donation, fitted out an armament
for discovery, which was conducted, under letters-patent
from Henry VII., by John Cabot, a native of Venice, and
his three sons, Sebastian, Lewis, and Sanctius. It appears
to have been his object to seek for a western passage to the
north of the new Spanish discoveries, and to reach Cathay
in India by this route. In prosecution of this great scheme
Cabot, in 1497, discovered the American continent, probably at Newfoundland; and his son Sebastian, in two successive voyages performed in 1498 and 1517, explored a
great extent of tne coast, from Hudson's Bay on the north
as faras Virginia on the south. Although unsuccessful in
i eattainment of their immediate object, these voyages have




99B'rK llCX CoBNrN I c ALon
jistiy entitled the English to the high distinction of beirg
the first discoverers of the American cont nent.
Thus early was the idea of a north-west passage cherished
in England. Three years after the voyage of Cabot (in
1500) Gaspar Cortereal, a Portuguese gentleman, under the
sanction of.King Emanuel, pursued the track of the Gabots
for the same object. Sailing along the east coast of New.
foundland, he reached the northern extremity of that island,
and discovered the mouth of the St. Law-rence, which, with
some appearance of probability, he concluded to be the opening to the west which he sought. He sailed also along the
coast of Labrador, and appears to have reached nearly to
Hudson's Bay, whence he returned to Portugal to report
his discovery. There is a painful interest connected with
this early navigation. On a second voyage undertaken to
complete the discovery the ship was wrecked, and his brother,
Michael Cortereal, fitted out three ships, and sailed into
these unknown seas in search of Gaspar. The vessels arrived at a part of the coast where there were several inlets
and rivers' mouths; and each ship, in the hope of discovering the wrecked mariners, took a different course, agreeing
to meet on a fixed day. Two of the vessels found the appointed rendezvous, but the unfortunate Michael shared the
fate of the brother he had come to succour. Neither of them
were ever heard of more. The third and eldest Cortereal
still remained, and held a high appointment at the court of
Emanuel.  He would now have devoted himself to the
search of his brothers, probably still surviving and languishing upon some barbarous least; but his affectionate design
was overruled by the king, who would not consent to a third
sacrifice. In memory of the disastrous fortunes of the Cortereals, it is said that the sea at the entry of the St. Lawrence was long called by the Portuguese The Gulf of the
Three Brothers.
Though important discoveries and improvements were
made in nautical and geographical science during the fifteenth century, navigation remained for many generations
subsequent to the voyages of the Cortereals uncertain and
imperfect; nor was it till the era of Cook that those subordinate contrivances and that system of discipline and internal regulation which now ensure the health and comfort
of seamen on lo-g voyages were at all known. All distant




VICBNTB YANE Z PiON. i
maritime undertakings were attended with uncertainty, if
not with great peril; and in the early periods of American
discovery the loss of life was immense, though it often arose
as much from privation and hardship as from shipwreck.
There is, however, a class of hardy and resolute spitits o.
whom danger acts as the strongest stimulant to renewed
effort; and a single instance of success, or the report of one,
was sufficient to obliterate the memory of a hundred failures. No sooner was one band destroyed than a new one
embarked in the same perilous track, in the pursuit of fame
and wealth, or impelled by that restless and roving spirit
of adventure which marks the man who is born a sailor.
Among the most renowned of these adventurous voyagers
was Vicente Yanez Pinzon, one of three intrepid brothers,
who by their means and their influence aided Columbus in
overcoming the many obstacles which opposed his daring
and doubtful enterprise, and became the companions of his
first great voyage. Dissensions and jealousies afterward
sprung up among these friends, and their succeeding enterprises were prosecuted apart. Of these the most memorable was undertaken by Vicente Yanez after the death of
his elder brother, Martin Alonzo. In December, 1499, he
sailed from the small port of Palos,* in Andalusia, with an
armament of four caravels, and accompanied by two sons
of his deceased brother and some of the seamen and pilots
who had sailed with Columbus in his late expedition to the
coast ofParia. Passing the Cape de Verd Islands, the expedition sailed about threet hundred leagues sduth-west..
They had scarcely passed the equinoctial line when the fleet
was overtaken by a fearful tempest.  The ships drifted on
before the hurricane at a furious rate, and drove so far south,
that when the storm abated and the heavens brightened the
polar star was no longer to be seen. The dismay of these
mariners, in the middle of the ocean, deprived of their only
guide, may be conceived. The beautiful constellation of this
* In the neighbourhood of Palosthe descendants of the Pinzons flourish to this day, in much the same condition as when their ancestors
embarked with Columbus, "a stanch, enpuring family, which for three
centuries has stood merely upon its virtues." For this knowledge we
are indebted to Mr. Washington Irving, whose pilgrimage to Palos forms
a romantic sequel to his Life of Columbus
t In Mr. Washington Irving's relation of this voyage the distance i9
made seven hundred leagues, which is evidently a misprint.




22           VICENTE ~ANEZ PINZON.
new hemisphere, the SOUTH CROSS, was not yet become
the cynosure of the wanderer in these untracked seas. But
the continent had now been discovered; and Pinzon, aware
of-the rich field which lay before him, was resolutely bent
on exploring its coasts. He made sail south-west, and, proceeding about two hundred and forty leagues, in 8 degrees
south, on the 20th January, 1500, beheld land in the distance, which they named Santa Maria de la Consolacion,
now known as Cape St. Augustine, a point on the most
prominent part of the immense empire of Brazil. Pinzon
went on shore, and with the usual formalities took possession of this territory for the crown of Spain. At this time
no natives were seen, though large footprints were trace1
on the sand; but at night fires were beheld on the coast, and
next day the Spaniards landed, and were encountered by a
band of Indians of a more fierce and warlike character than
any of those in more northern latitudes with whom previous
experience had familiarized them. They were men of large
stature, armed with bows and arrows, of ferocious features
and haughty looks, who regarded the glittering toys and
trinkets spread out to gain their friendship with indifference
or contempt.  They were a nomadic race, and prowled
about chiefly in the night. Baffled here, Pinzon held southwest along the coast, and approached one of his greatest
discoveries. At its threshold a painful adventure occurred.
Coming to the mouth of a river too shallow to admit the
ships, he sent the boats on shore filled with men well armed.
From the banks of the river they saw a number of Indians
on an adjoining height; and a single Spaniard, armed with
his sword and buckler, ventured to approach them; making
silns of amity, and inviting a return of kindness. He threw
them a string of hawks' bells, the jingle of which made
this a favourite toy with the simple children of the New
World. While he picked up a piece of gold which the
natives threw to him, they rushed down to overpower and
seize him, but not before he stood on the defensive, wielding
his sword so dexterously that he held them at bay till his
comrades came up to his assistance. The single-handed
valour of the soldier had at first somewhat discomfited the
Indians; but they speedily rallied, killed eight or ten of the
Spaniards with their darts and arrows, and pursued the
whole party even into the water, where they seized and bore




VIpiNTS YAWNZ PTIZON.                23
of one of the boats. The desperate defence of the Spaniards, who pierced through or ripped up many of the natives,
only served to inflame the valour and ferocity of thei
brother-warriors; and the Europeans, defeated and disheartened, were glad, after severe loss and complete defeat,
to retire to their ships unrevenged. On sailing north-west
forty leagues farther, the seamen were astonished to find
the water of the ocean so fresh that it could be employed for
the ordinary purposes of the fleet, and even to fill the casks.
From this circumstance Pinzon naturally inferred the size
of that mighty river, the streams of which actually freshened the Atlantic for many leagues from the shore, and also
the extent of the vast continent whence its waters were collected and through which they flowed. Thus was discovered the far-famed Maranon, now known as the river ofAmtzons, or rather as the Orellana and the Amazon. At several of the islands lying along the banks of this immense
river Pinzon's company landed. The natives were found a
free-hearted, kindly, confiding race, ready to share whatever
they possessed with their visiters, who, after the approved
custom of Spanish navigators, repaid this trustfulness and
hospitality by making thirty-six of the Indians captives.
Still holding northward, the crew, after many perils, had
the felicity once more to greet the polar star. Passing the
Oronoko, Pinzon, in the Gulf of Paria, took in a cargo of
that wood which gives the name of Brazil to so large a portion of the continent; and issuing by the Dragon's Throat,
the fleet steered for Hispaniola
This voyage, which was full of vicissitude and perilous
adventure, terminated in nothing of present importance,
though Pinzon was willing to flatter himself that he had
found the East Indies; and carried home whatever gaudy
weeds attracted the notice of his people, as specimens of
the valuable spices and drugs which were knowSto abound
in these regions. The only valuable production was the
die-wood; and the greatest curiosity an opossum, which
found fai more favour at the court of Spain than any other
of its fellow-passengers.
Seven years later, a new voyage was undertaken by
Vicente Yanez and De Solis, for the specific purpose of
discovering the western passage to the East Indies. 1Io
had previously examined the whole coast from Paria to




24        I2!LAST -tOYAG  OF COLUIBN3.
Darien. This new expedition sailed in June, 1508, and the
navigators being now familiarized with the track, they at
once stood for Cape St. Augustine. Coasting to 40 de,
grees south, they here and there landed and erected crosses,
the usual signs of taking possession for the King of Castile. Jealousies and disputes, the bane of so many con,
joined'aaritime expeditions, terminated this unsatisfac.
torily; and the commanders returned in the following yeal
to Spain, to refer their disputes to the government, which
ended in De Solis being for a time thrown into prison.
Roderigo de Bastida, a Spanish gentleman, in 1500,
fitted out an expedition of two ships, in partnership with
John de la Cosa, who had been a pilot under Columbus,
and was accounted an experienced and skilful mariner.
They steered directly for the continent, and discovered the
land now called the Spanish Main. Though they encoun.
tered many difficulties their voyage was prosperous;-but
the desired strait was not yet found.
In the year following the shipwreck of the Cortereals,
1501, Americus Vespucius, a Florentine in the service of
the King of Portugal, explored the coast of South America,
which did not then bear his name, for 600 leagues to the
south, and from Cape St. Augustine 150 leagues to the
west, without, however, falling in with the Rio de la Plata,
which, when subsequently discovered, was imagined the
entrance to a strait leading to the Western Ocean.
Columbus, haunted to his last hour with the desire of
penetrating to India through the sea which he confidently
believed lay to the west of the New World, now far advanced inlife, and suffering the penalties of a premature
old age, was vainly soliciting at the ungrateful court of Ferdinand and Isabella the means of prosecuting his great
discovery to a favourable termination, when the Portugoese
fleet, loadel with the most precious and rare commodities
of oriental countries, returned to Lisbon. From the do.
minions of those "gentile nations," existing in the East
in a state of high civilization and refinement, and where
commerce, industry, and the arts had long flourished, Spain
had hitherto derived no advantage. Avarice and ambition
were aroused by the view of her rival's prosperity; and
what had been refased to the prayer of Columbus was
granted to the hope of fresh conquest, and of spoils from




VASC'O NUNEZ DE BALBOA. At
that seat of pomp, riches, and elegance which might be
reached by a nearer and more secure path that should
belong exclusively to Spain. Columbus accordingly obtainad a small armament, but once more failed in his main
object, though he made several important discoveries.
The issue of this last voyage was, however, most disastrous to himself; and, foiled and baffled, persecuted and
heart-broken, he abandoned for ever his darling scheme of
pursuing that grand discovery of which the West Indies
and the American continent now appeared to him but the
first step.
In the years immediately subsequent, many discoveries
were made on the Atlantic coasts of America, sometimes
when the adventurers were in pursuit of wild and fantastic
objects. Among the wonders of the New World was the
Fountain of Youth, situated, according to Indian tradition,
in the fabled island of Bimini, and possessing the power of
renewing youth and restoring vigour to whoever dipped in
its waters. It is but fair to suppose that some of these
marvellous legends were employed by the adventurers as
pious frauds to engage their mutinous but credulous followers in dangerous and difficult enterprises. While in
search of this marvellous fountain, Juan Ponce discovered
the blooming coast which he named Florida. But, amid
many discoveries, no nearer approach was made to that
ocean which, it was now clear to demonstration, must wash
the western shores of the new coJtihent, as it was unquestionably ascertained that the east coast of China was
bounded by an open sea.
The discovery made in 1513 by Vasco Nunez de Balboa,
governor of a colony established at Santa Maria in Darien,
was confirmation beyond dispute. He had seen this ocean
with his eyes, and had plunged into its waves. The desire of gold, the main object of: all the subordinate adventurers, was the ultimate cause oft ie discovery of the South
Sea. Vasco Nunez, a man of talents, and of the highest.
courage and capacity, was one of the most illustrious of
the companions of Columbus. While living at his little
government he made many incursions into the interior, and,
being of a free and generous nature, he often gained the
jood-will of the caciques whom he had conquered. He
and Ul folUowerq in these predatory adventures had thAe




20            FURTIHER DISCOVERIES,
acquired a considerable quantity of gold,-which the In
dians justly called the god of the'ptniards,-and also
knowledge of the interior. The first distinct intimation of
the mighty ocean to the west was indirectly given while the
followers of Vasco Nunez quarrelled about the division of
their spoils. " Why," exclaimed a young cacique, indignantly throwing the gold out of the scales,-" why quarrel for this trash 1 If you are so passionately fond of gold,
as for its sake to abandon your own country, and disturb
the tranquillity of ours, I will lead you to-a region where
the meanest utensil is formed of this metal which seems
so much the objectof your admiration."  Balboa eagerly
caught at the indication, and, with incredible hardship,
crossed the Isthmus of Darien, that great glen of the New
World, and, from the summit where Captain Drake afterward stood, beheld the South Sea rolling below, and
stretching away in boundless perspective. Coming to a
vast bay, which he named the Gulf of St. Michael, Balboa,
displaying a banner, marched knee-deep into the rushing
tide, and took possession of all those seas and shores. He
exacted contributions in gold and provisions; and being
told by the natives of a country to the south where the
people possessed abundance of gold, and used beasts of
burden, the rude figure of the lama traced on the beach
suggested to him the camel, the slave of man in the East,
and confirmed him in the opinion of the close vicinity of
the East Indies. Tidings of this great discovery were
immediately transmitted to Spain, and received with de.
light and triumph.
After the premature and violent death of Vasco Nunez,
the colony on the Darien continued to extend their knowledge-of the Pacific, and to make excursions in small barks,
and form trifling settlements. Larger vessels were soon
constructed; and violently taking possession of some
small islands in the Gulf of St. Michael, which they
named the Pearl Islands, the Spaniards exacted from their
conquered subjects alarge annual tribute in pearls. Such
were the first-fruits of European dominion in the Pacific.
As the hope of reaching the oriental Spice Islands by a
passage through a strait decayed, the design was formed
of establishing a regular intercourse across the isthmus,
and an entrepot between the Old and the New World;




EXPEDITION   F MAGELLAN.               27
and a settlement was formed at Panama, from whence
vessels were to visit those eastern isles. ThIs scheme albc
failed; and after the return to Spain of an expedition of
discovery frustrated by the accidental death of De Solis,
who, in discovering the Rio de la Plata, was murdered by
the natives, the voyage of Magellan was undertaken.
Fernando Magalhanes was a native of Portugal, and
had served with reputation under Albuquerque in India.
Disgusted at the neglect shown to him by his own court,*
he offered his services to Charles V.; and they were doubly
welcome, as his cosmography enabled him to demonstrate
that the Molucca Islands, which he undertook to reach
through a strait in the American continent, fell within the
boundary of the pope's grant to Spain. Following the
approved fashion of too many courts, and discovering
too late the merit they had contemned, the Portuguese remonstrated through their ambassador, and even tried to bribe
back the man they had insulted. But Magellan preferred
the service of Charles V.; and on the 20th of September,
1519, the fife ships which formed his squadron sailed from
San Lucar on one of the most celebrated voyages the
world had yet witnessed. On the 26th the fleet took in
wood and water at Teneriffe; and on the 13th December
came to anchor in a port they named Santa Lucia, in the
20th degree of south latitude, and on the coast of Brazil.
This has sometimes been supposed the Rio de Janeiro of the
Portuguese, but modern observation does not confirm the
opinion. The natives immediately surrounded the ships
in their canoes. They appeared a confiding, credulous,
good-hearted race, and readily gave provisions in exchange
for trifling wares. Pigafetta Vicentia, a chronicler of the
voyage and a lover of the marvellous, says, " It was not
uncommon to see men of 125 or 140 years old among
them."  They were believed to be without religion, and
lived in large communities rather than in households, one
noisy cabin containing a hundred families. Of these people we are told, that on first seeing the ships' boats unloosened, they named them the children of the ships, and
fancied they had been sucking their mothers. That they
" In an old voyage we see it stated, that the cause of Magellan's dies
gust was being refused an addition to his Day, which would ar.onnt to
~bout an English crown a month I




28       HE REACHES -PORT ST. JUIAhN.
really believed what the structure or the poverty of
their language indicated to the Spaniards is beyond probability. They brought the Spaniards baskets of potatoes,
or batates, the name they gave to a species of the root now
known over all the civilized world; Pigafetta says they
resembled turnips, and tasted like chestnuts. These natives of Brazil had short curly hair. They ate their enemies, painted their faces and bodies, and the men perforated their lips in three places, into which ornaments made
of flint were introduced.
Weighing anchor on the 27th December the squadron
sailed southward, and on the 11th January reached Cape
Santa Maria on the Rio de la Plata, and took in wood and
water. Neat this place Juan de Solis had about seven years
before been murdered by the natives, and the Indians now
kept at a wary distance from their visiters. Sailing northward, and touching at different places, the fleet, on Easter
Eve, 1520, came to an anchor in a port which they named
St. Julian; and there Magellan remained for five months.
Discontent, and at last open mutiny, broke out in the fleet,
and was only quelled by great,though, in the circumstances
of Magellan, justifiable severity, as the ringleaders were
among the Spanish officers, who grumbled at the authority
of a Portuguese commander.
While the fleet lay in Port St. Julian, the Santiago, one
of the ships, made an exploratory cruise, and on the 3d
May, the feast of the Holy Cross, discovered the river
named Santa Cruz, in which the vessel was afterward
wrecked. The crew, after suffering great hardship, ultimately rejoined the squadron. The long period which the
fleet passed in Port St. Julian enabled the Spaniards to
form an intimate acquaintance with the natives. They
had at first concluded the country uninhabited; but one
day an Indian, well made and of gigantic size, came, capering and singing to the beach, throwing dust upon his head
in token of amity. A Spanish seaman was sent on shore,
and directed to imitate the gestures of this merry savage,
who was of such immense stature that a middle-sized (astilian only reached to his waist. He was large in proportion, and altogether a formidable apparition, his body being
painted all over, his broad face stained red, save a yellow
circle about his eyes. A couple of stag's horns adorned




DRESS AND MANNERS OF THE PATAGONIANS. 29
each cheek. His favourite colour seemed to be yellow,
which has a good effect upon a dark ground. His hair was
covered with a white powder. His ncothing, formed of the
skins of the guanaco,* covered his body from head to foot,
wrapping round the arms and legs, and was sewed together
all in one piece, like the dress of the ancient Irish. Shoes
made of the skins of the same animal, which made the feet
of the Indians appear round and large, procured for these
tribes the name of Pata-gones, or clumsy-'oofed, the origin
of the term Patagonians. The arms of the Patagoman
were a stout bow and arrow,-,the former strung with gut,
the latter tipped with flint-stones sharpened. The voice
of this man was like that of a bull. He went aboard the
ship of the captain-general, where he appeared quite at his
ease, ate, drank, and made merry, till, seeing his oi n image
in a large lookin-glass, he started back in alarm, ar,  threw
down four Spamards.  The good reception of the first-giant
brought more' to the beach, who were taken on board and
feasted, six of them eating as much as would have satisfied
twenty Spaniards. The first Indian had pointed to the
sky, as if to inquire whether the Europeans had descended
from thence; and they all wondered that the ships should
be so large and the men so small. They were in general
dressed and armed like the first visiter. They had short
hair, and carried their arrows stuck in a fillet bound round
their heads. They ran with amazing swiftness, and devoured their meat raw as soon as it was obtained.  These
tribes practised bleeding by rudely cupping the part affected,
and produced vomiting by thrusting an arrow eighteen
inches long down the throat of the patient. Magellan
wished to carry Home some of this singular race, and Eu.
ropean craft was basely opposed to'Indian confidence and
credulity. Fixing on two of the youngest and handsomest
of the Indians, he presented them with toys, triketi, and
iron, till their hands were filled; then, as ornaments, rings
of iron were put upon their legs, by which they were fet.
tered. Their struggles for freedom, and shrieking to their
* The camelus hunanacusgof Ltnnaus, a species of lama. This
animal, described by Pigafetta as having the body of a camel, the legs of
asatg. the tail of a horse, and the head and ears of a nitle, exciie grem
Smazement amongthe Spanist se&men.
B




DISCOVERY. OF TIE  STRAIT OFPIAGELLA.god Slebos,E only excited the mockery of those who, infei
rior in strength, had overmastered them by cunning and
treachery. Their chief demon could not emancipate them
from the power of the inhospitable Spaniards. A plant to
secure two females, that the breed of giants might be introduced into Europe, failed, and Magellan lost one of his
company in the infamous stratagem employed to entrap the
women.
On the 24th August the fleet left Port St. Julian, after
taking possession of the country for the King of Spain by
the customary ceremonial of erecting a cross,-the symbol
of salvation so often degraded into an ensign of usurpation,
if not of rapacity and cruelty, in the fairest portions of the
New World. Two months were afterward passed at the
newly-discovered Santa Cruz, where the squadron was well
supplied with wood and water; and on the 18th October
they stood southward, and discovered Cape de las Virgines,
and shortly afterward the desired strait. After careful
examination of the entrance, a council was held, at which
the pilot, Estevan Gomez, voted for returning to Spin to
refit; while the bolder and more resolute spirits were
decided to proceed and complete their discovery. Magellan
heard all in silence, and then firmly declared, that were he,
instead of the slighter hardships already suffered, reduced
to eat the hides, or the ship's yards, his determination was
to make good his promise to the emperor. On pain of
death every one was forbidden to speak of the shortness of
provisions or of home,-which, though a somewhat unsatisfactory mode of stifling the pangs of hunger or the longings of affection, equally well answered the purpose of the
captain-general.
"The fleet were now in the strait, and on the first night
saw on the south shore many fires, and gave that land thet
long familiar name of Tierra del Fuego. As we must
hereafter follow the navigation of Drake through Magellan's Straits, it is enough to record, that, thirty-seven days
after he had discovered Cape de las Virgines, Magellan, on
seeing the South Sea expanding before him, burst into a
passion of tears, and ordered public thanksgiving to be
4 The demon of Caliban's dam, andsupposed tobeborrowed by Shak
peare from the narrative of this voyage.




ARCHIPELAGOO   S/ TZAiVS.               31
made by the fleet. The strairtwas found to be 110 ltguiw
in length.
The loss of the Santiago, and the desertion of the St
Antonio at the eastern entrance, had now reduced the fleet
to three ships. With these Magellan held a northerly
coArse, to reach a milder climate, the crews having already
suffered severely Jrom extreme cold, and also to escape the
storms encountered about the western opening of the
strait.
On the 24th January, 1521, they discovered an island,
which was named San Pablo in memory of the last of the
two captive Patagonians, who died here after receiving baptism; and on the 4th February another small island was
seen, and called Tiburones, or Sharks' Island. The fleet
had now suffered so much from the want of provisions and
fresh water, and from the ravages of the scurvy, that,
depressed by their condition and prospects, they named the
next discoveries the Unfortunate Islands. The sufferings
of the crews, for three months after entering the Pacific,
are too painful to be related. Twenty died of mere exhaustion, or of scurvy; and the condition of the remainder,
reduced to chew the leather found about the ropes of the
ship, and to drink salt water, was one of the severest distress. Their. only solace was a series of delightful weather;
fair winds carrying them smoothly onwards. To this circumtstance the South Sea owes its name of Pacific, a title
which many succeeding seamen have thought it ill deserved.
Now we first hear of Europeans seeing from the Pacific the
star of the South Pole. On the 6th of March land was
discovered; at first three fair and apparently fertile islands,
inhabited and likely to afford succour to the fleet. The
Indians immediately came off to the ships in their canoes,
bringing cocoanuts, yams, and rice. On these poor islanders, whose thievish propensities obtained for this group the
appellation of the Ladrones, Magellan took signal vengeance
for small offence. A skiff was stolen from the side of the
Capitana, or admiral's ship, upon which Magellan landed
with ninety men, burnt huts, plundered provisions, and
killed some of the natives, who are described as a simple,
and harmless, unresisting race. From the 16th to the 18th
of March other islands were discovered, forming tJie group
then called the Archipelago of St. Lazarus, but now known




12         MANNEB      F THE ISLANDERS.
as part of the Philippines. The inhaoitants were found to
be a friendly and comparatively civilized people. They
wore ornaments of gold; and, though otherwise nearly
naked, had headdresses of embroidered silk. They were
tattooed, and perfumed their bodies with aromatized oils.
They cultivated the land, raised crops, and formed storestf
spices. On the 25th the fleet left Humunu, the principal
island of the group, and afterward touched at different
islands of the same archipelago. The picture given of these
islanders oy the early navigators is especially attractive and
interesting, from being the first account obtained by Euro,
peans of the tribes of Polynesia; but, in the voyages of
Drake and Dampier, we shall meet with them again unchanged in any respect, and under the observation of more
enlightened and accurate historians than the credulous
Pigafetta.
At a small island named Mazagua, and supposed to be
the Limasava of modern charts, a slave on board the fleet,
by name Enrique and a native of Sumatra, was able to
make himself unuerstood by the natives, and acted as the
interpreter of Magellan in explaining the reasons of the
visit of the Spaniards, and the terms of peaceful commerce
Wsd friendly intercourse which they wished to estallish
between themselves and the islanders. Mutual presents
were made, and ceremonial visits exchanged; the captaingeneral doing every thing likely to impress the Indians with
the power and superiority of Europeans, and the dignity
of the king his master. At this island the chief, with
whom Magellan formed a close friendship, was served in
vessels of porcelain and of gold. The Spaniards saw candles made of gums, rolled up in palm-leaves. The chief,
or king, was a remarkably handsome man, of olive complexion, with long black hair; his body elegantly tattooed,
and perfumed with gums and vegetable oils. He was
adorned with gold earrings, and on each finger wore three
rings.* About his middle he wore a tunic of cotton cloth
embroidered with silk and go:d, which descended to the
knees; and wrapped around his head was a turban or veil
* There is a learned dispute among the old critics on the early
voyages, whether the Latin narrative is here accurately translated
-ringe of gold on the fingers,-instead of siots of fold GA the
teeth.




ISLAND OF ZEBB.                 33
of silk. A loing dagger worn at the side, with a handle of
gold, and a scabbard of exquisitely-carved wood, completed
the handsome costume of this semi-barbaric prince. At
this island we first hear of the betel and areca. At meals
the chief sat cross-legged in the Turkish fashion; and,
Pigafetta says, made the sign of the cross before eating,
though entirely ignorant of Christianity;-before drinking,
the king always raised his hands to heaven. His native
title was rajah. The people here acknowledged one Supreme Being whom they called Abba, and whom they worshipped lifting their heads and clasped hands towards
heaven. Magellan was at this time first seized with the
violent desire of making proselytes, in which he easily
succeeded.  A cross was erected on a hill-top, which,
the natives were told, if duly adored would defend them
from lightning, tempest, and all calamities. Such were the
first Christian missionary labours among these Indian
islands. Gold was seen here in some abundance, vessels
and ornaments being made of it; but iron was more valued,
a native preferring a knife to a double pistole offered in exchange forhis rice and bananas. The commodities brought
to the ships were hogs, goats, fowls, rice, millet, maize,
cocoanuts, oranges, citrons, ginger, and figs. On the request of the rajahpart of the Spanish crew went on shore
to help in gathering in the rice-harvest; but the poor
prince, who had assisted on the previous day at mass, and
afterward at a banquet given by Magellan, had either surfeited himself, or had got so drunk that all business was
deferred till the next day, when the seamen discharged this
neighbourly office, and in two days saw harvest-home in
Mazagua.
On the 5th of April the fleet sailed, the king attending it
in his pirogue. Being unable to keep up with the squadron,
he was taken on board with his retinue; and on the 7th
April they entered the harbour of Zebu,-an island memorable from the death of Magellan, and as the place where
the first settlement of the Spaniards in the Philippines was
afterward made. The accounts which the captain-general
had received of the riches and power of the King of Zebu
made it a point of good policy to impress that prince and
his subjects with the greatness of the Spaniards. The
ships entered the harbour with all their colours flying; and




34        CONVERSION TO CHRISTIANITY.
a grand salute from all the cannon caused great consterna,
tion among the islanders. An ambassador, attended by the
interpreter Enrique, was sent on shore, charged with a
message importing the high consideration which the King
of Spain, the greatest monarch on earth, and his captaingeneral Magellan, entertained for the King of Zebu. He
also announced that the fleet had come to take in provisions,
and give merchandise in exchange, and that the captaingeneral wished to pay his respects to a prince he had heard
so handsomely spoken of by the chief of Mazagua. The
king, who acted through his ministers, gave the strangers
welcome, but would not dispense with the payment of certain port-dues, which, however, were passed from when he
came to know that the "greatest monarch on earth" would
pay dues to no man; and that, though his servants came
in peace, they were prepared for war. The representations
of a Moorish merchant then in the port, who had heard of
Portuguese conquest in the East, swayed the chief of Zebu;
and in a few days, every requisite ceremony being observed,
a treaty offensive and defensive was formed. The description of this people is curious and interesting:-In manners
and in social condition they did not appear to differ from
the natives of Mazagua. Their religion, whatever it was,
sat lightly upon them; for in a few days Magellan, whether
as politician or good Catholic, had converted and baptized
half their number. The rite was administered on shore,
where a rude chapel was erected. Mass was performed,
and every ceremony was observed which could deepen the
impression of sanctity. The royal family, the Rajah of
Mazagua, and many persons of rank were among the first
converts. The king received the name of Carlos, in honour
of the emperor. Among the sudden Christians were the
queen and forty ladies of the court. Baptism was also
administered to the eldest princess, the daughter of the
king and wife of his nephew and heir-apparent, a young
and beautiful woman. She usually wore a white veil or
mantilla which covered her whole body, and on her head a
tiara of date-leaves.
A miraculous cure, performed on the king's brother, who
on being baptized instantly recovered of a dangerous illness
completed Magellan's triumph. Pigafetta gravely relatev
"we were all ocular witnesses to this miracle."  The
fashionable religipn of the court spread rapidly. The idols




BA.TTWL. OI MATAN.                 g
Wele broken, the cross set up, and in less than fourteen
days frin the arrival of the squadron the whole inhabitants
of Zebu and the neignbouling islands were baptized, save
those of one infidel village, which the captain-general burnt
in punishment of their obstinacy, erecting a cross amid
the ashes and the ruins he had made.  Magellan now
regularly attended mass on shore, and the queen and.
her ladies also repaired in state to the chapel. She was
preceded by three young girls bearing her three broad
umbrella-shaped hats formed of date-leaves; shewas dressed
in black and white, and wore a veil of silk striped with gold,
which covered her head and shoulders. Her ladies wore
the same sort of screen, but were otherwise naked, save a
girdle or short petticoat of palm-cloth. Their hair hung
loose. Magellan sprinkled these fair Christians with rosewater, in which gallantry they appeared to delight.
Among other customs, the Zebuians drank their wine by
sucking it up through a reed. At an entertainment given
by the prince, the heir-apparent, four singing-girls were introduced. One beat a drum, another the kettle-drum, a
third two small kettle-drums, and the fourth struck cymbals
pgainst each other. They kept excellent' time, and the
effect was pleasing. The kettle-drums were of metal, and
in form and effect somewhat like European bells. The
young girls played on gongs, and the islanders had another
musical instrument resembling the bagpipe. Their houses
were raised on posts, and divided into chambers, the open
space below serving as a shed for the domestic animals and
poultry. Provisions were plentiful, and the Indians everywhere showed hospitality to their visiters, constantly inviting them to eat and drink. They appeared to enjoy the
pleasures of the table, at which they often remained for
four or five hours.
His majesty of Zebu had been somewhat of a self-seeker
in his sudden conversion. Reasons of state had mingled
with his faith, and tainted its purity. He had been told, or
had flattered himself, that a change to the religion of the
Spaniards would render him invincible to his enemies, and
was now about to prove his strength and his friendship for
these new allies in vanquishing the chief of Matan, a neighbouring island. This chief had refused to pay a tribute
baughtily demanded by Magellan in token of fealty and
submission to the emperor, replying, with commendable




368           DEATH' OF MAGELLAN,
spirit, that as strangers he wished to show the Spaniard
courtesy, and sent them a present, but he owed no obe
dience to those he had never seen before, and would pay
them none. This spirited reply greatly incensed the captain-general, now above measure elated with the succeass
that had attended his late labours, apostolic and political.
He forthwith resolved to punish the insolent chief of Matan,
and refused to listen to the dissuasions of his officers, and
articularly those of Juan Serrano, who remonstrated with
im on the impolicy of this design.
On the 27th of April, attended by forty-nine Spaniards
clothed in mail, the attack was begun on from 1500 to
3000, or even 6000 Indians,-so variously are they estimated. The King of Zebu attended his ally with a force;
but his active services were declined, Magellan calculating
upon an easy victory, and he remained in his boats. The
battle, between crossbows and musketry, and lances and
arrows, ragea for many hours. The Indians, brave from
the onset, rose in courage towards evening, when they had
become familiarized with the Spanish fire, which did comparatively little, execution. They had now learned to take
aim at the faces and legs of the Spaniards, which were not
protected by mail, and had succeeded in cutting off and
surrounding a party detached by Magellan to burn a village. The islanders, who had conducted themselves all
day with the greatest firmness, now pressed closer and
harder upon the Spaniards, who fell into disorder, and gave
way on all sides. Magellan was wounded in the leg by a
poisoned arrow. He was also repeatedly struck on the
head with stones; his helmet was twice dashed off; and
his sword-arm being disabled, he could no longer defend
himself. His men were hurrying in disorder to the boats,
and his new Christian ally still sat gazing on the combat,
which had doubtless produced a considerable change in his
notions of Spanish prowess. The fight continued down to
the water's edge. Six or seven Spaniards were all that
rxow remained with their chief. They fought bravely, till,
pressed and hemmed in on all sides by a multitude, an In.
dian struck Magellan on the leg. He fell on his face, and
stones and lances soon terminated his life. "Thus," say
the early accounts, "perished our guide, our light, and our
euoport."  Though the rash warfare waged by Magellan




tREACXERY cF THE ISLANDERS.             37
on the unoffending chief of Matan, who only maintained
his own independence, cannot be defended on any principle
of justice, the premature and violent death, in the very
middle of his career, of a navigator and discoverer second
only to Poldmbus and Gama, will ever be a cause of melancholy regret. Magellan was eminently endowed with the
qualities necessary to a man engaged in adventures like
those which he undertook. He had the true and rare talent
of command; being no less beloved than respected by the
crews, though Spanish pride and national jealousy made
the officers sometimes murmur against his authority. He
was a skilful and experienced seaman; prompt, resolute,
and inflexible, often carrying perseverance to the point of obstinacy. His former voyage to India, when he had reached
Malacca, and the bold navigation he had just made, entitle
Magellan to be named the first circumnavigator of the globe.
Eight Spaniards fell with their leader, and twenty-two
were wounded,  Though tempting offers were made to
the people of Matan to give up the body of the captaingeneral, they would not part with so proud a trophy of
victory. The result of the fatal battle of the 27th dispelled
the illusions of the Christian king, and his opinion of the
superiority of the Spaniards fell more rapidly than it had
arisen. He wished to make his peace with the offended
chief of Matan; and with the help of the treacherous slave
Enrique, who on the death of Magellan his master was improperly if not cruelly treated, the Christian Carlos formed
a plan of seizing the ships, arms, and merchandise, and, to
effect this, of murdering the crews in cold blood. The
officers were invited on shore to receive, previous to their
departure, a rich present of jewels prepared before the
death of Magellan for his most Catholic majesty. These
were to be delivered at a solemn banquet. Some of the
officers suspected treachery, and among others Juan Serrano; but they landed to the number of twenty-eight.
From the king's brother, on whom the miracle had been
wrought, taking aside the almoner, and leading him into
his own house while the others proceeded to the banquet,
Juan Carvallo, the pilot, and another Spaniard, confirmed
in their original suspicion, returned to the ships. They
had scarcely reached them, when the shrieks of the victims
were heard from the banqueting-house; and the natives




88            BBOHOL AND BORNEOi:were immediately seen dragging their dead bodies to the
water-side. The anchors were instantly raised, and several
shots fired upon the town, the ships meanwhile crowding
all sail to leave this fatal harbour. At this time Captain
Juan Serrano, who had landed with extreme reluctance,
was seen dragged to the shore, wounded, and tied hand
and foot. Earnestly he entreated his countrymen to desist
from firing, and to ransom him from this cruel and treacherous people. They turned a deaf ear to his prayers; and
Serrano, second in command, as in ability and courage, to
Magellan, was thus left at the mercy of the islanders, while,
kneeling on the beach, he implored his countrymen not to
abandon him. Pigafetta relates, that "finding all his en.
treaties were vain, he uttered deep imprecations, and
appealed to the Almighty at the great day of judgment to
exact account of his soul from Juan Carvallor his fellow
gossip."  "His cries were, however, disregaded," con
tinues the narrator, " and we set sail without ever hearing
what became of him."  This unmanly and cruel abandonment of a friend, commander, and countryman is imputed.
to the hope Carvallo entertained of succeeding to the com.
mand on the death of Serrano, the captains of the other
ships being already massacred. It is but justice to the
people of Zebu to mention, that one narrative of the voyage
imputes the indiscriminate massacre of the Spaniards to a
quarrel arising between them and the natives, from the
former insulting the women. Some years afterward, it was
incidentally heard, that instead of being all murdered, eight
of the Spaniards were carried to China and sold for slaves.
But the truth was never clearly ascertained.
The armament of Magellan next touched at the island
of Bohol, where, finding their numbers so much reduced by
sickness and the battle of Matan, they burned one of the
ships, first removing the guns and stores into the others,
now commanded by Carvallo. At Zebu they had already
heard of the Moluccas, their ultimate destination. They
touched at Chippit in Mindanao on their way, and afterward at Cagayan Sooloo. At Puluan they first heard of
Borneo. Having procured a pilot, they reached that island
on the 8th July, 1521, and anchored next (lay at threp
leagues from the city, which was computed to contain
twenty-five thousand families. It was built within high



MAINNgS AMD OUST8OS.                39
water mark, and the houses were raised on posts. At full
tide the inhabitants communicated by boats, the women
thus selling their various commodities. The religion of
Borneo was the Mohammedan. The island abounded in
wealth, and the people exhibited a high degree of civilization and refinement. Letters were known, and many of
the arts flourished. The king, though attended only by
females, employed ten men as secretaries in state affairs.
The people had brass coin in circulation in their commerce,
and they distilled arrack from rice.
Presents were here exchanged, and the ceremonial of iatroduction and the offer of a treaty of commerce were made
and accepted. Elephants were sent to the water-side for
the Spanish embassy; and a feast of veal, capons, and
fowls of several kinds was placed before them, served in
elegant porcelain dishes. They were supplied with golden
spoons to eat their rice; in their sleeping apartment wax
flambeaux burned in silver candlesticks, and men kept
watch all night to supply with oil the lamps which also
illuminated the chamber. The king was a stout man about
forty. When admitted to an interview, the deputation, on
the curtain of the royal saloon drawing up, found him surr6unded by three hundred guards armed with poniards. —
He sat at a table with a little child, and was chewing betel.
Close behind him were ranged his female attendants. He
received the Spanish gifts with merely a slight movement
of the head, discovering no eager or undignified curiosity,
and returned presents of brocade and cloth of gold and
silver. The courtiers were all naked, save a piece of cloth
of gold round their waists. On their fingers they wore
many rings; and their poniards had handles of gold set
with gems.  The curtain of the royal saloon, drawn up
when the ceremony began, at the conclusion dropped, and
all was over. Pigafetta asserts that the king had two
pearls as large as pullets' eggs, and so perfectly round, that,
placed on a polished table, they rolled continually. The
natural productions of Borneo were rice, sugar canes, ginger, camphor, gums, wax; and fruits and vegetables in
great variety. The people were peculiarly skilful in the
manufacture of porcelain, which formed a principal article
of their merchandise. Their pirogues were ingeniously
formed, and the state ones carved on the prows and gilt




40             TRE MOLUChA ISLES.
The Spaniards, who seldom or never left any port they
visited on good terms with the people, in real or affected
alarm for an attack, seized several junks in the harbour, in
which they knew there was rich booty, and made some
persons of quality captives, in reprisal for three seamen
absent or detained in the town.
The authority of Carvallo, which had never been respected, was now set aside by the choice of Espinosa as
captain-general. Sebastian del Cano, a Biscayan, was
also made a commander, and the Spaniards forthwith commenced what more resembled a privateering cruise than a
peaceful voyage of discovery and traffic, pillaging all the
small vessels they met, of whatever nation, and holding the
passengers to ransom, or making them prisoners, sometimes
after obstinate engagements. Going near several islands,
they touched at one, and seized two natives, whom they
compelled to act as their pilots to the long-sought Moluccas,
which they at length reached, and on the 8th November
anchored at Tidore. They met with a hospitable and kind
reception. The ships were visited by Almanzor, the king
of Tidore; a traffic in spices was commenced, and a factory, established on shore, where trade soon became brisk,
spices being readily given in exchange for red cloth, drink.
ing-glasses, knives, and hatchets. The king, Almanzor,
was a Mohammedan, to which faith the conquests of the
Moors, at a period comparatively recent, had converted as
many of the native princes of the East Indian islands as
they had stripped of their power. The King of Tidore was
but a late convert.
The Molucca Islands were found to be five in number,
-ying on the west coast of a large island called Gilolo.They were named Tidore, Terrenate, Motir, Bachian, and
Maquian. They are seen from each other, and one was
distinguished by pyramidical mountains, presumed to be
volcanic. They were governed each by its own princes-.
The spices produced were nutmegs, cloves, mace, ginger,
and cinnamon, which grew almost spontaneously. The
other natural productions were much the same as in the
Archipelago of St. Lazarus. The houses were built on
piles or posts, and fenced round with cane hedges. In the
island of Bachian a species of tird of exquisite beauty was
found, which the natives called " the bird of God," saying




HOMEWARD VOYAlB,                   41
it came from Paradise. This bird and the dlove-tree, of
which Pigafetta gives a-flowery description, are now well
known. By the middle of December, from the quantity
obtained,-and the plunder previously made in these seas,
the spice cargoes were completed; and the Spanish commander, ready to depart, was charged with letters and
presents, consisting of the rarest productions of the island,
sent to the emperor his master by the King of Tidore, his
most Catholic majesty's faithful ally, if not sworn vassal,
When ready to sail, the Trinidad was found unfit for sea;
and the Vitoria proceeded alone on the homeward voyage,
with a crew of forty-seven Europeans, thirteen Indians,
and also Molucca pilots. These islanders entertained the
seamen with many a marvellous oriental legend. While
steering for Mindanao, before coming to the Moluccas,
Pigafetta had heard of a tribe of hairy men, very fierce and
warlike, who inhabited a cape on the island Benaian,
wearing long daggers, and consuming the hearts of their
prisoners raw with a sauce of lemon or orange juice; and
by the  Molucca pilots- he was told of a people whose ears
were so long that the one served them for a mattress and the
other for a coverlet.*- He also heard of a tree on which
birds perch, of site and strength to pounce upon an ele
phant, and bear him up into the air.
The Vitoria touched at different places in the voyage to
Spain, and after a mutiny and the loss of twenty-one men,
passed the Cape of Good Hope on the 6th May, 1522.Being reduced to the greatest extremity for want of provi.
sions, and choosing rather to fall intQ the hands of the
Portuguese than to/perish by famine, they anchored on the
9th July, a Wednesday according to their reckoning, in-the
harbour of St. Jago, where the time proved Thursday, And
the 10th, — a difEerence and loss of a day which, though
very easily accounted for, was extremely perplexing to the
first of the circumnavigators, who, setting out from the west,
returned by the east. A certain quantity of provisions was
obtained before the quarter from whence the ship camewas
* The classieTreader will be amused by the coincidence between the
marvellous legends of the Molucca pilots and the wonders related by a
story-teller of remoter antiquity and higher authority, Strabo, who recounts this-among other legends brought from the East by the soldiers of'4exander the Gres*




42-        THE VTORIA AnI  TRINYDAD.
suspected; but the truth being discovered, the boat on the
third trip was seized, and the Spaniards in the ship, not
unobservant spectators, seeing preparations making for an
attack, crowded sail and escaped from the island.
On the 6th September, 1522, after a voyage of three
years' duration, in which 14,160 leagues of sea had been
traversed, Sebastian del Cano brought the Vitoria into St.
Lucar, and on the 8th the vessel went up the river to,
Seville. Pigafetta, from whom every historian of this remarkable voyage borrows so largely, concludes his narrative
almost poetically:-' These were mariners who surely
merited an eternal memory more justly than the Argonauts
of old. The ship, too, undoubtedly deserved far better to
be placed among the stars than the ship Argo, which from
Greece discovered the great sea; for this our wonderful;
ship, taking her departure from the Straits of Gibraltar, and
sailing southward through the great ocean towards the
Antarctic Pole, and then turning west, not by sailing back,
but proceeding constantly forward; so compassing the
globe, until she marvellously regained her native country,
Spain."  The crew on reaching Seville walked barefooted
in procession to two churches to return thanks for their safe
return, eighteen being now all the Europeans thatsurvived
of the crew of the Vitoria. The ship itself became the
theme of poets and romancers, and was carefully preserved. The commander, Sabastian del Cano, escaped
the neglect which was the common fate of all Spanish discoverers. He was liberally rewarded, and obtained letterspatent of nobility.
The Trinidad was less fortunate than its consort. Aftex
being refitted, she attempted to recross the Pacific, but was
nearly wrecked; and being driven back, the crew were made
prisoners by the Portuguese, whose jealousy of Spanish
enterprise in these parts was now violently inflamed by the
late transactions at the Moluccas.
The voyage of Magellan was attended by many important results; it demonstrated the existence of a communition between the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans, and ascertained the southern boundary of thekmerican continent.
In its progress Magellan discovered the Unfortunate Islands,
several islands of the group of the Ladrones, and the Archipelago of St. Lazarus; he also demonstrated the form




SXPDItTION OF LOVASA.                 4
of the earth, and accomplished what had baffled, even on
the threshold, every navigator who had made the same
attempt.
All the sea and land discovered by Magellan were claimed
by Spain as its sole possession,-an assumption of light
which the other European states, and especially Portugal,
were unwilling to acknowledge. The passage to the Moltccas and those islands themselves, the principal advantage gained by the discoveries of Magellan, were claimed
by the double title of the pope's grant and the alleged cessioi of the native princes to the King of Castile.  John
III., king of Portugal, was equally tenacious of his rights.
The old dispute of the boundary and partition-line was renewed, and referred to a convocation of learned cosmographers and skilful pilots, who met at Badajos, and parted
as they met; the commissioners of both parties being alike
tenacious of the claims of their royal constituents. The respective governments were thus left to establish their right
of possession as they found most convenient; and Spain
lost no time in fitting out another expedition to establish
her claims, and secure to the utmost the advantages of
Magellan's discovery.
This armament consisted of four ships, of which Garcia
Jofre de Loyasa, a knight of Malta, was appointed captaingeneral; Sebastian del Cano, and others of the survivors
of Magellan's voyage, going out under his command. The
squadron sailed from Corunna on the 24th July, 1525, and
was expected to reach the Spice Islands by Magellan's
Straits in no long time. Every precaution was taken to
ensure the celerity and success of the voyage, and the etpedition at first proceeded prosperously.
To the still imperfect state of nautical science we must
impute many of the subsequent disasters of Loyasa.  T he
strait so lately discovered was already the subject of uncertainty and dispute; Sebastian del Cano's vessel was
wrecked near Cape de las Virgines; the captain-general
was separated* from the fleet; the other ships were injure; 
* The Spaniards claim a notable discovery fro n this separation of the
fiftt The St. Lesmes, a barque commanded by Francisco de Hozes is
r7orted to have been driven to 550 south in the gale, and the captain
afimed that he had seen the end ofthe land of Tierra del Fuego. Thi
come Spanish historians of Magellan's expedition suppose Cape Horn;




44                 NEW  OUINZA.
through the strait, which it was April before they entered,
the passage proved tedious and dismal, and several of the
seamen died of the extreme cold. rhe stupendous scenery
described on this passage presents many of those gigantic
features which nature assumes in the New World. On the
26th May the fleet entered the South Sea, but was almost
immediately dispersed in' a storm. One of the vessels
steered for New Spain, the others held north-west. Both
commanders were now sick; and four days after crossing
the line, on the 3d of August, 1526, Loyasa died, and Del
Cano, who had braved and weathered so many dangers, expired in a few days afterward. Alonzo de Salazar, who
succeeded to the command of the fleet, steered for the Ladrones, and, in 14~ north, discovered St. Bartholomew.
Between Magellan's Strait and the Ladrones thirty-eight
of the seamen died, and the whole crew were so enfeebled
that it was found necessary to entrap eleven Indians to work
the pumps.  Salazar, the third commander died; and it
was November before they came to anchor at Zamafo, a
port in an island belonging to their ally, the' ing of
Tidore. Disputes immediately arose between the Spaniards
and the Portuguese governor settled at Terrenate, and a
petty maritime warfare ensued, which was prosecuted for
many years with various degrees of activity and success,the people of Tidore supporting the Spaniards, and those
of Terrenate the Portuguese settlers. In the course of
this year, 1526, Papua, long since called NEW GUINEA, was
discovered by Don Jorge de Meneses, in his passage from
Malacca to the Moluccas, of which he had been appointed
governor by the court of Portugal. About the same time
a Portuguese captain, Diego da Rocha, discovered"Se.
queira, believed the modern Pelew Islands.  In the course of
the summer of 1527, the fourth commander of Loyasa'
squadron died, or, it is alleged, was taken off by poison Ea
the instigation of the Portuguese governor; and the principal ship was so much damaged in repeated actions, that it
was found unfit for the homeward voyage.
while the geographers of other nations name it Staten Land, the certain
discovery of which is, however, of much later date. The extent ofprojecting land between the eastern entrance to the strait and Cape imra
mauke it improbable that it could have been seen by the crew of the:St,
Lenma




VOVYAO  OvP- AAVEDRA.               43
fn the sam   season the celebrated Hernan  Cortes
equipped three ships for the Spice Isles, which sailed from
New Spain on All Saints' Day, under the command of his
kinsman Alvaro de Sa;avedra. Two of the vessels were almost
immediately separated from the admiral, who, pursuing his
course alone, after leaving the Ladrones, discovered on
Twelfth Day a cluster of islands, to which, from this circumstance, he gave the name of the Islands de lo Reyes.
The men here were naked, save a piece of matting about
their middle,-tall, robust, and swarthy, with long hair and
rough beards. They wore broad hats as a shelter from the
sun, had large canoes, and were armed with lances of cane.
When Saavedra reached the Moltccas, which was in little
more than a two months' voyage, his direct approach from
New Spain would scarcely be credite'  He was immediately attacked by the Portuguese, but was supported by
his countrymen, the residue of Loyasa's fleet, who had now
built abrigantine. After completing his cargo, he sailed for
New Spain on the 3d June, an eastward voyage, that for a
series of years baffled every successive navigator. Land
was reached, which the Spaniards named Isla del Oro, from
believing that gold abounded. There is, however, reason
to conclude that this was Papua, afterward called New
Guinea, from the resemblance between the natives and the
negroes on the Guinea Coast. They were black, with short
crisped hair or wool; and had the features of that distinctive race of Polynesia, since termed Oceanic negroes, who
are found in many of the islands scattered throughout the
vast Pacific sometimes mixed with the other great family
by which these islands are peopled, but generally apart.
Saavedra was driven back to the Moluccas; nor was his
second attempt to reach New Spain in the following year
more fortunate. In that voyage he once more touched at
Papua. When formerly here he had made three captives.
On again seeing the beloved shores of their native land,
two of these poor Indians plunged into the sea while the
ship was yet distant; but the third, who was said to be
more tractable, and had by this time been baptized, remained to act as ambassador between his new friends and
his countrymen, and to establish an amicable traffic. When
the vessel neared the beach, he also leaped into the water;
but, without being allowed to land, was. at once assailed by
C




46           DISCOVERY OF CALIFORIA.
his former friends, and murdered, as an outcast and repFibate, in presence of his Christian patrons. A group (t
small islands in 70 north, seen afterward, were, from the
natives being tattooed or painted, named Los Pintados.
Thepeople were fierce and warlike, and from a canoe boldly
attacked the ships with showers of stones thrown from
slingk  To the north-east of Los Pintados several low
inhi d islands were discovered, and named Los Bueno6
Jardines.  Saavedra came to anchor here, and the natives
drew to the shore, waving a flag.  A band of men, and a
female, supposed to have been a sorceress, came on board,
to enable, it was imagined, the latter to use her skill and
spells in making discoveries.  The natives were light-complexioned and tattooed.  The females were beautiful, with
agreeable features and long black hair: they wore dresses
of fine matting. Saavedra, on landing, was met by men
and women in procession, with tambarines and festal
songs.  These islands afforded abundance of cocoanuts and
other vegetable productions.
The commander died soon after leaving the Good Gardens Islands; and after vainly attempting to reach New
Spain, the ship once more returned to the Moluccas. To
Saavedra is ascribed the bold project of cutting'   canal
from sea to sea through the Isthmus of Darien.*         /
In the same year, 1529, the Emperor Charles V., who
left his subjects ip the Moluccas to defend themselves as
they could, mortgaged, or ceded to Portugal his right to
those islands for 350,000 ducats..Though several voyages
were attempted as private enterprises, they all proved abortive, and the passage by Magellan's Straits, from its storms
and terrors, was abandoned.  The discoveries opening in
other quarters likewise contributed to divert attention from
this point of enterprise.
The peninsula of California was about this time discovThis project, which has been fifty times revived, very early engaged
the attention of Spain. I! is discussed in Jos. Acosta's Moral and PhysicaLHistory of the lndies,-who urges against the design an opintOn
which is nut even ye either established or abandoned, namely, that ope
sea being higher than the other, the undertaking must be attended by
some awfll -calamityto the globe. Very recent observations, hovever,
made undirit:ilt  ronage of Bolivar, seen to prove that either p canal
or a rai way isi qtepracticable  See Royal Society Transactious foa
83e




EXPESNt OF it V1lAtIWS,     47
ned by Cortes. Its gulf and outer shores had been exam-n
i.ed; new settlements were also every year rising in Mexico and Peru, which engrossed the cares of the Spanish
governor; and it was not till the year 1542 that, forgetting
the cession or mortgage to Portugal, a squadron was once
more fitted out, destined for the Archipelago of St. Laza
rus. This was the work of the Viceroy of Mexico, and the
command was intrusted to his brother-in-law, Ruy Lopez
le Villalobos. He discovered the island of St. Thomas, in
latitude 180 30' north, and a cluster of low islands, which
were named El Coral.  On the 6th January, 1543, at 35
leagues from the Coral Isles, the fleet passed ten islands,
which, from their fertile appearance, they called The Gardens (Los Jardines). The squadron coasted along Min
danao, making some miscalculation in their course; and on
reaching Sarrangan, an island near the south part of Mindanao, determined there to fix that settlement which was
the chief purpose of their expedition. This the natives,
though at first hospitable and friendly, stoutly opposed; but
the captain-general, having already taken formal possessior
of all the islands for the emperor, determined to make good
his point, and the Indians were subdued, and retreated to
other islands. Here the Spaniards raised their first harvest
of Indian corn in the Philippines,-the name now given by
Villalobos to all these islands, in compliment to the Prin-eroyal of Spain. The inhabitants of several of the islands
in a slrt time became more friendly; traffic was established; and Spanish success once more excited the jealous
apprehensions of the Portuguese, and begot numerous petty
intrigues among the native chiefs who favoured the different European leaders, In the progress of events, the conduct of Ruy Lopez de Villalobos was marked by perfidy to
the Indian allies he had gained, and treachery to Spain.
In despite of the remonstrances and honourable counsels of
his officers, he accepted unworthy terms of personal safety
from the Portuguese, one condition being a passage home.
On his return to Europe by the east, in a Portuguese ship,
he died at Amboyna, of sickness and chagrin,-thus eluding
the justice of Spain, which he had betrayed.
The certainty of conquering the Philippines had been
demonstrated even by the treachery of Villalobos; and, as
another preparatory step, search was made on the exterior




48          ZBXPwEX ITION  OF LEGASPI.
coast of California for a harbour, as an intermediate port or
place of shelter to ships passing between those islands and
New Spain, the Straits of Magellan being still abandoned
in despair.  The features of the various expeditions undertaken for many subsequent years, while the course lay
through those fatal straits, may be described in few words.
dome missed the entrance, but most were wrecked on the
coast.
The commencement of. a new reign is a period prover
bial for energy and activity, whether the implement wielded
by the ruler be a broom, a baton, or a sceptre.  Among the
first acts of Philip II. was an order issued to the Viceroy of
Mexico for the final conquest of the Philippines.  This
new expedition was rather fertile in discovery. It was conducted by Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, and under him by a
mall of much greater talent, the Fray Andres de Urdaneta,
a celebrated cosmographer and navigator, who, after sailing with Loyasa, had become a monk.  To Urdanetathe
honour was given of nominating the captain-general, his
profession forbidding him to hold any secular rank, though
no one was so well qualified to act as a " holy guide, to unfurl and wave the banner of Christ in the remotest of these
islands, and to drive the Devil from the tyrannical possession he had held for so many ages."  The expedition sailed
on the 21st November, 1564. On the 9th JanuaXy, 1565,
they discovered a small island, which they named De Los
Barhudos, and next morning a chain of islands, whicl were
called De los Plazeres, from the shoals. (n the 12th another chain was discovered, and named Las Hermarnas or
The Sisters.  These islands are supposed to be the Piscadores and Arrescifes of modern charts.  The squadron
touched at the Ladrones, where, on the island Guahan, the
Padre Urdaneta would have formed the desired settlement;
but the sealed orders of the king, opened at sea, decreed.
that it should be established in the Philippines. The Indians here, ablithe and good-tempered race, still, however,
retained the propensity to thieving which had obtained for
these islands their European designation. Their dwellings
were neatly formed and lofty, raised on stone pillars, and
dijided into chanmers.  They had boat-houses or dry
donks for their canoes. In Loyasa's voyage, we hear that
the only creatures seen among them  were turtle-doves,




rFItT SPANISH  SETTLEMENTS.             40
which they kept in cages, and taught to speak. They worshipped the bones of their ancestors. Without seeing other
land the fleet made the Philippines; and, on the 3d Fehrury, 1565, anchored near the east part of the island Tandaya. The natives wore the semblance of friendship; and
the captain-general made a covenant of alliance with the
chiefs, according to the customs of their country, the parties to the treaty drawing blood from their arms and breasts,
and mingling it with wine or water, in which they pledged
mutual fidelity. The Indians, however, were not the dupes
of European policy. With much shrewdness, they remarked
that the Spaniards gave " good words but bad deeds."  The
fleet sailed from place to place, but small progress was made
in gaining the confidence of the people, who were now
fully alive to the intentions of their visiters. One station
afteranother was abandoned, and Zebu was at last selected
as the point of settlement. There the Spaniards carried
matters in a higher tone than they had hitherto assumed,
The tardiness of the people to acknowledge the offered
civilities of the voyagers was used as a pretext for aggression, and the foundation of the first settlement of the Spaniards in the Philippines was laid in the reeking ashes of the
sacked capital of Zebu.
Hostilities continued to be waged for a time between the
islanders and the invaders; but mutual interest dictated
peace, and the late unprovoked atrocities of the Europeans
were at last viewed as a just though severe retribution for
the treacherous murder of Magellan's crew by their ancestors forty years before. The news of the settlement was
carried back to America by the Fray Andres Urdaneta, the
pilot-monk, who sailed on the 1st June, and on the 3d of
October reached Acapulco-a navigation highly extolled at
the time, as the passage across the Pacific from west to
east, so necessary to facilitate the communication between
the Pnilippines and the mother country, had hitherto baffled
every navigator. By following a course to the 40th degree
of north latitude fair winds were obtained; and the homeward voyage long continued to be made to New Spain by
the same track, which obtained the name of Urdaneta's
Pass;age. The name of the friar becilme celebrated among
all the European navigators; and to him we find English
seamen attributing the fabled discovery of the North-west
E




f-OS        RO IINSQON CRUSOfE*S )18LADYf.
Passage, long before Sir Francis Drake had attempted -a
enterprise which Britons still appear so reluctant to abano
don as hopeless.
Legaspi's expedition laid the foundation of Spanish power
securely in the Philippines.  The settlement of Manilla
son followed that of Zebu; the former place being then,
what it still remains, the capital of all the islands going
under the general name given them by Villalobos.
Other discoveries in the South Sea, memorable, if not
important, preceded the voyage of Drake. Maritime sci.
ence was now advancing surely, though slowly; and individual sagacity, boldness, and experience were occasionally
anticipating its progress. Juan Fernandez, a Spanish
pilot, who often made the passage from Peru to the new
settlements in Chili, in the hopes of finding favourable
winds for the south, to which contemporary navigators
made tedious and difficult voyages, creeping timidly along
the coast, had stood out to sea; and in the progress of his
voyage discovered the island which bears his name-a
name dear and familiar to readers over the whole globe as
Robinson Crusoe's Island. This discovery of a land offering what the seaman most requires,-wood, water,, anchorage, and vegetables,-was made in the year 1563, in 330
45' south latitude, and distant from the coast of America
115 geographical leagues, Cocos Island, so named from its
most plentiful production, and the Galapagos, or Turtle
Islands, afterward celebrated as the haunts of the English
Buccaneers, had now been discovered, and also the group
named the Solomon Islands.
The narrative of the navigation of Mendana, undertaken
for the purpose of discovery in the South Sea, and in which
he saw the land named the Solomon Islands, forms an interesting chapter in the early Spanish voyages. Alvaro de
Mendana left Callao, the port of Lima, on the 1,0th January, 1567, and, sailing 1450 leagues, discovered in 6~ 45'
south, the Isle of Jesus, and after other trifling discoveries
the island of Saint Isabella of the Star, and successively
the group to which the name of Solomon Isles was affixed,
that it might attract attention by indicating great wealth in
gold and other precious commodities. In that age these
islands were by the ignorant believed those from which
Solomon had obtained gold and sandal-wood, and the rare




THE. SOLOMON ISLES.                51
Materials employed in erecting the Temple. The islanders
were found of various characters; though it may be, the
difference consisted more in the mood of the moment than
in original or permanent causes. At Saint Isabella they
were munlattoes, with crisp hair.  Their food was roots and
cocoanuts.  The Spaniards supposed them to be cannibals,
though some distinction ought perhaps to be drawn between
habitual men-eaters and those tribes who, merely in +'
gratification of brutal vengeance, devour their enemie.
They were nearly naked, and worshipped reptiles and
toads. Some of the islands produced in abundance yams
and bread-fruit; in one a volcano was seen, then smoking.
A brigantine was built for the purpose of further discovery
in this interesting archipelago, round which the pilots
cruised, threading many channels. During the ceremony
of erecting a cross on one of the islands, and taking possession, the Spaniards were attacked.  If they sometimes
showed humanity, in no case did they study forbearance.
Two natives were shot, and the rest fled. In a river which
the Spaniards explored to some distance gold was found.
Other islands and a populous coast was seen, with which
the Spaniards for some time maintained a friendly intercourse. But aggressions on the gentiles by their Christian
visiters was not then considered a more forbidden pastime
than the cruel violence practised on the natives of Africa
in later days. The seizure of a boy by the captain-general gave just offence to a chief, who had till then been hospitable and friendly; and the refusal to give up his subject
was revenged, in their fashion, by the murder of ten Spaniards, belonging to a watering-party which the Indians had
surprised. This was the signal for wide-spreading vengeance. Houses were burned, and many of the natives
killed; nor did the outrages of the Spaniards terminate
here. Landing on an island they had named San Christoval, they were boldly opposed by the natives, of whom two
were shot, and the rest fled, leaving their houses to be
plundered by the invaders.
Mendana returned to Lima. The romantic accounts of
the wealth and fertility of this new Ophir gave rise to a
project of settlement, but it died away; and, on the rapid
extension of the continental settlements, his discovery
nearly faded from recollection, or survived merely in the




52             SO-THE RN CONTINENT.
imperfect charts an d journals of the navigators. Thirt v year
afterward, when Mendana undertook another vovage, Le
could not fall in with his former discovery, and the Siolo
mon Islands remained unvisited till refound by M. Surville
in 1769, two centuries after the visit of Mendana. They
have since been visited, at different times, both by English
and French navigators.
Such was nearly the amount of discovery in that great
sea, itself but lately known, previous to the voyage of Drake,
-a claim set up for JuarT Fernandez of having seen the
coast of New Zealand being still a subject of deubt and
dispute.
A continent to the south was a favourite and natural idea
among the navigators of that age; and Fernandez, already
a discoverer of some note, and a skilful pilot and bold seaman, reported that in one of his periodical voyages between
Chili and Peru, sailing about 40 degrees off the coast of
Chili, and lying upon courses between west and south, he
found a fair and fertile portion of an unknown continent,
inhabited by white people, who were dressed in woven cloth,
and were in their manners kind and hospitable. The skep.
tical may question the relation altogether; the charitable
will conclude that New Zealand was seen, or some large
island still unknown to modern voyagers, many of which
the Pacific is sufficiently capacious to contain. Another
important discovery is claimed by the Spaniards, but not
supported by evidence. In 1576, the year preceding Drake's
voyage, a navigator named Gali is said to have discovered
an island which he named Table Mountain from its external appearance, and which, it is stated, was the Owhyee
of the Sandwich group. If the discovery was ever made, it
was completely forgotten; which is not likely when the importance of such a midway station for the Spanish fleet and.
ships passing between Mexico and the Philippines is considered.
Some abortive voyages to Magellanica are omitted here,
the chapter having already extended to considerable lengtn;
and now, taking leave of the early Spanish discoverers, we
turn to the career of that illustrious navigator who first
launched an English ship into the South Sea, and carried
the fame of the nation which his discoveries enriched to the
uttermost parts of the globe.




( 81
DRAKE.
CHAPTER II.
Life of Sir Francis Drake.
Drake's Birth and Parentage-He goes to Sea-Purser of a Biscay
Trader-Voyage to the Guinea Coast-Sir John Hawkins-Slavs
Trade-Affair at St. Juan de Ulloa-Drake returns to Englaid —Ex
perilnental Voyages-Expedition to Nombre de Dios-Journey across
the Isthmus-Rich Booty-Returns Home —Fits out Frigates-Irish
lRebellion-Patronage of Essex; of Sir Christopher Hatton-Introduced at Court.
FRANCIs DRAKE, in common with many of the great men
whose names impart lustre to the annals of England, may
be termed the son of his own brave deeds. His family and
the rank of his father have, however, been made the subject
of much unprofitable discussion. In the heroic ages the
birth of so illustrious a man, if at all obscure, would at once
have been derived from the gods,-an origin of extreme convenience to such biographers as, influenced by the prejudices
of descent, disdain to relate the history of a poor man's son.
Modern skepticism and coldness of imagination making this
no longer possible, a struggle is nevertheless made for distinguished origin of some kind.  The godfather of Drake
was Sir Francis Russel of'Tavistock, afterward Earl of Bedford; and though various authorities are given for his father
having been in orders, there remains no doubt that he was
an honest mariner belonging to the same place. An attempt
has been made to reconcile the contradictory accounts of
Camden and Stowe by assuming that the father of Drake,
originally a seaman, was converted to the reformed faith in
the reign of Henry VIII., fell under the cognizance of some
of his capricious and arbitrary edicts, and, fleeing into Kent,.obtaned orders, first read prayers to the fleet, and afterward
was appointed vicar of Upnore on the Medway, in which
D




54              DRArtK'g S ANCESTRY.
river the royal fleet then usually rode. Though Johnson,
following Camden, without hesitation assumes the fact of
the elder Drake being a clergyman, it is superfluous to cite
the dates and accurate authority which disprove what both
the annalist and the sage had a strong inclination to believe. Stowe and the Biographia Britannica restore to the
"honest mariner of Tavistock" the son of whom he had been
innocently deprived by the real or imaginary vicar of Upnore; and Burney, in later times, though searching and
accurate, does not even advert to a claim of birth which
could add nothing to the renown of Francis Drake. The
credit of having had Sir Francis Russel for his godfather is
also disputed; and -with this too Drake could dispense,
especially as he is allowed to have gained nothing by this
distinction save the Christian name which he bore.
But whatever were his ancestry, it is clearly ascertained
that Francis was the eldest of twelve sons, who, with few
exceptions, went to sea. It is said that he was brought up
and educated by Sir John Hawkins, who was his kinsman.
The degree or existence of the relationship is not clearly
made out, and it is certain that young Drake was not long
a charge upon any patron; for at a very tender age his
father, having a large family, put him apprentice to a neighbour who traded to Zealand and France. Here he speedily
acquired that practical knowledge of his profession which
made him early in life as experienced and expert a seaman
as he afterward became an able commander. His fidelity
and diligence in this service gained the good-will and regard
of his master, who, dying a bachelor, bequeathed his vessel
to young Drake; and thus in the active and vigilantdischarge of his first humble duties was laid the sure foundation of future eminence and prosperity. At the early age
of eighteen Drak3 was made purser of a ship trading to
Biscay, and soon afterward engaged in the Guinea trade,
which had lately been opened by the enterprise of his  eputed relation, Captain John Hawkins. The crueity and
injustice of this traffic was the discovery of a much later'
age.
The regular course of the trade, the most lucrative in
which England had ever been engaged, was for ships to repair first to the Guinea coast for the human cargo obtained
by fraud. violence, and the most inhuman means, and then




mR JOHN HAWKINS.                  55
to the Spanish islands and the colonies on the main, where
the Africans were bartered for silver, sugar, hides, &c. &c.
The history of the first voyage to the Guinea coast is that. of every succeeding one:-" Master John Hawkins, coming
upon the coast of Sierra Leone, staid for some time; anJ
partly by the sword, and partly by other means, got into his
possession three hundred negroes at the least."
Few voyages had been made from England to this new
El Dorado when Drake, at the age of twenty, desirous of
extending his professional knowledge and participating in
the gains of the slave-trade, embarked for Guinea in the
squadron of Captain John Hawkins. Though Hawkins for
his exploits on the Guinea coast had already obtained for
his coat-of-arms, by patent from the herald's office, " a demiMoor in his proper colour, bound with a cord," he was not
knighted till after he had obtained distinction in the public
service. Whether Drake sailed from Plymouth captain of
the Judith, one of the smallest ships of Hawkins's squadron,
in the expedition undertaken to Guinea in 1567, or obtained
this honour during the voyage, or in the harbour of St. Juan
de Ulloa, is not clear; though it is asserted in the relation
of Miles Philip that he went out captain. It is sufficient
that in tlh  desperate rencounter at St. Juan de Ulloa between the Spaniards and the English squadron, he held a
command, and honourably distinguished himself. But this
somewhat anticipates the order of events in the first remarkable period of Drake's history.
Having completed his cargo of slaves, Hawkins and his
company took the usual course to the Canaries and Spanish
America, to exchange the Africans for other wares more
valued in England. In passing, he took the town of Rio
de la Hacha, because the governor did not choose to trade
with him. This circumstance is noticed, as it affords the
only shadow of palliation for the subsequent treachery displayed by the Spaniards in the port of St. Juan de Ulloa,
whither Hawkins was driven in to obtain shelter and refreshments by the severe gales which on his way to England were-encountered on the coast of Florida. When the
squadron of six ships entered the port, they were believed by
the inhabitants to be a Spanish fleet then hourly expected;
and those who came on board were in some consternation
on discovering the mistake. Hawkins, who from the fitm




56       AFFAIR OF ST. JUAN DE ULLOA.
professed that he came in peace and friendship, to obtain
shelter from stress of weather, and provisions for his money
and merchandise, treated them with civility, but thought it
prudent to detain two persons of consequence as hostages
till assured of the terms on which he was to be received.
The temptation of twelve merchant-ships lying in the port,
with cargoes estimated at 200,000/., did not shake his in.
tegrity, though he was aware that they might easily be
overmastered by his force. It is, indeed, candidly confessed
by Hawkins that he dreaded the displeasure of the queeln
A messenger was despatched to the Viceroy of Mexico; but
before any answer could be returned to the demand of Hawkins the expected fleet appeared, and his situation became
uneasy and critical. The Spanish fleet had on board a
cargo valued at six or seven millions. If Hawkins prevented them from entering the harbour, they ran imminent
risk of destruction; and if admitted, his own safety was
putin jeopardy; the port being confined, the town populous, and the Spaniards ready, he believed, and fatally experienced, to practise any treachery. At last the fleet was
admitted, the governor of Mexico agreeing to the terms
stipulated, which were, the exchange of hostag4, a supply
of provisions on fair tPrms, and that a fortified isand which
lay across and commanded the port should be given up to
the English till their departure. On the faith of this treaty
the Spanish fleet were allowed to sail in, mutual salutations
were fired by the ships of both nations, and visits and civilities exchanged between the officers and the seamen.
Save for embroiling England in war, and thereby incurring the wrath of Elizabeth, and perhaps endangering his
own neck, Hawkins, dissatisfied and rendered suspicious by
the tardiness of the late negotiation, would certainly have
put all to the hazard of a fight, and have gained glory and
the seven millions, or have lost himself; but he was now
lulled into temporary security on the faith of a treaty which
the Spaniards had never meant to observe longer than until
they were able to violate it with impunity. Their fleet was
reinforced by a thousand men secretly conveyed from the
land. An unusual bustle and shifting of men and weapons
from ship to ship was noticed by the English, and their demand fbr explanation of these symptoms was answered by
an instant attack on al sides. The Minion and the Judith




SPANISH TREACHERY.                 57
(the small vessel commanded by Drake) were the only English ships that escaped; and their safety was owing to the
valour,^nd conduct of the commanders, and only ensured
after a desperate though short conflict. The other four
Wvoelsi were destroyed, and many of the seamen were rather
butchered in cold blood than killed in action. The English
who held the fortress, struck with alarm, fled to reach the
ships at the beginning of the fight; and in the attempt were
massacred without mercy. Such an engagement in a narrow port, each of the English vessels surrounded and
attacked by three or four of those of Spain, presents' scene
of havoc and confusion unparalleled in the records of maritime warfare. By the desperate valour of the English in
this unequal combat the Admiral and several more of the
Spanish ships were burnt and sunk.
Placed between the fortress and the still numerous fleet,
it was by miracle that even one English vessel got away.
Hawkins reached England in the Minion, which suffered
incredible hardships in the homeward voyage. She left the
port without provisions or water, and crowded with seamen
who had escaped the general slaughter, many of them
wounded. The relation of their hardships, produced as
they were by the basest treachery, must have made an indelible impression in England, where the Spaniards were
already in bad odour.  The details given by Miles Philip of
the hardships of the voyage are too revolting to be transferred to this narrative, but may be-imagined from the words
of Hawkins:  " If all the miseries and troublesome affairs
of this voyage be thoroughly written, there would need a
painful man with his pen, and as great a time as he that
wrote the Lives of the Martyrs."  The Judith, Drake's vessel, which parted from  the Minion on the fatal night(" forsook us in our great misery" are the words of Hawkins)-made the homeward voyage with less hardship and
difficulty than the Minion.
Here Drake had lost his all, and here was laid the foundation of that hatred and distrust of the Spaniards which must
have palliated many of his subsequent actions, and reconciled his countrymen to conduct they might not so readily
lave pardoned in one less sinned against. The chaplain
of the fleet obtains the credit of expounding the justice of
vikkinp reprisals on all Spaniard Cir the wrong inflicted by




5F8             INEW  EXPEDITION.
a few; but this might well be a spontaneous feeling in a
brave young man burning with resentment at the perfidy by
which his comrades had been murdered and himself betrayed
and beggared. It has been quaintly said that "in seadivinity the case was clear. The King of Spain's subjects
had undone Mr. Drake, and therefore Mr. Drake was entitled to take the best satisfaction he could on the subjects of
the'King of Spain."
This doctrine was very taking in England, where "the
good old rule, the simple plan," was still followed, —
"That they should take who have the power,
And those should keep who can."
The scheme of Drake for a new expedition to the Spanisl
American colonies was accordingly no sooner made public
than he found numbers of volunteers and friends ready to
promote so praiseworthy a design as that which he was presumed to entertain, and who, having no personal quarrel of
their own, were quite ready to adopt his, if the issue promised any share of those treasures with the fame of which
Europe rung. But Drake was not yet prepared for the full
development of his projects, and in all probability it was but
gradually that they arose in his own mind.
The infamous transactions of St. Juan de Ulloa took place
in September, 1568, and in 1570 Drake undertook his first
voyage with two ships, the Dragon and the Swan.- In the
following year he sailed with the Swan alone. That the
means of undertaking any voyage were placed in the hands
of a man still so young is highly creditable to his character
and good conduct. These might be called preparatory or
experimental voyages, in which he cautiously and carefully
reconnoitred the scene of future exploits; and improving his
acquaintance with the islands and coasts of South America
on the only side hitherto supposed accessible to Englishmen,
amassed the wealth which enabled him to extend his sphere
of enterprise, and enrich himself and his owners while payig back part of his old debt to Spain.
Drake's first bold and daring attempt at reprisal was
made in 1572. His squadron consisted of two vessels of
small weight,-and this kind of light bark he seemed
always to prefer,-the Pacha of seventy tons burthen, which
be commanded, and the Swan, once -.ain afloat, a vessel




ATTACK ON NOMBRE DE DIOS.                   59
of twenty-five tons, in which he placed his brother Mr. John
Drake.  His whole force consisted of seventy-three" men
and boys. Instead of setting out, as has been alleged, with
so slender a. force as twenty-three men and boys, to take
ships and storm  towns, it is probable that Drake, after
leaving England, recruited his numbers from vessels with
which he fell in among the islands, as Lopez Vaz relates
that at Nombre de Dios he landed 150 men.  This town
was at that time what Porto Bello, a much more convenient station, afterward became,-the entrepAt between the
commodities of old Spain and the wealth of India and
Peru; and in riches imagined to be inferior only to Panama
on the western shore.  It was, however, merely a stage in
the transmission of treasure and merchandise, and not their
abiding place; and at particular seasons the town, which
did not at any time exceed thirty houses, was almost deserted.
On the 24th March, Drake sailed from Plymouth, and on
the 22d July, in the night, made the attack on the town.
A  relation of this adventure, written by Philip Nicols,
preacher, and afterward published by Sir Francis Drake,
nephew, heir, and godson of the navigator, is both less accurate and circumstantial than the narrative of Lopez Vaz,
who, if not an eyewitness, was near the spot, and conversant with the actors and spectators. Drake's force is estimated at 150 men, half of which he left at a small fort,
and with the other divsion advanced in cautious silence to
the market-place, when he ordered the calivers to be discharged, and the trumpet to be loudly sounded, the trumpeter in the fort replying, and the men firing at the same
time, which made the alarmed Spaniards, startled out of
their sleep, believe the place was attacked on all.sides.
Some scarcely awake fled to the mountains; but a band
of fourteen or fifteen rallied, and, armed with arquebuses,
* In Campbell's Lives of the British Admirals the number of men Is
stated at twenty-three, which is evidently a misprint or mistake. The
Biographia Britannica, from which the Life of Drake in the Lives of the
Admirals is taken almost verbatim, makes their number seventy-three,
which is further confirmed by the narrative of Lopez Vaz, a Portuguese,
who wrote a relation of the adventures of Drake in this voyage, which
was aftorward found in the custody of Vaz, when he was made prisoner
%y the English in Rio de la Plata. in 1587.




60                ISTHMUS OF DARIEN.
repaired to the scene of action. Discovering the small
number of the assailants, they took courage, fired and killed
the trumpeter, and wounded one of the leaders of the party,
-Drake was also wounded.  The men in the fort, hearing
the trumpet silenced, which had been the preconcerted
signal, while the firing continued more briskly than before,
became alarmed, and fled to their pinnaces.
Lopez Vaz relates that Drake's followers, retiring on the
fort and finding it evacuated, shared in the panic, hastened
to the shore leaving their equipments behind, and by wading
and swimming reached the pinnaces.  One Spaniard looking out at a window was accidentally killed.
Disappointed of the rich booty expected in the town,
Drake, on information obtained from the Symerons, a tribe
of Indians in the Darien who lived in constant hostility
with the Spaniards, resolved to intercept the mules employed to carry treasure from Panama to Nombre de Dios.
Leaving his small squadron moored within the Sound of
Darien, he set out, with a hundred men and a number of
Indians, to attack and plunder this caravan of the New
World.  The plan, so well laid, was in the first instance
frustrated by a drunken seaman.
It was in this expedition across the isthmus that Drake,
from the first sight of the Pacific, received that inspiration
which, in the words of Camden, " left him no rest in his
own mind till he had accomplished his purpose of sailing
an English ship in those seas." The account of this adventure, alluded to in the beginning of this volume, is in
one original history so interesting and picturesque that we
transfer it without mutilation:_" On the twelfth day we
came to the height of the desired hill (lying east and west
like a ridge between the two seas) about ten of the clock;
where the chiefest of the Symerons took our captain by the
hand and prayed him to follow him. Here was that goodly
and great high tree, in which they had cut, and made
divers steps to ascend near the top, where they had made
a convenient bower, wherein ten or twelve men might
easily sit; and from  thence we might see the Atlantic
Ocean we came from, and the South Atlantic so much desired. South and north of this tree they had felled certain
trees that the prospect might be the clearer.
"After our captain had ascended to this bower with the




RETURN OF DRAEK.                   6t
chief Symeron, and having, as it pleased God at this time
by reason of the breeze, a very fair day, had seen that sea
of which he had heard such golden reports, he besought of
Almighty God of his goodness to give him life and leave
to sail once in an English ship in that sea, and then, calling
lp all the rest of our men, acquainted John Oxnam especially with this his petition and purpose, if it should please
God to grant him that happiness."
This enthusiasm of a noble ambition did not, however.
divert the thoughts of the adventurer from enterprises of a
more questionable kind. Disappointed at Nombre de Dios,
and again of intercepting the mules, he stormed Venta
Cruz, a half-way station for the lodgment of goods and
refreshment of travellers making their way through the
difficult and fatiguing passes of the isthmus. According
to Lopez Vaz, six or seven merchants were killed; and as
no gold or silver was obtained to satiate the thirst of the
English seamen, goods were wantonly destroyed to the
amount of two thousand ducats. It is however not easy to
say whether it was before or after this outrage that a
string of treasure-mules was by accident surprised. The
gold was carried off, and as much silver as it was possible
to bear away. The rest was buried till a new voyage
should be undertaken, and Drake and his company regained
their ships just in time to escape the Spaniards.-" Fortune
so favoured his proceedings," says Vaz, "that he had not
been above half an hour on board when there came to the
seaside hbove three hundred soldiers, which were sent of
purpose to take him; but God suffered him to escape their
hands to be a further plague unto the Spaniards." In this
expedition a trait of Drake's character is recorded, which
at once marks his generosity and enlightened policy. To
the cacique of the friendly Symerons he had presented his
own cutlass, for which the chief had discovered a true Indian longing. In return the Indian gave him four large
wedges of gold, which, declining to appropriate, Drake
threw into the common stock, saying, "he thought it but
just that such as bore the charge of so uncertain a voyage
on his credit'should share the utmost advantage that voyage
produced."  And now, " God suffering him to be a further
plague to the Spanish nation, he sailed away with his
treasure'   This was considerable, and good fortune
V




62           DRAEtOBS NEXT PRAJiTr.
atteyided Drake to the end of his voyage; for, leaving
Florida, in twenty-three days he reached the Scilly Isles,
probably the quickest passage that had yet been made. It
was in time of public service, on Sunday the 9th August,
1573, that he returned to Plymouth; and "news of Captain Drake's return being carried to church, there remained
few or no people with the preacher; all running out to
observe the blessing of God upon the dangerous adventures
of the captain, who had spent one year two months and
some odd days in this voyage."
The next undertaking of Drake was of a more ambitious
character. With the wealth acquired thus gallantly, and
int the opinion of his contemporaries fairly and honourably,
though the means may not stand the test of the morality
of a more enlightened and philosophic age, Drake fitted
out three stout frigates, which, with himself as a volunteer,
he placed at the disposal of Walter, Earl of Essex, father
of the unfortunate favourite of Elizabeth.  Of these he
was, as a matter of course, appointed commander, andVer.
formed good service in subduing the rebellion in Ireland.
His former reputation and his late exploits had now acquiired for Drake high fame and noble patronage. He became known to the queen through the introduction of her
favourite and privy-counsellor, Sir Christopher Hatton,, a
distinction doubly desirable as it promised assistance in
"'that haughty design which every day and night lay next
his heart, pricking him forwards to the performance."
Tlbugh, in the enthusiasm of the moment of inspiration,
Drake had betrayed his project, when the timh  came forits
accomplishment he maintained an almost suspicious reserve, meditating his great design without "confiding it to
any one."  His character through life was that of a man
who listens to every one's counsel, but follows hic,^,;
and doubtless in the purpose he meditated there was au
judgment so well informed and ripe.




SPEECH  OF -ELZAmT.*                   03
CHAPTER  III.
Drake's Circumnavigation.
The Queen approves the new Expedition-Drake's Squadron-Cape
Cantin-Muley Moloch-Cape Blanco-Mayo and Brava —The Brazilians-Ostriches-Natives of Seal Bay-Their Manners and Dispositiou-Patagonianls-Unfortunate Affray-Stature of the Indians
-Port St. Julian —Doughty's Trial and Execution-Passage of the
Strait-The Natives-The Fleet separated-Tierra del Fuego-Fate
of the Shallop's Crew —Cpe Horn-The Elizabethides-Capture of.Spanish Prizes-Lamas with Treasure-Capture of the CaeatfegoThe Hind proceeds in Search of the North-west Passage-Indians
of New Albion discovered-Singular Manners of the IndiansDrake crosses the Pacific-The Ladrones-The Moluccas-Remarkable Preservation-BarataneL-Java-The Voyage Home-The Cape
of Good Hope-Arrival at Plymouth-Drake's Fame-The Queen
visits his Ship.
SPAIN and England were still nominally at peace, though
the national animosity was continually breaking out in
fits of aggression and violence; and if Elizabeth did not
absolutely discountenance, her policy forbade open approbation of a project so equivocal as that which Drake con.
templated.  It is however certain that the plan of his
voyage was laid before the queen; and her majesty, once
convinced of its importance, and the glory and advantage
which might be derived to her kingdom from its prosperous
issue, was easily reconciled to the justice of what appeared
so expedient. The plan accordingly at last received her
decided though secret approbation.  In one relation of
the voyage it is even affirmed that Drake held the royal
commission, though this is not probable.  What follows
is more true to the character of Elizabeth, subtle at once
and bold. At a parting interview she is said to have presented Drake with a sword, delivered with this emphatic
speech, "We do account that he who striketh at thee,
Drake, striketh at us."   Even this verbal commission
saves Drake from the charge of having made a piratical
voyage, or divides the shame with his sovereign.
The high estimation in which Drake was now held man




I04 ITI  8.eQUADROWN
be gathered from the readiness with which friends and
admirers placed in his hands their ships, and the means
of equipping a squadron to go on some expedition of which
the destination lay hid in his own bosom. Nor, though
the horrible sufferings of Hawkins's crew and more recent
disasters were still fresh in the public memory, did he lack
both officers and seamen, from among the most bold, able,
and active of that age, who were ready to follow him blindfold to the end of the world. Some of the more sordid
might from afar smell the spoils of the Spaniards, but many
were actuated by nobler motives.
The squadron was ostensibly fitted out for a trading
voyage to Alexandria, though the pretence deceived no
one, and least of all the watchful Spaniards. It consisted
of five vessels of light burthen. the largest being only 100
tons. This was named the Pelican, and was the captaingeneral's ship. The others were, the Flizabeth, a bark of
80 tons belonging to London, and commanded by Captain
John Winter; the Swan, a fly-boat of 50 tons burthen,
Captain John Chester; the Christopher, a pinnace of 15
tons, Captain Thomas Moone; and the Marigold, a bark
of 30 tons, Captain John Thomas. The Benedict, a pin~nace of 12 tons, accompanied the Elizabeth. The frames
of four pinnaces were taken out, to be set up as they were
wanted. The anxiety displayed for the proper outfit of
the squadron, the extent of preparations in provisioning
the ships, and laying in arms and stores equal to a very
long voyage? and the improbability of Drake, after his late
exploits, undertaking a peaceful expedition for traffic, had
betrayed in part his design before the fleet left England;
but when, out of sight of the land, the captain-general, in
case of separation, appointed a rendezvous at the island of
Mogadore on the Barbary coast, there was no remaining
doubt that his enterprise pointed to a place more distant
and important than Alexandria.
Though it is probable that'traversing the Pacific was a
subsequent idea arising from the condition in which we
shall find him after leaving the coast of New Albion, Drake
is not the less entitled to the praise he has often received
for attempting an enterprise like that of passing the Straits
of Magellan vith so small a force, and adventuring. into
wild, stormy and unknown seas with ships of so little




SPANISH SUPERSTITIONS.              65
weight. The passage of the straits, even to a man not so
obnoxious to the Spanish nation, was a project which
could only rationally be entertained by a bold and commanding genius, relying implicitly on its own resources
The dangers and difficulties of Magellan's Strait had made
it be.for a long period of years almost abandoned by the
Spaniards, and it was come to be a saying among them
that the passage had closed u). A superstitious prejudice
was conceived against all farther attempts in the SOUTH
SEA, which, it was asserted, had proved fatal to every one
who had been celebrated as a discoverer there,-as if
Providence had a controversy with those who were so
daring as to pass the insuperable barriers placed between
the known and the unknown world.  Magellan had been
killed by the heathen in this new region, which Europeans
had no sanction to approach; Vasco Nunez de Balboa, the
European who first saw the South Sea, put to death by his
countrymen; and De Solis cruelly murdered by the natives of Rio de la Plata, when proceeding to the strait.
Most of the commanders had successively perished of diseases produced by the hardships and anxiety attending the
voyage. The mariner De Lope, who from the topmast of
a ship of Magellan's fleet first saw the strait, had a fate
still more dreadful in the eyes of the good Catholics of
Castile, as he had turned a renegado and Mohammedan.
None of these real and imaginary dangers deterred Drake 
and he,. who at all times preferred vessels of light burden,
as of greater  ifility in threading narrow  and intricate
channels and coasting unknown shores than ships of large
and unwieldy size, selected those mentioned above.
Besides the cargoes usually exported for trading, both
with civilized and savage nations, Drake, who knew the
full value of shows and pageants, and whatever strikes the
senses, had taken care to equip himself with many elegancies seldom thought of by early navigators. His own
furniture and equipage were splendid, and his silver
cooking utensils and the plate of his table of rich and curious workmanship.  He alsg carried  out a band of
musicians, and studied every thing that could impress the
natives in the lands he was to visit or discover with the
magnificence and the high state of refinement and of the
arts in his own country.
F 




06 6offkDOB
On the 15th November, 1577, the squadron sailed frm
Plymouth, but, encountering a violent gale on the s8m*
night, were forced to put hack into Fainouth i the mainmast of the Pelican was cut away, and the Marigold was
driven on shore and shattered. This was a disheartening
onset; but after refitting at Plymouth, they sailed once
more on the 13th December, and proceeded prosperously.
On Christmas-day they reached Cape Cantin on the
coast of Barbary, and on the 27th Mogadore,-an island
lying about a mile from the mainland, between which and
it they found a safe and convenient harbour. Mogadore
is an island of moderate height; it is about a league in
circuit. Having sent out a boat to sound, they enteredby
the north approach to the port, the southern access beiag
found rocky and shallow. Here Drake halted to fit upl ne
of the pinnaces for service; and, while thus engaged.
some of the Barbary Moors appeared on the shore, displaying a flag of truce, and making signals to be taken on
board. Two of superior condition were brought to the
ships, an English hostage being left on shore for their safe
return. The strangers were courteously received and hospitably regaled by the captain-general, who presented
them with linen, shoes, and a javelin. When sent on
shore, the hostage was restored; and next day, as several
loaded camels were seen approaching, it was naturally
presumed their burdens were provisions and merchandise,
and the English sent off a boat to trade. On the boat
reaching the shore, a seaman more alert than his neighbours leaped among the Moors, and was instantly snatched
up, thrown across a horse, and the whole party set off at a
round gallop. The boat's crew, instead of attempting to
rescue their companion, consulted their personal safety by
an immediate retreat to the ships. Indignant at the treachery of the Moors, Drake landed with a party to recover the
Englishman and take vengeance; but was compelled to
return without accomplishing his object.  Time, which
cleared up the mystery, also partly exculpated the Moors.
Tt was ascertained that the seaman had been seized to be
examined by the king, the famous Muley Moloch, respecting an armament then fitting out by the Portuguese to invade his territory,-an invasion which soon afterward took
place, and of whicl the results are well known. Before the




CAPE BLANCO-MAYO.                     67
prisoner was dismissed the fleet had sailed; but he was
well treated, and permitted to retuin to England by the
first ship that offered.
The fleet, having taken in wood, sailed on the 31st December, and on the 17th January, 1578, reached Cape
Blanco, having on the cruise captured three caunters, as
the Spanish fishing-boats were called, and two, or else
three, caravels,-the accounts on this, as on several other
minor points being often contradictory.  A ship which was
surprised in the harbour with only two men on board shared
the same fate. At Cape Blanco they halted for five days'
fishing; while on shore Drake exercised his company in
arms, thus studying both their health and the maintenance
of good discipline. From the stores of the fishermen they
helped themselves to such commodities as they wanted, and
sailed on the 22d, carrying off also a caunter of 40 tons burthen, for which the owner received, as a slight indemnification, the pinnace Christopher. At Cape Blanco fresh water
was at this season so scarce, that instead of obtaining a
supply, Drake, compassionating the condition of the natives, who came down from the heights, offering ambergris
and gums in exchange for it, generally filled their leathern
bags without accepting any recompense, and otherwise
created them humanely and hospitably. Four of the prizes
were released here. After six days' sailing they came to
anchor on the 28th at the west part of Mayo,-an island
where, according to the information of the master of the
caravel, dried goat's flesh might be had in plenty, the inhabitants preparing a store annually for the use of theoking's
ships.  The people on the island, mostly herdsmen and
husbandmen, belonging to the Portuguese of the island of
St. Jago, would have no intercourse with the ships, having
probably been warned of danger.  Next day a party of
sixty men landed, commanded by Captain Winter and Mr.
Doughty,-a name with which, in the sequel, the reader will
become but too familiar. They repaired to what was described as the capital of the island, by which must be understood the principal aggregation of cabins or huts, but
found it deserted.  The inhabitants had fled, and had previously salted the springs. The country appeared fertile,
especially in the valleys; and in the depth of the winter of
Great Britain they feasted on ripe and delicious grapes.
The island a'so produced cocoan-uts, and thly saw anlua




68            ISLA DEL FOOO-DBRAVA.
dance of coats and wild hens; though these good things,
and iho fresh springs, were unfortunately too far dist;mt firor
the ships to be available.  Salt produced by the heat of the
sun formed here an article of commerce, and one of the
prizes made was a caravel bound to St. Jago for salt.
Leaving Mayo on the 30th, on the south-west side of St.
Jago, they fell in with a prize of more value,-a Portuguese* ship bound to Brazil, laden with wine, cloth, and
general merchandise, and having a good many passengers
on board.  The command of this prize was given to
Doughty, who was however soon afterward superseded by
Mr. Thomas Drake, the brother of the general. This is
the first time we hear of offences being charged against the
unfortunate Doughty.  It is said he appropriated to his
own use presents, probably given as bribes to obtain good
usage, by the Portuguese prisoners.  These captives Drake
generously dismissed at the first safe and convenient place,
giving every passenger his wearing apparel, and presenting them with a butt of wine, provisions, and the pinnace.
le had set up at Mogadore.  Only the pilot was detained,
Nuno de Silva, who was acquainted with the coast of Brazil,
and who afterward published a minute and accurate account
of Drake's voyage.
Here, near the island named by the Portuguese Isla del
Fogo or the Burning Island, where, says the Famous
Voyage, " on the north side is a consuming fire, the matter
whereof is said to be sulphur," lies Brava, described in the
early narratives as a terrestrial paradise,-" a most sweet
and pleasant island, the trees whereof are always green,
and fair to look upon; in respect of which they call it Isla
Brava, that is, The Brave Island." The " soil was almost
full of trees; so that it was a storehouse of many fruits
and commodities, as figs always ripe, cocoas, plantains,
oranges, lemons, citrons, and cotton. From the brooks
into the sea do run in many places silver streams of sweet
and wholesome water," with which ships may easily be
supplied.  There was, however, no convenient harbour nor
anchoring found at this "sweet and pleasant" island,-the
volcanic tops of Del Fogo " not burning higher in the air"
than the foundations of Brava dipped sheer into the sea.
* Portugal was at this time annexed to the crown of Spain, which
enabled the English navigators to reconcile an attack on the Portuguese
ships to conscienees not Ihowever particularly scrupulous




RIO D, LA PLATA.                    69
The squadron now  approached the equinoctial line,
sometimes becalmed, and at other timesbeaten about with
tempests and heavy seas.  In their progress they were indebted to the copious rains for a seasonable supply uf water.
They also caught dolphins, bonitos, and flying-fish, which
fell on the decks, and could not rise again "for lack
of moisture on their wings." They had left the shore of
Brava on the 2d February.  On the 28th March their valuable Portuguese prize, which was their wine-cellar and
store, was separated in a tempest, but afterward rejoined
at a place which, in commemoration of the event, was called
Cape Joy. The coast of Brazil was now seen in 3111*
south.' On the 5th April the natives, having discovered
the ships on the coast, made great fires, went through various incantations, and offered sacrifices, as was imagined,
to the Devil, that the prince of the powers of the air might
raise storms to sink the strangers. To these diabolical arts
the mariners doubtless attributed the violent lightning,
thunder, and rain which they encountered in this latitude.
About Cape Joy the air was mild and salubrious, the
soil rich and fertile.  Troops of wild deer, "large and
mighty," were the only living creatures seen on this part
of the coast, though the footprints of men of large stature
were traced on the ground. Some seals were killed here,
fresh provisions of any kind never being neglected. On
the 14th of April, Drake anchored within the entrance of
Rio de la Plata, where he had appointed a rendezvous in
case of separation after leaving the Cape de Verd Islands;
and here the caunter, which had separated in a gale on the
7th, rejoined, when the expedition sailed 18 leagues farther
into the river, where they killed sea-wolves (seals), —" wholesome but not pleasant food."  Still farther in, they rode
in fresh water; but finding no good harbour, and having
taken in water, the fleet, on the 27th, stood out, and afterward southward.  The Swan lost them on the first night,
and the caunter, ever apt to go astray, was  pearated ten
days afterward. In 47~ south a headland was seen, within
which was a bay that promised safe harbourage; and having, on the 12th May, entered and anchored, Drake, who
* Another account says 380 south. In determining the latitude or Ion.
gitude, the authority of Burney is generally followefl in this volume, as
his eminent practical skill makes his observations on the discrcoaneiss
in the different accounts of great value
E




'70       INDIANS OF RIO DE LA PtATA.
seldom devolved the duty of examination on an inferior
officer, went off'n the boat next morning to explore the
bav.  Before he made land a thick fog came on, and tas
followed by bad weather, which took from him  the sight
of the fleet. The company became alarmed for their protector and general, in whom all their hopes of fortune,
fame, and even of preservation were placed.  The Marigold, a bark of light weight, stood in for the bay, picked
up the captain-general, and came to anchor.  In the mean
while the other ships, as the gale increased, had been compelled to stand out to sea. The fog which had fallen between Drake and the fleet also took from his sight an Indian, who, loudly shaking a rattle, danced in time to the
discordant music he made, and by his gestures seemed to
invite the strangers on shore.  Next day Drake landed,
and several Indians came in sight, to whom a white fleg
was waved in token of amity, and as a signal to approach.
The natives acknowledged the symbol of peace, but still
kept at a wary distance.
Drake now ordered fires to be lighted as signals to the
ships; and they all rejoined, save the two vessels formerly
separated.
In a sort of storehouse here, above fifty dried ostriches
were found, besides other birds laid up, dry or drying for
provision, by the Indians. It was believed by some of the
English that these had been left as a present; and Drake,
whether believing or not in so rare an instance of hospitality, appropriated the dried birds to the use of his company. It is a charitable conjecture that some of his own
wares were left in return. The manner in which these
ostriches, whose flesh supplied food while their feathers
furnished ornaments, were snared deserves notice. Plumes
of feathers were affixed to a stick, made to resemble the
head and neck of the bird. Behind these decoys the hunter
concealed himself and, moving onwards, drove the ostriches
into some narrow tongue of land, across which strong nets
were placed to intercept the return of the bird, which runs,
but cannot fly.*  Dogs were then set upon the prey, whiAc
was thus taken.
* It is to be understood that in this volume objects of Natural Hiestr)
are often described according to the notions of early voyagers, and not
s luribher research and observation, and the discoveries and classiffie
*iunq.f science. warrant




DRESS AND MANNERS OF THE INDIANS.  71
The choice of the place in which the fleet now lay had
been dictated by necessity alone. On the 15th it was
abandoned, and on the 17th they anchored in a good port,
in 47~O south. Here seals were so plentiful that upwards
of 200 were killed in an hour. While the crews were filling the water-butts, killing seals, and-salting birds for future provision, Drake in the Pelican, and Captain Winter
in the ElizaSeth, set out on different courses in quest of the
Swan and the Portuguese prize. On the same day Drake fell
in with the Swan, and, before attempting the straits, formed
the prudent resolution of diminishing the cares and hazards
of the voyage by reducing the number of his ships. The
Swan was accordingly broken up for firewood, after all her
materials and stores had been removed.
When the ships had lain here a few days, a party of the
natives came to the shore, dancing, leaping, and making
signs of invitation to a few of the seamen then on a small
island, which at low water communicated with the mainland. They were a handsome, strong, agile race, lively
and'alert. Their only covering was the skin of an animal,
which, worn about their middle when walking, was wrapped
round their shoulders while they squatted or lay on the
ground. They were painted over the whole body after a
grotesque fashion. Though fancy and ingenuity were displayed in the figures and patterns, and in the contrast and
variety of colours, it is reasonable to conclude that the
practice had its origin in utility, and was adopted as a defence against cold, ornament being at first only a secondary
consideration, though, as in more refined regions, it sometimes usurped the place of the principal object. These
Indians being first painted all over, on this groundwork
many freaks of fancy were displayed: white full-moons
were exhibited to advantage on aack ground, an  black
suns on a white one. Some had one shoulder black and
the other white; but these were probably persons who
carried the mode to the extreme.
On seeing that the signals made were interpreted in a
friendly way, Drake sent a boat to the shore with bells, cut
lery, and such small wares as were likely to be attractive ana
acceptable to the tastes ofthe natives. As the boat neared th
shore, two of the group, who had been standing on a height,
moved swiftly down, but stopped short at a little distance




72          DEPARTURE FROM  SEAL LAY.
The presents were fastened to a pole, and left on the beach
and after the boat put off they were removed, and in return
such feathers as the natives wore, and the carved bones
which they used as ornaments, were deposited near or fastened to the same pole. Thus a friendly, if not profitable
or useful, traffic was established. For such trifles as the
English bestowed they gave in return the only articles
they possessed to which value was attached. These were
bows, arrows made of reeds and pointed with flint, feathers,
and carved bones. Their mode of exchange was to have
every thing placed on the ground, from whence the goods
were removed, and the article bartered for substituted. By
some of the voyagers these people are described as of gigantic stature.  They were of a gay and cheerful disposition; the sound of the trumpets delighted them; and they
danced merrily with the sailors. One of their number, who
had tasted wine, and became, it is stated, intoxicated with
the mere smell before the glass reached his lips, always
afterward approached the tents crying, " Wine, wine!"Their principal article of food was seals, and sometimes
the flesh of other animals; all of which they roasted, or
rather scorched for a few minutes, in large lumps of six
pounds' weight, and then devoured nearly raw,-" men and
women tearing it with their teeth like lions."
The fleet sailed from Seal Bay, as this place was named
on the 3d June, and on the 12th came to anchor in a bay
where they remained for two days, during which the)
stripped the caunter, and allowed it to drift. Drake had
thus reduced his force to a more compact and manageable
form. The place from which this vessel was sent adrift
is sometimes called the Cape of Good Hope, but seems to
have been named Cape Hope. From the 14th to the 17th
May the fleet cruised about in search of the Mary, the
Portuguese prize, and then came to anchor in a bay 500
20' south. On the 19th the missing vessel was found, and
next day the whole squadron anchored in the Port St.
Julian of Magellan in 40~ 30' south; where, says one
relation, " we found the gibbet still standing on the main
where Magellan did execute justice upon some of his rebellious and discontented company."  So soon as the ships
were safely moored, Drake and some of his officers went
off in a boat to examine the capabilities of this part of the




UNFORTUNATE AFFRAY.                 73
coast, and on landing met two men of immense stature,
who appeared to give them welcome.  These were of the
Patagonian tribes of Magellan. A few trifles presented to
them were accepted with pleasure, and they were apparently
delighted by the dexterity with which the gunner used the
English bow in a trial of skill, sending his arrows so far
beyond their best aim. Nothing, however, can be more
fickle and capricious than the friendship of most savage
tribes. An Indian of less amiable disposition than his
companions approached, and with menacing gestures signified to the crew to be gone. Mr. Winter, an English
gentleman, displeased with the interruption given to their
pastime by this churlish fellow, between jest and earnest
drew a shaft, partly in intimidation, but also to prove the
superiority of the English bow and skill. The bowstring
unfortunately snapped; and while he was repairing it a
sudden shower of arrows wounded him in the shoulder and
the side. Oliver, the gunner, instantly levelled his piece;
but it missed fire, and the attempt proved the signal for his
destruction. He was pierced through with an arrow, and
immediately dropped.  At this critical moment Drake
ordered the rest of the party to cover themselves with their
targets and advance upon the Indians, who were fast
mustering. With ready presence of mind, he directed his
men, at the same time, to break every arrow aimed at them,
as the assailants must thus soon expend their stock. The
captain-general might at this juncture have remembered
that in the melie where Magellan lost his life the same
arrows were picked up by the people of Matan, and repeatedly shot, as they drove the Spaniards into the water.At the same instant in which he gate the order, Drake
seized the gunner's piece, and taking aim at the man who
had killed Oliver and begun the affray, he shot him in the
belly. This turned the fate of the hour, and probably prevented the massacre of the whole party of English;. for
many more of the Patagonians were seen hastening from
the woods to support their countrymen, when the hideous
bellowing of the wounded man struck with panic, those
already engaged, and the whole fled.,It was not thought
prudent to pursue them, nor even to tarry on shore; Mr.
Winter was therefore borne off to the ships; but in the
haste of embarkation the body of the gunner was left. —
0




74           STATURE OF THE INDIANS.
Next day, when looked after, the body was found uninjured,
save that an English arrow had been thrust into the left
eye. The clothes were in part stripped off, and formed
into a pillow or truss, which was placed under the head of
the corpse. Winter soon afterward died of his wounds.
This unfortunate affray appears to have been more the
consequence of misunderstanding than design; and the
usage of the dead body and subsequent conduct of the natives
evince a less revengeful and ferocious disposition than is
usually displayed even among the mildest savage tribes
when inflamed by recent battle.  Vuring the remainder of
the time that the fleet lay here no further molestation was
offered to the English.
The stature of these tribes, and of those in the straits,
has been the subject of dispute among navigators from the
voyage of Magellan to our own times, each succeeding
band being unwilling to yield an inch to their precursors,
or to meet with " giants" less formidable than those which
had been previously seen.  Cliffe, however, says, "they
were of ordinary height, and that he had seen Englishmen
taller than any of them;" and then, like a true seaman of
the period, he imputes their exaggerated stature to the
"lies" of the Spaniards, from whom no good thing could
come; and who, in the imaginary impunity of escapingdetection from the navigators of other nations, related these
marvellous tales.  " The World Encompassed" makes the
height of these people seven feet and a half. It is not unlikely that the mists, haze, and storms through which the
natives were often partially seen in the straits, or on those
wild coasts, perched on a rock or grovelling on the ground,
may be the origin of the pigmies and giants of the early
navigators; but that tribes of tall though not gigantic stature were seen in the South Sea islands, and also on the
western coasts of the continent of America, from its sodth
em extremity as far north as was then explored, does not
admit of doubt.+
The Patagonian race is still among the least known of all the Sounh
American tribes. There is no doubt, however, of its existence, nor of
the fact that it is characterized by proportions exceeding the ordinary
dimensions of mankind. The Patagonian people are of limited numbers,
and inhabit the eastern shores of the most southern point of the New
World, under a cold and steril clime They wander about from onm




TRIAL OF DOUGHTY.                       75
While the fleet lay at Port St. Julian an event occurred,
which, as the contradictory evidence is viewed, must either
be termed the most heroic or the most questionable act in
the life of Admiral Drake.  Mr. Thomas Doughty, a man
of talent, and too probably of ill-regulated ambition, had
served as an officer in the fleet, and it is said enjoyed in a
high degree the affection and confidence of the captain-general, who must voluntarily have selected him as one of his
company. Doughty was at this place accused of conspiracy
and mutiny; of a plan to massacre Drake and the principal officers, and thus defeat the whole expedition; as if
the first-imagined crime did itot constitute sufficient guilt.
The details of this singular affair are scanty, obscure, and
perplexed; and no contemporary writer notices any spe
cific fact or ground of charge. The offence of Doughty
is purely constructive.   Cliffe dismisses the subject in
one seaman-like sentence, merely saying, " Mr. Thomas
Doughty was brought to his answer,-accused, convicted,
and beheaded."  The account in  "The World Encompassed" is more elaborate, and for Drake apologetic, but
not much more satisfactory.  It contains strong general
charges, but no record of facts, nor a shadow of proof of the
general allegations. These early chroniclers appear either
thoroughly convinced of the guilt of the culprit, or indifferent to the propriety of convincing others of the justice and
necessity of their captain's sentence, or they were fully convinced that the accused merited his fate.  Doughty had previously been called in question for his conduct in accepting
gifts or bribes while in the Portuguese prize, and he had
afterward strayed once or twice with the same vessel, which
district to another, and are but imperfectly civilized. Their disposi
tions, however, are peaeable, although their great bodily strength
would seem to fit them for warlike enterprise; but it sometimes hap.
pens that gigantic forms are not accompanied by a corresponding increase
of physical energy.  The average height of these people is about six
feet,-an attitude which is also extremely frequent among the chiefs and
nobles of the South Sea islands. The complexion of the Patagoniatls is
tawny; their hair, of which the colour is black or brown, is lank, and
for the most part very long. It ap -ears that this tribe have succeeded
in the training of horses,-an unusual accomplishment in a tribe olierwise so uncivilized; but this, of course, must have been a compara.
tively modern exercise of their ingenuity, as horses were unknown in
America prior to the period of the Spanish conquest.




76           EXECUTION OF DOUGHTY.
was burnt to prevent like accidents.  According to one account his treason was of old date; and before the fleet left
Plymouth he had been hatching plots against his cor
mander, who refused to believe " that one he so dearly loved
would conceive evil against him, till perceiving that lenity
and favour did little good, he thought it high time to call
those practices in question, and, therefore, setting good
watch over him, and assembling all his captains and gentlemen of his company together, he propounded to them the
good parts that were in this gentleman, and the great goodwill and inward affection, more than brotherly, which he
had, ever since his first acquaintance, borne him, and afterward delivered the letters which were written to him
(Drake), with the particulars from time to time, which had
been observed not so much by himself as by his good
friends; not only at sea, but even at Plymouth; not bare
words, but writings; not writings, but actions, tending to
the overthrow of the service in hand, and making away
his person.  Proofs were required, and alleged so many
and so evident, that the gentleman himself, stricken with
remorse, acknowledged himself to have deserved death,
yea, many deaths; for that he conspired, not only the overthrow of the action, but of the principal actor also."  The
account continues in the same strain, asserting that forty
of the principal men of Drake's band adjudged the culprit
to deserve death, and gave this judgment under their hand
and seal, leaving the manner to the general, who allowed
the unfortunate man the choice of being either abandoned
on the coast, taken back to England to answer to the lords
of the queen's council, or executed here. He chose the latter, requesting, it is said, that he might " once more receive
the holy communion with the captain-general before his
death, and that he might not die other than the death of a
gentleman."  The circumstances of the execution are
striking.  Mr. Fletcher celebrated the communion on the
next day. Drake received the sacrament with the condemned man, and afterward they dined together "at the
same table, as cheerfully in sobriety as ever in their lives
they had done; and taking their leaves, by drinking to each
other, as if some short journey only had been in hand."
Without further delay, all things being in readiness, Doughtf




OPINIONS OF CAMDEN AND FLETCHER.   77
walked forth, requested the bystanders to pray for him, and
submitted his neck to the executioner.
Camden's version of this transaction does not differ materially from the above.  The chaplain of the fleet, Mr
Francis Fletcher, left a manuscript journal of the voyage,
ihow deposited in the British Museum, which contradicts
many of the important statements in the other relations.
He asserts that the criminal utterly denied the truth of the
charges against him, upon his salvation, at the time of communicating, and at the hour and moment of his death. Mr.
Fletcher likewise affirms that no choice of life or death was
given him upon any conditions. It is evident, that in the
opinion of the chaplain Doughty was an innocent and a
murdered man; the victim of a conspiracy not rigidly sifted
oy the general, and in which the actors too probably consulted his secret wishes.
The fleet had not long left England when the affair of
the Portuguese prisoners, in which there might be dishonour, but no crime deserving severity of punishment, and still
less death, was brought against him. But in Port St. Julian, Fletcher remarks, "more dangerous matter is laid to
his charge, and by the same persons (John Brewer, Edward Bright, and others of their friends), namely, for words
spoken by him to them in the general's garden at Plymouth,
which it had been their part and duty to have discovered
them at the time, and not have concealed them for a time and
place not so fitting." Besides the vague charges made of
plots and mutinous conduct, and the anomalous offence of
being " an emulator of the glory of his commander," another
cause is assigned for the death of Doughty, which, if it were
supported by reasonable proof, would fix a deeper stigma on
the character of Drake than all his other questionable deeds
put together. In England the age of dark iniquitous intrigue had succeeded the times of ferocity and open violence; but the dependants and partisans of the leading men
in the state were still as criminally subservient to the flag.itious designs of their patrons as when their daggers had]
been freely drawn in their service. It was alleged that
Captain Drake had carried this man to sea to rid the powerful Earl of Leicester of a dangerous prater, and in time
and place convenient to revenge his quarrel.
G 2




78             CHARACTER  OF DRAKE.
It is probable that the intimacy of Do ghty witt Captain
Drake had commenced in Ireland, as both had served under
Essex; and it is affirmed that the real crime of the former
was accusing Leicester of plotting the secret murder of his
noble rival, of which few men in England believed him
wholly guiltless. On the other hand, Essex was the patron
of Drake, who, it is reasonably urged, was thus much more
likely to protect than punish a friend brought into trouble
for freedom of speech on an occasion that would have
moved stocks or stones. It may be further-pleaded in behalf of Drake, that, with the exception of the chaplain,
whose relation has however every mark of sincerity and
good faith, no man nor officer in the fleet has left any re.
cord or surmise of objection to the justice of the execution, though the affair, after the return of the expedition,
was keenly canvassed in England.* In his whole course of
life, Drake maintained the character of integrity and humanity; nor did he lack generosity in fitting season.  He
at all times discovered a strong sense of religion, and of
moral obligation, save in the case of the Spaniards and
"Portugals," for which, however, " sea-divinity" afforded
an especial exception. That he could have put an innocent
man to death to conceal the crimes, or execute the vengeance of Leicester, is too monstrous for belief; and that,
conscious of the deepest injustice, he should have gone
through the solemn Teligious observances which preceded
the perpetration of his crime, presents a picture of odious
hypocrisy and cold-blooded cruelty more worthy of a demon
than a brave man. The case resolves itself into the simple
necessity of maintaining discipline in the fleet, and sustaining that personal authority which, in a commander, is a
duty even more important than self-preservation. Drake's
notions of authority might have been somewhat overstrained; nor is it unlikely that he unconsciously imbibed
slight feelings of jealousy of " this emulator of his glory."
Every one who mentions Doughty speaks of him as a man
* In an old relation (written by himself) of the adventures of " Peter
Carder, a shipwrecked Seaman," belonging to Drake's fleet, we find
that when, alter his long detention and miraculous escape from the
savages and the  Portugals," he returned to England, on beingexamined
before the queen, and relating his marvellous haps, -she questioned him
"of the manner of Master Doughty's execution."




THE FLEET ENTER MAGELLAN'S STRAITS. 7.
of great endowments. Mr. Fletcher is warm in his praise.
" An industrious and stout man," says Camden, even when
relating his crimes, and one, it appears, of sufficient con.
sequence to be imagined the cause of disquiet to the still allpowerful Leicester.
Immediately after the execution, Drake, who to his other
qualities added the gift of a bold natural eloquence, addressed
his whole company, " persuading us to unity, obedience,
love, and regard of our voyage; and for the better confirmation thereof, wished every man the next Sunday following, to
prepare himself to receive the communion as Christian
brethren and friends ought to do; which was dorne in very
reverent sort, and so with good contentment every man
went about his business."
Doubt and darkness will, however, always hang over this
transaction, though probably only from the simple reason of
no formal record being kept of the proceedings. Doughty
was buried with Mr. Winter and the gunner on an island in
the harbour, and the chaplain relates that he erected a stone,
anld on it cut the names of these unfortunate Englishmen,
and the date of their burial.
The ships, by the breaking up of the Portuguese priz,
were now reduced to three; and being " trimmed" and supplied with wood and water, and such other necessaries as
could be obtained, they sailed from this " port accursed" on
the 17th August. Cliffe relates, that while they lay here,
the weather, though in July and August, was as cold as at
mid-winter in England.  On the 20th they made Cape de
las Virgines, entered the strait, and on the 24th anchored
30 leagues within it.
There is a considerable variation in the relations of
Drake's passage of the straits. The statements are even
absolutely contradictory on some points, though the disagreements, when the facts are sifted, are more apparent
than real, every narrator noting only what he had himself
witnessed or casr ally gathered from the information of
others. The original narrative of the passage by the Portuguese pilot, Nuno de Silva, is among the most interesting
and accurate; but in the present account an attenpt is made
to combine whatever appears most striking and important in
the different relations. The eastern mouth of the strait
was found about a league broad; the land bare and flat.




80           PIGMIES IN THE STRAITS.
On the north side Indians were seen making great fires;
but on the south no inhabitants appeared. The length was
computed at 110 leagues. The tide was seen to rise (setting in from both sides) about fifteen feet. It metabout the
middle, or rather nearer the western entrance. The medium breadth was one league. Where the ships came to
anchor on the 24th were three small islands, on which they
killed 3000 "of birds (penguins) having no wings, but
short pinions which serve their turn in svwimming." They
were as " fat as an English goose."
"The land on both sides was very huge tud mountain
ous; the lower mountains whereof, although hey be very
monstrous to look upon for their height, yet therL are others
which in height exceed them in a strange manner, reaching
themselves above their followers so high that between them
did appear three regions of clouds. These mountains are
covered with snow at both the southerly and easterly parts
of the strait. There are islands among which the sea hath
his indraught into the straits even as it hath at the main
entrance. The strait is extreme cold, with frost and snow
continually. The trees seem to stoop with the burden of
the weather, and yet are green continually, and many good
and sweet herbs do very plentifully increase and grFw under
them."
Such are the natural appearances described. Near the
western entrance a number of narrow channels, with which
the whole of thre side abounds, occasioned some difficulty
in the navigation; and Drake, with his usual caution,
brought the fleet to anchor near an island, while he went
out in his boat to explore these various openings to the
South Sea. In this expedition Indians of the pigmy race,
attributed to a region abounding in all monstrous things,
were seen; though both the gigantic and diminutive size
of these tribes are brought in question even by contemporary relations. Yet these pigmy Indians were seen close
at hand, in a canoe ingeniously constructed-of the bark of
trees, of which material the people also formed vessels for
domestic use. The canoes were semicircular, being high
in the prow and stern. The seams were secured by a
lacihg of thongs of sealskin, and fitted so nicely that there
was little leakage. The tools of these ingenious small
folks were formed of the shell of a very large species of




THE FLEET ENTERS THE SOUTH SEA.   81
mnscle, containing seed-pearls, which was found in the
straits.  These shells they tempered, if the word may be
used, so skilfully that they cut the hardest wood, and even
bone.  One of their dwellings, which might, however, be
but a fishing-hut, was seen rudely formed of sticks stuck
in the ground, over which skins were stretched.
Early in September the western entrance was reached;
and, on the 6th of the same month, Drake attained the
long-desired happiness of sailing an English ship on the
South Sea.
The passage of Drake was the quickest* and easiest that
had yet been made, fortune favolring him here as at every
other point of this voyage. The temperature was also
much milder than had been experienced by former navigators, or the English seamen might probably be more hardy
and enduring than those of Spain.
One main object of Drake in leaving England was undoubtedly the discovery of a north-west passage, by following the bold and novel track his genius chalked out, and in
which he might still hope to anticipate all other adventurers,
whether their career commenced from the east or the west.
On clearing the straits he accordingly held a north-west
course, and in two days the fleet had advanced 70 leagues.
Here it was overtaken by a violent and steady gale from
the north-east, which drove them into 57~ south latitude, and
200 leagues to the west of Magellan's Straits. While
still driving before the wind under bare pole, the moon
was eclipsed at five o'clock in the afternoon of the 15th,
but produced neither abatement nor change of the wind.
" Neither did the ecliptical conflict of the moon improve our
state, nor her clearing again mend us a whit, but the accustomed eclipse of the sea continued in his force, we being
darkened more than the moon sevenfold."
On the 24th the weather became more moderate, the wind
shifted, and they partly retraced their course, for seven
days standing to the north-east, during which land was
seen, near which a vain attempt was made to anchor.
Their troubles did not end here,-once more the wind got
back to its old quarter, and with great violence; and on the
* Lopez Vaz makes the time spent in passing the straits only twelve
days, and it could not be above fifteen, where months had been occupied
bvless fortunate or skilful navigators.




82         RETURN OF CAPTAIN WINTER.
30th the Marigold was separated from the Elizabeth and
the Golden Hind, as Drake on entering the South Sea had
named his ship, in compliment it is said to his patron Sir
Christopher Hatton. They made the land; but the Marigold
was borne to sea by the stress of the gale, and was never
beard of more! We do not even find a conjecture breathed
about the fate of this ship. On the evening of the 7th
October the Golden Hind and Elizabeth made a bay near
the western entrance of Magellan's Straits, which was
afterward named the Bay of Parting Friends; and here
they intended to te by till the weather improved. During
the night the cabfe of the Hind broke, and she drove to sea;
nor did Captain Winter, in the Elizabeth, make any attempt
to follow his commander. Heartily tired of a voyage of
which he had just had so unpleasant a specimen, he next
day entered the straits, secretly purposing to return home.
Edward Cliffe, who sailed in the Elizabeth, and whose
relation stops with her return to England, stoutly denies
for the seamen the craven intention of abandoning their
commander, Captain Drake; and even asserts that some
efforts were made to find the admiral's ship, though of a
very passive kind. Anchoring in a bay within the straits,
fires were kindled on the shore; so that, if Drake sought
them in this direction and on that day, there was a chance
of his finding them. This duty discharged, they went into
secure harbourage in a place which they named Port Health,
from the rapid recovery of the crew, who had lately suffered
so much from cold, wet, and fatigue. In the large muscles
and other shellfish found here they obtained pleasant and
restorative food  and remained till the beginning of November, when the voyage was formally abandoned, "on
Mr. Winter's compulsion, and full sore against the mariners'
minds."  Winter alleged that he now despaired of the
captain-general's safety, or of being able to hold his
course with the Elizabeth for the imagined Ophir of New
Spain.
It was the 11th November before the Elizabeth got clear
of the straits,-an eastward voyage that had only been
once performed, and by a Spanish navigator, Ladrilleros,
twenty years before, and believed to be next to impossible,
-and June in the following year before Winter returned to
England, with the credit of having made the passage of thr




THE CREW OF THIE SHALLOP.               83
straits eastward, and the shame of having deserted his
commander, while his company, with nobler spirit, showed
unshaken fidelity and unabated ardour.
There is more interest in following the fortunes of the
Hind, which we left tossed about in the misnamed Pacific.
Drake was once more carried back to 55~ south, when he
judged it expedient to run in among the islands or broken
land of Tierra del Fuego; where, together with a supply
of seals and fresh water, a season of repose was found from
the continual fatigues of the last month. But this interval
of ease was of short duration; they werQ once more driven
to sea in a gale, and suffered the further calamity of being
parted from the shallop, in which were eight seamen with
almost no provisions.  While the Hind drove farther and
farther south, the shallop was in the first instance so far
fortunate as to regain the straits, where the men salted and
stored penguins for future supply. They soon lost all hope
of rejoining the captain-general; so, passing the straits,
they contrived to make, in their frail bark, first for Port St.
Julia,, and afterward Rio de la Plata, where six of them,
wandering into the woods in quest of food, were attacked
by a party of Indians. All were wounded with arrows;
but, while four were made prisoners, two escaped, and
joined their two comrades left in charge of the boat. The
Indians pursued, and the whole four were wounded before
the natives were beaten back and the shallop got off. The
Englishmen made for a small island at three leagues' distance, where two of their number died of their wounds:
nor was this the last calamity they were to endure; the
shallop was dashed to pieces in a storm.
A melancholy interest is connected with this fragment
of Drake's original company. On the desolate island in
which they remained for two months no fresh water was
to be found; and though they obtained food from  eels,
small crabs, and a species of fruit resembling an orange,
their sufferings'from intense thirst came to an extremity
too painful and revolting to be made the subject of narralive. At the end of two months a plank ten feet long
which had drifted from Rio de la Plata, was picked up,
smaller sticks were fastened to it, and a store of provision
was laid in; then committing themselves to God, paddling
and clinging to this ark, they in three days and two nigli




84     DRAKE'S D8ICOVERIES IN THEE SOUTH.
made the mainlind, which had so long tantalized theu
sight. In relating the issue of this adventure, the words
of Peter Carder, the survivor, are adopted:-" At our lirst
coming on land we found a little river of sweet and pleasant
water, where William Pitcher, my only comfort and companion, although I dissuaded him to the contrary, overdrank
himself, being perished before with extreme thirst; and, to
my unspeakable grief and discomfort, died half an hour
after in my presence, whom I buried as well as I could in
the sand."
The subsequent adventures of Peter Carder among the
savages on the coast of Brazil, and his captivity among the
Portuguese of Bahia de Todos los Santos, form an amubing and interesting section of Purchas's Pilgrims. After a
nine years' absence he got back to England, and had the
honour of relating his adventures before Queen Elizabeth,
who presented him with twenty-two angels, and recommended him to her lord high admiral, Howard.-To return
to Drake. His ship, now driven southward farther than
before, again ran in among the islands. This is an important stage in the navigation of Drake as a voyage of discovery. He had reached the southern extremity of the
American continent, and been driven round it; for "here
no land was seen, but the Atlantic and South Sea meeting
in a large free scope."
On the 28th October the weather, which since the 6th
September, when they entered the Pacific, had been nearly
one continued hurricane, became moderate, and the Golden
Hind came to anchor in twenty fathoms water, though within
a gunshot of the land, in a harbour of an island of which the
southern point has long been known as Cape Horn.
Sir Richard Hawkins, the son of Sir John, and the reputed-kinsman of Admiral Drake, relates that he was informed by the navigator himself that " at the end of the great
storm he found himself in 50~ S.,"* which was sufficient
proof that he had been beaten round without the strait;
and, moreover, that from the change of the wind not being
able to double the southernmost island, he anchored under
the lee of it, cast himself down upon the extreme point, and
The only authority now to be found makes the latitude 50o S.; but
Pts probably a mistake of the amanuensis or printer, and stauMld be 58~




ATTACK OF'T    CDISAXS               5
IBwhed over as far as was safe; and after the ship sailed
told his company that he had been "upon the southernmost
point of land in the world known or likely to be known, aWtr
tBrther than any man had ever before ventured."
Mr. Fletcher, the chaplain, also landed here. He found
this island three parts of a degree farther south than any of
the other islands.
To all the islands discovered here Drake gave the general
name of the Elizabetlides, in compliment to his royal mistress. They were inhabited, and the natives were frequently seen, though little appears to have been learned of
their character or customs.
Having thus discovered and landed on the southernmost
part of the continent, Drake changed the Terra Incognita
of the Spanish geographers into the Terra bene nunc Cogruta of his chaplain, and on the 30th October, with a fair
wind from the south, he held a course north-west; but being
bent on exploring, afterward kept east, not to lose the coast.
On the 25th November they anchored at the island of Mocha,
of the coast of Chili, where the captain-general landed.
Cattle and sheep were seen here, and also maize and potas
toes. Presents were exchanged with the Indians, and next
day a watering party, which Drake accompanied, rowed towards the shore, in full security of their pacific dispos ions.
Two seamen who landed to fill the water-casks were instartly killed, and the rest of the party narrowly escaped an
ambush laid for them in case they should come to the assist.
ance of their countrymen. They were fiercely assailed
with arrows and stones, and every one was wounded more
or less severely. The general was wounded both in the
face and on the head, and the attack was continued so
warmly and close that the Indians seized four of the oars.
This unprovoked attack was imputed by the ship's company
to the hatred which the inhabitants of Chili bore the Spaniards, whom, it was presumed, they had not yet learned to
distinguish from other Europeans. In this view it was forgiven by men whose prejudices and animnoity were equally
strong with those of the Indians.
Sailing along the coast, with the wind at south, on the
30th November they anchored in a bay about 32~ S., ai.d
sent out a boat to examine the shores, which captured and
brought beforeihe captain an Indian found fishing hi his
F




O,APXU8Lr -^H^   RA  wrAeTAXn
canoe. Thisman was kindlytreated. Apresent of infti
and a chopping-knife gained his affections, and l. boure the
message of Drake to his countrymen, who, induced byt.he
hope of like gifts, brought to the ship's side a tat hog and
poultry. It was at this time of more consequence to one
main object of the voyagers, who, doing much for the glory
of England and Elizabeth, wished at the same time to do a
little for themselves, that an intelligent Indian repaired to
the ship who spoke the Spanish language, and, believing
them mariners of that nation, unwittingly gave them much
valuable information. From him they learned that they had
by six leagues oversailed Valparaiso, the port of St. Jago,
where a Spanish vessel then lay at anchor. The innocent
offer of Felipe, when he saw their disappointment, to pilot
them back was eagerly accepted. On the 4th December
they sailed from Philip's Bay, as they named th:s harbour
in honour of their Indian pilot, and next day, without any
difficulty, captured the ship, the Grand Captain of the South
Seas, in which were found 60,000 pesos of gold, besides jewels, merchandise, and 1770 jars of Chili wine. This was a
joyful beginning; each peso was reckoned worth eight shillings. The people of the town, which consisted of ^nly
nine families, fled; and Drake's followers revelled in the
unfobiAdden luxury of a general pillage of wine, bread,
bacon, and other things most acceptable to men who nad
been so long at sea, both for present refreshment and also
for storing the ship. In every new Spanish settlement,
however small, a church rose as it were simultaneously,
The small chatel of Valparaiso was plundered of a silver
chalice, two cruets, and its altar-cloth, which, to prevent
their-desecration and to obtain a blessing on the voyage,
were presented to Fletcher, the pastor of this ocean-floek.
The' sailed on the 8th with their priae, taking, however,
only one of the crew, a Greek named Juan Griego, who was
capable of piloting them to Lima. Their Indian guide Fe.
lipe was rewarded, and sent on shore near his own home,
From the most southern point of this coasting voyage DrakP
had been continually on the outlook for the Marigold and
Elizabeth; and the Hind being too unwieldy to keep in
near the coast in the search, a pinnace was intended to be
built for this duty as well as for-other operations which the
captain-general kept in view. A convenieSt place for thi.




CAPTOR 0? T        s5URBX.           i
purpose had been found at Coquimbo. Near the spoet dai
lected the Spaniards had raised or collected a considerable
frce; and a watering-party of fourteen of the English was
here surprised, and with some difficulty escaped from a body
Of 800 horse and 200 foot. One seaman was killed, owing,
however, to his own braggart temerity.
- In a quieter and safer bay the pinnace was set up, and
trake himself embarked in it to look after the strayed ships;
uut the wind teconming adverse he soon returned. They
quitted this harbour on the 19th January, 1579, invigorated
by a season of repose, by the refreshments and booty obtained, and by the hopes of richer plunder and more glorious
conquest. With few adventures they sailed along the coast,
till accidentally landing at Tarapaza they found a Spaniard
asleep on the shore, with thirteen bars of silver lying beside
him, as if waiting their arrival. Advancing a little farther,
on landing to procure water, they fell in with a Spaniard
and an Indian boy driving eight lamas, each of which was
laden with two leathern bags containing 50lbs. of silver, or
0SOlbs. in all. The lamas, or Peruvian sheep, are described
bythu old voyagers as of the size of an ass, with a neck
like a camel, and of great strength and steadiness, forming
the beast of burden of these countries.  They were indeed
the mules of the New World, but a much more valuable animal, as the wool is fine and the flesh good. The credulity
ofthe most credulous of the family of John Bull-his bsohs
of the ocean-was here amusingly displayed. If the coast
of Peru was not literally strewed with gold, pure silver was'
found so richly mixed with the soil that every hundred-weight
of common earth yielded, on a moderate calculation, ive
ounces.
The eight lamas and their precious burden being brought
on board, the Golden Hind next entered the port of Arica,
where two or three small barks then lay. These, when
rifled, were found perfectly unprotected, the crews being on
shore, -unable to imagine danger on this coastt. Arica is
described as a beautiful and fertile valley. The town contained about twenty houses, which, the Famous Voyage
states, "we would have ransacked if our company had been
better and nore numerous; but our general, contented with
the- spoil of the ships, put to sea, and sailed for LTima" in
pursuitof a vessel very richly laden, of which they had oh.




tairewd intelligence.  The ship, of which.they were now.;
hot iprsuit. got notice of her datier in time to land the
treasure with which slhe was tfeightied,- eight hundred bare
of silver, the property of ti e King of Spain.  Drake, now
preparing for active measures, rid hbiself of every encumbrance by setting all the sails of his prizes, and turning
thgm adrift whithersoeverthe winds raight carry them.; The
arrival of these tenantless barks on some wild coast or
lonely island may yet form t hetheme of Indian tradition,
through more probably.they must all have been dashed to
pieces.
Tidings of the English being upon the coast had by this
time been despatched overland to the governorat Lima;:but
the difficulty of travelling in these still tangled and trackless
regions enabled Drake to outstrip the messenger, and on
the 13th September to surprise the Spanish ships lying in
Calao, the port of Lima. The spoil was trifling for the
number of vessels.  In boarding a ship from Panama, which
was justthen entering theport, an Englishman was killed
Another account says he was shot from a boat while pu,
suing the crew, who were abandoning the vessel. In one
ship a chest of ryals of plate and a considerable store of
linens, silks, and general merchandise were obtained  From
the prisoners Drake learned that ten days before (Lopez Vaz
makes it but three) the Cacafuego, laden with treasure, had
sailed for Panama, the point from whence all goods werer
carried across the isthmus.  This information:at once determined the course of our navigator; and as ships from
Callao to Panama were in the habit of touching at intermediate places, he reckoned the Cacafuego already his prize,
As a measure of precaution the mainmasts of the two largest
prizes found here.were cut away, the cables of the smaller
ones were severed, and, the goods and people being previously removed, the whole were abandoned to the mercy
of the winds and waves; while Drake bore northward in full
sail, or when the wind slackened was towed on by the
boats,'each man straining to reach the golden goal. But
this rather anticipates the course of the narrative..When intelligence of Drake's ship at last reached Lima,
it was presumed some of the Spanish crews had mutinied,
and that the Golden Hind was a Spanish vessel turned pi.
rate, so little was an attack by the English on.this side of




MRIASMU  OF  BRTH  V0EROY.             80
ie continent deemed possible, or that the ships of any natlon save Spain could pass the intricate and fatal Straits of
M%,gellan. On being apprized of the real fact and of tha
danger impending, Don Francisco de To:dod the viceroy at
ima, immedi:tely repaired to the port with a force.at.tnated by Lopez Vaz at 2000 horse and foot. The (Golden
Hind stiil remained:in sight of. the port, and nearly bucalmed.
Two vessels, in each of which 200 fighting men were emnbarked, were equipped in all haste, and the capture of Irake,
the pirate-beretic, was aJready confidently reckoined upon.
At the same hour in which they left the port to make the
attacka fresh gale sprung up, and the English ship pressed
onward.- The  flight and pursuit were continued for some
time, as it was not the policy of Drake, with his very infeior force, to risk an action. By an oversight, mnost fortunate for the English, the Spaniards, in their eagerness
and confidence of an easy conquest, had neglected to take
provisions on board. Famine compelled them to abandon
the pursuit, bat Don Francisco lost no time in remedying
this inadvertence. A force of three ships, fully equipped,
was despatched ander the command of Pedro Sarmiento de
Gmnboa, but arrived too late. The same comnmander afterward long watched, and waited in vain, the return of Drake
by the straits. On his recommendation they were afterward fortified and- a colony planted,-an abortive attempt
which cost Spain much treasure and many lives.
Near Payti a small vessel, in which some silver ornaments
were found, was rifled and dismissed; and on passing Payti,
from the crew of a vessel which was searche.d they learned
that the Cacafuego had the start of them now only by two
days. Every nerve was fresh-braced for pursuit; but the
fiture advantage hoped for did not lead them in the mean
time to despise present small gains. Two more vessels
were intercepted, rifled, and turned,adrift, the crews being
first landed.' In one of these some silver and 801bs. of gol;
were found, and a golden crucifix, in which was set "a
goodly and great emerald."  They also found a good supply of useful stores and a large quantity of cordage, which
made most part of the cargo. On the 24th February they
crossed the line, the Cacafuego still ahead and unseen; and
Drake, to animate the hopes and qui:,ken the vigilance of
bii company, offered as a reward to whoever shoullI tirs




90        CAPTUr  E O  TH   kOA?&O~BGo.
descry the prize the gold chain which he usualywore.  The
reward was gained tby Mr. John I)rake, who at three o'clock
in the afternoon of the 1st of March, from the rrast-ead,
discerned the prize, which by six o'clock was biarded and
takel. This capture was made off Cape Francisco. The
captain, a Biscayan named Juan de Anton, was so little
aware of his danger, that seeing a vessel coming up to him
under a press of sail, he concluded that the viceroy had-se}t
some important message, and struck his sails to await -tfe
approach of the Golden Hind. When aware from closer
inspection of his mistake, he tried to escape; but he wae
already within reach of Drake's guns, and possessed no:
defensive weapons of any kind. Yet, with the brave spirit'
of his province, the Biscayan refused to strike till his mit:
zenmast was shot away and he himself wounded by an
arrow.
This ship proved to be a prize worth gaining.  It cone
tained 26 tons of silver, 13 chests of ryals of plates and 8
Ihs. of gold, besides diamonds and inferior gems,-the
whole estimated at 360,000 pesos.
Among the spoils were two very handsome silver gilt
bowls belonging to the pilot, of which Drake demanded
one; which the doughty Spaniard surrendering, presented
the other to the steward, as if he disdained to hold any
tling by the favour of the English. The " Famous Voyage"
records some capital salt-water jests made on this occasion
at the excpense of the Spaniards.  It must be owned that
the laugh was wholly on the side of the English.
Had'brake, thus richly laden, n )w been assured of a safe
and an easy passage to England, it is probable that the
Golden Hind might not on this voyage have encompassed
the globe.-  The advanced season, however, and the out.
look which lie was aware the Spaniards would-keep for.his
return, forbade the attempt of repassing the straits; while'
the glory of discovery, and the hope of taking his immense
treasure safely to England, determined him in the resoluv.
tion of seeking a n, rth. west passage homeward. Though
not in general cormmut:icative, his plans were no sooner
formed th.. lie uuf;,lded them to the ship's company, -with
the persuasive eloquence of a man eminently fitted for corn
mand. The crew were now in high spirits, and full of con.
fideace in their skilful, bold, and successful leader.. - i




taunse, which carried all the weight of command, was " to
seek out some convenient place to trim the ship, and store
itwith wood, water, and such provisions as could be found,
and thenceforward to hasten our intended journey for the
discovery of the said passage, through which we might
with joy return to our longed homes."
Wihthis resolution they steered for Nicaragua, and on
the 16th March anchored in a small bay of the island.e
Canno, which promd a good station to waterrad refits 1
pinnace was once more on active duty, and a prize was
brought in laden with.honey butter, sarsaparilla, and other
commodities. Among the papers of the prize were letters
from the King of Spain to the governor of the Philippines,
and sea-charts, which afterward proved of use to the English. While Drake lay here a violent shock of an earthquake was felt.  From Canno they sailed on the 24th
March, the captain-general never lnring in any port beyond the time absolutely necessary W  repair the ship and
take in water. On the 6th April they made another valua.
ble prize. Being already well supplied with stores, their
choice was become more nice and difficult; and selecting
only silks, linen, delicate porcelain, and a falcon of finely.
wrought gold, in the breast of which a large emerald was
set, the vessel was dismissed, and of her crew only a negro
and;the pilot detained, who steered them into the harbour of
Guatalco. Landing, according to their approved good practide, to ransack the town, it is related in the Famous
Voyage that they surprised a council then holding on certain;negroes* accused of a plot to burn the place. To their
mutual astonishment, judges and culprits were hurried on
board in company, and the chief men were compelled to
wr.te to the townspeople to make no resistance to the
English. The only plunder found in ransacking this small
place, in which there were but fourteen persons belonging
to Old Spain, consisted of about a bushel of ryals of plate
One of the party, Mr. John Winter, seeing a Spaniard
taking flight, pursued and took from the fugitive a chain of
gold and some jewels. This is related with great exultation, as a feat of peculiar dexterity and merit. All the
* Probably Indians, the name N Lro or Indian being used indimcrn
ItWfy by the early vcyaers.




912    DESCAtIPM  OT    I~ EEAMlw NiANTAS.
Spaniards on board the Golden Hind were now -et t liit
erty.  The Portuguese pilot, Nuno Silva; who hat beei
brought from the Cape de Verd Islands, ws also dismissed,
and probably at this place wrote the relation of the voyage
from which quotations have beenl made in this memoir,
Silva's acccunt was sent to the Portuguese viceroy in India
and long afterward fell into the hands of the English.
Satiated with plunder on sea and shore, Drake on the
16th April, sailed on that bold-project of discovery formerly
communicated to his company, Mid by the 3d of June -ad
gone over 1400 leagues, in different courses, without see.
ing land. They had now reached 43~ north, the cold was
become very severe, andT in advancing two or three degrees
farther, so intense, that meat froze the instantit was removed
from the fire, and the ropes and tackling of theship became
rigid from the influence of the frosts  On the 5th, being
driven in by the wiV, land was seen, and they anchored
in a small bay, too uinheltered, however, to permit of their
remaining.   Drake had not expected to find the coast
stretching so far westward. The wind was now become
adverse to holding anortherly course, although the extreme
cold, and the chill, raw, unwholesome fogs which sur.
rounded them had made such a track desirable. The land
seen here was in general low; but wherever a height appeared it was found covered with snow, though now almost
midsummer. The land seen was the western coast of California. On the 17th June they anchored in a good hatbour, on an inhabited coast. As the Hind drew near tle
shore the natives approached, and an ambassador or spoke.man pui off in a canoe, who made a formal harangue, awcompanied with much gesticulation. When the oration
was concluded, he made a profound obeisance arul retired
to the land. A second and a third tinme he returned in the
same manner, bringing, as a gift or tribute, a bunch of
feathers neatly trimmed and stuck together, and a basket'made of rushes. Of these rushes it was afterward found
that the natives fabricated several useful and pretty things.
The females, though the men were entirely naked, wore a
sort of petticoat composed of rushes, previously stripped
into long threads resembling, hemp. They also wore deerskins round their shoulders; and some of the men ocCarionally used furs as a covering. It was remarked, that the




THRBMR BWG'LAR UIAWR RLA               8
Indians appeared as sensible to the extreme severity of the
bWather as the English seamen,i —*Werng shivering, and
kneping huddled together, even when  rrappi up in their
furs. The basket brought by the Indian ambassador or
orator was filled with an herb which, in some of the original
relations of the voyage is called tabah, the native name, and
in others tobacco. The Indian was either afraid or unwilling to accept of any present from the English in return for
this simple tribute, but picked up a hat which was sent
afloat towards him.  The kindness of Drake-ultimately
gained the confidence of these people.
The ship had some time before sprung a leak, and it was
here found necessary to land-the goods and-stores that she
might be repaired. On the 21st this was done, though the
natives appeared to view the movement with suspicion and
dissatisfaction. They, however, laid aside their bows and
arrows when requested to do so, and an exchange of
presents further cemented the growing friendship. They
retired apparently satisfied; but had no sooner reached
their huts, which stood at a considerable distanco, than a
general howling and lamentation commenced, which lasted
all night. The females especially continued shrieking in a
wild and doleful manner, which, if not absolutely appalling
to the English, was yet to the last degree painful. Drake,
whose presence of mind never forsook him, and who was
seldom lulled into false security by appearances of friendship, mistrusting the state of excitement into which the
Indians were raised, took the precaution of intrenching the
tents, into which the goods and the crew had been removed
while the repairs of the ship were in progress. For the
twodays following "the night of lamentation" no native
appeared. At the end of that time a great number seemed to
have joined the party first seen; and the whole assembled on
a height overlooking the fortified station of the ship's company, and appeared desirous of approaching the strangers.
The ceremonies were opened by an orator or herald making
a long speech or proclamation, with which the audience
were understood to express assent by bowing their bodies
at the conclusion, and groaning in chorus —oh! or oh I oh!
After this friendly demonstration, for as such it was intended, a deputation of the assembly stuck their bows into
the earth, and, bearing gifts of feathers and rubh basket
G




9m        CERIMXKLAIL'F Ti. NATIVES.
with tabah, descended towards the fort.  While tlhis wt*
passing below, the women, mixed with the group on te
height, began to shriek and howl as on the " night of lam.
entation," to tear their flesh with their nails, and dash
themselves on the ground, till the blood sprung from their
bodies. This is said, in the Famous Voyage, to have been
part of the orgies of their idol or demon worship. Drake,
it is said, struck with grief and horror, and probably not
without a tincture of superstition, ordered divine service to
be solemnized. The natives sat silent and attentive, at
proper pauses breathing their expressive " oh!" in token of
assent or approbation. With the psalms, sung probably to
one of the simple solemn chants of the old church, they
appeared affected and charmed; and they repeatedly afterward requested their visiters to sing.  On taking leave
they declined the gifts tendered, either from superstitious
dread, or as probably on the same principle which makes a
clown at a fair afraid to accept the tempting shilling offered
by a recruiting sergeant,-from no dislike to the coin, or
reluctance to drink the king's health, but from great distrust
of the fotives of the giver. The voyagers, with amusing
self-complaisance, ascribe this fear or delicacy to the deep
veneration of the natives, and to their thinking " themselves
sufficiently enriched and happy that they had free access to
see us."
The Indians here managed their foreign relations with
ceremonial that might have sufficed for more refined societies. The news of the arrival of the English having spread,
on the 26th two heralds or pursuivants arrived at headquarters, craving an audience of the captain-general onthe
part of their hioh or king. The precursor of majesty harangued a full half-hour, his associate dictating to, or
prompting him, and concluded by demanding tokens of
friendship and safe conduct for the chief. These were
cheerfully given.
The approach of the hioh was well arranged, and impos.
ing in effect. First came the sceptre or mace-bearer.as he
is called, though club-bearer would be the more correct
phrase. This officer was a tall and handsome man, of
noble presence. His staff or club of office was about five
feet in length, and made of a.dark wood. To this were
attached two pieces of'-t-work or chain-work, curiofua




PROC^SSiON.f TJi~.41AxyV             095
and delicately wrought, of a bony substance, minute, thin,
and burnished; and consisting of innumerable links. He
had also a basket of tabah. These net-cauls or chains were
supposed to be insignia of personal rank and dignity, akin
to the crosses,-stars, and ribands of civilized nations, —
the number of them worn denoting the degree of consequence, as the importance of a pasha is signified by.the
pumber of his tails. The king followed his minister, and
in his turn was succeeded by a man of tall stature, with an
air of natural grandeur and majesty which struck the English visiters. The royal guard came next in order. It was
formed of 100 picked men, tall and martial-looking, and
clothed in skins.  Some of them wore ornamental headdresses made of feathers, or of a feathery down which
grew upon a plant of the country.  The king wore about
his: shoulders a robe made of the skins of. the species
of marmot: afterward described.  Next in place in this
national procession came the common people, every one
painted, though in a variety of patterns, and with feathers
stuck in the club of hair drawn up at the crown of their
heads. The women and children brought up the rear,
carrying each, as a propitiatory gift; abasket, in which was
either tabah, broiled fish, or a-root that the natives ate both
raw and baked.
Drake, seeing them so numerous, drew up his men in
order, and under arms, within his fortification or blockhouse. At a few paces' distance the procession halted,
and deep silence was observed, while the sceptre-bearer,
prompted as betbre by another official, harangued for a full
-hlf-hour. His eloquent address, whatever it might im-;port, receiving the concurrent " oh!" of the national assembly, the same orator commenced a song or chant, keeping
time in a slow, solemn dance, performed with a stately air,
the king and all the warriors joining both in the measure
and the chorus. The females also moved in the dance, but:
-silently. Drake could no longer doubt of their amicable
feelings and peaceful intentions.' They were admitted, still
singing and moving in a choral dance, within the fort. The
orations and songs were renewed and prolonged; and the
chief, placing one of his crowns upon the head of the captain-general, and investing him with the other imagined
msigp; ia of:royalty, courteously tendered him his whole




61    AFIRMG'flwyWR TWtpt8I
daninions, and hailed himt king!*- Sotg of t:t ruph we
raised, as if in confirmation of this solemn cession of terni
hr, and sFvereigntty. ^Sch ~is the t1nteoietation which -t1 i
old voyagets pnt upon a ceremony that has been more rationally conjectured to resemble the interchange or exchange
of names, which in the South Sea islands seals thebondr
of fitindsip   or s soimething equivalent to a European
hoat telling his visiter thalt he is master of the house.
"Thle admiral," it is shrewdly observed, "accepted of-4his
new-offered dignityin hetmnajesty's name, mnd for her us-;
it tbing probable that, from this donation, whether made ini
jest or earnest by these Indians, some real advantage
might hereafter edound to the fEnglish nation and interest
inthese parts." We are expressly informned thst the nntivef
afterward aetually worshipped their guests; and that it
was necessary to, check their idolatrous homage. They
roamed alout among-the tents, admiring all they saw, and
expressing attachment to the English in their own peculiar
fahion,:.t Iwas for the youngest of the company these
fondnesses were imbibed. To express affection, the Indians
surrounded and gazed upon them, and then began to howl
and tea' their dfesh till they streamed in their obn blood, to
demonstrate the liveliness and strength of their affectiol:
The same unnatural and uncouth shows of regard con.
tinued to be made while the English remained on the
coast; and ohlisances and homage were rendered, which,
beng considered as approaching to sacrifice or worship
were strenuously and piously disclaimed. These people
are described as an amiable race; of a free, tractable,
kindly nature, without guile or treachery. To marktheir
esteem of the English, and confidence in their skill and.su
perierity,'it may be noticed that they applied for medicaments fot-their wounds and sores..
-.'he men, au has been noticed, were generally naked; but.
the women, besides the short petticoat woven of peeled bulrushes, wose deer skins, with the hair on, round their shoulders. They were remarked to be good wives —very obedient
and serviceable to their husbands. The men were so robust
ana powerful that a burden which could hardly be borne by
tw'o of the seamen, a single native would with ease carry
up a'nd do vn hill for a mile together. Their weapons were
bows and arrows, but of a feeble, useles kind. Tbit.




DRUlAXiXlV tSE~A.UlG AfOT.                91
Awellings were constructed in a round form, built of eartbh
and roofel- with pieces of wood joined together at a common centre, somewhat in form  of a spire.  Being partly
under ground, they were close and warm.  The tire was
placed in the middle, and beds of rushes were spread oat
the floor.
Before sailing, Drake made an excursion into the interior.
Immense herds of deer were seen, large and fat; and the,
country seemed one immense warren of a species of cony
of the size of a Barbary rat, "their heads and faces like
rabbits in England; their paws like a mole, their tails lika
a rat.  Under their chin on each side wasa a pouClh into
which they gathered  meat to feed their young, or ssrve
themselvesa another tinme"   The natives ate the fleshi of.
those animals, and greatly prized their skins, of whichthe
state-robes worn by the king at his interview with Drake
were made.*
The admiral named this fair and fertile country New Al
bion, and erected a monument of his discovery, to which
was nailed a brass plate bearing the name, effigy, and arnm
of her majesty, and asserting her territorial rights, and the
diato of possession being taken.
Drake had spent thirty-six days at this place, —alongbut
necessary sojourn; but the repairs of the ship being comn
pleted, on the 23d July he bore away from Port Drake,+ the
kind-hearted natives deeply hbwailing the departure of their
new friends.  The regret, good-will, and respect were in.
deed mutual.  The Indians entreated the English to ri*
member therm, and as a farewell offering or homage secretly
provided wbjt is called a sacrifice. While the ship remained
in sight thL5 kept fires burning on the heights..It.is delightful at this time to hear of Europeans leaving grateful
* Captain Beechey informs us, that the fields in the vicinity of San
Francis'o are burrowed by a small rat resenhling the mtlie  h,'ali.. by
a nounltain-rat of the criceta.s kitid, and by another little aiimal rewnei
b!ng a squirrel, which is nanmedl ardil,1 and is said u, be most excellent
entine. The sp cies above alluded to by Drake has by sonle been suppoted synonynmous with li h tu,,t'n of Fernandez, and the Canada pouched
rat, or nis tts ur.nri.*of oi'Satvw.
rt The.e is some diff:recee of opinion about the locality of Port Prake;
u.sglish navigrtors suppoosing tu the!OIrt San Fran)clsco -or the.paniards, while the latter think it a port tfilr leagues farther iuirlh.- -aptail.qeechey, who in the winter of 1826 lay here lor six weeks, gives no
opinion on the subject.




Q               DDlmAKE19:lSCO tMtliSo.remembrances of their visits on any coast, and the plea.fur
is enhanced by being able to claifo this honour for our coun
trymen.  It was from sme fancied resemblance to the white
cliffs of England that Drake bestowed on the coast he hi.i
surveyed the name of New Albion.*
Next day a store of seals and birds were caught at some
small islands which are now supposed to be the Fareilonea
of modern charts.
Thus far had Drake boldly explored in search of a passage homneward, either through an undiscovered strait, or
around the northern extremity of the continent of America;
but now this design, so honourable to his enterprise'and
even to his sagacity, was for the present abandoned; the
winds being adverse, and the season too much advanced to
prosecute farther' so perilous an adventure. Leaving the
scene of his discoveries on the western coast of America,
which are reckoned to begin immediately to the north of
Cape Mendocino and to extend to 458 N., Drake, with the
unanimous consent of his company, having formed the design of returning home by India and the Cape of Good
Hope, sailed westward for sixty-eight days without coming
in sight of land. On the 13th September he fell in with
some islands in 80 N.  As soon as the Golden Hind appeared, the natives came off in canoes, each containing from
four to fourteen men, bringing cocoanuts, fish, and -fruits.
Their canoes were ingeniously formed and prettily ornamented, hollowed out of a single tree, and so high at the
stern and prow as to be nearly semicircular.  The islanders
were not yet sufficiently enlightened in mercantile affairs to
have learned that honesty is the dealer's best pold. Drake,
however, instead of imitating the conduct of Magellan, and
instantly shooting them  for thieving, or burning their
houses, endeavorired to bring them  to a sense of propriety
merely by refusing to traffic with those who were found dishonest. This excited their displeasure, and a general attac'k
of stones was commenced. A cannon, not shotted, fired
over their heads to scare them away had only this effect for
a short time. The general was at last compelled to adopt
After passing Punta de los Reyes, Captain Beechey awaited the
return of day off some white cliffs, which he believed must be those
which tnade Sir Francis Drake bestow on this tract of country the *ame
of New Albion.




ISLANDS- OF  THIVY8o. 
more severe measures of retaliation, and we are told in vague
terms that " smart was necessary as well as terror."  The
natives of those Islands of Thieves, as they were named b)
the English, had the lobes of their ears cut out into a circle,
which hung down on their cheeks. Their teeth were black
as jet, from the use of a powder which they constantly employed for the purpose of staining them. This powder they
carried about with them in a hollow cane. Another peculiarity observed was the length of their nails, which wai
above an inch. It has been conjectured, with every mad
of probability, that Drake's Islands of Thieves are tbt
islands named De Sequeira, discovered by Diego da Rocha
as mentioned at p. 44 of this volume, and the Pelew Islands
of our own times; if so, the morals of the inhabitants must
have improved greatly in the long interval which elapsed
between this first visit of the English and.that made by Captain Wilson in the Duff. The wind coming fair, on the 3d
October the Golden Hind stood westward, and on the 16th
of the month made the Philippines in 70 5' north of the line.
They first fell in with four islands having a thick population, or the appearance otit. These they visited, and afterward anchored in Mindanao. Sailing hence on the 22d,
they kept a southerly course, and passed between two
islands about six or eight leagues south of Mindanao, sup.
posed to be Sarangan and Candigar.
On the 3d November the Moluccas were seen, and they
steered for Tidore; but in coasting along Motir a boat came
off, from which Drake learned that the Portuguese, expelled
from Terrenate, or Ternate, by the king of that island, had
fixed their head-quarters at Tidore. In this boat was the
Viceroy of Motir, which island was under the sovereignty
of the powerful and warlike King of Ternate. As soon as
the viceroy understood that Drake had no reason either to
love or trust the Portuguese, he entreated him to change
his destination; and the ship accordingly steered for the
port of Ternate.
Previous to coming to an anchor before the town, a courteous offer of friendship was made by the general through a
messenger whom he sent on shore with a velvet cloak as a
present to the king, and who was instructed to say that the
English came hither only to trade and to procure refresh.
ttents. The viceroy of Motir had previously disposed the




100      H     aUWIf 01 TWiXAT1v
king to give Drake a favourable, reception..To the goW
1s6l  message a gracious answer was returned. All that the
territories of the King of Ternate afforded were at the d'i
posal of thelEnglish, and that prince was ready to lay himself and his whole.dominions at the feet of so. glorious:A
princess as the Queen of England. By somp of the voyage,
this flourish of oriental hyperbole is nmost literally intery
preted. The English envoy was received with great pomp;
and as credentials, orsafe-conduct, asignet (we are not -toq' -what form):was transmittedahiough him to the captains
general. Before the ship cane to anchor the king put. off,
to pay it a visit of welcome and ceremony. The: oyal
equipment-consisted of three state barges, or canoes, filled
with the most distinguished persons of his retinue. They.
wore dresses of white muslin,-" white lawn, of cloth,Qs
VUalicut."  Over their heads was a canopy or awning of perfumed mats, supported on a_ framework of reeds.:.Their
personal attendants, also dressed in white, stood next them;
and beyond these were ranks of warriors armed with dirks
and daggers. These again were encircled by the rowers,
of. which there were eighty to each barge, placed in gall-e
ties raised above the other seats, three on each side. They
rowed, or rather paddled, in cadence to the clashing of cymn
bals, and altogether made a gallant show. The king, who
advanced in the last barge, was saluted with a discharge of
all the great guns, and the martial music which Drake employed on occasions of. ceremonial struck up. The canoes
paddled round and round the ship, the king appearing delighted with the music, and gratified by the signs of wealth
and magnificence exhibited byhis visiters. He was himself a tall, stout, graceful man, and celebrated as a co equprsy
and warrior. By policy and force of arms he had not only
expelled the Portuguese from this island, but subdued many
others, so that seventy islands.now owned his sway. H!
professed the faith of Mohammed, which was now beeoni
the religion of ali his dominions. It is worthy of remark,
that in the ceremonies and: external observances of royalty
the native princes of these Iuian islands might have vied
with the most polished courts of Europe.. Elizab1eth, who0
board was daily spread with lowly bends and reveence.s,
was not more punctilious in ceremopnial and. etiquetta
than the sovereign of Ternate. His courtiers anid attendants approached the royal presence with the most profound




COURT OF. T   R-.:IN0Oe    TgRNATE. ]t
rtspeet no oie speaking to the king save in a kneel ng pos
tare. As soon as the ship came to an anchor the-king took
beave, promising another visit on thelbllowing day.
"That'same evening apresent of fowls, rice, sugar, cloves,
and frigo was received, and "a sort -of fruit," says the Fa,
mous Voyage, "they call sago, which is a meal made out
6fthe tops of trees, melting in the mouth like sugar, but
eating like sour curd; but yet when made into cakes will
keep so as to be very fit for eating at the end of ten years.'
It is pleasant to come thus upon the first simple notice 6f
those productions of other climes which have so long con
tributed to the comfort, variety, or luxury of European co-.:
munities.
Instead of coming on board next day the king sent hiw
brother to bear his excuses, and to remain as a hostage for
the safe return of the captain-general, who was' invited to
land. The invitation was.not accepted, the English having
some doubts of the good faith of the fair-promising sove'
reign of Ternate. But some of the' gentlemen went 6t
shore; their first acquaintance, the Viceroy of Motir, remaining as a hostage, as well- as the king's brother. On
landing, they were received with the pomp which had been
intended to grace the entrance of Drake into the capital;
another brother of the king and a party of the nobles conducted them to the palace, which stood near the dismantled
foit of-the expelled Portuguese.  There they found an
assembly of at least a thousand persons, sixty ofthem being
courtiers or privy-counsellors, "very grave persons," and
four Turkish envoys, in robes of scarlet and turbans, who
were then at the court of Ternate concluding a treaty of
commerce. The king was guarded by twelvelances.'"A
glorious canopy embroidered with gold was carried over hip
head."  His garb was a rbe of cloth of god, hanging l0oo
about his person; his legs vere bare, but on his feet he wore
slippers of Cordovan leather. Around his neck'hung a
weighty chain of gold, and fillets of the same metal were
wreathed through his hair. On his fingers "were many
fair jewels." At the right side of his chair of state stood a
page cooling him with a fan two feet in length and one uin
breadth, embroidered'and-adorned.with sapphires, and fastened to a staff three feet ion,-by thichit was mofvd. Hil
voice was low, and his aspect benign




102                   CRA'BILAMWD
Drake did not afterward land; and the offers made ef
exclusive traffic with the English were, it appears, received
by him with indiffereice.
Having procured a supply of provisions and a considerable
quantity of cloves, the Golden Hind left the Moluccas on
the 9th November, and on the 14th anchored at a smal.
island near the eastern part of Celebes, which they named
Crab Island. This place being uninhabited and affording
abundance of wood, though no water was found, tents were
erected on shore, and fences formed around them; and here
they resolved effectually to repair the ship for her homewardvoyage. This proved apleasant sojourn. The island was one
continued forest of a kind of trees, large, lofty, and straight
in the stem, nor branching out till near the top; the leaves
resembling the broom  of England.*  About these trees
flicker innumerable bats " as big as hens."  There were
als.) multitudes of shining flies no bigger than the common
fly in England, which, skimming up and down in the air,
bet ween the trees and bushes, made them appear " as if they
wele burning." There were also great numbers of landcrabs, described as a sort of crayfish, "which dig holes in
the earth like conies, and are so large that one of them will
dine four persons, and very good mtat."t
At a small neighbouring island water was procured, and
on the 12th December, having lain at Crab Island about a
month, the Hind sailed for the west, and soon got entangled
among islets and shoals, which induced them to steer for
* But for this resemblance of the foliage we should say the description refers to some species of palm.. The islands of the Indian and eastern seas are still inhabited by
several species of bat of large dimensions; but it is by no means easy
to ascertain, from the vague and brief allusions of the earlier voyagers,
the precise species which they intended to indicate. The lesser Ternate
bat of Pennant, figured by Seba (I tab. 57, fig. 1 and 2), occurs both in
the island of Timor and in that from which it derives its specific name.
It is the pteropus stramineus of M. Geoffroy (Ann. Mus. tom. 15, p. 95),
to whom we owe the best part of our knowledge of the cheiropterous
tribes. Several flying quadrupeds of the genus galeopitlecus likewise
inhabit the Mol:ccas.
The fireflies of eastern countries belong chiefly to the hemipterous
order, especially the genus fulg-wa, and are remarkable obr the enission
of a very pure and beautiful light.
Land-crabs, properly so called, belong to the genus gecarcinus; they
dwell in subterranean excavations during the greater portion of the year,
anu proceed to the sea in immense bands at particular seaons to depoe
it their ova. Their habits ae nocturna




DAJGLB  OFt  TrE- RIP*,            108
hoe south, to get free of such dangerous ground, At this
time occurred the most imminent peril and providential
escape that attended this remarkable voyage,-an incident
as much resembling a visible interposition of Divine aid
where human hope was perished as any to be found among
the almost miraculous records of preservation contained in
the relations of maritime adventure.
After being teased for many days, on the 9th January
they flattered themselves that the shoals were at last clet red.
On that same evening, early in the first watch, while the
Golden Hind with all her sails set was running before a
fair wind, she came suddenly upon a shelving rock, and
stuck fast. Violent as was the shock she had sprung no
leak, and the boats were immediately lowered to sound, and
ascertain if an anchor could be placed in such a situation as
would permit the ship to be drawn off into deep water.
But the rock in which she was as it were jammed shelved so
abruptly that at the distance of only a few yards no bottom
could be found. A night of great anxiety was passed; and
when the dawn permitted a second search for anchorageground, it only ended in more confir.ned and bitter disap
pointment. There seemed no help of man; yet in the
midst of their calamity several fortunate, or more properly
providential, circumstances intervened. No leak had been
sprung; and though the ebE-tide left the ship in only six
feet of water, while, so deeply was she treasure-laden, thirteen were required to float her, a strong and steady gale
blowing from the side to which she must have reeled as the
tide gradually receded supported her in this dangerous position. In this dreadful situation, instead of giving themselves up to despair or apathy, Drake and his company behaved with the manliness, coolness, and resolution which
have ever in the greatest perils characterized British seamen.
The crew were summoned to prayers, and, this solemn duty
fulfilled, a last united effort was made for the common safety.
A quantity of meal, eight of the guns, and three tons of
ctoves were thrown overboard. This partial lightening prod tced no visible effect; the ship stuck as fast as before.
The simple language of the original narrative is so much
more forcible and touching than any modern paraphrase, that
we at once adopt it. In a single sentence it displays the
manly and self-depending character of Drake, and the vene




1-43         X R_*0V)LSV*JA P464 Sr V*JQJ.
ration and'-nplicit confidence with which his crew regardpd
him: —* Of all other days," savs one old relation, "on the
Wth January, in the yeere 1579 (1580), we ranne upon a
tocke, where we stuck fast from eight of the clocke at nighta
till fourof the clocke in the afternoon of next day, being,
indeed, out of all hope to escape the danger; but our generall, as hee had alwayes shown himself couragious, and of
a good confidence in the mercie and protection of God, so
now he continued in the same; and lest he should seem to
perish wilfully, both hee and wee did our best endevour to
save ourselves, which it pleased God so to bless that in the
ende we cleared ourselves most happily of the danger."  Th
was, however, by no effort of their own that they were finally
extricated, though nothing that skill and courage could suggest or accomplish was wanting.  The wind slackened and
fell with the tide, and at the lowest of the ebb veered to the
opposite point, when the vessel suddenly reeled to her side.
The shock loosened her keel, and at the moment of'what
appeared inevitable destruction she plunged into the deep
water once more as freely afloat as when first launched into
the ocean. The thankfulness of the ship's company may
be imagined.*  This dangerous shoal orreef is not farfroih
the coast of Celebes, in 1~ 56' S.
Their perilous adventure made them afterward very warry;
and it was not till some weeks had elapsed that, cautiouslr
exploring their way, they finally extricated themselves froin
this entangled coast.
On the 8th February they fell in with the island of Baratane, probably the island now called Booton, a pleasant and
fruitful place.  It afforded gold, silver, copper, and sulphur.
The fruits and other natural productions were ginger, long
pepper, lemons, cocoas, cucumbers,-nutmegs, frigo, sago,
&c. &c.  Ternate excepted, this island afforded better aaid
* It has been shrewdly remarked, that these pious seamen nevet for
one moment seem to have entertained the idea of tlrowinlg any part of
their immnense treasure overboard, which would have materially light.
ened the ship. The account of the escape given in "The Famous Voyage" differs from the above, which is, however, regarded as the most
authentic relation of this almost miraculous preservation. It States, that
after the ship was lightened " the wind (as it were in a moment bly the
special grace of God) changing from the starboard to the larhoard side,
we hoisted our sails, and the happy gale drove our ship off the-rocks ifn
the sea again, to the no small comfort of all our hearts; tor whi'chI W
gave God such praise and thanks as so great a benefit required."




BOOIALI: COirlION OfY  /A,              1.1 
greater variety of refreshments for the mariner than any lItnd
it.wibch our nvigators had touched since they had.left
Engiland.  The inhabitants were worthy of the fertile region
they inhabited.  In form and features they were a handsome people; in d,;position and manners, mild anJ friendly;
fair in their dealings, and obliging in their behaviour. The
men were naked, save a small turban and a piece of cloth
about their waists; but the women were clothed from the
middle to the feet, and had their arms loaded with bracelets
fashioned of bone, horn, and brass. The men universally
wore ornaments in their ears. These islanders received
the English with kindness and civility, and gladly supplied
their wants.
Leaving Baratane with very favourable impressions of
the country and the people, they made sail for Java, which
was reached on the 12th of March.  Here the navigators
remained for twelve days in a course of constant festivity.
The island was at this time governed by five independent
chiefs or rajahs, who lived in perfect amity, and vied with
each other in showing hospitality and courtesy to their English visiters.
The social condition of the Javans at this comparatively
early period exhibits a pleasing and attractive picture of
semi-barbarous life, if a state of society may be thus tenned,
which appears to realize many of our late Utopian schemes
of visionary perfection.  The Javans were of good size and
well-formed, bold, and warlike.  Their weapons and armour
were swords, bucklers, and daggers of their own manufacture, the blades admirably tempered, the handles highly ornanented.  The upper part of their bodies was entirely
naked, but from the waist downwards they wore a flowing
garment of silk of some gay and favourite colour.  In every
village there was a house of assembly, or public hall, where
these social and cheerful people, whom we may call the
French of the Indian islands, met twice a-day to partake of
a kind of picnic meal and enjoy the pleasures of conversation. To this common festival every one contributed at his
pleasure or convenience, bringing fruits, boiled rice,* roast
* The Javan cookery of rice, as described by Drake's crew, is worthy
of a place in English cook-rv borxks. An earthen vessel of a conical
farm, open at the widest Ciid, and perroraoed with holes, was filled with
4ce, and plunged into a larger vessel of boiling water. The rice, swe




106    SAFE R.iETUVN. OF T:.  EE-XBD.IT9ON.
fowls, and sago. On a table raised three feet the feast was
spread, and the party gathered round, " every one deligliting in the company of another."  WLt.c the Hind lay here
a constant intercourse and interchange of kindnesses and
civilities were maintained between the sea and shore; the
rajahs coming frequently on board either singly or together.
But the delights of Java could not long banish the remembrance of England, to which every wish was now directed.
Making sail from Java, the first land seen was the Cape of
Good Hope, which they passed on the 15th June. The
Spaniards had iot more studiously magnified the real dangers of Magellan's Straits than the Portuguese had exaggerated and misrepresented the storms and perils which surround the Cape; and it required the characteristic intrepidity and consummate skill of Drake to venture with his
single bark on this doubtful and almost untried navigation.
It is, however, probable that he suspected the craft which
suggested this attempt to hoodwink and delude all other
maritime nations, that Portugal might long retain a monopoly of her important discovery. Certain it is, that the
ship's company were surprised that close by the Cape"the most stately thing and goodliest cape seen in the circumference of the whole earth"-no violent tempests or awful perils were encountered; and they accordingly shrewdly
concluded the report of the "Portugals most false."
Deeming it unsafe or inexpedient to halt here, Drake
stood for land of which he had better knowledge, and on the
22d July arrived at Sierra Leone. Water was obtained,
and the refreshment of fruits and oysters, of which, we are
told, "one kind was found on:trees spawning and increasing wonderfully,-the oyster suffering no bud to grow." It
was imagined the 26th of September, 1580, when, without
touching at other land, Captain Drake, after a voyage of two
years and ten months, came to anchor, whence he had set
out, in the harbour of Plymouth. The day of the week was
Monday, though by the reckoning kept by the voyagers
Sunday, and the 27th the true time; the same loss of a day
having befallen them which had puzzled Magellan's crew,
ing, soon stopped the holes, and the mass was steamed till it became
firm and hard likd bread, when it was eaten wAh spices, fruit, mNWr,
Meat, oil, &e. &o




DRASg R     R        B'                   117
~-a mystery now clear to the most juvenile student in geography.*
The safe return of the expedition, the glory attending so
magnificent an enterprise, and the immense mass of wealth
brought home made the arrival of Drake be hailed throughout England as an event of great national importance. - Such
in fact it was, as his success gave an incalculable impetus
to the rapidly-increasing maritime spirit of the country.
The bravery, the exploits, and the wonderful adventures
of Drake immediately became the theme of every tongue.
Courtiers patronised and poets praised him; and, to complete his celebrity, envious detractors were not wanting,
who, with some plausibility, represented that England and
Spain, though cherishing the bitterest national antipathy,
being still nominally at peace, his enterprises were at best
but those of a splendid corsair; and that his spoliation of
the subjects of Spain manst provoke reprisal on such mer
chants as had goods and dealings in that country. It was
urged that, of all countries, a trading nation like England
should carefully avoid offending in a kind which laid her
Open to speedy punishment, and must frustrate the advancement of her maritime prosperity. On the other hand, the
friends and admireis of the navigator contended, that'he of
all men, who had been so deep a sufferer from their perfidy,
was entitled to take the punishment of the Spaniards into
his own hands; and that his gallant enterprise, while-it
inspired foreign nations with a high opinion of the maritime talent and power of England, would at home excite
the noblest emulation,-an effect which it already had, the
island, from the one extreme to the other, being now inflamed with the ardour that his splendid achievements had
kindled, and which was soon to be manifested in a series of
actions emanating directly from his expedition.
In the mean while Drake lost no time in repairing to
* The Biographia Britannica, and one of the old relations, states that
Drake touched at Terceira in his Lotneward voyage, and arrived at
Plymouth on the 23d November. This seems incorrect. It is almost
superfluons to notice these discrepancies, but as in this volume consiBerable pa'ns have been bestowed to ensure accuracy by collating the
different relations, it is proper to notice, once for all, tjiat where it may
differ in dates or trifling matters of fact from other narrations, the disagreement arises from the adoption oftwhat are considered the beat au
tbenticated statements




108    THE Q        Plf*   iaV T O - I-t  -, $ I AKE.
court.  Elizabeth, who with all her faults never favoureJt
the despicable, was more purely-the fountain of all favour
and honour than any preceding sovereign, and her personal
regard- more the object of ambition. Drake was graciously
received, but not yet openly countenanced.  The queen
permitted the first fervours.of both his admirers and enemies to abate before she openly declared her own senti.
ments.  A show of coldness was also a necessary part of
the subtle game she was stiU playing-with Spain.
The complaints of the'Spaniards were.violent and loud 
and the queen deemed itprudent to place the wealth brought
home under sequestration till their claims should be investigated; or, more correctly, till the complainers could be
either baffled or wearied out in solicitation.  It was the
policy of Elizabeth to protract the long-impending hostilities between the countries, and among other means the
plundered gold was employed..AJi  a foretaste, or a bribe
to..urchase peace a little longet'several small sums were
pal' to the agent for Spanish claims; but, when tired of
the game of diplomacy, which the queen relished as much
for the enjoyment of the play as the value of the stakes,
she suddenly took the resolution of openly countenancing
the daring navigator, whose boldness, discretion, and bril
liant success were so happily adapted to gain her favour.
On the 4th of April, 1581, the queen went in state to
dine on board the Golden Hind, now lying at Deptford;
and Drake, who naturally loved show and magnificence,
spared no pains in furnishing a banquet worthy of his roya.
guest.  After dinner the queen conferred upon him  the
honour of knighthood,-enhancing the value of the distinc
tion by politely saying, "that his actionsdid him morehonout
than the title which she conferred." The queen also gave
orders that his ship should be preserved as a monument of
the glory of the nation and of the illustrious commander.
This was done, and when it would no longer hold together
a chair was made of one of the planks, and presented as a
relic to the University of Oxford.* On the day of the
* The particulars of this " stately visit" would unduly swell the nit
rattve. On this day Elizabeth, who, like King William IV., loved to be
surrounded by her subjects, was attended in her irogress to Deptford
by an immense concourse of people, awho crowded so thickly upon the
temporary bridge, or planks placed between the river's bank and tiv.




DRAFA'S  EXPEDIMO'   N -VYDIOAI'ED.         I 0),,oueen's visit, in compliment to her majesty's scholarship, a
Variety of Latin verses, composed by the scholars of Winchester College, were nailed to the mainmast, in which the
praises of the ship and of the queen were alternated and
intermingled.  The Golden Hind afterward became the
theme of the muse of Cowley.  One translation of a Latin
epigram on the ship we select from a multitude of verses,
as its quaintness.is redeemed by its elegance:The stars above will make thee known,
If man were sileiit here;
The Sun hinlself cannot forge:
His fellow-trayeller.
The reputation of Sir Francis Drake had now obtained
that court-stamp which, without increasing value. gives
currency.  Though Elizabeth had so far temporized as to
sequestrate for a time the wealth brought home, the Spanish
complaints of the English sailing in the South See she
scornfully dismissed,-denying  lthat, by the Bishop of
Rome's donation or any other right, fhe Sparnards were
entitled to debar the subjects of other princes from  these
new countries; the gift of what is another's constituting
no valid right;-that touching here and there, and naming
a river or cape, could not give a proprictary title, nor hinder
other nations from  trading or colonizing in those parts
where the Spaniards had not planted settlements."  One
objectionable part of Drake's conduct thus obtainred royal
vindication; and as the war, long impcnding, Was no longer
avoidable, his alleged depredations were forgotten even by
his envious detractors, and his fame bccaume as universal
as it was high.  Envy itself had ever been forced to acknowledge, not merely his maritime skill and genies for
command, but the humanity and benevoleni:e'hai murked
his dealings with the Indians, and the generosity with
which he uniformly treated his captives of that nation of
all others the most hateful to Englishmen, and in some
respects the most injurious to himself.
But the achievements of the Nelson of the  eign of Elizabeth demand a new chapter, the life of Drake from this point
being intimately blended with the public history of England.
hip, that it gave way, and some hundreds fell into the water. Tlis waa
an unlucky adventure, but no one was either killed or hurt, which th
eady-witted princess attributed solely to the good tortu le of Drake.
H




J10       COIXMNCEMKLNT OF HOSTILITIEb
CHAPTER IV.
Expeditions to the West lsfeia.
Commencement of Hostilities with Sl)ain-Drake captures St. JagoCruelty of the Portuguese-Storming of St. Domingo as.d Carthagena
-'The Fever (,f the West Indies-Sir Walter Raleigb's Colony —
Drake destroys the Spanish Shipping-Observations on isg Charscater
— The Spanish Armada-Capture of the Galleon of Don Pedro Valdez
-Expedition to restore Don Antonio-Expedition with Hawk.:s to
the Spanish Settlements in the West Indies-Attempt agailst Porto
Rico —Failure of Baskerville's Expedition across the lsthrrausDeath of Sir Francis Drake-Estimate of his Character at:d Public
Services.
HOSTIIITIES with Spain, so long protracted by the policy
of Elizabeth, were now about to commence in good earnest;
and Drake may be said to have struck the first blew. War
was not formally declared when he projected an expedition
in concert with Sir Philip Sydney,-the two most popular
men of their time being to command, the one the land and
other the sea force. On the part of Sir Philip the design was
abandoned at the express command of the queen, who reqpired his services in the Netherlands, where he had already
been usefully employed for the public cause, and where, in
the following year, he met his early and glorious death.
Sir Francis Drake's armament consisted of twenty-five
sail, of which two vessels were queen's ships. His force
amounted to 2300 seamen and soldiers.  Under his command were several officers of experience and high reputation.  His lieutenant-general was Christopher Carlile, hig
vice-admiral the celebrated navigator Martin Frobisher; and
Captain Francis Knollys, and other officers of celebrity,
were among his coadjutors in an enterprise, the object
of which was to unite  public advantage w.th private
emolument.
The fleet stood at once for the coast of Spain, where
Drake meditated a bold stroke at the enemy's naval foriiin passing to his ulterior objects in the West Indies.: a'




CAPTUREn  OF ST. JAGO.             I11
this without very rigid preliminary inquiry whether war
had been declared or not. His demand to know why an
embargo had been laid upon the goods of certain English
merchants was answered in terms so pacific, that finding it
impossible to fasten a quarrel upon the Spaniards which
would justify reprisal, the fleet cruised from St. Sebastian's
to Vigo, capturing some small tenders. They next stood
for the Cape de Verd Islands, where, landing 1000 men in
the night, Drake, with a handful of them, surprised and
took St. Jago, which the inhabitants hastily abandoned.
This was on the 17th November, 1585, and the day of
Elizabeth's accession, which was celebrated by the guns of
the castle firing a salute, to which those of the fleet replied.
The conquest had proved easy, but the booty was in proportion inconsiderable, consisting chiefly of trifling merchandise, and the tawdry, worthless wares employed in
trading with the Indians of the islands and on the shores
of the continent of America. If there had been any treasare in the place, it was either carried away or effectually
concealed; and the threats of the invaders to burn and
slay, unless the terms of ransom which they dictated were
complied with, produced no effect. The islanders seemed
determined either to weary or to starve out the invaders;
and their easy conquest soon became no desirable possession. On the 24th, a village twelve miles in the interior,.aamed St. Domingo, was taken; but the islanders still
kept aloof; and posting placards, denouncing the former
cowardice and cruelty of the Portuguese and their present
pusillanimity, the English prepared to depart. Then, for
the first time, a force appeared hanging off and on, as if to
annoy their retreat. Burning the town, and every place
within reach, the English re-embarked in good order, and
stood for the West Indies.
In palliation of what may appear useless severity, it must
he stated that, besides refusing the terms of ransom offered
them, the Portuguese had perpetrated the most wanton
cruelty on an English boy who had straggled, and whose
corpse was found by his countrymen, torn, disfigured, and
dismembered,-as if he had rather fallen into the hands of
the most ferocious tribe of cannibals than among a ('hris
tianpeople.  The islanders had also, five years before, mu;4ersd. under the protection of a truce, the crew of a Britol




12        STORltNO  OF ST. DOMINGO.
vessel commanded by Captain William  Hawkins.  The
vengeance which may afterward be taken Ly their countrymen forms a strong protection to a single ship's company
or to a weak crew on a distant coast; and if there may not
be strict equity, there is at least commendable policy in a
commander showing that neither former kindness nor yet
treachery to the people of his nation is either unknown or
forgotten.
While the fleet lay here, that malignant fever which
proves the scourge of soldiers and seamen in these climes
broke out with great inveteracy, and carried off between
two and three hundred of the men.
They next touched at St. Christopher's and Dominica,
where they had a friendly interview with some of the aborigines, at which the toys and wares of St. Jago were liberally exchanged for tobacco and cassada.
Attracted by the fame of "the brave city" of St. Domingo, one of the oldest and wealthiest of the Spanish settlements in the West Indies, it was determined to carry it.
Drake's common plan of attack was simple and uniform: a
party was landed in the night to make the assault from the
land side, while the ships co-operated from the water. On
New-year's day the English landed ten miles to the west
ward of the town, and, forming into two divisions, made
the attack at opposite gates; and to save themselves from
the guns of the castle, rushed forward, sword in hand, pellmell, till according to agreement they met in the marketplace in the centre of the town, and changed the fight of
the Spaniards into precipitate retreat. Here they hastily
barricaded themselves, resolved to maintain their post, and
confidently expecting an attack. But the Spaniards gave
them little trouble. Struck with panic, they next night
abandoned the castle to the invaders, and escaped by boats
to the other side of the haven. The following day the Eng.
lish strengthened their position, planting the ordnance
which they took within their trenches,-and, thus secured,
held the place for a month, collecting what plunder wasto
be found, while they negotiated with the Spaniards for the
ransom of the city. The terms were such that the inhabitants were unable to redeem  the town; and burning and
negotiation went on simultaneously and leisurely. Two
hundred seamen, and as many soldiers forming their guard,




DESTRUCTION OF TIE CITY.             113
were employed daily in the work of destruction; but tne
buildings being lofty piles, substantially constructed of stone
their demolition proved a fatiguing duty to the men; and
after much labour, spent with little loss to the enemy and no
profit to themselves, the ransom of 25,000 ducats was
finally accepted for the safety of what remained of the city.
The plunder obtained was very inconsiderable for the size
and imagined riches of the place.
A little episode in the history of this enterprise against
St. Domingo deserves notice, as it places the energetic
character of Drake in a striking point cf view. A negro
boy, sent with a flag of truce to the leading people while
the negotiation for ransom was pending, was met by some
Spanish officers, who furiously struck at him, and afterward pierced him through with a horseman's spear. Dreadfully wounded as he was, the poor boy tried to crawl back
to his master, and while relating the cruel treatment he had
received, he fell down and expired in the presence of Drake.
The insult offered to his flag of truce, and the barbarous
treatment of the lad, roused the captain-general to the highest pitch of indignation. He commanded the provost-marshal, with a guard, to carry two unfortunate monks, who had
been made prisoners, to the place where his flag was violated,
there to be hanged. Another prisoner shared the same fate;
and a message was sent to the Spaniards, announcing that
Antil the persons guilty of this breach of the law of nations
were given up, two Spanish prisoners should suffer daily.
Next day the offenders were sent in; and, to make their merited punishment the more ignominious and exemplary, their
own countrymen were forced to become their executioners.
Among other instances of Spanish boasting and vainglory recorded by the historians of the voyage, is an account of an escutcheon of the arms of Spain, found in the
town-hall of the city, on the lower part of which was a
globe, over which was represented a horse rampant, or probably volant, with the legend Non suficit orbis. This vaunt
gave great offence at this particular time to the national
pride of the English, who told the negotiators, that should
their queen be pleased resolutely to prosecute the war,
instead of the whole globe not satisfying his ambition.
Philip would find some difficulty in keeping that portion o.
it which he already possessed




114           CAPTURE OF CARTHAOENA.
Their next attempt was directed against Carthatgpi
which was bravely defended and gallantly carried, Carlile
making the attack on the land side, while Drake's fleet preo
sented itself before the town. The governor, Alonzo Bravo,
was made prisoner; and after holding the place for six weeks,
and destroying many houses, the trifling ransom of 11,000
ducats was accepted for the preservation of the rest of the
town.  The Spaniards might not have got off on such easyv
terms, but that the fearful pest, the deadly bilious fever,
which has sooften proved fatal to English expeditions in the
very same locality, now raged in the fleet, and compelled the
commanders to revise their plans and lower their demands.
About 700 men perished in this expedition of the calentura*alone, as the disease, since described by Smollett and aGlo
ver and others, was then named.  Those who struggled
through this frightful malady, if we may fully credit the
early accounts, were even more to be pitied than those that
sunk under the disease. Though they survived, it was with
oss of strength, not soon if ever recovered; and many sufcred the decay of memory and impaired judgment; so that,hen a man began to talk foolishly and incoherently, it be*s
name a common phrase in the fleet to say that such a one
-Jad been seized with the calenture.
The design of attempting Nombre de Dios and Panama,
there to strike the stroke for treasure," of which they had
nitherto been disappointed, was abandoned in a council- of
war; and sailing by the coast of Florida, they burnt St.
* The calenture, ague, bilious, and yellow fever,-for by all these
names is the Carthagena fever known,-has never been more truly arid
vividly described than in Roderick Random, and in Smollett's account of
he " Expedition against Cartbagena," where the sufferings of Drake'S
expedition were acted over again. In Raynal's History of the Indies
we find the same causes assumed for this fatal distemper to which it
was attributed by Drake's company, the pestiferous night-dews oftA
climate where even the long-continued rains of the wet season never
cooled the air, and where the night is as hot as the day. The men on
watch were found peculiarly liable to its attacks. Though there is sorme
difference of opinion about the causes of the disease, the symptoms
were the same in 1585 as in our own day.' The disease," says Raynal, " manifests itself by vorritirgs, accomparnied by so violent a de
lirium, that the patient must be confined to prevent him from tearing hinf
self to pieces. He orten expires in the midst of these agitations, whiti
seldonm last above'tree or four days." He adds that the fever of
C rthagena, like the small-pox and some other diseases, is never takei
but once, —a point, lhowsver, like many others, on wiich doctors difti
n opinion.




DRAKE DESTROYS THE SPANISH SRIPPNo.  i 5
Helena and St. Augustin, two forts and small settlements of
the Spaniards, and brought off from Virginia Mr. Lane,
the governor, with the remains of an unfortunate colony
eent out under the auspices of Sir Walter Raleigh in the
former year.*
It was in July, 1539, before the armament returned, bringing 200 brass and 40 iron cannon, and about 60,0001. in
prize-money, of which 20,0001. was divided among the men,
and the remainder allotted to the adventurers. Though
the private gains resulting from the expedition were trifling,
the dismantling of so many fortresses at the beginning of a
wvar was a service to the country of no inconsiderable valae.
It was but the first of many which our navigator performed,tt its progress.
The next exploit of Drake was wholly for the public servi;e.  The rumour of that formidable armament fitted out
ay Spain to invade England, and first in fear, though afterward in jest, named the Invincible Armada, had spread
genera! alarm.  In a noble spirit of patriotism, the merchants of London, at their own expense, fitted out twentysix vessels of different sizes, to be placed under the command of Drake, to annoy the enemy, and, if possible, frustrate or delay the boasted design of invading England. To
this armament the queen added four ships of the royal fleet;
and with this considerable force Drake bore for Lisbon, and
afterward for the harbour of Cadiz, where he had the good
fortune to burn and destroy 10,000 tons burthen of ship~ ing, either destined for the threatened invasion or subser
sient to this purpose. Here he remained for a short time
annoying the enemy's galleys, which he destroyed pieceIheal, though his great enterprise had been accomplished in
one day and two nights.  Drake, having thus happily accomplished his public duty, was impelled by gratitude and
gallantry to attempt a stroke which might enable him to reward the spirited individuals who had enabled hin, so essentially to serve their common country. Having private in* The colony carried home at this time by Drake, with the tobacce
which they brought along with them. first, according to Carnden. intro
iuced the use of that commodity into Britain. where it now yields about
3t3oJ.90nl. of yearly revenue. In Virginia thev had learned the nase ot.heherb. It however still remains underided whether tobacco was irltro
lued into Enrglandtv Raleigh or Drake. To Drake the introduction o.
potatoes is universally ascribed




I 6        DRAKE APP;OIYN E-DI -IVIE-ADMIRTI.
formation that the St. Philip, a Portuguese carrack from the
East Indies, was about this time expected at Terceira, he
sailed for the Azores.  Before he fell in with the prize the
fleet became short of provisions; but by dint of promises
and threats, Drake prevailed with his company to bear up
against privations, and soon had the felicity of bringing in
triumph to England the richest prize that hade ever yet been
made, and the first-fruits of the numerous captures to which
his success soon led the way both among the Dutch and
English.  The name of the prize was hailed as an omen of
fiture victory to England.  Drake is blamed for discovering
undue elation at the close of this triumphant expedition.
He is said to have become boastful of his own deeds, though
the only ground of charge is gayly describing his bold and
gallant service as "burning  the Spanish king's beard."
But.surely this may well be forgiven to the hero who, delaying the threatened Armada for a year, laid the foundation of its final discomfiture.* Nor were Drake's eminent
services to his country limited to warlike operations.  In
the short interval of leisure which followed this expedition
lie brought water into the town of Plymouth, of which it
was in great want, from springs eight miles distant, and by
a course measuring more than twenty miles.
In the following year his distinguished services received
the reward to which they were fully entitled, in his appointment of vice-admiral under Lord Charles Howard of
Erlinghamn, high-admiral of England.
* So keenly were-the deeds of Drake resented by the court of Spain
even before this great stroke at the maritime power and strength of that
country, that, when terror was presumed to be struck into the very heart
of the nation, and tlhe queen quailing with dismay, expecting the formi
dable armament every day to put to sea, the Spanish ambassador had the
temerity to propound terms for her acceptance, wrapped up, in the pe
dartic fashion of the time, in Latin verses, which are thus translated:"These to you are our commands:
Send i0o lelp to the Netherlands.
Of the treasure took by D Vts
Restitution you must make;
Arnd those abbeys build anew
Which yourfather overthrew."
To this insolent demand the lion-hearted Protestant princessreplied il
the same vein:- 
"Worthy king, know this vour will
tt Lattar Lamimas we'll fulfil."




THE INVINCIBLB ARMADAD                 1 1
-Drake had hitherto been accustomed to give orders, not
to obey them; and his vivacity under command had nearly
been productive of serious consequences.  Positive information had been received of the sailing of the Invincible
Armada, but it was likewise kn.wn that the fleet had
been dispersed in a violent tempest; and, believing that
the attempt would be abandoned at this time, orders were
despatched to the lord-high-admiral to send four of his
best ships back to Chatham, as the frugal government of
Elizabeth grudged the expense of keeping them afloat air
hour longer than they were positively required.  This
order had hardly been given, when Howard was made
aware by the information of Thomas Fleming, the captain
of an English pinnace,* of the close approach of the fleet;
and it soon after passed Plymouth, where he lay taking in
supplies after cruising on the Spanish coasts looking out
for it. It was four in the afternoon of the 19th July, 1588,
when the intelligence of Fleming put the lord-high-admiral
upon the alert; and by next day at noon his ships were
manned, warped out, and in fighting trim.  At the same
hour the Spanish fleet came in sight; and on the 21st,
Howard, with his greatly inferior force, ventured the attack
which, by the blessing of Heaven on the valour and skill
of the English, was continued from day to day in various
quarters, till the proud Armada was swept from the English channel.  On the night of the 21st, Drtke, who had
been appointed to carry the lantern, forgot this duty, and
gave chase to several hulks which were separated from
the fleet, and thus so far misled the high-admiral, that,
following the Spanish lantern under the idea that it was
carried by his own vice-admiral, when day dawned he
found himself in the midst of the enemy's ships.  The
high-admiral instantly extricated himself; and Drake ampl.y atoned for this oversight by the distinguished service
performed by his squadron in harassing, capturing, and
destroying the Spaniards. On the day following this erring night he performed a memorable action.  Among the
* The honour of giving this important intelligence is claimed for
Scotland. to which couirtry Fleming, who only followevd the example
of hls betters in plundering on the high seas, is said to have belonged
At the instance of Howard the queen granted him a pardon, and also
pension for the notable service he had performed




118   EXPEDITITN WITH SIR JOHN NORRIB.
fleet was a large galleon commanded by Don Pedro dValdez, a man of illustrious family and high official rank,
with whom nearly fifty noblemen and gentlemen sailed.
His ship had been crippled ard separated from the fleet,
and Howard, in hot pursuit, had passed it, imagining that
it was abandoned.  There was on board a crew of 4f50
persons; who, when summoned to surrender in the formidable name of Drake, attempted no resistance. Kissing
the hand of his conqueror, Don Pedro said, they had resolved to die in battle, had they not experienced the good
ortune of falling into the hands of one courteous and
gentle, and generous to the vanquished foe; one whom it
was doubtful whether his enemies had greater cause to
admire and love for his valiant and prosperous exploits, or
dread for his great wisdom and good fortune; whom Mars,
the god of war, and Neptune, the god of the sea, alike
favoured. To merit this high eulogium, Drake behaved
with the utmost kindness and politeness to his involuntary
guests, who were sent prisoners to England. Two years
afterward he received 35001. for their ransom. In the ship
55,000 ducats were found, and liberally divided among the
crew. The broken running fight between the fleets was
renewed from day to day, and from  hour to hotur, as the
superior sailing of the light English vessels promised advantage, till the Spaniards were driven on that line of
conduct which ended in the complete destruction of their
mighty armament.  In the fight of the 29th, which was
desperate on both sides, Drake's ship was pierced with
forty shot, two of which passed through his cabin. Of
134 ships which left the coast of Spain only 53 returned.
In the following year Drake, as admiral, commanded
the fleet sent to restore Don Antonio of Portugal, while
Sir John Norris led the land-forces. Differences arose
between the commanders about the best mode of prosecuting their joint enterprise. The failure of Norris's scheme
gives probability to the assertion that the plan of operations
suggested by Drake would, if followed, have been successful. It is at least certain that the expedition miscarried,
which had never happened to any single-handed  indertaking in which Drake engaged. Don Antonio, taken out
to be made a king by the prowess of the English, returned
as he went. Before the queen and council Drake fully




EXPEDITION. WITH RK  Bl    u  ttAWN   Ss.
justified his own share of the affair, and the confidence
pimced in his ability and skill remained undiminished. This
was the first check that the fortunes of Drake had ever received,-and it would have been happy for him, it has
been said, had he now withdrawll his stake. The principal and fatal error of his succeeding expedition was once
more undertaking a joint command.
The war in 1595, though it languished for want of fuel
to feed the flame, was not yet giving any prospect of drawing to a conclusion; and, in conjunction with Sir John
Hawkins, Drake offered his services in an expedition to
the West Indies, to be undertaken on a scale of magnificence which must at once crush the Spanish power in
that quarter, where the enemy had already been so often
and effectually galled by the same commanders. Elizabeth
and her ministers received the proposal with every mark of
satisfaction. The fleet consisted of six of the queen's
ships and twenty-one private vessels, with a crew, in seamen and soldiers, amounting to 2500 men and boys.
They sailed from Plymouth in August, having been detained for some time by the reports of another armada
being about to invade England. This rumour was art
fully spread to delay the fleet, of which one object was
known to be the destruction of Nombre de Dios and the
plunder of Panama. They had hardly put to sea when the
demon of discord, which ever attends conjunct expeditions,
appeared in their councils. Sir John Hawkins wished at
once to accomplish an object recommended by the queen;
but time was lost in an attempt, suggested by Sir Thomas
Baskerville, to invade or capture the Canaries, and again
at Dominica. All these delays were improved by the
enemy in the colonies, in preparing for the reception of
the English. A few days before sailing, information had
been sent to the fleet of a Spanish galleon richly laden,
that had been disabled and separated from those ships
which annually brought plate and treasure from the Indies
to Spain; and the capture of this vessel was recommended
to the commanders by the English government as an
especial service. The galleon now lay at Porto Rico; but
before this time five frigates had been sent by the Spaniards
to convey it away in safety. On the 30th October, Sir
John Hawkins made sail from the coast of Dominica




ATTEMPT AGAINST PORTO RICO.
iere the ships had been careened, and had taken m
/ater; and on the same evening he sustained the misfortune of having the Francis, one of his vessels, captured
by the enemy's frigates. This stroke, which appeared
fat t to the enterprise, by informing the Spaniards of his
approach and putting them on their guard, gave him inexplessible chagrin. He immediately fell sick, and on the
12th November, when the fleet had got before Porto Rico,
died of combined disease and grief. He was succeeded
by Sir Thomas Baskerville, who took cowrrnand in the
Garland, the queen's ship in which Hawkins had sailed.
The English fleet, meditating an instant attack, now lay
within reach of the guns of Porto Rico.; and while the
officers, on the night of Sir John Hawkins's death, were at
supper together, a shot penetrated to the great cabin, drove
he stool on which Drake sat from  under him, killed Sir
Nicolas Clifford, and mortally wounded Mr. Brute Browne
and some other officers. An attack, this night decided
upon, was attempted next day, with the desperate valouw
which has ever characterized the maritime assaults of the
English.  But the enemy were fully prepared; the treas
ure had been carefully conveyed  away, and also the
women and children. The fortifications had been repaired
and placed in good order; and though the hot impetuous
attack of the English inflicted great suffering on the Spaniards, to themselves there remained but a barren victory.
After lying two or three days before the place, it was
judged expedient to bear off and abandon this enterprise.
They stood for the main, where Rio de la Hacha, La Rancheria, and some other places were taken, and, negotiations for their ransom failing, burnt to the ground.'Ihe
same course was followed with other petty places; but
Drake began seriously to find, that while giving the enemy
this trifling annoyance, he was gradually reducing his own
force without gaining any substantial advantage. His
health was injured by this series of'disappointments, and
from the first misunderstanding with Hawkins his spirits
had been affected. On the morning of the assault on Porto
Rico, in taking leave of Mr. Brute Browne, then breathing
his last, he exclaimed, "Brute, Brute, how heartily could
I lament thy fate, but that I dare not suffer my spirits to
sink now."




DEATH 0ai- SIR FR eIS DRA<K.B
The Spanish towns, from which every thing of valu
was taken away, were rather abandoned to the occupation
than taken by the arms of the English. In this way Santa
Martha and Nombre de Dios fell into their hands with
scarce a show of resistance. They were both burnt. On
the 29th' December, two days after the capture of Nombre
de Dios, Sir Thomas Baskerville, with 750 soldiers, alt
tempted to make his way to Panama through the fatiguing
and dangerous passes of the Isthmus of Darien, the Spaniards annoying his whole line of march by a desultory fire
of musketry from the woods. At certain passes fortifications had been thrown up to impede their progress; and
coming upon these unexpectedly, they were exposed to a
sudden fire, by which many fell. About midway the design
was abandoned, and the party turned back, still exposed in
the retreat to the fire of the Spaniards from the woods.
Destitute of provisions, and suffering great privation and
fatigue, they returned to the ships depressed and disheart-'
ened. This last and most grievous of the train of disap.
pointments that had followed Drake throughout an expedition from which the nation expected so much, and wherein
he had embarked much of his fortune and risked his high
reputation, threw the admiral into a lingering fever, accompanied by a flux, under which he languished for three
weeks. He expired while the fleet lay off Porto Bello.
The death of Admiral Drake took place on the 28th Janu.
ary, 1596, and in his fifty-first year. His remains were
placed in a leaden coffin, and committed to the deep with
all the pomp attending naval obsequies. Unsuccessful as
his latest enterprises had been, his death was universally
lamented by the nation. The tenderness of pity was now
mingled with admiration of the genius and valour of this
great man, " whose memory will survive as- long as the
world lasts, which he first surrounded."
Drake is described as low in stature, but extremely well
made; with a broad chest and a round compact head. His
complexion was tair and sanguine; his countenance open
and cheerful, with large and lively eyes; his beard full, and
his hair of a light brown. The portrait prefixed to this
volume gives the idea of a man of that prompt and decided
character which Sir Francis Drake discovered in every
action of his life. From the lowest point and rudiments




HS CNARAiOTI  AND BPUVBRIC  RSXICES.
his art, Drake was a thorough-bred seaman, able in hiw
wn person to discharge every duty of a ship, even to at;
tending the sick and dressing the wounded. In repairin
and watering his ships, as readily as in what are esteemed
higher offices, he at all times bore an active part; and to
his zealous superintendence and co-operation in these subordinate duties, much of the facility and celerity of his
movements, and of his consequent success, is to be attributed. The sciences connected with navigation, asathey
were then known, he thoroughly understood, aid particularly that of astronomy. Whatever he attempted on his
own judgment, without being controlled by the opinions of
others, he accomplished with success. He has been charged
with ambition; but it is well remarked, that no man's ambition ever took a happier direction for his country. His
example did more to advance the maritime power and reputation of England than that of all the navigators who preceded him. He indicated or led the way to several new
sources of trade, and opened the career of commercial
prosperity which  his countrymen are still pursuing.*
Among the many natural gifts of this lowly-born seaman
was a ready and graceful eloquence. He was fond of
amassing wealth, but in its distribution was liberal and
bountiful.  Among other dee/s of enlightened benevolence
was his establishment, in conjunction with Sir John Hawkins, of the CHEST at Chatham for the relief of aged or sick
seamen, by the honourable mears of their own early providence. Drake sat in two parliaments,-in the first for a
Cornish borough, and in the next for the town of Plymouth
in the 35th of Elizabeth.  Though often described as a
bachelor, it is ascertained that he married the daughter and
sole heiress of Sir George Sydenham, of Coombe Syden.
ham in Devonshire, who survived him. He lef no children,
but bequeathed to his nephew Francis Drake, afterward
created a baronet by James the First, his landed estate,
* Camden styles Sir Francis Drake the author of our East India trade,
as the journals, sea-charts, draughts, &c. which he fbund in the St.
Philip, afforded that information to government, and to the English merchants, which led to the immediate opening o( the trade, and to the
establishment of that mighty thing called "' TH' COMPANV." The first
voyage undertaken by the English to the East Indies was conducted by
Captain Lancaster and Captain Raymond in 1591, the same year in which
CaGvnlish made his second vovage to the South Sea.




POLICY OF -UEEN ELIZASRTILT               I8
which was considerable. Three quarters of the globe had
contributed to its acquisition; vet there is certainly no
ancient family estate in the south of England of the titledeeds of which the proprietors have less cause to be
asl.amed, than that still held by the heirs of the son of the
honest mariner of Tavistock.
CAVENDISH.
CHAPTER V.
Voyage round the World.
Policy of Queen Elizabeth-Public Spirit of the English NobilityAncestry of Cavendish-His Voyage to Virginia-Equipment of his
Squadron-Discovery of Port Desire-Colony of Pedro SarmientoMisery of New Settlers-Sarmiento made Prisoner-Natives of the
Straits-Indian Tributaries of Santa Maria-Escape of TomO Hernandez-A Watering Party cut off-Capture of Spanish Ships-Use
of Torture by Cavendish-Paita stormed-Cacique of Puna —Skirrmish with the Spaniards-March into the Woods-Progress of the
Squadron-Capture of the Santa Anna.
THE reign of Elizabeth is by nothing more honourably
distinguished than the manliness and dignity which characterized the pursuits of her courtiers, and, through their example, those of the entire body of the English gentry. A
period illustrious in the national annals owes much of its
glory and felicity to this single cause. To the queen herself belongs the praise of having, during her long reign,
studiously kept alive the flame of public spirit; and of having striven, by her influence and public acts, to inspire the
flower of the youth of hei kingdom with that ardent thirst
of glory which in so many ways redounded to the national
advantage.  Distinguished personal merit, whether dis.
played in the field dr at the council-board, was the certain
rdid to the favour of Elizabeth; and though.her favouriteJ




134    RrsE OF ENBLISH IIAVAL POWMR
might have possessed very different deg'ees of moral wothe,
all of them were celebrated for ability or patriotism.*  It
was thus, in the age cf Elizabeth, nothing unusual for men
of the highest rank to devote their private fortunes and personal services to the advancement of the national interests,
either by undertaking or promoting voyages of discovery,
establishing colonies, opening up new branches of trade,
or protecting the state against the aggressions of the Spaniards.  At that period it was considered as nothing wonderful that the Earls of Essex and Cumberland, and such men
as Raleigh, Dudley, Grenville, Gilbert, and many other
persons of family and condition, should, in pursuit of
honourable distinction, court fatigue and hardship, from
which their degenerate successors, in the reigns of the
Stuarts, would have shrunk in dismay.
* The attention paid by Elizabeth to the rising marine and the conmerce of her kingdom has often been the subject of extravagant pane.
gyric. The subjoined discourse of Purchas is a curiosity, were it only
for its high-flown style. "The English Deborah' is thus addressed:
"Thou wast indeed the mother of English sea-greatness; and didst first
(by thy generals) not salute alone, but awe and terrify the remotest East
and West; stretching thy long and strong arms to India, to China, to
America, to the Peruvian seas, the Californian coast, and New Albion's
sceptres. Thou madest the northern Muscovite admire thy greatness.
Thou gavestname to the north-west straits; and the southern negroes,
and islands of the south unknown continent, which knew not humanity,
were compelled to know thee. Thou einbracedst the whole earthly
globe in thy maritime arms; thou freedest England from Easterlitigst
and Loinhards' borrowed legs; and taughtst her, not only to stand-and
go without help, but to become help to out friends, and with her own
pea-forces to stand against, yea, to stand upon and stamp under her
feet the proudest of her foes. Thou wast a mother to thy neighbours.
Icots, French, Dutch; a mirror to the remotest nations. GreatCumberlanl's twelve voyages before recited are thine, and the fiery vigour of
his martial spirit was kindled'at thy bright lamp, and quickened by tl
great spirit of Elizabeth. Drake, Cavendish, John and Richard Haw
kilts, Raleigh, Dudley, Shirley, Preston. Grenville, Lancaster, Wood,
Raymond, Levison, Monson, Winter, Frobisher, Davis, and other starworthies of England's sphere, whose planet-courses we have before
related, all acknowledge Eliza's orb to be their first and highest mover."
Fur the credit of Master Purchas's independence it must be noticed that
"glorious Elizabeth" was by this time beyond the reach of flattery.
t By Easterlings are meant the people of theHanse Towns; and we
presume that by " Easterlings and Lombards' borrowed legs," this quaint
writer signifies that the carrying trade of England. which had hitherto
been enjoyed by the shipping of the Italians and the people of the Tnited
Provinces, was'now, by the policy of Elizabeth, secured to the English




ANCESTRY OF CAVENDISH.               125
Of this class was Thomas Cavendish, the second Eng.
ishman that circumnavigated the globe. He was of an
ancient and honourable familv of Suffolk, the ancestor of
which had come into England with the Conqueror.  Tne
residence of Cavendish, or Candish, as the name was then
written, was at Trimley St. Martin; and his estates lay
near Ipswich, at that period a place of considerable trade.
From this vicinage to a maritime town he is said to have
imbibed an early inclination to the sea.
His father died while Cavendish was still a minor; and
coming early into the possession of his patrimony, he is
reported to have squandered it " in gallantry, and following
the court," and to have been compelled to embrace the
nobler pursuits to which his subsequent years were devoted
to redeem his shattered fortunes. Truth may lie between
the contradictory statements of the motives which determined this gentleman to follow the career of Sir Francis
Drake, in seeking fortune and reputation on the western
shores of America and in the South Sea.
Though the relations of his voyages are ample and complete, the truth is, that very little is known of the personal
history of Cavendish. In the year 1585, he accompanied
Sir Richard Grenville's expedition to Virginia, in avessel
equipped at his own expense.* This voyage, undertaken
to plant the unfortunate colony which was brought home
by Sir Francis Drake in 1586 (see p. 115), was both profitless and difficult; but it enabled Cavendish to obtain
nautical experience, and in its progress he had seen the
Spanish West India settlements, and conversed with some
of those who had accompanied Drake into the South Sea.
The youthful ambition of Cavendish was thus roused to
emulate the glory of so eminent a navigator in this rich and
newly-opened field of enterprise.
Grenville's fleet, which sailed for Virginia in April, returned in October, and from the wrecks of his fortune, and
the remains of his credit, Mr. Cavendish, in six months
afterward, had equipped a small squadron for his projected voyage.  While the: carpenters were at work [e
* Some accounts say this was the Tiger; but this could not have
been, as the Tiger was the admiral's ship, from whic': Cavendish was
separated in the Bay of Biscay,.and which he did not reoin till the feet
bad reahed the West Indiei.
I




126  HIS FIRST VOYAGE TO THE SOUTH SEA.
procured every draught, map, chart, and history of formet
navigations that might be useful to him; and having,
tbrough the patronage or recommendation of Lord Hunsdon, procured the queen's commission, he sailed from Plymouth on the 21st July, 1586. His light squadron consisted of the Desire, a vessel of 120 tons burthen, in whi( h
he sailed himself as admiral and commander of the expedition; the Content of 60 tons; and the Hugh Gallant, a
light bark of 40 tons. A crew of 123 soldiers, seamen, and
officers manned this little fleet, which was provided with
every requisite for a long voyage, in latitudes with which
the navigation of Drake had now made the English somewhat familiar.
If so much interest is still awakened by the maritime
undertakings of contemporary navigators, who set out in a
familiar track under the guidance of former experience and
observation, with the advantage of instruments nearly perfect, and with all appliances and means to boot, how much
more must attach to the relation of the adventures of one
who, like Cavendish, could have no hope or dependence
save in his own capacity and courage!
The squadron first touched at Sierra Leone, where the
conduct of the young commander was not wholly blameless.
On a Sunday part of the ships' company-went on shore,
and spent the-day in dancing and amusing themselves with
the friendly negroes, their secret object being to gain intelligence of a Portuguese vessel that lay in the harbour, and
which Cavendish intended to capture. This was found
impracticable, and next day the English landed to the
number of seventy, and made an attack on the town, of
which they burnt 150 houses, almost the whole number, aLd
plundered right and left. It was but little that they found.
The negroes fled at their landing, but on their retreat shot
poisoned arrows at the marauders from the shelter of the
woods. This African village is described as neatly lbuilt,
enclosed by mud walls, and kept, beth houses and streets,
in the cleanest manner. The yards were paled in, and the
town was altogether trim and comfortable, exhibiting signs
of civilization, of which at this point the slave-trade subsequently destroyed every trace. A few days afterward a
party of the sailors landed to wash linen; and repeating
the visit next day, a number of negroes lying in ambush




DISCOVERY  OF  POS T  XarsYI: -           127
m the woods nearly surprised and cut them off. A soldier
died of a shot from a poisoned arrow; though the case as
described appears more like mortification of the parts than
the effects of poison* Several of the men were wounded,
but none mortally save the soldier. On the 3d of September
a party went some miles up the river in a boat, caught a
store of fish, and gathered a supply of lemons for the fleet,
which sailed on the 6th.  No reason is assigned for the
unprovoked devastation on this coast, save "'the bad dealing of negroes with all Christians."
On the 16th December the squadron made the coast of
America, in 470~ S. The land, stretching west, was seen
at the distance of six leagues, and next day the fleet anchored in a harbour in 48~ S. This harbour they named
Port Desire, in honour of the admiral's ship. Seals were
found here of enormous size, which in the forepart of their
body resembled lions;* their young was found delicate
food, equal, to the taste of the seamen, to lamb or mutton.
Sea-birds were also found in great plenty, of which the
description given seems to apply to the penguin.  In this
excellent harbour the ships' bottoms were careened. On
the 24th December, Christmas-eve, a man and boy belonging to the Content went on shore to wash their linen,
When they werqsuddenly surrounded and shot at by fifty
or more Indians. Cavendish pursued with asmall party, but
the nativesescaped. " They are as wild as everwas a buck,"
says an old voyager, " as they seldom  or ever see any
Christians." Their footprints were measured, and found
to be eighteen inches in length.t The squadron left Port
Desire on the 28th, and halted at an island three leagues
off, to cure and store the penguins that had been taken.
On the 30th, standing to sea, they passed a rock about fifty
* In the voyage of the Dutch navigators Le Maire and Schouten, who
anchored in Port Desire about thirty years after Cavendish. these aninals are described as sixteen feet long; they could only he killed 1.\
shooting them in the belly or the head, their skins not being penetrable
in other parts.
t The crew of Le Maire and Schouten, when their fleet lay here.
opened some ofthe graves, -or more properly removed the heaps whicn
in elevated points, on the summits of hills atnd rocks, were laid above
the dead. accordine to the practice of burial among these tribes, anid
found huma  skeletons, as they allege, often anid eleven feet in length.
The sculls covered the Dutchmen's heads as helmets, so much larger
were they in size than the sculls of Europeans.




128 XAGowiat     ST  rr PaIT-   NIS  COLONY.
miles from the harbour they had left, which resembled tIt
Eddystone Rock near Plymouth. About the first day of
the year they saw several capes, to which no names are
given, and on the 6th, without further preparation, entered
Mlgellan's Straits, which the Spaniards had lately attempted
to fortify and colonize. At twilight the squadron anchored
near the first Angostura; and in the night lights were observed on the north side of the strait, which were supposed
to be signals. Recognition was made by lights from the
ships, and a boat was sent off in the morning, to which
three men on the shore made signs by waving a handkerchief.  These were part of the survivors of a wretchid
Spanish colony.
The history-of the misfortunes and sufferings of the first
settlers in different parts of America would make one of
the most melancholy volumes that ever was penned; nor
Could any portion of it prove more heart-rending than that
which should record the miseries of this colony, left by
Pedro Sarmiento in the Straits of Magellan. It may bf
recollected, that on the appearance of Drake on the coast
)f Peru, this cominalder was despatched by the viceroy to
intercept the daring interloper on his return by the straits
Sanniento afterward bestowed much pains in examining
the western shores of Patagonia and thecoast of Chili,
and the many inlets, labyrinths, and intricate'channels of
the islands and broken lands of Tierra del Fuego, whi,:h,
as.e conjectured, must communicate with the Straits of
Magellan by onle ormore passages. After a long time had
thus been consumed fruitlessly he entered the straits, ana
passed through eastward in about a month, minutely exitining the coast on both sides. When this discoverer
reached Spain, his exaggerated statements, the desire of
thecking the progress of the English in this quarter, and
an apprehension that they were preparing to seize this
master-key to the South Seas (the passage by the Cape of
Good Hope being still monopolized by the Portuguese, and
that by Cape Horn not yet discovered), induced Philip to
listen to the proposals of Sarmiento, an enthusiast in the
cause, and to colonize and fortify this important outlet of
his American doninions..4 powerfil armament of 23
ships, with 3500 men, destined for different points of South
America, was in the first place to establish the new colony.




ILl 1ottN   oP s0  AWNiTs0o.           129
This expedition, undertaken on so magnificent a scale, was
from first to last unfortunate. While still on the coast of
Spain, from which the fleet sailed on the 25th September,
1681, five of the ships were wrecked in a violent gale, and
800 men perished.  The whole fleet put back, and sailed
a second time in December. Misfortunes followed in a
thick train. Sickness thinned their numbers; and at Rio
Janeiro, where they wintered, many of the intended settlers
deserted.  Some of the ships became leaky, the bottonrs of
others were attacked by worms, and a large vessel, containing most of the stores of the colonists of the straits, sprung
a leak at sea, and before assistance could be obtained went
down, 330 men and twenty of the settlers perishing in he-.
Three times was Sarmiento driven back to the Brazils before he was able to accomplish his purpose; and it was
February, 1584, before he at last arrived in the strait anm
w-.s able to land the colonists.  Nor did his ill fortune
close here.  His consort, Riviera, either wilfully abandoned
him, or was forced from his anchorage by stress of weather.
He stood for Spain, carrying away the greater part of the
remaning stores which were to sustain the people through
the rigour of the winter of the south, which was now commencing, and until they were able to raise crops and obtain provisions. The foundation of a town was laid, which
was named San Felipe; and bastions and wooden edifices
were constructed. Another city,iimed Nombre de Jesus,
was commenced.  These stations were in favourable points
of the straits, and at the distance of about seventy miles
from each other. In the mean while the southern winter
set in with uncommon severity. In April snow fell incessantly for fifteen days. Sarmiento, who, after establishing
the colonists at these two points, intended to go to Chili
for provisions, was driven from his anchors in a gale, and
forced to seek his own safety in the Brazils, leaving the
settlers without a ship. He ha* been accused of intentionally abandoning this helpless colony, which he was the instrument of establishing, and of which he was also the govnor. The accusation appears unjust, as he made many
subsequent efborts for its relief, which his ill fortun.e rendered abortive. The governors at the different settlements
at length refused to affrrd further assistance to a project
which had lost the royal favour; and in returning to Spain




130    HmnRY oF THE i"rLETTLtS.
to solicit aid, Sarmiento was captured by three ships
belonging to Sir Walter Raleigh,-luckily, in all probability, for himself, as the indignation of King Philip at the
failure of so expensive and powerful an expedition, and at
the misrepresentations of this officer, might not have been
easily appeased.*  Of the wretched colonists, about whom
neither old Spain nor her American settlements gave them.
selves any further trouble, many died of famine and cold
dunng the first winter.  The milder weather of the spring
and summer allowed a short respite of misery, and afforded
the hope of the return of Sarmiento, or some ship with
provisions and clothing. But the year wore away, and no
vessel appeared, and the colonists at San Felipe, in their
despair, contrived to build two boats, in which all that remained alive, fifty men and five women, embarked, with
the hope of getting out of the straits. One of their hoats
was wrecked, and the design was abandoned, as there were
no seamen among their number, nor any one capable of
conducting the perilous navigation. Their crops all failed'
the natives molested them; and out of four hundred men
and thirty women landed by Sarmiento, only fifteen men
and three women survived when Mr. Cavendish entered
the straits. In San Felipe many lay dead in their houses
and in their clothes, the survivors not having strength to
bury them; and along the shores, where these miserable
beings wandered, tryinglo pick up a few shellfish or herbs'
they often came upon the body of a deceased companion
who had perished of famine, or of the diseases caused by
extreme want.
It was, as has been said, part of these forlorn wanderers
whom Cavendish saw on the morning after he entered the
straits. A passage to Pern was offered them, but they at
first hesitated to trust the English heretics; though afterward, when willing to accept the generous offer, their reso;
lutinn came too late; ahd-before they could be mustered, a
fair wind offering, Cavendish sailed on, having tantalized
these wretched Spaniards with hopes which the safety of
* It is said that Queen Elizabeth ordered the captive governor of the
straits to he presented to her, that she conversed with him in Latin, and
gave him his freedom and 1000 crowns to convey him into Spain. HRoW
ever this may be, it was some years before he found his way back.




THE- FLEET ENTERS THE SOUTH SEA.   131
his own crew in this precarious navigation, and the success
of his expedition, 4id not permit him to fulfil. The offer
had likewise been made in ignorance of their numbers. If
Cavendish be blamed for abandoning these wretched victims to their fate, what shall be said of the nation which,
having sent out this colony, left it to perish of famine and
cold! One Spaniard was brought off, named Tom6 Hernandez, who became the historian of the miserable colony
of the straits.
The squadron of Cavendish, after passing both the Angosturas, as the Spaniards named the narrowest points of
the straits, anchored first at the island of Santa Magdalena,
where in two hours they killed and salted two pipes full of
penguins; and afterward at San Felipe, the now desolate
station of the Spanish colonists, some of whom the English found still lying in their houses, "where they had died
like dogs." Here they brought on board six pieces of ordnance which the settlers had buried. This place Cavendish
named Port Famine; it was found to be in 530 S. On the
22d a few natives were seen; but the Spaniard, Hernandez, cautioned the English against all intercourse, representing them as a treacherous people,-a character which
European knives and swords seen in their possession,
converted into darts, confirmed; and when they again approached, Cavendish carried his precautions to so extravagant a length as to order a discharge of muskets, by which
many of them were killed, and the rest took to flight, certainly not corrected of their bad propensities by this harsh
discipline. They were represented as cannibals, who had
preyed upon the Spanish colonists, and this excused all
wrong.
For the next three weeks the fleet lay in a sheltered
port, unable to enter the South ea fromr a continuance of
strong westerly wind; but on the 24th February, after a
favourable though a tedious passage, they finally emerged
from the straits. To the south was a fair high cape with
a point of low land adjoining it, —on the other side several
islands with much broken ground around them, at about
six leagues off from the mainland. On the 1st of March
the stormy Spirit of the Straits, which no fleet ever wholly
escaped, overtook Cavendish; and the Hugh Gallant was
separated from the larger vessels, one (f which was found




132 MOCHA —--     TAT  RA.   -BA   OfQUI NUiNTBRO.
so leaky that the crew were completely exhausted in wor
ing the pumps for three days and nights without ceasing.
On the 15th the Hugh Gallant rejoined her consorts at the
Isle of Mocha, on the coast of Chili: they were here taken
for Spaniards, and landing on the main experienced but a
rough reception from the Indians, who bore no good-will to
the natives of Spain. But a similar mistake sometimes
operated to their advantage; and next day, when the captain with a party of seventy men landed at the island of
Santa Maria, they were received as Spaniards, with all
kindness and humility, by the principal people of the
island; and a store of wheat, barley, and potatoes, ready
prepared, and presumed by the voyagers to be a tribute to
the conquerors, was unscrupulously appropriated. To this
the islanders added presents of hogs, dried dogfish, fowls,
and maize, and received in return an entertainment on
board the captain's ship. These Indians are represented
as being in such subjection, that not one of them durst eat
a hen or hog of his own rearing, all being sacred to their
taskmasters, who had, however, made the whole of the
islanders Christians. When they came to understand that
their guests were not Spaniards, it was believed that they
attempted to invite them to an assault upon their enslavers,
but for want of an interpreter their meaning was imper
fectly compehended. The squadron, thus refreshed at the
expense of the Spaniards, sailed on the 18th, but overshot
Valparaiso, at which place they intended to halt. On the
30th they anchored in the Bay of Quintero, seven leagues
to the north of Valparaiso. A herdsman asleep on a hillside awaking, and perceiving three strange ships in the
bay, caught a horse grazing beside him, and fled to spread
the alarm. Cavendish, unable to prevent this untoward
movement, landed with a party of thirty men, and Hernandez, the Spaniard whom he had brought from the straits,
and who made strong protestations of fidelity.  Three
armed horsemen appeared, as if come to reconnoitre. With
these Hernandez conferred, and reported that they agreed
to furnish as much provision as the English required. A
second time the interpreter was despatched to a conference;
but on this occasion, forgetting all his vows of fidelity tG
his benefactors, he leaped up behind one of his countrymen, and they set off at a round gallop, leaving Cavendish




MORRO MORENO.                 133
to execrate Spanish bad faith. The English filled some
of their watercasks, and attempted in vain to obtain a shot
at the wild cattle, which were seen grazing in great herds.
NeXt day a party of from fifty to sixty marched into the
interior in the hope of discovering some Spanish settle.
ment. They did not see one human being, native nor
European, though they travelled till arrested by the moun.
tiins. The country was fruitful and well watered with
rivulets, and abounded in herds of cattle and horses, and
with hares, rabbits, and many kinds of wild-fowl. They
also saw numerous wild dogs. The party did not sleep on
shore. The boats were sent-next day for water, which
was found a quarter of a mile from the beach. While the
seamen were employed in filling the casks, they were
suddenly surprised by a party of 200 horsemen, who came
pouncing down upon them from the heights, and cut off
twelve of the party, some of whom were killed, and the
rest made prisoners. The remainder were rescued by the
soldiers, who ran from the rocks to support their unsuspecting comrades, and killed tvweity-four of the Spaniards.
Notwithstanding this serious misadventure, Cavendish,
keeping strict watch and ward, remained here till the
watering was completed. Of the nine prisoners snatched
off in this affray, it was afterward learned that six were
executed at Santiago as pirates, though they sailed with
the queen's commission, and though the nation to which
they belonged was at open war with Spain.
The discipline which the Spaniards had taught the natives was again found of use to our navigators, who, after
leaving Quintero, came on the 15th to Morro Moreno, or
the Brown Mountain, where the Indians, on their landing,
met them with loads of wood and water, which they had
carried on their backs down the rocks. These slaves of
the Spaniards were found to be a very degraded race,
alnost at the lowest point in the scale of civilization.
Their dwellings consisted of a few Sticks placed across
two stakes stuck in the ground, on which a few boughs
were laid. Skins spread on the floor gave a higher idea
of comfort. Their food consisted of raw putrid fish; yet
their fishing-canoes were constructit with considerable ingenuity. They were made of skins "like bladders." Each
boat consisted of two of these skins, which were inflated
K




134       CAPTURE OF SPANNISH VAtSSRI 
by means of quills, and sewed or laced together with gut,
so as to be perfectly water-tight. In these they fished,
paying large tribute of their spoils to their conquerors.
When any one died, his bows and arrows, canoes, and 1l
his personal property, were buried along with him, as the
English verified by opening a grave.
On the 23d a vessel, with a cargo of Spanish wine, was
captured near Arica, and also a small bark, the crew of
which escaped in their boat. This vessel was permanently
added to the squadron, and named the George. Another
large ship, captured in the road of Arica, proved but a
worthless prize, the cargo having been previously taken
away, and the ship deserted by the crew. A design of
landing and storming the town was abandoned, as, before
the squadron could be mustered, the Spaniards were apprized of their danger, and prepared to stand on the defensive. A third vessel was taken close by the town; and
the English squadron and the batteries even exchanged a
few harmless shots; after which Cavendish, in hopes of
relieving some of the English prisoners made at Quintero,
sent in a flag of truce inviting the Spaniards to redeem
their vessels; but proposals of this nature were, by order
of the viceroy at Lima, in all cases rejected.
On the 25th, while the squadron still rode before'he
town, a vessel from the southward was perceived coming
into the port. Cavendish sent out his pinnace to seize this
bark, while the townspeople endeavoured from the shore
to make the crew sensible of their danger. They under.
stood the signals, and rowed in among the rocks, while a
party of horsemen advanced from the town to protect the,crew and passengers. Among these were several monks,
who had a very narrow escape. The deserted vessel, when
searched, afforded nothing of value; and, burning their
prizes, early on the 26th they bore away northward &rom
Arica. Next day a small vessel, despatched from Santiago
with intelligence to the viceroy that an English squadron,probably Drake himself,-was upon the coast, was captured. Great severity was used to make the crew reveal
the nature of their despatches, which were thrown overboard while the Engli'4 gave chase. They had solemnly
sworn not to tell their errand; but their fidelity was barely
proof against the torture to which Cavendish thought it




PA]TA STORMED.                     135
necessary to subject them to extort their secret. An old
Fleming, whom he threatened to hang. and actually caused
to be hoisted up, stood the test, and chose rather to die
than to perjure himself by betraying his trust.* At last
one bf the Spaniards confessed; and, burning the vessel,
Cavendish carried the crew along with him, as the safest
way to prevent tale-telling. In this vessel was found a
Greek pilot well acquainted with the coast of Chili.
On the 3d May they landed at a small Spanish town,
where they obtained a supply of bread; wine, figs, and fowls.
This cruise was continued for a fortnight, and several
prizes were made, from which needful supplies were obtained; but none that afforded the species of wealth which
the captors valued. On the 20th they landed at Paita, to
the amount of seventy men, took the town, drove out the
inhabitants, and continued the pursuit till they came to
the  plae whither the townspeople had conveyed their
most valuable goods. Here they found 25 pounds of silver,
with other costly commodities. Cavendish, however, expecting an attack, had the prudence not to allow his men
to encumber themselves-with much spoil on their return to
the ships.  The town, which was regularly built and very
clean, consisted of 200 houses. It was burnt to the ground,
with goods to the value of five or six thousand pounds. A
ship in the harbour was also burnt, and the fleet held a
course northward, and anchored at the island of Puna in a
good harbour. A Spanish sloop of 250 tons burthen, which
they found here, was sunk. They landed forthwith at the
dwelling of the cacique, who was found living in a style.of
elegance and even magnificence rarely seen among the
native chiefs.  His house stood near the town, by the
water's edge, and contained many handsome apartments,
* Th:s is sufficiently revolting. The mode of torture employed by
Cavendish was somewhat similar to what in Scotland was called the
thumbikins. He caused the prisoners "to be tormented with their
thumbs in a winch, and to continue them at several times with extreme
pain.".In palliation of the cruelty employed by Cavendish, we nmst
recollect that torture was still sometimes judicially employed in Englaud.
In the letters illustrative of English History, lately published by Mr.
Ellis, there is a copy of a warrant of the maiden queen, which was
found in the handwriting of Lord Burleigh, ordering two servantsof tie
Duke of Norfolk to be threatened with the racli, and failing threats, if
t   still persisted in fidelity to their master, " to find the taste thereof!'




136              CAtQr' oV -PA.
with verandas commanding fine prospects seaward and
landward.  The chief had married a beautiful Spanish
woman, who was regarded as the queen of the island.
She never set her foot upon the grt und, holding it "too
low a thing for her," but was carried abroad on men's
shoulders in a sort of palanquin, with a canopy to shelter
her from the sun and wind, and attended by native ladies
and the principal men of the island. The cacique and his
lady fled on the first approach of the English, carrying with
them  100,000 crowns, which, from the information of a
captive scout, were ascertained to have been in their possession. Induced by the information of the Indian captive, Cavendish landed on the main with an armed party,
intending to surprise the fugitives; but they once more
fled, leaving the meat roasting at their fires, and their
treasures could not be discovered. In a small neighbouring
island the cacique had previously for safety deposited his
most valuable furniture and goods, consisting of hangings
of Cordovan leather, richly painted and gilded, with the
tackling of ships, nails, spikes, &c., of which the English
took a large supply. At Puna sail-cloth of sea-grass was
manufactured for the use of the ships in the South Sea.
The island was about the size of the Isle of Wight, and
contained several towns,-the principal one, near which
was the cacique's palace, consisted of 200 houses, with a
large church.  This the English burnt down, carrying
away the bells.
The Indian chief of Puna had been baptized previous to
his marriage, and the Indians were all obliged to attend
mass. Adjoining the dwelling of the cacique was a fine
garden laid out in the European style, with a fountain. In
it were cotton plants, fig-trees, pomegranates, and many
varieties of herbs and fruits. An orchard, with lemons,
oranges, &c., ornamented the other side of this pleasant
dwelling, the under part of which consisted of a large hall,
in which goods of all kinds were promiscuously stored.
Cattle and poultry were seen in great abundance, with
pigeons, turkeys, and ducks of unusual size. Though the
general both from personal observation and report was aware
that a force was to be sent against him from Guavaquil, he
hauled up his ship to have her bottom cleaned, keeping vigilant watch in the chief's house, where the Englis  had
established their head-quarters.




SKRM^MBI WrXT- rHB SPANUABD.   137
The,hip was again afloat, and the squadron about to sail,
when, by one of those mischances which prove the danger
of indulging for a single moment in false security, the Englsh  suffered a severe loss. On the 2d of June, before
weighing anchor, a party were permitted to btraggle about
the town to amuse themselves and forage for provisions.
Thus scattered, they were suddenly assailed in detached
groups by a hundred armed Spaniards; and of the twenty
thus dispersed seven were killed, three made prisoners, and
two drowned, while eight escaped. Forty-six Spaniards
and Indians fell in this skirmish. Cavendish immediately
landed with an armed band, drove the Spanish soldiers from
the town, and burnt it completely down, together with four
ships then building. He also destroyed the gardens and
orchards. Persisting in maintaining his ground, Cavenlish
next day laid up the other ship to be careened, and ditnot
sail till the 5th, when they went to Rio Dolce, where they
watered. Here they sunk the Hugh Gallant, all the hands
being now required for the other vessels  They also sent
on shore their Indian prisoners, and, without touching at
any other land, held a northerly course for nearly a month.
On the 9th July they captured a new ship of 120 tons,
which, first taking away her ropes and sails, they immediately burnt. In this vessel was'a Frenchman, Michael
Sancius, who gave information of the Manilla ship then expected from the Philippines.  This was a prize worth looking after; and they were so far fortunate as to intercept a
small bark sent to give her warning. On the 27th, by daybreak, they entered the harbour of Guatulco, and burnt the
town, the church, and custom-house, in which was found a
quantity of die-stuffs and cocoas. Some trifling adventures
marked the following day, in which they by mistake oversailed Acapulco. Landing at Puerto de Navidad, they burnt
two ships, each of 200 tons, then on the stocks, and made
prisoner a mulatto who carried letters of advice of their progress along the coast of New Gallicia.  In this manner they
proceeded northward, often lauding small detachments, and
spreading alarm along the shores. On the 8th they came
into the bay of Chaccalla (supposed Composte!la), described
as being 18 leagues from Cape de los Corrientes, and to a.arbour presumed to be that known in modern geography
as San Bias. Next morning an officer with forty men, and




138       PROGRESS OF THE SQ^ADtRON.
Michael Sancius as their conductor, marched two leagues
into the interior, by "a most villarous and desert path
through the woods and wilderness," and caime to a place
where they found three Spanish families, a carpenter of the
same nation, a Portuguese, and a few Indians. Their or.
dinary mode of proceeding on such occasions is told in fev
words:-" We bound them all, and made them to come to
the seaside with us." The general, however, set the women
free; and on their bringing to the ships a supply of pine.
apples, lemons, and oranges, allowed their husbands to depart, as there was nothing to be obtained from them. The
carpenter and the Portuguese were kept, and next day the
fleet sailed. On the 12th September they reached the isle
of St. Andrew, where they laid in a store of wood and of
dried and salted wild-fowl. Seals were also found and iguanas,-a species " of serpent with four feet and a long sharp
tail, strange to them who have not seen them," but which,
nevertheless, made very palatable food to the keen appetites
of seamen. In their frequent exigencies these hardy voyagers never scrupled to act upon the opinion of the old
Symeron chief in the Isthmus of Darien. When Drake,
with the natural disgust of an Englishman, showed some
tokens of aversion to otter's flesh, the Indian is reported to
have thus addressed him:-" Are you a warrior, and in
want, and yet doubt if that be food which hath blood in it T"
On the 24th September they put into the Bay of Mazatlan, and at an island a league to the northward careened
the ships, new-built the pinnace, and by digging deep in the
sands found water, of which they stood much in need; as
without this seasonable supply they must have been compelledl to turn back, and thus might have missed their prey.
The squadron sailed from this island on the night of the
9th October for the Cape of St. Lucas, which was made on
the 14th. Here they lay in wait for the anticipated prize,
cruising about the headland, without going far off, till the
4th of November, on the morning of which day the trumpeter from the masthead descried a sail bearing in for the
cape. Chase was immediately given, and continued for
some hours, when the English came up with the Santa
Anna, gave her a broadside, poured in a volley of musketry,
and prepared to board. The attempt was bravely repelled
by the Spaniards, who courageously repulsed the assailants




CAPTURE OF THE SANTA ANNA.              139
with the loss of two men killed and five wounded. The
most formidable weapons of the Spaniards were stones,
which, from behind their protecting barricades, they hurled
upon the boarders. " But we new-trimmed our sails," says
the early relation, " and fitted every man his furniture, and
gave them a fresh encounter with our great ordnance, and
also with our small shot, raking them through and through
to the killing and wounding of many of their men. Their
captain still, like a valiant man, with his company stood
very stoutly into his close fights, not yielding as yet. Our
general, encouraging his men afresh with the whole voice
of trumpets, gave them the other encounter with our great
ordnance and all our small shot, to the great discouragement
of our enemies, raking them through in divers places, killing and wounding many of their men. They being thus
discouraged and spoiled, and their ship being in hazard of
sinking by reason of the great shot which were made,
whereof some were under water, within five or six hours'
fight sent out a flag of truce and parleyed for mercy, desiring our general to save their lives and to take their goods,
and that they would presently yield. Our general of his
goodness promised them mercy, and called them to strike
their sails, and to hoise out their boat, and come on board;
which news they were full glad to hear of, and presently
struck their sails, hoisted out their boat, and one of their
chief merchants came on board unto our general, and, falling down upon his knees, offered to have kissed our generals feet, and craved mercy. Our general graciously pardoned both him and the rest, upon promise of their true dealing with him and his compagy concerning such riches as
were in the ship; and sent for their captain and pilot, who
at their coming used the like duty and reverence as the former did. The general, out of his great mercy and humanity, promised their lives and good usage."
The Santa Anna was a prize worth the trouble bestowed
in securing her. She was of 700 tons burden, and the property of the King of Spain. Besides a rich cargo of silks,
satins, damasks, wine, preserved fruits, musk, &c., there
were on board 122,000 pesos in gold. The provision made
for the passengers was also of the best kind, and afforded
luxuries to the English ships' companies to which they had
hitherto been strangers. Cavendish carried his prize into




140           FATE  OF THE  PRISONERS.
a bay within Cape St. Lucas, named by the Spaniards
Aguada Segura, or The Safe Watering-place, where he
landed the crew and passengers to the number of a hundred
and ninety persons, among whom were some females.
The captain-general deemed it impolitic to allow these
persons to proceed direct to New Spain, and the place on
which he landed them afforded water, wood, fish, fowl, and
abundance of hares and rabbits. He presented them wilh
part of the ship's stores, with wine, and with the sails of
their dismantled vessel, to construct tents for their shelter.
He also gave the seamen weapons for their defence against
the natives, and planks, of which they might build a bark to
convey the whole party to the settlements.
Among the passengers by the Santa Anna were two lads,
natives of Japan, who could both read and write their own
language, and three boys from  Manilla.*  These, with a
Portuguese who had been in Canton, the Philippines, and
the islands of Japan, Cavendish carried with him, and also
a Spanish pilot.
The division of the spoils occasioned great discontent,
particularly among the crew of the vice-admiral's ship, who
imagined that Cavendish favoured the company of the Desire. But the dissatisfaction was apparently suppressed,
and by the 17th November, "the queen's day," all business
being completed, a few hours were devoted by the loyal
English to gayety and festivity; and a discharge of the
great guns and a display of fireworks proclaimed to these
lonely shores the glory of Elizabeth of England. As the
completion of their rejoicing, the Santaenna, with all of her
goods that could not be stowed into the English ships, was
set on fire, and left burningS and firing a parting salute to
the desertedt Spaniards, the Desire and the Content bore
* An Indian boy as a page was at that period a mark of almost regal
splendour. The youngest of these boys, a child about ten, was on the
return of the expedition presented to the Countess of Essex as an
attendant.
t The fate of the Spaniards left on this part of California affbrds a remarkable instance of the kindness of Providence. The same place had
formerly been abandoned by. a colony planted by Cortes, from the settlers
not being able to obtain sustenance; and the persons now left were
even more helpless than the first colonists. Though the coast was nei
ther steril nor yet ungenial in climate, many of them must have perished
before they could have been able to build a vessel large enough to carn
~'i hundred persons to Acapulco. Their mode of deliverance was sin




caOlr ^ACROSSO   TME, PClFC*-C.              141.
away for England, which, before they could again arrive at,
so much of the circumference of the globe must be traversed.  Before coming to St. Lucas, the George, the Span.
ish prize, had been abandoned; and now, in coming out of
the bay, the Content lagged astern, and was never again
seen by her consort.*
The Desire, thus left alone, as the Golden Hind had been
before her, holding her solitary course across the Pacific,t
on the 3d January, 1588, came in sight of Guahan, one of
the Ladrones.  For forty-five days the English had enjoyed
fair winds, and had sailed a distance roughly estimated at
between seventeen and eighteen hundred leagues. When
within five or six miles of Guahan, fifty or more canoes full
of people came off to meet the ship, bringing the commodi.
ties with which they were now in the habit of supplying the
Spaniards, namely, fish, potatoes, plantains, and cocoas,
which were exchanged for pieces of iron. This traffic was
plied so eagerly that it became troublesome; and Cavendish, who was never distinguished for patience or forbearance, with five of his men, fired to drive the natives back
from the ship.  They dived so nimbly to evade the shot,
that it could not be ascertained what execution was done.
The people here were of tawny complexion, corpulent, and
of taller stature than ordinary-sized Englishmen.  Their
gular. The English left the Santa Anna burnt down to the water's
edge, and still in flames when they sailed. In, a short time the fire freed
her from her anchors, and the flood-tide drifted her still burning into the
bay, where the Spaniards were able to extinguish the conflagration just
in time to save so much of the hull of this large ship as with slight refitting proved an ark for their deliverance.
* No trace of this ship remains in any contemporary relation so far as
we have seen. It is imagined that the company, who were dissatisfied
with Cavendish, might have resolved to desert him and return by the
straits, and that they might have perished in the attempt. Another and
equally probable conjecture was, that they had attempted the north-west
passage. This at least, as we afterward incidentally learn, seems to
have been the opinion of the Spanish pilot, who was compelled to return
to the Indies in the Desire.
t In the library of the Middle Temple there is, or lately was, a globe,
constructed in 1603, at the cost of William Sanderson, in which the
course of Cavendish across the Pacific is laid down. It is to be recollected that he now had on board a Spanish pilot accustomed to make the
voyage between Acapulco and the Philippines, touching at the Ladrones,
where water and refreshments were found. The course described on
this globe is from Pape St. I.ceas S. W. till the latitude is decreased to
between 120 and 13C  N.; aftPr whichi the course is due west to the Lairones.




142    ATHE WEALTSH OrP -AMLLA
hair was long, but some wore it tied up in one or two knc(.
on the crown of the head. The construction of their canogreatly excited the admiration of the English seamen,
formed, as they were, without any "edge-tool."  These
canoes were froi six to seven yards in length, but very
narrow, and moulded in the same way at prow and stern.
They had square and triangular sails of cloth made of bulrushes, and were ornamented with head figures carved in
wood, " like unto images of the Devil." They appeared in
the canoes entirelypaked, and were dexterous divert and
excellent swimmers.
On the 14th January the Desire made Cape Spirito Santo,
the first point of the Philippines which was seen; and on
the same night entered the strait now named the Strait of
San Bernardino. Next morning they came to anchor in t
fine bay and safe harbour in the island then named Capul
Though the Spanish settlement at Manilla was still cor
paratively recent, it had risen and flourished so rapidly that
it was already become a place of great wealth and commercial importance. Besides the annual fleet to New Spain, it
possessed a very considerable trade with China and the Indian islands in the most valuable commodities. The people
with whoih Manilla enjoyed this trade, and particularly a
people they name the Sanguelos, are described by the voyagers as " of great genius and invention in handicrafts and
sciences; every one so expert, perfect, and skilful in his
faculty, as few or no Christians are able to go beyond them
in that they take in hand. For drawing and embroidery
upon satin, silk, or lawn, either beast, fowl, fish, or worm;
for liveliness and perfectness, both in silk, silver, gold, and
pearl, they excel."
As soon as the Desire came to anchor off Capul, one of
the chiefs, of whom there were seven in the island, came
on board, presuming the ship to be Spanish. His people
brought a supply of potatoes, which they called camotaes,
and green cocoas. The rate of exchange, or the prices,
would now be thought high. A yard of linen was given
for four cocoas, and the same quantity for about a quart
of potatoes. These roots were thought good either boiled
or roas'ed, and were much relished by the crew. The
cacique was "carved" (tattooed) in various streaks and
devices. He was requested to remain on board, and a




PLOT OF THE SPANISH'PIOT.             14[
message of invitation being sent to the other chiefs, they
also repaired to the ship, bringing hogs and hens to exchange. The rate which was uniform was, for a hog eight
ryals of plate, and for a fowl one. This trade went on
all day, and the ship, after her long run, was well supplied
with refreshments. On the same night a fortunate discovery was made by the Portuguese taken out of the
Santa Anna on account of his knowledge of the Philippines, and of China. The Spanish pilot had, it appeared,
prepared a letter, which he hoped secretly to convey to the
governor at Manilla, informing him of the English ship,
which it would not be difficult to sunrise and overpower.
If this vessel was allowed to escape with impunity, he
pointed out that the settlement might next year be taken
by those who had now the audacity with so small a force
to approach its vicinity. He described in what manner the
English ship might be taken where she now rode. This
crime, or act of patriotism, was clearly brought home to
the pilot, who was next morning hanged for doing lis
duty to his native country and sovereign.
Cavendish remained here nine days for the refreshment
of the ship's company, and to obtain a store of provisions.
Some singular customs are ascribed to the natives of
Capul. They practised circumcision. By an opinion,
not rare " of the heathen" in those days, nor yet altogether
exploded among persons better instructed than the early
navigators, the islanders are alleged to have " wholly worshipped the Devil, and oftentimes to lhve conference with
him, who appeareth unto them in a most ugly, monstrous
shape."  On the 23d January the captain-general caused
the seven chiefs of this island, "and of a hundred islands
more," to appear before him, and pay him tribute in hogs,
poultry, cocoas, and potatoes; at which ceremony he informed.them of his country, spread the banner of England
from his masthead, and sounded the drums and trumpets.
Due homage and submission were made to the representative of England, and the enemy of Spain; and this being
all that was required, the value of the tribute was paid
back to the natives in money. The Indians, at parting,
promised to assist the English in conquering the Spaniards
at any future time; and, to amuse their new friends,
showed feats of swift rowing round the ship The general




Il"          SKaRMIH —JAVA.  MAJOR.
fired off a piece of ordnance as a farewell, and the new
tributaries went away contented and pleased. The "hundred islands more" look like a flourish of the narrator,
thickly as islands are clustered together at this place.
Next day they ran along the coast of Manilla, and on the
28th chased a frigate, which escaped into some inlet.
Chase was given by the boat in those places which
were so shallow that the ship could not approach. The
crew was afterward shot at by a party of Spanish soldiers
from the shore; and a frigate was manned by theni and
sent in pursuit, which chased the English boat till within
reach of the guns of the Desire.  The boat's crew had
previously made a Spaniard prisoner, whom they found in
a canoe from which the natives escaped; and next day
Cavendish sent a message by him to the captain of the
Spanish party, who at different stations kept watch along
the coast, desirirg that officer to provide a good store of
gold, as he intended to visit him at Manilla in a few years,
and, if his boat had been larger, would have visited him
then.
About the middle of February Mr. Cavendish passed
near the Moluccas, but did not touch at these islands.
Fever now visited the ship's company, which had hitherto
been very healthy; but only two of the men died, and one
of these had long been sick, so that his death could not be
attributed to the climate and the excessive heat which occasioned the illness of the others. On the 1st of March the
Desire passed through the straits at the west end of Java
Minor, and on the 5th anchored in a bav at the west end*
of Java Major. A negro found in the Santa Anna was
able to converse with some natives who were here found
fishing. Through this interpreter, who spoke the Morisco
or Arabic language, they were informed that provisions
might be obtained; and in a few days afterward two or
three canoes arrived laden with fowls, eggs, fresh fish,
oranges, and limes. That the ship might be more conveniently victualled they stood in nearer the town, and
were visited by the king's secretary, who brought the
general a present, including, among other things, "wine
* There appears to be some difference of opinion as to the point at
which the ship now anchored




CUrroMx  OF JAVA.                145
auistrong as aquavite, and as clear as rock-water."*  This
distinguished official, who promised that the ship should
be supplied in four days, was treated with all the magnifieence that Cavendish could command. The wines and
preserves of the Spanish prize were produced for his entertainment; and the English musicians exerted their skill.
The secretary, who remained on board all night, saw the
watch set and the guns fired off, and was informed that
the ship's company were Englishmen, natives of a country
which already traded with China,t and that they were
come hither for discovery and traffic. The Portuguese
had already established a factory on the island, where they
traded in cloves, pepper, sugar, slaves, and other merchandise of the East. Two of these Portuguese merchants
afterward visited the ship, eager to obtain news of theit
country and of Don Antonio their prince. They were informed that he was then in England, honourably entertained by the queen; and were delighted to hear of the
havoc Cavendish had made among the Spanish shipping
in the South Sea, as he told them that he was " warring
upon them (the Spaniards) under the King of Portugal.
The Europeans who met on this distant coast were mutually delighted with their short intercourse. Cavendish
banqueted the Portuguese merchants, and entertained
them  with music as well as with political intelligence;
and to him they described the riches of Java, and the most
remarkable customs observed by the natives. The reigning king or rajah was named Bolamboam, and was reported to Le one hundred and fifty years of age. He was
held irn great veneration by his subjects, none of whom
durst trade with.any nation without his license under pain
of death. The old king had a hundred wives; and his
son fifty. In Bolamboam the old voyagers give a perfect
picture of an absolute prince. The Javans paid him unlimited obedience. Whatever he commanded, be the undertaking ever so dangerous or desperate, no one durst
shrink from executing it; and their heads were the forfeit
of their failure. They were "the bravest race in the
* This we imagined arrack; but in the wargin of an old voyage Vs
find it called niper-wine.
t No  Muse is offered for this pious fraud.
N




14R          ISLAND OF ST. HILENiA
south-eastern parts of the globe, never fearing death."
The men were naked, and dark in colo'ir; but the women
we-o partly clothed, and  in complexion much fairer.
WlIen the king died his body was burned, and the ashes
were preserved. Five days afterward his queen, or princip'l wife, threw  a ball from her with which she was
provided, and wherever it ran thither all the wives repaired.
Each turned her face eastward,-and, with a dagger as
sharp as a razor, stabbed herself to the heart, and, bathed
in her own blood, fell upon her face, and thus died.
" This thing," we are assured, "is as true as it may seem
to any hearer to be strange."  The Portuguese factors,
before parting with Cavendish, proposed that their acknowledged king, Don Antonio, should come out, and here
found an empire, which should comprehend the Moluccas,
Ceylon, China, and the, Philippines. They were assured
that all the natives of these countries would declare for
him. A kind reception was also promised. to the English
at their return; and Cavendish, having fully satisfied
them for the supplies furnished to his ship, fired a parting
salute of three guns, and on the 16th March sailed for the
Cape of Good Hope.
The rest of this month and the month of April were
spent " in traversing that mighty and vast sea between
he island of Java and the main of Africa, observing the
heavens, the Crosiers or South Pole, the other stars, and
the fowls, which are marks unto seamen; fair weather,
foul weather, approaching of lands or islands, the winds,
tempests, the rains and thunders, with the alteration of the
tides and currents."  On the 10th of May a storm. arose,
and they were afterward becalmed; and, in the thick hazy
weather.of the calm, mistook Cape False for the Cape of
Good Hope, which they passed on the 16th, having run
1850 leagues in nine weeks.
On the 8th June the island of St. Helena was seen, and
on the 9th they anchored in the harbour. The description
of this station, so important to navigators, would apply
with perfect'accuracy even at this day, so far as regard*
external appearance or the natural productions of that delicious resting-place, of which at that time the Portuguese
still enjoyed sole possession. They had now       thi




RETURN TO PLYMOUTH.                 147
fsland for upwards of eighty years; and, though it had
never been regularly colonized, they had done much to
store it with every thing necessary to the refreshment of
seamen on a long voyage. Already it abounded in all
sorts of herbs, and in delicious fruits. Partridges, pheasants, turkeys, goats, and wild hogs were also obtained in
abundance.
At St. Helena Cavendish remained till the 20th, cleaning the ship, and obtaining refreshments, when the Desire
once more got under way for England. About the end
of August they passed the Azores, and on the 3d Sep.
tember met a Flemish hulk from Lisbon, which informed
them of the defeat of the Spanish Armada, to their " great
rejoicing."  In the channel they were overtaken by the
same terrible tempest that made such havoc among the
Spanish ships which were driven round the coast of Ireland and to the north of Scotland; but were so fortunate
as to complete the third circumnavigation of the globe at
Plymouth on the 9th September, 1588,-two years and
fifty days from the time they had left the same harbou;
and in a considerably shorter time than either Drake or
Magellan had made the same voyage.
Very copious nautical notes and remarks on this voyage
were published by Mr. Thomas Fuller of Ipswich, the sailing-master of the Desire. They must have been of great
value at the time, but have been superseded by more
modern charts, in forming which, though the observations
may not be more accurate, the navigators have had tadvantage of more perfect instruments. The only geographical discovery made by Cavendish in this navigation
was Port Desire, on the Patagonian coast, the landmarks
of which Fuller has accurately described, though it has frequently been made the subject of dispute among modern
voyagers.
The fame of the exploits of Cavendish, and of. the great
wealth which he had brought home, " enough to buy a fair
earldom," almost rivalled the accounts of Drake's wonder-.
fal voyage. Among other rumours it was said, that when
he entered the harbour of Plymouth his sails were all of
silk. In the tempest which overtook them in the channel
the sails were lost and it is probable that Cavendish




148  CAVND1'b S   ACOmWT ac   TF': VOYAGE.
might have been compelled to employ some of his icb
Indian damasks in the homely office of rigging his vessei
though it is conjectured, with more feasibility, that his new
suit of sails were canvass fabricated of the silk-grass used
in the South Seas, which, being very lustrous, might easily
be mistaken for silk.
The earliest leisure of Cavendish was employed in writ
ing to his patron, Lord Hunsdon, giving an account of his
prosperous expedition.  Whatever blame may in  a more
enlightened age be imputed to this navigator for the wanton
outrages committed on the Spanish settlements and on the
subjects of Spain, he appears to have thought himself entitled to credit for their performance. Instead, therefore,
of trying to conceal these deeds, in setting forth his ser
vices for her majesty, he makes them  his boast; and
doubtless they were highly esteemed.*  No better recapitulation of the events of this celebrated voyage can be
found than that contained in his letter to Lord Funsdon,
an extract of which may form an appropriate conclusion
to this chapter.  " It hath pleased Almighty God," says
the writer, " to suffer me to circumpass the whole globe of
the world, entering in at the Strait of Magellan, and returning by the Cape de Buena Esperanga; in which voyage I
have either discovered or brought certain intelligence of all
the rich places of the world which were ever discovered by
any Christian. I navigated along the coast of Chili, Peru,
and New Spain, where I made great spoils.'I burnt and
sunk nineteen sails of ships small and great.  All the
villages and towns that ever I landed at I burned and
spoiled. And had I not been discovered upon the coast, I
had taken great quantity of treasure.  The matter of most
profit unto me was a great ship of the king's which I took
at California; which ship came from  the Philippines,'
being one of the richest of merchandise that ever passed
*We have seen one account which states that Cavendish was
knighted on his return, but it does not seem authentic.
I It is not easy to discover where Cavendish obtained this boasted
nformation, and the map of China which he brought home; and probably this might be from various sources,-from the Portuguese found in
the Acapulco ship, who had been in Cauton,-from the natives of the
Island he names Capul,-and, above all, from the Portuguese factors in
JaWv,




SECOiM  EXPEDITION TO'T R. SO            h tEA. 149
those seas...... From  the Cape oi Califvnrla, being the
uttermost part of all New  Spain, I navigated  to the
islands of the Philippines, hard upon the rnas+ of China, of
which country I have brought such intelligence as hath
not been heard of in these parts: the stateliness and riches
of which I fear to make report of, lest I should not be
credited......I found out by the way homeward the
island of Santa Helena, where the Portuguese used to re.
lieve themselves; and from that island God hath suffered
me to return into England.  All which services, with myself, I humbly prostrate at her majesty's feet, desiring the
Almighty long to continue her reign among us; for at this
day she is the most famous and victorious princess that livetk
in the world."
CHAPTER VI.
Second Voyage to the South Sea.
Nrew Expedition to the South en —Attack on the Portuguese Settle
mnnts-D-elay of the Sqiiadrn-Letter of Cavellli: —Relation by
Jale —Sufferings in Ma-ellal's Straits —8eli, ariion of Davis-Dvia'
Southern [Islatds-Piety'f the Cal tainl-Nayivs  f Port De.ir-..
Nlie Men hst-Hlomeward Voya.e of Davi. —   dreentirres of Cavenr
dik-He lorse twentv-four Mei —Utlfoitunate Affair at Ppirig, Saitta
-Fury atd Indlignlation oi' Cavendisl —SeparatiOl of the Rot-bllkDicontient of the Crew-Firlliness of the Colmnander-They miss
St. Helenea-Death of Cavendisll-His Character.
THE second and final expedition of Cavendish to the
South Seas was as remarkable for ill fortune as his first
voyage had been distinguished by uninterrupted prosperity
This fortunate voyage, however, which gave such strong
confirmation to the hopes excited by the adventure of Drake,
encouraged many to a similar attempt, and during the two
years following his return several expeditions were fitted
out from England, though none of them proved successful.
In three years after his return, Cavendish, having, according to some accounts, spent the greater part of the riches
he had acquired in the South So e planned an expedition
L




t4)   STREN4ITI- eor.-BI Q: RUABRIO - -.SANTO'
for China, by Magellan's Straits, and upon an extensive
scale.  It is asserted, with as much probability, that hm
wealth was laid out in equipping the new squadron, with
which he put to sea on the 26th August, 1591. It consisted of "' three tall ships" and two barks. As admiral of:
the fleet Cavenldish sailed in the Leicester galleon; and
his old ship, the Desire, was commanded by the celebrated
pilot, navigator, and fortunate discoverer, Captain John
Davis.*  The Roebuck, commanded by Mr. Cook, the
Black Pinnace, and a small bark named the Dainty, which
belonged to Mr. Adrian Gilbert, a gentleman of Devon.
shire, who had been among the promoters of the discovery
of the North-west Passage, completed the fleet. The two
Japanese youths captured in the Acapulco ship on the
former voyage accompanied Cavendish in this.
Under the equinoctial line they were becalmed for twentyseven days, burning beneath a hot sun, and exposed to the
deadly night vapours, which threw many of the men into
the scurvy. Their first capture was a Portuguese vessel,
on the 2d December, off the coast of Brazil. It was laden
with sugar, small wares, and slaves.
On the 5th they pillaged Placenzia, a small Portuguese
settlement; and on the 16th surprised the town of Santos,
where the inhanitants were at mass when the party landed.
Though Cavendish, both from principle and from natural
disposition, never lost an opportunity of spoiling the enemy,
the object of this attack was to obtain provisions; but this
design, from the negligence of the captain of the Roebuck,
wvas completely frustrated.  The Indians carried every
thing away; and next day the prisoners in the church wer
either set free or contrived to escape, four old men being
retained as hostages till the supplies came in. They never
appeared; and the consequence of mismanagement and
delay was, that in lying five weeks before this place the
provisions were wasted which should have sustained them
in passing the straits, and the voyage was delayed, by this
and other causes, till they found themselves, in the begin
ning.of the southern winter, distant from the straits, ann
short of stores.
* See Discovery and Adventure in the Puolr Ses aJ BegeiUD
nWlily.Lra,ry, No. XVI.




WOU2NIR5i A G AU
On the 22d January they left Santos, burnt St. Vincent
in the 23d, and next day bore for the Straits of Magellan;
Port Desire, which Cavendish had discovered on his former
voyage, being appointed as a rendezvous in case of separation. On the 7th February the fleet was overtaken by a
violent gale, and next day they were separated. Davis, in
the Desire, made for the appointed harbour, and in the
way fell in with the Roebuck, which had suffered dreadfully. On the 6th March these two ships reached Port
Desire together, and in ten days afterward were joined by
the Black Pinnace. The Dainty, the volunteer bark, returned to England, having stored herself with sugar at
Santos while the other ships lay idle; her captain Wvas in
the mean while on board the Roebuck, and was left without
any thing save the clothes which he wore.
In the gale, which scarcely abated from the 7th February to the middle of March, Cavendish suffered severely,
and his officers and men had shown a disposition to mutiny;
so that, on rejoining the other ships on the 18th, he left
the Leicester galleon in displeasure, and remained in the
Desire, with Captain Davis. Cavendish did not at this
time complain more bitterly of the gentlemen of his own
ship than he afterward violently accused Davis of having
betrayed and abandoned him. His subsequent misfortunes
affected his temper, and, it may be presumed, perverted his
sense of justice. Though his company had not recovered
the excessive fatigue and exhaustion caused by the late
continued tempest, the galleon sailed with the fleet on the
20th, and after enduring fresh storms, all the ships made
the straits on the 8th April, and on the 14th passed in. In
two days they had beat inward only ten leagues.
An account is given in Purchas's Pilgrims of this most
disastrous voyage, drawn up at sea by Cavendish, in his
last illness. It is addressed to Sir Tristram Gorges, whom
the unfortunate navigator appointed his executor, and is one
of the most affecting narratives that ever was written,-the
confession, wrung in bitterness of heart, from  a high
spirited, proud, and headstrong man, who, having set his all
upon a cast, and finding himself undone, endured the
deeper mortification of believing he had been the dupe of
those he implicitly trusted. Though we cannot admit the
force of many of his allegations, nor the justice of his un



152             LETTER OF CAVENDISH.
measured invective, it is impossible to withhold sympathy
from  his extreme distress.  " We had been almost four
months," says this melancholy relation, " between the coast
of Brazil and the straits, being in distance not above 600
leagues; which is commonly run in twenty or thirty days;
but such was the adverseness of our fortune, that in coming
thither we spent the summer, and found the straits, in the
beginning of a most extreme winter, not durable for Christians.....  After the month of May was come in, nothing but such flights of snow, and extremity of frosts, as
in all my life I never saw any to be compared with them.
This extremity caused the weak men (in my ship only) to
decay; for, in seven or eight days, in this extremity, there
died forty men and sickened seventy, so that there were not
fifteen men able to stand upon the hatches." Another relation of the voyage written by Mr. John Jane, a friend of
Captain Davis, even deepens this picture of distress. The
squadron, beating for above a week against the wind into
the straits, and in all that time advancing only fifty leagues,
now lay in a sheltered cove on the south side of the passage, and nearly opposite Cape Froward, where they remained till the 15th May, a period of extreme suffering.
"In this time," says Jane, " we endured extreme storms
with perpetual snow, where many of our men  died of
cursed famine and miserable cold,* not having wherewith
* Purchas's Pilgrims comprehends "The admirable and strange
adventures of MasterAnthony Knyvet, who went with Master Caven.
dish in his second voyage," which for marvels, if not for invention and
imagination, may rival the adventures of Sinbad the Sailor. Knyvet
wandered from the ship on the coast of Brazil, and was for many years
among the "Cannibals."  Many is the wonderful escape from death
which he makes. In the straits, pulling off his stockings one night, all
his toes came with then; but this is not so bad as the fortune of one
Harris, who, blowing his nose with his fingers, throws it into the fire,
and never recovers it again, as Knyvet seems to have done his toes by
the good offices of a surgeon whom Cavendish employed, and who cured
with muttering words. In the straits he saw both giants and pigmies.
The footmarks of the giants at Port Desire were four times the length
of an Englishman's foot. In the straits their stature was fifteen and six
teen spans long; and at Port Famine, or San Felipe, the desolate station
of the Spanish colony, four or five thousand pigmies, with n:ouths
reaching from ear to ear, were seen at one time, whose height was from
four to five spans. Some of Knyvet's marvels relate to the singular
subject of demoniac possession and satanic influence among the tribes
with whom he sojourned. These accounts, and others of the elder voygers, are not materially different from those which we receive of t




SEPARATION OF THE FLEET.                153
to cover their bodies, nor to fill their belly, but living by
muscles, water, and weeds of the sea, with a small relief
from the ship's stores of meal sometimes."  Nor was this
the worst; " All the sick men in the galleon were most uncharitably put on shore into the woods, in the snow, wind,
and cold, when men of good health could scarcely endure it,
where they ended their lives in the highest degree of
misery."  Though Cavendish was still on board the Desire,
it is impossible to free him of the blame of this inhuman
abandonment of the sick. A consultation was now held, at
which Davis, who had had great experience of the severities
of the seasons in the north-west voyages, declared for pushing forward, as the weather must speedily improve; while
Cavendish preferred the attempt of reaching China by
doubling the Cape of Good Hope.  For this voyage, however, the other commanders thought there were neither provisions nor equipments. At length, on a petition by the
whole company being presented to Cavendish, he agreed to
return to the coast of Brazil for supplies, and, thus furnished, again to attempt the straits.
On the 15th May they accordingly sailed eastward, and
on the midnight of the 20th, Davis in the Desire, and the
Black Pinnace, were separated from the galleon, to which
Cavendish had now returned.  They never met again, and
Cavendish, to the last moment of his unhappy life, accused
Davis of having wilfully abandoned him. This treacherous desertion, if such it was, —and by the friends of Davis
it is strenuously denied,-took place in the latitude of Port
Desire, for which harbour Davis stood in, and also the
Black Pinnace, expecting, as they at least pretended, to
find the general.  Here they took in water, and obtained at
ebb-tide muscles, and with hooks made of pins caught
smelts, and thus spared their slender stock of provisions.
An effort made by Davis to go in search of the captaingeneral in the pinnace was overruled, it is alleged, by the
ship's company, who would not permit its departure. They
South Sea islanders at the present timeand which we are assured by
Ellis some ot the early missionaries were disposed to believe. On his
return to England, Master Knyvet told Purchas, that he once heard an
Indian conferring with the Spirit which possessed him, and threaten'ing
that, if it did not use him better, he would turn Christian; the Spirit toob
the hint and left him.




154         DAVISIS SOUTHERN ISIsANDS,
are even charged with open mutiny, and two ringleaders
are named.
To clear himself of all suspicion, Davis, on the 2d June,
drew up a relation of the voyage, of the separation, and of
the state of the two ships lying here, which all the men subscribed. It certainly goes far to exonerate him. They
remained in Port Desire till the 6th August, keeping watch
on the hills for the galleon and the Roebuck; one part of
the company foraging for provisions of any kind that could
be obtained, while others made nails, bolts, and ropes from
an old cable, and thus supplied their wants in the best manner they could devise. There are, however, surmises, that
all this labour was undertaken that Davis might be able to
accomplish his great object of passing the straits, whatever
became of the general, and whatever might have been his
wishes or orders. After this refitting was accomplished, it
was accordingly resolved to await the coming of Cavendish
in the straits, for which, having at Penguin Isle salted
twenty hogsheads of seals, they sailed on the night of the
7th August, " the poorest wretches that ever were created."
Several times they obtained a sight of the South Sea,
and were driven back into the straits. While tossed about,
they were on the 14th driven in "among certain islands
never before discovered by any known relation, lying fifty
leagues or better off the shore, east and northerly from the
straits." These were the Falkland Islands, of which Captain Davis certainly has the honour of being the original
discoverer, as he had already been of the straits which still
go by his name, and of other ports in the north seas.
This discovery was shortly afterward claimed by Sir Richard Hawkins, who gave these islands the name of Hawkins's
Maiden Land, " for that it was discovered in the reign of
Queen Elizabeth, my sovereign lady, and a maiden queen."
The discovery of these islands has been claimed by the
navigators of other countries, and a variety of names have
teen imposed upon them. Burney christens them  anew
" Davis's Southern Islands," a distinction to which that celeDrated navigator is fully entitled, though it will not be easy
to change a nhme so established as that of the Falkland
Islands. On the 2d October they got into the South Sea
once more, and in the same night encountered a severe gale,
which continued with unabated violence for many days.




On theo 4th the pmnace was lost: on the 5th the foresail
was split and all torn; "and the mizzen was brought to
the foremast to make our ship work, the storm continuing
beyond all description in fury, with hail, snow, rain, and
wind, such and so mighty as that in nature it could not
possibly be more; the sea such and so lofty with continual
reach, that many times we were doubtful whether our ship
did sink or swim." The relation proceeds thus, with earnest
pathetic simplicity:-" The 10th of October, being, by the
account of our captain and master, very near the shore, the
weather dark, the storm furious, and most of our men having
given over to travail, we yielded ourselves to death without
farther hope of succour. Our captain (Davis) sitting in
the gallery very pensive, I came and.brought him some
Rosa Sotis to comfort him, for he was so cold he was scarce
able to move a joint. After he had drunk, and was comforted in heart, he began for the ease of his conscience to
make a large repetition of his forepassed time, and with
many grievous sighs he concluded -in these words:-' Oh
most glorious God, with whose power the mightiest things
among men are matters of no moment, I most humbly beseech thee, that the intolerable burden of my sins may
through the blood of Jesus Christ be taken from me; and
end our days with speed, or show us some merciful sign of
thy love and our preservation.'*  Having thus ended, he
desired me not to mtke known to the company his intalerable grief and anguish of mind, because they should not
thereby be dismayed; and so, suddenly, before I went from
him, the sun shined clear; so that he and the matter botb
observed the true elevation of the Pole, whereby they knew
by what course to recover the strait." The narrative goes
on to relate a wonderful instance of preservation in doubling a cape at the mouth of the strait on the 11th of October.
They at last put back into the strait in a most pitiable
condition, the men. "with their sinews stiff, their ficsh
dead," and in a state too horrible to be described. They
found shelter and rest in a cove for a few days, but famine
urged them on, and the weather, after a short interval of
calm, became as stormy as before. " The storm growing
* Our readers will remember the admirable use which De Foe bh
made of this sene.




151.          NATIVES oFP: PORT,DESRE.
outrageous; our men could scarcely stand by their labour,
and the straits being full of turning reaches, we were constrained, by the discretion of the captain and master in their
accounts, to guide the ship in the hell-dark night when we
could not see any shore." In this extremity they got back
to Port Desire, and obtained wood and water; and in Penguin Island found abundance of birds. One day, while most
of the men were absent on their several duties, a multitude
of the natives showed themselves, throwing dust upon their
heads, " leaping and running like brute beasts, having
vizards on their faces, like dogs' faces, or else their faces are
dogs' faces indeed..We greatly feared lest they should
set the ship on fire, for they would suddenly make fire,
whereat we much marvelled.*  They camt to windward
of our ship, and set the bushes on fire, so that we were
in a very stinking smoke; but as soon as they came within
reach of our shot we shot at them, and striking one of them
in the thigh they all presently fled, and we never saw them
more."  At this place a party of nine men were killed by
the Indians, or were presumed to be so, as they went on
shore, and were never again heard of. The relation points
out, that " these were the mutineers, and this the place at
which they had formerly devised mischief" against Davis
and his officers.  Here they made salt ly pouring saltwater in the hollows of the rocks, which in six days was
granulated from evaporation by the heft of the sun.  They
found abundance of food, in eggs, penguins, seals, and
young gulls; and with train-oil fried scurvy-grass with
eggs, "which (herb) took away all kinds of swellings,
whereof many had died, and restored us to perfect health
of body, so that we were in as good case as when we lef;
England."-" Thus God did feed us, as it were, with manna
from heaven."
On the 22d December they sailed for Brazil with a stock
of 14,000 dried penguins, of which they had an ample
allowance, though their other provision was scantily dealt
* III New Guinea Captain Cook saw a peculiar mode of " suddenly
making fire," probably, however, very different from this. "Three In.
diais rushed out of a wood with a hideous shout, at about the distance
of 100 yards' and as they ran towards us the foremost threw sometlhing out of his hand, which burnt exactly like gunpowder, hut made
no report. What these fires were we could not inagine."-" We saw
re and smoke resembling those of a musket, and of no longer duration.,




HOMBtWARD VOAGB Oi -BDAVIS              15
out. In the beginning of February, in attempting by violence to obtain some provisions at the Isle of Placenzia, on
Lhe coast of Brazil, thirteen of the men were killed by the
Indians and Portuguese; and of an original company of
seventy only twenty-seven were now left in the Desire.
They were again the sport of baffling winds; the water
ran short, and in the warm latitudes the penguins, their
sole dependence for food, began to corrupt, "and ugly
loathsome worms of an inch long were bred in them.' The
account of this plague is painfully striking.  " This worm
did, so mightily increase and devour our victuals, that
there was in reason no hope how we should avoid famine,
but be devoured of the wicked creatures. There was nothing that they did not devour, iron only excepted,-our
clothes, hats, boots, shirts, and stockings. And for the
ship, they did eat the timbers; so that we greatly feared
they would undo us by eating through the ship's side.
Great was the care and diligence of our captain, master,
and company to consume these vermin; but the more we
laboured to kill them, the more they increased upon us; so
that at last we could not sleep for them, for they would eat
our flesh like mosquitoes." The men now fell into strange
and horrible diseases, and some became raging mad. A supply
if water was, however, obtained from the heavy rains which
fell; and this was the only solace of this most miserable
voyage. Eleven died between the coast of Brazil and Bear
Haven in Ireland; and of the sixteen that survived only
five were able to work the ship. If the design of Davis
had been treacherously to abandon Mr. Cavendish, he was
subjected to speedy and severe retribution.*
To this unfortunate commander we must now return;
and brief space may suffice to relate a series of calamities
which might weary the attention and exhaust the sympathies of even the most compassionate reader.  The conjecture which Cavendish formed of the proceedings of Davis
and the captain of the Black Pinnace was perfectly correct.
He states in his letter that he believed they would return
to Port Desire,-a safe place of anchorage for ships of
* " I," says Purchas, who has manifest doubts about the fidelity o.
Davis to his commander on this voyage, —" if he did deal treacherously,
treachery found him out." After this period Davis made no fewer than
fire voyages to the East Indies, and at last lost his life in the year 100
in a desperate quarrel with a Japanese.




l1        ADVENTURE8-OF C1 VMNNISaW
small burthem, though not such as he could safely approach,
— and there refresh themselves, lay in a store of seals and;
birds, and seize a favourable serson to pass the straits.
And they did so. In speaking of Davis and of his conduct,
Cavendish exclaims, "And now to come to that villain
that hath been the death of me and the decay of this whole
action,-I mean Davis,-whose only treachery in running
from me hath been utter ruin of all, if any good return by
him, as ever you love me, make such friends as he, least of
all others, may reap least gain. I assure myself you will
be careful in all friendship of my last requests. My debts
which be owing be not much; but I (most unfortunate
villain!) was matched with the most abject-minded and mutinous company that ever was carried out of England by
any man living."-" The short of all is this, —Davis's only
intent was utterly to overthrow me, which he hath well
performed."
After the Desire and the Black Pinnace separated from
the fleet, the Leicester galleon and Roebuck shaped their
course for Brazil, keeping sightof each other. In 360 S.
they encountered a dreadful storm, and were parted. For
some time the galleon lay at anchor in the Bay of St. Vincenrt's; and while here a party, almost in open defiance of
the orders of Cavendish, landed to forage for provisions,
and plunder' the houses of the Portuguese farmers on the
coast.   They were wholly cut off, to the number qf
twenty-four men and an officer; and the only boat which
Cavendish had now left was thus lost.
The Roebuck about this time returned without masts or
sails, and " in the most miserable case ever ship was in."
The captain-general felt the want of the boats and pinnace
doubly severe, from being unable in the larger ships to enter
the harbours, which were often barred, to be revenged on
the " base dogs" who had killed his men. At some risk he
made an attempt to go up the river before the town, that he
might have the gratification of razing it; but was compelled
by his company to desist from an attempt which " was both
desperate and most dangerous."  With some difficulty they
got back into deep water, and with the boat of the Roebuck
and a crazy boat seized from the Portuguese a party landed,
which destroyed a fvw ( f the farm-houses, and got some
provisions.  It was now the intention af Cavendish to




TTNFORrUNATE APFfIr  AT SPIRITO SANTO.  159
break up the Roebuck,;nd with the Leicester galleon, as
Davis never appeared, return to the straits alone. But of
this purpose he did not venture to inform his company,
lest they might have broken out into open mutin. So
great was their horror of returning, " that all of the better
sort," he says, "had taken an oath upon the Bible to die
rather than go back." St. Helena was therefore the point
now talked of; and in the mean while an attempt wasmader
to seize three Portuguese ships in the harbour of Spirito
Santo. The plan of attack was unsuccessful  Of eighty
armed men who left the ship on this ill-starred expedition
about thirty-eight were killed and forty wounded. Among
the killed was Captain Morgan, an officer whom Cavendish
highly esteemed, who in this expedition was taunted into
the commission of acts of foolhardy daring by the insulting speeches of those whom he led; a weakness which,
despite of their better judgment, has often proved fatal to
brave men, as well as to the rash persons themselves whose
ignorance and vanity tempt them to become the critics and
censors of enterprises of which they cannot comprehend the
danger. Inability to endure the imputation of cowardice is
indeed one of the most lamentable infirmities of noble minds.
On the present occasion some of the seamen swore, " that
they never thought other than that Morgan was a coward
that durst not land upon a bauble ditch;" upon which,
wilfully running upon what he saw to be certain destruction, he declared that he would land happen what would,
and though against the counsel of his commander who remained in the ship. The consequences have been told.
One circumstance strongly moved the generous indignation of Cavendish. A party with the great boat called to
another, which were attempting to storm a fort, to come
and help them to hasten off, as they were exposed to a galling fire. The numbers that rushed into the boat ran her
aground, and ten men were obliged to leave her, who, to save
themselves from the Indian arrows which flew thick, again
ran in under the fort, and poured in a volley of musketry.
Meanwhile the boat was got afloat, " and one that w^ Wnai -
ter of the Koebuck (the most cowardly villain tl   ver
was born of a woman!) caused them in the boat    row
away, and so left those brave men a spoil for the Portu.
gals. Yet they waded up to their necks in the water to




C16O       BSLA"  OF St. SEBASTA-B.
them; but those merciless villains in the boat would have
no pity on them. Their excuse was, that the boat wai
so full of water that had they come in she would have sunk
with them all in her. Thus vilely were those poor men lost.'"
By the fatal adventure which he has thus narrated Cavendish, already in want of every necessary, was left with
hardly as many efficient men as could raise the anchor.
To add to his already accumulated misfortunes the Roebuck
forsook him, the company of that ship being resolved to
return home; and, though the wounded lay in his vessel,
they carried off the two surgeons and a great part of the
common stores. In these distressing circumstances he got
to the small uninhabited island of St. Sebastian, where he
mended the old boats, and obtained a seasonable supply of
water, of which they were in great want. Again Cavendish spoke of returning to the straits, and used all the arts
of persuasion with his company, but in vain  He showed&
them that they could " relieve themselves by salting seals
and birds, &c.; and further, should they get through the
strait (which they might easily perform, considering they
had the chiefest part of the summer before them), they
could not but make a most rich voyage; and that we should
be the most infamous in the world, being within 600 leagues
of the place where we so much desired,-to return home
again so far being most infamous and beggarly. These
persuasions," continues Cavendish, "took no place with
them; but most boldly they all affirmed that they had
sworn they would never again go to the straits; neither by
no means would they. And one of the chiefest of this
faction most proudly and stubbornly uttered these words
to my face, in presence of all the rest; which I seeing, and
finding mine own faction to be so weak (for there were not
any favoured my side but my poor cousin Locke, and the
master of the ship), I took this bold companion by the bosom, and with mine own hands put a rope about his neck,
meaning resolutely to strangle him, for weapon about me
I had none. His companions, seeing one of their chief
chiaons in this case, and perceiving me go roundly to
w   pWith him, they all came to the master and desired
him t speak, affirming, they would all be ready to take any
course I thought good of; so I, hearing this, stayed myself
and let the fellow go."




ATTEM1PT  tn- RlACtU fi  t;ElENA,       16t
Having now boldly avowed his intention of returning to
the straits, Cavendish landed on the island with a party of
his soldiers and the carpenters, to new-build the boat, whil
the sailors on board mended and patched up the rigging
and tackle of the ship. But he still suspected his men of
treachery, and of the intention of deserting, and was in
constant anxiety to get them once more on board, that the
ship might depart for the straits. Before this could be
accomplished, Cavendish, whom Fortune never wearied of
persecuting, sustained another severe mischance.  The
wounded men were on shore on the island, which lay about
a mile from the mainland, from whence the Portuguese
watched all the proceedings of the ship's company during
the building of the boat. Before all the wood and water
were got in, and while some soldiers and seamen were still
on the island, an Irishman, " a noble villain," contrived to
go over to the continent upon a raft, and betray his defenceless comrades to the Portuguese. This was done in
the night-time; and besides those employed on the island
and the sick, there chanced to be several men ashore, who
frequently stole away from the ship at night to enjoy the
freedom of the land. All were indiscriminately butchered.
One of the few remaining sails which lay here was also
seized, and in their distressed circumstances proved another
serious loss. " Thus," says the luckless adventurer, " I was
forced to depart, Fortune never ceasing to lay her greatest
adversities upon me. And now I am grown so weak that
I am scarce able to hold the pen in my hand; wherefore
must leave you to inquire of the rest of our most unhappy
proceedings. But know this, that for the strait I could by
no means get my company to give their consent to go. In
truth, I desired nothing more than to attempt that course,
cathel desiring to die in going forward than basely in re-,urning back again; but God would not suffer me to die
so happy a man." These " unhappy proceedings" to'which
he refers may, so far as they are known, be very briefly
noticed. An attempt was made to reach the island of St.
Helena, for which the company had reluctantly consented
to steer only on Cavendish solemnly declaring that to
England he would never go; and that, if they refused to
take such courses as he intended, the " ship and all should
ink in the seas together."  This for a time made them




1ft           DBATIN 07a-sO.9NXMS
more tractable; bat having beat-to 20~ S. they refuBed
to proceed farther, choosing rather to die where they were
"than be starved in searching for an island which could
never be found again."  They were, however, once more
induced to proceed southward, and in dreadful weather
beat back to 28~ S., and stood for St. Helena, which was
most unhappily missed, owing to contrary winds and the
unskilfulness of the sailing-master. One more effort thisf
unfortunate commander made to induce his mutinous crew
to regain the island, alarming them with the scarcity of,
provisions; but they unanimously replied, "that they
would be perished to death rather than not make for England."
It is believed that Mr. Cavendish did not long survive
the events recorded above; and it is certain that he died
before the ship reached England. His letter, from which
we have quoted, was not closed when the galleon reached
8~ N. From its commencement,-and it must have been
written at many different sittings,-Cavendish had considered himself a dying man. It opens with great tenderness:-" Most loving friend, there is nothing in this,
world that makes a truer trial of friendship, than at death
to show mindfulness of love and friendship, which now you
shall make a perfect experience of; desiring you to hold
my love as dear, dying poor, as if I had been most infi.
nitely rich. The success of this most unfortunate action,
the bitter torments whereof lie so heavy upon me, as with
much pain am I able to write these few lines, much less to
make discourse to you of all the adverse haps that have
befallen me in this voyage, the least whereof is my death."
He adverts to the illness of" a most true friend, whom to
name my heart bleeds," who, like himself, became the victim
of the complicated distresses of this voyage. After the crowning misfortune of missing St. Helena, he says, " And now to
tell you of my greatest grief, which was the sickness of my
dear kinsman John Locke, who by this time was grown in
great weakness, by reason whereof he desired rather quietness and contentedness in our course, than such continual
disquietness as never ceased me. And now by this, what
with grief for him and the continual trouble I endured
among such hellhounds, my spirits were clean spent, wishing myself upon any desert place in the world, there to dice




HIS ObARLsTER.
tther than thus basely return home again. Which course,
iswear to you, I had put in execution, had I found an'
island which the cardes (charts) make to be in 8~ S. of the
line. I swear to you I sought it with all diligence, meaning there to have ended my most unfortunate life. But
God suffered not such happiness to light upon me, for I
dould by no means find it; so, as I was forced to go towards
England, and having got eight degrees by the north of the
line, I lost my most dearest cousin. And now consider,
whether a heart made of flesh be able to endure so many
misfortunes, all fallingupon me without intermission. And
I thank my God, that in ending me he hath pleased to rid me
of all farther troubles and mishaps."  The rest of the letter
refers to his private concerns, and especially to the discharge
of his debts and the arrangement of his affairs for this purpose,-an act of friendship which he expected from the
kindness of the gentleman he addressed. It then takes an
affecting farewell of life and of the friend for whom he cherished so warm an affection.. In his two voyages Cavendish experienced the greatest
extremes of fortune; his first adventure being even more
brilliant and successful than the last-chiefly through the
bad discipline and evil dispositions of his company-was
disastrous and unhappy. Cavendish was still very young
when he died. No naval commander ever more certainly
sunk under the disease to which so many brave men have
fallen victims,-a broken heart. In many things his conduct
discovered the rashness and impetuosity of youth, and the
want of that temper and self-command which are among
the first qualities of a natal chief. The reproach of cruelty
or at least of culpable indifference to the claims of humanity,
which, from transactions in both voyages, and especially
in the first, must rest upon his memory, ought in justice
to be shared with the age in which he lived, and the state
of moral feeling among the class to which he belonged by
birth   By the aristocracy "the vulgar," "'the. common
sort," were still regarded as creatures of a different and
inferior species; while among seamen the destruction of
Spaniards and "Portugals" was regarded as a positive
virtue.  By all classes negroes, Indians, and gentiles
were held in no more esteem than brute animals,.-human
life as existing in beings so abject being regarded as of no




value whatever.  But if Cavendish was -tinged with Qifaults of his class, he partook largely of its virtues,b-hih
spirit, courage, and intrepidity.  Those who might be i'
to judge of ime points of his conduct with strictness will
be disposed to lenity by the recollection of his sufferiogs.
As an English navigator his name is imperishable.  On
the authority of the accurate and veracious Stowe, we may
in conclusion state that Thomas Cavendish "was of a
delicate wit and personage."
DAMPIER.
CHAPTER VII.
The Bucaniers of America.
Origin of the Bucaniers-Cattle-hunters of Hispaniola-Policy of
France and England-Cruelty to the Caribs-Seizure of St. Christo
pher's-Bucanier Settlement of Tortnga-Customs of the Bntee
niers-Their Maxims-Manner of dividing their Spoils —Their Character-Capture of Jamaica-Enterprise of Legrand-Portugues and
Mansvelt-The Bucanier Chief Lolorinois-His Cruelties-Mannera
of the Bucaniers-Montbar the Exrerminator-First Expedition of
Morgan-Pillage of Puerto del Principe-Storming of Porto BelloHeroism of the Spanish Govenlor-Capture of Maracqibo and Gibral
tar-Stratagems of Morgan-Projected Bucanier Settlement-Storth
ing of the Castle of Chagre-March of the Bucaniers to Panama-*.
Battle with the Spaniards-Cruelty of the Freeboot,-rs-Return of the
Bucaniers to Chagre-Perfidy of Morgan-Proclamation of the
Governor of Jamaica-Concluding History of Morgan-The Buta.
niers again increase-Capture of Vera Cruz-They direct theirAtteUI
tion to Peru-Narrative of Dampier.
CAPTAIN WILLTAM  DAMPIER, the remarkable  person
whose eventful life forms the subject of the remaining por.
tion of this volume, was so long and so intimately asso
ciated with the BUCANIERS of AMERICA, that a brief ac.
count of this extraordinary brotherhood forms an almons
indispensable introduction to the adventures and discoveris
of this eminent navigator,




OiOMtN O(lTF IE T BIOANRS.                 1
The Bucaniers owe their origin  to  the  monopolizing
opirit and selfish and jealous policy with which Spain ad
ministered the affairs of her West India colonies.  Early
in the sixteenth century, both English and French ships,
bound on trafficking adventures, had found their way to
these settlements  but it was not till after the enterprises
of Drake, RaleigA, and Cumberland that -hey became frequent.  The jealousy of Spain had been alarmed by their
first appearance; and the adoption of that system of offensive interference with the vessels of every nation that ventured near the tropic soon gave rise to the well-known
maaxim of the Bucaniers, " No peace beyond the Line."
Though the name,
" Linked to one virtue and a thousand crimes,"
by which the freebooters came to be distinguished, is of
much later date than the era of Drake and his daring follower John Oxnam,* there is no great violation of historical
truth in ascribing to them the character which it signified,
of indiscriminate plunderers of the Spaniards by sea and
land, and in peace as well as in war.
To the gradual rise of the extraordinary association, of
which Drake and Oxnam  were only the precursors, many
causes contributed. The diminished population and decayed manufactures of old Spain could no longer supply
* John Oxnam was one of the followers of Drake in his attempt upon
Nombre de Dios and Panama, ard from the experience gained in that
adventure formed one of the boldest designs known in the records of
privateering. He held a very low situation among Drake's crew; but
being a man of capacity as well as of boundless courage, he obtained
credit to equip a bark of 140 tons burthen, manned by 70 resolute fellows.
Concealing his vessel on the coast, with these followers andi a party of
Indians at war with the Spaniards he crossed the Isthmus of Darien,
carrying with him two pieces of ordnance. On a river which fell into
the South Sea he set up a pinnace, in which he embarked with all his
company and the Indians. and reaching the ocean undiscovered, he-ranged
at will along the coast and among the Pearl Islands in the Gulf of St.
Michael, and acquired immense booty in gold aitd silver bars. The issue
of the adventure was less fortunate. The Governor of Panama obtained
intelligence of the English pirate. whom he traced into a river. Oxnam
and his party might have escaped had they been able to abandon the
spoils, which they had concealed. Of their number some were killed is
q skirmish; others, among whom was Oxnam, were hanged as pirates
tit wirith strict propriety we name this brave and enterprising Englisa
mam the first Bucanier
M




108   CATTL'*HINTOf. OP- CVBA, AD HISPANIOLA.
her wealthy and rapidly-increasing settlements with those
commodities which the West Indies and South America
still continue to receive from the workshops and looms of
France, England, and the Low Countries; nor could the
strictness and severity of the Spanish laws for regulating
trade prevent the settlers on many parts of the coast and
the islands from cheaply supplying themTelves with luxuries
and necessaries brought direct from these countries. Thus
the contraband trade, eagerly followed by the ships of Eng'
land,FFrance, and Holland, and encouraged by the colonists,
increased in defiance of prohibitions and of guarda costas,
as the ships armed to protect the exclusive commerce of
Spain were named, and became a thriving seminary for the
growth of maritime freebooters, self-defence leading the
contraband traders to retaliation, injustice to reprisal, and
spoliation to actual piracy.
Another collateral branch of the bucaniering system
sprung up at the same time in a different quarter. No portion of the New World had suffered more from the injustice
and enormous cruelty of the Spaniards than the fine islands
of Cuba and Hispaniola. About the beginning of the sixteenth century, the mines and plantations of these islands
had been abandoned for the more productive new settle.
ments and richer mines of Mexico; and the desolated and
depopulated tracts, from which the aboriginal inhabitants
had been extirpated, were soon overrun by immense herds
of cattle, which, originally introduced by the Spaniards,
had multiplied so rapidly that it was become a profitable
employment to hunt them for the hides and tallow alone
While the matadores or Spanish hunters pursued this avocation, a more peaceful description of settlers began tq
form plantations around them, and to both classes the stolen
visits of the French and English traders became every yeas
more welcone. From trafficking on the coast, and occasionally foraging for provisions for their vessels on these un,
inhabited shores, the smugglers from time to time adopted
the hunter's life, and ranged at will, though regarded by th.
Spanish government and settlers as interlopers.
The first predatory hunters of Cuba and Hispaniola, ifi
men following the chase in a desert may be so harshly
termed, were natives of France. From the customs connected with their vocation in the woods arose the formideau




POeIf  OF 1oRAIR:OG AND EiNLANDu  1t
fame of Bucanier, by which the association came to be dis,
tinguished, whether pirates or forayers, on shore or in the
wilderness. The term was adopted from the Carib Indians,
who called the flesh which they prepared houcan, and gave
the hut where it was slowly dried and smoked on wooden
hurdles. or barbecues the same appellation. To the title
by which the desperadoes of England were known the
French preferred the name of Flibustier, said to be a corruption of the English word freebooter. The Dutch  ramed
the natives of. their country employed in this lawlezs mode
af life Sea-rovers.  Brethren of the Coast was another
general denomination for this fraternity of pirates and outlaws; till all distinctions were finally lost in the title of
BUCAIERas OF AMERICA. But the same feeling which
induced men of respectable family to lay aside their real
names on entering this association, led others of them to
sweeten their imaginations with a term less intimately allied
with every species of crime and excess; and Dampier,
among others, always spoke of the individual members of
the brotherhood as "privateers," while their vocation of
piracy was named privateeting.
The depredations of this fortuitous assemblage of bold
and dissolute men had been carried on in time of peace as
hunters, smugglers, and pirates, and in time of war as
privateers holding commissions from their respective countries, for a long series of years before they attempted to
form any regular settlement.  During this time they had
acted as the rude pioneers of the European states to which
they respectively belonged, clearing the way for the indus.
trious and peaceful settlers of France and England, both of
which countries secretly cherished, while they ostentatiously
disclaimed, the Bucaniers.  From the era of the discovery,
of Columbus, both of these nations had cast longing eyes
upon the West India islands, and if not under the auspices,
yet by the assistance of their bold thoulgh lawless offspring
the Bucaniers, settlements were at last effected. At the
beginning of the 17th century, a point on which to rest
their levers was all that w/s required; and by a previous
treaty of joint occupation and partition, the French and
English, in 1625, on the same day, landed at opposite
points of the island of St. Christopher's, and took posses*ion. The rights of the Caribs, whom the Spaniards had




168    SPANISH CRURLTY TO THE CARIBS.
neither been able to enslave nor wholly to extirpate, do not
appear to have obtained a moment's consideration from the
statesmen  of either France or England.*   Though  the
Spaniards had no settlement upon this island themselves,
their policy and interests did not quietly permit the natives
of two active and industrious nations to obtain a permanent
footing at a point whence they might quickly extend their
territory; and  instead of patiently  waiting the result of
misunderstanding  between  the  colonists, which  would
more effectually have fought their battle, in  1629 they ex
pelled the intruders by force of arms, after a residence of
above three years.  The settlers only waited the departure
of the Spanish armament to return to their old possessions,
though some of them, thus cruelly expelled from their new* The opinion held of the Indians in Europe, even towards the close
of the seventeerth century, may be gathered from Exquemelin, a Dutch
Bucatier, whose history of the proceedings of his order is considered a
work of such authority, that Raynal and other eminent writers have
drawn most of their information from its pages. The Bucanier historian, in accounting for the number of wild dogs which overran the
islands, states that'" The occasion was, that the Spaniards, having possessed themselves of these isles, found them much peopled wth Indians.
These were a barbarous sort of people, totally given to sensuality and a
brutish custom of life, hating all manner of labour, and only inclined to
move from place to place, killing and making war against their neighbours, not out of any ambition to reign, but only because they agreed not
with themselves in some common terms of language. Hence. perceiving the dominion of the Spaniards did lay a great restriction upon their
lazy. and brutish customs, they conceived an incredible odium against
them, such as never was to be reconciled; but more especially because
they saw them take possession of their kingdoms anid dominions. Hereupon they made against them  all the resistance they were capable of,
olposing everywhere their designs to the utmost of their power; until
that the Spaniards, finding themselves to be cruelly hated by these
Indians, and nowhere secure from their treachery, resolved to extirpate
athd ruin them every one. *  *  *  Hereupon-these first conquerors
of the New World made use of dogs to range and search the intricatest
thickets of woods and forests for these their implacable and unconquerable enemies. By these means they forced them to leave their ancient
refuge and submit unto the sword, seeing tlo milder usage could serve
their turn. Hereupon they killed some. and, quartering their bodies,
placed them in the highways, to the intent that others mrigti take warning fro;n silch u'lisih:nelit not to incur like dlanger. But severity proved
to be of ill consequelnce; for, instead of frightening then ana reducing
their minds to a civil society, they conceived such horror 1' the Spania.rds
and their proceedings, that they resolved to detest and fly their sight fbr
ever; and hence greater part died in caves and subterraneous places of
the woods and uoutntairis, in which places I myself have seen many
times great numbers of humani  bones "




ST. CHRISTOPHERt'S.-TORTtTGfA.           169
brmed homes, and rendered desperate by poverty and hatred
ot the Spaniards, had meanwhile augmented the bands of
the freeb6oters, and to the reckless bravery of these lawless
vagabonds, brought their own knowledge and experience,
and the habits of social life.
It was thus that step by step the narrow policy and op.
pression of the Spaniards raised up those predatory hordes
haunting the ocean and the coasts, which, from infringing
their absurd commercial laws, or shooting a wild bullock in
the forests, came at last continually to infest their trade and
to destroy and pillage their richest settlements.
As a convenient mart for their trade, which had been prodigiously increased by the settlement of St. Christopher's
and other causes, the hunters of Hispaniola and Cuba seized
the island of Tortuga by surprising the small Spanish garrison which defended it, and here built magazines for their
hides, taliow. and boucan, or dried meat, established their
head-quarters, and opened a place of retreat for all Bucaniers.
In the course of a few years European adventurers of every
nation save Spain flocked to Tortuga; and French and
English settlements were rapidly planted, almost at random,
on different islands, the new colonists being the natural
allies and also the best customers of the Bucaniers, whom
they, on the other hand, supplied with powder, shot, rum,
tobacco, hatchets, and every thing necessary to their wild
and irregular mode of life. As these new colonies rose into
consequence they were severally claimed by the mothercountry of the settlers, who, whether French or English,
were not unfrequently turned out to make way for new proprietors who had been able iniquitously to obtain or purchase from the venal government at home the lands cleared
and improved by the industry of the original adventurers.
Manly of the French settlers, indignant at the unmerited
injustice of their distant government, who had left them
unprotected in the first instance and pillaged them in the
last, retired to other deserts, or joined the ranks of their
friends the Bucaniers.
The Bucanier settlement of Tortuga, situated at the very
Threshold of Hispra-.ila, was on every account obnoxious to
the Spaniards, who took the first opportunity of destroying
it.  This was effected while the boldest of the population
were absent in the chase, which they often followed for




170        c-U8T0I  to  ^fTf  )lYUANs0E.
months, and even years together, on the western shorpe et
Hispaniola, without once visiting the scene of comparative
civilization which they had created on the smaller ishnd,
Of the more peaceful of the settlers of Tortuga, who had
already formed plantations and begun with success to cultivate tobacco, which turned out of excellent quality, many
were massacred; those who fled to the woods and afterward surrendered themselves were hanged; while only a
few escaped to their brethren in the forests of Hispaniola,
Thus every new occurrence tended to inflame the mutual
hatred which had so long subsisted between the Spaniards
and all other Europeans, and to propagate outrage. Tortugfa was soon abandoned by the Spaniards, who took XS
much pains to destroy the nest that they flattered themselves
the hornets would not again congregate. In this they were
deceived. The Bucaniers returned almost immediately, and
became more formidable than ever, giving Spain a practical
lesson on the impolicy of converting those who were in the
fair way of becoming peaceful and industrious neighbouri
into active enemies, regularly banded and organized, and
cordially united against a common foe.
Above three hundred of the hunters returned to Tortuga
after it had been thus desolated and abandoned by the Spaniards; and their ranks were speedily recruited by constant
levies of the young, the brave, and the enterprising of different European countries.
From about this time cruising upon the Spaniards became
more and more frequent; and as the diminished number of
cattle made the chase a less profitable occupation, piratical
excursions increased and became more bold and alarming;
The Brethren of the Coast had now been long known as a
distinct association, and their laws, manners, and customs
had become the subject of speculation and curiosity.
Though their peculiarities have been egregiously magnified
by the natural love of the marvellous, from which even philosophic historians are not altogether exempt, many of their
customs were sufticiently remarkable to deserve notice. Like
the laws and customs of other communities, the " Statutes
of the Bucaniers" originated in the necessities and exigences of their condition. Property, so far as regarded the
means of sustenance, whether obtained in the chase or by
pillage, was in common among this hardy brotherhood;'an




THBER   LA1O&GB,3AXb   X Xs.              74
a4 they had no domestic ties, neither wife nor child, brother
nor sister, being known among the Bucaniers, the want of
family relations was supplied by strict comradeship,-one
partner occasionally attending to household duties, while
the other was engaged in the chase. It has been said that
the surviving partner in this firm, whether seaman or hunter,
became the general heir; and this was probably often the
case, though not a fixed law, as the Bucaniers frequently
bequeathed property to their relatives in France or England.
Their chief virtue was courage, which, urged by desperation, was often carried to an extreme unparalleled among
other warlike associations. The fear of the gallows, which
has frequently converted the thief into a murderer, made
the Bucanier a hero and a savage. Hardihood, the habit
and the power of extreme endurance, might also, if exerted
in a better cause, be reckoned among the virtues of the
Bucaniers, had not their long seasons of entire privation
been always followed by'scenes of the most brutal excess.
Their grand principle, the one thing needful to their existence, was fidelity; and so far at least as regarded the Spaniards the maxim of "honour among thieves" was never
more scrupulously observed than among them. As their
associations were voluntary, their engagements never extended beyond the cruise or enterprise on hand, though they
were frequently renewed. The. ablest, the most brave, active, fortunate, and intriguing of their number was elected
their commander; but all the fighting-men appear to have
assisted at councils. The same power which chose their
leader could displace him, which was frequently done either
from caprice or expediency. They sometimes settled personal quarrels by duel; but offences against the fraternity
were visited by different punishments, as in extreme cases
death, abandonment on a desert island, or simply banishment from the society. There appears to have been no
obstacle to voluntarily quitting the brotherhood as often as
inclination dictated such a step. Many of the peculiar
habits of the Bucaniers are so fully detailed in the adventures of Dampier, that it is unnecessary to expatiate upon
them in this place. In the division of their booty, one main
concern of all banditti, they appear, as soon as bucaniering
became a system, to have followed nearly the same laws
Which regulate privateers; the owners' shares being of




172    MANNER OF DIVIDItNWO THEIR SPOIL8.
course included in those of the company, who were thenm
selves the owners. A party being agreed upon a cruise,
the day and place for embarkation was fixed, and every
man repaired on board the ship with a specified quantity of
powder and shot. The next concern was to procure provisions, which consisted mostly of pork.  Many of the
Spaniards raised large herds of swine for the supply of tie
planters, and froni their yards abundance was procured with
no trouble save that in which the ferocious Bucaniersdelighted,-~robbery, often accompanied by murder. Turtle
slightly salted was another article of the food which they
stored, and for beeves and wild hogs they trusted to their
firearms. Bread they seldom  tasted, and at tea never
thought about, though in later periods they sometimes procured supplies of cassada, maize, and potatoes. Of this
food every man ate generally twice a day, or at his own pleasure, and without limitation; there being in this respect no
distinction between the commander and the meanest sea.
man. The vessel fairly victualled, a final council was held,
which determined the destination of the cruise and the plan
of operations; and articles were generally drawn up and
subscribed which regulated the division of the spoils. The
carpenter, the sailmaker, the surgeon, and the commander
were in the first place paid out of the common stock.
Wounds were next considered; the value of the right arm,
the most useful member of the Bucanier's body, being
reckoned equal to six slaves, or sit hundred pieces of eight.
It is worthy of notice, that the eye and finger of the Buca.
nier had the same value, which was one slave, or a hundred
pieces of eight. The remainder was equally shared, save
that the captain, besides his specific agreement, had five
shares, and his mate two. Boys received a half-share
The first maxim in the code of the Bucanier, dictated by
necessity, was "no prey, no pay."  An oath was sometimes taken to prevent desertion before the cruise was
ended, and against concealment of booty.
In their cruises the freebooters often put into remote har
bours to careen or refit their ships, to obtain fruits and fish,
to lie in wait for the Spanish traders, and to plunder either
natives or Spaniards. The former they sometimes carried
away, selling the mlen as slaves, while the women were
compelled to labour among those of the Bucaniers who fol



THEIR SENTIMENTS OF RtLIGION.    178.owed the chase. The dress of these ruffians assorted well
*ith their brutal and ferocious character. It has been described as a fixed costume, though there is little doubt that
the same necessity which dictates to the savage his clothing
of skins prescribed to the Bucanier his filthy and terrific
garb. This consisted of a shirt dipped in the blood of the
cattle huited and killed; trousers prepared in the same
rude manner; buskins without stockings, a cap with a small
front, and a leathern girdle, into which were stuck knives,
sabres, and pistols. The bloody garments, though attributed to design, were probably among the hunters tie effect
of chance and slovenliness.  Such was the complete equipment of the Bucanier.
Among some few of the French Bucaniers, who had been
d'riven to adopt an outlaw's life by the severity and injustice
of the colonial government and other causes, there.pmetimes existed sentiments of honour, and even a pIrted
sense of religion. Prayers were occasionally put up for the
success of a piratical expedition, and thanks given for victory. We hear of one Bucanier commander who shot a
seaman for behaving indecently during the performance of
mass, but never once of the chalices and images belonging
to any church being spared, whether the plunderers were
French Catholics or English heretics. One rare instance
in mentioned where a Bucanier carried his notions of honour to so overstrained a height as to punish breach of faith
with a Spaniard, and to repress symptoms of treachery to
the common foe with the most prompt severity. Under a
humane commander these lawless bands were occasionally
less brutal and remorseless; though, taking them  as a
whole, more unfavourable specimens of humanity could not
be, selected. In the Bucanier were united the cruelty and
ferocity of the savage with the circumvention and rapacity
whicl are among the worst consequences of an imperfect
civilization. The Bucaniers, however, have their admirers.
They are said to have been open and unsuspecting among
themselves, liberal in their dealings, and guided in their pri
vate intercourse by a frank and strictly honourable spirit
The French fondly name them " nos braves;" the English
bWast of their unparalleled exploits; and writers of fiction
prace the character with many brilliant traits of generosity
and delicaey of feeling. We confess that there appears littfe
N




174            er-TVRu: R maoiWcL.
in their actual history to vindicate the elevated charactW
given by those who from bravoes and lawless ruffians wotid
fashion he6roes of romance, and convert the Bucaniersof
America into anew order of chivalry; yet there is a wild
and vivid interest about their roving adventures, independently of the powerful curiosity naturally felt to learn how
men placed in circumstances so different from the ordinary
modes and usages of social life in civilized communities
thought and acted. They afford another lesson. All forms
of privation and endurance with-which the vicissitudes of
maritime adventure bring us acquainted, sink into insignificance when compared with the hardships voluntarily arid
heroically sustained by the Bucaniers from the love of a life
of boundless license and rapacity for Spanish gold. Base
as were their governing motives, and ruthless as was their
tradit is impossible not to admire their manly hardihood
and onquerable perseverance.
The Bucaniers had not long regained Tortuga, when
it was betrayed by certain Frenchmen of their number into
the hands of the French governor of the West Indies, who
took possession of the island for the crown of France, and
expelled the English Bucaniers, who had domineered over
their associates. From that time the English pirates began
to frequent the islands which were now reckoned to belong
to their own nation. These they enriched by the lavish etpenditure of their spoils.  In 1655 the Bucaniers lent
powerful aid to their countrymen in the conquest of Jamaica,
which thenceforth became their principal haunt when not
cruising upon the enemy.' Therein a few weeks or nights,
they disgorged the plunder or gains of months and years in
a course of riotous excess and the most dissolute profligacy.
In a few years after the capture of Jamaica, the French
freebooters had increased amazingly on the western shores
of Hispaniola. The first remarkable exploits of the Bucae
niers at sea were chiefly performed by these Frenchmen.
Ships were their primary want; but from small Indian
canoes, in which they at first embarked, the naval power of
the pirates soon rose to large fleets.  Among their first brilliant exploits, which led the way to many others, was the
capture of a richly-laden galleon, vice-admiral of the yearly
~Spanish fleet. This was achieved by Pierre Legrand, a
istive rDieppe, who hv'one bold stroke gained fame and




RNTERPRISB OF IfIKRB LEGOAD.    17I
fortune. With a boat carrying four small pieces, which
proved of no use to him, and twenty resolute followers,
Piere surprised this ship.* For days and weeks heandhis
Comrades had lai in wait for a prey, buring unders tropieal sun. They were almost exhausted by suffering and
disappointment, when the gallemn was descried separated
from the fleet. The manner in which the capture was made
offers a fair specimen of bucaniering daring and strategy.
The boat in which the men lay cocealed had been seenhby
the galleon all day, and one of the company had warned the
captain of his suspicion of a nest of pirates lurking in the
distant speck. The Spaniard haughtily and carelessly replied, "And what then' shall I be afraid of so pitiful a
thing? no, though she were as good a ship as my bwn."
He probably thought no more of the circumstance till, seated
at cards with his friends in the some evening, he saw the
Bucaniers rush into his cabin, having already overpowered
the crew. Nor had the task proved difficult.
Pierre and his company had kept aloof till dusk, when
they made for the galleon with all the; force of oars. The
game was for death,-ignominious and cruel death,slavery in the mines,~-or victory and fortune: they must
make good their attempt to board the galleon or-perish.
To render their courage desperate, Pierre ordered the surgeon to bore holes in the side of the boat, that no other footng might be left to his men than the decks of the Spaniard.
This was directly performed, while each man; armed with
a: word and pistols, silently climbed the sides of the ship.
While one party rushed into the great cabin, and presented
their pistols to the officers who sat at cards, another seized
the gunroom, cutting down whoever stood in their way.
As the Spaniards had been completely surprised, little opposition was offered. The -ship srrendered, and was.caried into France by Pierre, who, by a rare instance of good
sense and moderation, from the time of obtaining this prize
gave up the vocation of a Bucanier, in which, if fortunes
were sometimes quickly acquired, they were as oftenrapidly
lost, or certainly squandered. Legrand appears to have eax
erqised no unnecessary cruelty, and all of the Spanish seamen not required in navigating the vessel were sent on
phore.
The enterprise by wh''Pierre Legraudhad in onenight




176     PIERRIS  FRANCOIS   AND POIKTirGES.
gained fame and fortune was a signal for half the hunters
and planters of Tortuga to rush to the sea. In their sraJU
canoes they cruised about, lying in wait for the baiks in
which the Spaniards conveyed to Havana and other adjacent ports hides, tobacco, and the produce of the botlcal.
These cargoes together with the boats were sold at Tortuga,
and with the proceeds the freebooters were enabled to procure and equip larger vessels. Campeachy and even the
shores of New Spain wore now within their extended range
of cruising, and their expeditions became daily more distant
and bold. The Spaniards now found it necessary to arm
ships to protect the coast-trade as well as the galleons and
flota. The Indian fleet and the treasure-ships were always
the especial mark of the pirates, who found no species of
goods so convenient either for transport or division as pieces
of eight, though their friends and correspondents in the
islands did all in their power to relieve them of the embarrassment of heavier cargoes. The merchants of Jamaica
and Tortuga might at this time have not unaptly been
termed the brokers of the Bucaniers.
Among other brilliant acts, Pierre Franqois, another
Frenchman, with a handful of men in a boat, surprised and
captured the vice-admiral of the Pearl fleet; and was no
sooner possessed of this ship than he raised his ambitious
thoughts to the capture of the ship of war which formed
the convoy. In this bold project he was disappointed, and
his prize retaken; but not before he had stipulated for
honou dable conditions to himself and his company, and that
they 4hould be safely set on shore. About this time another
notd Bucanier, Bartholomew Portugues, cruising from
Jamaica with a boat carrying four small pieces and a crew
of thirty men, captured a large ship of twenty great guns
with a crew of seventy men. This prize also was retaken
in a few days by three Spanish ships, and the pirate carried
into Campeachy; whence, however, he contrived to escape,
burning for vengeance upon the Spaniards for the severity
with which he had been treated. The ingenuity of the Portuguese in evading the jail and the gallows, and his hair.
breadth escapes and stratagems to extricate himself from
the consequences of his crimes, may vie with those of ant
hero in the Newgate Calendar.
The Spanish coasting-vesels, taught by experience, now




SCOT-MAN8VELT-,LOTLONNO1S.               177
ventured cautiously to sea, and the number of Bucanlers at
the-same time increasing, land-expeditions were first undertaken, and villages, towns, and cities pillaged, sacked, and
held to ransom. The first land-pirate was named Lewis
Scot, who stormed and plundered Campeachy, and obtained
a large sum for its ransom. Mansvelt, and John Davies, a
renowned Bucanier, born in Jamaica, next followed this
new career with success. In these attempts Mansvelt conceived the design of forming an independent Bucanier
establishment, holding neither of France, England, nor
Holland, which should form a place of safe retreat to the
freebooters of every nation. His success will be seen in
the course of the narrative.
In the annals of the sea-rovers no names are to be found
more terrible than those of Lolonnois and Montbar, natives
of France, and distinguistfed among the fraternity by preeminence in crime. The former was rather a monster in
human form than a merely cruel man; the latter appears to
have had a taint of constitutional madness, which, however,
took a most diabolical character. The nom de guerre of
Lolonnois was borrowed from the native place of this fiend,
which was near the sands of Olone.  Little, however, is
known about the ancestry of the pirate, who afterward became so celebrated for the variety and vicissitudes of his
life, for desperate courage, and for insatiable cruelty. He
had either been kidnapped when young, or had left France
under a form of engagement then in common use in several
countries of Europe, by which the adventurer agreed to
serve for a certain number of years in the colonies. This
practice, which was termed indenting, was indeed common
till a very recent period, and was liable to great abuses.
From this servitude Lolonnois escaped, and entered with
the Bucaniers. His address and courage soon rendered
him conspicuous, and in a few years he was the owner of
two canoes, and commanded twenty-two freebooters. With
this,mall force he captured a Spanish frigate on the coast
of Cuba. This Bucanier commander, of whom almost incredible atrocities are related, is said to have frequently
throwi overboard the crews of the ships which he took.
He is said to have struck off the heads of eighty prisoners
with his own hand, refreshing himself by sucking the blood
if the victims as it trickled down his sabre  It is even




178         CRUELTI.E    OF —LOLONOS.
related, that in transports of frantic cruelty he has beea
known to tear out and devour the hearts of those who fell
by his*hand, and to pluck out the tongues of others..To
this monster cruelty was an affair of calculation as well a.
of.delight, and he reckoned the terror inspired by his name
among the best means of success. With thefruitsofrapine,
Lolonnois extended his range of depredation, and at last
joined forces with another notorious brother.of the order)
Michael de Basco. With a force of eight ships and 650
men they stormed and plundered the towns of Gibraltar and
Maracaibo; the former place being burnt on ransom not
being paid, and the latter pillaged though terms of safety
had been agreed upon. We shall not dwell upon the atrocities which distinguish this expedition, the most lucrative
that had yet been undertaken, as many ships were captured
during the cruise, besides the plunder and ransom obtained
in the towns. In this affair many of the French hunters
had joined; and the booty divided among the whole band,
at the island to which they retired for this purpose, amounted
to 400,000 pieces of eight in money, plate, merchandise,
household furniture, and clothes,-for nothing escaped the
ravages of.the Bucaniers. The name of Francois Lolonnois, already so formidable on the Spanish Main and the
islands, now became a word of deeper horror to tje miserable settlers, who lived in continual dread of a descent.
After the plunder had been obtained and divided, the next
stage of a regular buicaniering voyage was to some friendly.
island, Tortuga or Jamaica, where a market might be obtained for the divided spoils, and an opportunity given fox
the indulgence of the unbridled and gross licentiousness in
which the pirates squandered their gains. This was either
in gaming, to which the Bucanierp were strongly addicted,
in the most brutal debauchery, or in those freaks of profligate
extravagance which more or less characterize all uneducated
seamen after long voyages. " Some ot them," says their
brother and historian, Exquemelin, " will spend three thou.
sand pieces of eight in one night, not leaving themselves,
peradventure, a shirt to wear on their backs in the morning."  He tells of one who would placea pipe of wine in
the streets of Jamaica, and, offering his pistols at their
breast, force all who passed to drink with him. "At other
times he would do the same with barrels of ale and beer;




HIS   ZTA~IJ-"OxXTRAL             170
nd vry often with both his hands he would throw theos
liquors about the streets, and wet the clothes of such as
passed by, without regarding whether he spoiled their apparel or not, were they men or women."  Of toche Braziliano, a pirate somewhat less cruel than many of the fraternity, and of great courage aid capacity in the affairs of his
command, the chronicler states,'howbeit in- his domestic
and private affairs he had no good behaviour nor government over himself; for in these he would oftentimes show
himself either brutish or foolish. Many times, being in
drink, he would run up and down the streets, beating or
wounding whom he met,-no person daringto oppose him
or make any resistance."  Such was the Bucanier in his
moments of relaxation and social enjoyment, and such the
delights which in a few weeks left the companions of
Lolonnois penniless, and eager for the new expedition in
which that detestable monster met a death worthy of his
enormous crimes. The reputation which Lolonnois had
gained by his last expedition made many new adventurers
eager to swell his armament. Cruising along the coast of
Cuba, and wherever he went making rapid descents on Indian villages or Spanish settlements, he at last experienced
reverses, and on proposing to go to Guatimala many of the
leading Bucaniers left him upon projects of their own. Finally, after a train of disasters Lolonnois fell into the hands
of certain of the Indians of the Darien, a fierce and crue'
tribe, who were not unacquainted with the atrocities of the
Bucaniers. By them he was torn alive limb from limb,-~
his body consumed, and the ashes scattered abroad, "to the
intent," says his historian, "that no trace nor memory
might remain of such an infamous creature."  Many of his
companions shared the same fate.
The character of Montbar, the other French Bucanier
formerly mentioned, is more romantic, if not more humane. He appears to have been one of those unhappy
though detestable beings who are created with a raging
thirst for blood, and with whom cruelty is a passion
and an appetite. Montbar was a gentleman of Languedoe, who, from reading in his youth of the horrible cruelties
practised by the Spaniards upon the Mexicans and Caribs,
imbibed a hatred of the whole Spanish nation, which pow
sesed him like a phrensy  It is however somewhat strangv




8aU           DBff  o r  B.ELf G  VtUEiT.
that the impulse which led this singular person to join the
ranks of the Bucaniers urged him to the commission of
worse cruelties than those which he reprobated. His conrades were often merciless from the lust of gold; but
Spanish blood was the sole passion of Montbar. It is related by Raynal, that while at college, in acting the part
of a Frenchman who quarrels with a Spaniard, he assaulted
the youth who personated an individual of that hated nation
with such fury that he had wellnigh strangled him. His
imagination was perpetually haunted by the shapes of multitudes of persons butchered by monsters from Spain, who
called upon him to revenge them. While on his passage
outward to league himself with the brethren of the coast,
the inveterate enemies of Spain, the vessel in which he sailed
fell in with a Spanish ship, and captured it. No sooner had
the Frenchmen boarded the vessel, than Montbar, with his
sabre drawn, twice rushed along the decks, cutting his frantic way through the ranks of Spaniards, whom he swept
down. While his comrades divided the booty acquired by
his prowess, Montbar gloated over the mangled limbs of the
detested people against whom he had vowed everlasting and
deadly hate. From this and similar actions he acquired the
name of the Exterminator.
The Bucaniers of America had now become so numerous and powerful, and had been so successful in their depredations upon the richest and best-fortified places, both on
the Main and the Spanish islands, that several settlements
were compelled to submit to the degradation of purchasing
their forbearance by paying them contributions, equivalent
in principle to the black-mail formerly levied by banditti in
Scotland. This, however, merely increased their. gains,
and partially changed the scene of havoc. Their predatory excursions were immediately carried farther into the
interior, and stretched more extensively along the coasts
of the continent. It was about this time that the popular
Bucanier commander named Mansvelt formed the design before alluded to, of establishing a Bucanier independent empire,-a project which was afterward entertained by his lieutenant, the famous or infamous Morgan,
and reluctantly abandoned by such of the fraternity as
were endowed with more foresight or greater ambition than
their associates. The intended seat of an empire,' which
Icight easily have been extended on ail sides, was the




RIXEDITION OP MORGAN.               181
island of Santa Katalina, now known by the name of Old
Providence Island. For this point Mansvelt sailed from
Jamaica in 1664, stormed the fort, and garrisoned the
place with his own men; but the English governor of
Jamaica, who thought the Bucaniers more profitable as
customers than desirable as independent allies, looked
coldly upon the project of a settlement so far beyond his
control. He forbade recruiting in Jamaica in furtherance
of this project, and Mansvelt died suddenly before it could
otherwise be effected. He was succeeded by the most
renowned of the English Bucaniers, Captain Sir Henry
Morgan.   The  new  Bucanier generalissimo, though
equally brave and daring with his predecessor, was of a
more sordid and brutal character, selfish and cunning, and
without any spark of the reckless generosity which sometimes graced the freebooter and contrasted with his crimes.
He was a native of Wales, and the son of a respectable
yeoman. Early inclination led him to the sea; and embarking for Barbadoes, by a fate common to all unprotected adventurers, he was sold for a term of years. After
effecting his escape, or emancipation, Morgan joined the
Bucaniers, and in a short time saved a little money, with
which, in concert with a few comrades, he equipped a bark,
of which he was chosen commander. The adventurers
made'a fortunate cruise in the Bay of Campeachy; after
which Morgan joined Mansvelt in the assault of Santa
Katalina or Providence, and by a lucky stroke, at the death
of Mansvelt, succeeded, as has been noticed, to the chief
command. Notwithstanding the efforts of Morgan to retain
Old Providence, as the Governor of Jamaica still refused to
allow recruits to go from that island,.and the merchants of
Virginia and New-England declined sending him supplies,
it fell once more into the hands of the Spaniards, and the
Bucaniers were driven to seek a new place of refuge.
The Cayox, or islets near the south coast of Cuba, had for
some time been their haunting-place. At these Keys, as
they were corruptly termed by the English, they mustered
from all quarters as often as a joint expedition was contemplated; and here they watered, refitted, held their coun.
cils in safety, and waited till their feet had been victualled
either by pillage or purchase.
To the Keys on the south of Cuba, the rendezvous ap




18     PILLAGE F0  PUBERTO DEL,PRIN IPE.
pointed by Morgan, about twelve sail in ships and beats
had now repaired, with above seven hundred fighting menFrench and English. The disposal of this armament and,
force was the cause of difference of opinion, some wishing
to attack Havana, while others, deeming this enterprise
too formidable for their numbers, declared for Puerto del
Principe in Cuba, which was accordingly taken and plundered, after a desperate assault and brave resistance.
The Bucaniers, as soon as they became masters, shut up
the principal inhabitants in the churches, as the eisiest way
of disposing of them while they pillaged the city. Many
of these unfortunate persons died of hunger; others were
put to the torture to compel them to discover concealed
treasures, which probably had no existence save in the
rapacious desires and extravagant fancies of the brutal and
ignorant Bucaniers. The booty obtained, or wrung forth
from the inhabitants, was, however, considerable.- Five
hundred bullocks formed part of the ransom, which the insolent freebooters compelled the Spaniards to kill and salt
for them. A characteristic quarrel between a French and
English Bucanier, which took place at this time, crippled
the strength of Morgan, from whom, in consequence of this
difference, many of his Gallican followers withdrew. The
occasion of this national quarrel was an English Bucanier
snatching the marrow-bones which the Frenchman had
carefully prepared for his own repast. A challenge was
the consequence; and the Frenchman was unfairly or
treacherously stabbed by his opponent. His countrymen
embraced his cause, and Morgan put the murderer in
chains, and afterward had him hung in Jamaica for this
breach of the laws of honour and of brotherhood.
In the mean while the pillage of Puerto del Principe
being divided, the French Bucaniers, indignant at the
murder of their countryman, left Morgan in spite of his
entreaties, and the English were obliged to pursue their
fortunes alone.
-The enterprises of Morgan, who was at once ambitious
and greedy, display capacity, coolness, and daring. His
next attempt combined all these qualities in a remarkable
degree. With nine ships and boats, and four hundred and
sixty of his countrymen, he resolved to assault Porte
Bello; but did not venture to disclose so bold a desigo




ASSAULT  N  PWif BB f    I. 1O83
tillit was no longer advisable to conceal it. To those who
then, objected that their force was inadequate to the attack,
Morgan boldly replied, "That though their numbers were
small, their hearts were good; and the fewer the warriors
the larger the shares of plunder."  This last was an irresistiNe argument; and this strongly-fortified city was car.
ried by a handful of resolute men, who never scrupled at
cruelty needful to the accomplishment of their object, and
oflen revelled in the wantonness of unnecessary crime.
The first fort or castle was deliberately blown up by fire
being set to the powder-magazine, after many miserable
prisoters, whose mangled limbs soon darkened the air,
bad been huddled into one room. Resistance was still
attempted by the Spaniards, which greatly exasperated the
besiegers, as it was into the forts which held out that the
wealthy inhabitants had retired with their treasure and
valuables.  One strong fort it was necessary to carry without delay; and broad scaling-ladders being constructed,
Morgan compelled his prisoners to fix them to the walls.
Many of those employed in this office were priests and
nuns, dragged for this purpose from the cloisters. These,
it was thought, their countrymen would spare; while under
their protection the Bucaniers might advance without
being exposed to the fire of the castle. In these trying
circumstances, forgetting the claims of country, and the
sacred character of the innocent persons exposed tosuffering so unmerited, the Spanish governor consulted only his
official duty; and while the unhappy prisoners of the Bucaniers implored his mercy, continued to pour shot upon
all who approached the walls, whether pirates f the late
peaceful inhabitants of the cloisters, his stern answer being
that he would never surrender alive. Many of the friars
and nuns were killed before the scaling-ladders could be
fixed; but that done, the Bucaniers, carrying with them
fireballs and pots full of gunpowder, boldly mounted the
walls, poured in their combustibles, and speedily effected
an entrance. All the Spaniards demanded quarter except
the governor, who died fighting, in presence of his wife
and daughter, declaring that he chose rather to die as a
brave soldier than be hanged like a coward. The next act
in the horrid drama of bucaniering conquest followed
rpidly,-pillage. cruelty. brutal license,-the freebooters




184    SPECIMEN OF MORGANS WEAPONS.
giving themselves up to so mad a course of riot and do
bauchery that fifty resolute men might have cut them off
and regained the town, had the panicstruck Spaniards
been able to form any rational plan of action, or to muster
a force.  During these fifteen days of demoniac revel,
interrupted only by torturing the prisoners to make them
give up treasures which they did not possess, many of the
Bucaniers died from the consequences of their own brutal
excesses, and Morgan deemed it expedient to draw off his
force. Information had by this time reached the Governor
of Panama; and though aid was distant from the miserable inhabitants of Porto Bello, it might still come. Mor
gan, therefore, carried off a good many of the guns, spiked
the rest, fully supplied his ships with every necessary store,
and having already plundered all that was possible, insolently denanded an exorbitant ransom for the preservation
of the city and for his prisoners, and prepared to depart
from the coast. These terms he even sent to the Governor
of Panama, who was approaching the place, and whose
force the Bucaniers intercepted in a narrow  pass, and
compelled to retreat.. The inhabitants collected among
themselves a hundred thousand pieces of eight, which
Morgan graciously accepted, and retired to his ships.
The astonishment of the Governor of Panama at so
small a force carrying the town and the forts, and holding
them so long, induced him, it is said, to send a message to
the Bucanier leader, requesting a specimen of the arms
which he used. Morgan received the messenger with
civility, gave him a pistol and a few bullets, and ordered
him to bid( the president to accept of so slender a pattern
of the weapons with which he had taken Porto Bello, and
to keep it for a twelvemonth, at the end of which time he
(Morgan) proposed to come to Panama to fetch it away.
The governor returned the loan with a gold ring, and requested Morgan not to give himself the trouble of travelling
so far, certifying to him that he would not fare so well as
he had done at Porto Bello.
On this subject Morgan formed and afterward acted
upon his own opinions. In the mean while the spoils were
divided at the Keys of Cuba. The booty amounted to
230,000 pieces of eight, besides goods of all kinds, including silks, linen, cloth, and many things that found a ready




NWEW  BUCAMR Et  EXPEDITION.          185
market in Jamaica, for which Bucaniers' paradise tht
fleet next sailed, to fit themselves for a fresh expedition by
a month's carousing, and the prodigal expenditure of the
fruits of their toils and crimes.
This brilliant exploit, in which so few men, and those
armed only with pistols and sabres, had taken a large for
tified city, raised the character of Morgan as a commandel
higher than ever; and his invit:tion to the Brethren of the
Coast to meet him Pa the Isla de la Vaca, or Cow Island,
which was appointed  as a rendezvous preparatory to
another cruise, was so eagerly accepted that he found himself at the head of a considerable force. A large Prench
bucaniering vessel, which refused to join this expedition,
he obtained by fraud. Inviting the commander and several
of the best men to dine with him, under some frivolous
pretext he made them  prisoners. But Morgan did not
reap much advantage from this act of treachery. While
the men whom he had placed in the ship were carousing,
celebrating the commencement of another cruise, it suddenly blew up, and three hundred and fifty Englishmen
and the French prisoners perished together. This accident, so disastrous to Morgan, was imputed to the revengeful spirit of the Frenchmen confined in the hold. The true
character of the sordid Bucanier was never more strongly
displayed than in the way which Morgan tried to make
the best for himself of this mischance. When eight days
of mourning had elapsed, he made the dead bodies be fished
up, stripped of clothes, linen, and of the gold rings which
Bucaniers often wore, and then be thrown back into the
sea to feed the sharks.
Morgan had now a fleet of fifteen ships, some of which
he owed to the kindness of the Governor of Jamaica, who
connived at, or took a share in, such adventures. His
force consisted of 1000 fighting-men.  Several of his vessels were armed, and his own carried fourteen gans. With
these, which, however, through discontent, diminished a
full half on the way, he shaped his course for the devoted
cities of Gibraltar and Maracaibo, formerly visited by
Lo[onnois, which were once more taken and plundered.
At the former place the cruelties of Morgan exceeded, if
that were possible, the enormities of the French pirate.
fSuch of the inhabitants as fled to the woods and were




186  G. iBRILTA8-Ma- RACAtS0.
retaken were tortured with fiendlike ingenuity to make
them  discover their wealth.  It wouldl be painful and re.
volting to dwell upon the blan(k record ot the atrociles per.
petrated here.
So much time had been consumed at Gibraltar, that Morg an, when about to. withdraw, found himself in a snare,
fom which it required all his talent and presence of mind
to extricate the Bucanier fleet. Coolness and readiness
were, however, the familiar qualities of men whose lives
were a series of perils and escapes, and whose natural element was danger; and they never were more admirably
displayed than by Morgan and his men at this time.
In the interval spent by the Bucaniers in pillage and
debauchery at Gibraltar, the Spaniards had repaired the fort
which protected the passage of the lake or lagune of
Maracaibo, and stationed three men of war at the entrance,
whose vigilance it was conceived impossible the pirates
could escape. These vessels carried, one twenty, another
thirty, and the third forty guns. Putting a bold face upon
his embarrassing situation, Morgan, with the audacity
natural to him, and which was one of his instruments of
success, sent a message to the Spanish admiral, demanding
a ransom as the only condition on which the city could be.preserved. To this insolent vaunt the Spaniard replied,
that though the Bucanier commander had taken the castle
from a set of cowards, it was now in a good state of defence; and that he not only intended to dispute the egress
from the lagune, but to pursue the pirates everywhere. If,
however, they chose to give up the prisoners and the slaves
they had taken, they would be permitted to pass forth un.
molested. This reply was as usual submitted to a full counc of Bucaniers, and at this assembly one of their num.
ber suggested the stratagem by which Morgan in the first
lace destroyed the Spanish men of war.  One of the
BucaTlier vessels was prepared as a fireship, and at the
sane time was made to wear the appearance of a vessel
ready for action.' Logs were placed in rows on the decks,
an which clothes, hats, and Montero caps were placed; and
these decoy-figures were also armed with swords and muskets.  When this was done, the plate, jewels, femlale prifoners, and whatever was of most value to the Bucaniers,
wee placed in their large boats, each of which carried




STRATAOGEI-  OT- XOr   ANR. 
twelve.rmed men. These boats were to follow the fireship, which led the var.; an oath was exacted from each
Bucanier of resistance to the last, and -the refusal of
quarter from  the Spaniards; and ample rewards were
promised for valour and firmness. Next evening the fleet
iiled, and about dusk came up with the Spanish ships
iding at anchor in the middle of the lagune. The Bucanier vessels also anchored, resolved to await here the
effect of their stratagem, and either to fight, escape, or
perish. No attack was offered that night, and they lay in
quiet till dawn, when the anchors were weighed, and they
steered directly towards the Spanish ships, which advanced
as if to meet them. The fireship, still in advance, with all
her decoys of armed men as before, came up with the
largest of the Spanish vessels and grappled to her,-then
the deception was first discovered, but too- late for escape.
The conflagration commenced. The Spanish ship caught
fire in tackling and timbers, and the forepart of her hull
soon went down. The second Spanish vessel escaped
under the guns of the castle, and was sunk by her own
company as a fate preferable to falling a prey to the Buca
niers. The third vessel was taken. The crew of the
burning ship endeavoured to escape to the shore, and all
chose rather to perish in the sea than accept of the quarter
offered by the pirates. The triumphant Bueaniers, without losing a moment, gave chase, and immediately landed,
resolving forthwith to attempt the castle; but as they were
ill armed for such an assault, and the place waswell fortified
and manned, they desisted from the attempt, and returned
to their ships, having lost in that day's work thirty men
killed and many more wounded.
Though the Spanish ships were destroyed, the castle
still remained to be passed; and the Spaniards had laboured
all night in completing its defences. Morgan again had
recourse to stratagem. All day long, in sight of the garrison, he affected to be sending boats filled with men to a
pdWt of the shore concealed from view of the castle by
trees. These men returned on board lying flat in the boats,
where, in going back, only the rowers were visible. They
mounted their ships at a side on which the Spaniards could
not perceive their return. This manoeuvre was repeated,
till the Spaniards believed that from the number of men




188        NEW, bEUCANI.i BXPxDI'TON*
landed an attack upon the castle was meditated. Thin
seemed the more probable, as Morgan, who had now hoisted
his flag in their captured war-ship, again sent a message
demanding a ransom for Maracaibo as the condition of his
departure. To meet the presumed movement of the Bucaniers, the guns of the castle were changed from a-,po
tion which commanded the lagune, and pointed to landwar
As soon as he was aware of this arrangement, Morgan
raised his anchors by moonlight, and favoured by the ebb
tide, the wind also being favourable, pressed past the
castle; the mortified Spaniards trying in vain to hasten
back with their pieces to bear upon him. He gave them a
parting volley from his great guns, so lately their own;
and bore away for Jamaica, exulting in good fortune,
enhanced likewise by what he learned of the misadventures
of those who had forsaken him in the early part of the
cruise.
Money and credit were, as usual, quickly outrun in the
taverns of Port Royal by the dissolute companions of Morgan; and another expedition was concerted, which was to
exceed all the former achievements of the sea-rovers. And
no time was to be lost, as a pending treaty between Great
Britain and Spain threatened for ever to put an end to what
their admiring countrymen termed the "unparalleled exploits of the Bucaniers."  Letters were despatched by
the commander to every noted Bucanier, and the south
side of the island of Tortuga was named as the rendezvous.
Early in October, 1670, Morgan found himself surrounded
by pirates, hunters, cultivators, English, French, and
Dutch, who, from land and sea, the plantation and the wilderness, had flocked to the standard of him who was to
lead them to fortune and victory. The first* duty was to
victual the fleet, and this was done by pillaging the hogyards, and with the boucan sent in by hunters who either
joined in the expedition or traded with the pirates. The
Bucanier fleet, consisting of thirty-seven vessels fully
provisioned, next sailed for Cape Tiburon, on the p.0nt
coast of Hispaniola,-the fighting-men amounting to 2000.
At the general council now held, three places of attack were
deliberated upon,-Vera Cruz, Carthagena, and Panama.
The last and most difficult was that which was chosen,
recommended by the extravagant notions entertained in




STORMING OF THE CASTLE OF CHAGRE.  ]89
Europe and the West Indies of its amazing wealth, and of
the great riches of Peru.
Morgan had never renounced the idea, which originated
with Mansvelt, of a Bucanier settlement on the conveniently-situated island of Providence. Once more it was
captured on his way, the Spanish governor making a farce
of resistance. From this point Morgan detached a force of
400 men to attack the castle of Chagre, the possession of
which he judged necessary to the success of his future operations against Panama.  It was eventually carried by the
accident of fire communicating with the powder-magazine,
which blew up part of the defences.*
While the Spaniards were occupied in suppressing the
conflagration, the Bucaniers laboured hard to increase the
confusion, by setting fire to the palisadoes in several places.
At last they effected a breach, in defiance of the liquid combustibles which the Spaniards poured down among them,
and which occasioned considerable loss of their numbers.
But the attack and resistance were still continued throughout the whole night, the Bucaniers directing an incessant
fire towards the breaches, which the Spanish governor per
tinaciously defended.
By noon the nexfday the Bucaniers had gained a breach,
which was defended by the governor himself and twenty
five soldiers. The Spanish soldiers fought with desperate
valour, despair lending them supernatural courage; but
nothing could resist the impetuosity of the pirates; they
burst their way through every obstacle, and the unfortunate
Spaniards who survived, preferring death to the dishonour
of either falling into the hands of these infuriated ruffians
or of begging quarter, precipitated themselves into the sea.
The governor had retired into the corps du garde, before
which he planted two pieces of cannon, and bravely maintained the hopeless and unequal conflict till he fell by a
* The manner in which the fire was imaginLd to be communicated is
not a little singular. A Bucanier was pierced thronrh by an arrow
from the fort. He drew it forth from his body, wound a little cotton
round it, and shot it from his musket against the castle. The cotton kin
died by the powder set fire to the palm-leaf roofs of some sheds within
the castle, and the flame caught at the gunpowder, which produced the
breach in the walls. At the same instant the Bucaniers set fire to the
palisadoes: the Spaniards, though unwavering in con  age ard undaunted
m resolution, became distracted in the midst of so mlany dangers.
0




190             MARCH TO PANAMA.
musket-shot, which entered the brain. Of the garrison of
314 men only thirty remained alive, and of these few twenty
were wounded. Not a single officer escaped.
From the survivors of the siege the Bucaner party
learned that the Governor of Panama was already apprized
of their design against that place, that all along the course
of the Chagre ambuscades were laid, and that a force of
3600 men awaited their arrival. Butthis did not deter
Morgan, who pressed forward for Chagre the instant that
he received intelligence of the capture of the castle, carrying with him all the provisions that could be obtained in
Santa Katalina, to which island he intended to return after
the capture of Panama.
The English colours flying upon the castle of Chagre
was a sight of joy to the iain body of the Bucaniers upon
their arrival. Morgan was admitted within the fort by the
triumphant advanced troop with all the honours of conquest.
Before his arrival, the wounded, the widows of the soldiers
killed in the siege, and the other women of the place, had
been shut up in the church, and suljected to the most
brutal treatment. To their fate Morgan was entirely callous; but he lost no time in setting the prisoners to work
in repairing the defences and forming new palisadoes.; he
also seized all the craft in the river, many of which carried
from two to four small pieces.
These arrangements concluded, Morgan left a garrison
of 500 men in his castle of Chagre, and in the ships 150;
while at the head of 1200 Bucaniers, he, on the 18th Janu —
ary, 1671, commenced his inland voyage to Panama, indifferent about or determined to brave the Spanish ambuscades. His artillery was carried by five large boats, and
thirty-two canoes were filled with part of the men. Anxious
to push forward, Morgan committed one capital blunder in
carrying almost no provisions, calculating upon a shorter
period being consumed on the march than it actually required, and on foraging upon the Spaniards. Even on the
first day their provisions failed, and on the second they were
compelled to leave the canoes, the lowness of the river and
the fallen trees lying across it making this mode of travelling tedious and nearly impracticable. Their progress was
now continued by land and water alternately, and was
attended with great inconvenience, the extremity of famine
being of the number of their hardships.  Their best hopes




HARDSHIPS OF THE JOURNEY.             191
were now placed in falling in with the threatened ambuscades, as there they might find a store of provisions. So
extremely were they pinched with hunger, that the leathern
bags found at a deserted Spanish station formed a delicious
meal. About this delicacy they even quarrelled, and it is
said openly regretted that no Spaniards were found, as,
failingprovisions, they had resolved to have roasted or
boiled i few of the enemy to satisfy their ravening appetites.
Throughout the whole track to Panama the Spaniards
had taken care not to leave the smallest quantity of provisions, and any other soldiers than the Bucaniers must
have perished long before even a distant view was obtained
of the city; but their powers of endurance, from their
hardy modes of life, were become almost superhuman. At
nightfall, when they reached their halting-place, "happy
was he who had reserved since morn any small piece of
leather whereof to make his supper, drinking after it a
good draught of water for his greatest comfort." Their
mode of preparing this tough meal deserves to be noticed.
The skins were first sliced, then alternately dipped in water
and heat between two stones to render them tender;lastly, the remaining hair was scraped off, and the morsel
broiled, cut into small bits, and deliberately chewed, with
frequent mouthfuls of water to eke out and lengthen the
repast.
On the fifth day, at another deserted ambuscade, a little
maize was found, and also some wheat, wine, and plantains.
This, scanty as it was, proved a seasonable supply to those
who drooped, and it was thriftily dealt out among them
Next day a barn full of maize was discovered, which, beating down the door, the famished Bucaniers rushed upon
and devoured without any preparation. Yet all this hardship could not turn them aside from the scent of prey,
though symptoms of discontent became visible in their
ranks. At a village called Cruz, perceiving from a distance
a great smoke, they joyfully promised themselves rest and
refreshments; but on reaching it found no inhabitant, and
every house either burnt down or in flames, so determined
were the Spaniards to oppose the onward march of the
terrible beings, presented to their imaginations under every
shape of horror. The only animals remaining, the dogs




192         THE SOUTH SEA DESCRIED.
and cats of the village, fell an immediate sacrifice to the
wolfish hunger of the Bucaniers.
Morgan had now some difficulty in preserving discipline,
and in keeping his companions or followers from falling
into the hands of the Spaniards or Indians when straggling
about in search of any thing they could devour. In this
way one man was lost.
They were now within eight leagues of Panaum, and
the nearer they approached, the more anxious and vigilant
was Morgan in looking out for the threatened ambuscades
of the enemy, who, he naturally conjectured, might have retired to consolidate his forces. On the eighth day, they were
surprised by a shower of Indian arrows poured upon them
from some unseen quarter, and advancing into the woods,
maintained a sharp short contest with a party of Indians,
many of whom fell, offering a brave though vain resistance.
Ten of the freebooters were killed in this skirmish. The
Bucaniers, who had already three Indian guides, runaways found in Santa Katalina, endeavoured at this place
to make some prisoners for the purpose of procuring intelligence; but the Indians were too swift-of foot.
After another twenty-four hours of suffering, under which
only freebooters or Indians could have borne up, on the
morning of the ninth day of the march, from a high mountain, the majestic South Sea was joyfully descried, with
ships and boats sailing upon its bosom, and peacefully setting out from the concealed port of Panama. Herds of
cattle, horses, and asses, feeding in the valley below the
eminence on which they stood, formed a sight not less
welcome. They rushed to the feast; and, cutting up the
animals, devoured their flesh half-raw, "more resembling
cannibals than Europeans at this banquet, the blood many
times running down from their beards unto the middle of
their bodies."
This savage meal being ended the journey was resumed,
Morgan still endeavouring to gain information by taking
prisoners, as on his whole line of march he had obtained
speech of neither Spaniard nor Indian.
In the same evening the t~eeple of Panama was beheld
at a distance; and, forgettiig all their sufferings, the Bucaniers gave way to the most rapturous exultation, tossing
their caps into the air, eaping, shouting, beating their




BATTLE WITH THE SPANIARDS.          193
drums, and sounding their trumpets at the sight of so glorious a plunder, and as if victo f were already consummated. They encamped for the night near the city, intending to make the assault early in the morning. Tht
same night a party of fifty Spanish horsemen came out
as if to reconnoitre, advanced within musket-shot of the
pirates, scornfully challenged " the dogs" to come on, and
then retired, leaving six or eight of their number to watch
the enemy's motions. Upon this the great guns of the
town began to play on the camp, but were too distant, or
ilt directed, to do any execution; and instead of betraying
alarm, the Bucaniers, having placed sentinels around their
camp, made another voracious meal preparatory to the
next day's business, threw themselves upon the grass, and,
lulled by the Spanish artillery, slept soundly till the dawn.
The camp was astir betimes, and the men being mustered
and arrayed, with drums and trumpets sounding they advanced towards the city; but instead of taking the ordinary
route, which the Spaniards were prepared to defend, by
the advice of one of the Indian guides they struck through
a wood, by a tangled and difficult path, in which, however,
immediate obstruction could not be apprehended. Before
the Spaniards could counteract this unexpected movement,
the Bucaniers had advanced some way.  The Governor
of Panama, who led the forces, commanded 200 cavalry
and four regiments of infantry; and&  number of Indian
auxiliaries conducted an immense herd of wild bulls, to be
driven among the ranks of the Bucaniers, and which were
expected to throw them into disorder. This extraordinary
arm of war was viewed by the hunters of Hispaniola and
Campeachy with indifference; but they were somewhat
alarmed at the regular and imposing array of the troops
drawn up to receive them. It was, however, too late to
retreat. They divided into three detachments, two hundred
dexterous marksmen leading the advance.  They now
stood on the top of a little eminence, whence the whole
Spanish force, the city, and the champaign country around
were distinctly seen.  As they moved downward the
Spanish cavalry, shouting Viva el Rey, immediately advanced to meet them; but the ground.happened to be soft
and marshy, which greatly obstructed the maneuvres of
the hor semen. The advance of the Bucaniers, all picked




194       VICTORY OF THE BUCANIERS.
marksmen, knelt and received them with a volley, and the
conflict instantly became close and hot. The Bucaniers,
throwing themselves between the Spanish horse and foot,
succeeded in separating them, and the wild bulls, taking
fright from the tumult and the noise of the guns, ran away,
or were shot by the Bucaniers before they could effect
any mischief.
After a contest of two hours the Spanish cavalry gave
way. Many were killed, and the rest fled; which the
foot-soldiers perceiving, fired their last charge, threw down
their muskets, and followed the example of the cavaliets.
Some of them took refuge in the adjoining thickets; and
though the Bucaniers did not continue the,pursuit, they
took a savage pleasure in shooting without mercy all who
accidentally fell into their hands. In this way several
priests and friars who were made prisoners were pistolled
by the orders of Morgan. A Spanish officer who was made
prisoner gave the Bucaniers minute intelligence of the frrce
of the enemy and the plan of defence, which enabled them
to approach the town from the safest point; but the advance was still attended with difficulty.
After the rout which had taken place in the open field, and
the slaughter which followed, the Bucaniers rested for a
little space, and during this pause solemnly plighted their
honour, by oaths to each other, never to yield while a single
man remained alive  This done, carrying their prisoners
with them, they advanced upon the great guns planted in
the streets and the hasty defences thrown up to repel them.
In this renewed assault the Bucaniers suffered severely
before they could make good those close quarters in which
they ever maintained a decided superiority in fighting. Still
they resolutely advanced to the final grapple, the Spaniards
keeping up an incessant fire. The town was gained after
a desperate conflict of three hours maintained in its open
streets.
In this assault the Bucaniers neither gave nor accepted
quarter, and the carnage on both sides was great. Six
hundred Spaniards fell on that day, nor was the number of
the Bucaniers who perished much less; but to those who
survived a double share of plunder was at all times ample
consolation for the loss of companions whose services were
no longer required in its acquisition. The city was no




CONFLAGRATION OF PANAMA.               195
sooner gained than Morgan, who saw the temper of the isilabitants in the obstinate nature of the resistance they had
offered, and who well knew the besetting sins of his followers, prudently prohibited them from tasting wine; and
aware that such an order would be very little regarded were
it enforced by nothing save a simple command, he affirmed:
that he had received private intelligence that all the wine
had been poisoned.  They were therefore enjoined not to
touch it under the dread of poisoning and the penalties of
discipline. Neither of these motives were sufficient to enforce rigid abstinence among the Bucaniers, though they
operated till indulgence became more safe.
As soon as possession of the city was gained guards
were placed, and at the same time fires broke out simultaneously in different quarters, which were attributed by the
Spaniards to the pirates, and by them to the inhabitants.
Both assisted in endeavouring to extinguish the dreadful
conflagration, which raged with fury; but the houses, being
built of cedar, caught the flames like tinder, and were consumed in a very short time. The inhabitants had previously
remnoied or concealed the most valuable part of their goods
and furniture.
The city of Panama consisted of about 12,000 houses,
many of them  large and magnificent.  It contained also
eight monasteries and two churches, all richly furnished.
The concealmentof the church-plate drew upon the ecclesiastics the peculiar vengeance of the heretical Bucaniers,
who, however, spared no one.  The conflagration which
they could not arrest they seemed at last to take a savage
delight in spreading. A slave factory belonging to the Genoese was burnt to the ground, together with many warehouses stored with meal. Many of the miserable Africans
whom the3Genoese brought for sale to Peru perished in the
flames, which raged or smouldered for nearly four weeks.
For some time the Bucaniers, afraid of being surprised
and overpowered by the Spaniards, who still reckoned ten
for one of their numbers, encamped without the town.
Morgan had also weakened his force by sending a hundred
and fifty men back to Chagre with news of his victory. Yet
by this handful of men the panic-struck Spaniards were
held in check and subjection while the lbcaniers either
raged like demons through the burning town or prowled




106              PLUNDER OF THE CITY.
among the ruins and ashes in search of plate and other
valuable articles.
The property which the Spaniards had concealed in deep
wells and cisterns was nearly all discovered, and the most
active of the Bucaniers were sent out to the woods and
heights to search for and drive back the miserable inhabitants who had fled from the city with their effects. In two
days they brought in about two hundred of the fugitives as
prisoners. Of those unhappy persons many were females,
who found the merciless Bucaniers no better than their fears
had painted them.*
In plundering the land Morgan had not neglected the sea.
By sea many of the principal inhabitants had escaped, and
a boat was immediately sent in pursuit, which brought in
three prizes; though a galleon, in which was embarked all
the plate and jewels belonging to the King of Spain and the
wealth of the principal nunnery of the town, escaped, from
the Bucaniers indulging in a brutal revel in their own bark
till it was too late to follow and capture the ship. The pursuit was afterward continued for four days, at the end of
which the Bucaniers returned to Panama with another prize,
worth 20,000 pieces of eight in goods, from Paita.
* The Spanish colonists of South America had a twofold reason for
detesting the Bucaniers. They were English heretics as well as lawless
miscreants, capable of the foulest crimes; and it'is not easy to say
whether in the idea of the indolent, uninstructed, priestridden inhabitants
of Panama, Porto Bello, and Carthagena they were not as hateful and
alarming in the first character as in the last. A Spanish lady, one of
his prisoners, with whom Morgan the Bucanier commander fell in love,
is described as believing, till she saw them, that the freebooters were not
men, hul some sort of monsters named heretics, " who tlid neither invoke
the blessed Trinity, nor believe in Jesus Christ." The civilities of Captain Morgan inclined her to better thoughts of his faithrand Christianity,
especially as she heard him frequently swear by the sacred names.
" Neither did she now think them to be so bad, or to have the shapes of
beasts, as from the relations o several people she had heard oftentimes.
For as to the name of robbers or thieves which was commonly given them
by others, she wondered not much at it, seeing, as she said, that among all
nations of the universe there be found wicke I men who covet the goods
of others."  It is clear that thb heretic was as great a curiosity, if not a
more truculent motister than the Bucanier. Another lady of Panama
was very curious to see the extraordinary animals called Bucaniers, and
the first time she had that happiness exclaimed aloud, "Jesubless me!
th2se thieves are like unto us Spaniards."  About a century before the
storming of Pianama one powerful reason with the Spatniards for pre.
venting the English from pass'ig the Straits of Magellan was, to pre.
serve the natives of the newly liscovered islands of the Pacific " froar
tIe venom of their heresy.'




PROCEEDINGS OF THE BUCANIERS.    197
Meanwhile, on the opposite coast, the ships' companies
left at Chagre were exercising their vocation, and had cap.
tured one large Spanish vessel, which, unaware ot the
hands into which the castle had fallen, ran in under it for
protection.
While the Bucaniers were thus employed at sea, and at
Panama and Chagre, parties continued to scour the sur.
rounding country, taking in turn the congenial duty of foray.
ing and bringing in booty and prisoners, on whom they exercised the most atrocious cruelties, unscrupulously employing the rack, and sparing neither age, sex, nor condition.
Religious persons were the subjects of the most refined
barbarity, as they were believed to direct and influence the
rest of the inhabitants, both in their first resistance and in
the subsequent concealment of property. During the perpetration of these outrages, Morgan, as has been noticed,
fell in love with a beautiful Spanish woman, his prisoner,
and the wife of one of the principal merchants.  She rejected his infamous addresses with firmness and spirit; and
the Bucanier commander, alike a ruffian in his love and
hate, used her with severity that disgusted even those of his
own gang who had not thrown aside every feeling of manhood; and he was fain to charge his fair prisoner with
treachery to excuse the baseness of the treatment she received by his orders. This alleged treachery consisted in
corresponding with her countrymen, and endeavouring to
effect her escape.
In the mean while a plan had entered the minds of a party
of the Bucaniers which did not suit the views nor meet the
approbation of their leader. They had resolved to seize a
ship in the port, cruise upon the South Sea on their own
account till satiated with booty, and then either establish
themselves on some island, or return to Europe by the East
Indies. Captain Morgan could neither spare equipments
nor men for this project, of which he received private information. He immediately ordered the mainmast of the
ship to be cut down and burnt, together with every other
vessel in the port, thus effectually preventing desertion on
this side of America. The arms, ammunition, and stores
secretly collected for this bold cruise on the South Sea were
applied to other purposes.
Nothing more was to be wrung forth from Panama.




198     THE CAPTIVES OF THE BUCANIERS.
which, after a destructive sojourn of four weeks, Morga
resolved to leave. Beasts of burden were therefore collected
from all quarters to convey the spoils to the opposite coast.
The cannon were spiked, and scouts sent out to learn what
measures had been taken by the Governor of Panama to
intercept the return to Chagre. The Spaniards were too
much depressed to have made any preparation either to annoy or cut off the retreat of their inveterate enemies; and
on the 24th February the Bucaniers, apprehensive of no op
position, left the ruins of Panama with a hundred and sev
enty-five mules laden with their spoils and above six hundred
prisoners, including women, children, and slaves. The
misery of these wretched captives, driven on in the midst
of the armed Bucaniers, exceeds description. They believed that they were all to be carried to Jamaica, England,
or some equally wild, distant, and savage country, to be
sold for slaves; and the cruel craft of Morgan heightened
these fears, the more readily to extort the ransom he demanded for the freedom of his unhappy prisoners. In vain
the women threw themselves at his feet supplicating for the
mercy of being allowed to remain amid the ruins of their
former homes, or in the woods in huts with their husbands
and children. His answer was, "that he came not here to
listen to cries and lamentations, but to get money, which
unless he obtained he would assuredly carry them all where
they would little like to go." Three days were granted, in
which they might avail themselves of the conditions of ransom. Several were happy enough to be able to redeem
themselves, or were rescued by the contributions sent in;
and with the remaining captives the pirates pushed onward,
making new prisoners and gathering fresh spoils on their way.
The conduct of Morgan at this time disproves many of
the extravagant notions propagated about the high honour
of the Bucaniers in their dealings with each other. Halting
at a convenient place for his purpose, in the midst of the
wilderness, and about half-way to Chagre, he drew up his
comrades, and insisted that, besides taking an oath declaring
that all plunder had been surrendered to the common stock,
each man should be searched. he himself submitting in the
first place to the degrading scrutiny, though it was suspected that the leading motive of the whole mianeuvre was
the desire of concealing his own peculation and fraudulent




MORGAN STEALS A'AWA.                199
dealipg with his associates. The French Bucaniers who
accompanied the expedition were indignant at treatment so
much at variance with the maxims and usages of the gen.
tlemen rovers; but being the weaker party they were corn
pelled to submit.
The Bucaniers and their prisoners performed the remain,
der of the journey by water; and when arrived at Chagre,
Morgan, who knew not how to dispose of his unredeemed
prisoners, shipped them all off for Porto Bello, making them
the bearers of his demand of ransom from the governor of
that city for the castle of Chagre. To this insolent message
the Governor of Porto Bello replied, that Morgan might make
of the castle what he pleased; not a ducat should be given
for its ransom.
There was thus no immediate prospect of any more plunder in this quarter, and nothing remained to be done but to
divide the spoils already acquired. The individual shares
fell so far short of the expectations of the Bucaniers that
they openly grumbled, and accused their chief of the worst
cri.e of which in their eyes he could be guilty,-secreting
the richest of the jewels for himself. Two hundred pieces
of eight each man was thought a very small return for the
plunder of so wealthy a city, and a very trifling reward for
the toil and danger that had been undergone in assaulting
it. Matters were assuming so serious an aspect among the
fraternity that Morgan, who knew the temper of his friends,
deemed it advisable to steal away with what he had obtained. He immediately made the walls of Chagre be destroyed, carried the guns on board his own ship, and, followed by one or two vessels commanded by persons in his
confidence, sailed for Jamaica, leaving his enraged associates in want of every necessary. Those who followed
him yere all Englishmen, who, as the French Bucaniers
fully believed, connived at the frauds and shared in the gains
of Morgan. They would instantly have pursued him to sea,
and the Spaniards might have enjoyed the satisfaction of
seeing the Bucanier fleet divided and fighting against itself,
had they with a force so much weaker, dared to venture so
unequal an encounter. The vessels deserted by Morgan
separated here, and the companies sought their fortunes in
different quarters, none of them much the richer for the
lmiery and devastation they had carried to Panama.




200    PROCLAMATION bF THE GOVERNOR.
Morgan, on arriving at Jamaica laden with plunder, and
exulting in his late exploit, endeavoured once more to levy
recruits for the independent state he still longed to establish
at Santa Katalina, and of which he himself, already admiral
and generalissimo of the Bucaniers, was to he the prince or
overnor.  But circumstances were still unfavourable.
ord John Vaughan, the newly-appointed Governor of Jamaica, had orders strictly to enforce the treaty with Spain
formed in the previous year, but to proclaim pardon and indemnity, and offer a grant of lands to such of the Bucaniers
as chose to become peaceful cultivators. Future depredations on the trade or settlements of Spain were forbidden
by the royal proclamation, and under severe penalties. But
it was not a proclamation, however strongly worded, that
could at once tame down the lawless Bucanier into a planter,
or confine to thirty-seven acres of ground him who had for
years freely roamed through sea and land, with his sword
reaping his harvest wherever men of greater industry had
sown it. To adopting the habits of peaceful life many of
the English Bucaniers preferred joining the Flibustiers at
Tortuga, or becoming logwood-cutters in the Bay of Campeachy; and, luckily for the remainder, in the next year a
war broke out between Great Britain and Holland, which
enabled some of them to follow their old vocation as privateers; Bucaniers and Flibustiers alike exercising their
industry for a short time against the Dutch instead of their
old enemies the Spaniards.
Before quitting this part of the subject, it may be proper
to notice the conclusion of the adventures of the notorious
Morgan. In the year which elapsed between the plunder
of Panama and 1680, he had sufficient address and interest,
or, more probably, skill in the appliance of his ill-gotten
wealth, to obtain from Charles II. the honour of knighthood, and afterward to be appointed deputy-governor of
Jamaica. Though it was believed that he still secretly
shared in the plundering adventures of the Bucaniers,
Morgan treated many of his old comrades with very great
severity. Several of them were hanged under his administration, and others he delivered up to the Spaniards at
Carthagena, as was believed, for the price of blood; nor
does the character of Morgan make this suspicion improbable.  The strict justice and severity exercised by the




BUCANIER EXPLOITS AT VERA CRUZ.  201
deputy-governor on his old friendesand countrymen did
not, however, dispose the Spaniards to unlimited confidence
in Morgan; and suspecting him of secretly favouring the
Bucaniers, who had once more increased, they were able,
after the accession of James II., to get him removed from
his office and committed for a time to prison in England.
The same unwise restrictions and troublesome interference with the cultivation and commerce of the colonies
which had encouraged the system of bucaniering in its commencement fostered it once more, though France, instead
of Spain, was become the agent in this mistaken policy.The regulations adopted by the government of France for
the West India trade, and the partial and oppressive administration of colonial affairs, tended more than any other
circumstance to recruit the ranks of the freebooters,-men,
disturbed in their peaceful industry by vexatious and
annoying prohibitions and monopolies, readily placing
themselves beyond the law, which was more their torment
than protection. Thus, though the freebooters were at
length crushed by the express prohibitions of their several
countries, they were incited by causes more powerful, originating in the same source.
In 1683, the Bucaniers, led by three noted chiefs, Van
Horn, Grammont, and Laurent de Graff, by a stratagem
took the city of Vera Cruz in the Gulf of Mexico. Many
of the English Bucaniers were engaged in this expedition,
though none of them held high command. This was
reckoned the most brilliant exploit that had yet been achieved
by the Flibustiers. Their mode of attack was similar to
that which had been practised by Drake a century before.
In the darkness of night a sufficient force was landed, which
marched three leagues over land, and before dawn surprised
and captured the city. The inhabitants were shut up in
the churches, the usual prison of the Bucaniers, at the
door of each of which barrels of gunpowder were placed,
and sentinels beside them, holding a lighted match, ready
to produce an explosion at a moment's notice, or on the
slightest symptom of revolt. The city was thus pillaged
without molestation from the inhabitants; and the famished
prisoners in the churches were afterward glad to purchase
their freedom on any terms their conquerors chose to dictate. Ten millions of- livres were demanded as a ransom,




202           TlHE BUICANIERS TURN
and the half of it hat been raised and paid in, when the
appearance of a body of troops and a fleet of seventeen
ships caused the freebooters to make a precipitate but
well-ordered retreat, carrying off 1500 slaves. Loaded
with their booty and prisoners, they boldly sailed through
the fleet sent to attack them, which did not venture to fire
a single gun.  They might probably have roused the
Spaniards from their fear or lethargy by an assault, had
they not been more careful to preserve the plunder they
had obtained than desirous of a barren naval victory over
ships carrying no cargoes.
Fortunately for the freedom and repose of the Spanish
colonists, no Bucanier corps ever agreed, or acted in harmony, for any length of time. Their lawless unions fell to
pieces even more rapidly than they were formed; and those
of the French and English seldom adhered even to the conclusion of a joint expedition. On the present occasion
they separated in wrath, the Frenchmen employing the
pretext of the quarrel they artfully fomented to withhold the Englishmen's share of the pillage. The latter
cruises of the Bucaniers were in few respects distinguished
by the honour and integrity among themselves which were
said to have marked their first exploits.  The French Flibustier now sought but a shallow excuse to plunder the English Bucanier, who, on the other side, lost no opportunity
of retaliation.
The tardy though now earnest efforts of France and
Britain to crush the brethren of the coast, the increasing
military and maritime strength of the Spanish colonists,
and above all a field too narrow and exhausted for the numerous labourers, together with wild and magnificent ideas
of the wealth of Peru, were so many powerful motives
urging the Bucaniers, whether French or English, upon enterprises in a new and wider region. Among them an estimate was formed of the riches of the western shores, from
the single circumstance, that in a few years after the visit of
Morgan, a new city of Panama had arisen, which in splendour and wealth eclipsed the desolated town. The Peruvian
coast and the South Sea, in all their riches and extent,
presented a field which neither the long arm of France noi
the powerful hand of England could reach: and of the
opposition to be feared from the indolent and effeminate




THEIR THOUGHTS TO PERU.                20O
Inhabitants the expedition of Morgan had afforded a very
satisfactory specimen. In the new design of crossing the
continent, and searching for untried regions of conquest and
spoliation, the Bucaniers were rather urged by personal
motives of rapacity, and the desire of escaping from the
colonial officials of the West India islands-who latterly
either shared their booty or treated them with great severity,
and not unfrequently did both-than influenced by any
enlightened or comprehensive plan of operations.  The
wealth of this new region and the ease with which it
might be acquired were primary reasons; personal security
was merely secondary; and beyond these motives this
chaotic banditti never once looked; all their ideas of conquest being limited to the plunder of a city or a ship, to
plate, silks, and pieces of eight; nor were their enjoyments
and pleasures of a more liberal or elevated kind. We may
therefore without much regret here close this general sketch
of the Bucaniers.  All that is interesting in their subsequent career, from the plundering of Vera Cruz in the Bay
of Mexico to their decay and suppression, is closely interwoven with the personal adventures of Dampier, on
which we are now to enter. And in the narrative of this
remarkable navigator, instead of monotonous details of
fraud, rapacity, and cruelty, on which it has been painful
tn linger, the reader is gratified with the researches and
discoveries of natural science, and with pictures of life aind
manners, curious, novel, and attractive, which have never
yet, among the multitude of succeeding European navigators, fallen under the notice of a more acute and accurate
observer, or obtained a delineator more faithful and lively,
and occasionally more glowing arn poetical, than the extraordinary man whose history we are now to follow, come
nencing with his early wanderings among the Bucaniers




204              ANCESTRY OF DAMPIER
CHAPTER VIII.
Adventures among the Wood-cutters and Bucanmers.
Ancestry and Education of Dampier-His Voyage to India-Goes to
Jamaica as a Planter-Becomes a Logwood-cutter in CarnmpeachyHabits of the Wood-cutters-Appearance of the Country-Its Natural
Productions-The Wild Pine-Snakes-Ants-The HIumming-birdAlligators-Dampier loses himself in the Woods-Copartnership with
three Scotchmen-Dreadful Hurricane in the Bay-Its Consequence.
-Beef Island-The Indians-John d'Acosta-Mode of hocksing Cattle
-Dampier joins the Bucaniers -The Mariatee, or Sea-cow-The
River Tobasco —ndians under the Spanish Priests-Their Manners
and Condition-Attack of Alvarado-Escape of the Bucaniers from
the'Spanish'Armadilloes-Munjack —Dampier rejoins the Logwood.
cutters-Returns to England.
To Captain Dampier himself the world is indebted for the
only record of his early history which can be considered
authentic.  He was born about 1652, at Fast Coker, near
Yeovil, a considerable market-town in Somersetshire.  His
father was probably a farmer; and we learn incidentally
that his mother, when a widow, along with whatever other
property she might possess, held the lease of a small farm
at East Coker from Colonel Hellier, the lord of the manor.
The small farms in this parish were held for lives, and varied in rent from 201. to 501. By a singular, but then probably a common arrangement, each occupier had a patch of
land of every different kind of soil, lying apart or scattered
throughout the parish, as black-loam, clayey, -and sandy
ground, which varied in rent from forty, thirty, and twenty
shillings an acre, down to ten groats for the poorest. On
these scattered patches every yeoman raised wheat, oats,
barley, beans, rye,* hemp, and flax, for the consumption of
his own family. The statistics of East Coker afford a curious picture of English agriculture, and of that race of
primitive cultivators who have long since disappeared, and
will ever be regretted.
* Dampier, in the early edition of his work which lies before us, says
ice: but this is probably a slip of the pen of one who was now more
familiar with this foreign grain than with the rye of his childhood




VOYAGE TO INDIA.                205
Before the death of his parents, which happened while he
Was very young, Dampier had begun to receive the elements
of a classical education; but on this event taking place his
studies were suspended, and he was sent to acquire writing
and arithmetic, to qualify him for some humbler employment
than might have been originally designed; and in a short
time after the death of his mother he was placed with a
shipmaster belonging to Weymouth. Slender as his advantages of early education appear to have been, he profited
so largely by them as to afford one more proof that the best
part of a man's learning is that which he acquires by himself.
William Dampier's first voyage was to France, his next
to Newfoundland, in which he suffered so severely from the
climate, that he almost resolved against returning to sea;
but this determination was commuted into a resolution not
to try the same ungenial quarter. Dampier, now  about
eighteen, was already animated by the restless activity, the
curiosity, love of vicissitude, adventure, and peril, which
form the strong and marking characteristics of the youth
who is born a seaman.  " The offer," he says, "of a long
voyage and a warm one soon carried me to sea again." He
entered as a foremast-man on board the Martha East Indiaman, which sailed direct from London to Bantam; from
whence, after a stay of two months, he returned within
little more than the year. From his early childhood Dampier had been a keen observer. On his former voyages he
had gained some nautical experience, which he enlarged
during the present, diligently studying the practical part of
his profession, though he had not yet commenced a journal,
the keeping of which came to be the solace of his roaming unconnected life, and the means of great mental improvement.
The summer after his return from India Dampier spent
with his brother in Somersetshire, whose house in early life
seems to have been his home while on shore. His next service was on board the Royal Prince, in which he enlisted,
England being then at war with Holland. He was in two
engagements; but of a third fought by the ship, in which
the commander, Sir Edward Sprague, was killed, he was
net a witness, having previously fallen into bad health.
FNom the ship he was sent to Harwich hospital, and finally
to his brother's, where he slowly recovered.
P




206      DAMPIER-lNGAGES AS A PLANTER.
With returning health the love of the sea recurred; but
Dampier meanwhile accepted the offer of Colonel Hellier,
and went to Jamaica as under-manager of a plantation be.
longing to that gentleman, forming a special agreement with
the captain to protect himself from the frauds of the kid
nappers. The ship went "merrily along," steering for
Barhadoes, which was the first of the islands that Danpier
beheld. He was at this time twenty-two years of age, tc
tive, intelligent, and full of an instinctive curiosity, already
under the guidance of a strong, clear, and prompt understanding.
St. Lucia was next seen, and afterward Tobago and St.
Vincent's. He whose glance was ever quick and sure for
every natural production of a new country was not likely
to neglect its people. The condition of the Carib Indians,
the aborigines of the islands, forcibly arrested the attention
of the young voyager; and he relates a contemporary incident in a manner which betrays, rather than states, the sound.
ness and, when the era is considered, the liberality of his
opinions and the correctness of his moral feelings, while
it places the Indian character in a favourable and also in a
fair light, as contrasted with the European of the colonies.
In passing St. Lucia, the captain of. the vessel, seeing a
smoke on the shore, the usual token of inhabitation, sent off
a boat to purchase those fruits with which the Indians often
supplied English vessels sailing by. Three Indians came
to the ship's side in a canoe laden with sugar-canes, and
also with plantains, pineapples, and other tropical fruits,
They seemed much agitated, and often repeated the name
of " Captain Warner."  It proved that this Captain Warner was the son of Governor Warner of Antigua, by an Indian woman. He had been bred in his father's family as
an English youth, but had acquired the language of his
mother's tribe. As he grew up, finding himself ill-treated
and despised, he fled to St. Lucia, and living among his
Carib kinsmen, adopted their manners, and became one of
their chiefs, roving with them from island to island, making
inroads upon the planters, not sparing even Antigua. To
avenge these -injuries the legitimate son of the governor
went out at the head of a party to encounter the Indians,
and accidentally met with his Carib brother. The young
man affected great joy at the meeting, and invited his half,




LOGWOOD-CVTTER8,OF CAMPEACHY.              207
blood elder brother with his warriors.to a feast, at which,
on a preconcerted signal, the chief and all the Indians were
treacherously slaughtered. It was said that the murdered
Warner had been the friend of the English, and that pride
alone instigated the young Creole to this perfidious butchery.
" Such perfidious doings as these," says Dalnpier, " are
great hindrances to our gaining an interest with the Indians,
besides the baseness of them."
As a planter Dampier was " clearly out of his element;"
and after spending some time in this ungenial occupation,
he engaged with different traders belonging to Port Royal,
who coasted round Jamaica, carrying goods from the plantations to that port. In these coasting voyages he became
thoroughly acquainted with all the harbours and bays of the
island, and with the land and sea winds and currents.
Availing himself of every opportunity and means of acquiring knowledge, Dampier appears through life to have
become wearied of every scene the moment he had exhausted the information it afforded, and to have longed for
change as soon as he had over-mastered its difficulties.
His next voyage, undertaken in August, 1675, was to the
island of Trist, in the Bay of Campeachy, for a cargo of iogwood.  In these late voyages he acted in the capacity of a
common sailor in a small vessel; but he now kept a regular journal, and was no common observer. On this voyage
to Campeachy his nautical remarks and observations on
the appearances and bearings of the coasts, the headlands,
bays, and islands, are ample and exact,-distinguished by
the clearness and perspicuity which are visible in all his
subsequent relations. They anchored at One-Bush-Key,
an islet about a mile from the shore, and so named from
having a single stunted tree.
The life of the logwood-cutters of the Bay of Campeachy, free and unrestrained, had many charms for the
young adventurer, and their jovial manners and frank hospitality, with the lucrative nature of the occupation of these
merry foresters, made him resolve to return and join their
ranks as soon as his present engagement terminated.
Logwood-cutting had now in many instances taken place
of the hunting of wild cattle, which were become scarce.
Some adventurers pursued both vocations, and others were
wood-cutters alone. A third class occasionally added the




208      VOYAE  FROM TRIST TO JAMAICA.
variety and profit of aprivateering cruise to their quiete
enployments.
The logwood-cutters in the Bay of Campeachy at this
time amounted to about 250 men, mostly natives of England, though there were also Scotchmen and Irishmen among
their number. By Spain they were considered interlopers,
and the trade contraband; but this did not much disturb
their consciences. Their general practice was to make up
a cargo in joint stock companies, the partnership lasting
till the contract for the number of tons agreed on was completed.
The traders who bought the die-wood carried the woodcutters rum, sugar, tobacco, and other things necessary to
them. The trade was usually opened by a solemn drinkingmatch on board the ships, where healths were pledged, and
salvoes fired in honour of each pledge, with all the customary demonstrations of Bucanier banqueting. The trader
who was the most liberal of his rum-punch on such festive
occasions might assure himself of the best bargain of logwood; the cutters priding themselves upon cheating those
they thought niggardly of their liquor and good cheer.
While taking in the cargo Dampier was often on shore,
and frequently visited the cabins of the woodmen, who hospitably entertained him with the rough substantial fare
which abounded among them,-pork and pease,-or beef,
for which they hunted in the savannas,-with doughboys,
a kind of thick unleavened cake, which, when on shore,
the Bucaniers and hunters often kneaded for themselves.
They were equally profuse of their liquor while the supply
lasted.
The returning voyage of Dampier to Jamaica was singularly disastrous, and between Trist and Port-Royal the
passage occupied thirteen weeks. Of the adventures and
perils of this voyage he has left a very lively account. A
passenger who returned with theih to Jamaica-a prisoner
who had escaped from the Spaniards-from his experience
of this coast, was the means of saving them from being
captured by a Spanish vessel, which gave chase to their
bark.'Ihough the crew had both fished and hunted at
several places before they reached Jamaica, they were during most part of the I>asis ie greatlyv pinched for provisions;
and on coining to an'hor after so many hardships, they




CONDITION OF THE WOOD-CUTTERS.    200
sent ashore for a supply, made a feast, and were just compounding a flowing bowl of punch, when the: captain of a
New-England trader came on board to visit them, and was
invited to share in the carouse. What follows is an amusing
trait of the nautical manners of the place and time."Mr. Hooker, being drank to by Captain Rawlins, who
pledged Captain Hudswell, and having the bowl in his
hands, said that he was under an oath to drink but three
draughts of strong liquor in one day, and putting the bowl
to his head turned it off at one draught, and so making
himself drunk, disappointed our expectations till we made
another bowl. I think it might contain six quarts."
As soon as he was discharged, Dampier returned to the
Bay of Campeachy to try his fortunes among the logwood
cutters.  Preparatory to this voyage he had provided himself with hatchets, knives, axes, saws, wedges, the sleepingpavilion necessary for ~ efence against the insects in this
climate, and a gun, with a supply of powder and shot. - A
power of attorney, lodged with a merchant who acted as
factor for the logwood-cutters, completed his arrangements.
The logwood forest in which the men laboured who were
joined by Dampier was on the west lagune of Trist Island,
in the Bay of Campeachy.
The first wood-cutters were men who had adopted this
occupation when bucaniering was overdone from the number of competitors, and become dangerous from prohibitory
edicts.  They originally settled near the forests of the diewood at Cape Catoch.  When these were exhausted they
had removed to the Isle of Trist;-the first intimation to
the Spaniards of their arrival on a new point being the
strokes of their axes on the trees, or the report of their
guns in the woods and savannas.  These wood-cutters
were divided into parties of from three to ten or twelve.
The company which consented to receive Dampier as a
helper, ignorant as he still was of their employment, consisted of six individuals, who had a cargo tt' logwood of a
hundred tons already felled and chipped, ind ready to be
brought to the creek, whence it was to be shipped for NewEngland. His wages were to be the price of a ton of wood
per month.
The wood-cutters had constructed their cabins close by
the sides of the creeks of the east and west lagunes of Trist,




210           CHARACTER AND HABITS
for the enjoyment of the refreshing sea-breezes, and to be
as near the diewood-groves as was found convenient. As
the nearest trees gradually fell beneath their axes, they frequently, instead of abandoning a favourite habitation, repaired to the scene of their daily labours in their canoes.
To each company belonged a canoe, pirogue, or large boat,
which was necessary in conveying their lading to the
traders, and also in the chase; for they hunted cattle by
water as well as land, for this purpose driving them into
narrow creeks.  Their cabins were of fragile construction,
but thickly thatched with palm-leaves, to shelter the inmates
from the violent rains of the wet season. Above the floor
a wooden frame was raised three or four feet, and this barbecue, with the pavilion or mosquito-curtains stretched and
supported over it, formed the sleeping-place of the woodcutters; another, equal in heig' t, covered with earth,
formed the domestic hearth; and a third served as seats.
The first adventurers who frequented the bay, after the
existence and the value of the diewood in this tract had
been accidentally discovered by an English ship, were actual Bucaniers, " who, though they could work well enough,
yet thought it a dry business to toil at cutting wood."
They were, moreover, good marksmen, and took great de
light in hunting, though piracy was still their favourite pursuit. Besides plundering on the seas, they often sallied out
among the nearest Indian villages, which they pillaged
without remorse, carrying off the Indian women to serve in
bearing wood and other drudgery, while their husbands
were sold to the logwood merchants who visited the bay,
and resold at Jamaica. To these ruffians the cabins of the
ships which came to minister to their pleasures and necessities were now what the taverns of Port Royal, from which
theyv were banished, had been. In these vessels they would
gat.ler at a grand drinking-match, and spend 301. or 401. at
a sitting, carousing and firing off guns for three or four days
successively.  Whatever might have been the prevailing
character of the wood-cutters at the time of Dampier's visit,
tlhe small company to which he was attached appear to have
been of a more respectable description than ordinary. Two
or three of them were natives of Scotland, who, if not actuated byhigher motives, were restrained from falling into
the extravagance and ri At of their companions by the desire




OF THE  WOOD-tGiTTERS.                  211
of accumulating money sufficient to enable them to enter
upon a better way of life.
The logwood-groves were near the sea, —this wood growing and thriving best in low wet ground, and among timber
of lower growth. The trees were from two to six feet in
circumference. They resembled the white thorn of England, save in size. The heart of the trunk, which is red, is
alone used as a diestuff, the spongy outer part being
chipped away.  It- is a heavy wood, and burns well; and
for this reason the hunters, wood-cutters, and Bucaniers
always, when it could be obtained, preferred it for hardening the steel of their firearms. Bloodwood, another diestuff much esteemed, was found in the Gulf of Nicaragua,
and sold at double the price of the logwood,-the latter selling at 151.* per ton, when the bloodwood cost 301.
Through five days, the logwood-cutters, while the industrious fit was upon them, plied their labours in the groves,
and on Saturday hunted in the savannas as a recreation,
and also to store their larders for the ensuing week.t  When
a bullock was shot, it was cut up where it lay, divided into
quarters, and the large bones taken out, when each man
thrust his head through a portion, and trudged home. If
his load became too weighty, part was cut off and flung to
the beastr and birds of prey which ever prowled and hovered
near the hunter.  But this mode of lightening their burdens
was rarely resorted to from  necessity.  The wood-cutters
were sturdy, robust fellows, accustomed to carry loads of
wood of from three to four hundred weight; though their
burdens, like every thing else, were regulated by their own
pleasure and discretion.  During the rainy season, when
the logwood-grounds were flooded, they would step fron
* Valuable as this wood was, the French Bucaniers who capturea
Campeachy, on one occasion, displayed their enthusiastic loyalty by
burning 42,0001. worth in celebrating the birthday of their king, or the
festival of St. Louis.
t Dampier says, that Saturday was employed by his party for hunting;
but his predecessors had not been so scrupulous in their observance of
the Sabbath. Raynal tells, that a Bucanier, when one of his helpers
(engagds, or indented men) expostulated with a hunter for compelling
him to work on Sunday, saying, God had forbidden this practice when
He gave the commandment, " Six days shalt thou labour, and on the
stventh rest."-" And I," replied the ruffian, " say to thee, six days thou
shalt kill balls and flay them, and on the seventh day thou shalt carry
them to the store."




212   NATURAL PRODUCTIONS OF THE BAY.
their high bed-frames into two feet of water, and remain
thtus all day,-improving this cool season as that moss
favourable to a good day's work. If there were more than
four about the killing of a bullock, while two or three dressed
the meat the others went in search of more game,-a carcass being the ordinary weekly allowance of four persons.
In this part of the Bay of Campeachy the dry season
commences in September and continues till April or May,
when the wet weather sets in with fierce tornadoes, and
continues thus till June, from which period rain falls almost
incessantly till the end of August. By this time the rivers
have risen, and the savannas and all the low grounds are
overflowed; and in this state they remain, the savannas
appearing like inland lakes till December and January,
when the water begins visibly to drain off, and by the middle of February leaves the land dry. About the beginning
of April the pools in the savannas are dried up, and the
whole country is so parched, that, but for a beautiful provision of nature, the human beings and the birds and beasts,
so lately surrounded with water, must perish of thirst.
During the fervid consuming heats of this season the
wood-cutters betook themselves to the forests in search of
tho wild pine, which afforded them a hearty and refreshing
draught. This interesting plant is minutely described by
Dampier, in that clear and succinct manner which characterizes all his notices of natural productions:-" The wild
pine," he says,' is a plant so called because it somewhat
resembles the bush that bears the pine; they are commonly
supported, or grow from some bunch, knot, or excrescence
of the tree, where they take root and grow upright. The
root is short and thick, from whence the leaves rise up in
folds one within another, spreading off at the top. They
are of a good thick substance, and about ten or twelve inches
long. The outside leaves are so compact as to contain the
rain-water as it falls. They will hold a pint and a half, or a
quart; and this water refreshes the leaves and nourishes
the root.  When we find these pines, we stick our knives
into the leaves just above the root, and that lets out the
water, which we catch in our hats, as I have done' many
times to my great relief."  Dampier's account of all the
natural productions of this country is equally curious. The
animals, besides those termed domestic, were the squash,




MONKEYS.                     213,he waree, and pecaree, a species of wild hog, the opossum,
tiger-cat, monkeys, ant-bears, armadilloes,* porcupines,
arid-turtle, and the sloth, besides lizards, snakes, and iguanas of many varieties. The general features of the country
in this part of the bay are, the land near the sea and the
lagunes, always wet and " mangrovy."  A little way back
from the shore the soil is a strong yellow clay, with a thin
surface of black mould.  Here logwood-trees and lowgrowing timber of many kinds thrive. As it recedes farther
from the sea the land rises, and trees of taller growth are
met with, till the forests terminate in large savannas covered
with long grass. These flats or natural meadows are generally three miles wide, and often much more. The soil of
the savannas is black, deep, and rich, and the grass luxuriant
in growth, but of a coarse kind. As an easy mode of husbandry which suited them well, the cattle-hunters at the
close of the dry season set fire to the grass of the savannas,
which, inmediately after the setting in of the rains, were
covered by a new and delicate herbage. These plains are
bounded by high ridges and declivities of the richest land,
covered with stately trees; and these alternate ridges and
flats, fine woodlands and grassy plains, stretch from ten to
twenty miles into the interior, which was as far as Dampier's knowledge extended.
In the woods monkeys abound, ranging in bands of from
twenty to thirty, leaping from tree to tree, incessantly chattering with frightful noise, making antic gestures, and
throwing sticks and other missiles at the passers-by. When
first alone in the woods Dampier felt afraid to shoot at them.
They accompanied him on his ramble, leaping from branch
to branch, swinging overhead with threatening gestures,
as if about to leap upon him, and only took leave at the
wood-cutters' huts. Though they were easily shot, it was
difficult to take them, as after being wounded they. pertinaciously clung to the high branches by their tails or claws
while life remained. " I have pitied," says our navigator,
*" the poor creature, to see it look on and handle the wounded
* The armadilloes, of which many species are now ascertained, belong
to the genus dasypus of naturalists. They are entirely confined to the
New World, of which they inhabit chiefly the warmer portions. They
are animals of omnivorous habits, dwelling in woods, and preying o
inmcAs, eggs, small birds, and the Mots of plants.
Q




314   SLOTH, GREEN-SNAKE, SPIDERS, ANTS.,
dimb, and turn it about from side to side." The sloths feed
on leaves, and are very destructive to trees, never forsaking
one on which they have pitched till it is stripped as bare as
winter. A sloth requires eight or nine minutes to move
one of its feet three inches forward, and it can neither be
provoked nor frightened to move faster. Of some of the
species of snakes, Dampier relates that they lurk in trees,
"and are so mighty in strength as to hold a bullock fast by
one of his horns," if it comes so near the tree as to allow the
snake to twist itself about the horn and a limb of the tree
at the same time. The Bucaniers sometimes ate them,
though Dampier makes no favourable report of this kind of
food. An anecdote which he relates of a snake in the bay
gives a rational account of what is termed fascinatiom  in
birds. The green-snake, which is from four to five feet
long and no thicker than a man's thumb, lurked among
green leaves, from which it could hardly be distinguished,
and preyed upon small birds. Dampier was one day about
to take hold of a bird, which, to his astonishment, though
it fluttered and cried, did not attempt to fly away. He discovered that about the upper part of the poor bird a greensnake had twisted itself. Spiders of prodigious size* were
seen here, some almost as big as a man's hand, with long
small legs like the spiders of Europe:-" They have two
teeth, or rather horns, an inch and a half in length, and of
a proportionable bigness, which are black as jet, smooth as
glass, and their small end sharp as a thorn." These the
Bucaniers and wood-cutters used as toothpicks, as they
were said to cure toothache. They also used them to pick
their tobacco-pipes. The country abounded in ants of different species, some of which had a sting " sharp as a spark
of fire."  They build their habitations between the limbs
of great trees; and some of the hillocks were " as large as
a hogshead." In this manner the ants provide against the
consequences of the rainy season, when their hillocks, if on
the ground, must be overflowed. One species marched in
troops, always in haste, as if in search of something, but
*The Epeira curvicauda, described by M. Vautior (Annales des
Scieces Naturelles, tom. i. p. 261), is remarkable for the posterior entargement of its abdomen, which is terminated by a couple of arched and
elongated splnes —ee plate 50 of the new edition of the Encyclopcadi
Dritannica.




THE HUMMIENG-BIID AND SUBTLE JACK   215
steadily following their leaders wherever they went. Sometimes a band of these ants would march through the cabins
of the wood-cutters, over their beds, or into their chests,wherever the foremost went the rest all following. The
logwood-cutters let them pass on, though some hours might
be spent in the march.
Frequently as the humming-bird has been described since
it was seen by Dampier, his account of this, the most delicate and lovely of the feathered tribes, is as fresh and beautiful as when the young seaman, charmed with its loveliness, first entered a description of it into his rude journal:
-.-' The humming-bird is a pretty little feathered creature,
no bigger than a great overgrown wasp; with a black bill
no bigger than i small needle, and with legs and feet in
proportion to his body. This creature does not wave its
wings like other birds when it flies, but keeps them in a
continued quick motion, like bees or other insects; and like
them  makes a continued humming noise as it flies.  It is
very quick in motion, and haunts about flowers and fruit
like a bee gathering honey; making many addresses to its
delightful objects, by visiting them on all sides, and yet still
keeps in motion, sometimes on one side sometimes on the
other, as often rebounding a foot or two back on a sudden,
and as quickly returns again, keeping thus about one flower
five or six minutes or more."
The wood-cutters and hunters in their out-door and sylvan life became familiar with all the living creatures of.
these prolific regions, and give them English names significant of their habits. They adopted the superstition of the
Spaniards against killing the carrion-crows, which were
found so useful in clearing the country of the putrid carcasses of animals.  Trains of these birds gathered from
all quarters about the hunters, and regularly followed them
into the savannas for their own share of the prey. A bird
which. they named the Subtle Jack was about as big as the
pigeons of the bay. It suspended its nest from the boughs
of lofty trees, choosing such as, up to a considerable height,
were without limbs.  The branches selected were those
that spread widest; and of these the very extremity was
chosen.  The nests hung down two or three feet from the
twigs to which they were fastened, and looked like "cabbage-nets stuffed with hay."  The thread by which it is




216           ALLIGATORS OF CAMPEACHY
suspended, like the nest itself, is made of long grass inge.
niously twisted and interwoven, small at the twig, but
thickening as it approaches the nest. On trees that grow
singly and apart the birds build all round; but where the
trees stand in proximity to others, the Subtle Jack chooses
only those that border upon a savanna, pool, or creek; and
of these the limbs that stretch over the water or the grass,
avoiding such as may be easily approached from neighbouring trees. The nest has a hole at the side for the bird to
enter:-'"'Tis pretty," says Dampier, "to see twenty or
thirty of them  hanging round a tree."'
In  these  savannas and  primeval forests  an  endless
variety of birds and insects engaged the attention of the
young seaman, to which  we cannot ndo   advert.  The
creeks, rivers, and lagunes, as well as the open shores, were
equally prolific of fishes unknown in the English waters.
No place in the world was better stored with alligators
than the Bay of Campeachy.  These the Bucaniers, wno
scrupled at no sort of food, never ate, save in cases of great
necessity, as even their intrepid stomachs were offended by
the strong musky flavour of the flesh of this hideous creature.  The alligators of the bay wer% generally harmless
when not nolested; though accidents sometimes occurred,
of which one is recorded by Dampier that merits notice.
In  the height of the dry season, when  in  those torrid
regions all animated nature pants with consuming thirst, a
party of the wood-cutters, English and Irish, went to hunt
in the neighbourhood of a lake called Pies Pond, in Beef
* It is sometimes by no means easy to connect thee observations of
the sailor abroad with the ucubrations of the man of science at home;
and each perhaps regards the designations of the other as barbarous.
There Is, however, frequently more meaning in the names bestowed by
the practical observer than in those of the closet-naturalist. The chief
objection to popular names is, that they too often proceed upon mere
ana'cgies in habits, rather than on identity of specific forms. Thus the
ccnaron-crno, frequently mentioned by Dampier and other vdyagers
aloe.; the American shores, is not a crow but a species of vulture. In
regard to the Subtle Jack, there are several species of birds which construct their nests in the ingenious and elaborate manner above mentioned. Of these one of the most noted is the Hang-nest-oriole (Oriolus nidipendtulus of Latham), described by Sir Hans Sloane in his History ~,f Jamaica. It builds in woods, and forms its nest of the internal
fibres of a parasitic plant, popularly known in the West Indies by the
title of old ma?'s beard. The nest is suspended from the extreme twigs
of the tree.




ADVENTURE WITH AN ALLIGATOR.            217
Island, one of the smaller islands of the bay. To this
ond the wild cattle repaired in herds to drink, and here the
hunters lay in wait for them. The chase had been prosecuted with great success for a week, when an Irishman of
the party, going into the water during the day, stumbled
upon an alligator, which seized him by the knee. His cries
alarmed.s companions, who, fearing that he had been
seized by the Spaniards, to whom the island belonged, and
who chose the dry season to hunt, and repel their unwelcome neighbours, instead of affording assistance, fled from
the huts which they had erected. The Irishman, seeing no
appearance of help, with happy presence of mind quietly
waited till the alligator loosened its teeth to take a new and
surer hold; and when it did so, snatched away his knee,
interposing the butt-end of his gun in its stead, which the
animal seized so firmly that it was jerked out of the man's
hand and carried off. He then crawled up a neighbouring
tree, again shouting after his comrades, who now found
courage to return.  His gun was found next day, dragged
ten or twelve paces from the place where it had been seized
by the alligator.
At the same place, Pies Pond in Beef Island, Dampier
had a remarkable escape from an alligator. Passing with
some of his comrades through a small savanna, where the
water lay two or three feet deep, in search of a bullock to
shoot for supper, a strong scent of an alligator was perceived, and presently Dampier stumbled over one and fell
down. He cried out for help, but his companions ran towards the woods to save themselves.  No sooner had he
scrambled up to follow them, than in the agitation of the
moment he fell a second and even a third time, expecting,very instant to be devoured, and yet escaped untouched,
)ut he candidly says, " I was so frighted, that I never cared'.o go through the water again as long as I was in the
Bay."
On the first Saturday after he commenced wood-cutter,
Dampier followed his employers in the humble capacity of
raising and driving the cattle out of the savannas into the
woods, where the hunters lay in wait to shoot them. The
following Saturday his ambition took a higher flight. He
thought it more honourable to have a shot himself than to
drive the game for others; and, after going five miles by




218            DAMPIER 8 ADVENTURE
water Mad one by land, to the hunting-ground, he gave his
companions the slip, and rambled so far into the woods that
he lost himself, going at every step farther astray through
small strips of savanna and skirts of woodland-a maze
of plain and forest which seemed interminable. The rest
of this youthful adventure, from which Dampier drew a
beneficial lesson for the regulation of his future life, cannot be better narrated than in his own words. " This was
in May (the dry season), and it was between ten o'clock
and one when I began to find that I was, as we call it,
marooned, or lost, and quite out of the hearing of my
comrades' guns. I was somewhat surprised at this; but,
however, I knew that I should find my way out as soon as
the sun was a little lower. So I sat down to rest myself,
resolving, however, to run no farther out of my way,
for the sun being scf near the zenith I could not distinguish
how to direct my course. Being weary, and almost faint
for want of water, I was forced to have recourse to the wild
pines, and was by them  supplied, or else I must have
perished with thirst. About three o'clock I went due
north, or as near as I could judge, for the savanna lay east
and west, and I was on the south side of it.
"At sunset I got out into the clear open savanna, being
about two leagues wide in most places, but how long 
know not. It is well stored with bullocks, but by frequent
hunting they grow shy, and remove farther up into the
country. There I found myself four or five miles to the
west of the place where I had straggled from my companions.  I made homeward with all the speed I could;- but
being, overtaken by the night, I lay down on the grass a
good distance from the woods, for the benefit of the wind
to keep the mosquitoes from me; but in vain, for in less
than an hour's time I was so persecuted, that though I endeavoured to keep them off by fanning myself with boughs,
snd shifting my quarters three or four times, yet still they so
haunted me that I could get no sleep. At daybreak I got
up and directed my course to the creek where we landed,
from which I was then about two leagues. I did not see
one beast of any sort whatever in all-te way, though the
day before I saw several young calves that could not follow
their dams; but even these were now gone away, to my
great vexation and disappointment, for I was very hungry




IN THE FORE-STS. l[t
But, about a mile farther, I espied ten or twelve quaumsfn
perching on the boughs of a cotton-tree. These were not
shy: therefore I got well under them, and having a single
bullet, but no shot, about me, fired at one of them and missed
it, though I had often before killed them so. Then I came
up with and fired at five or six turkeys with no better success, so that I was forced to march forward, still in the
savanna, towards the creek; and when I came to the path
that led to it through the woods, I found to my great joy a
hat stuck upon a pole, and when I came tothe creek another. These were set up by my consorts, who had gone
home in the evening, as signals that they would come and
fetch me. Therefore I sat down and waited for them; for
although I had not above three leagues home by water, yet
it would have been very difficult, if not impossible, for me
to have got thither overland, by reason of those vast impassable thickets abounding everywhere along the creek's
side, wherein I have known some puzzled for two or three
days, and have not advanced half a mile, although they
laboured extremely every day. Neither was I disappointed
of my popes, for within half an hour after my arrival in
the creek my consorts came, bringing every man his bottle
of water and his gun, both to hunt for game and to give me
notice by firing, that I might hear them; for I have known
several men lost in the like manner, and never heard of
afterward."
Dampier had the more reason to congratulate himself on
the issue of this adventure, that shortly before the captain
and six of the crew of a Boston ship had wandered into
the woods, part ot whom were never again heard of. The
captain, who was found in a thicket in a state of extreme
exhaustion, stated that his men had dropped one by one,
fainting for thirst in the parched savannas.
When his first month's service was ended, Dampier received as pay the price of a ton of wood, with whichShe
bought provisions, and entered into a new engagement, on
the footing of comradeship, but with other partners. Of
the former company to which he had been attached, some
* The quaum, quan, or guan, is a species of the genus Penelope. It.s frequently domesticated in Brazil for the sake of the flesh, which is
excellent eating. Another species of the genus (Penelope pipile of
Temminck) is known under the name of the Yacou Turkey




220         FORMS A NEW ENGAGEMENT.
went to Beef Island to hunt bullocks for their skins, which
they prepared for sale by pegging them  strongly down to
the ground, turning first the fleshy and then the hairy side
uppermost, till they were perfectly dry. It required thirtytwo pegs, each as thick as a man's arm, to stretch one hide;
afterward they were hung in heaps upon a pole, that they
might not touch the ground, and from time to time weil
beat with sticks to drive out the worms which bred in the
skins and spoiled them. Before being shipped off, they
were soaked in salt water to kill the remaining worms.
While still wet they were folded up, left thus for a time,
and once more thoroughly dried and packed for exportation.
To this trade Dampierpreferred wood-cutting. His part.
ners were three Scotchmen, Price Morrice, Duncan Campbell, and a third, who is called by his Christian-name of
George only. The two latter were persons of education,
who had been bred merchants, and liked neither the employment nor the society of the bay; they therefore only
waited the first opportunity of getting away by a logwood 
ship. The first vessel that arrived was from Boston, and
this they freighted with forty tons of diewood, which it was
agreed Duncan Campbell should go to New-England to
sell, bringing back flour and other things suited to the market of the bay, to exchange for hides and logwood; while
George remained making up a fresh cargo against Campbell's return. And here Dampier makes an observation on
the character of his associates which deserves to be noticed
as the result of the experience of a man who had seen and
reflected much upon life and manners. " This," he says,
"retarded our business, for I did not find Price Morrice
very intent on work; for'tis like he thought he had logwood enough. And I have particularly observed there, and
in other places, that such as had been well-bred were generally most careful to improve their time, and would be very
industrious and frugal when there was any probability of
considerable gain. But, on the contrary, such as had been
inured to hard labour, and got their living by the sweat of
their brows, when they came to have plenty, would extravagantly squander away their time and money in drinking
and making a bluster."
To make up for the indolence of his comrade Dampiel




TRElMENDOUS HURRICANE.                  221
kept the closer to work himself, till attacked by a very singular disease. A red and ill-conditioned swelling or bile
broke out upon his right leg, which he was directed to
poultice with the roasted roots of the white lily. This he
persisted in doing for some days, "when two white specks
appeared in the centre of the bile, and on squeezing it two
small white worms spurted out, about the thickness of a
hen's quill, and three or four inches long."* These were
quite different from the Guinea-worm, common in some of
the West India islands, and in the time of Dampier very
common in Curagao. Fromthese last he afterward suffered severely.
Shortly after his recovery from this attack the bay was
visited by one of those tremendous hurricanes known only
in tropical countries, which raged for twenty-four hours
without intermission.  This was in June, 1676.  Two
days before the storm came on the wind "whiffled" about
to the south and back again to the east, but blew faintly,
while the weather continued very fair, though it was remarked that the men-of-war birds came trooping towards
the shore in great numbers, and hovered over the land.
The hunters and logwood-cutters, among their numerous
superstitions, augured the arrival of ships from the appearance of those birds, and imagined that as many birds as
hovered over-head so many vessels might be expected.
At this time there appeared whole flocks.
It was noticed by Dampier, that for two days the tide
kept ebbing, till the creek by which the woodmen's huts
stood was left nearly dry. In it there was commonly at
ebb-tide seven or eight feet of water, but now scarcely
three remained even in the deepest places. At four o'clock
in the afternoon following this strange ebbing of the
waters, the sky looked very black, the wind sprung up at
S. E., fresh and rapidly increasing, and in less than two
hours blew down all the cabins of the woodmen save one:
this they propped with posts, and, as it were, anchored by
* The worms above mentioned, distinguished by their comparativq
shortness and thickness from the more slender Guinea-worm, were
probably the larva of a species of gadfly, which has been named (Estrut
hominis, on account of its occasionally depositing its eggs on the skin
of the human race. See an account of a similar species in a late nurn
her of the Edinburgh New Philosophtcal Journal.




222          EFFECTS OF THE STORM.
casting ropes over the roof, which were then made fast on
both sides to stumps of trees. In-this frail shed they all
huddled together while the hurricane raged abroad.  It
rained in torrents during the whole r eriod of the tempest 
and in two hours after the wind had risen the water flowed
so fast into the creek that it was as high as the banks.
Though the wind now blew off shore, the waters continued
to rush in, nor did the rain abate; and by ten o'clock next
morning the banks of the creek were overflowed.
The situation of the woodmen now became perilous.
They brought their canoe to the side of the hut, and
fastened it to the stump of a tree as a means of escape;
this being their only hope of safety, as beyond the banks
which edged the creek the land fell, and there " was now
no walking through the woods because of the water.
Besides, the trees were torn up by the roots, and tumbled
down so strangely across each other that it was almost
impossible to pass through them." In this violent tempest
many fish were either cast alive upon the shore or found
floating dead in the lagunes. It was remarkable that the
hurricane, as was afterward ascertained, did not extend
ninety miles to windward.
Of four ships riding at anchor at One-Bush-Key, three
were driven from their moorings, and one of them was
carried up into the woods of Beef Island.
The wood-cutters suffered, in many ways. The whole
country was laid under water to a considerable depth, there
being three feet even on the highest land; so that they
could not for some time prosecute their labours. Much
of their provision was destroyed, and what remained they
had no way of cooking save in their canoes.
As soon as the storm abated, Dampier's company embarked in the canoe and made for One-Bush-Key, about
four leagues distant, hoping to procure assistance from the
ships there.  These, as has been noticed, had all been
driven from their anchors save one; and the kindness of
the crew of this fortunate vessel had already been severely
taxed by an influx of the flooded wood-cutters from different points. Dampier and his companions could get
" neither bread nor punch, nor so much as a dram of rum,
though they offered to pay for it." From this inhospitable quarter they rowed for Beef Island, their singular land



WANDERING INDIANS.               223
mark being the flag of a ship displayed in the woods. The
vessel herself was found two hundred yards fiom the sea,
from which she had cut her way in the storm, levelling the
trees on each side, and making a clear path before her
through the forest. In this transit the stumps had gone
through her bottom, and there was no wthy of saving her.
Meanwhile she held together, and the forlorn woodmen
were well entertained with victuals and punch, and invited
to remain for the night; but, hearing a signal-gun fired
from a distant lagune, they concluded that one of the ships
was driven in there by distress, and rowed off to her assist,
ance. With a Captain Chandler, whom they found here
greatly in want of their services, Dampier and his partners
laboured for two days, and then went to Beef Island to
hunt for cattle. This island is about seven leagues long,
and in breadth from three to four: at the east end " low
drowned land:" the middle is one large savanna, bordered with trees; the south side, between the savannas
and the mangrove-belt or swampy-ground, is very rich.
But the social condition of Beef Island, at the time specified, is more an object of interest than its natural productions. It had been lately settled by a colony of In
dians: —" It is no new thing," says Dampier, " for the
Indians of these woody parts of America to fly away, whole
towns at once, and settle themselves in the unfrequented
woods to enjoy their freedom; and if they are accidentally
discovered they will remove again; which they can easily
do, their household-goods being little else but their hammocks and their calabashes. They build every man his
own house, and tie up their hammocks between two trees,
wherein they sleep till their houses are made.  The
woods afford them some subsistence, such as pecaree and
waree; but they that are thus strolling, or marooning as
the Spaniards call it, have plantain-walks that no man
knows but themselves, and from thence have their food
till they have raised plantation-provision near their newbuilt town. They clear no more ground than what they
actually employ for their subsistence.  They make no
paths; but when they go far from home they break now
and then a bough, letting it hang down which serves as a
mark to guide them in their return. If they happen to be
discovered by other Indians inhabiting among the Span



224   THEIR CHARACTER AND MODE OF LIFE
iards, or do but distrust it, they immediately shift thtlr
quarters to another place, this large country affordilg them
good fat land enough, and very woody, and therefore a
proper sanctuary for them.
It was some of these fugitive Indians that came to settle
at Beef Island, where, besides gaining their freedom from
the Spaniards, they might see their friends and acquaint.
ances that had been taken some time before by the privateers and sold to the logwood-cutters, with whom some of
the women lived still, though others had been conducted by
them to their own habitations. It was these women, after
their return, that made known the kind entertainment they
met with from the English, and persuaded their friends to
leave their dwellings near the Spaniards and settle on this
island. They had been here almost a year before they
were discovered by the English, and even then were accidentally found out by the hunters as they followed their
game:-" They were not very shy all the time I was
there," continues Dampier; "but I know that upon the
least disgust they would have been gone."  This avoidance of their "kind entertainers," the English, does not
look as if the Indians had been peculiarly anxious to cultivate their further acquaintance. The poor Indians were
undoubtedly equally anxious to conceal themselves and
their plantations from the Spaniards, from whom they fled.
and the English hunters and logwood-cutters, whom they
shunned.
John d'Acosta, a Spaniard of the town of Campeachy
who held a grant of this island, managed better than any
of his countrymen in securing his property from the depre
dations of the Bucaniers.  In the dry season he spent
usually a couple of months here with his servants, " hocksing" cattle for their hides and tallow. Beef was to him
of course of small value; and happening at one time to
encounter the logwood-men hunting in his savannas, he
requested them to desist, saying that firing made the cattle
wild; but that if they wanted beef he would supply them
with as much as they pleased by hotksnzg.  They accepted
the offer, and acted with honour to John d'Acosta, whc
soon became very popular among them, though their friendship did him no good with his own countrymen. He was
thrown into prison upon suspicion of conniving with the




SPANISH MODE OF HUNTING.              225
Bucaniers, and forfeited his right to Beef Island, which
henceforth the Spaniards abandoned to the English hunters
and freebooters.
The manner of hunting wild cattle, termed hocksing or
houghing, was peculiar to the Spaniards, the English
always using firearms in the chase. The Spanish hocksers,
in the course of many years' practice, became dexterous at
their art. They were always mounted on good horses,
which were as diligently and early trained to the sport as
the rider, and as well aware when to advance and retreat
with advantage.  The hunter was armed with a hocksingiron in the shape of a crescent, about seven inches in
length, and having a very sharp edge. This was fastened
to a pole about fourteen feet in length, which the hunter
laid over the horse's head, the instrument projecting forward. Riding up to his prey, with this he strikes, and seldom fails to hamstring it, when the horse instantly wheels
to the left to avoid the attack of the wounded animal. If
the stroke has not quite severed all the sinews, the animal
soon breaks them himself by continually attempting to leap
forward. While limping thus, and somewhat exhausted, the
hunter rides up to him again, and at this time attacks him
in front, striking the iron into the knee of one of his fore-legs.
The animal usually drops, when the hunter dismounts, and
with a sharp-pointed knife strikes into the head a little
behind,thehorns so dexterously, that at one stroke the
head drops as if severed from the neck, and the poor beast
ib dead. The hunter remounts and pursues other game,
while the skinners take off the hide.
The English hunters had so greatly thinned the numnbers
of wild cattle on Beef Island that it was now dangerous fgr
a single man to hunt them, or to venture through the savannas, so desperate and vicious had they become. An
old bull once shot at never failed to remember the attack
and to offer battle; and the whole herd sometimes drew up
in array to defend themselves. The account which Dampier gives of the tactics of the wild cattle almost borders
upon the marvellous, though he is one of the most veracious
and unpretending of travellers, rather diminishing than exaggerating the dengers he -had passed and the wonders he
had seein. The old bulls le, the van, behind them were
ranged the cows.     sd r^xt in order the young cattle.




226       DAMPIER  JOINS THE  BU6BANIERS.
Wherever the hunters attempted to break the line the bulls
opposed their embattled front, wheeling, round in every direction to face the enemy.  The aim  of the hunter was
therefore rather an animal detached from  the herd than a
general or open  attack..  If the prey was desperately
wounded, in its rage it made for the hunter; but if only
slightly, it scampered off. These assaults of the infuriated
animals were sometimes attended by fatal accidents.
The hurricane had deprived Dampier of his slender stock
of provisions; and having neither money nor credit to obtain a fresh supply from the traders who arrived from Ja:
maica, he was forced for immediate subsistence to join a
company of "privateers" then in the bay.  With these
Bucaniers he continued for nearly a year, rambling about
the Bay of Campeachy, visiting its numerous creeks, islands,
and rivers, and making with them frequent descents upon
Indian villages and Spanish settlements. At these places
they obtained supplies of Indian corn, which, with the beef
for which they hunted, turtle, and manatee, formed their
principal subsistence; Dampier in every passing hour adding to his stores of knowledge.
The manatee, or sea-cow, as seen by Dampier in the Bay
of Campeachy, the river Darien, at Mindanao, and on the
coast of New-Holland, he describes as of the thickness of a
horse, and in length ten or twelve feet.  The mouth is like
that of a cow, the lips are very thick, the eyes no bigger
than a pea, and the ears two small holes.  It fiequents
creeks, inlets, and mouths of rivers, and never leaves the
water for any length of time. It lives on a sort of grass
which grows in the sea.  The flesh is white, sweet, and
wholesome.  The tail of a young cow was esteemed a delicate morsel by the Bucaniers, and so was a sucking-calf,
which they cooked by roasting.  The tough, thick skin of
the manatee* they applied to various uses.
* The manatee (mlnatus Americanus) is a cetaceous animal, belonging to the herbiverons division of that order. They live in troops. The
male is said to be remarkable for his attachment to the female, and the
latter is characterized by the strength ofher affection for her young, which
she supports by means of her swimming-paws for some days after their
birth. The genus inhabits the mouths of the great rivers of the western
shores of Africa, as well as those of the eastern coast of the New World.
The species alluded to in the text has now become much more rare in
placts of frequent resort than it appears to have been in former times
lTe females of one or other of the species, in common with the Indian




THE MANATEE AND MOUNTAIN-COW,  227
The Mosquito Indians were peculiarly dexterous in fishing. and also in striking manatee and catjhing turtle; for
which purpose the Bucaniers always tried to have one or
two natives of the Mosquito Shore attached to their company as purveyors on their cruises.
In the river of Tobasco, near its mouth, abundance of
manatee was found, there being good feeding for them in the
creeks. In one creek, which ran into the land for two or
three hundred paces, and where the water was so shallow
that the backs of the animals were seen as they fed, Shey
were found in great numbers.  On the least noise they
dashed out into the deep water of the river. There was also
a fresh-water species resembling those of the sea, but not so
large. The banks of the creek which they frequented were
swampy and overgrown with trees; and the same place
afforded great abundance of land-turtle, the largest Dampier ever saw save at the Gallapagos Islands, in the South
Sea,-the very head-quarters of turtle. Oun the borders of
the Tobasco lie ridges of dry, rich land, covered with lofty
"cotton and cabbage-trees, which make a pleasant landscape," and in some places guava-trees, bearing large and
finely-flavoured fruit; there were also cocoa-plums and
grapes.  The savannas, on which herds of deer and bullocks were seen feeding, especially in the mornings and
evenings, were fenced with natural groves of the guava
Dampier appears to have been delighted with the aspect of
this " delicious place." While he was here, a party hunting in the savannas late in the evening shot a deer; one
of them, while skinning the animal, was shot dead by a comrade, who in the twilight mistook him for another deer.
dugong, are supposed, from the peculiarity of their appearance in the
water, to have given rise to the stories of mermaids, syrens, and other
imaginary monsters.
The mountain-cow of Dampier and the earlier voyagers, which from
being occasionally seen in the water they sometimes confounded with
the manatee, is a species of tapir (tapirus Americanus), and has no alliance with the hippopotamus, which never occurs in the New World.
From a supposed resemblance, however, to that animal in form or habit,
it was named hippopotamus terrestris by Linnaeus. It inhabits the eastern shores of South America, from the Isthmus of Darien to the Straits
of Magellan; and although it breeds in dry places on the sides of hills,
it also frequents moist and marshy stations, and is an excellent swimmer. When hunted, it takes to the water, and descends for safety to the
bottom. Its food consists of wild fruits and the delicate sprigs -and
branches of various shrubs. It also searches eagerly after a kind of m.
trom  earth called barrero




228       INDIANS OF THE RIVER TOBASCO.
For above twenty miles up the river there was no settlement; after which there was a small fort, with a garrison
consisting of a Spaniard and eight or ten Indians whom he
commanded, whose business was rather to spread alarm into
the interior if the Bucaniers approached than to resist their
attacks. Their precautions were, however, useless when
opposed to the address and activity of the Bucaniers, who
Lad frequently pillaged the towns and villages on this river,
though latterly they had sometimes been repulsed with loss.
In some of these towns there were merchants and planters,
cocoa-walks being frequent on both sides of the river.
Some parts along the banks were thickly planted with Indian
towns, each having a padre, and also a cacique, or governor.
These Indians were free labourers in the cocoa-walks of the
Spanish settlers, though a few of them had plantations of
maize, plantain-walks, And even small cocoa-walks of their
own. Some of the natives were bee-hunters, searching in the
hollow trees in the woods for hives, and selling the wax and
honey.  These Indian bee-hunters were so ingenious as to
supply the wild bees* with trees artificially hollowed, and
thus increased the number of hives and the profits of their
traffic.  "The Indians inhabiting these villagesAive like
gentlemen," says Dampier, "in comparison of many near
any great towns, such as Campeachy or Merida; for there
even the poorer and rascally sort of people that are not able
to hire one of these poor creatures will by violence drag
them to do their drudgery for nothing, after they have
worked all day for their masters."
The Indians of the villages on the Tobasco lived chiefly
on maize, which they baked into cakes, and from which they
also made a sort of liquor, which, when allowed to sour,
afforded a pleasant, refreshing draught. When a beverage
for company was wanted, a little honey was mixed with
this drink. A stronger liquor was made of parched maize
and anotta, which was drunk without straining. - The Indians reared abundance of turkeys, ducks, and fowls,-the
* All the bees native to the New World at the period of its discovery
by the Spaniards were found to be distinct from those of Europe. The
honey-bee (apis inellifica) is now common in America, but it was imported thither for its economical uses. Many swarms have cast in the
woods; and the European bee, itself of Asiatic origin, may now be found
wild at great distances from any human habitation. We cannot name
with certainty the precise species alluded to by Damnpier.




ASSAULT ON ALVARADO.               229
padre taking such strict account of the tithe that'it was
necessary to procure his license before they durst kill one.
They also raised cotton, and manufactured tkeir own clothing, which for both sexes was decent and becoming.
Under the sanction of the village-inest all marriages
were contracted; the men maring *t fourteen, the women
at twelve. If at this early age they had made no choice,
then the padre selected for them. These early marriages
were one means of securing the power and increasing the
gains of the priest; and the young couples themselves were
contented, happy, and affectionate. They inhabited good
houses, lived comfortably by the sweat of their brdws, and
on holy eves and sais' days enjoyed themselves under the
direction of their spiritual guides, who permitted them the
recreation of pipe and tabor, hautboys and drums, and lent
them vizards and ornaments for the mummings and other
amusements which they practised.  The village churches
were lofty compared with the ordinary dwelling-houses, and
ornamented with coarse pictures of tawny or bronze-coloured
saints and madonnas, recommended to the Indians by the
tint of the native complexion. To their good padres, notwithstanding the tithe-fowls, the Indian flocks were submissive and affectionate.
We cannot here follow the minute account which Dampier has given of all the rivers of Campeachy during his
cruise of eleven months around this rich country. The farthest west point which he visited was Alvarado, to which
the Bucaniers with whom he sailed went in two barks, thirty
men in each.. The river flows through a fertile country,
thickly planted with Spanish towns and Indian villages.
At its mouth was a small fort placed on the declivity of F
sandbank, and mounted with six guns. The sandbanks a.e
here about 200 feet high on both sides.
This fort the Bucaniers attacked; but it held out stoutly
for five hours, during which time the country was alarmed,
and the inhabitants of the adjoining town got off in their
boats, carrying away all their money and valuables and the
best part of their goods. The Bucaniers lost ten men killed
or desperately wounded; and when they landed next morning to pillage, it being dark before the fort yielded, little
booty was found. Twenty or thirty bullocks they killed,
salted and sent on board, with salt fish, Indian corn, and
R




230        ]ESCAPE OF THEI BtCANIERS.
abundance of poultry. They also found and brought away
many tame parrots of a very beautiful kind, yellow and
scarlet curiously blended,. -the fairest and largest birds of
their kind Dampier ever saw in the West Indies. " They
prated very prettily."
Though little solid booty was obtained, what with provisions, chests, hencoops, and parrots' cages, the ships were,filled and lumbered; and while in this state seven Spanish,rmadilloes from Vera Cruz, detached in pursuit of thn
Bucaniers, appeared, coming full sail over the bar into the
river. Not a moment was to be lost. Clearing their decks
of lumber by throwing all overboard the Bucaniers got
under full sail, and drove over the batl the river's mouth,
before the enemy, who could with difficulty stem the cur.
rent, had scarcely reached it. The Spanish vessels were to
windward, and a few shots were of necessity exchanged;
and now commenced one of those singular escapes from
tremendous odds of strength of which Bucanier history is so
full. The Toro, the admiral of the Spanish barks, was of
itself more than a match for the freebooters. It carried 10
guns and 100 men, while their whole force was now diminished to 50 men in both ships, one of which carried 6, the
other 2 guns. Another of the Spanish vessels carried 4
guns, with 80 men; and the remaining five, though not
mounted with great guns, had each 60 or 70 men armed
with muskets.  "As soon," says Dampier's journal, "as
we were over the bar, we got our larboard tacks aboard, and
stood to the eastward as nigh the wind as we could lie. The
Spaniards came quartering on us; and our ship being the
headmost, the Toro came directly towards us, designing to
board us.  We kept firing at her, in hopes to have lamed
either a mast or a yard; but failing, just as she was sheering aboard we gave her a good volley, and presently clapped
the helm aweather, wore our ship, and got our starboard
tacks aboard, and stood to the westward, and so left the
lroro; but were saluted by all the small craft as we passed
them, who stood to the eastward after theToro, that was
now in pursuit and close to our consort. We stood to the
westward till we were against the river's mouth, then we
tacked, and by the help of the current that came out of the
river we were near a mile to windward of them all. Then
we m:.de sail to assist our consort, whc was hard put to it



DAMPIER'S MARRIAGE.               231
but on our approach the Toro edged away towards the
shore, as did all the rest, and stood away for Alvarado; and
we, glad of the deliverance, went away to the eastward, and
visited all the rivers in our return again to Trist."
These visits produced little booty. They also searched
the bays for munjack, " a sort of bitumen which we find in
a lump, washed up by the sea, and left dry on all the sandy
bays of the coast." This substance the Bucaniers, who
were compelled to find substitutes for many necessary things,
tempered with tallow or oil, and employed as pitch in repairing their ships and canoes.
On the return of Dampier to the Island of Trist, the
effects of the dismal hurricane of the former year had.disappeared, and he resumed his labours among the woodmen.
This employment was probably more profitable than his
bucaniering cruise; as in the course of the following
season he was able to visiyEngland, intending to return
to the bay when he had seen his friends. He sailed for
Jamaica in April, 1678, and in the beginning of August
reached London.
Cutting diewood was still a profitable though a laborious trade; and Dampier shrewdly remarks, "that though
it is not his business to say how far the English had a
right to follow it, yet he was sure that the Spaniards never
received less damage from the persons who usually followed
that trade than when they had exchanged the musket for
the axe, and the deck of the privateer for the logwoodgroves."
During his short residence in England at this time Dampier must have married; for, though a trifling matter of
this kind is too unimportant to be entered in a seaman's
journal, we long afterward, while he lay off the Bashee or
Five Islands, learn that he had left a wife in England, as,
in compliment to the Duke of Grafton, he named the northernmost of the Bashee group Grafton's Isle, "having, as
he says, " married my wife out of his dutchess's family, and
leaving her at Arlington House at my going abroad."




282.DAMPIER RETTRNS TO,TLE  WEST INDIE!
CHAPTER IX.
Adventures with the Bucaicers.
Oampier leaves England for Jamaica-Joins the BucalJ!eis- Assault
of Porto Bello-Description of the Mosquito Indians-Their irgennity
in Fishing-In using the Harpoon-Acuteness of their Senses —-Ther
Customs-The Bucaniers under Captain Sharp cross the Isthmus
of Darien-Sea-fight in tle Road of Panama-Differences anrotng the
Bucaniers-Sharp leaves the South Sea-Retreat of Dampier and a
Party of Bucaniers across the Isthmus-I)ifficulties of the Journey
-They reach the Samballas Isles-Cruise of Dampier with the Bucaniers-Adventures of Wafer among the Indians of the DarienCarthagena, and the Monastery there-Dutch Governor-Wreck of
the French Fleet-Stratagem of a French Bucanier-Pillage of Rio
de la Hacha-Pearl-fishery-The Tropic-bird-Iguanas-Negro Doc
tor-Dampier's farther Adventures indicated.
AFTER spending five or six months with his wife and his
friends, Dampier, in the beginning of 1679, sailed as a passenger for Jamaica, intending immediately to return to his
old trade and companions in the Bay of Campeachy. He
took out goods from England, which he meant to exchange
at Jamaica for the commodities in request among the woodcutters.   Instead, however, of prosecuting, this design,
Dampier remained in Jamaica all that year, and by some
means was enabled to purchase a small estate in Dorsetshire. This new possession he was about to visit, when
induced to engage in a trading voyage to the Mosquito
Shore.  It promised to be profitable, and he was anxious
to realize a little more ready money before returning to
England  to settle for life.  He accordingly sent home
the title-deeds of his estate, and embarked with a Mr.
Hobby.
Soon after leaving Port Royal, they came to anchor in a
bay in the west end of the island, in which th,'y found
Captains Coxon, Sawkins,. Sharp, and " other privateers,"
as Dampier gently terms the most noted Bucanier commanders of the period. Hobby's crew deserted him to a




CAPTURE OF PORTO BELLO.              233
ian to join the Bucanier squadron; and the Mosquito
voyage being thus frustrated, Dampier "was the more
easily persuaded to go with them too."
Their first attempt was on Porto Bello, of which assault
Dampier gives no account, and he might not have been
present at the capture. Two hundred men were landed;
and, the better to prevent alarm, at such a distance from
the town that it took them three days to march upon it, as
during daylight they lay concealed in the woods. A negro
gave the alarm, but not before the Bucaniers were so
close upon his heels that the inhabitants were completely
taken bysurprise, and fled in every direction. The Bucaniers plundered for two lays and two nights, in momentary expectation of the country rising upon them, and
overpowering their small number; but, from $?arice and
rapacity, they were unable to tear themseles away.
To the shame of the Spaniards they got clear off, and
divided shares of 160 pieces of eight a head. Inspired by
this success, they resolved immediately to march across the
isthmus. They knew that such strokes of good fortune as
this at Porto Bello could not longer be looked for on the
eastern shores of America, and for some time their imagi
nations had been running upon the endless wealth to be
found in the South Seas.  They remained for about a
fortnight at the Samballas Isles, and during this time, preparatory to their grand attempt, endeavoured to conciliate
the Indians of the Dcrien, by gifts of toys and trinkets, and
many fair promises. They also persuaded some of the
Mosquito-men to join them, who, on account of their expertness in fishing, and striking turtle and manatee, besides
their warlike qualities, were useful auxiliaries either in
peace or war. Of this tribe, so long the friends, and, as
they named themselves, the subjects of Britain, Dampier
has given an exceedingly interesting account.  In his
time the clan or sept properly called Mosquito-men must
have been very small, as he says the fighting-men did not
amount to 100. They inhabited a tract on the coast near
Cape Gracios Dios, stretching between Cape Honduras
and Nicaragua.'They are," says our navigator, who
appears partial to these Indians, " very ingenious at throw.
ing the lance, fisgig, harpoon, or any manner of dart,
being bred to it from  their infancy; for the children.




234         THE MOSQUITO INDIANS.
imitating their parents, never go abroad without a lar. in
their hands, which they throw at any object till use hath
made them masters of the art. Then they learn to 1ut by
a lance, arrow, or dart; the manner is thus:-Two boys
stand at a small distance, and dart a blunt stick at one another, each of them holding a small stick in his right hand,
with which he strikes away that which is darted at him. As
they grow in years they become more dexterous and courageous; and then they will stand a fair mark to any one
that will shoot arrows at them, which they will put by with
a very small stick no bigger than the rod of a fowling-piece;
and when they are grown.to be men they will guard themselves from arrows though they come very thicl at them,
provided they do not happen to come two at once. They
have extraordinary good eyes, and will descry a sail at sea,
and see any thing better than we. Their chiefest employ.
ment in their own country is: to strike fish, turtle, ox
manatee. For this they are esteemed and coveted by all
privateers, for one or two of them in a ship will maintain
100 men; so that when we careen our ships we choose
commonly such places where there is plenty of turtle ox
manatee for these Mosquito-men to strike, and it is very
rare to find a privateer destitute of one or more of them,
when the commander and most of the crew are English;
but they do not love the French, and the Spaniards they
hate mortally.
"They are tall, well-made, raw-boned, lusty, strong, and
nimble of foot, long-visaged, lank black hair, look stern,
hard-favoured, and of a dark copper complexion. When
they come among the privateers they get the use of firearms, and are very good marksmen. They behave themselves very bold in fight, and never seem to flinch nor hang
back; for they think that the white men with whom they
are know better than they do when it is best to fight, and,
let the disadvantage of their party be never so great, they'
will never yield nor give back while any of their party
stand. I could never perceive any religion nor any ceremonies or superstitious observations among them, being
ready to imitate us in whatsoever they saw us do at any
time. Only they seem to fear the Devil, whom they call
Willesaw; and they say he often appears to some among
them, whom our men commonly call their priests, when




THEIR MANNERS AND  CUSTOMS.                235
Ihey desire to speak with him on urgent business.  They
all say they must not anger him, for then he will beat
them; and he sometimes carries away these their priests.
They marry but one wife, with whom  they live till death
separates them.  At their first coming together the man
makes a very small plantation...     They delight to
settle near the sea, or by some river, for the sake of striking
fish, their beloved employment; for within land there are
other Indians with whom  they are always at war. After
the man hath cleared a spot of land, and hath planted it,
he seldom minds it afterward, but leaves the managing of
it to his wife, and he goes out a-striking. Sometimes he
seeks only for fish, at other times for turtle or manatee,
and whatever he gets he brings home to his wife, and never
stirs out to seek for more till it is eaten. When hunger
begins to bite, he either takes his canoe and seeks for more
game at sea, or walks out into the woods and hunts for
pecaree and waree, each a sort of wild hogs, or deer, and
seldom  returns empty-handed, nor seeks any more as long
as it lasts.  Their plantations have not above twenty of
thirty plantain-trees, a bed of yams and potatoes, a bush of
pimento, and a small spot of pineapples, from which they
make a sort of drink, to which they invite each other to be
merry.  Whoever of them  makes pine-drink treats his
neighbours, providing fish and flesh also."
At their drinking —matches they often quarrelled, but the
women prevented mischief by hiding their weapons.  The
lIvosquito-men were kind and civil to the English, whb  endeavoured to retain the regard of such useful allies.  Fothis purpose it was necessary to let them have their own
way in every thing, and to return home the moment they
desired it, for if contradicted there was an end of their services; and though turtle and fish abounded, they would
manage to kill nothing.  They called themselves, as has
been noticed, subjects of the King of England, and liked
to have their chiefs nominated by the Governor of Jamaica,
which island they often visited.  Pity that in subsequent
periods the fidelity and regard of this brave and ingenious
tribe were so ill and ungratefully requited by their powerful
and ungenerous allies.
The  Bucaniers commenced their march  across the
ishmus on the 5th April, 1680, about 330 strong, each




236    SEA' FIGHT IN  TSi E ROAD OF PANAMA.
man armed with a hanger, fusil, and pistol, and provided
wnith four cakes of the bread which they called doughboys.
Their generalissimo was Captain Sharp; and the men,
marshalled in divisions, marched in something like military
order, with flags and leaders. They were accompanied by
those Indians of Darien who were the hereditary enarnies
of the Spaniards, whom  they had subsidized with the
hatchets, knives, beads, and toys with which they provided
themselves at Porto Bello.  These auxiliaries furnished
them  with plantains, venison, and fruit, in exchange for
European commodities.  The march was easily performed,
i1nd in nine days' journey they reached Santa Maria, which
was taken without opposition, though this did not prevent
the exercise of cruelty.  The Indians cruelly and deliberately butchered many of the inhabitants.  The plunder obtained falling far short of the expectations of the Bucaniers
made them  the more desirous to push forward.  They
accordingly embarked on the river of Santa Maria, which
falls into the Gulf of St. Michael, in Indian canoes and
piroues, having previously, in their summary way, deposed Captain Sharp, and chosen Captain Coxon com
nander.
On the same day that they reached the bay, whither
some of the Darien chiefs still accompanied them, they
captured a Spanish vessel of thirty tons burthen, on board
of which a large party planted themselves, happy after the
march, and being cramped and huddled up in the canoes,
again to tread the deck of a ship of any size.  At this time
they divided into small parties, first appointing a rendezvous at the island of Chepillo, in the mouth of the river
Cheapo. Dampier was with Captain Sharp, who went to
the Pearl Islands in search of provisions.
In a few days the Bucaniers mustered for the attack of
Panama, and on the 23d April did battle for the whole day
with three Spanish ships in the road, of which two were
captured by boarding, while the third got off. The action
was fierce and sanguinary; of the Bucaniers eighteen meni
were killed, and thirty wounded.  The resistance was
vigorous and brave; and the Spanish commander with
many of his people fell before the action terminated.  Even
after this victory the Bucanitrs did not consider themselves
strong enough to attack the lew city of Panama, but they




DIFFERENCES OF THE BUCANIERS.                237
continued to cruise in the bay, making valuable prizes.  In
the action with the Spanish ships Captain Sawkins had
greatly distinguished himself by courage and conduct; and
a quarrel breaking out among the Bucaniers while Coxon
returned to the North Seas, he was chosen commander.
He had not many days enjoyed this office, when, in an attack
on'uebla Nueva, he was killed, leading on his men to the
assault of a breastwork; and on his death Sharp, the
second in command, showing faint heart, the Bucaniers
retreated.  New discontents broke out, and the party once
more divided, not being able to agree in the choice of a
leader; of those who remained in the South Sea, among
whom was Dampier, Sharp was chosen commander.  For
some months he cruised on the coast of Peru, occasionally
landing to pillage small towns and villages; and on Christmas-day* anchored in a harbour of the Island of Juan
Fernandez to rest and refit.  Here they obtained abundance
of crayfish, lobsters, and wild goats, which were numerous.
Sharp, who had always been unpopular, was once more
formally deposed, and Captain Watling elected in his stead.
Having enjoyed themselves till the 12th of January, the
iucaniers were alarmed by the appearance of three vessels,
vhich they concluded to be Spanish ships of war in pursuit
of them.  They put off to sea in all haste, in the hurry
leaving one of their Mosquito Indians, named William,
upon the island.
They again cruised along the coast, and the attack of
the Spanish settlements by hasty descent was resumed.  In
attempting to capture Arica Captain Watling was killed,
and the Bucaniers were repulsed, having had a narrow
escape from being all made prisoners. For want of any
more competent leader, Sharp was once more raised to the
command, and the South Sea had so greatly disappointed
their hopes, that it was now agreed to return eastward by
recrossing the isthmus. But another quarrel broke out,
one party would not continue under Sharp, and another
wished to try their fortunes farther on the South Sea.  It
was therefore agreed that the majority should retain the
* At any season of the year, when the Bucaniers, after a period of
watching and toil, had obtained booty, provisions, and liquor, they oflta
re:. dA to some of their nearest hur. ing places, " to keep a Christmas,'
ar,'2<ey chose to term their revel,




23i8      RETREAT ACROSS THE ISTHLUS.
ship, the other party taking the long-boat and canoes.
Sharp's party proved the most numerous.  They cruised
in the South Sea, on the coast of Patagonia and Chili, ior
the remainder of the season of 1681, and early in the following year returned to the West Indies by doubling Cape
Horn, but durst not land at any of the English settlements.
Sharp, soon afterward going home, was tried in England
with several of his men for piracy, but escaped conviction.
In the minority which broke off from Sharp was William
Dampier, who appears at this time to have been little distinguished among his companions. The party consisted
of forty-four Europeans and two Mosquito Indians. Their
object was to recross the isthmus,-an undertaking of no
small difficulty, from the nature of the country and the
hostility of the Spaniards. Before they left the ship they
sifted a large quantity of flour, prepared chocolate with
sugar, as provision, and entered into a mutual engagement,
that if any man sank on the journey he should be shot by
his comrades, as'but one man falling into the hands of the
Spaniards must betray the others to certain destruction.
In a fortnight after leaving the ship near the Island of
Plata, they landed at the mouth of a river in the Bay of St.
Michael, where, taking out all their provisions, arms, and
clothing, they sank their boat. While they spent a few
hours in preparing for the inland march, the Mosquito-men
caught fish, which afforded one plentiful meal to the whole
party; after which they commenced their journey late in
the afternoon of the 1st of May. At night they constructed
huts, in which they slept. On the 2d they struck into
an Indian path, and reached an Indian village, where they
obtained refreshments; but were uneasy on understanding
the closeness of their vicinity to the Spaniards, who had
placed ships at the mouths of the navigable rivers to look
out for them, and intercept their return eastward. Next
day, with a hired Indian guide, they proceeded, and reached
the dwelling of a native, who received them with sullen
churlishness,-which in ordinary times the Bucaniers would
ill have brooked; "though this," says Dampier, "was
neither a time nor place to be angry with the Indians, all
our lives lying at their hands." Neither the temptation of
dollars, hatchets, nor long knives would operate on this
intractable Indian, till one of the seamen, taking a sky.




CONTINUATION OF THE JOURNEY.            239
coloured petticoat from his bag, threw it over the lady of
the house, who was so much delighted with the gift, that
she soon wheedled her husband into better humour; and he
now not only tve them information, but found them a guide.
It rained hard and frequently on both days, but they were still
too near the Spanish garrisons and guard ships to mind the
weather or to daily by the way. The country was found
difficult and fatiguing, without any trace of a path, the
Indians guiding themselves by the rivers, which they were
sometimes compelled to cross twenty or thirty times in a
day. Rainy weather, hardship, and hunger soon expelled
all fear of the Spaniards, who were, besides, not likely to
follow their foes into these intricate solitudes.
On the 5th day they reached the dwelling of a young
Spanish Indian,-a civilized person, who had lived with
the Bishop of Panama, and spoke the Spanish language
fluently. He received them kindly, and though unable to
provide for the wants of so many men, freely gave what he
had. At this place they rested to dry their clothes and ammunition, and to clean their firearms. While. thus employed
Mr. Wafer, the surgeon of the Bucaniers, who had been
among the malecontents, had his knee so much scorched
by an accidental explosion of gunpowder, that, after dragging himself forward during another day, he was forced to
remain behind his companions, together with one or two
more who had been exhausted by the march. Among the
Indians of the Darien Wafer remained for three months,
and he has left an account, which is considered the best
we yet possess, of those tribes.
The march was continued in very bad weather, this being
the commencement of the rainy season, and thunder and
lightning frequent and violent. As the bottoms of the
valleys and the rivers' banks were now overflowed, instead of
constructing huts every night for their repose, the travellers
were often obliged to seek for a resting-place, and to sleep
under trees. To add to their hardships their slaves deserted, carrying off whatever they could lay their hands
upon.
Before leaving the ship, foreseeing the difficulties of the
ourney, and the necessity of perpetually fording the rivers,
bampier had taken the precaution to deposite his journal
~n a bamboo, closed at both ends with wax. In this wei




'40         CRUISE OF THE BUCANIERS.
his pavers were secured from wet, while the, n.alist fre.
quently swam  across the rivers which so gri'ly impeded
the progress of the march.  In crossing a rir    where the
current ran very strong, one man, who carri!. ils fortune
of 300 dollars on his back, was swept down tl w tteam and
drowned; and so worn out were his comrad en, that, fond
as they were of gold, they would not at this;ij.e take the
trouble to look for or burden themselves witl hiL. It was
the eighteenth day of the march before f he Bucaniers
reached Lhe river Conception, where they o tained Indian
canoes, in which they proceeded to La Sol ad's Key, one
of the Samballas Islands, which were mucl frequented by
the  Bucaniers.  Here  they entered a Fl nch privateer,
commanded by Captain Tristian; and, w th better faith
than Bucaniers usually displayed, generously rewarded
their Indian guides with money, toys, and hatchets, and
dismissed them. The Bucaniers of this time were somewhat less ferocious in manners than those under Morgan
and Lolonnois, though it never entered into their thoughts
that there could be any wrong in robbing the Spaniards.
Sawkins and Watling maintained stricter discipline than
had been customary in former periods, approximating their
discipline and regulations to those of privateers, or ships
of war. They even made the Sabbath be observed with
outward signs of respect. On one occasion, when Sawkins's
men, who like all Bucaniers were inveterate gamblers,
played on Sunday, the captain flung the dice overboard.
In two days after Dampier and his friends had gone on
board the French vessel, it left La Sound's for Springer's
Key, another of the Samballas Islands, where eight Bucanier vessels then lay, of which the companies had formed
the design of crossing to Panama. From this expedition
they were, however, diverted by the dismal report of the
newly-arrived travellers; and the assault of other places
was taken into consideration.  From Trinidad to Vera
Cruz the Bucaniers had now an intimate knowledge of
every town upon the coast, and for twenty leagues into the
interior; and acquaintance with the strength and wealth
of each, and with the number and quality of the inhabitants.
The preliminary consultations now held lasted for a week,
the French and English not agreeing; but at last they
sailed for Carpenter's River, going first towards the Isle




ADVENTURES OF WAFERd                          241
or fJ!.),' eas.  In a gale the ships were separated; and
J)aiitlJii, neing left with a French captain, conceived such
a d       si'J l     lo his shipmates, that he and his fellow-travellers
in crossing  the  isthmus induced  a countryman  of their
ovin, named  Captain Wright, to  fit up and arm  a small
vetsel, with which they cruised about the coast in  search
of provisions, still, however, keeping  their jackals,  the.IMosquito-men, who  caught turtle  while  the  Bucaniers
hunted in the woods for pecaree, waree, deer, quaums, par-rots, pigeons, and curassow birds,* and also monkeys, which
in times of hardship they esteemed a delicate morsel. At
mne place several of the men were suddenly taken ill fron
rating land-crabs which had fed upon the fruit of the nlan-:hineel-tree.   All animals  that fed  on  this  fruit were
avoided by the freebooters as unwholesome, if not poisonous. )In  selecting  unknown  wild-fruits  the  Bucaniers
were guided by the birds, freely eating whatever kind had
seen pecked, but no bird touched the fruit of the manchineel.
On returning to La Sound's Key from  this cruise, they
wvere joined by Mr. Wafer.  He had been for three months
kindly entertained by an Indian chief, who had offered him
his daughter in  marriage, and grudged him  nothing  save
She liberty of going away.  From  this kind  but exacting:hief he escaped under pretence of going in search of English  dogs to  be  employed  in  hunting, the Indian  being
* Of the Curassow birds (genus Crax), so named, we presume, from
Curassow in Guiana, several species are known to naturalists. They
nelong to the gallinaceous order, and are of large size, easy domestication, and much esteemed for the flavour of their flesh. They feed on
fruits and seeds, and build as well as perch on trees. Many of them
are distinguished by a singular contortion in the trachea or windpipe, of
which an account was published by Dr. Latham in the fourth volume of
the Linn. Trans. The crested Curassow (Crax alector) is a beautiful
bird, nearly three feet in length.  It inhabits Guiana, Mexico, Brazil,
and Paraguay.  A curious variety, or hybrid, is described by Temminck
as having sprung fromr the intermixture of this species with the Crax
riibra. This latter species has iikewise a fine crest, and is nearly as
large as a turkey. The globe-bearing Curassow  (Crax globicera) is
rharacterized by a remarkable tubercle at the base of the beak. The
Ahole of the plumage is of a fine black, with a tinge of green; the abdomein, under tail-coverts, and tips of the tail-feathers, are white.  It
inhabits Guiana. A new  species, called the carunculated Curassow
1Orar cauruneculafa), was discovered and described by M. Temminck.
The upper parts of the plumage are blacl with green reflections; the
abdomen is of a chestnut colour. It measures about three feet in length
and inhabits Brazil.




242        MONASTERY AT CARTHAGENA.
aware of the superiority which dogs gave the Spaniards is
the chase. Mr. Wafer had been painted by the women ol
the Darien, and his own clothes being worn out, he wam
now dressed, or rather undressed, like the natives; whom,
under this disguise, he resembled so much, that it was
some time before Dampier recognised his old acquaintance
the surgeon.
From  the Samballas they cruised towards Carthagena,
which they passed, having a fair view of the city, and casting longing eyes upon the rich monastery on the steep hill
rising behind it.  This monastery, dedicated to the Virgin,
i, says Dampier, " a place of incredible wealth, by reason
of the offerings made here continually; and for this reason
often in danger of being visited by the privateers, did not
the neighbourho)d of Carthbgena keep them in awe.'Tis,
in short, the very Loret': of the West Indies, and hath innumerable miracles related of it.  Any misfortune that
befalls the privateers is attributed to this lady's doing;
and the Spaniards report, that she was abroad that night
the Oxford man-of-war was blown up at the Isle of Vaca,
and that she came home all wet; as belike she often returns with her clothes dirty and torn with passing through
woods and bad ways when she has been upon an expedition, deserving doubtless a new suit for such eminent pieces
of service."
The company of Captain Wright pillaged several small
places about Rio de la Hacha and the Rancheries, which
was the head-quarters of a small Spanish pearl-fishery.
The pearl-b~nks lay about four or five leagues off the shore.
In prosecuting this fishery, the Indian divers, first anchoring their boats, dived, and brought up full the baskets
previously let down; and when their barks were filled,
they went ashore, and the oysters were opened by the old
men, women and children, under the inspection of a Spanish overseer.
In a short time afterward, the Bucaniers captured, after
a smart engagement, an armed ship of twelve guns and
forty men, laden with sugar, tobacco, and marmalade, boun&
to Carthagena from St. Jago in Cuba. From the disposal
of this cargo, some insight is afforded into the mysteries of
bucaniering. It was offered first to the Dutch governor
of Curagao, who having, as he said, a great trade with the




WRECK OF THE FRENCH FLEET.             243
Spaniards, could not openly admit the freebooters to this
island, though he directed them to go to St. Thomas, which
belonged to the Danes, whither he would send a sloop with
such commodities as the Bucaniers required, and take the
sugar off their hands. The rovers, however, declined the
terms offered by the cautious Dutchman, and sailed from.St. Thomas to another Dutch colony, where they found a
better merchant. From hence they sailed for the Isle of
Aves, which, as its name imports, abounded in birds, especially boobies and men-of-war birds. The latter bird was
about the size of a kite, black, with a red throat. It lives
on fish, yet never lights in the water; but, soaring aloft
like the kite, "when it sees its prey, darts down, snatches
it, and mounts, never once touching the water."
On a coral -eef off the south side of this island the
Count d'Estrdes had shortly before lost the French fleet.
Firing guns in the darkness, to warn the ships that fol
lowed him to avoid the danger on which he had run, they
imagined that he was engaged with the enemy, and crowding all sail, ran upon destruction. The ships held together
next day till part of the men got on shore, though many
perished in the wreck. Dampier relates, that those of the
ordinary seamen who got to land died of fatigue and famine,
while those who had been Bucaniers and were wrecked
here, "being used to such accidents, lived merrily; and if
they had gone to Jamaica with 301. in their pockets, could
not have enjoyed themselves more; for they kept a gang
by themselves, and watched when the ships broke up to get
the goods that came out of them; and though much was
staved against the rocks, yet abundance of wine and brandy
floated over the reef, where they waited to take it up.'
The following anecdote of the wrecked crew is horribly
striking:-" There were about forty Frenchmen on board
one of the ships, in which was good store of liquor, till the
after-part of her broke, and floated dyer the reef, and was
carried away to sea, with all the men drinking and singing,
who, being in drink, did not mind the danger, but were
never heard of afterward."
In a short time after, this island was the scene of a clever
bucaniering trick, which Dampier relates with some glee.
The wreck of the French fleet had left Aves Island a perfect arsenal of masts, yards, timbers, and so forth, and




244       TRICK  OF A FRENCH  BUCANIER.
hither the Bucaniers repaired to careen and refit their
ships, and among others Captain Pain, a Frenchman. A
Dutch vessel of twenty guns, despatched from Curaao,to
fish up the guns lost on the reef, descried the privatecr,
which she resolved to capture before engaging in the business of her voyage.  The Frenchman abandoned his ship,
which he saw no chance of preserving, but brought ashore
some of his guns, and resolved to defend himself as long as
possible.  While his men were landing the guns, he perceived at a distance a Dutch sloop entering the road, and
at evening found her at anchor at the west end of the island.
During the night, with two canoes, he boarded and took
this sloop, found considerable booty, and made off with
her, leaving his empty vessel as a prize to the Dutch manof-war.
At this island Dampier's party remained for some time,
careened the largest ship, scrubbed a sugar-prize formerly
taken, and recovered two guns of the wreck of d'Estr.es's
fleet.  They afterward went to the Isles of Rocas, where
they fell in with a French ship of 36 guns, which bought
ten tons of their sugar. The captain of this vessel was a
knight of Malta. To Dampier both he and his lieutenant
were particularly attentive and kind, and offered him every
encouragement to enter the French navy. This he declined
from feelings of patriotism.
Here he saw, besides men-of-war birds, boobies, and noddies, numbers of the tropic-bird.*  It was as big as a
pigeon, and round and plump as a partridge, all white, save
two or three light-gray feathers in the wing. One long
feather or quill, about seven inches in length, growing out
of the rump, is all the tail these birds have. They are never
seen far without the tropics, but are met with at a great distance from land. After taking in what water could be ob.
tained, they left Rocas, and went to Salt Tortuga, so called
to distinguish it from Dry Tortuga near Cape Florida, and
from the Tortuga of the first Bucaniers near Hispaniola,
which place was now, however, better known as Petit
* There are several species of tropic-bird. but the one alluded to above
is the phaeton ethereus of naturalists, remarkable for its restriction to the
regions from which it derives its English name. It feeds on fish, and is
characterized by a singular degree of ease and gracefulness in its mode
of flight. It inhabits the Atlantic Ocean and the South Sea, and its purl
and pearly plumage is distinguished by a lustre like that of satin




IGUANA-CoGUINEA -WORNL.               4b
Guaves.  They expected to sell the remainder of their sugar
to the English vessels which came here for salt; but not
succeeding, they sailed for Blanco, an island north of Margarita, and thirty leagues from the main. It was an uninhabited island, flat and low, being mostly savanna, with a
few wooded spots, in which flourished the lignum vita,
Iguanas, or guanoes, as they were commonly called in the
West Indies, abounded on Blanco. They resembled the
lizard species, but were bigger, about the size of the small
of a mall's leg. From the hind-quarter the tail tapers to
the point. If seizedby the tail near the extremity, it broke
off at ajoint, and the animal escaped. They are amphibious
creatures. Both their eggs and flesh were highly esteemed
by the Bucaniers, who made soup of the latter for their sick.
There were many species found here living onland or water,
in the swamps, among bushes, or on trees.  Green turtle
frequented this island in numbers.
From  Blanco they returned to Salt Tortuga, and went
from thence after four days to the coast of the Caraccas on
the main.
While cruising on this coast, they landed in some of the
bays, and took seven or eight tons of cocoa, and afterward
three barks,-one laden with hides, another with brandy and
earthenware, and a third with European goods. With these
prizes they returned to the Rocas to div ide the spoil; after
which Dampier and other nineteen out of a company of
sixty took one of the captured vessels, and with their share
of the plunder held their course direct for Virginia, which
was reached in July, 1682.
Of the thirteen months which our navigator spent in Virginia he has left no record; but from another portion of his
memoirs it may be gathered that he suffered fronm sickness
during most of the time. His disease was not more singcular than was the mode of cure practised by a negro Esculapius, whose appropriate fee was a.white cock. The disease
was what is called the Guinea-worm.  $' These worms,"
says Dampier, 4" are no bigger than a large brown thread,
but. as I have heard, five or six yards long; and if it break
in drawing out, that part which remains in the flesh will putrify, and endanger the patient's life. and be very painful
I was in great torment before it came out.  My leg and
altle swelled, and looked very red and angry, and I kept *
s




246         NEGRO DOCTOR  OF VIRGINIA.
plaster to it to bring it to a head.  Drawing off my plaster,
out came about three inches of the worm, and my pain
abated presently. Till then I was ignorant of my malady,
and the gentlewoman at whose house I lodged took it (the
worm) for a nerve; but I knew well enough what it was,
and presently rolled it upon a small stick. After that I
opened it every morning and evening, and strained it out
gently, about two inches at a time, not without pain." The
negro doctor first stroked the place affected, then applied
some rough powder to it like tobacco-leaves crumbled, next
muttered a spell, blew upon the part three times, waved his
hands as often, and said that in three days it would be well.
It proved so, and the stipulated fee of the white cock was
gladly paid.
The next adventure of Dampier was the circumnavigation
of the globe,-a voyage and ramble extending to about eight
years, which in point of interest and variety has never yet
been surpassed. To it we dedicate the following chapter.
CHAPTER X.
Circumnavigation of the Globe.
Dampier's New Voyage-Cape de Verd Isles-Bachelor's Delight —Falk.
land Isles-Mosquito William-Nautical Remarks of Dampier-Junco
tion of Cook and Eaton-The Galapagos Islands-Death of CookEscape of the Bucaniers-Descent at Amapalla-Spanish Indians —
The Bncaniers separate —La Plata and Manta-The Cygnet joins the
Bucaniers-Descent on Paila-Attempt on Guavaquil-Dampier's
Scheme of working the Mines-Indians of St Jago-The Bucaniers
watch tle Plate-fleet- Battle in the Bay of Panama-Assault of Leon
-Dampier remains in the Cygnet-Iis Sickness-Crosses the Pacific
-Islantd of Guahai —Mindanao —ts Customs-The Bucaniers desert
Swan-Future Cruise of the Cygnet-Pulo Condore-The Basbee
Isles-Chara'cter and Manners of the Islanders-Cruise to New-Holland-The Country and People-The Nicobar Islands-Dampier leaves
the Bucaniers-His Voyage to Acheen-Voyages with Captains Bowry
and Weldon-Remains at Bencoolen-Prince Jeoly-Dampier's Return:o England-Publication of his Voyages-Employment by the Admi
ralty.
AMONG the companions of Dampier in his journey across th6
sthmus, and in his subsequent cruise, was Mr. John Co9ky
i creole, born in St. Christopher's, and a man of good ca




STRATAbiEN of COOK.               247
pacity. He had acted as quarter-master, or second in comr
mand, under Captain Yankv, a French Flibustier, who at
this time held a commission as a privateer. By the ordinary laws )f the Bucaniers, when a prize fit for a piratical
cruise was taken, the second in command was promoted to
it, and in virtue of this title Cook obtained an excellent
Spanish ship. At this, however, the French commanders
were secretly discontented, and on the first opportunity they
seized the ship, plundered the crew, who were Englishmen,
of their arms and goods, and turned them ashore. The
French captain, Tristian, either took compassion on some
of the number, or hoped to find them serviceable; for he
carried eight or ten of them with him to Petit Guaves,
among whom were Cook and Davis. They had not lain
long here when Captain Tristiarn and part of his men being
one day on shore, the English party, in revenge of the late
spoliation, overmastered the rest of the crew, took the ship,
and, sending the Frenchmen ashore, sailed for Isle a la
Vache, where they picked up a straggling crew of English
Bucaniers, and before they could be overtaken sailed for
Virginia, where Dampier now was, taking two prizes by the
way, one of which was a French ship laden with wine.
Having thus dexterously swinldled Tristian out of his ship,
which might, however, he considered as but a fair act of reprisal, and having afterward committed open piracy on the
French commerce, the West Indies was no longer a safe
latitude for these English Bucaniers.. The wines were
thersfore sold with the other goods and two of the ships;
an] the largest prize, which carried eighteen guns, was
new-named the Revenge, and equipped and provisioned for
a long voyage. Among her crew of seventy men were
almost all the late fellow-travellers across the isthmus, including William Dampier, Lionel Wafer, the surgeon, Ambrose Cowley, who has left an account of the voyage, and
the commander, Captain John Cook. Before embarking on
this new pilatical expedition, they all subscribed certain
rules for maintaining discipline and due subordination, and
for the observance of sobriety on their long voyage.
They sailed froim the Chesapeake on the 23d Augusts
1683; captured a Dutch vessel, in which they found six
casks of wine and a quantity of provisions; and near the
Cape de Verd Islands encountered a storm which raged for




248             AMBERGRIS-FLAMINOOES.
a week, "drenching them  all like so many drowned rats."*
After this gale they had the winds and weather both favour
able, and anchored at the Isle of Sal, one of the Cape de
Verd group, so named from its numerous salt-ponds.
A Portuguese at this place, by affecting the mystery which
gives so much zest to clandestine bargains, prtvailed with
one of the Bucaniers to purchase from him  t lump of what
he called ambergris, which Dampier believed to be spurious.
Of the genuine substance Dampier relates that he was once
shown a piece which had been broken off a lump weighing
100 lbs., found in a sandy bay of an island in the Bay of
Honduras.  It was found by a person of credit (a Mr. Barker of London), lying dry above high-water mark, and in it
a multitude of beetles.t It was of a dusky black colour,
the consistence of mellow ordinary cheese, and of a very
fragrant scent.
At the Isle of Sal, Dampier first saw the flamingo. It was
in shape like the heron, but larger, and of a red colour.
The flaminngoes kept together in large flacks, and, standing
side by side by the ponds at which they fed, looked at a distance like a new brick wall. Their flesh was lean and black,
* In this dreadful storm, it is related in one edition of Dampier's works
that the ship was saved by an odd but very simple expedient. The ship
was scudding before wind and sea under bare poles, when by the inadvertence of the master she was broached to, and lay in the trough of the
sea; the waves at that time running tremendously high, and threatening
to overwhelm her, so that if one had struck on the deck she must have
foundered. The person who had committed this nearly fatal mistake
was in a state of distraction, and roared for any one to cut away the
mizzenma4t, to give the ship a chance of righting. All was confusion
and dismay; the captain and the offiDer second in comnnand objecting to
this certainly hazardous, and probably useless attempt to save them
selves. The whole crew had given themselves up for lost, when a sea
man called to Dampier to ascend the fore-shrouds with him; this the
man alleged might make the ship wear, as he had seen the plan succeed
before now. As he spoke he mounted, and Dampier followed him
They went half-shrouds up, spread out the flaps of their coats, and in
three minutes tne ship wore, though such had been the violence of the
tempest, that the maithsail having got loose, as many men as couM lie on
it, assisted by all on dtlck. anid though the mairnyard was nearly level with
the deck, were not able to furl it.
t The substance called actnberrt.s, at one time regarded by chymists
as a kind of petrol'iun or mineral oil, is now ascertained to be an animal
production, which lhas its orizin in the intestinal canal of certain species
of the wha'e-tribe. The beetles alluded to iil the text were no doubt
accidental, and their occurrence inl the ambergris is accounted for by its
position above high-water mark.




BUCANIER STR:ATAOBEM                249
but not unsavoury nor fishy-tasted. A knob of fat at the
root of the tongue " makes a dish of flamingoes' tongues fit
for a prince's table."
From this island they went to St. Nicholas, where the
governor and his attendants, though not quite so tattered as
those seen at the Isle of Sal, were not very splendidly
equipped. Here they dug wells, watered the ship, scrubbed
its bottom, and went to Mayo to obtain provisions; but
were not suffered to land, as about a week before Captain
Bond, a pirate of Bristol, had entrapped the governor and
some of his people, and carried them away.
From the Cape de Verd Isles the Revenge intended to
keep a direct course to the Straits of Magellan; but by adverse weather was compelled to steer for the Guinea coast,
which was made in November, near Sierra Leone. They
anchored in the mouth uf the river Sherborough,. near a large
Danish ship, which they afterward took by stratagem.
While insight of the Dane,.which felt no alarm at the appearance of a slip of the size of the Revenge, most of the
Bucanier crew remained under deck, no more of the hands
appearing above than were necessary to manage the sails.
Their bold design was to board the ship without discovering
any sign of their intention; and the Revenge advanced
closely, still wearing the resemblance of a weakly-manned
merchant-vessel. When quite close, Captain Cook in a loud
voice commanded the helm to be put one way, while by previous orders and a preconcerted plan the steersman shifted
it into a quite opposite direction; and the Revenge, as if by
accident, suddenly fell on board the Dane, which by this
dexterous manoeuvre was captured with only the loss of five
men, though a ship of double their whole force.  She carried thirty-six guns, and was equipped and victualled for a
long voyage.
This fine vessel was by the exulting Bucaniers named
the Bachelor's Delight; and they immediately burnt the Revenge that she "might tell no tales," sent their prisoners on
snore, and steered for Magellan's Straits.*
On the voyage to the straits the Bachelor's Delight en.
countered frequent tornadoes, accompanied by thunder,
* It is proper to notice that we owe trese particu'lars to the narrative
of Cowley. Dampier does not mentlnrn this stratagem, which he must
on reflection have thought little to the credit o' the contrivers.




2b0           THEI  FALKLAND ISLANDU.
lightning, and rain.  Many of the men were seized with
fever, and one man died. Having little fresh animal food
of any kind, they caught sharks during the calms between
the gusts of the' tornadoes, which they prepared by first
boiling, and afterward stewing them with pepper and vine
gar.  About the middle of January they lost one of the su.
geons, who was greatly lamented, as there now remained
but one foV the long voyage which was meditated. On the
28th they made John Davis's Southern Islands, or the Falkland Isles,-then, however, more generally known as the
Sebald de Weert Islands.
In the course of their voyage Dampier, who possessed
more geographical and nautical knowledge than his companions, had been persuading Captain Cook to stop here to
water, and, afterward to prosecute the voyage to Juan Fernandez by doubling Cape Horn, avoiding the straits altogether, which, he judiciously says, * I knew would prove
very dangerous to us, the rather because our men being privateers, and so more wilful an' less under command, would
not be so ready to give a watchful attendance in a passage
o little known. For although these men were more under
cormmand than I had ever seen any privateers, yet I could
not expect to find them at a moment's call on coming to an
anchor or weighing anchor."  The Falkland Islands are
described by Dampier as rocky and barren, without trees,
and having only some bushes upon them.  Shoals of small
lobsters, which coloured the sea red in spots for a mile round,
were seen here  They were only of the size of the tip of a
man's little finger, yet perfect in shape, and naturally of the
colour that other lobsters assume after they are boiled.
The advice of Dampier was not taken, but westerly winds
prevented Cook fron. making the entrance of the straits, and
on the 6th February they fell in with the Straits of Le
Maire, high land on both sides, and the passage very narrow. They ran in for four miles, when a strong tide setting in northward " made such a short cockling sea," which
ran every way, as if in a place where two opposing tides
meet, sometimes breaking over the poop, sometimes over
the waist and the bow, and tossing the Bachelor's Delight
"like an egg-shell."
In the same evening they had a breeze from W. N. W.,
bore away eastwar 1 and. having the wind fresh all Lmght,




tSOUTH SEA-MOSQUITO WILLIAM.    251
passed the east end of Staten Island next day. Our nazi
gator on the 7th at noon found the latitude to be 54~ 52' S.,
and the same night they lost sight of Tierra del Fuego, and
saw no other land till they entered the South Sea. In
doubling Cape Horn they were so fortunate as to catch
twenty-three barre's of rain-water, besides an abundant
supply for present consumption.
On the 3d March they entered the South Sea with a fair
fresh breeze, which from the south had shifted to the eastward. On the 9th they were in latitude 47~ 10', and on the
17th in latitude 360, still bearing for Juan Fernandez. On
the 19th a strange sail was seen to the southward bearing
full upon them, which was mistaken for a Spaniard, but
proved to be the Nicholas of London, commanded by Captain Eaton, fitted out as a trader, but in reality a Bucanier
ship. Captain Eaton came on board the Bachelor's Delight,
related his adventures, and, like a true brother, gave the
company water, while they spared him a supply of bread and
beef. Together they now steered for Juan Fernandez, and
on the 23d anchored in a bay at the south end of the island,
in twenty-five fathoms water. From Eaton they had heard
of another London vessel, the Cygnet, commanded by Captain Swan, which was really a trader, and held a license
from the then lord high admiral of England, the Duke of
York, afterward James II. With this ship the Nicholas had
entered the South Sea, but they had been separated in a
gale.
It may be remembered, that when Captain Watling and
his company escaped from Juan Fernandez three years
before, they had left a Mosquito Indian on the island, who
was out hunting goats when the alarm came. This Mosquito-man, named William, was the first and the true Robinson Crusoe, the original hermit of this romantic solitude.
Immediately on approaching the island, Dampier and a few
of William's old friends, together with a Mosquito-man
named Robin, put off for the shore, where they soon per.
ceived William standing ready to give them welcome.
From the heights he had seen the ships on the preceding
day, and knowing them to be English vessels by the way
they were worked, he had killed three goats, and dressed
them with cabbage of the cabbage-tree, to have a feast ready
on the arrival of the ships. How great was his delight, as




252   ADVENTURES OF THE MOSqUITO0-4AN.
the boat neared the shore, when Robin leaped to the land,
and running up to him, fell flat on his face at his feet.
William raised up his countryman, embraced him, and in
turn prostrated himself at Robin's feet, who lifted him up,
and they renewed their embraces. "'We stood with pleasure," says Dampier, "to behold the surprise, tenderness,
and solemnity of their interview: which was exceedingly
affecting on both sides; and when these their ceremonies
of civility were over, we also that stood gazing at them
drew near, each of us embracing him we had found here,
who was overjoyed to see so many of his old friends, come
hither, as he thought, purposely to fetch him."
At the time William was abandoned, he had with him in
the woods his gun and knife, and a small quantity of powder
and shot. As soon as his ammunition was expended, by
notching his knife into a saw, he cat up the barrel of his
gun into pieces, which he converted into harpoons, lances,
and a long knife. To accomplish this he struck fire with
his gun-flint and a piece of the Lbtel of his gun, which he
hardened for this purpose in a way he had seen practised
by the Bucaniers. In this fire he heated his pieces of iron,
hammered them out with stones, sawed them with his
jagged knife, or grinded them to an edge, and tempered
them; "which was no more than these Mosquito-men
were accustomed to do in their own country, where they
make their own fishing and striking instruments without
either forge or anvil, though they spend a great deal of time
about them."  Thus furnished, William  supplied himself
with goats' flesh and fish, though, till his instruments were
formed, he had been compelled to eat seal. He built his
house about a half-mile from the shore, and lined it snugly
with goat-skins, with which he also spread his couch or
barbecuc, which was raised two feet from the floor. As his
clothes wore out, he supplied this want also with goat-skins,
and when first seen he wore nothing save a goat-skin
about his waist. Though the Spaniards, who had learned
that a Mosquito-man was left here, had looked for William
several times, he had always, by retiring to a secret place,
contrived to elude their search.
The island of Juan Fernandez was hilly, and intersected
by small pleasant valleys; the mountains were partly savanna
and prtly woodland; the grass of the flat places Leirg




NAUTICAL REMARKS OF DAMPIER.               253
delicate and kindly, of a short thick growth, unlike the
coarse sedgy grass of the savannas of the West Indies.
The cabbage-tree was found here, and well-grown timber
of different kinds, though none that was fit for masts.
There were in the island two bays, both at the east end,
where ships might anchor, and into each of them  flowed a
rixulet of good water.  Water was also found in every
valley. Goats, which according to Dampier were originally
brought to the island by the discoverer, were now found in
large flocks, and seals swarmed about the island "as if they
had no other place in the world to live in, every bay and rock
being full of them."  Sea-lions' were also numerous, and
different kinds of fish were found.  The seals were of different colours,-black, gray, and dun, with a fine thick
short fur.  Millions of them were seen sitting in the bays,
going- or coming into the sea, or, as they lay at the top of
the waves, sporting and sunning themselves, covering the
water for a mile or two from the shore. When they come
out of the sea " they bleat like sheep for their young; and
though they pass through hundreds of others' young, yet
they will not suffer any of them to suck."  The sea-lion is
shaped like a seal, but is six times as big, with "great
goggle eyes," and teeth three inches long, of which the
Bucaniers sometimes made dice.
The Bucaniers remained for sixteen days at this island
getting in provisions, and for the recovery of the sick and
those affected with scurvy, who were placed on shore, and
fed with vegetables and fresh goats' flesh, which regimen
was found beneficial.  On the 8th April they sailed for the
American coast, which they approached in 24~ S.; but
stood off at the distance of fourteen or fifteen leagues, that
they might not be observed from the high grounds by the
Spaniards.
The nautical and geographical observations of Dampier
in this tract of the Pacific are important.  The land from
the 24th to the 10th degree south was of prodigious height.
"It lies generally in ridges parallel to the shore, and three
or four ridges, one within another, each surpassing the
other in height; those that are farthest within land being
* The leonine seal, so frequently mentioned in this voluanm as tie sea
ion swn by Caveadish and others.
T




254        COOK AND EATON JOIN FORCES.
much higher than the others. They always appear blue
when seen at sea."  To the excessive height of the
mountain-ridges Dampier imputes the want of rivers in
this region.
The first capture of the Bucaniers, made on the 3d of
May was a Spanish ship bound to Lima, laden with timber
from  Guayaquil; from  which they learned that it was
known in the settlements that pirates were on the coast.
On the 9th they anchored at the isle of Lobos de ia Mar
with their prize.  Lobos de la Mar is properly a cluster of
small islets, divided by narrow channels.  They are sandy
and barren, destitute of water, and frequented by sea-fowl,
penguins, and a small black fowl that our navigator never
saw save here and at Juan Fernandez, which made holes in
the sand for a night-habitation.*  This black fowl made
good meat.  At this place the ships were scrubbed, and
the prisoners rigidly examined, that from their information
the voyagers might guide their future proceedings. Truxillo was the town at last fixed upon for making a descent.
The companies of both ships were mustered, for Eaton and
Cook had now agreed to hunt in couples, and the arms
were proved. The men amounted to 108 fit to bear arms,
besides the sick. Before they sailed on this expedition
three ships were seen steering northward. Cook stood
after one of them, which made for the land, and Eaton pursued the other two to sea, and captured them on the same
day.  They contained cargoes of flour from  Lima for the
city of Panama, whither they carried intelligence from the
governor of the formidable Bucanier force which now
threatened the coast.  One of the ships carried eight tons
of quince-marmalade. The Bucaniers were deeply mortified to learn that they had narrowly missed a prize containing 800,000 pieces of eight, which had been landed at an
intermediate port, upon a rumour of English ships being
cruising off the coast of Peru.
The design against Truxillo was now abandoned, as they
learned that it had lately been fortified, and a Spanish gar.
rison established for its defence; and on the evening of the
19th they sailed with their flour-prizes for the Galapagos
Islands, which they descried on the 31st, " some appearing
0 This is described by Woodes Rogers as a kind of teal.




THE  GAL.PAGOS ISLANDS.                        255
en the lee-bow, some on the weather-bow, and others right
head.'"   The Ga:lapagos Islands, mentioned in page 50 of
this vlurrme, were still very little known  at the time the
iucsaniers n.ad;e this visit.'Thev lie under the equator,
are numeroues, and  were uninhabited,  and  zbounded  in
iguanas a-id large land-turtle; otherwise they  are rocky
ai.d barren, and mostly destitute of water,* though in some
rf them  this article, so essential to the mariner, was found
of excellent quality both in brooks and ponds.   Several of
the isles are seven or eight leagues long, and from  three to
four hroad, and partially wooded.   Land-turtle were found
here in such multitudes, that Darpier says'; 500 or 600 men
miaht subsist on them  for several months without any other
sort of provisit q."   Some of them  weighed  from  150 to
20) pounds, and were two feet or two feet six inches over
the callipee, and sweet as a young pullet.  Tho islands also
abounded  in  sea-turtle,-the  creeks and shallows being
filled with the turtle-grass on which the green-turtle  feed.
The  sea-turtle were of four kinds,-the green-turtle, the
loggerhead, the trunk-turtle, and the hawksbill;  on  the
back of this last species is found the shell so much valued
in commerce.   The  largest of them  afforded  about three
pounds and a half of this shell.
At the Galapagos Isles the Bucaniers remained for ten
days, and deposited a store of their prize-flour against future
necessity.  Salt was found here, pigeons abounded, the sea
teemed with fish, and the leaves of the mammee-treet fur* The Bucaniers at their first visit could not discover how the small
birds, and especially the turtle-doves, which were here numerous, and
so tame that they would light upon the men's shoulders, obtained water.
On another voyage sone seamen, lyin unllder a prickly-pear-tree,observed
acnold bird supplyling (tie younlg ones with drink, by squeezing a iliqid
frorm a small berry itnto their bills.'his li(uid was found to be slightly
acid. arld not unpleasant in taste. For drink at these islands, when water
could not be obtained, the seamen chewed leaves that they gathered,
which thtey describe as of a thick pulpy consistence.
t Mameea Americana, Limne., of the Linnman class, and order Polyattdria. Monosynia. and of the natural family Gvttifere(.  It is a hatidsomre tree, sixty or seventy feet higlh, with an elegant branching head.
The flowers are white, and sweet-scented.  The fruit roundish. five or
six incties in diameter, enclosing a rich vyllow pulp within a leathery
rind. It is called.s'bricot-sauva.e by the French. and, according to 3acquin, is eaten either in a raw  state, or cut into s.,s'^..h wine and
sugar, or preserved in syrup. The skin and seeds are bitter, with a
strong resinous flavour  In Martiniaue the flowers are distilled wath




256         ESCAPE OF A BITCANIER PARTY.
nished them with vegetables; so that the Galapagos were
in ail respects well adapted for a Bucanier station.
By the advice of an Indian, one of their prisoners, tlie
Bucaniers were induced to visit Ria Lexa, his native place,
where he p"omised them a rich harvegt in plunder.
At Juan Fernandez Captain Cook htad been taken ill
he now  died somewhat suddenly as they stood off Cape
Blanco, and, as a mark of respect, was buried on shore.
WVhil' his men were digging the grave they were seen by
three Spanish Indians, who held aloof, but asked  them
many  questions;  "and one ma n," says DLampier, " did not
stic:k to sooth thenm uip with as inanv fiatsehoods, purposely
to draw them into our clltches; and at length drilled them
by discourse so near, that our men laid hold on all three at
once."  One escaptl before the burial of Cook was over,
mand the other two were taken on ship-board.   When examined, notwithstanding their pretended simplicity, they
confessed that they h;d been sent out as spies by the Governor of Panama, who had received intelligence of the Bucanier squadron.
The voyagers were informed by these prisoners that large
herds of cattle were redreu  in this neighbourhood, which
was welcome news to seamen who had seen no fiesh meat
since their run from the Galapagos.  Two boats were immediately sent to the shore with an Indian guide to bring
off cattle; but the enterprise appeared dangerous, and
Dampier with twelve men returned on board.  Those who
were more foolharly, and who even slept on shore, found
themselves next morning watched by forty or fifty armed
Spani;Irds, and their boat burnt.  The cowardly Spaniards,
afraid to come forward, still lurked in their ambush,  and
one of the seamen on landing, having noticedi an insulated
roet which just appeared above water, they made off for
tbis'fortress, and holding fast by each other, and wading to
the neck, they reached the rock, while the Spanish shot
whistled after them.  In this perilous condition they had
remained for seven hours, the title, which was at the ebb
whenl they took refuge here, rising around them, andt gaining on the rock so rapidly, that had not help come from the
spirits, and nade into a liquor called Ean. Creole. May not the mai
mee-tree inentionled in the text as lurnishilg edibie leaves De a diSferen
plant!




fDRCENT ON MANGERA.                257
ships, in another hour they must have been swept,way.
The kSpaniards, who relished bush-fighting better than the
open field, meanwhile lay in wait for the catastrophe; but
when the canoe from the English ships bore off the meri,
they offered no resistance.
The quarter-master, Edward Davis, was now  elected
commander in the room of Captain Cook; and after taking
in water, and cutting lancewood for handles to their oars,
they bore away for Ria Lexa, and on the 23d July were
opposite the harbour. The situation of the town is known
by a high-peaked volcanic mountain, which rises within
three leagues of the harbour, but may be seen at the distance of twenty leagues. A small flat island, about a mile
long and a quarter of a mile broad, forms the harbour, in
which 200 sail can ride. Itmay be entred by a channel at
each end.
The Spaniards had here also got the start of the enemy.
They had thrown up a breastwork on a strong position, and
stationed sentinels to give instant alarm; and the Bucaniers, who wished to surprise arl plunder, and not to fight
against great odds, deemed it prudent to steer tir the Gull
of Amapalla, an arm of the sea running inland eight or ten
leagues, and made remarkable by two headlands at the entrance.  Point Casivina on the south side, in latitude 120
40" N., and on the north-west Mount St. Michael.
At a previous consultation, it had been agreed that Captain Davis should advance first, in two canoes, and endeavour to seize some Indians to labour at careening the ships,
and also a prisoner of better condition, from whom intelligence might be obtained.  On the Island of Mangers the
padre of a village, from which all the other inhabitants had
fled, was caught while endeavouring to escape, and with
him  two Indian boys. With these Davis proceeded to
Amapalla, where, having previously gained over or frightened the priest, he told the Indians drawn up to receive him
Ihat he and his company were Biscayners, sent by the
King of Spain to clear the seas of pirates, and that his
business in the bay of this island was only to careen his
ships. On this assurance Davis and his men were well
received, and they all rmarchcdtogether, strangers and natives, to church, which was the usual place of public:Issmrlbly, whether for business or amusement. The images in




258       SEPARATION OF THE BUCANIERS.
the churches here, like those in the Bay of Campeachy
were painted of the Indian complexion; and the people,
under the sway of their padres, lived in much the same condition as the tribes described on the banks of the Tobasco,
cultivating maize, rearing poultry, and duly paying the
priest his tithe. Here, too, they were indulged in masks
and other pastimes, with abundance of music, on saints'
eves and holydays.  " Their mirth," says Dampier, " consists in singing, dancing, and using many antic gestures.
If the moon shine they use hut few torches; if not, the
church is full of light. They meet at these times all sortb
of both sexes. Ail the Indians that I have been acquainted
with who are under the Spaniards seem to be more melancholy than other Indians who are free; and at these public
meetings, when they are in the greatest of their jollity;
their mirth seems to be rather forced than real. Theil
songs are very melancholy and doleful; so is their music."
In attending them to the church under the guise of friend-.
ship, Davis intended to ensnare these unsuspecting people,
and make them all his prisoners till he. had dictated his
own terms of ransom, the padre having, probably from compulsion, promised his aid in entrapping his flock. This
hopeful project was frustrated by one of the Bucaniers
rashly and rudely pushing a man into the church before
him. The alarm was given, the Indian fled, and his countrymen "sprung out of the church like deer."  Davis and
his men immediately fired, and killed a leading man among
the natives.
The Bucaniers were, however, afterward assisted by
several of the natives in storing the ships with cattle plundered from an island in the gulf, belonging to a nunnery in
dome distant place; and, from some feelings of remo-se,
on leaving this quarter Davis presented the islanders of Amap1lla with one of his prize-ships, and a considerable part of
tne cargo of flour which it contained. The ships here broke
off consortship. The crews had quarrelled, —Davis's party,
in right of priority in marauding, claiming the largest share
of the spoils.  Eaton left the gulf on the 2d September,
and Davis, with whom Dampier continued, on the day ful
lowing, having previously set the padre on shore.  They
Ktood for the coast of Peru, having almost every day tornadoes accompanied with thunder and lightning,-weather




LA PLATA AND MANTA.               259
ot this kind generally prevailing in these latitudes from
June to November.  When these gusts were over, the wind
generally shifted to the west. Near Cape St. Francisco
they had settled weather, and the wind at south. About
this place they again fell in with Eaton, who had encountered terrible stonns. " Such tornadoes as he and his men
had never before seen,-the air smelling very much of sulphur, and they fancying themselves in great danger of being
burnt by the lightning."  Captain Eaton had touched at
Cocos Island, where he laid up a store of flour, and took in
water and cocoanuts. Cocos Island, as described by Eatoi
is nearly surrounded by rocks; but at the north-east end
there is one small and secure harbour,-a brook of fresh
water flowing into it. The middle of the island is high
and though destitute of trees, looks verdant and pleasant
from the abundance of an herb which the Spaniards called
gramadiel, growing upon the high grounds. Near the
shore all round the island were groves of cocoas.
At the Island of La Plata, so named, according to Dam
pier, from Sir Francis Drake having divided upon it the
plunder of the plate-ship the Cacafuego, the Bucaniers
found water, though -but a scanty. rivulet, and plenty of
small sea-turtle. Captain Eaton's company would again
have joined their former consorts; but Dampier relates
that Davis's men, his own comrades, were still so unreasonable that they would not consent to new-comers having
an equal share of what they pillaged; so the Nicholas held
southward, while the Bachelor's Delight steered for Point
Santa Elena in 2~ 15' S., pretty high but flat land, naked
of trees and overgrown with thistles. There was no fresh
water on the point, and this article the inhabitants brought
from four leagues' distance, from the river Colanche, the
innermost part of the bay. Watermelons, large and very
sweet, were the only things cultivated on the point. Pitch*
was the principal commodity of the inhabitants. It boiled
out of a hole in the earth at five paces above high-water
mark, and was found plentifully at flood-tide; when first
obtained it was like thin tar, but was boiled down to the con
sistence of pitch.
Davis's men landed at Manta, a village on the mainlandi
* Algatrane, a bituminous earth




260    DAVIS IS JOINED BY CAPTAIN SWAN.
about three leagues to the east of Cape San Lorenzo,
where they made two old women prisoners, from whom they
learned that many Bucaniers had lately crossed the isthmus
from the West Indies, and were cruising on the coast in
canoes and pirogues. The viceroy had taken every precaution against this new incursion. On all the uninhabited
islands the goats had been destroyed; ships were burned to
save them from the Bucaniers, and no provisions were
allowed to remain at any place on the coast, but such as
might be required for the immediate supply of the inhabitants. Davis returned to La Plata, at a loss what course to
lake; when, on the 2d October, he was joined by the Cygnet of London, commanded by Captain Swan, who, ill
treated by the Spaniards, and disappointed of peaceful
traffic, for which he had come prepared with an expensive
cargo, had been compelled by his men to receive on board a
party of Bucaniers, and in self-defence to commence freebooter. Before he had adopted this course some of his men
had been killed by the Spaniards at Baldivia, where he had
attempted to open a trade. With this small Bucanier
party, which had come by the Darien, plundering by the
way, Swan fell in near the Gulf of Nicoya. It was led by
Peter Harris, the nephew of a Bucahier commander of the
same name who had been killed in the battle with the Spanish ships in the Bay of Panama three years before. Harris
took command under Swan, in a small bark wholly manned
by Bucaniers.
This was a joyful meeting of old associates; and the departure of Eaton was now deeply regretted, as their united
force might have ensured success to more important undertakings than any they had yet ventured to contemplate.
While the ships were refitting at La Plata, a small bark,
which Davis had taken after the Spaniards had set it on
fire, was sent out to cruise, and soon brought in a prize of
400 tons burthen, laden with timber, and gave intelligence
that the viceroy was fitting out a fleet of ten frigates to
sweep them from the South Seas. Again the loss of Eaton
was felt, and this bark was despatched to search for him on
the coast of Lima. It went as far as the Isle of Lobos.
Meanwhile Swan's ship, which was still full of English
goods, was put in better fighting-trim, and made fit to accommodate her additional crew   The supercargo sold his




DESCENT ON PAITA.                   261
goods on credit to every Bucanier who would purchase,
taking his chance of payment, and the bulky commodities
which remained were pitched overboard,-silks, muslins,
and finer goods, and' iron bars which were kept for ballast,
being alone retained.  In lieu of these sacrifices, tie whole
Bucaniers on board the Cygnet agreed that ten shares of
all booty should be set aside for Swan's owners.
The men-of-war were now scrubbed and'leaned, a small
bark was equipped as a fireship; and the vessel which had
been cruising after Eaton not having returned, the squadron sailed without it on the 20th October, and on the 3d
November landed at Paita, which was found nearly aban
doned, but left without " money, goods, or a meal of
victuals of any kind."  They anchored before the place,
and demanded ransom for its safety, ordering in the mean
while 300 pecks of flour, 3000 pounds of sugar, 25 jars of
wine, and 1000 of water to be brought off to the ships;
but, after wasting six days, they obtained nothing, and in
revenge burnt the town. The road of Paita was one of the
best in Peru, roomy, and sheltered from the south-west by
a point of land.  The town had no water except what was
carried thither from Colan, from whence the place was also
supplied with fruits, hogs, plantains, and maize. Dampier
says, that on this coast, from about " Cape Blanco to 30~ S.,
no rain ever falls that he ever observed or heard of."  He
calls this range "'the dry country."  Wafer states that
heavy nightly dews fertilize the valleys. The country
around it was mountainous and steril.
From  information obtained here, it was gathered that
Captain Eaton had been before them, and had burned a
large ship in the road, and landed all his prisoners.  They
also learned that a small vessel, which they concluded to
be their own bark, had approached the harboy, and made
some fishermen bring out water.
Harris's small vessel being found a heavy sailer, was
burned before leaving Paita, from which the squadro-,
steered for Lobos de Tierra, and on the 14th anchored
near the east end of the island, and took in a supply of
seals, penguins, and boobies, of which they ate " very
heartily, not having tasted flesh in a great while before."
To reconcile his men to what had been the best fare of the
crews of Drake. Cavendish, and the earlier navigators




2(2 FAILURE OF THE ATTEMPT ON GUAYAQUIL.
Captain Swan commended this food as of extraordinary deli.
cacy and rarity, comparing the seals to roasted pigs, the
boobies to pullets, and the penguins to ducks.  On the
19th the fleet reached Lobos de la AMar, where a letter was
found deposited at the rendezvous by the bark, which was
still in search of Eaton.  It was now feared he had sailed
for the i'ast Indies, which turned out to be the fact.
Here the Mosquito-men supplied the companies of both
ships with turtle; while the seamen laboured to clean and
repair, and provide them with firewood, preparatory to an
attempt upon Guayaquil. For this place they sailed on
the morning of the 29th.  According to Dampier, Guayaquil was then one of the chief ports of the South Seas.
The commodities it exported were hides, tallow, cocoa,
sarsaparilla, and a woollen fabric named  Quito cloth,
generally used by the common people throughout all Peru.
The Bucaniers left the ships anchored off Cape Blanco,
and entered the bay with their canoes and a bark.  They
captured a small vessel laden with Quito cloth, the master
of which informed them of a look-out being kept at Puna,
which lay in their way, and that three vessels with negro
slaves were then about to sail from  Guayaquil.  One of
these vessels they took shortly afterward, cut down her
mainmast, and left her at anchor, and next morning captured the other two, though only a few negroes were
picked out of this to them useless cargo.
From  mismanagement, and disagreement between the
commanders and the men in the two ships, the expedition
against Guayaquil misgave. It was imagined that the
town was alarmed and. prepared to receive them warmly;
and after having landed, lain in the woods all night, and
made their way with considerable difficulty, they abandoned
the design before one shot had been fired, and while the
place lay full in view of them at a mile's distance without
manifesting any appearance of opposition being intended.
Dampier, whose ideas took a wider and bolder range
than those of his companions, deeply lamented their ill conduct upon the fair occasion which offered at this time of
enriching themselves at less expense of crime than in their
ordinary pursuits.  " Never," he says, "was there put
into the ]lalds of men a greater opportunity to enrich themeelves."  His bold and comprehensive plan was, with the




DESCENT ON TOMACO.                S3
iOOF negroes found in the three ships, to have gone to St.
Martha, and worked the gold-mines there. In the Indians
he reckoned upon finding friends, as they mortally hated
the Spaniards,-for present sustenance they had 200 tons
of flour laid up at the Galapagos Islands,-the North Sea
would have been open to them,-thousands of Bucaniers
would have joined them from all parts of the West Indies,
and united they might have been a match for all the force
Peru could muster, masters of theO richest mines in this
quarter, and of all the west coast as high as Quito.
Whether Dampier unfolded this "golden dream" at the
time does not appear. The Bucaniers, at all events, sailed
to La Plata, where they found the bark, and divided the
cloth of Quito equally between the companies of Swan and
Davis, converting the vessel in which it had been taken
into a tender for the Cygnet.
This ship haul since joining depended almost wholly
upon the Bachelor's Delight for provisions, as it had
neither Mosquito-purveyors nor a store of flour; and the
original Bucanier company of Davis now murmured loudly
at feeding the cowards who they alleged had balked the
attempt on Guayaquil. But neither could afford to part
consortship, and they sailed in company on the 23d December to attack Lavelia in the Bay of Panama. In this
cruise, from the charts and books found in their prizes,
they supplied the ignorance and defici;ncies of the Indians
and Spanish pilots whom they had as prisoners on board;
tlese drafts being found surer guides. Their object was
in the first place to search for canoes,-the want of boats
being greatly felt,-in rivers where the Spaniards had no
trade with the natives, ncr settlements of any kind, as concealment was most important to the success of their opera.
tions. In unfrequented rivers where boats might be found,
the coast abounded from the equinoctial line to the Gulf
of St. Michael. When five days out from La Plata, they
made a sudden descent upon a village named Tomaco,
where they captured a vessel laden with timber, in which
was a Spanish knight with a crew of eight SpaniaIds, and
also took what the Bucaniers valued much more, a canoe
with twelve jars of gbod old wine. A canoe with a party
that rowed six leagues farther up the river, which Dampier
named St. Jago, came to a house belonging to a Spanish




264      PROCEEDINGS OF THE BUCANIERS.
lady of Lima, whose servants at this remoto station traded
with the natives for gold. They fled; but the Bucaniers
found several ounces of gold left in their calabashes. The
land on the banks of this river was a rich black mould, producing tall trees. The cotton and cabbage-trees flourished
here on the banks; and a good way into the interior Indian settlements were seen, with plantations of maize,
plantain-walks, hogs, and poultry. At Tomaco a canoe
with three natives visited the strangers, whom they did not
distinguish from Spaniards. They were of middling stature,
straight, and well-limbed, "long-visaged, thin-faced, with
black hair, ill-looked men, of a very dark copper complexion."  The Bucaniers presented them with wine, which
they drank freely.
On the 1st of January the Cygnet and Bachelor's
Delight sailed for the Island of Gallo, carrying with then
the Spanish knight Don Pinas, and two canoes.  On the
way one of their boats captured the packet-boat from Lima,
and fished up the letters which the Spaniards when pursued had thrown overboard attached to a line and buoy.
From these despatches they learned the welcome and important fact of the Govern6r of Panama hastening the sailing of
the triennial Plate-fleet from Callao to Panama, previous
to the treasure being conveyed across the isthmus to Porto
Bello on mules. To intercept this fleet would enrich every
man among therm at one stroke; and to this single object
every faculty was now bent. As a fit place to careen their
ships, and at the same time lie in wait for their prey, they
fixed upon the Pearl Islands in the Bay of Panama, for
which they sailed from Gallo on the morning of the ilth
-two ships, three barks, a fireship, and two small ten.
ders,-one attached to each ship.
On the 8th they opportunely captured a bark with flour,
and then "jogged on with a gentle gale" to Gorgona, an
uninhabited islal.d, well wooded, and watered with brooklets issuing from the nighgrounds. Pearl-oysters abounded
here. They were found in from four to six fathoms water,
and seemed flatter in tie shell than the ordinary eatingoyster. The pearl was found at the head of the oyster,
between the shell and the meat, sometimes one cr two
pretty large in size, and at other times twenty or thirty




SCENERY OF THE BAY OF PANAMA.              2G5
sced-pearls.  The inside of the shell was "more glorious
than the pearl itself."
Landing most of their prisoners at Gorgona, the squadron, now consisting of six sail, steered for the Bay of Panama, and anchored at Galera, a small, barren, uninhabited
island, from whence they again sailed on the 25th to one
of the southern Pearl Islands, as a place more suitable to
hale up and clean the ships.'7hile this was in progress,
the small barks cruised, and brought in a prize laden with
beef, Indian corn, and fowls, which were all highly acceptable.  They next took in water and firewood, and
were at last in fit order to fight as well as to watch the
Plate-fleet, which they did cruising before Panama, between
the Pearl Islands and the main; where,,says Dampier,
" it was very pleasant sailing, having the main on one side,
which appears in divers forms.  It is beautified with many
small hills, clothed with wood of divers sorts of trees,
which are always green and flourishing.  There are some
few small high islands within a league of the main, scattered here and there one, partly woody partly bare, and
they as well as the'main appear very pleasant." Most of
the Pearl Islands were wooded and fertile; and from them
were drawn the rice, plantains, and bananas which supplied the city ol New Panama, " a fair city standing close
by the sea, about four miles from the ruins of the old town,"
-encompassed behind with a fine country of hill and
valley, beautified with groves and spots of trees, appearing
like islands in the savannas. The new city had been walled
in since the late visit which Dampier had made it with
Sawkins, Coxon, and Sharp, and the walls were now
mounted with guns pointing seaward.
As Davis lay nearly opposite the city, its supplies from
the islands were completely cut off; while his people every
day fished, hunted, or pillaged among them.  At this time
Davis negotiated for an exchange of prisoners, giving up
forty, of whom he was very glad to be rid, in return for
one of Harris's band, and a man who had been surprised
by the Spaniards while hunting in the islands.  Attention
to the safety of the meanest individual of their company
was at all times one of the fundamental principles of the
Bucaniers; and it is stated on good authority, that when
they first hunted in the wilds of Hispaniola, if at nightfall




266        THE BUCANIERS REINFORCED.
one comrade was missing, all business was suspended till
he was either found or his disappearance satisfactorily
accounted for.
The Lima fleet proved tardy in making its dppearance,
and the Bucaniers again moved, and came to anchor near
Tabago, an island of the bay abounding in cocoa and iramfnee, and having fine brooks of pure water gliding through
groves of fruit-trees. About this time they were nearly en.
snared by the stratagem of a Spaniard, who, under pretence of clandestine traffic, sent a fireship among them at
midnight; but the treachery was suspected in time, anl
avoided. This fireship had been fitted up by the same
Captain Bond of whom they had heard at the Cape de Verd
Islands. He was an English pirate who had deserted to
the Spaniards.
The squadron, which had been scattered through the
night from alarm of the fireship, had scarcely returned to
its station, and looked about for the cut anchors, when the
freebooters were thrown into fresh consternation by seeing
many canoes full of armed men passing through an islandchannel and steering direct for them. They also bore up;
but the strangers proved to be a party of 280 Bucaniers,
French and English, in twenty-eight canoes, who had just
crossed the isthmus on an expedition to one South Sea.
The English seamen, eighty in number, entered with Swan
and Davis; and the flour-prize was given to the French.Flibustiers, who entered it under the command of Captain
Groignet, their countryman. These strangers announced
another party-of 180, under Captain Townley, all English,
who were at this time constructing canoes to bring them
down the rivers into the South Sea; and on the 30th of
March these joined the fleet, not, however, in canoes, but
in two ships which they had taken as soon as they entered
the bay, laden with flour, wine, brandy, and sugar. The
squadron was further increased by the arrival of a vessel
under the command of Mr. William Knight; and the Indians of Santa Martha brought intelligence that vet another
strong party, French and English, were on the way. These
also arrived, to the number of 264 men, with three co.mmanders, one of whom, Le Picard, was a veteran who bhd
served under Lolonnois and Morgan at Porto Bello.
The Bucanier force now amounted to about 1000 mew




SEA-FIGHT IN THE BAY OF PANAMA.   267
and the greatest want was coppers to cook provisions for
so many. The few kettles which they had were kept at
work day and night, and a foraging-party sent out to bring
in coppers.
From intercepted letters it was ascertained that the Lima
fleet was now at sea; and the design upon the city was
suspended till the plate-ships were first secured, though, as
it chanced, in counting on their easy capture, the Bucaniers
reckoned without their host.
It was now the latter end of May, and for six months the
Bucaniers had concentrated their attention on this single
enterprise. Their fleet now consisted of ten sail; but,
save the Bachelor's Delight, which carried thirty-six guns,
and the Cygnet, which was armed, none were of force,
though all were fully manned. The Spanish fleet, it was
afterward learned, mustered fourteen sail; two of forty
guns, one of thirty-six, another of eighteen, and one of
eight guns, with large companies to each ship. Two fireships attended the Spanish fleet.
Before the Bucaniers had finished consultation on their
plan of operation, the Spanish fleet advanced upon them,
and battle was resolved on. And, " lying to windward of
the enemy, we had it," says'Dampier, "in our choice
whether to fight or not. It was three o'clock in the afternoon when we weighed, and being all under sail, we bore
down right afore the wind on our enemies, who kept close
on a wind to come to us; but night came on without any
thing besides the exchanging of a few shot on each side.
When it grew dark the Spanish admiral put out a light as
a signal for his fleet to come to an anchor. We saw this
light at the admiral's top for about half an hour, and then it
was taken down. In a short time after we saw the light
again, and being to windward, we kept under sail, supposing the light had been in the admiral's top; but, as it
proved, this was only a stratagem of theirs, for this light was
put out.he second time at one of the barks' topmast-head,
and then she was sent to leeward, which deceived us, for
we thought still the light was in the admiral's top, and by
that means ourselves to windward of them." At daybreak
the Bucaniers found that by this stratagem the Spaniards
had got the weather-gage of them, and were bearing down
full sail, which compelled them to run for it; and a running




268      ASSAULT OF LEON AND RIA LEXA.
fight was maintained all day, till, having made a turn
almost round the bay, they anchored at night whence they
had set out in the morning. Thus terminated their hopes
of the treasure-ships, though it was afterward learned that
the plate had been previously landed.  The French captain, Groignet, had kept out of the action, for which he and
his crew were afterward cashiered by their English assoZiates.  The common accusation which the English Bucaniers brought against their allies was reluctance to fight;
while the latter blamed their indecent contempt of the Catholic religion, displayed as often as they entered the Spanish churches, by hacking and mutilating every thing with
their cutlasses, and firing their pistols at the images of the
saints. Next morning the Spanish fleet was seen at anchor
three leagues to the leeward, and as the breeze sprung up
it stood away for Panama, contented with safety and the
small advantage obtained on the former day. The Bucaniers were equally well satisfied to escape a renewed engagement, and after consultation they bore away for the
Keys of Quibo to seek Harris, who had been separated
from them in the battle or flight. At this appointed rendezvous they met their consort, and a fresh consultation
made them resolve to march inland and assault Leon, first
securing the port of Rig Lexa.
The assault and conquest of these places offers nothing
of interest or novelty; they were carried by the united
Bucanier force, amounting to 640 men, with eight vessels.
three of them being tenders, and one a fireship. In this
assault Dampier was left with 60 men to guard the canoes
in which the party had been landed. At Leon they lost a
veteran Bucanier of the original breed, whom Dampier thus
eulogizes: "He was a stout old gray-headed man, aged
about eighty-four, who had served under Oliver (Cromwell)
in the Irish rebellion; after which he was at Janmaica, and
had followed privateering ever since. He would h'ot accept
the offer our men made him to tarry ashore, but said he
would venture as far as the best of them; and when surrounded by the Spaniards, he refused to take quarter, but
discharged his gun among them, keeping a pistol still
charged; so they shot him dead at a distance. His name
was Swan. He was a very merry, hearty old man, and
always used to declare he would never take quarter "




THE SQUADRON $EPARATES.             2t9
A Mr. Smith, a merchant or supercargo, who had sailed
with Captain Swan from London to trade in the South Sea,
was made prisoner on the march to Leon. This city, situated near the Lake of Nicaragua, Dampier describes as one
of the most healthy and pleasant in all South America. No
sooner were the Bucaniers masters of it than they demanded
a ransom of 300,000 dollars, which was promised but never
paid; and becoming suspicious that the Spaniards were
dallying with them merely to gain time and draw their force
to a head, the town was set on fire, and they returned to
the coast, first supplying themselves with beef, flour, pitch,
tar, cordage, and whatever Leon or Ria Lexa afforded. One
Spanish gentleman, who had been released on engaging to
send in 150 head of cattle, redeemed his parole with scrupulous honour. Mr. Smith was exchanged for a female
prisoner, and Ria Lexa was left burning.
The Bucanier squadron now separated, and the fraternity
broke.into several small detachments, Dampier choosing to
follow Captain Swan, who intended first to cruise along
the shores of Mexico, the country of the mines, and then,
sailing as high as the south-west point of California, cross
the Pacific, and return to England by India. This plan
presented many temptations to Dampier, whose curiosity
and thirst of knowledge were insatiable; and he might also
have shared in the hopes of his comrades, who promised
themselves a rich booty in the towns in the neighbourhood
of the mines before they turned their faces westward. - Captain Townley had kept by Swan when they separated from
Eaton, and each ship had now a tender belonging to it.
They put to sea on the 3d September, and encountered frequent and fierce tornadoes till near the end of the month.
Early in October they were off the excellent harbour of
Gautalco, the mouth of which may be known by a great
ollow rock, from a hole in which every surge makes the
water spout up to a considerable height, like the blowing
of a whale.
From the sea the neighbouring country looked beautiful.
Here they found some provisions, and landed their sick for
a few days.
The Cygnet and her consort advanced slowly along the
coast, landed near Acapulco, plundered a carrier who:
conducted sixty laden mules, and kled eighteen beeves
UT




270         CAPTURE OF ST. PECAQUE,.
They next passed on to Golima, their object being that
tempting prize which for generations had quickened the
avarice of maritime adventurers-the Manilla ship,-for
which; they kept watch at Cape Corientes. After quitting
Ria Lexa, many of the men had been seized witn a malignant fever; and as the same kind of disease broke out in
Davis's squadron, it was with some teasibility imputed to
infection caught at the place mentioned, where many of
the inhabitants had been carried off by a disorder of the
same kind some months before the Bucaniers visited the
town.
To victual the ship for the long-voyage in view was one
main object of the continued cruise of Captain Swan on this
coast; but the attempts made for this purpose were often
baffled with loss; and so much time had now elapsed, that
it was concluded the Manilla ship had eluded their vigilance.
About the beginning of January, Townley left them in the
Bay of Vanderas, and returned towards Panama, carrying
home a few Indians of the Darien who had accompanied
Swan thus far. The Mosquito-pen remained in the Cygnet.
To obtain provisions, Swan captured the town of St. Pecaque, on the coast of New Gallicia, where large stores
were kept for supplying the slaves who worked in the neighbouring mines. He brought off on the first day a considerable quantity of provisions on horseback, and on the shoulders of his men. These visits were repeated, a party of
Bucaniers keeping the town, till the Spaniards had collected
a force. Of this Captain Swan gave his men due warning,
exhorting them, on their way to the canoes with the burdens of maize and other provisions which they carried, to
keep together in a compact body; but they chose to follow
their own course, every man straggling singly, while leading his horse, or carrying a load on his shoulders. They
accordingly fell into the ambush the Spaniards had laid for
them, and to the amount of fifty were surprised, and mercilessly butchered. The Spaniards, seizing their arms and
loaded horses, fled with them before Swan, who heard the
distant firing, could come to the assistance of his men.
Fifty-four Englishmen and nine blacks fell in this affair,
which was the most severe the Bucaniers had encountered
in the South Sea. It is in consonance with the spirit of that
age to find Dampier relating that Captain Swan had been




DAMPIER'S SICKNESS.                271
warned of this disaster by his astrologer.* Many of the
men had also, he states in his manuscript journal, foreboded
this misfortune, and in the previous night, while lying in
the church of St. Pecaque, "1 had been disturbed by grievou
groanings, which kept them from  sleeping."
This disheartening affair determined Swan and his di
minished company to quit this coast; and they accordingly
steered for Cape St. Lucas, the south point of California, to
careen, and to refresh themselves before crossing the Pacific; but by adverse winds were compelled to put into a
bay at the east end of the middle island of the Tres Marias,
where they found iguanas, rackoons, rabbits, pigeons, and
deei, fish of various kinds, turtle, and seals. There they
careened the ship, divided and stowed the provisions beIween it and the tender, and went over to the mainland for
water, having previously landed the prisoners and pilots,
who were now of no use, save to consume provisions.
That they were abandoned on an uninhabited island is said
to have been in revenge of the fatal affair of St. Pecaque.
While they lay here Dampier, who had escaped the contagious fever, languished under a dropsical complaint, of
which several of the men had died.  The method of cure
was singular, but the patient believed it successful.  " I
was," he says, "laid and covered all but my head in the
hot sand: I endured it near half an hour, and was then taken
out, and laid to sweat in a tent: I did sweat exceedingly
while I was in the sand, and I do believe it did me much
good, for I grew well soon after."
While careening the ship, Swan had more fully laid be
fore his company his plan of going to the East Indies, holding out to them hopes of plunder in a cruise among the
Philippines. Dampier describes many of them as so ignorant that they imagined it impossible to reach India from
California; others entertained more reasonable fears of
their provisions failing before they could reach the Imdrones.t  Maize, and the fish which the Mosquito-men
* It was then customary before undertaking a voyage to consult an
astrologer
t The rtiscussion about the homeward voyage at this time led Dampie
into speculations upon a north-west passage, which shows him to hav
been as a navigator far in advance of his age. " All our countrymen,
he says, " that have gone to discover the north-west passage, have gon
to the westward. Were I to attempt a north-west passage I would 4,




272    THE  CYGNET  CROSSES THE. PACIFIC.
caught, some of which were salted for store, now consti~
tuted the whole provision of above 150 men, and of this but
a short allowance could be afforded daily, calculating on a
run of at least sixty days.
On the 31st March, having all agreed to attempt the
voyage, and consented to the.straitened allowance, the
Cygnet and the tender commanded by Captain Teat sailed
from the American coast, steering south-west till she arrived
at 13~ N., in which parallel she held due west for the Ladrones.  The men received but one meal a day, and there
was no occasion, Dampier says, to call them to their victuals,
which were served out by the quarter-master with the exactness of gold.  Two dogs and two cats which were on board
soon learned to attend dally for their respective shares.
The Cygnet enjoyed a fair fresh-blowing trade-wind, and
went on briskly, which was some consolation for scanty fare.
At the end of twenty days they had made so much progress that the men began to murmur at being still kept upon
such short allowance; and by the time they reached Guahan they were almost in open mutiny, and had, it was said,
resolved to kill and eat Swan' in the first place, and afterward in regular order all who had promoted this voyage!
In the lbng run of 5000 miles they had seen no living
thing, whether bird, fish, or insect, save in longitude 18
a flock of boobies, presumed to be the denizens of some
cliffs or islands, though none were seen. On the 21st of
May, near midnight., they had the happiness of coming to
anchor on the west side of Guahan, about a mile from the
shore, after a run which Dampier calculated at 7302 mile s.
At this island the Spaniards hail a small fort and a garrison
of thirty men.  Presuming that the Cygnet was a Spanish
vessel from Acapulco, a priest came off, and was detained
as a hostage till terms of obtaining provisions were artirV to the South Seas, bend my course from thence along by California,
and that way seek a passage into hie western seas. It 1 succeeded in
my attempt. I should then be wvitho t that dread which olhers must have
hatd of passing from a known to an unknown region; and which, it is not
improbable, obliged them to relinquish the pursuit just as they were on
the eve of acolrmplishting their designs."-" Were I," he says arain. " tc
e, employed in search of d north-east rpasage; I would  winter about
Japan, Corea, or the north-east prrt of China; and, Lrk ng the spring
and summer betore me, make my first trial on the coast of' Tartary
wherein if I succeeded, I should come into some known part, and have a
grat deal of trme befre me."




8PANIARDS ANT  fNTDIANS OfP GUAiL.   273
ranged; and, as these were dictated by fair principles o
exchange, no difficulty was experienced, both the Spaniards
and the few natives on the island gladly bringing their
goods to a safe and profitable market.
The natives and the Spaniards here lived in a state of
constant hatred, if not in open hostility; and Captain
Eaton, who had touched at Guahan on his voyage to India,
after parting with Davis on the coast of Peru, had been instigated by the governor to plunder and practise every cruelty upon the islanders. This advice neither himself nor
his men were slow to follow. " He gave us leave," says
Cowley's manuscript narrative of the voyage, "to kill and
take whatever we could find in one-half of the island where
the rebels lived. We then made wars," as Cowley chooses
to term wanton unprovoked aggression, " with these infidels, and went on shore every day, fetching provisions and
firing among them wherever we saw them; so that the
greater part of them left the island. The Indians sent two
of their captains to treat with us, but we would not treat
with them. The whole lanl is a garden."
Dampier reckons that at this time there were not above
100 Indians on the whole island, as most of those who had
escaped slaughter destroyed their plantations, and went to
other islands, remote from  the tender mercies of the
Spaniards and their new allies the Bucaniers. While a
friendly and brisk trade was going on between the shore and
the Cygnet, the Acapulco vessel came in sight of the island,
but was warned off in time by the governor, without, luckily
for herself, having been descried by the Bucaniers. In the
eagerness of flight she ran upon a shoal, where her rudder
was struck off, nor did she get clear for three days. As
soon as the natives informed the Bucaniers of this prize,
they " were in a great heat to be after her;" but Swan,
who disliked his present vocation, and still hoped to open
an honest traffic at Manilla, though he found it prudent
under present circumstances to keep this design secret, persuaded, or as probably frightened, his wild crew out of this
humour by representing the dangers of the chase.
Suitable presents were exchanged between the governor
and the priest and the English captain, and preparations
wade to depart. Here Dampier first saw the bread-fruit, —
the staff of life of so many of the insulated tribes of Pol~



274      tE  BUCANIERS REACH MINDANAO
nesia.  Of the flying-proas, or sailing-canoes of these
islands, so often described, he expresses the highest admiration. " I believe," he says, " they sail the best of any boats
in the world;" one that he tried would, he believed, " run
24 miles an hour;" and one had been known to go from
Guahan to Manilla, a distance of 480 leagues, in tour days
It took the Cygnet 19 days to reach the coast of Min.
danao, for which she sailed on the 2d June; and after beat.
ing about through several channels and islands, she came to
anchor on the 18th July opposite the river's mouth, and before the city of Mindanao. They hoisted English colours,
and'fired a salute of seven or eight guns, which was returned from the shore by three. The island of Mindanao
was divided into small states, governed by hostile sultans,
the governor of this territory and city being the most powerful of their number. The city stood on the banks of the
river, about two miles from the sea. It was about a mile
in. length, but narrow, and winded with the curve of the
stream. The houses were built on posts from fourteen to
twenty feet high; and as this was the rainy season, they
looked as if standing in a lake, the inhabitants plying about
from house to house in canoes. They were of one story,
which was divided into several rooms, and were entered by
a ladder or stair placed outside. The roofs were covered
with palm or palmetto leaves. There was a piazza, generally lying in a state of great filth, under each house, some
of them serving for poultry-yards and cellars. " But at the
time of the land-floods all is washed very clean." The
floors were of wicker-work of bamboo.
Captain Swan had many reasons for desiring to cultivate
the friendship of the ruling powers at Mindanao. Immediately after the Cygnet came to anchor, Rajah Laut, thebrother and prime minister of the sultan, and the second
man in the state, came off in a canoe, rowed with ten oars,
to demand whence they were.  One of the sultan's sons,
who-spoke the Spanish language, accompanied his ancle.
When informed that the strangers were English, they were
welcomed, though Rajah Laut appeared disappointed that
they were not come to establish a factory, for which proposals had already been made to him by the East India
Company.  The conversation was carried on by Mr.
Smith, the late prisoner at Ria Lexa, and the sultan's son0




VISIT TO THE SULTAN,                  278
who with his uncle remained all the while in the canoe.
They promised to assist the English in procuring provisions,
and were rowed off without more passing at this time.
Dampier regrets that the offer of t settlement here was
not accepted, " by which," he says, " we might better have
consulted our own profit and satisfaction than by the other
roving loose way of life; so it might probably have proved
of public benefit to our nation, anid been a means of introducing an English settlement and trade, not only here, but
through several of the Spice Islands which lie in its neighbourhood."  They had not lain long hire when they received another invitation to settle in a different island, the
sultan of which sent his nephew to Mindanao to negotiate
secretly with Captain Swan.
The Cygnet's company had not been aware of the dignity
of their first visiters till they were gone, when the government-officer informed them; who, according to the custom
of the ports of China and other parts in trie East, came on
board to measure the ship,-a practice of which Dampier
could not conceive the reason, unless the natives wished to
improve their knowledge of ship-building.
In the same afternoon Captain Swan sent Mr. More, one
of the supercargoes, to the city with a present for the sultan,
consisting of three yards of sc;arlet cloth, three yards of
broad gold-lace, a Turkish scimitar, and a pair of pistols;
and to the Rajah Laut, the dignitary they had already seen,
three yards of the same cloth with silver-lace. After some
preliminary ceremonies, the English envoy was at night admitted to an audience, to which he was conducted by armed
men, accompanied by servants bearing torches. The sultan,
with ten privy-counsellors all seated on carpets, awaited his
arrival.  The present was graciously accepted, a conference
took place in Spanish, after which Mr. More and his attendants, being first treated with supper returned on board.
Next day Captain Swan was invited on shore, whither he
went, preceded by two trumpeters.  He was conducted to
an audience, and entertained with betel and tcoacc.  Two
letters were shown him, sent by East Indifa nerchants to
the sultan, demanding liberty to build a factory and fort,
and specifying the terms of traffic, rates of exchange, and
of weights and measures.  One letter was beautifully written, and between each line there was drawn a line of gold




276                RiJAAH tA1rT.
Another letter, left by; Captain Goodlud, who had lately
visited Mindanao, and di'ected generallv to any of the English who might touch there, concluded, "Trust none of
them, for they are all thieves; but tace is Latin for a
candle."
After the interview with the sultan, Captain Swan visited
Rajah Laut, who, being rather in disgrace with his brother
at this time, had not been present at the audience. He
entertained the English captain with boiled fowls and -ice,
and strongly urged him to bring the ship into the river, as
stormy weather was at this season to be expected. He
also advised him to warn his men against offending the
natives by infringing their customs, and altogether appeared
very familiar and friendly.  To impress Swan with an idea
of his justice, he ordered a man who had formerly robbed
Captain Goodlud to be now punished; and the miserable
wretch was accorctirnlly publicly exposed bound to a post,
and stripped naked with his face opposite the scorching sun,
while he was shifted round and kept in torture, following
its course all day, stung by the gnats and mosquitoes. This
was a usual mode of punishment.  His life was at nightfall left at the mercy of the English captain, who informed
Rajah Laut that he had no right to take cognizance of any
crime which had not been committed by his own men and
in his own ship.
The letters from the company's agents, by convincing
Swan that there was a serious intention of establishing a
factory at this place, gave him confidence to enter the river,
trusting also to the friendly professions of RLjah,Laut.
The Cygnet was accordingly lightened of part of her cargo,
and, with the help of sixty native fishermen, Rajah Laut
directing their operations in person, she crossed the bar
with the first springtide, and was moored within the mouth
of the river. The Bucaniers remained here so long upon
a footing of daily intimate intercourse with the townspeople,
that Dampier has been enabled to give a very full and
minute account of the Mindanaians.  A singular custom
of the country facilitated easy intercourse with the natives,
though seamen, having their pockets-stored with gold and
their ships with desirable commodities, who are neither
suspected of any sinister intention by the people nor
viewed with jealousy by the government, have rarely found




THE BUCANIERS AT MINDANAO.              27the half-civilized tribes of the Indian islands difficult of
access.
The custom  common in the South Sea islands of exchanging names and forming a comradeship with a native,
whose house is thenceforward considered the home of the
stranger, extended in Mindanao to the other sex, and "an
innocent platonic female friend, named a pagally," was
offered to each of the Englishmen, besides his male comrade.  These friendships were, however, not so perfectly
disinterested as not to require the cement of presents on
the one side and flatteries on the other.  In Mindanao, as
in more refined parts of the world, those who were best
dressed and furnished with gold the most readily obtained
companions and pagallies. Under the sanction of this singular national custom the wives of the greatest men might
choose friends among the strangers, or be selected as pagallies, and allowed to converse in public with the persons
who distinguished them by their choice.
On their first arrival,-for they soon declined in favour,
owing probably to their own reckless and dissolute manners,
-the seamen could not pass along the streets without being
compelled to enter the houses, where they Were presented
with betel and tobacco, the cordial hospitality of the givers
atoning for the scantiness of this oriental entertainment.
To express the vivacity and degree of their affection, the
natives would place the forefingers of both hands close
together, saying the English and themselves were like this;
the Dutch were signified by holding the same fingers six
inches apart, and the Spaniards at double that distance.
Captain Swan, who still had a large quantity of iron and'ead, as well as other goods belonging to his owners, meanwhile traded with, Rajah Laut, at whose house he dined
every day till he established himself at a dwelling which
he hired in the town. Those of the Bucaniers who had
money also took houses on shore, lived a jovial life among
their comrades and pagallies, and hired female servants
from their masters as temporary housekeepers.
Tfie most important division of this island, the largest
save Luconia of the Philippine group, was, as has been
mentioned, under the sway of the Sultan of Mindanao,
who was often at war with the tribes that occupied the in:
terior and the opposite coasts, and were less civilized and!
L




278   NATURAL PRODUCTIONS OF MINDANAO.
wealthy than his subjects. The soil of the island was deep
and black, producing great varieties of timber; and among
others the tree named by the natives the libby, from the pith
of which sago is manufactured. Rice was raised in some
places, and on the hilly land potatoes, yams, and pumpkins.
The fruits were the plantain, which Dampier names the
"king of fruits," guavas, bananas, musk and watermelons,
betel-nuts, cocoanuts, jacas, durions, cloves, nutmegs,
oranges, &c. From the fibres of the plantain the common
people of Mindanao manufactured the only cloth which
they wore, making webs of seven or eight yards long. The
betel-nut, so much esteemed in most places of India, grew
here on a tree like the cabbage-tree, but smaller. At the
top of these trees the nuts grow on a tough stem, as thick
as a man's finger, in clusters of forty or fifty. The fruit
resembles the nutmeg, but is rather larger and rounder.
When to be chewed, the nut was cut into four bits, one of
which was wrapped up in an areca-leaf, spread with a soft
paste made of lime. Every native carried his lime-box by
his side, into which he dipped his finger, spread his betelleaf, wrapped up his nut, and proceeded to chew. Where
there are no betel-vines the leaves are imported for this purpose. The nut is the most admired when young, and while
it is green and juicy. It tastes rough in the mouth, dies
the lips red and the teeth black, but at the same time preserves them.*  Those who are not accustomed to its use
become giddy at first, especially if the nuts are old.
The religion of the Mindanaians was the Mohammedan;
and the children were taught to read and write, though
business was generally transacted by Chinese, the natives
being indifferent accountants. Besides what was supposed
their native language, they spoke a dialect of the Malay,
which was among them the language of commerce. Many
of them also understood Spanish; as the Spaniards had
only been expelled during the reign of the present sultan's
father. Rajah Laut both spoke and wrote Spanish; and
had, from reading and conversation, acquired a considerable
knowledge of European counties.  The natives were of
middle size, with small limbs, particularly the females
* The preservation of the teeth is with as much probability attributd
to the time.




*PPEARANCE AND HABITS OF THE NATIVES. 279
rhey had straight bodies, with small heads. Their faces
were oval, but those of the women more round.  Their
foreheads were low, with small black eyes, short low noses,
their lips thin and red, their skins tawny, but inclining to
a brighter yellow than some of the other Indians, especially
among the women. Young females of rank were often
much fairer than the other women, and their noses rose to
a more aristocratic  prominence than those of meanei
females.  In female children the nose, or rise between the
eyes, was sometimes scarcely perceptible. The natives all
walked with a stately air, and the women, though barefooted,
had very small feet. The nail of the left thumb was allowed
to grow very long.  The men wore a small turban, the
laced ends hanging down, with trousers and a frock, but
neither stockings nor shoes.  The women tied up their
hair in a knot, which hung down on the crown of the head.
They wore a petticoat, and a frock that reached below the
waist, with very long sleeves, which, pushed up, sat in
puckered folds, and were a source of great pride to the
wearers.  They were also adorned with earrings and
bracelets, which the pagally would sometimes beg from her
English friend. The clothing of the higher class was made
of long cloth, but the lower universally wore the saggan or
plantain-cloth.  They used no chairs, but sat cross-legged
on the floor or on mats. The common food of the people
was sago or rice, with occasionally a fish or two; but the
better classes had often fowls and buffaloes' flesh. In some
things their habits were very filthy, and in others very
cleanly. Like all oriental tribes, they washed themselves
frequently in the rivers, and took great delight in swimming, to which exercise both sexes are accustomed from
infancy.  The trades practised here were those of goldsmiths, blacksmiths, and carpenters, every man being more
or less of a carpenter, and handling with dexterity their
scanty tools, which consisted of the axe and the adze alone,
saws and planes being altogether unknown.  Yet the ships
and barks they built were stout and serviceable, and in
them the natives made war, or traded to Manilla, and sometimes to Borneo and other distant places, exchanging the
gold and bees-wax found in the interior of the island, for
calicoes, silks, and muslins.  Tney nad also a traffic with
the Dutch in tobacco, which in Mindanao was of excellent




288               CmONtULAIt DTSEABS.
quality, and sold so low as twelve pounds for a rial. T'
Mindanaians were resolute in fight, though they avvid d
the open field, erecting forts and small works, on which
they mounted guns. These forts they would defend and
besiege for months together, sometimes making a sally.
Their weapons were lances, swords, and what Dampiet
calls hand-cressets,* resembling a bayonet, which they
wore at all times, whether in war, at work, or pastime
When likely to be overcome, they sell their lives dearly
and seldom either give or take quarter, the conqueror hew
ing down his antagonist without mercy.
The people here were liable to a leprous disease, the skit
becoming blotched and scurfy, and rising in white scale.
from the continual rubbing induced by intolerable itchiness.
Some had the skin white, in spots over their body, though
smooth; and these Dampier conjectured were patients who
had been cured.  Polygamy was common.  The sultan
had one queen and twenty-nine inferior wives, of whom
one was called the war-queen, as she always attended her
lord to battle. The daughter of the sultan by his queen
was kept in strict seclusion: but his other children in
patriarchal numbers roamed about the streets, often begging
things which they fancied from the Bucanier seamen. It
was said that the young princess had never seen any man
save her father the sultan, and Rajah Laut; though all the
other women were occasionally allowed to appear abroad
in pageants, or upon public festivals.
The sultan was an absolute prince, who, in oriental
fashion, encouraged the industry and commercial enterprise
of his subjects by borrowing sums; however small, which
he discovered they had accumulated by trade. By way of
varying this system of arbitrary exaction, he would at other
times first compel them to purchase goods belonging to
himself, which had probably been confiscated, and afterward find some occasion of state to reclaim those goods for
the public service. He was a little man, now between
Dampier's hand-cressets are the kreeses of the Malayan tribes, the
favourite weapon throughout all the islands and coasts into whicn this
warlike race have forced their way. The weapon described as a long
dagg r or sword, seen by Magellan's crew, was the true kreese of the
Malay; and neither different in shape, nor in the enrichments of the hilt
and sheath, from that worn at thia day.




DANCING-WOMEN, AND AMUSEMENTS.   281
fifty and sixty, and altogether inferior to his brother and
grand vizier, the Rajah Laut, who, though only equal in
trickery, was superior to all his compeers in capacity and
intelligence. It was he who led the military forces of the
sultan, managed the foreign policy, and regulated the internal affairs of Mindanao.  Without the license of Rajah
Laut no one could either buy or sell; nor could the common fishermen enter or leave the port without his permission. The Rajah Laut was altogether the hero of Mindanao, the women in the public dances and festivals singing
his praises and celebrating his exploits.
Besides being the wet season, it was Ramadan time
when the Cygnet came to anchor in the river, and amusement and pleasure were nearly suspended in Mindanao,
but as soon as this solemn period was passed, the Rajah
Laut entertained his friend Captain Swan every night with
dances, those bands of regularly trained dancing-women
being seen here which are common over all India. But
all the females of Mindanao were fond of dancing, which
they practised in a ring of forty or fifty, who joined handin-hand, singing in chorus, and keeping time; and though
they never moved from the same spot, making various gestures, throwing forward one leg, and clapping their hands
at the close of the verse. The Rajah Laut was in return
entertained by Captain Swan's men, who performed English dances to the music of violins, in a ball-room fitted up
with gold and silver lace, and illuminated by a profusion of
wax candles.  Dampier relates the very natural mistake
into which the rajah fell regarding one of these quarterdeck performers.  John Thacker, a common Bucanier,
though he could neither read nor write, had acquired the
accomplishment of dancing about some "of the music
houses of Wapping," and coming into the South Sea
with Captain Harris, had been so fortunate in acquiring
oooty, that he now wore fine clothes, and by his superior
dress and dancing was supposed by the natives to be a
person of noble extraction.  When the rajah, to satisfy
his curiosity on this important point, put the question to
one of the company, the seaman replied humorously that
the conjecture as to.ack's quality was quite correct; and
that most of the ship's company were of like extraction, at
least all who wore good clothes and had rr.onoy, those




282           HUNTING EXCURSION.
meanly clad being but common seamen. The rajah from thia
time portioned out his civilities according to the gerb of his
new friends.
Captain Swan was by this time deeply chagrined at the
result of his voyage. Most of his crew were turbulent and
lawless; those who had money revelling on shore, and
continually involving themselves in quarrels with the natives,-while those who were poor were growling on board
at the privations they suffered, and the time wasted in inaction. In the number of the penniless was Dampier, who
had no means of recreation and no source of enjoyment
save the faculty of a powerful and quick observation, and
the delight of entering his remarks in his journal. The
single and undivided object of the rest of the crew of the
Cygnet was gold-the plunder of the Manilla ship; nor
durst the commander reveal his dislike to their project.
About the same time that his crew grew violently discontented, he became himself suspicious of the good faith of
his friend Rajah Iaut, who for the iron and lead which he
had procured continued to pay with fair promises.
Beef was one of the articles which the rajah had promised to the English, and a party went a hunting with him,
but found no prey.  Dampier, a practised hunter, was
always of these parties, and used the opportunities they
afforded to extend his knowledge of the country. In these
distant hunting excursions the rajah carried his wives,
children, and servants along with him in the proas of the
country, which were fitted up with rooms. They settled
at some village in the neighbourhood of the hunting-ground,
the chief and his family occupying one end of the house
and the Englishmen the other. While he and his men,
who always hunted from dawn till late in the afternoon,
were abroad, the Englishmen were frequently left at home
with the women and children. Though these ladies never
quitted their own apartment while the chief remained at
home, he was no sooner gone than they usually flocked ta
the strangers' room, asking a thousand questions about the
condition of the women and the fashions and customs of
England. These were the subject of long and earnest
argument among themselves, some condemning and others
applauding the custom, which all allowed to be singular,
of even the king and chiefs having but one wife. Among




MANNERS OF THE NATIVES.              283
the proselytes to monogamy was the war-queen or wife,
the lady who enjoyed the privilege of attending the rajah
to battle; and her reasons, if they did not convince, at
least silenced her opponents.
During this excursion, Dampier, from the conversation
of the women, considerably increased his acquaintance with
the character and customs of the people. Thtey bathed
daily, and washed after every meal; and if they became
unclean from touching accidentally any forbidden thing,
underwent scrupulous purification. Though associating
so intimately with the English, they did not like to drink
with nor after them. Wild hogs abounded, but swine's
flesh, and every part of that filthy animal, was held in the
utmost abhorrence by the Mindanaians; and though they
invited the seamen to destroy the animals that came to the
city during the night to feed on garbage under the houses,
they were ordered to take the swine on board, and those
who had touched these abominable creatures were ever
afterward loathed and avoided by the natives, and forbidden
their houses. This superstitious dislike was carried to so
great a length, that the Rajah Laut returned in a rage a
pair of shoes made in the English fashion, of leather he
had furnished, and in which he had taken great pride, till
he learned that the thread with which they were sewed
had been pointed with hog's bristles. The shoemaker got
more leather, and made a quite unexceptionable pair, with
which the chief was satisfied.
At this hunting-village, in the evenings, the women
danced before the rajah; and before the party broke up to
return to Mindanao, he entertained the Englishmen with a
jar of " rice drink," a fermented liquor, on which he and
his attendants got very merry. He drank first himself,
and then his men; "and they all," says Dampier, " were
as drunk as swine before they suffered us to drink.
That balance in human affairs which pervades all conditions was now turning the scale in favour of the less fortunate portion of the Cygnet's crew. The Mindanaians,
though hospitable and kind, were, when offendedvindictive
and deadly in their resentments; the conduct of these dissolute and openly profligate seamen had given them deep
offence; and sixteen of the Bucaniers were in a short time
taken off by poison, to which more afterward fell victims




284         CONDUCT OF RAJI LAXUT
The islanders were skilled in subtle poisons, which had not
their full operation till a long while after they were administertd. Some of the men, after they were conscious of
having been poisoned, lingered on for months.  When
they died, their livers were found black, dry, and shrivelled
"like cork."
The ship had not lain long in the river when it had been
discovered that her bottom was eaten with worms, which
bred in such great numbers in this place, that shortly
before a Dutch vecsel had been destroyed by them in two
months, while thl Rajah Laut became heir to her great
guns. It began to be suspected that he entertained the
hope of being equally fortunate in a legacy from the Cygnet,
as he had given no intimation of a danger which the Mindanaians always avoided by placing their barks and boats
in a dry-dock the moment they came into port, even
when only returned from fishing. He shook his head andJ
seemed displeased when he saw that the sheathing of the
vessel had prevented serious damage, and gravely remarked,
"that he never did see a ship with the cunning device of
two bottoms before." Dampier had seen the same kind of
worms in myriads in the Bay of Campeachy and in the
Bay of Panama, and in smaller numbers in Virginia. They
are never seen far at sea.
This alarming damage was repaired in time, though,
taken with other circumstances, it strengthened the suspicions of Captain Swan, and excited the discontent of the
men by increasing their alarm. Rajah Laut also, if he did
not absolutely refuse, still delayed to furnish the beef and rice
necessary to their subsistence, and which were to be the
price of the commodities with which Captain Swan had so
largely furnished him. His English friend had also lent
the rajah twenty ounces of gold, to defray the expenses of
a solemn ceremqnial observed shortly before, when his son
had been circumcised. This splendid ceremony, at which
the English assisted, had been celebrated with music,
dances, the singular war-dance of the country, banquets,
pageants, ltd processions by torchlight. The rajah, in a
manner not uncommon in eastern countries, net only
refused to repay the gold, but when urged, insisted that it
had been a present, and finally demanded payment for all




8AILIGN  OF THE CYtNET.             285
the victuals Swan and his men had consumed at hir ho"
pitable board.
While the rajah thus refused to discharge his debts, the
Btlcanier crew clamoured to be gone, and, becoming openly
mutinous, a party of them resolved to carry off the ship.
Neither Dampier, who happened to be on board, nor the
surgeon's mate, approved of this treacherous design, but
they were reluctantly compelled to go with the rest, leaving
Captain Swan and thirty-six men at Mindanao, from
whence the Cygnet sailed on the 14th January, 1697, intending to cruise off Manilla.  A Bucanier of Jamaica,
named Read, was chosen commander. The first intimation Swan had of his abandonment was the gun which was
fired as the ship got under way. To his own irresolution,
bad temper, and want of firmness Dampier imputes, this
misfortune.  If, when apprized of the design of the mutineers, he had come on board and behaved with prudence and
courage, he might have brought back the g eater part of
the men to their duty, and taken his own measures with
the ringleaders, to some of whom he had certainly given
just cause of discontent.
After leaving Mindanao, the Cygnet, with a crew now
reduced by various causes to eighty men, coasted to the
westward.  They fell in with a great many Keys, or small
low islets, between which and Mindanao there was a good
channel. On the east of these Keys they anchored and
obtained green-turtle. At different places they cut ratans,
such as were used in England for walking-canes. They
saw here large bats, " seven or eight feet from tip to tip"
of the extended wings, which regularly at dusk took their
flight from the smaller islands to the main island in swarms
like bees, and returned like a cloud before sunrise. On the
23d they reached Luconia, having captured a Spanish
vessel laden with rice and cotton-cloth, bound for Manilla.
The master had been boatswain of the Acapulco ship which
had escaped them at Guahan, and which now lay safe in
port. Nothing, therefore, of consequence could be hoped
for this season, and to beguile the time, and wait a more
favourable opportunity, they resolved to sail for the Pulo
Condore or " Islands of Calabashes," a group of small
islands on the coast of Cambodia. They anchored at
Condore on the 14th March. Two of the cluster are
X




286       THE ISLANDS OP CALABASHES.
pretty large and high. They were tolerably well wooded,
and on the greatest of thenl was found a tree from which
the inhabitants extracted a pith or viscid juice which they
boiled up into good tar, and which, if kept boiling long
enough, became pitch.* The mangoes of which the Indian
pickle is made were found here.  They were now ripe,
and were betrayed to the seamen by their delic;ius fragrance. The grape-tree was also seen, with toe wild or
spurious nutmeg, and many sorts of beautiful birds, as
parrots, paroquets, pigeons, and doves.  The inhabitants
of Pulo Condore resembled the Mindanaians, but were
darker in complexion. Their chief business was to make
tar of the pith of the trees mentioned above, which they
exported to Cochin-China, from which these islanders were
originally a colony. The oil of the turtle was another
article of their commerce with their mother-country. The
islanders were idolaters. In a temple Dampier saw the
image of an elephant and of a horse, which they were supposed to worship.
At this place the Bucaniers remained for a month; after
which they cruised in the Gulf of Siam and in severai
parts of the China seas, taking all barks that fell in theil
way, whether Spanish, Portuguese, or native  /essels
From the crew of a junk belonging to the Island of Sums
tra they learned that the English had established a factory
on that island. The surgeon and Dampier, who had
accompanied "this mad crew" against their inclination,
" and were sufficiently weary of them," would have escaped
here, and taken their chance of getting to this or some
other English factory; but they were constrained to remain in the Cygnet.
The next destination of the Bucaniers was the Ponghou
Islands, which in no respect answered their purpose of
quiet and security. At the place where they anchored
there was a large town and a Tartar garrison.
In the charts which they possessed there were laid down,
marked by the figure 5, a group of islands situated between
Luconia (the cynosure of their hopes) and Formosa; and
these, which offered a tolerably convenient station, they
* Probably the damar, the most important of the gums found in tho
Indian islands. and extensively used for ships and boats.




THE BASUEE.SIANDS.                 287
moped might be either uninhabited or only peopled by tribes
from whom they might with impunity plunder provisions,
without danger of the outrage being heard of in the Philippines.  They steered for them, and upon the 6th August
reached the interesting group now known as the Bashee
Islands.  They approached by,the westernmost and largest
of the group, on which they had the felicity to see goats
browsing; but safe anchorage was not obtained till nest
day, in a bay at the east side of the easternmost island.
The sails were not furled when a hundred small boats
swarmed round the Cygnet, each carrying from three to
six men, with whom the deck was soon crowded.  The
pirates, alarmed by the numbers of the islanders, got their
firearms in readiness; but iron, the most precious of metals
with the savage, for which he freely and gladly gives gold
in exchange, wondering at the folly or simplicity that induces the European to the unequal barter, and leaving the
philosopher to decide which gains most by the bargain,iron was the only thing tnnt captivated the Basheeans, who
quickly picked up all the little pieces they could find, but
were otherwise perfectly quietand orderly.  Waxing bolder
by indulgence, one of them  tried to wrench out an iron
pin from the carriage of a gun. He was laid hold of, and
his cries made all his countrymen scamper off in a fright.
The man was, however, kindly treated, and, being first
made sensible of his error in attempting to steal, was presented with a piece of iron, with which he swam  to his
comrades. Thus reassured, the islanders returned, and a
brisk trade was opened, which was renewed daily. Ever
after this slight check they continued honest, and they had
always been civil. A hog was now got for two or three
pounds of iron, a fat goose for an old iron hoop, and the
liquor of the islands, the baskee drink, from the name of
which the pirates gave the whole group their general
appellation, for old nails, spikes, and bullets.
These five islands were more particularly named, 1.
Orange Island, so called by the Dutchmen among the crew
m  honour of their native prince.  It is the largest and
most westerly of the group, and was uninhabited.  2. Grafton Island was so named by Dampier in compliment to the
noble family in whose household he had, as has been men



288    NATIVES OF TEE BASHEE ISLANDS
tioned, left his wife. 3. Monmouth Island was named by
the seamen after the unfortunate Duke of Monmouth, the
son of Charles II. The other two were called the Goat
and the Bashee Island, from the number of goats seen on
the one, and the abundance of the beverage which gained
the approbation of the seamen that was made on the other.
The two latter are small islands, lying to the south, in the
channel which divides Orange Island from Grafton and
Monmouth Islands. Monmouth Island is high, and so
fenced with steep. rocks and precipitous cliffs, that the
Bucaniers did not land upon it as they did upon all the
other islands. Grafton and Monmouth Islands were thickly
inhabited, and on Bashee there was one village. The
natives were " short squat people, generally round-visaged,
with low foreheads and thick eyebrows; their eyes small
and hazel-coloured, yet bigger than those of the Chinese;
short low noses, their lips and mouths middle-proportioned;
their teeth white, their hair black, thick, and lank, which
they wore cut short; it will just cover their ears, and so is
cut rould very even," says Dampier, and to this fashion
they seemed to attach great importance. Their skins are a
dark copper-colour. They wear neither hat, cap, turban,
nor any thing to keep off the heat of the sun. The men
had a cloth about their middle, and some wore jackets of
plantain-leaves, " as rough and bristly as a bear's skin."
The women were clothed with a short cotton petticoat,
which fell below the knees: of "a thick, stubborn" cloth
that they manufactured themselves. Both men and women
wore large earrings of a yellow glisteiing metal, found il
the mines in their own mountains, resembling gold, but
paler in colour. These rings and this metal completely
baffled the science of the pirates, who had rather an instinctive love of gold than much knowledge of its natural
properties. When first polished the rings made of this
yellow metal looked peculiarly brilliant, but they soon faded
and became quite dim, when it was necessary to throw
them into the fire, first casing them in a soft paste made
of a red earth. After being heated, red-hot they were
cooled in water, and the paste rubbed off, when the glister.
ing lustre was found renewed. Our navigator was, unfortunately, too poor to be able to purchase any of this




BREWING AND COORERTY OF THE ISLANDERS. 289
metal;* or rather too honest to reckon any part of the iron
belonging to Captain Swan's owners, of which there was
still a good quantity on board, his property, though his
companions were much less scrupulous. The language
or the people of the Bashee Isles was quite strange to the
pirates, though they were now tolerably well acquainted
with the Malay tongue, the dialect of Mindanao, and the
Chinese language.
No foreign commodities of any kind were seen among
the Basheeans, nor any thing that could have been introduced by sea, save a few bits of iron and pieces of buffalohides. In all points they appeared an unmixed race, in
their dispositions singularly mild, amiable, and peaceful.
Their islands produced plantains, bananas, pumpkins, and
plenty of yams, which made the principal part of their food.
They had no grain of any kind, and consequently but few
fowls, which Dampier never saw in plenty where there was
not either maize, rice, or grain of some sort. Some cottonplants were seen, and sugar-canes, from the boiled juices
of which the natives made the liquor so agreeable to their
visiters. The boiled juice, with which a small black berry
was mixed, was allowed to ferment for three or four days,
and when it had settled, was poured off clear from the lees,
and was fit to drink. It was much like English beer, both
in taste and colour, and, as Dampier verily believed, a perfectly wholesome beverage, many of the men who drank it
copiously every day, and were often drunk with it, being
never once sick in consequence of their liberal potations.
The natives sold it cheaply, and when the seamen visited
at their houses freely gave them Bashee-drink, and sometimes bought a jar from a neighbour to entertain their
guests. These purchases were made with small crumbs of
the glistering metal above described, which, wrapped in
plantain-leaves, served as a substitute for coin. Though
cleanly in their persons and habitations, the inhabitants of
the Bashee Isles were in some respects very filthy in their
eating. They were not seen at this time to kill any
animals for their own use; but of the goats purchased by
* The Bishee Islands have since been known to afford a considerable
quantity of gold-dust, washed down from the mountains by the torrents,
The Spaniards, in 1783, formed a settlement on Grafton Island to collect
the gold, and left a garrison of about 100 men.




290        THEI  SINGULAR DWELLINGS.
the Bucaniers they begged the skin and garbage, and
when the surly seamen threw them  into the sea, they
would take them opt. With the hogs they never meddled.
The goat's skin they broiled and gnawed; and of the
paunch made what to them  appeared a delicioub dish.
The whole crude contents of the stomach were emptied
into a pot, and stewed with any small fish they had caught,
which they took what Dampicr thought very superfluous
trouble in cleaning and mincing, considering the nature
of the substances with which the fish were mixed. This
mess was eaten as the people of the Philippines did their
rice, he being reckoned the best-bred among the Mindanaians who, wetting his hands to prevent the boiled rice
from sticking to them, could most dexterously roll up and
swallow the largest ball. The people of these island had
another singular dish made of locusts, which at this season
attacked the potato-leaves in multitudes, and in their
ravages spared no green thing. They were about an inch
and a half in length, and as thick as the tip of a man's
little finger, with large thin. wings and long small legs.
The Basheeans caught them in small nets, a quart at one
sweep. When enough were obtained for a dish, they were
parched in an earthen pot over the fire, till the legs and
wings dropped off, when from brown they became red.
Their bodies were succulent, though the heads crackled
under the teeth of the eater.
The dwellings of the islanders, and the places upon
which they had perched them, were aVlong the most singular features of their social condition. In describing them
we adopt the words of Dampier:-" These people made
but low, small houses. The sides, which were made of
small posts, wattled with boughs, are not above four feet
and a half high: the ridge pole is about seven or e'ght feet
high. They have a fireplace at one end of their houses,
and boards placed on the ground to lie on. They inhabit
together in small villages built on the sides and tops of
rocky hills, three or four rows of houses one above another,
under such steep precipices that they go up to the first row
with a wooden ladder, alni so with a ladder still from every
story up to that above it, tlere being no other way to ascend
The plain on the first precipice may be so wide as to have
room both for a row of houses, which sBand all along the




PRIMITIVE  BELLOWS.                291
edge or brink of it, and a very narrow street running along
before their doors, between the row of houses and the foot
of the next precipice, the plain of which is in a manner
level with the roofs of the houses below, and so for the
rest.  The common ladder to each row, or street, comes up
at a narrow passage, left purposely about the middle of it,
and the street being bounded with a precipice also at each
end,'tis but drawing up the ladder if they be assaulted, and
then there is no coming at them from below but by climbing a perpendicular wall.  And that they may not be assaulted from  above they take care to build on the side of
such a hill whose back hangs over the sea, or is some high,
steep, perpendicular precipice, altogether inaccessible."
These precipices and regular terraces appeared quite natural.  Grafton and Monmouth Islands abounded in these
rocky fortresses, in which the natives felt themselves secure
from pirates, and from enemies whether foreign or domestic.
The boats of the islanders were ingeniously constructed,
somewhat like Deal yawls, and some of them so large that
they could carry forty or fifty men. They were impelled
by twelve or fourteen oars on each side. Though scantily
provided with iron, the Basheeans could work this metal,
employing the same sort of bellows, remarkable for rude
ingenuity, which Dampier had seen at Mindanaoo This
primitive bellows was formed of two hollow cylinders, made
of the trunks of trees, like our wooden water-pipes. They
were about three feet long, and were placed upright in the
ground, near the blacksmith's fire, which was made on the
floor.  Near the bottom of each cylinder, on the side next
the forge, a hole was bored, into which a tube was exactly
fitted. These tubes met in a common centre or mouth opposite the fire. The bellows being thus prepared, a man
stood between the hollowed trunks with a brush of feathers
in each hand, which he worked alternately in the cylinders,
like the piston of a pump, thus impelling the air through
the small pipes below, which by this means kept up a blast
that played continually upon the fire.
The men of -the Bashee Islands, while the Cygnet lay
there, were generally employed in fishing, leaving the plantations to the care of the women.  Their weapons were
wooden lances, of which only a few were headed with iron,
their armour a buffalo's hide. as thick as a board, which




292    MANNERS OF THE BASlEE ISLANDERS.
covered them to the knees, having holes for the head and
arms.  No form of worship was observed among this tribe,
nor (lid any one seem to have more authority than another.
Every man hia one wife, and ruled his own household,the single wife appearing affectionate and happy, and the
children respecting and honouring their parents. The boys
went out to fish with their fathers, while the girls attended
to domestic duties with their mothers.  Their plantations
were in the valleys, where each family had one; and thither
the young girls, as soon as they were able for the task, descended every day from their rocky abodes to dig yams and
potatoes, which they carried home on their heads for the
use of the family.
In no part of the world had Dampier seen people so perfectly quiet and civil as these islanders. " They dealt
justly and with great sincerity," he says, " and made us
very welcome to their houses with Bashee-drink."
Meanwhile the cruise off Manilla was not forgotten.
Eighty hogs were salted, and yanms and potatoes laid up foi
sea-store   The crew  had taken in water, and now only
waited the settling of the eastern monsoon to take their departure.  On the 24th September the wind shifted to the
east, and by midnight blew so fiercely that they were driven
to sea, leaving six of their men on the island. It was the
1st October before they were able to recover their anchoring
ground.  The natives immediately rowed their comrades on
board. As soon as the ship was out of sight, the islanders
increased in hospitality and kindness to the strangers left
among them.  They only stipulated that the Bucaniers
should cut their hair in the Bashee fashion; and on this
condition offered each of them a wife, and, as a dowry, a
plantation and implements of labour.
The late storm, their long and profitless cruise, now extending with some of them to years, and the penalties to
which their criminal acts made them all alike liable in every
civilized country, combined to depress the spirits of the
crew  of the Cygnet; and once more every man heartily
wished himself at home, " as they had done a hundred
times before."   They were, however, persuaded by the
capntn and master to try one more chance, and agreed to
steer for Cape Comorin, for ever renouncing the longindulged dream  of capturing the Manilla ship.  Dampier




THE CYGNET LEAVES THE BASHEE ISLANDS. 293
believed that the ultimate object of the pirate commanders
was to cruise in the Red Sea, and by one more desperate
effort to make or for ever mar their fortunes. Of all the
company none was more heartily tired than our navigator, who had been betrayed into this voyage, and whose
thoughts, since leaving Mindanao, had run continually on
making his escape to some English settlement. To avoid
the danger of meeting English or Dutch ships, with which,
in taking the best and most direct course, they were in danger of falling in, they agreed, instead of steering for the
Straits of Malacca, to go round the east side of the Philippines, and, keeping south to the Spice Islands, pass these,
and enter the Indian Ocean about Timor. To Dampier all
routes were alike.  " I was well enough satisfied," he says,
" knowing that the farther we went the more knowledge
and experience I should get, which was the main thing I
regarded, and should also have the more variety of places
to attempt an escape from them."
On the 3d October they sailed from the Bashee Isles,
leaving, for the first time, a somewhat favourable impression of their characters, and bearing away grateful and
affectionate remembrances of this gentle and amiable
tribe. They steered S. S. W., with the wind at W. and fair
weather; and passed certain islands which lie by the
north end of Luconia. Leaving the coast of this island,
and with it "all their golden prospects," they steered
southward, keeping to the east of the Philippines, and on
the 15th anchored between the two small islands named
Candigar and Sarangan, near the south-east end of Mindanao; and next day, at the north-west end of the most
easterly of the islands, found a fit place to careen and refit
the ship. While they lay here the nephew of the sultan,
who, in name of his uncle, had formerly been treating with
Captain Swan to visit and garrison his island, and take in
a cargo of spice, came on board and requested a passage
home, as they were understood to be going southward.
From him they obtained intelligence of Captain Swan and
their deserted comrades, who had been fighting under Rajah
Laut with a hostile tribe in the interior.  The Englishmen had conducted thenselves so bravely hi fight, that they
were now  in high favour at Mindanao; though it was
feared they had been found too powerful and useul a allis
Y




294          FATE OF CAPTAIN SWAN.
to be permitted easily to leave their new service. Swan
had for some time been-attempting, unsuccessfully, to hire
a vessel to convey him to Fort St. George.
At this time Dampier took an opportunity of persuading
the men to return to their duty, to carry the ship back to
the river of'Mindanao, and give her up to the true commander; but before this could be effected, one man, who
seemed the most zealously to embrace the proposal, gave
information, and Captain Read deemed it prudent to weigh
anchor with all expedition, and without waiting the arrival
of the prince, to whom a passage had been promised. Read
held a course south-west, and once more disappointed the
hopes of Dampier, who believed that, by carrying home the
young chief, they might, at his uncle's island, establish a
factory and a lawful traffic.
The ultimate fate of Captain Swan, of whom we are
now to lose sight, was not a little painful. Two supercargoes or merchants of the ship, Harthop and Smith, died at
Mindanao; and when the commander, after a series of
vexations and disappointments, was going out to a Dutch
vessel which lay i the river, hoping to get away at last, the
boat was run down by the emissaries of Rajah Laut, and
Swan and the surgeon were either drowned or killed in the
water. The property of the English captain was immediately seized by the perfidious chief, who justified his conduct by imputing as crimes to the unfortunate Englishman
the idle impotent threats wrung from him by hope deferred,
irritation, and grief.
The Cygnet continued her bootless voyage among the
islands and channels of the Philippines on to the Spice
Isles, and anchored off Celebes, where the seamen obtained
a supply of turtle, and found, among other shellfish, cockles
of so monstrous a size that the meat of one of them made a
meal for seven or eight persons. It was palatable and whole
some.  Here they also found a vine, of which the leaves,
pounded and boiled with lard, made an infallible sea-salve
One of the company had formerly learned its uses from the
Indians of the Darien; and most of the seamen now laid
up a store, such as had ulcers finding great benefit from its
healing properties. On the 29th November they left this
place; and after encountering the dangers of the shoals
which surround Celebes, and experiencing fierce tornadoes.




ISLAND OF BOUTON.                295
on the 1st December saw, and on the 5th approached, the
north-west end of the island of Bouton. On the (vening
of the 30th they had seen at a distance two or three waterspouts, but escaped them all.
An Indian who spoke the Malay tongue came on board
at this time with some of the turtle-strikers, and informed
them of a good harbour on the east side of Bouton, foi
which they sailed. They came to anchor within a league
of Callasusung, a clean and handsome town, situated upon
a hill in the middle of a fertile plain, surrounded with cocoatrees. The people resembled the inhabitants of Mindanao,
and their houses were built in the same style; but they
appeared in all respects more "neat and tight."  They
were Mohammedans, and spoke the Malay language. The
same description seems to fit every sultan whom the voyagers saw,-" a little man about forty or fifty, with a great
many wives and children." Unaware of the exact character
of his visiters, the Sultan of Bouton was pleased to hear
that they were English, and made them a visit in F handsomely ornamented proa, with a white silk flag displayed at
the masthead, edged with red, and having in the centre,
neatly painted, the device of the prince,-a green griffin
trampling upon a dragon or winged serpent.
They had no object in remaining here; aud as a forlorn
hope, or from curiosity, resolved to steer for New-Holland,
"to see what that country could afford them."  In leaving
Bouton they got among shoals, and it was about three weeks
before they passed Timor, and got clear of all the dangers
of this chain. They stood off south, and on the 4th Januarv fell in with the north-west coast of New-Holland in 160
50". They ran close in, but found no safe anchoringground, as the coast lay open to the N. E. They steered
for about twelve leagues N. E. by E., keeping close in by
the shore, and reached a point, three leagues to the eastward of which they found a deep bay with many islets, and
finally anchored at about a mile from the land. Seeing
people walking on the shore, a canoe was sent off, but the
natives ran away and hid themselves; and though traces
of fires were seen, no habitation could be discovered. Toys
and trinkets were left on the shore at such places as the
people were likely to find them.
The coast here was low and level, with sandbanks. No




2"6      NORTH COAST -OF NBWr^MLAND.
water could be found, though at several places old wells were
seen dry in the sandy bays. Having failed of their object
on the mainland, neither provisions nor water being found,
nor a hope of them, some of the boats visited the islands in
the bay, and surprised a party of the natives. The men at
first threatened the intruders, and showed their lances and
swords; but the noise of a single gun frightened them, and
the women seemed in very great alarm. Screaming, they
ran away with their children, while the men stood to parley.
Those who from sickness or feebleness were unable to follow, lay still by their fires uttering doleful lamentations;
but when it was seen that no harm was intended them, they
became tranquil, and many of the fugitivks returned.
Tile Bucaniers had entertained no design against these
wretched people more flagitious than to make them labour
in carrying the water-casks to the boats. To this they tried
to bribe them with ragged shirts and old breeches, finery
which could have charmed some of the insular families of
the Pacific, though they were totally disregarded by the inert
natives of New-Holland, whose first associations with European finery were connected with hard and compulsory
labour. " We put them on them," says Dampier, speaking
of the tattered rags of the Bucaniers, " thinking this finery
would make them work heartily for us; and our water being filled in barrels of about six gallons, we brought these
new servants to the wells, and put a barrel on each of their
shoulders to carry to the canoe. But all the signs we could
make were to no purpose; for they stood like statues without motion, but grinned like so many monkeys, staring upon
one another." It was found that they had not even strength
sufficient for the task of being carriers of water; and Dampier believed that an English shipboy of ten years old would
have been able to bear heavier burdens than these feeble
savages. "So we were forced," he says, "to carry our
water ourselves; and they very fairly put the clothes off
again, and laid them down, as if clothes were only to work
in. I did not perceive," he adds, "that they had any great
liking to them at first; neither did they seem to admire any
thing we had."  In the estimation of Dampier, the natives
of New-Holland were lower in the scale of humanity than
any tribe of which he had ever heard, the Hottentots not
excepted  " Stting aside their human shape," he says.




NA'lES OF:  HE COAST.               297'they differ but little from brutes. They are tall, straightbodied, and thin, with long small limbs. They have great
heads, round foreheads, and great brows. Their eyelids
are always half-closed to keep the flies out of their eyes, so
that they never open their eyes like other people; and
therefore they cannot see far, unless they hold up their
heads as if they were looking at somewhat over them.
They have great bottle-noses, pretty full lips, and wide
mouths. The two foreteeth of their upper jaw are wanting
in all of them, men and women, old and young. Whether
they dratv them out I know not; neither have they any
beards. They are long-visaged, and of a very unpleasant
aspect, having no one graceful feature in their faces.
Their hair is black, short, and curled, like that of negroes;
and the colour of their skins coal-black, like that of the negroes in Guinea. They have no sort of clothes, but a piece
of the rind of a tree tied as a girdle about their waists, into
which is thrust a handful of long grass or small green leafy
boughs. They have no houses, lying in the open air without covering, the earth their bed, the heaven their canopy."
They lived in groups or families of from twenty to thirty,
men. women, and children; their only food being a small
kind of lish which they caught at floodtide in a sort of weirs.
Few shellfish were seen among them. Yet even these
miserable people were redeemed to humanity by the possession of some good qualities. Whatever they caught was
fairly divided. Were it little or much, every one had a
share of the bounty that Providence had sent, " the old and
feeble Whho were unable to go abroad, as well as the young
and lusty."  This di;sinterestedness, with their bold defence
of the women and children on the first appearance of the
Europeans and the startling report of firearms, is, however,
all that can be said in praise of apparently the most abject
and wretched tribe of the great human family. When they
had consumed what was caught, they lay down till next
low-water, and then all who were able to crawl, be it night
or day, went to examine the weirs. No iron was seen
among these people; but they had wooden swords, and a
kind of lance like a long pole, sharpened at the upper end,
and hardened by heat.
No sort of quadruped was seen here; but there were a
few land and sea birds, and plenty of manatee and turtle,




298           THE NICOBAR ISLANt*
though the natives had never learned to strike them. They
hfad neither boats, canoes, nor rafts, but could swim between
the islands of the bay. No form of worship was discerned
among then; and though they greedily devoured rice,
manatee, or whatever was given them, their minds never
once appeared awakened to any feeling of interest or curiosity. Four men who were caught swimming, and brought
on board the ship, were sensible to nothing but the food
which they devoured and the delight of getting away. The
wonders around them,-the British ship and her strange
company,-which would have charmed many of the tribes
of Polynesia to an ecstasy of surprise, were unnoticed by
the savages, of this part of New-Holland.
The Mosquito-men were busily employed during the time
that the ship was cleaned and the sails repaired; nor did
Dampier miss the opportunity of once again persuading his
inessmates to go to some English factory and surrender the
vessel and themselves. The threat of being left on this
barren and melancholy coast, among the most wretched of
the human race, compelled him to consult his prudence
rather than his duty, and to wait a fairer chance of escape.
The destination of the Cygnet was still Cape Comorin;
and on the 4th of May tk:ey made the Nicobar Islands, the
chief commodities of which were ambergris and fruits,
which the inhabitants disposed of to any European vessels
that chanced to visit them. Dampier now openly expresses
his intention of leaving the ship; and Captain Read, be.
lieving that he could not more effectually punish his refracory shipmate than by granting his wish, and leaving him
it this island, at once gave him leave to go on shore.. Lest
Read might change his mind, Dampier immediately lowered
his bedding and chest, and got some one to row him to the
land. He had not been long on shore when a party were
sent from the ship to bring him  back, and he complied,
aware that if he persisted in going away against their will,
the Bucaniers would not hesitate to make a descent on the
coast and kill some of the natives, who would in turn revenge themselves on him. On returning to the ship, he
found that his spirited example had moved some of the other
persons who had long entertained a similar design of effect
ing their escape, and three of them nc w joined his party, of
wvhom the surgeon was one. The captain and crew re



DAMPIER LEAVES THE BUCAGIERS.    299
fused on any terms to let the surgeon depart; but ater
some altercation Dampier and his two companions, on a fine
clear moonlight night, were landed and left in a sandy bay
of this unknown island.  One of the seamen who rowed
them ashore stole an axe and gave it to them, as the means
of propitiating the natives, or of buying provisions. They
were speedily joined by four Acheenese previously found in
a captured proa, whom Captain Read released befdre setting
sail; and now they fancied themselves strong enough to
row to Sumatra. A Pcrtuguese, taken prisoner by the Bucaniers long before, was also landed, and the party of eight
considered itself able for defence if attacked by the natives,
though no one offered to disturb them.
From the owner of an empty hut in which they slept they
sought a canoe with the stolen axe, and, placing their goods
in it, embarked for Acheen. It upset as soon as under
way, and though no life was lost, their clothes were wetted.
and what to Dampier was of far greater importance, the
journals of many years and his drafts were damaged.
Three days were spent in drying their things, and altering'he canoe into a sailing-boat, which was expertly done by
the Acheenese, who fitted her with a mast, outriggers, and
a suit of mat-sails. With the natives, who watched all their
movements, though more from  curiosity than suspicion,
they bartered rags and strips* of cloth for mellory,t-a fruit
the size of the bread-fruit, shaped like a pear, with a tough,
smooth, light-green rind, which Dampier asserts is confined
to these islands. They also obtained cocoa nuts, which the
Acheenese gathered, and might have had hogs, but that they
did not choose to disgust their Malayan friends, who were
Mohammedans. Once more they embarked in their frail ves'
sel, their only guides a pocket-compass with which Dampier
had provided himself, and a sketch of the Indian Seas,
which, contemplating escape, he had previously, from a
chart in the ship, copied into his pocket-book.
They had been out three days when the weather became
threatening, and soon rose to a tempest. We shall employ
* A strip of cloth which those islanders wear attached to their slight
covering led Linneu:s into the ludicrous mistake of asserting, on the
authcrity of an ignorant Swedish sailor, ttat here existed a race of men
with tails.
1 The mellori of the Nicobars, called by the natives larum, is a species
f beal-fruit. said to be superior even to that of Otaheita




300d t       VOY-.AG   TO ACiEN.
the striking language of Dampier himself to describe what
followed, nor, while it reveals so much of his true character
and feelings, could a better specimen of his more elevated
and earnest style be easily selected:- " The wind continued
increasing all the afternoon, and the sea still swelled higher
and often broke, but did us no damage; for the ends of the
vessel being very narrow, he that steered received and broke
the sea on his back, and so kept it from coming in, which
we were forced to keep heaving out continually. The evening of this day was very dismal. The sky looked very black,
being covered with dark clouds. The wind blew hard, and
the seas ran high. The sea was already roaring in a white
foam about us; a dark night coming on, no land to shelter
us, and our little bark in danger to be swallowed by every
wave-; and, what was worst of all, none of us thought ourselves prepared for another world. I had been in many im
minent dangers before now, but the worst of them all w;:i
but play-game in comparison with this. I had long before
this repented me of that roving course of life, but nev* with
such concern as now. I did also call to mind the many mi
raculous acts of God's providence towards me in the whole
course of my life, of which kind, I believe, few men have
met the like. And for all these I returned thanks in a peculiar manner, and once more desired God's assistance, and
composed my mind as well as I could in the hopes of it, and,
as the event showed, I was not disappointed of my hopes.
Submitting ourselves therefore to God's good providence,
and taking all the care we could to preserve our lives, Mr.
Hall and I took turns to steer, and the rest to heave out the
water; and thus we provided to spend the most doleful
fight I ever was in."
The pious trust of Dampier and his companions did not
fail them. After enduring great hardship, they reached a
small fishing village in a river's mouth of the Island of Sumatra, at which their companions, the Malays of Acheen,
were previously acquainted. They were so much exhausted
when they arrived here as to be unable to row their canoe
LO the village,-another example of the sudden prostration
of strength to which persons who have been in imminent
jeopardy are liable as soon as the danger appears to be past.
The people of the place assisted them in, and a chief who
came to see them, being given to understand that they were




DAMP=E  RETSd XQQJGAN AT A&CHBEN. 301.
prisoners escaped like the Acheenese from pirates, treated
them with great kindness. A house was provided for their
reception, and far more provisionasent to it than they could
use, as they were all sick from excessive fatigue, and the
cold and heat to which they had alternately been exposed,
now scorching unsheltered in the noontide sun, anl again
bleaching in the chill rains of midnight. After resting for
ten days, though not yet restored to health, they entreated
to be allowed to proceed to Acheen to their countrymen;
and they were provided with a large proa, and permitted to
depart. On their arrival at Acheen they were strictly examined by the native magistrate, and then given up to the
care of an Irish gentleman connected with the factory.
The Portuguese died, and Ambrose, one of the Englishmen
who left the Cygnet, did not long survive him. Dampier,
originally robust, and whose constitution was now by his
hardy mode of life almost invincible, recovered, though
slowly; the remedies of a Malay doctor, to whose care he
was committed, having proved worse than the original
disease.
When his health was somewhat re-established, Dampier
made a voyage to Nicobar with Captain Bowry, an English
captain who traded to different parts of India. His next
voyage was to Tonquin with Captain Weldon, with whom
he afterward went to Malacca, and thence to Fort St.
George, where he remained for five months, and then returned to Bencoolen, to a factory lately established by the
English on what was at that time called the West-coast.
Here he also officiated for five months as gunner of the fort.
While at Acheen, after returning from Malacca, Dampier met with Mr. Morgan, a former shipmate in the
Cygnet, from whom he learned the fortunes of the Bucaniers. After he had left them at Nicobar, they steered for
Ceylon, but by stress of weather were compelled to seek
refreshments upon the coast of Coromandel.  Half the
crew at this time left the ship, part of whom afterward
found their way to Agra, and entered the service of the
Mogul as guards; but upon the offer of a pardon from the
English governor at Fort St. George, they repaired to that
garrison.  The Cygnet reached Madagascar, where the
pirates entered the service of some petty prince then at war
with a neighbouring chief.




302       BLCANIERS OP THE SOUTH ISEA.
We may here take a farewell glance of the Bucanier,
and especially of those left by Dampier in the South Sea.
In pursuing their old vocation they became more successful
after the Cygnet crossed the Pacific. They captured many
vessels, and revelled in the plunder of several towns;
sometines cruising together, but as often in detached
bands. Townley was so-far fortunate as to obtain with ease
at Lavelia the treasure and merchandise larnded from the
Lima ship on the former year, for which Swan had watched
so long in vain, and for which the whole Bucanier force
had battled in the Bay of Panama.  Townley afterward
died of wounds received in another attack. The French
party stormed Granada; and Groignet, dying of his wounds,
was succeeded by Le Picard. Harris followed Swan across
the Pacific; and Knight, satiated with plunder, returned
by Cape Horn to the West Indies,-those of his party who
had in gambling lost their share of the pillage remaining in
the Bachelor's Delight. The narrative of the traverses of
this vessel on the coasts of Peru and New Spain, written
by Lionel Wafer, who remained with Davis while Dampier
followed Swan, possesses considerable interest.  Davis
generally kept apart from  the French freebooters, but
joined them at an attack on Guayaquil, where the Bucaniers amicably divided a rich booty. The French party,
among whom, however, there were many Englishmen, afterward made their way overland, and with great difficulty
from the Bay of Amapalla to the head of a river which
falls into the Caribbean Sea, each man with his silver and
gold on his back, the fortunate and cunning hiring as
porters the comrades they had previously stripped at the
gaming-table.
Davis, who during his long cruise had frequently remained for weeks at Cocos Island and the Galapagos group.
now sailed from Guayaquil to these islands, to careen and
victual his ship previous to leaving the South Sea by Cape
Horn.  The Galapagos* were become to the Bucaniers in
the South Sea what Tortuga had been to their predecessors
* The captain of an English ship, which made a voyage in the Pacific
in 1794, —me hundred and ten years after the retreat of the Bucaniers
from the South Sea,-relates that he found the remains of their seats
made of turf and stones, empty jars like those in which the Peruvian
wine is kept, and nails, daggers, and other articles left by them




SUPPRESSION  OF BUCANIERING.              303
in the West Indies.  In his run south from the Galapagos,
Davis discovered Easter Island, though the merit of the
discovery was afterward claimed by the Dutch Admiral
Ro-ggewein, and is still a matter of dispute.  Davis at this
time left five of his men with five negro slaves on Juan
Fernandez.  They had lost every farthing which they possessed- at the gaming-table, and were unwilling to leave
the South Sea as poor as they entered it.  The Bachelor's
Delight successfully doubled Cape Horn; and Davis, who,
among the Bucaniers, stood high in point of character both
for capacity and worth, reached the West Indies just in
time to avail himself of the pardon offered by royal proclamation.  Dampier afterward in England met with his old
commander, whom he highly esteemed.
Though the French Flibustiers, countenanced by their
government, continued to flourish during the war which
followed the accession of William III. to the throne of England, and did brave service to their country in the West
Indies, bucaniering, already severely checked, ceased among
the English from this time, or shifted into the legitimate
channel of privateer-adventure; yet for more than twenty
years a few  desperate characters, English or English
Creoles, outlaws or deserters, pretending to be the true
successors of the old Rovers, who had strictly limited their
depredations to the Spanish West Indies, continued to infest the commerce of every nation, and haunted every sea
from  Cape Wrath to the islands of the Indian Ocean,
wherever robbery could be practised with impunity, whether
on land or water.  The better to forward or conceal their
designs, these lawless ruffians often allied themselves with
native princes, as the new commander of the Cygnet had
done at Madagascar.  Of these degenerate descendants of
the Bucaniers of America, the numerous crew of a pirateship named the Revenge, which wyas captured among the
Orkney Isles, suffered by the sentence of the Court of Admiralty so late as 1724.*
While Dampier was at Fort St. George an English vessel arrived from Mindarno laden with clove-bark, having
on board an Indian prince he had formerly seen a slave at
* We need scarcely remind the reader of Sir Walter Scott's romance
The Pirate




304            THE TATTOOED PRINCE.
that place, and whom Mr. Moody, the supercargo of the
ship, had purchased from  his owner.  This prince was
from the islands named Meangis, which he said abounded
in gold and cloves; and it had been a favourite speculation with Dampier to establish a factory, and open a trade
there, which might have been managed from Mindanao.
This scheme was, however, blown to air; and Prince
Jeoly, whom Dampier while at that island had proposed to
purchase from his master to be his guide and introducer,
pas now on the way to England to be exhibited as a show.
Mr. Moody, who had purchased Jeoly, was meanwhile appointed to the factory of Indrapoor, then just established
on the west coast of Sumatra; and to induce Dampier to
accompany him  to this station, and take charge of the
guns, promised that a vessel should be purchased in which
he might realise his old scheme of going to Meangis with
the native prince, and establishing a commerce in cloves
and gold. Being afterward unable to fulfil this promise,
Moody not only released his friend from the engagement
to serve at Indrapoor, but presented him with a half-share
of the " painted prince," leaving him meanwhile under his
charge. As Prince Jeoly was the first tattooed man ever
seen in Europe, the account given of him by Dampier is
still curious.  The islands from which he came lay about
twenty leagues from Mindanao, bearing S. E.  They were
three in number, small but fertile, and abounding, according to the report of the prince, in gold.  The abundance
of cloves and spice Jeoly, using a common oriental figure,
described by showing the hairs of h's head.  His father
was rajah of the island on which thev lived.  On it were
about thirty men and a hundred women, of whom five were
Jeoly's wives. By one of his wives he had been " painted."
He was tattooed down the breast, between the shoulders,
and on the thighs; and also round the arms and legs, in
the form of broad rings and bracelets. The figures Dampier could not compare to either the outline of animals or
plants, but they were full of ingenious flourishes,-and
showed a variety of lines and checkered work in intricate
figures.  Upon the shoulder-blades the lines and pattern
were peculiarly eicgant  Most of the men and women of
Jeoly's island were thus " painted."   They wore gold
bracelets and anklets, had canoes, and lived upon potatoes,




DANIPIER LEAVES BNENCOOLfNW           IS0a
fyDa, fruits, and fish. They had also plenty of fowls. HIS
native language was quite different from the Malayan,
whic'l he had acquired during his slavery.  In passing
with some of his relations from one island to another, their
canoe had been driven by a violent tempest towards the
coast of Mindanao, and they were all made prisoners by
the Mindanaian fishermen, who stripped them  of their
golden ornaments, and sold them for slaves.
With his situation at the fort of Bencoolen Dampier
found much reason to be dissatisfied, though the character
of the governor was his principal grievance. But besides
his disgust with this official, from whose treatment of others
Dampier drew no favourable augury for himself, he began
strongly to experience the stirrings of that longing after
his native country to which every wanderer is at last sub*
jected; and though his pecuniary affairs were in greater
disorder than on the day he embarked with the Bucaniers,
and he had been glad to earn two dollars, his sole treasure,
by teaching plain sailing to the lads of Weldon's ship, he
sanguinely promised himself a fortune from Prince JeolW,
and hoped that in England he might be able to obtain a
ship to carry back the chief to his native island, where,
thus introduced, he could not fail to establish a lucrative
trade in gold and spices. Mr. Moody had meanwhile disposed of the share which he retained of the unfortunate
captive to the mate of an India ship bound for England,
and with this vessel Dampier wished to return home himself, though the capricious and tyrannical governor, who
had at first consented to his departure, at the time of the
ship's sailing revoked the permission, nor yielded to any
entreaties, though the captain and others importuned him
to let the long-absent wanderer return to his country. The
day before the ship sailed Dampier crept' at midnight
through a port-hole of the fort, abandoning all his property,
save his journal and manuscripts, for the chance of freedom and of reaching home. The mate of the ship, his
new partner in Jeoly, by previous agreement waited for
him with a boat, and kept him concealed on board till the
vessel sailed, which it did on the 25th January, 1691.
The voyage, from the illness of the crew, proved tedious
and troublesome, but it was completed at last; though the
same bad fortune which had attended Dampier at so many
Cc2




306     DAMPIER PUBLISHES 1HIS VOYAGES.
turns of life deprived him of all advantage from bringinfg
home Jeoly. He arrived in the Thames in utter poverty
and was compelled by necessity to seil his share of "the
painted prince;" thus for ever renouncing the romantic
project of carrying him back to Meangis, which poor Jeoly
was destined never again to revisit. After being seen by
many " eminent persons," he caught the small-pox at Ox
ford, and died.
Of Dampier at this time we hear no more. The narrative of his eight years' ramble round the globe breaks off
abruptly by saying, " We luffed in for the Downs, where we
anchored, Sept. 16th, 1691."
All that can now be learned,-all, perhaps, that is desirable or important is, that in the following year Dampier
published his " New Voyage round the World," and afterward a Supplement, which he entitled Voyages and Descriptions.  The work was dedicated to Charles Montague,
Esquire, President of the Royal Society, and a Commissioner of the Treasury, with whom it appears he had no
previous acquaintance. Its intrinsic merits, the charm of
the narrative, and the style, soon brought the author into
notice, and the work ran rapidly through several editions,
and was translated into French and Dutch. Among other
distinctions, Captain Lemuel Gulliver, at that period a
navigator of very great celebrity, hailed Dampier, from
whom he borrowed many hints, as " Cousin."




VOYAGE TO NEW-HOLLAND                      307
CHAPTER XI.
Voyage to iYew-Holland.
Voyage of Discovery to New-Holland and New-Guinea-Dampier on
the Coast of New-Holland-Dirk Hartog's Reede-Appearance and
Productions of the Country-Discoveries on the Northern CoastsPlants and Animals-Appearance and Character of the NativesVoyage to Neyv-Guinea-New Islands and their Productions-Discovery of King William's Island-Slingers' Bay-Manners of tll
Natives-Discovery of Cape St. George and Cape Orford-Natives of
Port Montague —Their suspicious, inhospitable Character-Affray with
the Natives-Volcanic Island-Discovery of Nova Britannia-Islands
in Dampier's Strait-Return to King William's Island, and Second
Voyage to the Coast of New-Holland-Dampier's Shipwreck-Ungrateful Reception-His Voyage in the St. George-Bad Conduct of
his Officers-Dampier's Imprisonment by the Dutch-Return to England-Voyage in the Duke-Testimony borne to his Merits-Reflecions on his Character and Fate-The End.
IN 1699, the country being in profound peace, an expedition of discovery, highly honourable to the royal projector,
was ordered by William III., the conduct of which the Earl
of Pembroke, who was then at the head of the Admiralty,
committed to Dampier, who was recommended solely by
his qualifications as a seaman, his large experience, and
evident capacity. The countries which he was particularly
recommended to examine in this voyage were New-Holland
and New-Guinea.
The vessel in which Dampier undertook the voyage to
New-Holland was a king's ship named the Roebuck, old
and crazy before she left the porto She carried 12 guns and
a crew of 50 men and boys, with provisions for twenty
months, and the equipments necessary to the accomplishment of a voyage undertaken for the future promotion of
traffic, but of which the immediate object was discovery.
Dampier, who had always been fond of natural history, at
This time carried a draughtsman with him. The Roebuck left
the Downs on the 14th January, 1699, and proceeded pros.
perously to the Cape de Verd Islands, and afterward to the
coast of Brazil, where Dampier thought it necessary to put




308    DAMPIER ARRIVES AT NEW-HOLLAND,
into some port, as he intended at the next stretch at once
to reach New-Holland.  On the 25th March they anchored
at Bahia de todos los Santos, where thirty large European
vessels then lay, besides other ships and a multitude of
craft.  The governor was named Don John de Lancaster,
and, claiming to be of high English extraction, was exceedingly courteous to the countrymen of his ancestors.
They sailed on the 23d April, and on the following days
caught small sharks, which they cooked in the Bucanier
fashion, and called good fish.  On their way to the Cape of
Good Hope they saw nothing more remarkable than the
carcass of a whale, about which hovered " millions" of seafowl, darkening the air far around. They also saw the
stormy-petrel, a bird resembling a swallow, but smaller, and
which skims like a swallow. Seamen, naturalists say most
unjustly, call them foul-weather birds, and at all times dislike their appearance. " In a storm they will hover under
the ship's stern, in the wake or smoothness which the ship's
passing has made on the sea: and there, as they fly gently,
they pat the water alternately with their feet as if they
walked upon it, though still on the wing.  Hence the seamen give them their name from Peter walking on the Lake
of Gennesareth."
The voyage proceeded favourably.  On 4th July they
fiequently made soundings, and 90 leagues from New-Holland often saw whales, and at 30 leagues bones of the scuttlefish floating, and also seaweed. They were now close
upon the western coast of New-Holland, and constantly
sounded. On the morning of the 1st August they descried
land at the distance of six leagues, but were unable to find
a safe harbour, and from foul weather were compelled to
stand off till the 5th, when they again approached the same
coast.  Next morning they ran into an opening, keeping a
boat sounding before the ship, and anchored at two miles
from the shore, in the harbour named Dirk Hartog's Reede,
from the first discoverer, who in 1616 had anchored here.
To this bay Dampier gave the name of Sharks' Bay.  He
lays it down as in 250 S. at the mouth.
The land here is rather high, and from sea, appears level,
but is found to be gently undulating.  On the open coast
the shore is bluff; but in the bay the land is low and the
soil sandy, producing a species of samphire.  " Farther inr




NE'.  PLANTS, BIRDS, AND FISHES.            309
-wc now adopt Dampier's description —" it is a reddish
mould, a sort of sand, producing grass, plants, and shrubs.
Of trees and shrubs there are various sorts, but none above
ten feet high.  Some of the trees were sweet-scented, and
reddish within the bark like sassafras, but redder.  The
blossoms of the different sorts of trees of several colours,
but mostly blue, and smelt very sweet and fragrant.  There
were also beautiful and fragrant flowers growing on the
ground, unlike any I had ever seen elsewhere."  There
were eagles, but no other large birds, and of small singingbirds great variety, with fine shrill notes.  Besides the ordinary sea-birds there were many strange kinds quite new to
the voyager.  The kangaroo he describes as a sort of racoon, differing from those of the West Indies chiefly in the
legs; what he calls the racoons of New-Holland having
very short fore-legs, with which they go jumping about. Of
the iguanas of this country Dampier gives a striking description.  They were inferior as food to those with which
he had been familiar in the West Indies and the South Sea,
and when killed and opened were very offensive in smell.
Nothing can be more loathsome and disgusting than the picture he gives of this large species of lizard (scincus tropicurus).  In Sharks' Bay, besides an abundance of sharks,
large green-turtle were found, both of which furnished welcome refreshment to the seamen.  The fish were skate,
rays, and other flat kinds, with muscles, oysters, and small
shellfish.  "The shore was lined with strange and beautiful
shells."
They had anchored at three different places to search for
water, and on the 11th, for this purpose, and also to prosecute discovery, they stood farther into the bay; but after
several abortive attempts again bore out to sea, having previously scrubbed the ship.  Sea-snakes were seen of differ.
ent kinds; one sort yellow with brown spots, about four feet
in length, andl of the thickness of a man's wrist, with a flat
tail; another kind smaller, shorter, and round, spotted black
and yellow.
It was the 14th August when they sailed out of this bay
or bight, and plied off and on northward, keeping about six
or seven leagues from  the shore, and frequently sounding.
On the 15th they were in latitude 24~ 41'; on the 16th in'23 221, "jogging on northward," seeing in their progress
Z




310       DISCOVESR k   OF ROSEMARY  ISLAND.
many small dolphins and whales and abundance of scuttle.i.sl-sheiis a;d water-serpents.  On the afternoon of the
18th. tff a shoal in 22~ 22", of which Danpier kept clear,
lnumerous whaies were seen on all sides of the ship, " blowing and making a vcry dismal noise."  When the Roebuck
got into deepT r watter these alarming fellow-voyagers left her.
On the 20th th:'y were carried out of sight of land, which
was recovered on:le 21st, visible only from the mast, bearing south-east by east, and appearing at the distance of nine
leaguies like a biluff headland.  Around this place was an
archipelao of is.ands of good height, which Dampier believed to be a range stretching from E. N. E. to W. S. W. for
about twenty leagues, or probably to Sharks' Bay, and of
considerable depth, which he presumed might possibly afford
a passage to the great South Sea eastward.  Next day he
ran in among these islands, the boat sounding before. The
water was of very unequal depth; and the arid appearance
of the shores and yellow rusty colour of the rocks made them
despair of finding water, though Dampier, hoping that they
might either discover a new channel leadino throuih to the
mainland of New-Holland, or find some sort of rich mineral
or ambergris, for which this was a favourable latitude, was
unwilling to turn back.  The island near which he rode he
named Rosemary Island, as a plant* that seemed of that
kind grew here in abundance, but was destitute of smell.
Two kinds of beans were found; the one growing on bushes,
the other on a creeping plant that ran along the ground.
Cormorants and gulls were seen, and a kind of white parrot,
which flew in large flocks.
They left this place on the 23d, and for some time coasted
on with the land-breeze, having had since leaving Sharks'
Bay fine clear weather, which still continued.  Watersnakes, whales, noddies, and boobies were seen.  On the
27th and 28th they were out of sight of land, which was
recovered on the 30th in latitude 18~ 21' S., great smokes
being seen on the shore. This night there was an eclipse
of the moon.
Early next day an armed party of ten men landed to
* The genus called dampiera, containing thirteen species of shrubby
or perennial herbaceous plants, all natives of New-Holland, was named
in honour of the celebrated navigator by Mr. Robert Brown, in his Prodromus Florae Novea Hollandia




NATIVES OF NEW-HOLLAND.              311
search for water, carrying with them pickaxes and shovels.
Three tall, black, naked men were seen on the beach, but
they went away. The boat, lying at anchor a little way
out in the water to prevent seizure, was left in the care of
two sailors, while the rest of tne party followed the natives,
who were soon joined by eight or nine men. They stood
posted on an eminence, from which, however, they fled on
the approach of the Englishmen.
From this height the party descried a savanna studded
with what they at first fancied to be huts, hut discovered to
be only rocks, and no water near them. They returned tc
the place at which they had landed, and began to dig, but
were menaced by another party of natives colleaed on an
adjoining height, who vociferated with angry gestures, as
if they ordered the strangers to be gone. One of them at
length ventured to approach, and the rest followed at a cautious distance. Dampier went forward to meet them, making signs of pe.ce and friendship; but the leader fled, and
the others kept aloof. The want of water made it absolutely necessary to establish a communication with the natives, whether by fair or violent means; and an attempt
was made to catch some of them, a nimble young man who
was with Dampier trying to run them down. As soon as
he overtook them they faced about and fought him; and
Dampier, who was himself assailed, was compelled to fire
off his musket in defence of his man, who, though armed
with a cutlass, was unable to beat back so-many wooden
lances. The first shot, intended to scare but not to injure,
was treated, after a momentary alarm, with indifference or
contempt. They tossed up their arms, exclaiming, "Pooh,
pooh, pooh!" and pressed closer upon the seaman; and
Dampier durst no longer withhold his fire. One native fell
-his friends paused in alarm-and the young seaman
escaped.  "I returned back," says Dampier, "with my
man, designing to attempt the natives no farther, being
very sorry for what had happened."  The young Englishman was wounded in the cheek by a lance. Among the
attacking party there was one young man who, from his
appearance and dignity of demeanour, was imagined a chief
or leader; yet this impression was given by something distinct from either height of stature or personal beautyt foi
the New-Hollander was neither so taUl nor well-made as




312         TUM  PEOPLE AND1 COtrTRY.
some of the others, but " a brisk young man," act {e and
courageous. He was the only one of the group that was
painted. A circle drawn with some sort of white pigment
surrounded each of his eyes, and a white streak reached
from the forehead to the tip of the nose. His breast and
part of his arms were also stained, " not for beauty or ornament," it was very rationally concluded, " but that he seemed
thereby to design the looking more terrible,-this his painting adding very much to his natural deformity." Dampier
imagined these New-Hollanders to be of the same nation
with those he had seen when the Cygnet had touched on
this coast. "They were the same blinking creatures," he
says, "' wit  the most unpleasant looks and worst features
of any people I had ever seen." He did not get near enough
to discover if this tribe also wanted the two fore-teeth, as
that tribe did. By the old fireplaces quantities of shells
were found of the kinds of shellfish on which the other
island tribe lived, and their lances were similar in shape.
The general features of the country at the places visited on
this coast were the same as those already described,-low,
with chains of sand-hills, the land round the shore dry and
sandy, bearing many shrubs with beautiful blossoms of various colours and of delicate fragrance. Farther on, the
land was mixed woodland and savanna. The plains were
studded with detached rocks resembling haycocks at a
distance,-some red, and others white. By subsequent voyagers these have been taken for large ant-hillocks. Some
animals were seen resembling hungry wolves, lean as
skeletons.
Brackish water was at last obtained, which was employed
to boil the oatmeal, in order to save what remained in the
casks; and our navigator on the 5th September left this arid
and steril coast; on the 7th, in latitude 16~ 9', and out of
sight of land, stood out to sea; and on the 8th, in 15~ 37'
shaped his course for the Island of Timor. On the 22d he
came to anchor in Coepang Bay, near the Dutch fort Concordia; but afterward went to laphao, a Portuguese settlement on the opposite side of the island.
After resting and refitting at this fine island, the voyage
was prosecuted to New-Guinea. The Roebuck sailed on
the 20th December, and on the 1st January, 1700, they decried the western coast of this countr -high level land




DAMPIER ARRIVES AT NEW-GUWINFEA    313
covered with thriving trees. Near the land they were
assailed by tornadoes, and black clouds hovered over it.
while at sea the weather was clear and settled. On the 7th
they landed, caught at one haul above three hundred mackeael, and next day anchored in the mouth of a river, where
they took in water. Fruits of unknown kinds were brought
on board by the pinnace, and one of the men shot a stately
land-fowl about the size of the dunghill-cock, sky-coloured,
but with a white blotch and reddish spots about the wingu,
and a long bunch of feathers on the crown. From Freshwater Bay, which they named this place, they sailed out by
White Island, which was in 3~ 4' S., and is distinguished
by white cliffs. The Roebuck beat up to the northward
against currents and adverse winds, and passed many islets
and dangerous shoals, occasionally anchoring to obtain
wood and water. At an island named by the natives Sabuda, in 2~ 43' S., Dampier found a tawny race closely
resembling his old friends at Mindanao. Negroes were also
seen here, of the curly-haired blacks which had originally
obtained for this country the name of New-Guinea. Some
of these oceanic negroes appeared the slaves of the yellow
or Malay race. The weapons were the same as in Mindanao; the lances pointed with bone. These islanders had a
very ingenious way of making the fish rise. A block of
wood carved like a dolphin was let down into the water by
a line, to which a weight was attached in order to sink it.
When they had waited the effect of their stratagem the
decoy was rapidly raised by the line, the fish followed it, and
the strikers stood ready prepared.
Still plying northward, on the 4th February they reached
the north-west cape of New-Guinea, called by the Dutch
Cape Mabo. A small woody island lies off the cape, and
to the north and north-east islets are numerous. The land
is generally high, and covered with tall healthy timber.
Near one of these islands, which, from the enormous size
of the cockles found at it, he named Cockle Island, Dampier had almost run upon a shoal, but got off, and, coming
to anchor, despatched the boats to the island, from whence
pigeons were brought, and cockles of the moderate size
of ten pounds. The shell alone of one formerly found
weighed fifty-eight pounds. Bats of the large kind were
seen here




3!  FtATHER DISCOVERY ON'THE' CO8ST.
The Roebtick stood onward four or five leagues, shaping
her course to the east, and at a small woody island found
ordinary-sized cockles in prodigious abundance, and numerous pigeons. On the 7th they anchored at an island finely
wooded "with tall straight trees fit for any use," which
Dampier loyally namel-King William's Island. From the
time of passing Cape Mabo till the 12th, the Roebuck,
owing to easterly winds, had not advanced above thirty
leagues to the eastward. When they got to 2~ S. the easterly winds increased, and as they approached the equinoctial, hung still more easterly.- On the afternoon of the 12th
the wind shifted to a more favourable point, with heavy
rain, which continued for some days. They descried, at
the distance of six leagues from the shore, two headlands
about twenty miles apart, one to the east, the other to the
west. The last they named the Cape of Good Hope. On
the morning of the 15th they were in danger of running
upon an island not laid down in their charts, which Dampier, in commemoration of the escape, named Providence
Island. Large trees and logs were this day seen floating,
which Dampier concluded had come out of some of the
rivers of New-Guinea. On the 16th they crossed the Line.
The Roebuck was steered for an island seen on the 25th at
the distance of fifteen leagues, supposed to be that called
Vischer's Island by the Dutch; but as it was to him unknown land, Dampier named it Matthias Island. It was
about ten leagues long, hilly and wooded, but'intersected
by savannas and open places. Another island, low, level
land, seven or eight leagues to the eastward of this, was
named Squally Island, as they here encountered tornadoes
so violent and frequent that they durst not venture to
stand in.
Dampier afterward stood for the mainland, encountering
frequent and violent squalls, and steered for a part of the
coast where he saw many smokes arising. The islands he
had at first passed were those now known as the Admiralty Islands. His course had lain to the northward of
them.
The land he approached was mountainous and wellwooded, with large plantations and cleared patches lying
on the hill-sides. The discoverer wished to have some intercourse with the natives here, and was glad to see boats




NATIVES OF SLINGERS BAY.               3
and proas come off in great numbers.  1 hey approached
near enough to make signs and to be heard, but their language was totally unknown to the voyagers. They could
not be induced to approach the ship any closer, not even by
the allurement of beads, knives, or glasses, though some
beads floated to them in a bottlewere readily piced up
and they seemed pleaded with the gift.  They often struck
their left breast with the right hand, and held a black truncheon over their heads, as if in token of friendship. II
was impossible, from  the state of the current, to get the
ship into the bay to which the natives pointed; and whep
she wore off, they appeared angry, though they still followed in their proas, which were now increased to a formidable fleet.  The bays were also lined with men.  The
crew got ready their small arms, and when the ship fairly
stood out, the natives became so ill-pleased that they
launched showers of stones after her from slings.  One
gun was fired off, and some of the slingers were conjectured
to be killed or wounded.  Dampier named this place Slingers' Bay.
Next day the Roebuck passed an island where smokes
were seen and men in the bays, who followed in three
canoes, but could not overtake the ship. This island is thf
Gerrit Denys or Gerard Dynas of the Dutch.  It is high
mountainous, and woody. The hill.sides were covered witL
plantations, and in the sheltered bays there: were cocoanut
trees.  It seemed, very populous; the natives were black
with crisp hair, which they shayed in diferent figures
and died of various hues.  They were strong and well
limbed, with broad round faces and large flat noses, yet thf
expression of their countenance, when not disfigured by
their singular taste in ornament, was not unpleasant.  Be
sides being painted, they wore some kind of ornament
through their noses about four inches long, and as thick as
a man's thumb.  Their ears were perforated with large
holes filled with similar decorations.  The weapons seen
were swords, lances, slings, bows and arrows. The proas
were ingeniously built, and ornamented with carved figures,
though they had neither sail nor anchor; and the natives
were expert and fearless in managing them.' Their language was clear and distinct. The black truncheon, used
as at Slingers' Bay, or a fresh-gathered leafy bough, walk




316  DISCOVERY OF <CAPE. -T  sEGOtE.
their symbol of friendship. These they placed upon their
heads, to which they often lifted their hands.
Dampier next day reached Anthony Kaan's Tsland,
which in its external features and social condition closely
resembled the neighbouring group. It lies'in 3~ 25" S. As
the Roebuck held along the coast, other natives approached,
and three ventured on board, to whom the captain gave a
knife, a looking-glass, and beads, showing them pumpkins
and cocoanut-shells, and by signs requesting them to bring
sitr.iar things to the ship. They understood this language,
arid out of one of the canoes took three cocoanuts, which
they presented to him. When nutmegs and gold-dust were
shown them, they appeared to intimate that such things
were to be obtained on their island.  The natives here,
like those already seen, were black, tall, strong, and
well made, with crisp hair, and their nose ahd ears were
ornamented in the same fashion as those seen the former
day.
Dampier's next stage was St. John's, an island about
ten leagues long, abounding in plantations and cocoanuttrees, with groves of palms by the shores and in the bays.
All these islands appeared so populous that the navigator
feared to send a party on shore for wood or water, unless
he could have found anchoring-ground where the ship might
have been brought up to protect them; and he now again
stood four the mainland of New-Guinea to supply his wants.
On the 8th he approached the coast so near that smokes
were seen, with the land high and woody, and thinly interspersed with savannas. Canoes came off to the ship, in
which were natives exactly resembling those they had last
seen. A headland lay to the south in latitude 5~ 5' S.,
from which point Dampier concluded that the shores tended
to the westward, as no land was seen beyond it.  This
headland he named Cape St. George, the meridian distance
of which from  Cape Mabo is 1290 miles. An island off
this cape he named St. George's Island, and the bay between it and the west point St. George's Bay.. Great quantities of smoke arose in sight, and next day a volcano was
discovered burning. The south-west cape of the bhy Dam.
pier named Cape Orford, in compliment to his noble patron.
It is a bluff point, of medium height, and flat at the top.
In advancing on the 14th, a cluster of islands vereseta -r




NATIVES OF PORA  MONTAGVU.           117
a bay in which Dampier hoped to find anchorage. Hfe ran
in and saw smokes, and having got up with the pomt of the
bay, houses, plantations, and cocoanut-trees.  He approached within a few miles of the shore, and several proas,
with about forty men, came out to view the ship, but would
not venture on board. The ship now lay becalmed, and as
other proas full of men approached from different points,
one of them of very large size, the commander became
uneasy. He made the first party signs to return to the
shore; but they either could not understand, or would not
obey, and he "whistled a shot over their heads," which
made them pull away. Two boats, which had started from
different points, intended, it was apprehended, to effect a
junction, and attack the ship. Of these one was a large
boat, with a high head and stern, painted, and full of men.
At this formidable bark Dampier fired another shot, which
made it sheer off, though it afterward pulled but the more
vigorously to join the other advancing boat. To prevent
this junction, and overawe the natives in their suspected
design, the gunner was directed to fire a shot between these
boats as they approached each other, which he did with sotrue an aim, using round and partridge shot, that they in.
stantly separated and made for the shore with all speed.
The Roebuck, which had been for a short time becalmed,
bore after them into the bay with a gentle favouring breeze;
and when it reached the point a great many men were seen
lurking about the rocks and peeping out. Another shot
was fired against the point as a necessary measure of intimidation. The shot grazed between the ship and the
point, flew over it, and grazed a second time very near the
ambushed party. A number of the natives were still seen
sitting under the cocoa-trees, whom Dampier, who knew
the people here to be inhospitable, distrustful, and treacherous (a character which the oceanic negroes had obtained
from all previous navigators), deemed it necessary to scare
and disperse; and a third gun was fired among the wood,
out over their heads, before the boat was sent out to sound.
The Roebuck followed the boat, and found good anchorage
at a quartei of a mile from the shoie, and opposite the
mouth of a small river, where they hoped to find water, the
true and only object of all this seeming harshness. A
group stationed on a small point at the river's mouth was




$18     ITrEIR AVERSION TO STrRANQERS.
scattered by the former means, though this shot, and a
that were fired, were aimed aside and harmless. The
seamen then rowed for the shore, and before they landed,
the Indians rushed into the water, and placed cocoanuts ir,
their boat as a present or propitiatory offering.
Water was obtained, —one boat's crew keeping watch
while the other filled the casks,-and an attempt was made
to commence a trade by exchanging axes and hatchets for
yams, potatoes, and other articles. The natives were not
insensible to the value of the goods offered in exchange;
but they would part with nothing save cocoanuts, which
they climbed the trees to gather, and gave to the seamen,
at the same time making signs to them to be gone.
Having obtained a tolerable quantity of both wood and
water, Dampier held a consultation with his officers on the
propriety of putting to sea, or of remaining here some
time longer, to fish, and endeavour to obtain hogs, goats,
yams, and whatever refreshments the place afforded. It
was agreed to remain. While the men were employed in
cutting wood, a party of about forty natives, men and
women, passed near them. They at first appeared fiightened; but were somewhat reassured by the signs of friendship made by the sailors, and passed quietly on. The men
were finely bedecked with feathers of gay colours stuck in
their hair, and carried lances; while the women trudged
behind totally naked, save for a few green boughs stuck
into the string tied round their waists. On their heads
they carried large baskets full of yams. " And this," says
Dampier, " I have observed of all savages I have known,
that they make their women carry the burdens, while the
men walk before without any other load than their arms
and ornaments."
When the boats went next ashore, some of the seamen
entered the dwellings of the natives, who, instead of becoming more familiar on further acquaintance, got more and
more shy and distrustful. They had now gathered all the
cocoas, and driven away their hogs to a place in the bottom
of the bay. Dampier landed himself, carrying with him
articles proper for presents and trade; but he was unable
to inspire the natives with any degree of confidence. Few
of them approached him, and those with reluctance; and
a p'omise which an Indian made of bringing cocoanuts was




AFFRAY WITH THE INDIANS.             31 
probably never intended to be kept. He visited tnree different villages, and uniformly found the huts abandoned,
and the furniture and live-stock carried off. When Captain Dampier returned to the ship he found all the officers
and men most importunate to obtain his permission to
visit the place whither the hogs had been driven. They
extorted a reluctant consent, and departed furnished with
commodities for traffic, strictly enjoined to deal fairly with
the natives, and for their own security to act with caution.
The bay was two miles distant, and Dampier, who had
great misgivings of the consequences of the enterprise,
prepared, in case of the worst, to assist them with the ship's
guns, as' the natives were now seen assembling on the
shore in large groups, prepared to resist the landing, slakingtheir lances, and using threatening gestures. The English displayed their tempting wares, and made signs which
were disregarded by the natives, some of whom plunged
into the sea with their lances and targets to commence the
attack. But the seamen were resolved in every event to
obtain provisions; and since fair means were repulsed,
they made no scruple at using violence and severity.
The first fire of the muskets made the greater pait of the
warriors run off, though a few stood with great resolution,
still in the attitude of repelling the landing. The boldest
at last dropped his target: it was conjectured that he was
hit in the arm, and the whole took to flight. Dampier
acknowledges that " some felt the smart of our bullets, but
none were killed; our design being rather to fright than
to kill them." The seamen shot nine hogs, besides wounding many that escaped, and in the evening made a second
trip and brought off eight more. As a sort of compensation for the injury done, Dampier sent a captured canoe
back to the shore, and deposited in it two axes, two
hatchets, six knives, six looking-glasses, four bottles, and a
quantity of beads.
This bay, in 60 10' S., and 151 miles west of Cape St
George, Dampier named Port Montague, in honour of the
President of the Royal Society. Of the appearance and
nature of the country here he makes a very favourable
report. " It is mountainous and woody, with rich valleys
and pleasant fresh-water brooks." The rivers abounded
in fish; cocoanut-trees s rung and throve on every island,




320             VOLOANIC ISLAND.
and mlany fruits of unknown kinds were seen. Ginger
was among the spontaneous productions.
The Roebuck was now well supplied with wood and
water, and the hogs had been salted as soon as brought
on board. On the 22d March they left Port Montague,
and on the 24th, in the evening, saw high land bearing
north-west "half-west, and no land visible more to the
west."  They steered west-north-west, coasting along
under easy sail, and at two o'clock saw a pillar of fire.
At dalight this was discovered to be a burning island, for
which they bore, seeing many other islands, two of them
pretty high. They passed through a channel about five
leagues broad, lying between the Burning Island and the
mainland. All the night of the 25th, being still in this
strait, they saw the volcano, "which," Dampier relates,
"vomited fire and smoke very amazingly."
On the night of the 26th the Roebuck had shot to the
westward of the Burning Island, whence the fire could n'o
longer be seen, the crater lying on its south side. This
volcano lies at meridian distance 332 miles west from Cape
St. George. And now Dampier had attained an important
stage in his voyage of discovery. " The easternmost part,"
he says, " of New-Guinea lies forty miles to the westward
of this tract of land, and by hydrographers they are made
joining together."  This he found to be a mistake, and
discovered that it was a channel he had passed through
here, in which were many islands. Before entering this
strait, he named the promontory on the north-east of this
coast, part of what was then all named New-Guinea, King
William's Cape. It is high and mountainous.  smokes
were seen upon it. Leaving it upon the larboard-side, the
Roebuck bore away close upon the east land, which ends
with two remarkable capes, distant from each other about
six leagues, with two fine and very high mountains rising
from the sea within these headlands. The country appeared finely mingled with woodland and savanna, as
smooth and verdant as an English meadow. Smokes were
Again seen; but Dampier, who wished to repair his pin
nace, which was so crazy as to be unserviceable, chose
rather to anchor near an uninhabited than a peopled
island, as he wished to avoid the natives. He stood ovel
to the islands, and kept a lookout for land to the north, but




DISCOVERY OF SEVERAL ISLANDS.    W
saw none. The navigator was now assured that he had
passed through a strait, and that this eastern land did not
join the mainland of New-Guinea. He named this island,
which he had now nearly circumnavigated, Nova Britannia, the north-west point of the strait Cape Gloucester, and
the south-west Cape Anne. The mountain most to the
north-west of the two which rose between those headlands
being very remarkable in appearance, the discoverer chose
to give it also a name, and called it Mount Gloucester.
The passage thus discovered is now known in geography as Dampier's Strait. The Island of Nova Britannia,
in productions and inhabitants, resembled New-Guinea.
The people were negroes, strong-limbed, bold, and daring.
They had been closely observed at Port Montague, and
the remarks made on them there applied with equal propriety to the few that were afterward seen.
Advancing in his course, Dampier fell in with several
islands. One, eleven leagues in length, he named Sir
George Rook's Island. On the 31st he shot in between
two islands,-the southernmost long, with a hill at each
end. This he named Long Island. The one to the
north was named Crown Island, from  its eminences.
Both were pleasant, and seemed fcrtile,-savanna and
woodland interspersed, the trees green and flourishing, and
many of them covered with white blossoms. Cocoanuttrees were frequent in the bays of that island which from
its conformation Dampier named Crown Island. It was
believed to be inhabited but thinly. A boat was seen,
which just peeped forth from the shore of this island, and
Irew back; but neither plantations nor smokes were discovered. In the afternoon of the 31st another island was
seen bearing north-west by west; and next morning, the
ship, having steered away north-west to get to the northward of it, lay about midway between it and Crown and
long Islands. The mainland of New-Guinea, lying to
the southward, was seen rising very high. From this new
island, which the navigator named Sir R. Rich's Island,
four canoes came off, which from a distance reconnoitred
the ship. One advanced within call, but when invited the
men would not approach closer. The Roebuck bore on.
ward, and discovered four more islands, and land to the
southb ard which might either be another island or part of




32%         RETURN TO NEW-HOLLAND.
the mainland of New-Guinea.  These islands were generally high, full of trees, mixed with clear spots; all, even
the Burning Island, were fertile. On the 2d April they
passed by its north side, and saw that the land near the sea
was rich, and good for two-thirds of the height of the
mountains.  Among this group of islands three small vessels with sails were seen, though the inhabitants of Nova
Britannia appeared quite unacquainted with the use of
sails. Another island was descried that sent forth smoke,
which however soon dispersed. This is presumed to have
been the Brandende Berg of Schouten. Different observations made at this time showed a variation in the ship's
reckoning, for which the navigator was at a loss to;account.
On the 14th April they passed Schouten's Island, and on
the 17th observed a volcano on the mainland, which had
either not been smoking or had passed unnoticed when
they. sailed round King William's Island.  This island,
discovered in passing round about two months before, was
seen in the same afternoon, and they crowded sail to reach
it before dark. But the wind fell, and they were becalmed
within two miles of the shore.  The night was one of
bright moonlight, and a delightful fragrance was wafted
from the island to the ship. Next morning they were
becalmed two leagues to the westward of the island, and
met such whirling tides that the ship refused to obey the
helm, and frequently turned round in the whirlpools. A
gale fortunately sprung up and carried her off.
The voyage was prosecuted to the Island of Ceram,
which they reached on the 26th April. Here they obtained
a supply of rice from a Dutch vessel, and next went to
Timor, from  whence Dampier intended once more to
attempt New-Holland  in about 20~.  Here he found
soundings at 40 fathoms, but did not see the land, and
steered westward to search for the Trial Rocks,' which
were supposed'to lie in this parallel, and about eighty
leagues westward of the coast. But Captain Dampier was
sick and unable to maintain perpetual watch himself, and
the officers inefficient and careless, so that this important
point was not ascertained; nor could more be attempted
* So named from -an English ship called the Trial having beae
wrecked upon them many years before Dampier's voyage.




SHIPWRECK  AT ASCENSION.               323
at this time for purposes of discovery, many of the crew
being affected with scu rvy, and the ship hardly sea-worthy.
The Roebuck accordingly sailed for Java, and on the 3d
July anchored in the road of Batavia, where Dampier supported the dignity of his mission by making the only English vessel found in the harbour strike her pendant.  On
the 17th October they sailed for Europe, and without any
remarkable adventure, having touched at the Cape of Good
-Hope and St. Helena, approached the Island of Ascension
on the 21st February, and stood in for it, now reckoning
themselves almost at home.  On the evening of the 22d
the ship, old and damaged before the voyage had commenced, sprung a leak, and it was with difficulty that the
pumps kept her afloat till daylight, when they made for
the bay and came to anchor.  Every exertion was made to
stop the leak and save the ship, while the pumps were kept
at hard work.  The carpenters showed great want of judgment, if not want of skill in their business, and in spite of
all the ingenious contrivances resorted to by Dampier,
their improvidence and the damaged condition of the ship
rendered every effort abortive.  Dampier remained on board
till the very last. He had to regret the loss of many of his
books and papers, and a collection of shells gathered at
New-Holland.  The plants he contrived to save.  The
condition of the party was more fortunate than that which
generally falls to the lot of shipwrecked seamen. They
were most happy to discover a spring of good water, though
eight miles distant from their tents, and across a very high
mountain, and Dampier thankfully  relates, that "they
were now by God's providence in a condition to subsist for
some time, having plenty of good turtle by their tents, and
water for the fetching."  Here Dampier and his company
remained for about five weeks.  During that time they had
seen several ships and fleets pass; but none touched till
the 2d April, when an Indiaman and three English ships
of war came into the bay. Dampier went on board one of
them with thirty-five of his men, and the rest of the crew
were accommodated in the other vessels.
Though the purpose of his voyage had been accomplished, and though many important additions were made
by it to geography, the loss of the ship and of his papers
depressed the spirits of the navigator, and but too probable




324   DAMPIER'S REFLECTIONS 3N FORTUNE.
lessened his merit with those fortunate persons in high
places who rarely judge of any undertaking save by its
apparent success. He was now to suffer for the ignorance
or mistaken economy of those who, projecting a voyage of
discovery distant and perilous, imagined that it might be
accomplished uy a useless crazy ship, unfit for what was
considered better service. The marvel was that it had not
foundered long before.
It is to be feared that neither rewards nor even soothing
promises awaited the return of Dampier from  his public
enterprise. His original patron, or at least the person who
officially gave him his appointment to the Roebuck, no
longer presided at the admiralty   To this nobleman, the
Earl of Pembroke, he, however, inscribed his relation of the
VOYAGE TO NEW-HOLLAND.
About his own private affairs, and his personal feelings,
Dampier is at all times modest and reserved, and we can
only surmise his disappointment from an incidental remark
into which he is betrayed in the dedication of his history
of that voyage, which ought to have been regarded from
the first as useful to science and honourable to the navigator.  " The world," he says, "is apt to judge of every
thing by success, insomuch that whoever has ill-fortune
will hardly be allowed a good name."  " Such," he continues, " was my unhappiness in my late expedition in the
Roebuck, which foundered through perfect age, though I
comfort myself with the thoughts that no neglect can be
charged against nle."  Justly, no neglect could be charged
against him. On the contrary, he was entitled by his conduct of this voyage, independently of his other merits, to
future employment; but we hear no more of Captailn
Dampier in the public service. His voyage in the Roebuck
is the last of his published writings, and the history of the
remainder of his eventful life, which we gather from others,
as it is painful, may be brief.
Captain Dampier had not been long at home when the
death of King William III. took place, and was followed
by the war of the Succession.  Among the private enterprises attending this war with France and Spain was extensive privateering; and he obtained the command of the
St. George and Cinque Ports, two vessels equipped by a
company of English merchants and intended to cruise




PRIVATEERING  VOYAGE.                 325
against the Spaniards in the South Seas.  The St. George
left the Downs in April, 1703, with Captain Dampier* or,
board; but it was September before both vessels left Kinsale.  The basis of the expedition was the old Bucanier
maxim, no prey, no pay, —a principle ill-adapted to the
maintenance of discipline or order in a ship.  In this
voyage Dampier had in view  three special objects,namely, the capture of the Spanish galleons that sailed
from  Buenos Ayres; and, failing that, to pass the Straits
of Magellan, or double Cape Horn, and lie in wait for the
ship that carried gold from Baldivia to Lima; or, finally,
the oft-attempted exploit of the seizure of the Manilla
galleon. The St. George carried twenty-six guns, and a
crew of 120.
The character of Dampier has been subjected to many
rash and unfounded imputations drawn from histories of
this voyage published without his sanction. The principal
one, written by Funnel, who, till he deserted, sailed as
Dampier's steward, is full of evident misstatements regarding the navigation, as well as the private transactions in the
ship.  So far as these misrepresentations regarded geographical and nautical facts Dampier afterward corrected
them, though he took little notice of the allegations against
himself, further than in one or two instances to point out
their glaring falsehood. Before the voyage was well begun
quarrels broke out among these irresponsible officers, and
some of them quitted the ship, while the commander, without
being invested with salutary power to restrain them, was left
to bear the blame of the misconduct of the whole company.
The ships doubled Cape Horn, and reached Juan Fernandez without any remarkable adventure.  While lying
here a strange sail was seen, to which both ships gave
chase.  She proved to be a French bhip cruising in these
seas, and so strongly did the old Bucanier associations influence Dampier, that he acknowledged it was with reluc
tance he attacked a European vessel of whatever nation.
He however engaged, and after a fight of seven hours, in
which both ships suffered considerably, they parted.
* In the Gazette for 18th April, 1703, it is stated that Captain Dampier, presented by his royal highness the lord high admiral, had the
honour of kissing her majesty's (Queen Anne's) hand, before departing
on a rew Toyage tn the West Indies.
A A




326 CLIPPERTON-CRUISE OF THE ST. GEORGE.
Before the proper latitude was reached, the Baldivis
treasure-ships had sa "ed. Though Dampierwas the nominal commander, Strldling, in the Cinque Ports, acted
independently; and as they differed about their future
operations, the ships parted company. A design to surprise Santa Maria in the Bay of Panama failed; and though
Dampier captured a few small vessels, he obtained no prize
of any value.
While lying in the Gulf of Nicoya, the commander and
his chief mate, John Clipperton, quarrelled, and the latter,
with twenty-one of the crew, seized the tender, in which
were most of the ammunition and stores, and put out to
sea. It is alleged that Clipperton at this time stole his
commander's commission.  No captain ever sailed with
a worse-disposed and more turbulent set of men and orficers than those whom Dampier now commanded. They had
all the bad qualities of Bucaniers, without their bravery,
experience, and hardihood.
The St. George bore northward, and on the 6th December, while only a short way beyond Port de Navidad, descried a sail, which proved to be the Manilla galleon.
The Manilla ship had no suspicion of any enemy being on
this coast, and she received several broadsides from the St.
George before being cleared for action. Even taken thus
at disadvantage, when her guns, which were of far heavier
metal, were brought into play, they at once drove in the
rotten planks of the St. George, and obliged Dampier to
sheer off. The galleon also held on. It is presumed that
the number of her men quadrupled those of the English
ship, and her guns were eighteen and twenty-four pounders,
while those of the St. George were only five-pounders.
This proved a bitter disappointment, and the men became
nore and more impatient to end so profitless and fatiguing
a voyage. In hopes of better fortune, they were, however,
induced to continue the cruise for a few weeks longer oin
the coast of New Spain; but this produced nothing, and it
was agreed to part company.  One party, instigated by
Funnel, the mendacious historian of the voyage, resolved to
sail fcr India, and by this route return home. A brigantine
of seventy tons which had been captured was given up to
him, and the thirty-four men who chose to follow his counsels: and the stoies, srall arms. and ammunition weia




CAPTAIN DAMPIER'S "VINDICATION."    32T
diided, four of the St. George's guns being also given to
this party.  Dampier's crew was thus left reduced to
twenty-nine. After refitting his crazy disabled ship he returned to the coast of Peru. They plundered the town of
Puna, and cruised along till their ship was no longer fit to
keep the sea, when they abandoned her riding at anchor
at Lobos de la Mar, and embarking in a brigantine which
they had captured from the Spaniards, crossed the Pacific.
Ofthis voyage, and of the subsequent misfortunes of Dam
pien in India, there remain no- certain or distinct accounts
It is however known, that, not having a commission tc
show, he was thrown into prison by the Dutch. Before
he obtained his freedom and got back to England, Funnel.
his unworthy subaltern, had returned; and a London book
seller, named Knapton, the publisher of Dampicr's formei
voyages, had been induced by their popularity to print this
person's narrative of the voyage of the St. George, under
the false title of the fourth volume of the works of the cele
brated navigator. Dampier, on coming home, published a
few pages of explanation, entitled." Captain Dampier's
Vindication of his Voyage in the Ship St. George, with
some small Observations on Mr. Funnel's chimerical Relation."  Funnel's account, asno other was ever published,:however, keeps -its place as the history of this voyage;
though its palpable misrepresentations, and the bad and
malevolent spirit in which it is written, have drawn upon
the writer the reprobation of every lover of justice and im
partial inquirer after truth.
The fortunes of Dampier must have been at a very low
ebb when he returned to England after this disastrous
Voyage; and it is with pain we find this veteran navigator
as much distinguished by superiority of understanding as
by nautical skill and experience, obliged, in 1708, to act as
a pilot under younger and very inferior commanders. This
which was Dampier's last voyage, again proved to be one
round the world  aid was undertaken in the Duke and
Duchess, two privateers fitted out by several Bristol mer
chants.
Copious narratives of this voyage are written by th
commanders, Woodes Rogers and Cook, but it is only in
eidentally that we learn any thing from them of their dis
tinguished pilot.




328       VOYAGE OF WOODES ROGERS.
At Juan Fernandez, Woodes Rogers, on this voyage,
brought off the celebrated Alexander Selkirk, who had been
left or rather abandoned here by Dampier's violent and
tyrannical consort, Captain Stradling, four years previously.
On the recommendation of Dampier, Selkirk was made
second mate of the Duke.
The cruise of the privateers was successful. At Guayaquil, where Dampier commanded the artillery, they obtained
plunder to the value of 12,0001. and 27,000 dollars as ransom of the town. They afterward, off Cape Lucas, captured a Manilla ship richly laden with merchandise, and
12,0001. in gold and silver. They brought their prize into
Puerto Segura, and prepared to look for the richer and
larger Manilla galleon; which they encountered,.but, after
a protracted and severe engagement, were beaten off. In
this fight the Duchess alone lost tventy-five men. The
natives of Puerto Segura were blacker than any other people seen in the South Sea by Woodes Rogers. They were
of a disagreeable aspect; their language harsh and guttural
They carried bows six feet long, strung with the silk-grass.
Their arrows were of cane, tipped with flint or bone.
The privateers now turned their thoughts homeward,
and keeping the usual track of the galleons, reached Guahan
on the 10th March, after a run of exactly two months, and
anchored under Spanish colours. Apart from this venial
deception, employed to facilitate the purchase of supplies,
the conduct of the English privateers was unexceptionable.
They rested for ten days, and made the north of Gilolo in
about a month afterward.  At Bouton they stopped to
take in provisions and water, and next sailed for Batavia,
where they experienced those noxious effects of climate
from which hardly any ship's company escapes at that most
unhealthy station.
They sailed from Batavia in the end of October, waited
long at the Cape for a homeward-bound fleet, and coming
round the north of Scotland, five-and-twenty sail, Dutch
and English, anchored in the Texel in July of the following
year, and in October, 1711, came to the Thames with booty
in money and merchandise valued at 150,0001.*  From
this date we hear no more of Captain Dampier, whose
* From an incidental source we learn that this prize-money was not
divided up to 1719, so that it is probable that even from this tardy piece,f good fortune Captain Dampier obtained no advantage.




TESTIMONY OF FOREIGNERS.            329
name appears lees frequently in the narrative of Rogers
than, from the eminent nautical abilities of the man who
bore it, itought to have done. In difficulties he was, it
appears, constantly applied to, and his former knowledge
and experience taken as guides. At Bouton, where he
had been in the Cygnet, he was intrusted to carry the
present to the sultan; and, from respect to his judgment and integrity, he was also chosen umpire in the very
delicate affair of deciding what was plunder fox immediate
division, and in allotting the respective shares.
Dampier was of the number of those men distinguished
above their fellows, "who are not without honour save in
their own country;" or if at home his merits were appreciated, wanting the most worthless quality of success, the
glare and show, they failed of their reward. By French
and Dutch navigators and men of science he has been uniformly regarded with the warmest admiration, as a man to
whose professional eminence his own country has scarce
done justice. They delight to style him the " eminent,"
the "skilful," the " exact," the "incomparable Dampier."
Humboldt has borne testimony to his merits, placing the
Bucanier seaman above those men of science who afterward went over the same ground; Malte Brun terms him
"the learned Dampier;" and the author of the voyages to
Australia inquires, " Mais ou trouve-t-on des Navigateurs
comparables a Dampier?"  The acuteness, accuracy, and
clearness of his nautical observations, and of his descriptions and general remarks, have made his voyages be
assumed by foreign navigators as unerring guides and authorities in all subsequent expeditions; and his rapidity
and power.of observation are fully as remarkable as his
accuracy. His hasty glance at the places of New-Holland
where he touched has left subsequent voyagers little to do
save to verify his descriptions. Dampier's veracity has in
no instance been questioned, even by those the most disposed to cavil at facts which, being remote from their
limited experience, appear extraordinary or impossible.
Other writers, combining into one the relations of many
different travellers, have amplified his descriptions; but
there is no detached account of the countries he visited
more full of vital interest and exact information than the
voyages of this wandering seaman.




330   OPINIONS OF -VINKERTON AND BURNEY.
The succession of brilliant discoveries which illustrated
the early part of the reign of George III. for a time threw
the adventures of Dampier, and of every.previous navigator,
into the shade, but they are again emerging into popularity.
Compared with the voyages of recent navigators, his long
solitary rambles are as the emprises of the single knightly
combatant, bearing rno proportion to the magnitude and
splendour of regular battle-field, but, from their individuality, often commanding a more intense and powerfil, because a more concentrated, interest.
The cloud which rested on the personal character of
Dampier from the ignorance or misrepresentations of en'
vious contemporaries, and the carelessness and haste with
which writers for the press copy from each other and adopt
current statements, is fast clearing away. By Pinkerton
he is termed " the Cook of a former age;" and Burney has
taken a generous pleasure in doing justice to his professional merits, and shown a more generous indignation in
rebuking the thoughtless repetition of unfounded calumnies.
" It is" he says, "matter of regret, and not less of dissatisfaction, to see that some late writers have been so little
conscious of the merits of Dampier, as to allow themselves
to speak of him with small respect, for no other cauSe than
hat it appears he had disagreements with some of his
shipmates, the particular circumstances of which are not
known, further than that he had to deal with a quarrelsome
and mutinous crew.   Such petty considerations should
never have been lifted up against the memory of such a
man as Dampier."  " It is not easy to name: another voy.
ager or traveller who has given more useful information to
the world, or to whom the merchant and the mariner are
more indebted."*  To these Burney might have added the
ohilosopher and the naturalist, w ho have rarely been so
much indebted to any adventurer. whose pursuits were so
entirely remote from their subjects of speculation.  This
* Burney's History of Discovery in the South Sea.-The comparatively recent "Survey of the Coasts of Australia,' by Captain P; P.
King, also does Dampier great justice, and connects his name with the
geography of the north-west coast of New-Holland in a manner that
must gratify every admirer of professional eminence. Captain King
has not merely adopted the distinctions conferred on his celebrated predecessor by the commanders of the French expeditions, but extedari
their meaning, and added to their number




GENIUS OF DAMPIER                  331
lioiBtable testimony will remain to the credit of the
*per, when the vague statements and unsifted calumnies
which other authors have allowed themselves to repeat to
the disadvantage of Dampier, are for ever forgotten.
Though the life of -this navigator was spent in incessant
action, his natural genius appears to have been rather speculitive than enterprising.  He liked to reason and to scheme
and lost sight of present small but certain advantage in ex-,ensive and brilliant plans for the future, which his evil forSune forbade him to realize.  If, inked, there be such things
ss good and bad fortune in humam affairs independent of
skill and exertion, Dampier may be pointed out as an eximple of what the world calls an unlucky man,-one tc
whom every event proves adverse,-who seems singled out
for misrfrtune.  Except the capital error of the mode of life
upon which he entered, none of his misadventures can be
traced to himself; and this lawless life enriched many of
his contemporaries, while it kept him in poverty and left him
a beggar.  In relating its incidents, he has never once
attempted to justify or palliate his manner of existence for
so many years.  Amid the vicissitudes and temptations to
which it exposed him, his excellent understanding and the
principles he had imbibed in the virtuous household of a
Somersetshire yeoman preserved him, if not entirely spotless from evil contagion, yet from that decay and deadness
of moral feeling which are of the worst consequences of
vit.ous companionship. He was humane, just in the most
str't and'so in the most liberal sense, candid and charitable in nw judgments, and (rare virtues in a Bucanier!)
orderly and temperate, detesting the riotous excess of his
associates  Get over the stumbling-block of his early life
being squared by "the good old rule," and Dampier the
Bucanime  was a virtuous man.  In the South Sea, and
afterward in the Cygnet, he might have obtained command,
such was the respect his shipmates entertained for his abilities; but the love of adventure was his strongest passion,
and his sole ambition the acquisition of knowledge.
He appears latterly to have deeply felt the disgrace and
galling servitude of his lawless life, and serious reflection
and remorseful feelings pressed upon his mind with great
force long before he was able to get free of his wild associases in the Cygnet.




832          LAST YEARS OF DAMPIiLE
By the time that Damirpier returned to England with
Woodes Rogers he was far advanced in life, and his career
for forty years had been one. of unremitting hardihood and
professional exertion.  It is therefore probable that he never
embarked in any subsequent voyage; and as the remaining
part of his life, whether long or short, is involved in complete obscurity, there is but too much reason to believe that
it was passed in neglect, if not in poverty. Of this eminent
seaman and traveller, though little more than a century can
have elapsed since his desth, no one is able now to tell how
the evening of his life was spent, when he died, or where
he was buried. Had he expired in some remote island of
the Pacific, or perished in the element on which so great a
portion of his life was passed, some imperfect record might
have remained to satisfy our natural desire to know the last
of the worn-out and veteran navigator; but it was his fate
to sink unheeded amid the conflicting waves and tides
of society; and no memorial or tradition remains of has
death, in whose remarkable life the adventures of Selkirk,
Wafer, and the Bucanier commanders of the South Sea
appear but as episodes. So much for human fame!
gm XNit