ENGLISH   VOYAGES   TO   THE   CARIBBEAN
which were not the Hopewell and the Swallow, ^c. . . farre otherwise
they were two of the king's gallies/ the San Agustin and the JBraua,
with which the Content exchanged compliments^1 and shot. The
editor has seen no mention of this encounter in Spanish documents
except that contained in Nos. 79, 80, and 99 post. These record
some of the effects of the Content's fire. The Spaniards may have
believed they had sunk their adversary but, badly battered, the
Content made off ^ein the haze of night', surviving to tell the story and
to tell it very well.
As the presence of the Hopewell off Corrientes indicates, Carey's
three were not the only English vessels in this vicinity. ^c. . . Master
Wats his ships of London . . .' were once more about.^2 It may
have been to them that the governor of Santo Domingo referred
in Document No. 78 post. At about this time Juan de Salas lost^3
a prize he captured in May in a hard fight. And off Mariel
English vessels^4 took seven units of the fleet which had set out for
Havana from Santo Domingo on June i8.^6 Ribera may indeed have
seen as many as fourteen sail^6 when he fired on a few, as he cruised
off the west end of Cuba through June and early July of 1591,
waiting impatiently for Navarro's New Spain fleet and for Pedro
Mene*ndez Marquez and the frigates from Tierra Firme. Both
Navarro and Menendez were somewhat overdue when Ribera left
his post, contrary to his instructions but perhaps in conformity with
his victualling, and returned to Havana. He re-entered that harbour
on July 4.^7
Navarro had been much delayed in his departure from Mexico.
Not until June 13 did he leave San Juan de Ulua with 22 sail.^8 By
July 13 two of these ships had quit his convoy and were promptly
^1 Speaking of compliments, see Documents Nos. 82 and $5 post.
* Ibid., vu, p. 49. Cf. Corbett, op. cit._9 n, p. 349 and n. i. Cf. Documents Nos. 82,
 *	Document No. 84 post.
 *	'Here be seven ships brought in as they say parcel of the West India fleet by
merchants that went to second my Lord Thomas . . .* S. P. Dom. Eliz. 240, No. 53,
Rowse, op. rit._9 p. 324. Cf. Documents Nos. 82, 85, 86, 89, 95 post. On October 2,
1591, the bark San Diego reached San Lucar. It had left Havana with Ribera and
Navarro on July 27 and brought apparently the first news that between Cape San
Antonio and Mariel the Englishman who captured Diego de Navia (?) seized seven
ships out of Santo Domingo and a bark belonging to Juan Batista Machorro with
nearly 30,000 pesos on board. 'May God deign to protect what is left . . .' — Varte
to the House of Trade, San Lucar, October 3, 1591, in A. de /., 42-1-9/4, Contra-
^6	Document No. 8 1 post.	^e Documents Nos. 87, 99 post.
^7	Document No. 82 post.	^8 Documents Nos. 85, 86 post.