254 ENGLISH VOYAGES TO THE CARIBBEAN
will attack this port, which fleet the queen of England will raise
unless an armada is raised in Castile to attack England.
. . . deponent is not a mariner and therefore does not know what
course Vicente Gonzalez would take but from the English deponent
understood that the other five English ships of their company had
gone after him and would easily take ours, for the English were all
strong ships, the vice-admiral alone being more than the equal of all
the Santo Domingo ships.
. . . from the English deponent understood that more than 40
ships had left England for Indies and would all rendezvous in the
same port and settlement which they have in Florida; and that the
queen was raising a great fleet.
. . . Manuel Ferndndez's ship was over 300 tons burden. And this
is the truth on the oath he took. He is about 35 years old and did not
sign because he does not know how.—Juan de Oribe Apallua.—
Before me, Ruy Lopez Hurtado.
In the city of Havana on the fourteenth day of the month of
August in the year one thousand five hundred and ninety, Juan de
Oribe Apallua caused to appear before him a man he had just heard
had reached this port, who has been a prisoner in the power of the
English in the ships which are off Cape Tiburon and this coast and
brings news of the Santo Domingo fleet.
Being sworn (p. 10) he promised to tell the truth and ... said that
his name is Bias Lopez and he is a seaman and was master of the
ship called La Trinidad which sailed from La Yaguana about two
months ago ... owner, Marcos de Escobar ... about 60 tons burden
. . . cargo, hides and cassia fistula, bound for this port to go to Spain.
in company with the fleet.
About three days after they had left La Yaguana, off Point del
Guanao, La Trinidad met a French ship of about 80 tons, armament
thirteen pieces of artillery, carrying fifty men, which bore down
upon her. Seeing that they could not defend themselves against this
Frenchman, for there were only sixteen men on board and no
ordnance whatever, they surrendered and the Frenchman boarded
and removed the hides to his ship but left about one thousand three
hundred hides and 250 hundredweight of cassia fistula which he could
not carry off. With which, because the French had taken their water
and meat, they returned to La Yaguana.
Within two days after this French ship had departed, between
Tomonyco and El Guanao, an English ship (about 60 tons burden,
carrying 60 seamen, with seven pieces of artillery) and a pinnace
which accompanied her, met La Trinidad. When (p. n) deponent