Early English voyagers : or, The adventures and discoveries of Drake, Cavendish, and Dampier

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EARLY ENGLISH VOYAGERS.

ATTACKING THE ARMADA IN THE CHANNEL.

Page itS.

EARLY ENGLISH
VOYAGERS.

HUTCH MEDAL ON THE OVERTHROW OF THE ARMADA.

{Tbomas IFUlson and Sons,

LONDON, EDINBURGH, AND NEW YORK.

EARLY ENGLISH
VOYAGERS;

OK,

Mixtures and DiscoYeries

OF

, Ca\>ent>i6b, anfc SDampier*

" The spirits of your fathers

Shall start from every wave ;
For the deck it was their field of fame,
And ocean was their grave."

CAMPBELL.

T. NELSON AND SONS, PATERNOSTER ROW.

EDINBURGH ; AND NEW YORK.
1892.

(UTontents.

DRAKE.

I. SIR FRANCIS DRAKE, ... ... ... ... ... 11

ii. DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION, ... ... ... ... so

III. EXPEDITIONS TO THE WEST INDIES, ... ... ... 108

CAVENDISH.

I. VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD, ... .. ... ... 133

II. SECOND VOYAGE TO THE SOUTH SEA, ... ... .. 172

D A M P I E R.

I. THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA, ... ... ... ... 197

II. ADVENTURES AMONG THE WOOD-CUTTERS AND BUCCANEERS, ... 261

III. ADVENTURES WITH THE BUCCANEERS, ... ... . . 302

IV. CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE, ... ... ... 325

V. VOYAGE TO NEW HOLLAND, ... ... ... ... 420

oi

ATTACKING THE ARMADA IN THE CHANNEL, ... ... Frontispiece

DUTCH MEDAL ON THE OVERTHROW OF THE ARMADA, ... Vignette

SIR FRANCIS DRAKE, ... ... ... ... ... ... 13

SIR JOHN HAWKINS, ... ... ... ... - ... ... 17

QUEEN ELIZABETH, ... ... ... ... ... ... 31

PENGUINS OF THE SOUTH SEAS, ... ... ... ... 57

QUEEN ELIZABETH KNIGHTING DRAKE, ... ... ... ... 101

DRAKE'S CHAIR IN THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD, ... ... 105

DRAKE FIGHTING WITH THE SPANIARDS, ... ... ... 119

DRAKE'S FUNERAL, ... ... ... ... ... ... 127

THOMAS CAVENDISH, ... ... ... ... ... ... 135

WILLIAM DAMPIER, ... ... ... ... ... ... 199

INDIANS BUCCANING A TAPIR, ... ... ... ... ... 203

INDIANS OF DARIEN, ... ... ... ... ... ... 313

SEA LIONS, ... ... ... ... ... ... 335

MALAY PROA, ... ... ... ... 367

DRAKE.

DRAKE.

»«•

CHAPTER I.

SIR FRANCIS DRAKE.

FRANCIS DRAKE, in common with many of the great
men whose names impart lustre to the annals of En-
gland, 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 scepticism 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 Russell of Tavistock, after-
wards 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 be-

12 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE.

longing 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, obtained orders, first read prayers to the fleet,
and afterwards was appointed vicar of Upnore on the
Medway, in which 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 ac-
curate 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
Russell 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 as-
certained 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,

SIR FRANCIS DRAKE.

Page II.

SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 15

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 ac-
quired that practical knowledge of his profession which
made him early in life as experienced and expert a
seaman as he afterwards became an able commander.
His fidelity and diligence in this service gained the
goodwill and regard of his master, who, dying a bachelor,
bequeathed his vessel to young Drake ; and thus, in
the active and vigilant discharge of his first humble
duties, was laid the sure foundation of future eminence
and prosperity. At the early age of eighteen, Drake
was made purser of a ship trading to Biscay, and soon
afterwards engaged in the Guinea trade, which had
lately been opened by the enterprise of his reputed
relation Captain John Hawkins. The cruelty and
injustice of this traffic were 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 to the Spanish islands and the colonies
on the Main, where the Africans were bartered for
silver, sugar, hides, etc., etc. The history of the first
voyage to the Guinea coast is that of every succeeding

16 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE.

one, — "Master John Hawkins coming upon the coast
of Sierra Leone, stayed for some time, and partly by the
sword, and partly by other means, got into his posses-
sion 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 demi-Moor, 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 15C7, 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 the desperate
encounter 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

(829)

SIR JOHN HAWKINS.

Page 16.

SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 19

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 en-
countered off 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 consterna-
tion on discovering the mistake. Hawkins, who from
the first 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 integrity,
though he was aware that they might easily be over-
mastered by his force. It is indeed candidly confessed
by Hawkins that he dreaded the displeasure of the
queen. 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

20 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE.

seven million. If Hawkins prevented them from
entering the harbour, they ran imminent risk of de-
struction ; and if admitted, his own safety was put in
jeopardy, — the port being confined, the town populous,
and the Spaniards ready, he believed, and fatally ex-
perienced, to practise any treachery. At last the fleet
was admitted, the Governor of Mexico agreeing to the
terms stipulated, which were the exchange of hostages,
a supply of provisions on fair terms, and that a fortified
island, 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 was
allowed to sail in ; mutual salutations were fired by
the ships of both nations, and visits and civilities ex-
changed between the officers and the seamen.

Save for embroiling England in war, and thereby
incurring the wrath of Elizabeth, and perhaps en-
dangering his own neck, Hawkins, dissatisfied and
rendered suspicious by the tardiness of the late nego-
tiation, would certainly have put all to the hazard of a
fight, and have gained glory and the seven million, or
have lost himself; but he was now lulled into tem-
porary 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 shift-
ing of men and weapons from ship to ship were noticed
by the English ; and their demand for explanation of

SIM FRANCIS DRAKE. 21

these symptoms was answered by an instant attack on
all sides. The Minion, and the Judith, the small
vessel commanded by Drake, were the only English
ships that escaped, and their safety was owing to the
valour and conduct of the commanders, and only insured
after a desperate though short conflict. The other four
vessels 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 a scene of havoc and
confusion unparalleled in the records of maritime war-
fare. 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 hard-

22 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE.

ships 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 voy-
age 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 have pardoned in one less sinned
against. The chaplain of the fleet obtains the credit
of expounding the justice of making reprisals on all
Spaniards for the wrong inflicted by 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
sea-divinity 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 fol-
lowed,—

SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 23

" That they should take who have the power,
And those should keep who can."

The scheme of Drake, for a new expedition to the
Spanish 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 develop-
ment of his projects, and in all probability it \vas but
gradually that they arose in his own mind.

The infamous transaction 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 recon-
noitred 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 paying back part of his old debt
to Spain.

24 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE.

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 burden,
which he commanded; and the Sivan, once again afloat,
a vessel 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 one hundred and fifty men. This town was at
that time what Porto Bello, a much more convenient
station, afterwards became, — the entrepot 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 22nd July, in the night, made the attack
on the town. A relation of this adventure, written by
Philip Nicols, preacher, and afterwards published by
Sir Francis Drake, nephew, heir, and godson of the
navigator, is both less accurate and circumstantial than

SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 25

the narrative of Lopez Vaz, who, if not an eye-witness,
was near the spot, and conversant with the actors and
spectators. Drake's force is estimated at one hundred
and fifty men, half of which he left at a small fort, and
with the other division 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 harquebusses, 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 accident-
ally 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

26 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE.

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 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

SIB FRANCIS DRAKE. 27

the 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 up 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, how-
ever, divert the thoughts of the adventurer from enter-
prises 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 re-
gained 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

28 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE.

when there came to the seaside above 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 attended
Drake to the end of his voyage ; for, leaving Florida,
in twenty-three days he reached the Scilly Isles — prob-
ably 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 am-

SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 29

bitious character. With the wealth acquired thus
gallantly, and in 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, and
performed good service in subduing the rebellion in
Ireland. His former reputation and his late exploits
had now acquired for Drake high fame and noble
patronage. He became known to the queen through
the introduction of her favourite and privy-councillor,
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."

Though, in the enthusiasm of the moment of inspira-
tion, Drake had betrayed his project, when the time
came for its 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 his own ; and doubtless in the purpose he
meditated there was no judgment so well-informed
and ripe.

CHAPTER II.

DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION.

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 contemplated. 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 accord-
ingly at last received her decided though secret appro-
bation. 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 char-
acter of Elizabeth, subtle at once and bold. At a part-
ing 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

QUEEN ELIZABETH.

rage JO.

DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION. 33

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

O

may 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

' O O

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 con-
sisted of five vessels of light burden, the largest being
only one hundred tons. This was named the Pelican,
and was the captain-general's ship. The others were,
the Elizabeth, a bark of eighty tons belonging to London,
and commanded by Captain John Winter ; the Swan,
a fly-boat of fifty tons burden, Captain John Chester ;
the Christopher, a pinnace of fifteen tons, Captain
Thomas Moone; and the Marigold, a bark of thirty tons,
Captain John Thomas. The Benedict, a pinnace of
twelve tons, accompanied the Elizabeth. The frames
of four pinnaces were taken out, to be set up as they

(829) 3

34 DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION.

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 im-
portant 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 pass-
ing the Strait of Magellan with so small a force, and
adventuring into wild, stormy, and unknown seas with
ships of so little weight. The passage of the Strait,
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 Strait had made it be for a long period of years
almost abandoned by the Spaniai'ds, and it was come
to be a saying among them that the passage had closed
up. A superstitious prejudice was conceived against all
further attempts in the SOUTH SEA, which, it was

DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION. 35

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 Eu-
ropean who first saw the South Sea, had been put to
death by his countrymen; and De Solis was cruelly
murdered by the natives of Rio de la Plata when pro-
ceeding to the Strait. Most of the commanders had
successively perished of diseases produced by the hard-
ships 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 renegade 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 utility 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

36 DRA KE 'S CIRCUMNA V1GA TION.

and curious workmanship. He also carried out a band
of musicians, and studied everything 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.

On the loth November, 1577, the squadron sailed
from Plymouth, but encountering a violent gale on the
same night, were forced to put back into Falmouth: the
mainmast of the Pelican was cut away, and the Man-
gold was driven on shore and shattered. This was a
disheartening outset ; but after refitting at Plymouth,
they sailed once more on the 13th December, and pro-
ceeded 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 entered by the north approach to the port, the
southern access being found rocky and shallow. Here
Drake halted to fit up one 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,

DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION. 37

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,
leapt 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. It 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 terri-
tory,— an invasion which soon afterwards took place,
and of which the results are well known. Before the
prisoner was dismissed the fleet had sailed ; but he was
well treated, and permitted to return 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

DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION.

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
22nd, carrying off also a caunter of forty tons burden,
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 treated 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 the king'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

DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION. 39

but too familiar. They repaired to what was described
as the capital of the island, by which must be under-
stood 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 also produced cocoa-nuts,
and they saw abundance of goats and wild hens; though
these good things, and the fresh springs, were unfor-
tunately too far distant from 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
afterwards 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

* 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 consciences not, however, particularly scrupulous.

40 DRA KE 'S CIRCUMNA VIGA TION.

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 he had set up at Mogadore. Only the
pilot was detained, Nuno de Silva, who was acquainted
with the coast of Brazil, and who afterwards 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 para-
dise,— " 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 commo-
dities, 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 sup-
plied. 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.

The squadron now approached the equinoctial line,
sometimes becalmed, and at other times beaten about
with tempests and heavy seas. In their progress they

DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION. 41

were indebted to the copious rains for a seasonable
supply of 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 2nd February. On
the 28th March, their valuable Portuguese prize, which
was their wine-cellar and store, was separated in a
tempest, but afterwards rejoined at a place which, in
commemoration of the event, was called Cape Joy. The
coast of Brazil was now seen in 31 1°* south. On the
5th April the natives, having discovered the ships on
the coast, made great fires, went through various in-
cantations, 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 light-
ning, 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 foot-prints 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 Bio de la Plata, where he had

* Another account says 38° south. In determining the latitude or
longitude, the authority of Burney is generally followed in this volume,
as his eminent practical skill makes his observations on the discrepancies
in the different accounts of great value.

42 DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION.

appointed a rendezvous in case of separation after leav-
ing the Cape de Verd Islands ; and here the caunter,
which had separated in a gale on the 7th, rejoined,
when the expedition sailed eighteen leagues further into
the river, where they killed sea- wolves (seals), — "whole-
some but not pleasant food." Still further in, they rode
in fresh water; but finding no good harbour, and having
taken in water, the fleet, on the 27th, stood out, and
afterwards southward. The Sivan lost them on the
first night, and the caunter, ever apt to go astray, was
separated ten days afterwards. In 47° south a head-
land was seen, within which was a bay that promised
safe harbourage ; and having, on the 12th May, entered
and anchored, Drake, who seldom devolved the duty of
examination on an inferior officer, went off in the boat
next morning to explore the bay. Before he made land,
a thick fog came on, and was followed by bad weather,
which took from him the sight of the fleet. The com-
pany 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 meanwhile 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

DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION. 43

landed, and several Indians came in sight, to whom a
white flag 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 in-
stance 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,
which was thus taken.

The choice of the place in which the fleet now lay

* It is to be understood that in this volume objects of natural history
are often described according to the notions of early voyagers, and not as
further research and observation, and the discoveries and classifications
of science, warrant.

44 DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION.

had been dictated by necessity alone. On the 15th it
was abandoned, and on the 17th they anchored in a
good port, in 47|° south. Here seals were so plentiful
that upwards of two hundred 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 Elizabeth, 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 Strait, 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 fire-
wood, 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,

DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION. 45

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 ground-work many freaks
of fancy were displayed : white full-moons were ex-
hibited to advantage on a black ground, and 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, cutlery, and such small wares as were likely to be
attractive and acceptable to the tastes of the natives.
As the boat neared the shore, two of the group, who
had been standing on a height, moved swiftly down,
but stopped short at a little distance. 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 everything placed on the ground,
from whence the goods were removed, and the article
bartered for substituted. By some of the voyagers

46 DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION.

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
afterwards 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 3rd June, and on the 12th came to anchor
in a bay where they remained for two days, during which
they 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 50° 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

DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION. 47

safely moored, Drake and some of his officers went off
in a boat to examine the capabilities of this part of the
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 bow-string 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

48 DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION.

their stock. The captain-general might at this juncture
have remembered that, in the TiuUe 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 gave 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 pru-
dent 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.
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 afterwards
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 dispo-
sition than is usually displayed even among the mildest
savage tribes when inflamed by recent battle. During

DRAKE 'S CIRCUMNA VIGA TION. 49

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
Strait, has been the subject of dispute among navi-
gators 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 escaping detection
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
Strait, 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 southern ex-
tremity as far north as was then explored, does not
admit of doubt.

While the fleet lay at Port St. Julian an event
occurred, which, as the contradictory evidence is viewed,

(829) 4

50 DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION.

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 affec-
tion 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 not constitute sufficient guilt.
The details of this singular affair are scanty, obscure,
and perplexed ; and no contemporary writer notices
any specific 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

DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION. 51

had afterwards strayed once or twice with the same
vessel, which 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 hatch-
ing plots against his commander, 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 prac-
tices in question, and therefore, setting good watch
over him, and assembling all his captains and gentle-
men of his company together, he propounded to them
the good parts that were in this gentleman, and the great
good-will and inward affection, more than brotherly,
which he had ever since his first acquaintance borne
him, and afterwards delivered the letters which were
written to him (Drake), with the particulars from time
to time, which had been observed not so much by him-
self 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

52 DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION.

seal, leaving the manner to the general, who allowed
the unfortunate man the choice of being either aban-
doned on the coast, taken back to England to answer
to the lords of the queen's council, or executed here.
He chose the last, 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 circum-
stances of the execution are striking. Mr. Fletcher
celebrated the communion on the next day. Drake re-
ceived the sacrament with the condemned man, and
afterwards 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,
Doughty 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, now 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

DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION. 53

of the chaplain, Doughty was an innocent and a mur-
dered man; the victim of a conspiracy not rigidly sifted
by 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 punish-
ment, and still less death, was brought against him.
But in Port St. Julian, Fletcher remarks, "more dan-
gerous 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 com-
mander," 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 to-
gether. 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
flagitious 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

54 DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION.

the powerful Earl of Leicester of a dangerous prater,
and in time and place convenient to revenge his quarrel.
It is probable that the intimacy of Doughty with
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 on 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 record
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
to execute the vengeance of Leicester, is too monstrous
for belief ; and that, conscious of the deepest injustice,
he should have gone through the solemn religious

DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION. 55

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 some-
what overstrained; nor is it unlikely that he uncon-
sciously imbibed slight feelings of jealousy of "this
emulator of his glory." Every one who mentions
Doughty speaks of him as a man 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 consequence to
be imagined the cause of disquiet to the still all-power-
ful Leicester.

Immediately after the execution, Drake, who to his
other qualities added the gift of a bold natural elo-
quence, 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 done 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

56 DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION.

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, and on it cut the names of these
unfortunate Englishmen, and the date of their burial.

The ships, by the breaking up of the Portuguese
prize, 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 midwinter in England. On
the 20th they made Cape de las Virgines, entered the
Strait, and on the 24th anchored thirty leagues within it.

There is a considerable variation in the relations of
Drake's passage of the Strait. 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 casually 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 attempt is made to combine what-
ever appears most striking and important in the differ-
ent relations. The eastern mouth of the Strait was
found about a league broad ; the land bare and flat.
On the north side Indians were seen making great
fires ; but on the south no inhabitants appeared. The

PENGUINS OF THE SOUTH SEAS.

Pages*).

DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION. 59

length was computed at one hundred and ten leagues.
The tide was seen to rise (setting in from both sides)
about fifteen feet. It met about 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
three thousand " of birds (penguins) having no wings,
but short pinions which serve their turn in swimming."
They were as " fat as an English goose."

" The land on both sides was very huge and moun-
tainous ; the lower mountains whereof, although they
be very monstrous to look upon for their height, yet
there are others which in height exceed them in a
strange manner, reaching themselves above their fol-
lowers 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 Strait 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 continu-
ally, and many good and sweet herbs do very plentifully
increase and grow under them."

Such are the natural appearances described. Near
the western entrance a number of narrow channels,
with which the whole of that side abounds, occasioned
some difficulty in the navigation ; and Drake, with his
usual caution, brought the fleet to anchor near an

60 DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION.

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 the 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 canoe was semicircular, being high
in the prow and the stern. The seams were secured
by a lacing of thongs of seal-skin, and fitted so nicely
that there was little leakage. The tools of these in-
genious small folks were formed of the shell of a very
large species of mussel, containing seed-pearls, which
was found in the Strait. 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

* Lopez Vaz makes the time spent in passing the Strait only twelve
days, and it could not be above fifteen, where months had been occupied
by less fortunate or skilful navigators.

DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION. 61

that had yet been made, fortune favouring 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 pro-
bably 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 Strait he
accordingly held a north-west course, and in two days
the fleet had advanced seventy leagues. Here it was
overtaken by a violent and steady gale from the north-
east, which drove them into 57° south latitude, and
two hundred leagues to the west of Magellan Strait.
While still driving before the wind, under bare poles,
the moon was eclipsed at five o'clock in the afternoon
of the loth, 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 con-
tinued 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

62 DRA KE 'S CIRGUMNA VIGA TION.

the wind got back to its old quarter, and with great
violence ; and on the 30th the Marigold was separated
from the Elizabeth and the Golden Hind, as Drake on
entering the South Sea had named his ship, in compli-
ment, 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 heard 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 Strait, which was after-
wards named the Bay of Parting Friends ; and here
they intended to lie by till the weather improved.
During the night the cable 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 Strait, 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, Cap-
tain 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 Strait,
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

DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION. 63

named Port Health, from the rapid recovery of the
crew, who had lately suffered so much from cold, wet,
and fatigue. In the large mussels and other shell-fish
found here they obtained pleasant and restorative food ;
and they 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 llth of November before the Elizabeth
got clear of the Strait — 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 the Strait 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

64 DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION.

short duration : they were 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 further
and further south, the shallop was in the first instance
so far fortunate as to regain the Strait, where the
men salted and stored penguins for future supply.
They soon lost all hope of rejoining the captain-general;
so, passing the Strait, they contrived to make, in their
frail bark, first for Port St. Julian, and afterwards 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 frag-
ment 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 narrative. At the end of two months a

DRAKE 'S CIRCUMNA VIGA TION. 65

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 com-
mitting themselves to God, paddling and clinging to
this ark, they in three days and two nights made the
mainland which had so long tantalized their sight.
In relating the issue of this adventure, the words of
Peter Carder the survivor are adopted : — " At our first
coming on land we found a little river of sweet and
pleasant water, where William Pitcher, my only com-
fort and companion, although I dissuaded him to the
contrary, overdrank himself, being perished before with
extreme thirst ; and, to my unspeakable grief and dis-
comfort, 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 amusing and interesting section of Purchas's
Pilgrims. After a nine years' absence he got back to
England, and had the honour of relating his adven-
tures 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 south-
ward further 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

(829) 5

66 DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION,

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 reached
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, and further than any man had ever before
ventured."

Mr. Fletcher, the chaplain, also landed here. He
found this island three parts of a degree further south
than any of the other islands.

To all the islands discovered here Drake gave the
general name of the Elizabethides, in compliment to
his royal mistress. They were inhabited, and the

DRAKE^S CIRCUMNAVIGATION. 67

natives were frequently seen, though little appears to
have been learned of their character or customs.

Having thus discovered and landed on the southern-
most part of the continent, Drake changed the Terra
Incognita of the Spanish geographers into the Terra
bene nunc Cognita 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, after-
wards kept east, not to lose the coast. On the 25th
November they anchored at the island of Mocha, off
the coast of Chili, where the captain-general landed.
Cattle and sheep were seen here, and also maize and
potatoes. Presents were exchanged with the Indians,
and next day a watering-party, which Drake accom-
panied, rowed towards the shore, in full security of
their pacific dispositions. Two seamen, who landed to
fill the water-casks, were instantly killed, and the rest
of the party narrowly escaped an ambush laid for them
in case they should come to the assistance 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 Euro-
peans. In this view it was forgiven by men whose

68 DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION.

prejudices and animosity 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., and sent out a boat to examine the shores, which
captured and brought before the captain an Indian
found fishing in his canoe. This man was kindly
treated. A present of linen and a chopping-knife
gained his affections ; and he bore the message of Drake
to his countrymen, who, induced by the hope of like
gifts, brought to the ship's side a fat 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, unwit-
tingly gave them much valuable information. From
him they learned that they had by six leagues over-
sailed 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 this 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 was found sixty thousand
pesos of gold, besides jewels, merchandise, and one
thousand seven hundred and seventy jars of Chili wine.

DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION. 69

This was a joyful beginning : each peso was reckoned
worth eight shillings. The people of the town, which
consisted of only nine families, fled ; and Drake's fol-
lowers revelled in the unforbidden luxury of a general
pillage of wine, bread, bacon, and other things most
acceptable to men who had 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
chapel 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-
flock. They sailed on the 8th with their prize, taking,
however, only one of the crew, a Greek named Juan
Griego, who was capable of piloting them to Lima.
Their Indian guide, Felipe, was rewarded, and sent on
shore near his own home. From the most southern
point of this coasting voyage Drake had been continu-
ally 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
cap tain -general kept in view. A convenient place
for this purpose had been found at Coquimbo. Near
the spot selected the Spaniards had raised or collected
a considerable force ; and a watering-party of fourteen
of the English were here surprised, and with some
difficulty escaped from a body of three hundred horse

70 DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION.

and two hundred foot. One seaman was killed, owing,
however, to his own braggart temerity.

In a quieter and safer bay the pinnace was set up,
and Drake himself embarked in it to look after the
strayed ships; but the wind becoming 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, ac-
cidentally 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 further, on landing to procure water they fell in
with a Spaniard and an Indian boy driving eight
llamas, each of which was laden with two leathern bags
containing fifty pounds of silver, or eight hundred
pounds in all. The llamas, or Peruvian sheep, are de-
scribed by the 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 of the most credulous of the
family of John Bull — his sons of the ocean — was here
amusingly displayed. If the coast of Peru was not liter-
ally strewed with gold, pure silver was found so richly
mixed with the soil that every hundredweight of com-
mon earth yielded, on a moderate calculation, five ounces.

DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION. 71

The eight llamas 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 coast. 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 more
numerous ; but our general, contented with the spoil of
the ships, put to sea, and sailed for Lima " in pursuit
of a vessel very richly laden, of which they had ob-
tained intelligence. The ship, of which they were now
in hot pursuit, got notice of her danger in time to land
the treasure with which she was freighted, — eight
hundred bars of silver, the property of the King of
Spain. Drake, now preparing for active measures, rid
himself of every encumbrance by setting all the sails
of his prizes, and turning them adrift whithersoever
the winds might carry them. The arrival of these
tenantless barks on some wild coast or lonely island
may yet form the theme of Indian tradition, though
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 governor at
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

72 DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION.

the Spanish ships lying in Callao, the port of Lima.
The spoil was trifling for the number of vessels. In
boarding a ship from Panama, which was just then
entering the port, an Englishman was killed. Another
account says he was shot from a boat while pursuing
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 were 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 Cacaftiego 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 aban-
doned 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 strain-
ing to reach the golden goal. But this rather anti-
cipates 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 pirate, so little was an attack by the

DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION. 73

English on this side of the continent deemed possible,
or that the ships of any nation, save Spain, could pass
the intricate and fatal Strait of Magellan. On being
apprised of the real fact, and of the danger impending,
Don Francisco de Toledo, the viceroy at Lima, im-
mediately repaired to the port with a force estimated
by Lopez Vaz at two thousand horse and foot. The
Golden Hind still remained in sight of the port, and
nearly becalmed. Two vessels, in each of which two
hundred fighting men were embarked, were equipped
in all haste, and the capture of Drake the pirate-
heretic was already confidently reckoned upon. At
the same hour in which they left the port to make the
attack a fresh gale sprung up, and the English ship
pressed onward. The flight and pursuit were con-
tinued for some time, as it was not the policy of Drake,
with his very inferior force, to risk an action. By an
oversight, most 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, but Don
Francisco lost no time in remedying this inadvertence.
A force of three ships, fully equipped, was despatched
under the command of Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa,
but arrived too late. The same commander afterwards
long watched, and waited in vain, the return of Drake
by the Strait. On his recommendation they were after-
wards fortified, and a colony planted, — an abortive at-
tempt which cost Spain much treasure and many lives.

74 DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION.

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
searched they learned that the Cacafuego had the start
of them now only by two days. Every nerve was
fresh-braced for pursuit; but the future advantage
hoped for did not lead them, in the meantime, to
despise present small gains. Two more vassels were
intercepted, rifled, and turned adrift — the crews being
first landed. In one of these some silver and eighty
pounds of gold 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 Cacajuego still ahead and unseen ; and Drake, to
animate the hopes and quicken the vigilance of his
company, offered as a reward to whoever should first
descry the prize the gold chain which he usually wore.
The reward was gained by Mr. John Drake, who, at
three o'clock in the afternoon of the 1st March, from
the mast-head discerned the prize, which by six o'clock
was boarded and taken. 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 sent some important
message, and struck his sails to await the approach of
the Golden Hind. When aware, from closer inspection,

DRAKE 'S CIRCUMNA VIGA TION. 75

of his mistake, he tried to escape ; but he was 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
rnizzenmast was shot away, and he himself wounded by
an arrow.

This ship proved to be a prize worth gaining. It
contained twenty-six tons of silver, thirteen chests of
ryals of plate, and eighty pounds of gold, besides
diamonds and inferior gems, — the whole estimated at
three hundred and sixty thousand pesos.

Among the spoils were two very handsome silver
gilt bowls belonging to the pilot, of which Drake de-
manded one; which the doughty Spaniard surrender-
ing, presented the other to the steward, as if he disdained
to hold anything by the favour of the English. The
" Famous Voyage " records some capital salt-water jests
made on this occasion at the expense of the Spaniards.
It must be owned that the laugh was wholly on the
side of the English.

Had Drake, thus richly laden, now 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 outlook which he was aware the Spaniards
would keep for his return, forbade the attempt of re-
passing the Strait ; while the glory of discovery, and
the hope of taking his immense treasure safely to
England, determined him in the resolution of seeking a

76 DRA KB 'S CIRCUMNA VI G A TION.

north-west passage homeward. Though not in general
communicative, his plans were no sooner formed than
he unfolded them to the ship's company, with the
persuasive eloquence of a man eminently fitted for
command. The crew were now in high spirits, and
full of confidence in their skilful, bold, and successful
leader. His counsel, which carried all the weight of
command, was " to seek out some convenient place to
trim the ship, and store it with 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."

With this resolution they steered for Nicaragua, and
on the 16th March anchored in a small bay of the
island of Canno, which proved a good station to water
and refit. The 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 after-
wards 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 loitering in any port beyond the time
absolutely necessary to repair the ship and take in
water. On the 6th April they made another valuable
prize. Being already well supplied with stores, their
choice was become more nice and difficult ; and select-

DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION. 77

ing 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, accord-
ing to their approved good practice, 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 write 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 Spaniards on
board the Golden Hind were now set at liberty. The
Portuguese pilot, Nuno Silva, who had been brought
from the Cape de Verd Islands, was also dismissed, and
probably at this place wrote the relation of the voyage
from which quotations have been made in this memoir.
Silva's account was sent to the Portuguese viceroy in
India, and long afterwards fell into the hands of the
English.

Satiated with plunder on sea and shore, Drake, on

78 DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION.

the ICth April, sailed on that bold project of discovery
formerly communicated to his company, and by the
3rd of June had gone over one thousand four hundred
leagues, in different courses, without seeing land. They
had now reached 43° north ; the cold was become very
severe, and, on advancing two or three degrees further,
so intense, that meat froze the instant it was removed
from the fire, and the ropes and tackling of the ship
became rigid from the influence of the frost. On the
5th, being driven in by the winds, land was seen, and
they anchored in a small bay, too unsheltered, 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 a northerly
course, although the extreme cold, and the chill, raw,
unwholesome fogs which surrounded 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 mid-
summer. The land seen was the western coast of
California. On the 17th June they anchored in a good
harbour, on an inhabited coast. As the Hind drew
near the shore the natives approached, and an am-
bassador or spokesman put off in a canoe, who made a
formal harangue, accompanied with much gesticulation.
When the oration was concluded, he made a profound
obeisance and retired to the land. A second and a
third time he returned in the same manner, bringing,
as a gift or tribute, a bunch of feathers neatly trimmed

DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION. 79

and stuck together, and a basket made of rushes. Of
these rushes it was afterwards 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
deer-skins round their shoulders ; and some of the men
occasionally used furs as a covering. It was remarked
that the Indians appeared as sensible to the extreme
severity of the weather as the English seamen, — cower-
ing, shivering, and keeping huddled together, even
when wrapped 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 move-
ment with suspicion and dissatisfaction. They, how-
ever, laid aside their bows and arrows when requested
to do so, and an exchange of presents further cemented
the growing friendship. They retired apparently satis-
fied; but had no sooner reached their huts, which

80 DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION.

stood at a considerable distance, 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 appear-
ances 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 two days 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 ! oh ! After this friendly demon-
stration— for as such it was intended — a deputation
of the assembly stuck their bows into the earth, and
bearing gifts of feathers and rush-baskets with tabah,
descended towards the fort. While this was passing
below, the women, mixed with the group on the height,
began to shriek and howl as on the " night of lamen-
tation," to tear their flesh with their nails, and dash

DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION. 81

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 super-
stition, 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 re-
peatedly afterwards requested their visitors 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
motives 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 re-
fined 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 on the part of their hioh or king. The

(829) 6

82 DRA KE 'S CIRCUMNA VIGA TION.

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
imposing 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 hand-
some 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 net-work or chain-
work, curiously 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 ribbons of civilized nations, — the number of them
worn denoting the degree of consequence, as the im-
portance of a pasha is signified by the number 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
visitors. The royal-guard came next in order. It was
formed of one hundred picked men, tall and martial-
looking, and clothed in skins. Some of them wore
ornamental head-dresses 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 afterwards described.

DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION. 83

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, a basket, in which was either tabali,
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 block-
house. At a few paces' distance the procession halted,
and deep silence was observed, wrhile the sceptre -bearer,
prompted as before by another official, harangued for
a full half-hour. His eloquent address, whatever it
might import, received the concurrent " Oh " of the
national assembly. The same orator commenced a song
or chant, keeping time in a slow, solemn dance, per-
formed 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 insignia of royalty, courteously tendered him
his whole dominions, and hailed him king ! Songs of
triumph were raised, as if in confirmation of this

84 DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION.

solemn cession of territory and sovereignty. Such is
the interpretation which the old voyagers put upon a
ceremony that has been more rationally conjectured to
resemble the interchange or exchange of names, which
in the South Sea islands seals the bonds of friendship ;
or as something equivalent to a European host telling
his visitor that he is master of the house. "The
admiral," it is shrewdly observed, "accepted of this
new-offered dignity in her majesty's name, and for her
use; it being probable that, from this donation, whether
made in jest or earnest by these Indians, some real
advantage might hereafter redound to the English
nation and interest in these parts." We are expressly
informed that the natives afterwards actually wor-
shipped their guests, and that it was necessary to
check their idolatrous homage. They roamed about
among the tents, admiring all they saw, and expressing
attachment to the English in their own peculiar fashion.
It was for the youngest of the company these fondnesses
were imbibed. To express affection, the Indians sur-
rounded and gazed upon them, and then began to howl
and tear their flesh till they streamed in their own
blood, to demonstrate the liveliness and strength of
their affection. The same unnatural and uncouth
shows of regard continued to be made while the English
remained on the coast; and obeisances and homage
were rendered which, being considered as approaching
to sacrifice or worship, were strenuously and piously
disclaimed. These people are described as an amiable

DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION. 85

race ; of a free, tractable, kindly nature, without guile
or treachery. To mark their esteem of the English,
and confidence in their skill and superiority, it may be
noticed that they applied for medicaments for their
wounds and sores.

The men, as has been noticed, were generally naked ;
but the women, besides the short petticoat woven of
peeled bulrushes, wore 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 and powerful that
a burden which could hardly be borne by two of the
seamen, a single native would with ease carry up and
down hill for a mile together. Their weapons were
bows and arrows, but of a feeble, useless kind. Their
dwellings were constructed in a round form, built of
earth, and roofed 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 fire was placed in the middle, and beds of rushes
were spread on 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 like a rat. Under their chin on
each side was a pouch, into which they gathered meat
to feed their young, or serve themselves another time."

86 DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION.

The natives ate the flesh of those animals, and greatly
prized their skins, of which the state robes worn by
the king at his interview with Drake were made.

The admiral named this fair and fertile country New
Albion, and erected a monument of his discovery, to
which was nailed a brass plate, bearing the name, effigy,
and arms of her majesty, and asserting her territorial
rights, and the date of possession being taken.

Drake had spent thirty-six days at this place, — a
long but necessary sojourn ; but the repairs of the ship
being completed, on the 23rd July he bore away from
Port Drake — the kind-hearted natives deeply bewail-
ing the departure of their new friends. The regret,
good -will, and respect were indeed mutual. The
Indians entreated the English to remember them ; and
as a farewell offering or homage, secretly provided
what is called a sacrifice. While the ship remained in
sight they kept fires burning on the heights. It is
delightful at this time to hear of Europeans leaving
grateful remembrances of their visits on any coast, and
the pleasure is enhanced by being able to claim this
honour for our countrymen. It was from some fancied
resemblance to the white cliffs of England that Drake
bestowed on the coast he had surveyed the name of
New Albion.*

Next day a store of seals and birds were caught at

* After passing Punta de los Reyes, Captain Beechey awaited the
return of day off some white cliffs, which he believed must be those
which made Sir Francis Drake bestow on this tract of country the name
of New Albion.

DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION. 87

some small islands, which are now supposed to be the
Farellones of modern charts.

Thus far had Drake boldly explored in search of a
passage homeward, 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 far advanced to prosecute further 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 48° 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 westwards for sixty-eight days without coming
in sight of land. On the 13th September he fell in
with some islands in 8° N. As soon as the Golden
Hind appeared, the natives came off in canoes, each
containing from four to fourteen men, bringing cocoa-
nuts, 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 suf-
ficiently enlightened in mercantile affairs to have
learned that honesty is the dealers' best policy. Drake,
however, instead of imitating the conduct of Magellan,
and instantly shooting them for thieving, or burning
their houses, endeavoured to bring them to a sense of

88 DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION.

propriety, merely by refusing to traffic with those who
were found dishonest. This excited their displeasure,
and a general attack 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 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 by 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 was above an inch.
It has been conjectured, with every mark of probability,
that Drake's Islands of Thieves are the islands named
De Sequeira, discovered by Diego da Rocha, 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 3rd October the Golden
Hind stood westward, and on the 16th of the month
made the Philippines in 7° 5' north of the Line. They
first fell in with four islands having a thick population,
or the appearance of it. These they visited, and after-
wards anchored in Mindanao. Sailing hence on the 22nd,

DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION. 89

they kept a southerly course, and passed between two
islands, about six or eight leagues south of Mindanao,
supposed to be Sarangan and Candigar.

On the 3rd 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 headquarters 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 refreshments. The Viceroy of
Motir had previously disposed the king to give Drake
a favourable reception. To the general's message a
gracious answer was returned. All that the territories
of the King of Ternate afforded was at the disposal of
the English ; 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 some of the
voyagers this flourish of Oriental hyperbole was most

90 DRAKE 'S CIRCUMNA VIGA TION.

literally interpreted. The English envoy was received
with great pomp ; and as credentials, or safe-conduct,
a signet, we are not told in what form, was transmitted
through him to the captain-general. Before the ship
came to anchor the king put off to pay it a visit of
welcome and ceremony. The royal equipment con-
sisted 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 of
Calicut." 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 en-
circled by the rowers, of whom there were eighty to
each barge, placed in galleries raised above the other
seats, three on each side. They rowed, or rather paddled,
in cadence to the clashing of cymbals, 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 by his visitors. He
was himself a tall, stout, graceful man, and celebrated
as a conqueror and warrior. By policy and force of
arms he had not only expelled the Portuguese from this
island, but had subdued many others, so that seventy

DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION. 91

islands now owned his sway. He professed the faith of
Mohammed, which was now become the religion of all
his dominions. It is worthy of remark that, in the
ceremonies and external observances of royalty, the
native princes of these Indian islands might have vied
with the most polished courts of Europe. Elizabeth,
whose board was daily spread with lowly bends and
reverences, was not more punctilious in ceremonial and
etiquette than the sovereign of Ternate. His courtiers
and attendants approached the royal presence with the
most profound respect, no one speaking to the king
save in a kneeling posture. As soon as the ship came
to an anchor the king took leave, promising another
visit on the following day.

That same evening a present of fowls, rice, sugar,
cloves, and frigo, was received, and "a sort of fruit,"
says the " Famous Voyage," " they call sago, which is
a meal made out of the 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 of those pro-
ductions of other climes which have so long contributed
to the comfort, variety, or luxury of European com-
munities.

Instead of coming on board next day, the king sent
his brother to bear his excuses, and to remain as a
hostage for the safe return of the cap tain -general, who
was invited to land. The invitation was not accepted,

92 DRA KE 'S GIRCUMNA V1GATION.

the English having some doubts of the good faith of
the fair-promising sovereign of Ternate. But some of
the gentlemen went on 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 fort of the
expelled Portuguese. There they found an assembly
of at least a thousand persons, sixty of them being
courtiers or privy councillors, " 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 twelve
lances. "A glorious canopy, embroidered with gold,
was carried over his head." His garb was a robe of
cloth of gold hanging loose about his person ; his legs
were 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 in breadth, embroidered and adorned with
sapphires, and fastened to a staff three feet long, by
which it was moved. His voice was low and his aspect
benign.

Drake did not afterwards land ; and the offers made

DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION. 93

of exclusive traffic with the English were, it appears,
received by him with indifference.

Having procured a supply of provisions and a con-
siderable quantity of cloves, the Golden Hind left
the Moluccas on the 9th November, and on the 14th
anchored at a small 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 homeward
voyage. This proved a pleasant 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 flickered innumerable bats " as big as
hens." There were also multitudes of shining flies, no
bigger than the common fly in England, which, skim-
ming up and down in the air between the trees and
bushes, made them appear " as if they were burning."
There were also great numbers of land-crabs, described
as a sort of cray-fish, " which dig holes in the earth
like conies, and are so large that one of them will dine
four persons, and very good meat."

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 the south to get free of such dangerous

94 DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION.

ground. At this time occurred the most imminent
peril and providential escape that attended this re-
markable 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
cleared. 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 anchorage-ground, it only ended in more
confirmed and bitter disappointment. There seemed
no help of man; yet in the midst of their calamity
several fortunate, or more properly providential, cir-
cumstances intervened. No leak had been sprung; and
though the ebb-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,

DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION. ' 95

blowing from the side to which she must have heeled
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 char-
acterized 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 cloves
were thrown overboard. This partial lightening pro-
duced 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 veneration and implicit
confidence with which his crew regarded him. " Of
all other days," says one old relation, "on the 9th
January, in the yeere 1579 (1580), we ranne upon a
rocke, where we stuck fast from eight of the clocke at
nighte till four of 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 wee cleared

96 DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION.

ourselves most happily of the danger." It was, how-
ever, 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
heeled 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 on the ocean. The
thankfulness of the ship's company may be imagined.
This dangerous shoal or reef is not far from the coast
of Celebes, in 1° 56' S.

Their perilous adventure made them afterwards very-
wary, and it was not till some weeks had elapsed that,
cautiously exploring their way, they finally extricated
themselves from 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, etc., etc. Ternate
excepted, this island afforded better and greater variety
of refreshments for the mariner than any land at which
our navigators had touched since they had left England.
The inhabitants were worthy of the fertile region they
inhabited. In form and features they were a hand-
some people ; in disposition and manners, mild and

DBA KE 'S CIRCUMNA VI G A TION. 97

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 gov-
erned by five independent chiefs or rajahs, who lived
in perfect amity, and vied with each other in showing
hospitality and courtesy to their English visitors.

The social condition of the Javans at this compara-
tively early period exhibits a pleasing and attractive
picture of semi-barbarous life, if a state of society may
be thus termed 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 orna-
mented. 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

(829) 7

98 DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION.

or public ball, 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 fowls,
and sago. On a table raised three feet the feast was
spread, and the party gathered round, "every one
delighting in the company of another." While 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 loth June. The Spaniards had not more studi-
ously magnified the real dangers of Magellan Strait
than the Portuguese had exaggerated and misrepre-
sented the storms and perils which surround the Cape ;
and it required the characteristic intrepidity and con-
summate 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 lon<r

o o o

retain a monopoly of her important discovery. Certain
it is that the ship's company were surprised that close

DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION. 99

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 22nd 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 suf-
fering 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 an anchor in the harbour of Ply-
mouth, whence he had set out. The day of the week
was Monday, though, by the reckoning kept by the
voyagers, Sunday, and the 25th the true time; the
same loss of a day having befallen them which had
puzzled Magellan's crew, — a mystery now clear to the
most juvenile student in geography.

The safe return of the expedition, the glory attend-
ing 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 mari-
time spirit of the country.

The bravery, the exploits, and the wonderful ad-

100 DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION.

ventures of Drake immediately became the theme of
every tongue. Courtiers patronized and poets praised
him, and, to complete his celebrity, envious detractors
were not wanting, who, with some plausibility, re-
presented 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 must provoke reprisal on such merchants 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 admirers 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 meanwhile Drake lost no time in repairing
to court. Elizabeth, who with all her faults never
favoured the despicable, was more purely the fountain

QUEEN ELIZABETH KNIGHTING DRAKE.

Page 104.

DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION. 103

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 sentiments. A show of cold-
ness was also a necessary part of the subtle game she
was still playing with Spain.

The complaints of the Spaniards were violent and
loud ; and the queen deemed it prudent 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. As a foretaste, or a bribe to purchase
peace a little longer, several small sums were paid 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 countenanc-
ing the daring navigator, whose boldness, discretion,
and brilliant 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 Deptf ord ;
and Drake, who naturally loved show and magnificence,
spared no pains in furnishing a banquet worthy of his

104 DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION.

royal guest. After dinner the queen conferred upon
him the honour of knighthood, — enhancing the value
of the distinction by politely saying " that his actions
did him more honour than the title which she con-
ferred." 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 queen'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 after-
wards 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 silent here ;
The Sun himself cannot forget
His fellow-traveller. "

The reputation of Sir Francis Drake had now ob-
tained 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 Sea she scornfully dismissed, —

DRAKE'S CHAIR IN THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD.

Page 104-

DRAKE'S CIRCUMNAVIGATION. 107

denying "that, by the Bishop of Rome's donation or
any other right, the Spaniards 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 proprietary 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 obtained
royal vindication; and as the war, long impending,
was no longer avoidable, his alleged depredations were
forgotten even by his envious detractors, and his fame
became as universal as it was high. Envy itself had
even been forced to acknowledge not merely his mari-
time skill and genius for command, but the humanity
and benevolence that marked 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 further achievements of the Nelson of the
reign of Elizabeth demand a new chapter, the life of
Drake from this point being intimately blended with
the public history of England.

CHAPTER III.

EXPEDITIONS TO THE WEST INDIES.

HOSTILITIES 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 blow. 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 the other the
sea force. On the part of Sir Philip the design was
abandoned at the express command of the queen, who
required 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 con-
sisted of twenty-five sail, of which two vessels were
queen's ships. His force amounted to two thousand
three hundred seamen and soldiers. Under his command
were several officers of experience and high reputation.
His lieutenant-general was Christopher Carlile ; his
vice-admiral, the celebrated navigator Martin Frobisher;
and Captain Francis Knollys and other officers of

EXPEDITIONS TO THE WEST INDIES. 109

celebrity were among his coadjutors in an enterprise
the object of which was to unite public advantage with
private emolument.

The fleet stood at once for the coast of Spain, where
Drake meditated a bold stroke at the enemy's naval
force in passing to his ulterior objects in the West
Indies; and 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 to Vigo, capturing
some small tenders. They next stood for the Cape de
Verd Islands, where, landing one thousand 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, the anniversary 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 treasure 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, pro-

110 EXPEDITIONS TO THE WEST INDIES.

duced 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,
named 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 be 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 country-
men torn, disfigured, and dismembered, — as if he had
rather fallen into the hands of the most ferocious tribe
of cannibals than among a Christian people. The
islanders had also, five years before, murdered, under
the protection of a truce, the crew of a Bristol vessel
commanded by Captain William Hawkins. The
vengeance which may afterwards be taken by 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 com-
mendable policy in a commander showing that neither

EXPEDITIONS TO THE WEST INDIES. Ill

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 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 deter-
mined 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 westward 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,
pell-mell, till according to agreement they met in the
market-place 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

112 EXPEDITIONS TO THE WEST INDIES.

the haven. The following day the English strengthened
their position, planting the ordnance which they took
within their trenches ; and, thus secured, they held the
place for a month, collecting what plunder was to 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, were employed daily in the work
of destruction. But the 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 twenty -five thou-
sand 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 of
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 furi-
ously struck at him, and afterwards 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

EXPEDITIONS TO THE WEST INDIES. 113

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 com-
manded 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,
until 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 igno-
minious and exemplary, their own countrymen were
compelled to become their executioners.

Among other instances of Spanish boasting and vain-
glory, 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
sufficit 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 of it which
he already possessed.

Their next attempt was directed against Carthagena,

114 EXPEDITIONS TO THE WEST INDIES.

which was bravely defended and gallantly carried —
Carlile making the attack on the land side, while
Drake's fleet presented 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 eleven thousand ducats
was accepted for the preservation of the rest of the
town. The Spaniards might not have got off on such
easy terms, but that the fearful pest, the deadly bilious
fever, which has so often proved fatal to English ex-
peditions in the very same locality, now raged in the
fleet, and compelled the commanders to revise their
plans and lower their demands. About seven hundred
men perished in this expedition of the calentura alone,
as the disease, since described by Smollett and Glover
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 sur-
vived, it was with loss of strength, not soon if ever
recovered; and many suffered the decay of memory
and impaired judgment, so that, when a man began to
talk foolishly and incoherently, it became a common
phrase in the fleet to say that such an one had 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 hitherto been disappointed, was aban-
doned in a council of war ; and, sailing by the coast of

EXPEDITIONS TO THE WEST INDIES. 115

Florida, they burned St. 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 sent out under
the auspices of Sir Walter Raleigh in the former year.

It was July 1586 before the armament returned,
bringing two hundred brass and forty iron cannon, and
about £60,000 in prize-money, of which £20,000 was
divided among the men, and the remainder allotted
to the adventurers. Though the private gains result-
ing from the expedition were trifling, the dismantling
of so many fortresses at the beginning of a war was a
service to the country of no inconsiderable value. It
was but the first of many which our navigator per-
formed in its progress.

The next exploit of Drake was wholly for the public
service. The rumour of that formidable armament
fitted out by Spain to invade England, and first in
fear, though afterwards in jest, named the Invincible
Armada, had spread general alarm. In a noble spirit
of patriotism, the merchants of London, at their own
expense, fitted out twenty-six 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 arma-
ment the queen added four ships of the royal fleet; and
with this considerable force Drake bore for Lisbon, and
afterwards for the harbour of Cadiz, where he had the
good fortune to burn and destroy ten thousand tons

116 EXPEDITIONS TO THE WEST INDIES.

burden of shipping, either destined for the threatened
invasion or subservient to this purpose. Here he re-
mained for a short time, annoying the enemy's galleys,
which he destroyed piecemeal, though his great enter-
prise 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 him so essen-
tially to serve their common country. Having private
information that the St. Philip, a Portuguese carack
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 had 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 future
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 gaily 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

EXPEDITIONS TO THE WEST INDIES. 117

were Drake's eminent services to his country limited
to warlike operations. In the short interval of leisure
which followed this expedition he 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 re-
ceived the reward to which they were fully entitled,
in his appointment of vice-admiral under Lord Charles
Howard of Effingham, high-admiral of England.

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 known
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 an 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

118 EXPEDITIONS TO THE WEST INDIES.

lord -high-admiral upon the alert ; and by next day at
noon his ships were manned, warped out, and in fight-
ing 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, Drake, who had been ap-
pointed 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 amply atoned for this oversight by the dis-
tinguished 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 fleet was a large
galleon commanded by Don Pedro de Valdez, a man of
illustrious family and high official rank, with whom
nearly fifty noblemen and gentlemen sailed. His ship
had been crippled and separated from the fleet, and
Howard, in hot pursuit, had passed it, imagining that
it was abandoned. There was on board a crew of four
hundred and fifty persons, who, when summoned to
surrender in the formidable name of Drake, attempted

EXPEDITIONS TO THE WEST INDIES. 121

no resistance. Kissing the hand of his conqueror, Don
Pedro said they had resolved to die in battle, had they
not experienced the good fortune 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 afterwards he received £3,500 for their ransom.
In the ship fifty-five thousand 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 hour, 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
one hundred and thirty-four ships which left the coast
of Spain, only fifty-three 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 pro-

122 EXPEDITIONS TO THE WEST INDIES.

secuting 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 undertaking 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 justified his own
share of the affair, and the confidence placed 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 withdrawn 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 re-
ceived 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 two thousand five hundred men

EXPEDITIONS TO THE WEST INDIES. 123

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 artfully 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 convoy it away in safety. On the 30th
October, Sir John Hawkins made sail from the coast of
Dominica, where the ships had been careened, and had
taken in water ; 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 fatal to the enterprise, by informing the

124 EXPEDITIONS TO THE WEST INDIES.

Spaniards of his approach and putting them on their
guard, gave him inexpressible 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 command in the Garland, the queen's ship in
which Hawkins had sailed. The English fleet, medi-
tating 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 the 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
valour which has ever characterized the maritime
assaults of the English. But the enemy were fully
prepared; the treasure had been carefully conveyed
away, and also the women and children. The fortifi-
cations 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, burned to the ground. The same
course was followed with other petty places; but

EXPEDITIONS TO THE WEST INDIES. 125

Drake began seriously to find that, while giving the
enemy this trifling annoyance, he was gradually re-
ducing 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 ex-
claimed, " Brute, Brute, how heartily could I lament
thy fate, but that I dare not suffer my spirits to sink
now."

The Spanish towns, from which everything of value
was taken away, were rather abandoned to the occupa-
tion 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 burned. On the 29th December, two days after
the capture of Nombre de Dios, Sir Thomas Baskerville,
with seven hundred and fifty soldiers, attempted 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 forti-
fications 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

126 EXPEDITIONS TO THE WEST INDIES.

great privation and fatigue, they returned to the ships
depressed and disheartened. This last and most
grievous of the train of disappointments 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 re-
putation, 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 January 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 fair and sanguine ; his
countenance open and cheerful, with large and lively
eyes ; his beard full, and his hair of a light brown.
From the lowest point and rudiments of his art, Drake
was a thorough-bred seaman, able in his own person to
discharge every duty of a ship, even to attending the
sick and dressing the wounded. In repairing and
watering his ships, as readily as in what are esteemed

EXPEDITIONS TO THE WEST INDIES. 129

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,
as they were then known, he thoroughly understood,
and particularly that of astronomy. Whatever he
attempted on his own judgment, without being con-
trolled 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 sea-
man was a ready and graceful eloquence. He was
fond of amassing wealth, but in its distribution was
liberal and bountiful. Among other deeds of enlight-
ened 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
means 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
thirty-fifth of Elizabeth. Though often described as a
bachelor, it is ascertained that he married the daughter

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130 EXPEDITIONS TO THE WEST INDIES.

and sole heiress of Sir George Sydenham, of Coombe
Sydenham in Devonshire, who survived him. He left
no children, but bequeathed his landed estate, which
was considerable, to his nephew Francis Drake, after-
wards created a baronet by James the First. Three
quarters of the globe had contributed to its acquisition ;
yet there is certainly no ancient family estate in the
south of England of the title-deeds of which the
proprietors have less cause to be ashamed than that
still held by the heirs of the son of the honest mariner
of Tavistock.

CAVENDISH

CAVENDISH.

CHAPTER I.

VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD.

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 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
her kingdom with that ardent thirst of glory which in
so many ways redounded to the national advantage.
Distinguished personal merit, whether displayed in the
field or at the council-board, was the certain road to
the favour of Elizabeth ; and though her favourites
might have possessed very different degrees of moral
worth, all of them were celebrated for ability or

134 VOYAGE ROUND THE WOULD.

patriotism. It was thus, in the age of 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 under-
taking or promoting voyages of discovery, establishing
colonies, opening up new branches of trade, or protect-
ing 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.

Of this class was Thomas Cavendish, the second
Englishman that circumnavigated the globe. He was
of an ancient and honourable family of Suffolk, the
ancestor of which had come into England with the
Conqueror. The 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 for 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

THOMAS CAVEN DISH.

VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD. 137

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 a vessel equipped at his own expense.
This voyage, undertaken to plant the unfortunate
colony which was brought home by Sir Francis Drake
in 1586 (see page 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 afterwards, had equipped a small squadron for
his projected voyage. While the carpenters were at
work he procured every draught, map, chart, and
history of former navigations that might be useful to
him ; and having, through the patronage or recommen-

138 VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD.

dation of Lord Hunsdon, procured the queen's com-
mission, he sailed from Plymouth on the 21st July
1586. His light squadron consisted of the Desire, a
vessel of one hundred and twenty tons burden, in
which he sailed himself as admiral and commander of
the expedition ; the Content, of sixty tons ; and the
Hugh Gallant, a light bark of forty tons. A crew of
one hundred and twenty-three 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 ex-
perience and observation, with the advantage of instru-
ments 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' companies
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,

VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD. 139

and next day the English landed, to the number of
seventy, and made an attack on the town, of which
they burned one hundred and fifty houses, almost the
whole number, and 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 built, enclosed by
mud walls, and kept, both 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
afterwards a party of the sailors landed to wash linen ;
and repeating the visit next day, a number of negroes
lying in ambush in 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 3rd 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 47J° S. The land, stretching west, was
seen at the distance of six leagues, and next day the

140 VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD.

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 fore part of their body resembled lions; their
young was found delicate food, equal, in 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 belong-
ing to the Content went on shore to wash their linen,
when they were suddenly surrounded and shot at by
fifty or more Indians. Cavendish pursued with a
small party, but the natives escaped. "They are as
wild as ever was a buck," says an old voyager, " as
they seldom or never see any Christians." Their foot-
prints were measured, and found to be eighteen inches
in length. 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 miles
from the harbour they had left, which resembled the
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 Magellan Strait, 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

VOYAGE BOUND THE WORLD. 141

the Strait, which were supposed to be signals. Re-
cognition 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 wretched 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 were
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 Strait of
Magellan. It may be recollected that, on the appear-
ance of Drake on the coast of Peru, this commander
was despatched by the viceroy to intercept the daring
interloper on his return by the Strait. Sarmiento
afterwards bestowed much pains in examining the
western shores of Patagonia and the coast of Chili, and
the many inlets, labyrinths, and intricate channels of
the islands and broken lands of Tierra del Fuego,
which, as he conjectured, must communicate with the
Strait of Magellan by one or more passages. After a
long time had thus been consumed fruitlessly he entered
the Strait, and passed through eastward in about a
month, minutely examining the coast on both sides.
When this discoverer reached Spain, his exaggerated
statements, the desire of checking the progress of the
English in this quarter, and an apprehension that they
were preparing to seize this master-key to the South

142 VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD.

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 dominions. A powerful armament of twenty-
three ships with three thousand five hundred men.
destined for different points of South America, was in
the first place to establish the new colony. This ex-
pedition, 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 1581, five of the ships were wrecked in a
violent gale, and eight hundred 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 bottoms
of others were attacked by worms ; and a large vessel,
containing most of the stores of the colonists of the
Strait, sprung a leak at sea, and before assistance
could be obtained went down, three hundred and
thirty men and twenty of the settlers perishing in her.
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, and was able to land the colonists. Nor did
his ill fortune close here. His consort, Riviera, either

VOYAGE HOUND THE WORLD. 143

wilfully abandoned him, or was forced from his an-
chorage by stress of weather. He stood for Spain,
carrying away the greater part of the remaining 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, named Nombre de
Jesus, was commenced. These stations were in favour-
able points of the Strait, and at the distance of about
seventy miles from each other. In the meanwhile 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
has been accused of intentionally abandoning this
helpless colony, which he was the instrument of estab-
lishing, and of which he was also the governor. The
accusation appears unjust, as he made many subsequent
efforts for its relief, which his ill fortune rendered
abortive. The governors at the different settlements
at length refused to afford further assistance to a pro-
ject which had lost the royal favour; and in return-
ing to Spain to solicit aid, Sarmiento was captured
by three ships belonging to Sir Walter Raleigh, —
luckily, in all probability, for himself, as the indigna-

144 VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD.

tion 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 themselves
any further trouble, many died of famine and cold
during 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 who remained alive, fifty men and
five women, embarked with the hope of getting out of
the Strait. One of their boats 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 Strait. 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, trying to pick up a
few shell-fish 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 wan-

VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD. 145

derers whom Cavendish saw on the morning after he
entered the Strait. A passage to Peru was offered
them, but they at first hesitated to trust the English
heretics ; though afterwards, when willing to accept
the generous offer, their resolution came too late, and
before they could be mustered, a fair wind offering,
Cavendish sailed on, having tantalized these wretched
Spaniards with hopes which the safety of his own crew
in this precarious navigation, and the success of his
expedition, did 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 Tome' Hernandez, who became the historian of
the miserable colony of the Strait.

The squadron of Cavendish, after passing both the
Angosturas, as the Spaniards named the narrowest
points of the Strait, anchored first at the island of
Santa Magdalena, where in two hours they killed and
salted two pipes full of penguins; and afterwards 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 53° S. On
the 22nd a few natives were seen ; but the Spaniard,

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14G VOYAGE ROUND THE WOULD.

Hernandez, cautioned the English against all inter-
course, 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 Sea from a continuance
of strong westerly winds ; but on the 24th February,
after a favourable though a tedious passage, they
finally emerged from the Strait. To the south was a
fair high cape with a point of low land adjoining it ; on
the other side were 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 Strait, which no fleet ever wholly escaped, over-
took Cavendish ; and the Hugh Gallant was separated
from the larger vessels, one of which was found so
leaky that the crew were completely exhausted in
working 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

VOYAGE HOUND THE WORLD. 147

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 on the island of Santa
Maria, they were received as Spaniards, with all kind-
ness and humility, by the principal people of the island;
and a store of wheat, barley, and potatoes, ready pre-
pared, and presumed by the voyagers to be a tribute to
the conquerors, was unscrupulously appropriated. To
this the islanders added presents of hogs, dried dog-fish,
fowls, and maize, and received in return an entertain-
ment 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 task-masters, who had, however,
made the whole of the islanders Christians. When
they came to understand that their visitors were not
Spaniards, it was believed that they attempted to in-
vite them to an assault upon their enslavers ; but for
want of an interpreter their meaning was imperfectly
comprehended. The squadron, thus refreshed at the
expense of the Spaniards, sailed on the 18th, but over-
shot 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 hill-side 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

148 VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD.

party of thirty men, and Hernandez, the Spaniard
whom he had brought from the Strait, and who made
strong protestations of fidelity. Three armed horse-
men 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 con-
ference ; but on this occasion, forgetting all his vows of
fidelity to his benefactors, he leaped up behind one of
his countrymen, and they set off at a round gallop,
leaving Cavendish to execrate Spanish bad faith. The
English filled some of their water-casks, 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 settlement. They did not
see one human being, native or European, though
they travelled till arrested by the mountains. 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 two hun-
dred 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

VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD. 149

remainder were rescued by the soldiers, who ran from
the rocks to support their unsuspecting comrades, and
killed twenty-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 afterwards learned that six were executed
at Santiago as pirates, though they sailed with the
queens 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 loth 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, almost 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 con-
sisted of raw, putrid fish ; yet their fishing-canoes were
constructed with considerable ingenuity. They were
made of skins " like bladders." Each boat consisted of
two of these skins, which were inflated 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

150 VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD

any one died, his bows and arrows, canoe, and all his
personal property, were buried along with him, as the
English verified by opening a grave.

On the 23rd 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 apprised 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 vice-
roy at Lima, in all cases rejected.

On the 25th, while the squadron still rode before
the town, a vessel from the southward was perceived
coming into the port. Cavendish sent out his pinnace
to seize this bark ; while the towns-people endeavoured
from the shore to make the crew sensible of their
danger. They understood the signals, and rowed in
among the rocks, while a party of horsemen advanced
from the town to protect the crew and passengers.

VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD. 151

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 from Arica.
Next day they captured a small vessel which had been
despatched from Santiago with intelligence to the viceroy
that an English squadron — probably Drake himself —
was upon the coast. Great severity was used to make
the crew reveal the nature of their despatches, which
were thrown overboard while the English 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 necessary to subject them to
extort their secret. An old Fleming whom he threat-
ened 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 of 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 3rd 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 fort-
night, 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 Payta, to the amount of seventy
men, took the town, drove out the inhabitants, and

152 VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD.

continued the pursuit till they came to the place
whither the towns-people had conveyed their most
valuable goods. Here they found twenty-five 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 two hundred
houses. It was burned to the ground, with goods to
the value of five or six thousand pounds. A ship in
the harbour was also burned ; and the fleet held a course
northward, and anchored at the island of Puna in a
good harbour. A Spanish sloop of two hundred and
fifty tons burden, 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, 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 ground, holding it " too low a
thing for her," but was earned 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 one hundred thousand crowns,

VOYAGE MOUND THE WORLD. 153

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, etc., 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 two hundred houses, with a large church.
This the English burned 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, pome-
granates, and many varieties of herbs and fruits. An
orchard, with lemons, oranges, etc., 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,

154 VOYAGE HOUND THE WORLD.

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 Guayaquil, he
hauled up his ship to have her bottom cleaned, keeping
vigilant watch in the chief's house, where the English
had established their headquarters.

The ship 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 English suffered a severe loss. On the
2nd of June, before weighing anchor, a party were
permitted to straggle about the town to amuse them-
selves 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 imme-
diately landed with an armed band, drove the Spanish
soldiers from the town, and burned it completely down,
together with four ships then building. He also de-
stroyed the gardens and orchards. Persisting in main-
taining his ground, Cavendish next day laid up the
other ship to be careened, and did not sail till the 5th,
when they went to Bio 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

VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD. 155

month. On the 9th July they captured a new ship of
one hundred and twenty tons, which, first taking away
her ropes and sails, they immediately burned. 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 day-
break, they entered the harbour of Guatulco, and
burned the town, the church, and custom-house, in
which was found a quantity of dye-stuffs and cocoas.
Some trifling adventures marked the following day, in
which they by mistake oversailed Acapulco. Landing
at Puerto de Navidad, they burned two ships, each
of two hundred tons, then on the stocks, and made
prisoner a mulatto, who earned letters of advice of
their progress along the coast of New Galicia. In
this manner they proceeded northward, often landing
small detachments, and spreading alarm along the
shores. On the 8th they came into the bay of
Chaccalla (supposed Compostella), described as being
eighteen leagues from Cape de los Corrientes, and to a
harbour presumed to be that known in modern geog-
raphy as San Bias. Next morning an officer with
forty men, and Michael Sancius as their conductor,
marched two leagues into the interior, by "a most
villainous and desert path through the woods and
wilderness," and came to a place where they found
three Spanish families, a carpenter of the same nation,

156 VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD.

a Portuguese, and a few Indians. Their ordinary mode
of proceeding on such occasions is told in few 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 ser-
pent, 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 ? "
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 compelled to turn back, and thus
might have missed their prey.

VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD. 157

The squadron sailed from this island on the night of
the 9th of 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 mast-head de-
scried 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,
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

O ' O O

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

158 VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD.

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 hoist 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 general's feet, and craved mercy. Our general
graciously pardoned both him and the rest, upon
promise of their true dealing with him and his com-
pany 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 seven hundred
tons burden, and the property of the King of Spain.
Besides a rich cargo of silks, satins, damasks, wine,
preserved fruits, musk, etc., there were on board one
hundred and twenty-two thousand 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.

VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD. 159

Cavendish carried his prize into 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 one 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 with 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 gaiety and festivity ;
and a discharge of the great guns and a display of

160 VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD.

fire-works proclaimed to these lonely shores the glory
of Elizabeth of England. As the completion of their
rejoicing, the Santa Anna, with all of her goods that
could not be stowed into the English ships, was set on
fire, and left burning ; and, firing a parting salute to
the deserted Spaniards, the Desire and the Content
bore 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 Spanish 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, on the 3rd 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 commodities
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 trouble-
some, 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

VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD. 161

ascertained what execution was done. The people
here were of tawny complexion, corpulent, and of
taller stature than ordinary-sized Englishmen. Their
hair was long, but some wore it tied up in one or two
knots on the crown of the head. The construction of
their canoes greatly excited the admiration of the
English seamen, formed as they were without any
"edge-tool." These canoes were from 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." The natives appeared in the
canoes entirely naked, and were dexterous divers 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 a fine bay and safe harbour in
the island then named Capul. Though the Spanish
settlement at Manilla was still comparatively 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 whom Manilla enjoyed this trade, and
particularly a people they name the Sanguelos, are

(829) 11

162 VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD.

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 ex-
change, 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 roasted, 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 message
of invitation being sent to the other chiefs, they also
repaired to the ship, bringing hogs and hens to ex-
change. 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

VOYAGE SOUND THE WORLD. 163

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 surprise 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 his duty to his native country and sovereign.

Cavendish remained here nine days for the refresh-
ment 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 often-
times to have conference with him, who appeareth
unto them in a most ugly, monstrous shape." On the
23rd 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 mast-head, and sounded the drums
and trumpets. Due homage and submission were

164 VOYAGE BOUND THE WORLD.

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 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 afterwards shot at by a party of Spanish
soldiers from the shore ; and a frigate was manned by
them 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, desiring
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 Cavendish passed

VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD. 165

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 strait at the west end of Java Minor, and on the
5th anchored in a bay at the west end of Java Major.
A negro found in the Santa Anna was able to con-
verse 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 afterwards 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 as strong as aqua vitse, 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 magnificence that Cavendish could com-
mand. 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

166 VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD.

already traded with China, 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 mer-
chandise of the East. Two of these Portuguese mer-
chants afterwards visited the ship, eager to obtain
news of their country and of Don Antonio their prince.
They were informed that he was then in England,
honourably entertained by the queen; and were de-
lighted 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 Euro-
peans 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 be one hundred and fifty years of
age. He was held in 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

VOYAGE SOUND THE WORLD. 167

executing it ; and their heads were the forfeit of their
failure. They were " the bravest race in the south-east
parts of the globe, never fearing death." The men
were naked, and dark in colour ; but the women were
partly clothed, and in complexion much fairer. When
the king died his body was burned, and the ashes were
preserved. Five days afterwards his queen, or principal
wife, threw a ball from her with which she was pro-
vided, and wherever it ran thither all the wives re-
paired. 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
the island of Java and the main of Africa, observing
the heavens, the Crosiers or South Pole, the other

168 VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD.

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 after-
wards 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
one thousand eight hundred and fifty 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 regards 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 held this island for upwards of eighty
years ; and, though it had never been regularly colon-
ized, they had done much to store it with everything
necessary to the refreshment of seamen on a long voy-
age. 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 3rd September met a Flemish hulk from Lisbon,

VOYAGE HOUND THE WOULD. 169

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 harbour, and in a
considerably shorter time than either Magellan or Drake
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 the advantage 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 wonderful voyage. Among other rumours it
was said that when he entered the harbour of Ply-

170 VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD.

inouth 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 might have been com-
pelled to employ some of his rich Indian damasks in
the homely office of rigging his vessel ; though it is
conjectured, with more feasibilit}7', that his new suit of
sails was canvas 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
writing 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 services 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 Hunsdon, 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 EsperanQa; in
which voyage I have either discovered or brought
certain intelligence of all the rich places of the world

VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD. 171

which were ever discovered by any Christian. I
navigated along the coast of Chili, Peru, and New
Spain, where I made great spoils. I burned 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 jship came
from the Philippines, being one of the richest of mer-
chandise that ever passed those seas From the

Cape of California, being the uttermost part of all
New Spain, I navigated to the islands of the Philip-
pines, hard upon the coast 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 relieve 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 liveth in the world."

CHAPTER II.

SECOND VOYAGE TO THE SOUTH SEA.

THE second and final expedition of Cavendish to the
South Sea 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 Sea, planned
an expedition for China by Magellan Strait, and
upon an extensive scale. It is asserted, with as much
probability, that his 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 Cavendish
sailed in the Leicester galleon; and his old ship, the
Desire, was commanded by the celebrated pilot, navi-

SECOND VOYAGE TO THE SOUTH SEA. 173

gator, 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
twenty-seven 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 2nd December, off the
coast of Brazil. It was laden with sugar, small-wares,
and slaves.

On the 5th they pillaged Placenzia, a small Portu-
guese settlement ; and on the 16th surprised the town
of Santos, where the inhabitants 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, was
completely frustrated. The Indians carried everything
away ; and next day the prisoners in the church were
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 mis-

174 SECOND VOYAGE TO THE SOUTH SEA.

management and delay was, that in lying five weeks
before this place the provisions were wasted which
should have sustained them in passing the Strait,
and the voyage was delayed, by this and other causes,
till they found themselves, in the beginning of the
southern winter, distant from the Strait, and short of
stores.

On the 22nd January they left Santos, burned St.
Vincent on the 23rd, and next day bore for the Strait
of Magellan; Port Desire, which Cavendish had dis-
covered 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 on the way fell in with
the Roebuck, which had suffered dreadfully. On the Gth
of March these two ships reached Port Desire together,
and in ten days afterwards 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 was in the
meanwhile on board the Roebuck, and was left without
anything save the clothes which he wore.

In the gale, which scarcely abated from the 7th of
February to the middle of March, Cavendish suffered
severely, and his officers and men had shown a dis-
position 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

SECOND VOYAGE TO THE SOUTH SEA. 175

Davis. Cavendish did not at this time complain more
bitterly of the gentlemen of his own ship than he
afterwards 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 from 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 Strait 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 morti-
fication 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
unmeasured 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 Strait, beimr in

O

distance not above six hundred leagues, which is

176 SECOND VOYAGE TO THE SOUTH SEA.

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 Strait, 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 Strait, 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 loth 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 to cover their bodies, nor
to fill their belly, but living by mussels, 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

SECOND VOYAGE TO THE SOUTH SEA. 177

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 his north-
west voyages, declared for pushing forward, as the
weather must speedily improve ; while Cavendish pre-
ferred the attempt of reaching China by doubling the
Cape of Good Hope. For this voyage, however, the
other commanders thought there were neither pro-
visions 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 Strait.

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 aban-
doned 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 mussels, and with hooks made of pins caught
smelts, and thus spared their slender stock of provisions.

(829) 12

178 SECOND VOYAGE TO THE SOUTH SEA.

An effort made by Davis to go in search of the
captain-general in the pinnace was overruled, it is
alleged, by the ship's company, who would not permit
its departure. They are even charged with open
mutiny, and two ringleaders are named.

To clear himself of all suspicion, Davis, on the 2nd
June, drew up a relation of the voyage, of the separa-
tion, 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 of 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 Strait, whatever became of the general,
and whatever might have been his wishes or orders.
After this refitting was accomplished, it was accord-
ingly resolved to await the coming of Cavendish in the
Strait, 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, but were driven back into the Strait. While
tossed about, they were on the 14th driven in "among

SECOND VOYAGE TO THE SOUTH SEA. 179

certain islands never before discovered by any known
relation, lying fifty leagues or better off the shore, east
and northerly from the Strait." 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 Strait which still goes by his name,
and of other ports in the North Seas. This discovery
was shortly afterwards claimed by Sir Richard Haw-
kins, 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 been imposed upon them.
Burney christens them anew, "Davis's Southern Isl-
ands,"— a distinction to which that celebrated navigator
is fully entitled, though it will not be easy to change
a name so established as that of the Falkland Islands.
On the 2nd 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 the 4th the pinnace was lost: on the 5th
the fore-sail was split and all torn ; " and the mizzen
was brought to the fore-mast 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 breach, that many
times we were doubtful whether our ship did sink

180 SECOND VOYAGE TO THE SOUTH SEA.

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 further hope of succour.
Our captain (Davis) sitting in the gallery very pensive,
I came and brought him some Rosa Solis 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 make known
to the company his intolerable 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 master both 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
llth of October.

SECOND VOYAGE TO THE SOUTH SEA. 181

They at last put back into the Strait in a most
pitiable condition, the men "with their sinews stiff,
their flesh dead," and in a state too horrible to be de-
scribed. 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 outrageous, our men
could scarcely stand by their labour; and the Strait
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 came to windward of our ship, and
set the bushes on fire, so that we were in a very stink-
ing 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.

182 SECOND VOYAGE TO THE SOUTH SEA.

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 by pouring salt water in the hollows of the
rocks, which in six days was granulated from evapora-
tion by the heat 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 left England."
— " Thus God did feed us as it were with manna from
heaven."

On the 22nd December they sailed for Brazil with a
stock of fourteen thousand dried penguins, of which
they had an ample allowance, though their other pro-
vision was scantily dealt out. In the beginning of
February, in attempting by violence to obtain some
provisions at the Isle of Placenzia, on the 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

SECOND VOYAGE TO THE SOUTH SEA. 183

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 of 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 cala-
mities which might weary the attention and exhaust
the sympathies of even the most compassionate reader.
The conjecture which Cavendish formed of the pro-
ceedings 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 small burden, though

184 SECOND VOYAGE TO THE SOUTH SEA.

not such as he could safely approach — and there refresh
themselves, lay in a store of seals and birds, and seize
a favourable season to pass the Strait. 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 run-
ning 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 sight of each other.
In 36° S. they encountered a dreadful storm, and were
parted. For some time the galleon lay at anchor in
the Bay of St. Vincent; 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 of twenty-four men and
an officer; and the only boat which Cavendish had
now left was thus lost.

SECOND VOYAGE TO THE SOUTH SEA. 185

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 Portu-
guese, a party landed which destroyed a few of the
farm-houses and got some provisions. It was now the
intention of Cavendish to break up the Roebuck, and
with the Leicester galleon, as Davis never appeared,
return to the Strait alone. But of this purpose he did
not venture to inform his company, lest they might
have broken out into open mutiny. 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 meanwhile an attempt
was made 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,

186 SECOND VOYAGE TO THE SOUTH SEA.

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 ignor-
ance 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 in-
firmities 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 run-
ning 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 in-
dignation 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 was master of

SECOND VOYAGE TO THE SOUTH SEA. 187

the Roebuck (the most cowardly villain that ever was
born of a woman), caused them in the boat to row
away, and so left those brave men a spoil for the
Portugals. Yet they waded up to their necks in the
water to them ; but those merciless villains in the boat
would have no pity on them. Their excuse was, that
the boat was 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 mis-
fortunes, 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 un-
inhabited 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 Strait, and used
all the arts of persuasion with his company; but in
vain. He showed them that they could " relieve them-
selves by salting seals and birds, etc. ; 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

188 SECOND VOYAGE TO THE SOUTH SEA.

infamous in the world, being within six hundred
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 Strait ; 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 champions in this case, and perceiving
me go roundly to work with him, they all came to the
master and desired him to 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."

Having now boldly avowed his intention of return-
ing to the Strait, Cavendish landed on the island with
a party of his soldiers and the carpenters, to new-build
the boat, while 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

SECOND VOYAGE TO THE SOUTH SEA. 189

Strait. 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 ad-
versities upon me. And now I am grown so weak that
I am scarce able to hold the pen in my hand ; where-
fore I 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, rather desiring to die in
going forward than basely in returning back again ;
but God would not suffer me to die so happy a man."

190 SECOND VOYAGE TO THE SOUTH SEA.

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 sink in the seas together." This for a time
made them more tractable ; but having beat to the 20°
S. they refused to proceed further, 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 south-
ward, 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 this unfortunate com-
mander made to induce his mutinous crew to regain
the island, alarming them with the scarcity of pro-
visions ; but they unanimously replied, " that they
would be perished to death rather than not make for
England."

It is believed that Cavendish did not long sur-
vive 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

SECOND VOYAGE TO THE SOUTH SEA. 191

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 mind-
fulness 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 infinitely
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 hell-hounds, my spirits
were clean spent, wishing myself upon any desert place
in the world, there to die, rather than thus basely
return home again. Which course, I swear 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

192 SECOND VOYAGE TO THE SOUTH SEA.

have ended my most unfortunate life. But God suf-
fered not such happiness to light upon me, for I could
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 con-
sider whether a heart made of flesh be able to endure
so many misfortunes, all falling upon me without inter-
mission. And I thank my God, that in ending me he
hath pleased to rid me of all further 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 great-
est 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 com-
mander 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 naval chief. The reproach of cruelty.
or at least of culpable indifference to the claims of

SECOND VOYAGE TO THE SOUTH SEA. 193

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
the faults of his class, he partook largely of its virtues
— high spirit, courage, and intrepidity. Those who
might be led to judge of some points of his conduct
with strictness, will be disposed to lenity by the re-
collection of his sufferings. 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."

13

DAM PIER.

D A M P I E R.

CHAPTER I.

THE BUCCANEERS OP AMERICA.

CAPTAIN WILLIAM DAMPIER, the remarkable person
whose eventful life forms the subject of the remaining
portion of this volume, was so long and so intimately
associated with the buccaneers of America, that an
account of this extraordinary brotherhood forms an
almost indispensable introduction to the adventures
and discoveries of this eminent navigator.

The buccaneers owed their origin to the monopolizing
spirit and selfish and jealous policy with which Spain
administered 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, Raleigh, and Cum-
berland that they became frequent. The jealousy of
Spain had been alarmed by their first appearance ; and
the adoption of that system of offensive interference

198 THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA.

with the vessels of every nation that ventured near
the tropic, soon gave rise to the well-known maxim of
the buccaneers — " 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

o

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 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 themselves with
luxuries and necessaries brought direct from these
countries. Thus the contraband trade, eagerly fol-
lowed by the ships of England, France, and Holland,
and encouraged by the colonists, increased in defiance
of prohibitions and of guarda costas, as the ships

WILLIAM DAMPIER.

Page iyj.

THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA. 201

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 re-
prisal, and spoliation to actual piracy.

Another collateral branch of the buccaneering 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 settlements and richer mines
of Mexico ; and the desolated and depopulated tracts,
from which the aboriginal inhabitants had been extir-
pated, 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, pur-
sued this avocation, a more peaceful description of
settlers began to form plantations around them, and to
both classes the stolen visits of the French and English
traders became every year more welcome. From
trafficking on the coast, and occasionally foraging for
provisions for their vessels on these uninhabited shores,
the smugglers from time to time adopted the hunter's
life, and ranged at will, though regarded by the
Spanish government and settlers as interlopers.

202 THE B UCCA NEERS OF A ME RICA .

The first predatory hunters of Cuba and Hispaniola,
if 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
formidable name of Buccaneer, by which the association
came to be distinguished, 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 boucan, and gave the hut, where it was
slowly dried and smoked on wooden hurdles or bar-
becues, 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 named
the natives of their country employed in this lawless
mode of 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 Buccaneers of America. But the
same feeling which induced men of respectable family
to lay aside their real names on entering this associa-
tion, 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 brother-
hood as "privateers," while their vocation of piracy
was named " privateering."

The depredations of this fortuitous assemblage of
bold and dissolute men had been carried on in time of

THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA. 205

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 industrious and peaceful
settlers of France and England, both of which countries
secretly cherished, while they ostentatiously disclaimed,
the buccaneers. 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 though
lawless offspring the buccaneers, settlements were at
last effected. At the beginning of the seventeenth
century, a point on which to rest their levers was all
that was 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, and took possession. The
rights of the Caribs, whom the Spaniards had 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 them-
selves, 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

206 THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA.

patiently waiting the result of misunderstanding be-
tween the colonists, which would more effectually have
fought their battle, in 1629 they expelled 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-
formed homes, and rendered desperate by poverty and
hatred of the Spaniards, had meanwhile augmented the
bands of the freebooters, 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
oppression 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 and other causes, the hunters of His-
paniola and Cuba seized the island of Tortuga by
surprising the small Spanish garrison which defended
it, and here built magazines for their hides, tallow, and
boucan or dried meat, established their headquarters,
and opened a place of retreat for all buccaneers. In
the course of a few years European adventurers of
every nation save Spain flocked to Tortuga; and

THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA. 207

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 buccaneers, 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 mother-country 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 im-
proved by the industry of the original adventurers.
Many 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 buccaneers.

The buccaneer settlement of Tortuga, situated at the
very threshold of Hispaniola, was on every account
obnoxious to the Spaniards, who took the first oppor-
tunity of destroying it. This was effected while the
boldest of the population were absent in the chase,
which they often followed for months and even years
together on the western shores of Hispaniola, without
once visiting the scene of comparative civilization
which they had created on the smaller island. Of the
more peaceful of the settlers of Tortuga, who had
already formed plantations, and begun with success to

208 THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA.

cultivate tobacco, which turned out of excellent quality,
many were massacred; those who fled to the woods
and afterwards 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 Euro-
peans, and to propagate outrage. Tortuga was soon
abandoned by the Spaniards, who took so much pains
to destroy the nest that they flattered themselves the
hornets would not again congregate. In this they
were deceived. The buccaneers returned almost im-
mediately, 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 neighbours 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 aban-

O

doned 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

THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA. 209

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 phil-
osophic historians are not altogether exempt, many of
their customs were sufficiently remarkable to deserve
notice. Like the laws and customs of other com-
munities, the "statutes of the buccaneers" originated
in the necessities and exigencies 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 ; and as they
had no domestic ties, neither wife nor child, brother
nor sister being known among the buccaneers, the want
of family relations was supplied by strict comrade-
ship, 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 buccaneers frequently bequeathed
property to their relatives in France or England.
Their chief virtue was courage, which, urged by des-
peration, 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 buccaneer a hero and a savage.
Hardihood, the habit and the power of extreme en-
durance, might also, if exerted in a better cause, be

(829) H

210 THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA.

reckoned among the virtues of the buccaneers, had not
their long seasons of entire privation been always fol-
lowed 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 buccaneers 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 buccaneering became a system, to
have followed nearly the same laws which regulate
privateers ; the owners' shares being of course included

THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA. 211

in those of the company, who were themselves the
owners. A party being agreed upon a cruise, the day
and place for embarkation were 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 the planters, and from their yards abundance was
procured with no trouble save that in which the fero-
cious buccaneers delighted — 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 fire-arms. Bread they
seldom tasted, and at sea 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 dis-
tinction 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 sail-maker, the sur-
geon, and the commander, were in the first place paid
out of the common stock. Wounds were next con-
sidered— the value of the right arm, the most useful
member of the buccaneer's body, being reckoned equal
to six slaves, or six hundred pieces of eight. It is

212 THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA.

worthy of notice that the eye and finger of the buc-
caneer 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 agree-
ment, had five shares, and his mate two. Boys received
a half -share. The first maxim in the code of the bucca-
neer, 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
harbours 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 men as slaves,
while the women were compelled to labour among
those of the buccaneers who followed the chase. The
dress of these ruffians assorted well with 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 buccaneer his filthy and terrific
garb. This consisted of a shirt dipped in the blood of
the cattle hunted and killed ; trowsers 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 the effect of chance and slovenliness.
Such was the complete equipment of the buccaneer.

THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA. 213

Among some few of the French buccaneers, who had
been driven to adopt an outlaw's life by the severity
and injustice of the colonial government and other
causes, there sometimes existed sentiments of honour,
and even a perverted sense of religion. Prayers were
occasionally put up for the success of a piratical ex-
pedition, and thanks given for victory. We hear of
one buccaneer commander who shot a seaman for be-
having 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
is mentioned, where a buccaneer 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
buccaneer were united the cruelty and ferocity of the
savage with the circumvention and rapacity which are
among the worst consequences of an imperfect civiliza-
tion. The buccaneers, however, have their admirers.
They are said to have been open and unsuspecting
among themselves, liberal in their dealings, and guided
in their private intercourse by a frank and strictly
honourable spirit. The French fondly name them
" nos braves ; " the English boast of their unparalleled

214 THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA.

exploits ; and writers of fiction grace the character
with many brilliant traits of generosity and delicacy
of feeling. We confess that there appears little in their
actual history to vindicate the elevated character given
by those who from bravoes and lawless ruffians would
fashion heroes of romance, and convert the buccaneers
of America into a new 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 and heroically
sustained by the buccaneers 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 trade, it is impossible not to admire their manly
hardihood and unconquerable perseverance.

The buccaneers 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 buccaneers, 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.

THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA. 215

These they enriched by the lavish expenditure of their
spoils. In 1655, the buccaneers lent powerful aid to
their countrymen in the conquest of Jamaica, which
thenceforth became their principal haunt when not
cruising upon the enemy. There, in 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 buccaneers 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 native
of Dieppe, who by one bold stroke gained fame and
fortune. With a boat carrying four small pieces, which
proved of no use to him, and twenty resolute followers,
Pierre surprised this ship. For days and weeks he
and his comrades had lain in wait for a prey, burning
under a tropical sun. They were almost exhausted by
suffering and disappointment, when the galleon was
descried separated from the fleet. The manner in
which the capture was made offers a fair specimen of
buccaneering daring and strategy. The boat in which

216 THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA.

the men lay concealed had been seen by 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
own." He probably thought no more of the circum-
stance till, seated at cards with his friends in the same
evening, he saw the buccaneers 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 footing might be left to his
men than the decks of the Spaniard. This was directly
performed, while each man, armed with a sword 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 gun-room, cutting down whoever stood in
their way. As the Spaniards had been completely
surprised, little opposition was offered. The ship sur-
rendered, and was carried into France by Pierre, who,
by a rare instance of good sense and moderation, from

THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA. 217

the time of obtaining this prize gave up the vocation
of a buccaneer, in which, if fortunes were sometimes
quickly acquired, they were as often rapidly lost or cer-
tainly squandered. Legrand appears to have exercised
no unnecessary cruelty, and all of the Spanish seamen
not required in navigating the vessel were sent on shore.
The enterprise by which Pierre Legrand had in one
night gained fame and fortune was a signal for half
the hunters and planters of Tortuga to rush to the sea.
In their small canoes they cruised about, lying in wait
for the barks in which the Spaniards conveyed to
Havannah, and other adjacent ports, hides, tobacco, and
the produce of the boucan. 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 were 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 Tor-
tuga might at this time have not inaptly been termed
the brokers of the buccaneers.

218 THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA.

Among other brilliant acts, Pierre Fra^ois, 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 honourable conditions to himself
and his company, and that they should be safely set
on shore. About this time another noted buccaneer,
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 con-
trived 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 con-
sequences of his crimes, may vie with those of any
hero in the Newgate calendar.

The Spanish coasting-vessels, taught by experience,
now ventured cautiously to sea, and the number of
buccaneers at the same time increasing, land-expedi-
tions 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

THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA. 219

plundered Campeachy, and obtained a large sum for
its ransom. Mansvelt, and John Davies, a renowned
buccaneer born in Jamaica, next followed this new
career with success. In these attempts Mansvelt con-
ceived the design of forming an independent buccaneer
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 distinguished among
the fraternity by pre-eminence 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 after-
wards became so celebrated for the variety and vicissi-
tudes of his life, for desperate courage, and for in-
satiable 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

220 THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA.

this servitude Lolonnois escaped, and entered with the
buccaneers. 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 small force he captured a Spanish frigate
off the coast of Cuba. This buccaneer commander, of
whom almost incredible atrocities are related, is said
to have frequently thrown 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 of the victims as it
trickled down his sabre. It is even related that, in
transports of frantic cruelty, he has been 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 as
of delight, and he reckoned the terror inspired by his
name among the best means of success.

With the fruits of rapine Lolonnois extended his range
of depredation, and at last joined forces with another no-
torious brother of the order, Michael de Basco. With
a force of eight ships and six hundred and fifty men
they stormed and plundered the towns of Gibraltar
and Maracaibo; the former place being burned 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 ex-
pedition, the most lucrative that had yet been under-
taken, as many ships were captured during the cruise,

THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA. 221

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 four hundred thousand pieces of eight in money,
plate, merchandise, household furniture, and clothes,
— for nothing escaped the ravages of the buccaneers.
The name of Fra^ois Lolonnois, already so formidable
on the Spanish Main and the islands, now became a
word of deeper horror to the miserable settlers, who
lived in continual dread of a descent.

After the plunder had been obtained and divided,
the next stage of a regular buccaneering voyage was
to some friendly island, Tortuga or Jamaica, where a
market might be obtained for the divided spoils, and
an opportunity given for the indulgence of the un-
bridled and gross licentiousness in which the pirates
squandered their gains. This was either in gaming, to
which the buccaneers were strongly addicted, in the
most brutal debauchery, or in those freaks of profligate
extravagance which more or less characterize all un-
educated seamen after long voyages. " Some of them,"
says their brother and historian, Exquemelin, " will
spend three thousand 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 place a 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

222 THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA.

do the same with barrels of ale and beer ; and very
often with both his hands he would throw these 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 Roche Brazi-
liano, a pirate somewhat less cruel than many of the
fraternity, and of great courage and 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 daring to oppose him or make any
resistance." Such was the buccaneer 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 expedi-
tion 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 vil-
lages or Spanish settlements, he at last experienced re-
verses, and on proposing to go to Guatemala many of
the leading buccaneers 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,

THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA. 223

a fierce and cruel tribe, who were not unacquainted with
the atrocities of the buccaneers. By them he was torn
alive limb from limb, — his body consumed, and the
ashes scattered abroad, " to the intent," says his his-
torian, "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 bucca-
neer formerly mentioned, is more romantic, if not more
humane. He appears to have been one of those un-
happy though detestable beings, to whom the soil of
France occasionally gives birth, who are created with a
raging thirst for blood, and with whom cruelty is a
passion and appetite. Montbar was a gentleman of
Languedoc, who, from reading in his youth of the hor-
rible cruelties practised by the Spaniards upon the Mexi-
cans and Caribs, imbibed a hatred of the whole Spanish
nation which possessed him like a frenzy. It is, how-
ever, somewhat strange that the impulse which led this
singular person to join the ranks of the buccaneers
urged him to the commission of worse cruelties than
those which he reprobated. His comrades 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 well-nigh strangled him. His
imagination was perpetually haunted by the shapes of

224 THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA.

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 deck, 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 buccaneers 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 par-
tially changed the scene of havoc. Their predatory
excursions were immediately carried further into the
interior, and stretched more extensively along the
coasts of the continent. It was about this time that
the popular buccaneer commander named Mansvelt

THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA. 225

formed the design before alluded to, of establishing
a buccaneer independent empire, — a project which was
afterwards 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 might easily
have been extended on all sides, was the 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 buccaneers more profit-
able 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
buccaneers, Captain Sir Henry Morgan. The new
buccaneer 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

(829) 15

226 THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA.

years. After effecting his escape, or emancipation,
Morgan joined the buccaneers, 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 on 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 buccaneers were driven to
seek a new place of refuge. The Cayos, 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 contem-
plated; and here they watered, refitted, held their
councils in safety, and waited till their fleet had been
victualled either by pillage or purchase.

To the Keys on the south of Cuba, the rendezvous
appointed by Morgan, about twelve sail in ships and
boats had now repaired, with above seven hundred
fighting-men, French and English. The disposal of
this armament and force was the cause of difference
of opinion, some wishing to attack Havannah, while

THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA. 227

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
buccaneers, as soon as they became masters, shut up
the principal inhabitants in the churches, as the easiest
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 extrava-
gant fancies of the brutal and ignorant buccaneers.
The booty obtained, or wrung from the inhabitants,
was, however, considerable. Five hundred bullocks
formed part of the ransom, which the insolent free-
booters compelled the Spaniards to kill and salt for
them. A characteristic quarrel between a French and
an English buccaneer, which took place at this time,
crippled the strength of Morgan, from whom, in con-
sequence of this difference, many of his Gallican
followers withdrew. The occasion of this national
quarrel was an English buccaneer snatching the mar-
row-bones which the Frenchman had carefully pre-
pared for his own repast. A challenge was the
consequence; and the Frenchman was unfairly or
treacherously stabbed by his opponent. His country-
men embraced his cause, and Morgan put the murderer
in chains, and afterwards had him hung in Jamaica for
this breach of the laws of honour and of brotherhood.

228 THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA.

In the meanwhile the pillage of Puerto del Principe
being divided, the French buccaneers, 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 am-
bitious 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 Porto Bello ; but did not venture to
disclose so bold a design, till it 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 irre-
sistible argument ; and this strongly -fortified city was
carried by a handful of resolute men, who never
scrupled at cruelty needful to the accomplishment of
their object, and often revelled in the wantonness of
unnecessary crime. The first fort or castle was de-
liberately blown up by fire being set to the powder
magazine, after many miserable prisoners, whose man-
gled limbs soon darkened the air, had 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 valu-

THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA. 229

ables. One strong fort it was necessary to carry
without delay; and broad scaling-ladders being con-
structed, Morgan compelled his prisoners to fix them
to the walls. Many of those employed in this office
were friars and nuns, dragged for this purpose from
the cloisters. These it was thought their countrymen
would spare ; while under their protection the buc-
caneers might advance without being exposed to the
fire of the castle. In these trying circumstances,
forgetting the claims of country, and the sacred char-
acter of the innocent persons exposed to suffering so
unmerited, the Spanish governor consulted only his
official duty ; and while the unhappy prisoners of the
buccaneers implored his mercy, he continued to fire
upon all who approached the walls, whether pirates or
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
buccaneers, carrying with them fire-balls 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 gover-
nor, 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 buccaneering conquest
followed rapidly, — pillage, cruelty, brutal license,—
the freebooters giving themselves up to so mad a

230 THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA.

course of riot and debauchery that fifty resolute men
might have cut them off and regained the town, had
the panic -struck 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
buccaneers 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. Morgan, 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
demanded 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 buccaneers 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 towi; and the forts, and
holding them so long, induced him, it is said, to send
a message to the buccaneer leader, requesting a speci-

THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA. 231

men 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 twelve-
month, 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 afterwards acted
upon his own opinions. In the meanwhile, the spoils
were divided at the Keys of Cuba. The booty amounted
to two hundred and fifty thousand pieces of eight,
besides goods of all kinds, including silks, linen, cloth,
and many things that found a ready market in Jamaica,
for which buccaneers' paradise the 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
these armed only with pistols and sabres, had taken
a large fortified city, raised the character of Morgan as
a commander higher than ever; and his invitation to
the Brethren of the Coast to meet him at the Isla de
la Vaca, or Cow Island, which was appointed as a ren-
dezvous preparatory to another cruise, was so eagerly
accepted that he found himself at the head of a con-

232 THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA.

siderable force. A large French buccaneering vessel,
which refused to join in 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
buccaneer was never more strongly displayed than in
the way in which Morgan tried to make the best for him-
self 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
buccaneers 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 one thousand fight-
ing-men. Several of his vessels were armed, and his
own carried fourteen guns. With these, which, how-
ever, through discontent, diminished a full half on the
way, he shaped his course for the devoted cities of
Gibraltar and Maracaibo, formerly visited by Lolonnois,

THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA. 233

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.
Such of the inhabitants as fled to the woods and were
retaken were tortured with fiend-like ingenuity to
make them discover their wealth. It would be painful
and revolting to dwell upon the black record of the
atrocities perpetrated here.

So much time had been consumed at Gibraltar that
Morgan, when about to withdraw, found himself in a
snare, from which it required all his talent and pres-
ence of mind to extricate the buccaneer 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 buccaneers in pillage
and debauchery at Gibraltar, the Spaniards had repaired
the fort which protected the passage of the lake or
lagoon of Maracaibo, and stationed three men-of-war
at the entrance, whose vigilance it was conceived im-
possible 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

234 THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA.

this insolent vaunt the Spaniard replied, that though
the buccaneer 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 lagoon, 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 unmolested.

This reply was as usual submitted to a council of
buccaneers, and at this assembly one of their number
suggested the stratagem by which Morgan destroyed
the Spanish men-of-war. One of the buccaneer vessels
was prepared as a fire-ship, and at the same time was
made to wear the appearance of a vessel ready for
action. Logs were placed in rows on the deck, on
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,
female prisoners, and whatever was of most value to
the buccaneers, were placed in their large boats, each
of which carried twelve armed men. These boats
were to follow the fire-ship, which led the van ; an oath
was exacted from each buccaneer 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 sailed, and about dusk
came up with the Spanish ships riding at anchor in
the middle of the lagoon. The buccaneer vessels also
anchored, resolved to await here the effect of their

THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA. 235

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 fire-ship, 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 dis-
covered, but too late for escape. The conflagration
commenced. The Spanish ship caught fire in tackling
and timbers, and the fore part 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 buccaneers.
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 buccaneers,
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 was well-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

236 THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA.

sight of the garrison, he affected to be sending boats
filled with men to a point 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 mano3uvre was repeated,
till the Spaniards believed that from the number of
men landed an attack upon the castle was meditated.
This 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 buccaneers, the guns of the castle
were changed from a position which commanded the
lagoon, and pointed to landward. 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 mis-
adventures 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,

THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA. 237

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 buccaneers."
Letters were despatched by the commander to every
noted buccaneer, 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 wilder-
ness, had nocked 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
hog-yards, and with the boucan sent in by hunters
who either joined in the expedition or traded with the
pirates. The buccaneer fleet, consisting of thirty-seven
vessels fully provisioned, next sailed for Cape Tiburon,
on the west coast of Hispaniola, — the fighting-men
amounting to two thousand. 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 Europe and
the West Indies of its amazing wealth, and of the
great riches of Peru.

Morgan had never renounced the idea, which origin-
ated with Mansvelt, of a buccaneer settlement on the
conveniently-situated island of Providence. Once more

238 THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA.

it was captured on his way, the Spanish governor
making a farce of resistance. From this point Morgan
detached a force of four hundred 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 buccaneers laboured hard to in-
crease the confusion, by setting fire to the palisades
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 con-
siderable loss of their numbers. But the attack and
resistance were still continued throughout the whole
night, the buccaneers directing an incessant fire towards
the breaches, which the Spanish governor pertinaciously
defended.

By noon the next day the buccaneers 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 super-
natural courage. But nothing could resist the im-
petuosity 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

THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA. 239

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 con-
flict till he fell by a musket-shot which entered the
brain. Of the garrison of three hundred and fourteen
men only thirty remained alive, and of these few
twenty were wounded. Not a single officer escaped.

From the survivors of the siege the buccaneer party
learned that the governor of Panama was already
apprised of their design against that place ; that all
along the course of the Chagre ambuscades were laid,
and that a force of three thousand six hundred men
awaited their arrival. But this did not deter Morgan,
who pressed forward for Chagre the instant that he
received intelligence of the capture of the castle, carry-
ing 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 joyful sight to the main body of the buccaneers
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 subjected 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 palisades. He also

240 THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA.

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 five hundred men in his castle of Chagre, and in the
ships one hundred and fifty; while at the head of
one thousand two hundred buccaneers, he, on the 18th
January 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 com-
pelled 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 alter-
nately, and was attended with great inconvenience, the
extremity of famine being of the number of their
hardships. Their best hopes 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

THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA. 241

found, as, failing provisions, they had resolved to have
roasted or boiled a few of the enemy to satisfy their
ravenous appetites.

Throughout the wiiole track to Panama, the Spaniards
had taken care not to leave the smallest quantity of
provisions, and any other soldiers than the buccaneers
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 beat
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, writh
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 season-
able 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 buccaneers rushed upon and devoured with-
out any preparation. Yet all this hardship could not

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242 THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA.

turn them aside from the scent of prey, though symp-
toms 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 re-
freshments; but on reaching it found no inhabitant,
and every house either burned down or in flames, so
determined were the Spaniards to oppose the onward
march of the terrible beings, presented to their im-
aginations under every shape of horror. The only
animals remaining, the dogs and cats of the village, fell
an immediate sacrifice to the wolfish hunger of the
buccaneers.

Morgan had now some difficulty in preserving dis-
cipline, and in keeping his companions or followers
from falling into the hands of the Spaniards or Indians
when straggling about in search of anything they
could devour. In this way one man was lost.

They were now within eight leagues of Panama, 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 con-
jectured, 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 buccaneers, who had already three Indian guides,

THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA. 243

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 con-
cealed 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 can-
nibals 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 infor-
mation by taking prisoners, as on his whole line of
march he had obtained speech of neither Spaniard nor
Indian.

In the same evening the steeple of Panama was
beheld at a distance; and, forgetting all their sufferings,
the buccaneers gave way to the most rapturous exulta-
tion, tossing their caps into the air, leaping, shouting,
beating their drums, and sounding their trumpets at
the sight of so glorious a plunder, and as if victory

244 THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA.

were already consummated. They encamped for the
night near the city, intending to make the assault
early in the morning. The 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 ill-directed to do any execution ; and instead of
betraying alann, the buccaneers, having placed sen-
tinels around their camp, made another voracious meal
preparatory to the next day's business, threw them-
selves 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 sound-
ing 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 buccaneers
had advanced some way. The governor of Panama,
who led the forces, commanded two hundred cavalry
and four regiments of infantry; and a number of
Indian auxiliaries conducted an immense herd of wild
bulls, to be driven among the ranks of the buccaneers,

THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA. 245

and which were expected to throw them into disorder.
This extraordinary arm of war was viewed by the
hunters of Hispaniola and Campeachy with indiffer-
ence ; 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
manosuvres of the horsemen. The advance of the
buccaneers, all picked marksmen, knelt and received
them with a volley, and the conflict instantly became
close and hot. The buccaneers, 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 buccaneers 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 cavaliers. Some of them took refuge
in the adjoining thickets ; and though the buccaneers

246 THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA.

did not continue the pursuit, they took a savage
pleasure in shooting without mercy all who accident-
ally 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 buccaneers minute intelligence
of the force 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 buccaneers
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 buccaneers 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 buccaneers neither gave nor ac-
cepted quarter, and the carnage on both sides was great.
Six hundred Spaniards fell on that day : nor was the
number of the buccaneers who perished much less ; but

THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA. 247

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 sooner gained than Morgan, who saw
the temper of the inhabitants 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 noth-
ing 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 was sufficient to
enforce rigid abstinence among the buccaneers, 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 attri-
buted by the Spaniards to the pirates, and by them to
the inhabitants. Both assisted in endeavouring to ex-

O

tinguish 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 removed or
concealed the most valuable part of their goods and
furniture.

The city of Panama consisted of about twelve thou-
sand houses, many of them large and magnificent. It

248 THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA.

contained also eight monasteries and two churches, all
richly furnished. The concealment of the church-plate
drew upon the ecclesiastics the peculiar vengeance of
the heretical buccaneers, 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 burned to
the ground, together with many warehouses stored with
meal. Many of the miserable Africans, whom the
Genoese brought for sale to Peru, perished in the
flames, which raged or smouldered for nearly four
weeks.

For some time the buccaneers, afraid of being sur-
prised and overpowered by the Spaniards, who still
reckoned ten for one of their numbers, encamped with-
out 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 subjec-
tion, while the buccaneers either raged like demons
through the burning town, or prowled among the
ruins and ashes in search of plate and other valu-
able articles.

The property which the Spaniards had concealed in
deep wells and cisterns was nearly all discovered, and the
most active of the buccaneers 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

THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA. 249

hundred of the fugitives as prisoners. Of those un-
happy persons many were females, who found the
merciless buccaneers 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 were 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 buccaneers in-
dulging in a brutal revel in their own bark till it was
too late to follow and capture the ship. The pursuit
was afterwards continued for four days, — at the end of
which the buccaneers returned to Panama with another
prize, worth twenty thousand pieces of eight in goods,
from Payta.

Meanwhile, on the opposite coast, the ships' companies
left at Chagre were exercising their vocation, and had
captured one large Spanish vessel, which, unaware of
the hands into which the castle had fallen, ran in under
it for protection.

While the buccaneers were thus employed at sea, and
at Panama and Chagre, parties continued to scour the
surrounding country, taking in turn the congenial duty
of foraying and bringing in booty and prisoners, on
whom they exercised the most atrocious cruelties, un-
scrupulously employing the rack, and sparing neither
age, sex, nor condition. Religious persons were the

250 THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA.

subjects of the most refined barbarity, as they were
believed to direct and influence the rest of the inhabit-
ants, both in their first resistance and in the subsequent
concealment of property. During the perpetration of
these outrages, Morgan 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 buccaneer
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 man-
hood, 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 con-
sisted in corresponding with her countrymen, and en-
deavouring to effect her escape.

In the meanwhile a plan had entered the minds of a
party of the buccaneers, 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 pro-
ject, of which he received private information. He
immediately ordered the mainmast of the ship to be
cut down and burned, together with every other vessel
in the port, thus effectually preventing desertion on this
side of America. The arms, ammunition, and stores,

THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA. 251

secretly collected for this bold cruise on the South Sea,
were applied to other purposes.

Nothing more was to be wrung from Panama, which,
after a destructive sojourn of four weeks, Morgan
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
buccaneers, apprehensive of no opposition, left the ruins
of Panama with a hundred and seventy -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 buccaneers, 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 height-
ened 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, sup-
plicating for the mercy of being allowed to remain
amidst the ruins of their former homes, or in the woods
in huts with their husbands and children. His answer
was, "that he came not there to listen to cries and
lamentations, but to get money, which unless he ob-

252 THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA.

tained, 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 buccaneers 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 manoeuvre was the
desire of concealing his own peculation and fraudulent
dealing with his associates. The French buccaneers
who accompanied the expedition were indignant at
treatment so much at variance with the maxims and
usages of the gentlemen rovers ; but being the weaker
party, they were compelled to submit.

The buccaneers and their prisoners performed the
remainder 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

THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA. 253

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 buccaneers that they openly grumbled, and accused
their chief of the worst crime 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 com-
manded by persons in his confidence, sailed for Jamaica,
leaving his enraged associates in want of every necessary.
Those who followed him were all Englishmen, who,
as the French buccaneers fully believed, connived at
the frauds and shared in the gains of Morgan. They
would instantly have pursued him to sea, and the Span-
iards might have enjoyed the satisfaction of seeing the

254 THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA.

buccaneer 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 misery and devastation they had carried to Panama.
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 buccaneers,
was to be the prince or governor. But circumstances
were still unfavourable. Lord 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 buccaneers 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 buccaneer
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 buccaneers
preferred joining the flibustiers at Tortuga, or becoming
logwood-cutters in the Bay of Campeachy; and, luckily

THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA. 255

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,
— buccaneers and flibustiers alike exercising their in-
dustry 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 years 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 afterwards
to be appointed deputy -governor of Jamaica. Though
it was believed that he still secretly shared in the
plundering adventures of the buccaneers, 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 Cartha-
gena, 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 deputy-
governor on his old friends and countrymen did not,
however, dispose the Spaniards to unlimited confidence
in Morgan; and suspecting him of secretly favouring
the buccaneers, who had once more increased, they were
able, after the accession of James II., to get him re-
moved from his office and committed for a time to
prison in England.

256 THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA.

The same unwise restrictions, and troublesome inter-
ference with the cultivation and commerce of the
colonies, which had encouraged the system of buccan-
eering 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 buccaneers, 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 buccaneers were engaged
in this expedition, though none of them held high com-
mand. 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 BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA. 257

the churches, the usual prison of the buccaneers, 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 afterwards glad to purchase their freedom on any
terms their conquerors chose to dictate. Ten millions
of livres were demanded as a ransom ; and the half of
it had 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 one thousand five hundred 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 buccaneer corps ever agreed or
acted in harmony for any length of time. Their law-
less 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 ex-
pedition. On the present occasion they separated in

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258 THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA.

wrath, the Frenchmen employing the pretext of the
quarrel they artfully fomented to withhold the English-
men's share of the pillage. The later cruises of the
buccaneers 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 buccaneer, 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 increas-
ing 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 buccaneers, 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 nor the
powerful hand of England could reach ; and of the
opposition to be feared from the indolent and effem-
inate inhabitants, the expedition of Morgan had
afforded a very satisfactory specimen. In the new
design of crossing the continent, and searching for

THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA. 259

untried regions of conquest and spoliation, the buc-
caneers 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 buc-
caneers. 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 inter-
woven with the personal adventures of Dampier, on
which we are now to enter. And in the narrative of
this remarkable navigator, instead of monotonous de-
tails of fraud, rapacity, and cruelty, on which it has
been painful to linger, the reader is gratified with the
researches and discoveries of natural science, and with
pictures of life and manners, curious, novel, and at-
tractive, which have never yet, among the multitude
of succeeding European navigators, fallen under the
notice of a more acute and accurate observer, or ob-

260 THE BUCCANEERS OF AMERICA.

tained a delineator more faithful and lively, and
occasionally more glowing and poetical, than the ex-
traordinary man whose history we are now to follow,
commencing with his early wanderings among the
buccaneers.

CHAPTER II.

ADVENTURES AMONG THE WOOD-CUTTERS AND
BUCCANEERS.

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
East 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 £20 to £50. By a singular but
probably a then 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

262 AMONG THE WOOD-CUTTERS AND BUCCANEERS.

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.

Before the death of his parents, which happened
while he was very young, Dampier had begun to re-
ceive 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 re-
turning 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 vicis-
situde, 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 foremastman on board the Martha East Indiaman,

AMONG THE WOOD-CUTTERS AND BUCCANEERS. 263

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 D'ampier
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 not a witness,
having previously fallen into bad health. From the
ship he was sent to Harwich Hospital, and finally to
his brother's, where he slowly recovered.

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 belonging to that gentleman, forming a
special agreement with the captain to protect himself
from the frauds of the kidnappers. The ship went
" merrily along," steering for Barbadoes, which was the
first of the islands that Dampier beheld. He was at

264 AMONG THE WOOD-CUTTEES AND BUCCANEERS.

this time twenty-two years of age, active, intelligent,
and full of an instinctive curiosity, already under the
guidance of a strong, clear, and prompt understanding.

St. Lucia was next seen, and afterwards Tobago
and St. Vincent. 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 soundness 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, pine-apples, 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

AMONG THE WOOD-CUTTERS AND BUCCANEERS. 265

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-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
Dampier, "are great hinderances 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 un-
congenial 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 know-
ledge, 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

266 AMONG THE WOOD-CUTTERS AND BUCCANEERS.

change as soon as he had overmastered its difficulties.
His next voyage, undertaken in August 1675, was to
the island of Trist, in the Bay of Campeachy, for a
cargo of logwood. In these later 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 bear-
ings 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 re-
lations. 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 Cam-
peachy, 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
the place of hunting wild cattle, which were become
scarce. Some adventurers pursued both vocations, and
others were wood-cutters alone. A third class occa-'
sionally added the variety and profit of a privateering
cruise to their quieter employments.

The logwood-cutters in the Bay of Campeachy at
this time amounted to about two hundred and fifty

AMONG THE WOOD-CUTTERS AND BUCCANEERS. 267

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 dye-wood carried the
wood-cutters rum, sugar, tobacco, and other things
necessary to them. The trade was usually opened by
a solemn drinking-match on board the ships, where
healths were pledged, and salvoes fired in honour of
each pledge, with all the customary demonstrations of
buccaneer 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 wood-
men, 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 dough -boys, a kind of thick un-
leavened cake, which, when on shore, the buccaneers
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

268 AMONG THE WOOD-CUTTERS AND BUCCANEERS.

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 them
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 Span-
ish vessel, which gave chase to their bark. Though
the crew had both fished and hunted at several places
before they reached Jamaica, they were during most
part of the passage greatly pinched for provisions ; and
on coming to anchor after so many hardships, they
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, dis-
appointed 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,

AMONG THE WOOD-CUTTERS AND BUCCANEERS. 269

wedges, the sleeping -pavilion necessary for defence
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 lagoon of
Trist Island, in the Bay of Campeachy.

The first wood-cutters were men who had adopted
this occupation when buccaneering was overdone from
the number of competitors, and become dangerous from
prohibitory edicts. They originally settled near the
forests of the dye-wood 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 of logwood of a
hundred tons already felled and chipped, and ready to
be brought to the creek, whence it was to be shipped
for New England. 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 lagoons
of Trist, for the enjoyment of the refreshing sea-breezes,

270 AMONG THE WOOD-CUTTERS AND BUCCANEERS.

and to be as near the dye-wood 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 be-
longed 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 in-
mates 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 wood-cutters ; another, equal in
height, 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 dye-wood in this
tract had been accidentally discovered by an English
ship, were actual buccaneers, " 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 delight in hunting, though
piracy was still their favourite pursuit. Besides plun-
dering 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

AMONG THE WOOD-CUTTERS AND BUCCANEERS. 271

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 they were banished, had
been. In these vessels they would gather at a grand
drinking-match, and spend £30 or £40 at a sitting,
carousing and firing off guns for three or four days
successively. Whatever might have been the pre-
vailing character of the wood-cutters at the time of
Dampier's visit, the 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 by higher
motives, were restrained from falling into the extrav-
agance and riot of their companions by the desire 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 dye-stuff, the
spongy outer part being chipped away. It is a heavy
wood, and burns well ; and for this reason the hunters,
wood-cutters, and buccaneers always, when it could be
obtained, preferred it for hardening the steel of their

272 AMONG THE WOOD-CUTTERS AND BUCCANEERS.

fire-arms. Bloodwood, another dye-stuff much esteemed,
was found in the Gulf of Nicaragua, and sold at double
the price of the logwood — the latter selling at £15 per
ton, when the bloodwood cost £30.

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. 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
beasts 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, accus-
tomed to carry loads of wood of from three to four
hundredweight, though their burdens, like everything
else, were regulated by their own pleasure and dis-
cretion. During the rainy season, when the logwood-
grounds were flooded, they would step from their high
bed-frames into two feet of water, and remain thus all
day — improving this cool season as that most favour-
able 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.

AMONG THE WOOD-CUTTERS AND BUCCANEERS. 273

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 bounti-
ful 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 the 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

(829) IS

274 AMONG THE WOOD-CUTTERS AND BUCCANEERS.

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, the waree, and
peccary, a species of wild-hog, the opossum, tiger-cat,
monkeys, ant-bears, armadilloes, porcupines, land-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 la-
goons, 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 low-growing timber of many kinds thrive. As it
recedes further 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

AMONG THE WOOD-CUTTERS AND BUCCANEERS. 275

dry season set fire to the grass of the savannas, which,
immediately 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, inces-
santly 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 difiicult 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
limb, 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,

276 AMONG THE WOOD-CUTTERS AND BUCCANEERS.

Darapier 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 buccaneers 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 fascination 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 green-
snake 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 buccaneers and wood-cut-
ters used as tooth-picks, as they were said to cure tooth-
ache. 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."

AMONG THE WOOD-GUTTERS AND BUCCANEERS. 277

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 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 over-
grown wasp ; with a black bill no bigger than a 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, some-
times on the other, as often rebounding a foot or two

278 AMONG THE WOOD-CUTTERS AND BUCCANEERS.

back on a sudden, and as quickly returns again, keep-
ing thus about one flower five or six minutes or more."
The wood-cutters and hunters, in their out-door and
silvan life, became familiar with all the living creatures
of these prolific regions, and gave them English names
significant of their habits. They adopted the super-
stition 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 suspended, like the nest itself, is made of
long grass ingeniously 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

AMONG THE WOOD-CUTTERS AND BUCCANEERS. 279

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 now advert.
The creeks, rivers, and lagoons, 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 buccaneers, who 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 were generally harmless when not
molested ; 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
Island, one of the smaller islands of the Bay. To this
pond 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 his companions, who,
fearing that he had been seized by the Spaniards, to

280 AMONG THE WOOD-CUTTERS AND BUCCANEERS.

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, he 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 com-
rades, 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 every instant to be devoured,
and yet escaped untouched ; but he candidly says, " I
was so frighted, that I never cared to go through the
water again as long as I was in the Bay."

On the first Saturday after he commenced wood-

AMONG THE WOOD-CUTTERS AND BUCCANEERS. 281

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 am-
bition 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 water
and 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 further astray
through small strips of savanna and skirts of wood-
land— a maze of plain and forest which seemed inter-
minable. The rest of this youthful adventure, from
which Dampier drew a beneficial lesson for the regula-
tion 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 further out of my way, for the sun
being so 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

282 AMONG THE WOOD-CUTTERS AND BUCCANEERS.

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 I know not. It is well stored with bullocks, but by
frequent hunting they grow shy, and remove further 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 homewards 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, and shifting my quar-
ters 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 the 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. But, about a mile further, I espied ten or
twelve quaums 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

AMONG THE WOOD-CUTTERS AND BUCCANEERS. 283

or six turkeys with no better success, so that I was
forced to march forward, still in the savanna, toward
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 to the 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 hopes, 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 afterwards."

Dampier had the more reason to congratulate himself
on the issue of this adventure, that shortly before the cap-
tain and six of the crew of a Boston ship had wandered
into the woods, part of 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.

284 AMONG THE WOOD-CUTTERS AND BUCCANEERS.

When his first month's service was ended, Dampier
received as pay the price of a ton of wood, with which
he bought provisions, and entered into a new engage-
ment, on the footing of comradeship, but with other
partners. Of the former company to which he had
been attached, some went to Beef Island to hunt bul-
locks 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 thirty-two pegs,
each as thick as a man's arm, to stretch one hide; after-
wards, they were hung in heaps upon a pole, that they
might not touch the ground, and from time to time
well 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 Dampier preferred wood-cutting. His
partners 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 dye-wood, which it was agreed Duncan

AMONG THE WOOD-CUTTERS AND BUCCANEERS. 285

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 particu-
larly 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 extrava-
gantly squander away their time and money in drinking
and making a bluster."

To make up for the indolence of his comrade Dampier
kept the closer to work himself, till attacked by a very
singular disease. A red and ill-conditioned swelling or
boil 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 boil, and on squeez-
ing it two small white worms spurted out, about the
thickness of a hen's quill and three or four inches long.'"'

286 AMONG THE WOOD-CUTTERS AND BUCCANEERS.

These were quite different from the Guinea-worm, com-
mon in some of the West India Islands, and in the time
of Dampier very common in Curagoa. From the latter
he afterwards 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 overhead
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 wood-
men'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 south-east, fresh and rapidly
increasing, and in less than two hours blew down all
the cabins of the woodmen save one : this they propped

AMONG THE WOOD-CUTTERS AND BUCCANEERS. 287

with posts, and as it were anchored by 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 period 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 con-
tinued to rush in ; nor did the rain abate ; and by ten
o'clock next morning the banks of the creek were over-
flowed.

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 lagoons.
It was remarkable that the hurricane, as was afterwards
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,

288 AMONG THE WOOD-CUTTERS AND BUCCANEERS.

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 re-
mained 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 com-
panions 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 landmark being the flag of a
ship displayed in the woods. The vessel herself was
found two hundred yards from 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 way 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 lagoon, they concluded that
one of the ships was driven in there by distress, and
rowed off to her assistance. With a Captain Chandler,

AMONG THE WOOD-CUTTERS AND BUCCANEERS. 289

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
Indians. " 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 unfre-
quented 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 them-
selves, and from thence have their food till they have
raised plantation-provision near their new-built 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

(829) 19

290 AMONG THE WOOD-CUTTERS AND BUCCANEERS.

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
Spaniards, or do but distrust it, they immediately shift
their quarters to another place, — this large country
affording 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 acquaintances, that had been taken some
time before by the privateers and sold to the log-
wood-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

AMONG THE WOOD-CUTTERS AND BUCCANEERS. 291

their plantations from the Spaniards, from whom they
fled, and the English hunters and log wood -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 depredations of the buccaneers. 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 happen-
ing 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 hocksing. They accepted the offer,
and acted with honour to John d'Acosta, who soon
became very popular among them, though their friend-
ship did him no good with his own countrymen. He
was thrown into prison upon suspicion of conniving
with the buccaneers, 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 fire-arms 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

292 AMONG THE WOOD-CUTTERS AND BUCCANEERS.

advance and retreat with advantage. The hunter was
armed with a hocksing-iron 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 ham-
string 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 the horns so
dexterously that at one stroke the head drops as if
severed from the neck, and the poor beast is dead.
The hunter remounts and pursues other game while
the skinners take off the hide.

The English hunters had so greatly thinned the
numbers of wild cattle on Beef Island, that it was now
dangerous for 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

AMONG THE WOOD-CUTTERS AND BUCCANEERS. 293

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 dangers he had passed and the
wonders he had seen. The old bulls led the van,
behind them were ranged the cows, and next in order
the young cattle. 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 Jamaica, he was forced, for immediate
subsistence, to join a company of " privateers " then in
the Bay. With these buccaneers 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.

294 AMONG THE WOOD-CUTTERS AND BUCCANEERS.

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 frequents 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 buccaneers, and so was a
sucking-calf, which they cooked by roasting. The
tough thick skin of the manatee they applied to
various uses.

The Mosquito Indians were peculiarly dexterous in
fishing, and also in striking manatee and catching
turtle ; for which purpose the buccaneers 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, they 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

AMONG THE WOOD-CUTTERS AND BUCCANEERS. 295

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. On
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.

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 buc-
caneers approached, than to resist their attacks. Their
precautions were, however, useless when opposed to
the address and activity of the buccaneers, who had
frequently pillaged the towns and villages on this

296 AMONG THE WOOD-CUTTERS AND BUCCANEERS.

river, though latterly they had sometimes been repulsed
with loss. In some of these towns there were mer-
chants 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 villages live like gentle-
men," 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

AMONG THE WOOD-CUTTERS AND BUCCANEERS. 297

liquor was made of parched maize and anotta, which
was drunk without straining. The Indians reared
abundance of turkeys, ducks, and fowls, — the 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 their
own clothing, which for both sexes was decent and
becoming.

Under the sanction of the village-priest all marriages
were contracted, — the men marrying at 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 affec-
tionate. They inhabited good houses, lived comfortably
by the sweat of their brows, and on holy eves and
saints' days enjoyed themselves under the direction of
their spiritual guides, who permitted them the re-
creation 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.

298 AMONG THE WOOD-CUTTERS AND BUCCANEERS.

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 buccaneers 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 a sand-bank, and mounted with six guns. The
sand-banks are here about two hundred feet high on
both sides.

This fort the buccaneers 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
buccaneers 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 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, hen-coops, and parrots' cages, the

AMONG THE WOOD-CUTTERS AND BUCCANEERS. 299

ships were filled and lumbered ; and while in this state,
seven Spanish armadilloes from Vera Cruz, detached
in pursuit of the buccaneers, 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 buccaneers got under full sail, and drove
over the bar at the river's mouth, before the enemy,
who could with difficulty stem the current, 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 tre-
mendous odds of strength of which buccaneer history
is so full. The Toro, the admiral of the Spanish barks,
was of itself more than a match for the freebooters.
It carried ten guns and one hundred men, while their
whole force was now diminished to fifty men in both
ships, one of which carried six, the other two guns.
Another of the Spanish vessels carried four guns, with
eighty men, and the remaining five, though not mounted
with great guns, had each sixty or seventy 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 to-
wards 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

300 AMONG THE WOOD-CUTTERS AND BUCCANEERS.

aweather, wore our ship, and got our starboard tacks
aboard, and stood to the westward, and so left the
Toro ; but were saluted by all the small craft as we
passed them, who stood to the eastward after the Toro,
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 made sail to assist
our consort, who was hard put to it; but on our
approach the Toro edged away toward the shore, as
did all the rest, and stood away for Alvarado; and
we, glad of the deliverance, went away to the east-
ward, 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
buccaneers, 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 pro-
fitable than his buccaneering cruise ; as in the course
of the following season he was able to visit England,

AMONG THE WOOD-CUTTERS AND BUCCANEERS. 301

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 dye-wood 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 logwood-groves."

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 afterwards, 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 Graf ton's Isle, " having," as he says, " married
my wife out of his duchess's family, and leaving her at
Arlington House at my going abroad."

CHAPTER III.

ADVENTURES WITH THE BUCCANEERS.

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 wood-cutters. Instead, however,
of prosecuting this design, Dampier remained in Jamaica
all that year, and by some means was enabled to pur-
chase a small estate in Dorsetshire. This new possession
he was about to visit, when he was 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 at the west end of the island, in which they
found Captains Coxon, Sawkins, Sharp, and "other
privateers," as Dampier gently terms the most noted

ADVENTURES WITH THE BUCCANEERS. 303

buccaneer commanders of the period. Hobby's crew
deserted him to a man to join the buccaneer 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 buccaneers were so close upon his heels that the
inhabitants were completely taken by surprise, and
fled in every direction. The buccaneers plundered for
two days and two nights, in momentary expectation of
the country rising upon them, and overpowering their
small number, but, from avarice and rapacity, they
were unable to tear themselves away.

To the shame of the Spaniards they got clear off,
and divided shares of one hundred and sixty 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 imaginations had
been running upon the endless wealth to be found in
the South Sea. They remained for about a fortnight
at the Samballas Isles, and during this time, preparatory
to their grand attempt, endeavoured to conciliate the

304 ADVENTURES WITH THE. BUCCANEERS.

Indians of the Darien 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
one hundred. They inhabited a tract on the coast
near Cape Gracios Dios, stretching between Cape Hon-
duras and Nicaragua. " They are," says our navigator,
who appears partial to these Indians, " very ingenious
at throwing the lance, fisgig, harpoon, or any manner
of dart, being bred to it from their infancy; for the
children, imitating their parents, never go abroad with-
out a lance in their hands, which they throw at any
object till use hath made them masters of the art.
Then they learn to put 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 coura-
geous; 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

ADVENTURES WITH THE BUCCANEERS. 305

of a fowling-piece; and when they are grown to be
men they will guard themselves from arrows though
they come very thick 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 employment in
their own country is to strike fish, turtle, or manatee.
For this they are esteemed and coveted by all privateers,
for one or two of them in a ship will maintain one
hundred men; so that when we careen our ships we
choose commonly such places where there is plenty of
turtle or 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 fire-arms, 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 su-
perstitious observations among them, being ready to

(829) 20

306 ADVENTURES WITH THE BUCCANEERS.

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 they 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 planta-
tion They delight to settle near the sea, or by some

river, for the sake of striking fish, their beloved em-
ployment ; 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 afterwards, 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 or thirty plantain-trees, a bed
of yams and potatoes, a bush of pimento, and a small
spot of pine-apples, from which they make a sort of
drink, to which they invite each other to be merry.

ADVENTURES WITH THE BUCCANEERS. 307

Whoever of them makes pine-drink treats his neigh-
bours, providing fish and flesh also."

At their drinking-matches they often quarrelled, but
the women prevented mischief by hiding their weapons.
The Mosquito-men were kind and civil to the English,
who endeavoured to retain the regard of such useful
allies. For this purpose it was necessary to let them
have their own way in everything, 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 buccaneers commenced their march across the
Isthmus on the 5th April 1680, about three hundred
and thirty strong, each man armed with a hanger, fusil,
and pistol, and provided with four cakes of the bread
which they called dough-boys. Their generalissimo
was Captain Sharp ; and the men, marshalled in divi-
sions, marched in something like military order, with
flags and leaders. They were accompanied by those
Indians of Darien who were the hereditary enemies
of the Spaniards, whom they had subsidized with the
hatchets, knives, beads, and toys, with which they pro-

308 ADVENTURES WITH THE BUCCANEERS.

vided themselves at Porto Bello. These auxiliaries
furnished them with plantains, venison, and fruit, in
exchange for European commodities. The march was
easily performed, and 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 buccaneers, 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 pirogues,
having previously, in their summary way, deposed
Captain Sharp, and chosen Captain Coxon commander.

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 burden, 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 buccaneers mustered for the attack
of Panama, and on the 23rd April did battle for the
whole day with three Spanish ships in the road, of
which two were captured by boarding, while the third

ADVENTURES WITH THE BUCCANEERS. 309

got off. The action was fierce and sanguinary : of the
buccaneers, eighteen men 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 buccaneers did not consider themselves strong
enough to attack the new city of Panama, but they
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 con-
duct ; and a quarrel breaking out among the buccaneers,
while Coxon returned to the North Sea, he was chosen
commander. He had not many days enjoyed this office,
when, in an attack on Puebla Nueva, he was killed
leading on his men to the assault of a breast-work ; and
on his death Sharp, the second in command, showing
faint heart, the buccaneers 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 off 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 cray-
fish, 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.

310 ADVENTURES WITH THE BUCCANEERS.

Having enjoyed themselves till the 12th of January,
the buccaneers were alarmed by the appearance of three
vessels, which 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 buccaneers 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 con-
tinue under Sharp, and another wished to try their
fortunes further on the South Sea. It was therefore
agreed that the majority should retain the ship, the
other party taking the long-boat and canoes. Sharp's
party proved the more numerous. They cruised in the
South Sea, off the coast of Patagonia and Chili, for 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 afterwards 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

ADVENTURES WITH THE BUCCANEERS. 311

William Dampier, who appears at this time to have
been little distinguished among his companions. The
party consisted of forty-four Europeans and two Mos-
quito 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 2nd they struck into an Indian path, and
reached an Indian village, where they obtained refresh-
ments ; 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

312 ADVENTURES WITH THE BUCCANEERS.

sullen churlishness, which in ordinary times the bucca-
neers 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-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
gave 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 dally 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, hard-
ship, and hunger soon expelled all fear of the Span-
iards, who were, besides, not likely to follow their foes
into these intricate solitudes.

On the 5th 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 fire-arms.
While thus employed, Mr. Wafer, the surgeon of the

ADVENTURES WITH THE BUCCANEERS. 315

buccaneers, who had been among the malcontents, 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 river-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 what-
ever they could lay their hands upon.

Before leaving the ship, foreseeing the difficulties of
the journey, and the necessity of perpetually fording the
rivers, Dampier had taken the precaution to deposit his
journal in a bamboo closed at both ends with wax.
In this way his papers were secured from wet, while
the journalist frequently swam across the rivers which
so greatly impeded the progress of the march. In cross-
ing a river, where the current ran very strong, one
man, who carried his fortune of three hundred dollars
on his back, was swept down the stream and drowned ;
and so worn out were his comrades that, fond as they

316 ADVENTURES WITH THE BUCCANEERS.

were of gold, they would not at this time take the
trouble to look for or burden themselves with his.

It was the eighteenth day of the march before the
buccaneers reached the river Conception, where they
obtained Indian canoes, in which they proceeded to La
Sound's Key, one of the Samballas Islands, which were
much frequented by buccaneers. Here they entered a
French privateer, commanded by Captain Tristian ;
and, with better faith than buccaneers usually displayed,
generously rewarded their Indian guides with money,
toys, and hatchets, and dismissed them. The bucca-
neers of this time were somewhat less ferocious in man-
ners 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 dis-
cipline and regulations to those of privateers or ships of
war. They even made the Sabbath be observed with out-
ward signs of respect. On one occasion when Sawkins's
men, who like all buccaneers 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 buccaneer 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

ADVENTURES WITH THE BUCCANEERS. 317

assault of other places was taken into consideration.
From Trinidad to Vera Cruz the buccaneers had now
an intimate knowledge of every town upon the coast,
and for twenty leagues into the interior ; and acquaint-
ance 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 River, going first towards the
Isle of St. Andreas. In a gale the ships were separated ;
and Dampier being left with a French captain, con-
ceived such a dislike to his shipmates that he, and his
fellow-travellers in crossing the Isthmus, induced a
countryman of their own, named Captain Wright, to fit
up and arm a small vessel, with which they cruised
about the coast in search of provisions, still, however,
keeping their jackals, the Mosquito-men, who caught
turtle while the buccaneers hunted in the woods for
peccaries, waree, deer, quaums, parrots, pigeons, and
curassow birds, and also monkeys, which in times of
hardship they esteemed a delicate morsel. At one
place several of the men were suddenly taken ill from
eating land-crabs which had fed upon the fruit of the
manchineel-tree. All animals that fed on this fruit
were avoided by the freebooters as unwholesome, if not
poisonous. In selecting unknown wild-fruits the buc-
caneers were guided by the birds, freely eating whatever
kind had been pecked, but no bird touched the fruit of
the manchineel.

318 ADVENTURES WITH THE BUCCANEERS.

On returning to La Sound's Key from this cruise,
they were 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 the liberty of going away. From this
kind but exacting chief he escaped under pretence of
going in search of English dogs to be employed in
hunting, the Indian being aware of the superiority
which dogs gave the Spaniards in the chase. Mr. Wafer
had been painted by the women of the Darien, and his
own clothes being worn out, he was now dressed, or
rather undressed, like the natives; whom, under this
disguise, he resembled so much that it was some time
before Dampier recognized 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, is, 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 neighbourhood of Carthagena
keep them in awe. 'Tis, in short, the very Loretto 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

ADVENTURES WITH THE BUCCANEERS. 319

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-banks 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 over-
seer.

In a short time afterwards the buccaneers captured,
after a smart engagement, an armed ship of twelve
guns and forty men, laden with sugar, tobacco, and
marmalade, bound to Carthagena from St. Jago in
Cuba. From the disposal of this cargo, some insight
is afforded into the mysteries of buccaneering. It was
offered first to the Dutch governor of Cura^oa, who
having, as he said, a great trade with the 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 buccaneers required, and
take the sugar off their hands. The rovers, however,

320 ADVENTURES WITH THE BUCCANEERS.

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 reef off the south side of this island the
Count d'Estre'es had shortly before lost the French
fleet. Firing guns in the darkness to warn the ships
that followed 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 buccaneers and were wrecked here, "being
used to such accidents, lived merrily, and if they had
gone to Jamaica with £30 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

ADVENTURES WITH THE BUCCANEERS. 321

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 over 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 afterwards."

In a short time after, this island was the scene of a
clever buccaneering 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 hither the buccaneers repaired to
careen and refit their ships, and among others Captain
Pain, a Frenchman. A Dutch vessel of twenty guns,
despatched from Cura9oa to fish up the guns lost on
the reef, descried the privateer, 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 man-of-war.

At this island Dampier's party remained for some
time, careened the largest ship, scrubbed a sugar-prize

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322 ADVENTURES WITH THE BUCCANEERS.

formerly taken, and recovered two guns of the wreck
of D'Estrdes' fleet. They afterwards went to the Isles
of Rocas, where they fell in with a French ship of
thirty -six 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 oifered him every encourage-
ment 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 obtained, 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 buccaneers, near Hispaniola, which
place was now, however, better known as Petit 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 vitce. Iguanas, or guanoes, as they were

ADVENTURES WITH THE BUCCANEERS. 323

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 man's leg.
From the hind quarter the tail tapers to a point. If
seized by the tail near the extremity, it broke off at a
joint, and the animal escaped. They are amphibious crea-
tures. Both their eggs and flesh were highly esteemed
by the buccaneers, who made soup of the latter for their
sick. There were many species found here, living on
land 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
afterwards three barks, one laden with hides, another
with brandy and earthen ware, and a third with European
goods. With these prizes they returned to the Rocas to
divide 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 from
sickness during most of the time. His disease was not
more singular than was the mode of cure practised by
a negro Esculapius, whose appropriate fee was a white

324 ADVENTURES WITH THE BUCCANEERS.

cock. The disease was what is called the Guinea-
worm. " These worms," says Dampier, " 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 en-
danger the patient's life, and be very painful. I was
in great torment before it came out. My leg and
ankle swelled, and looked very red and angry, and I
kept a plaster to it to bring it to a head. Drawing oft
my plaster, out came about three inches of the worm,
and my pain abated presently. Till then I was ig-
norant 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 circumnavi-
gation 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 IV.

CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE.

AMONG the companions of Dampier in his journey
across the Isthmus, and in his subsequent cruise, was
Mr. John Cook, a Creole, born in St. Christopher's, and
a man of good capacity. He had acted as quarter-
master, or second in command, under Captain Yanky,
a French flibustier, who at this time held a commission
as a privateer. By the ordinary laws of the buccaneers,
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 Tristian and part
of his men being one day on shore, the English party,

326 CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE.

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 buccaneers, 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 swindled Tristian out of his ship,
which might, however, be considered as but a fair act
of reprisal, and having afterwards committed open
piracy on the French commerce, the West Indies was
no longer a safe latitude for these English buccaneers.
The wines were therefore sold with the other goods,
and two of the ships; and 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 com-
mander, Captain John Cook. Before embarking on this
new piratical expedition, they all subscribed certain
rules for maintaining discipline and due subordination,
and for the observance of sobriety on their long voyage.
They sailed from the Chesapeake on the 23rd August
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 a week, "drenching them all like so many

CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE. 327

drowned rats." After this gale they had the winds
and weather both favourable, 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, pre-
vailed with one of the buccaneers to purchase from him
a 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 one hundred
pounds, 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. 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 flamingoes kept together in large flocks,
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, 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

328 CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE.

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 Strait 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 of the
river Sherborough, near a large Danish ship, which
they afterwards took by stratagem. While in sight of
the Dane, which felt no alarm at the appearance of a
ship of the size of the Revenge, most of the buccaneer
crew remained under deck, no more of the hands ap-
pearing above than were necessary to manage the sails.
Their bold design was to board the ship without dis-
covering any sign of their intention, and the Revenge
advanced closely, still wearing the semblance 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 pre-
concerted 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 dexter-
ous 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 vic-
tualled for a long voyage.

CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE. 329

This fine vessel was, by the exulting buccaneers,
named the Bachelors Delight, and they immediately
burned the Revenge, that she "might tell no tales,"
sent their prisoners on shore, and steered for Magellan
Strait.

On the voyage to the Strait, the Bachelors Delight
encountered frequent tornadoes, accompanied by thunder,
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 afterwards stewing
them with pepper and vinegar. About the middle of
January they lost one of the surgeons, who was greatly
lamented, as there now remained but one for 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 pos-
sessed more geographical and nautical knowledge than
his companions, had been persuading Captain Cook to
stop here to water, and afterwards to prosecute the
voyage to Juan Fernandez by doubling Cape Horn,
avoiding the Strait altogether, which, he judiciously
says, " I knew would prove very dangerous to us, the
rather because our men being privateers, and so more
wilful and less under command, would not be so ready
to give a watchful attendance in a passage so little

330 CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE.

known. For although these men were more under
command 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 Falk-
land 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 from making the entrance of
the Strait, and on the 6th February they fell in with
the Strait 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 break-
ing over the poop, sometimes over the waist and the
bow, and tossing the Bachelors Delight " like an egg-
shell."

In the same evening they had a breeze from west-
uorth-west, bore away eastward, and having the wind
fresh all night, passed the east end of Staten Island next
day. Our navigator, on the 7th at noon, found the lati-
tude 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

CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE. 331

were so fortunate as to catch twenty -three barrels of
rain-water, besides an abundant supply for present
consumption.

On the 3rd 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 36°, 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 buccaneer ship. Captain
Eaton came on board the Bachelors 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 23rd 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, afterwards 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

332 CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE.

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 perceived William standing
ready to give them welcome. From the heights he
had seen the ships on the preceding day, arid, 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 de-
light, as 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 Dam-
pier, " 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 ammuni-
tion was expended, by notching his knife into a saw

CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE. 333

he cut 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 barrel of his gun, which he hardened for
this purpose in a way he had seen practised by the
buccaneers. In this fire he heated his pieces of iron,
hammered them out with stones, sawed them with his
jagged knife, or ground 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 goat's 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 barbecue,
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's 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 inter-
sected by small pleasant valleys ; the mountains were
partly savanna and partly woodland; the grass of

334 CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE.

the flat places being 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 rivulet
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 buccaneers sometimes made dice.

The buccaneers 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

CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE. 337

on shore, and fed with vegetables and fresh goat's
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 Dam-
pier 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 an-
other, each surpassing the other in height ; those that
are farthest within land being 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 buccaneers, made on the 3rd
of May, was a Spanish ship bound for 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
la 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.

(829) 22

338 CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE.

At this place the ships were scrubbed, and the prisoners
rigidly examined, that from their information the voy-
agers 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 one hundred
and eight 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 buccaneer force which now
threatened the coast. One of the ships carried eight
tons of quince-marmalade. The buccaneers were deeply
mortified to learn that they had narrowly missed a
prize containing eight hundred thousand pieces of eight,
which had been landed at an intermediate port, upon a
rumour that English ships were 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 garrison 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 on the lee-bow, some on
the weather-bow, and others right ahead." The Gala-

CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE. 339

pagos Islands were still very little known at the time
the buccaneers made this visit. They lie under the
equator, are numerous, and were uninhabited, and
abounded in iguanas and large land-turtle ; otherwise
they are rocky and barren, and mostly destitute of water,
though in some of 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 broad, and partially
wooded. Land-turtle were found, here in such multi-
tudes that Dampier says "five hundred or six hundred
men might subsist on them for several months without
any other sort of provision." Some of them weighed
from one hundred and fifty to two hundred pounds,
and were two feet or two feet six inches over the
calipee, and sweet as a young pullet. The 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 buccaneers 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-tree furnished them with vegetables ; so

340 CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE.

that the Galapagos were in all respects well adapted
for a buccaneer station.

By the advice of an Indian, one of their prisoners,
the buccaneers were induced to visit Ria Lexa, his
native place, where he promised them a rich harvest in
plunder.

At Juan Fernandez, Captain Cook had been taken
ill ; he now died somewhat suddenly as they stood off
Cape Blanco, and, as a mark of respect, was buried on
shore. While his men were digging the grave they
were seen by three Spanish Indians, who held aloof,
but asked them many questions ; " and one man," says
Dampier, "did not stick to sooth them up with as
many falsehoods, purposely to draw them into our
clutches; and at length drilled them by discourse so
near that our men laid hold on all three at once."
One escaped before the burial of Cook was over, and
the other two were taken on ship-board. When ex-
amined, notwithstanding their pretended simplicity,
they confessed that they had been sent out as spies by
the governor of Panama, who had received intelligence
of the buccaneer squadron.

The voyagers were informed by these prisoners that
large herds of cattle were reared in this neighbourhood,
which was welcome news to seamen who had seen no
fresh 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

CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE. 341

returned on board. Those who were more foolhardy,
and who even slept on shore, found themselves next
morning watched by forty or fifty armed Spaniards,
and their boat burned. The cowardly Spaniards, afraid
to come forward, still lurked in their ambush ; and one
of the seamen on landing, having noticed an insulated
rock which just appeared above water, they made off
for this 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 tide,
which was at the ebb when they took refuge here,
rising around them, and gaining on the rock so rapidly,
that, had not help come from the ships, in another hour
they must have been swept away. The Spaniards,
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 men, 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
23rd 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

342 CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE.

two hundred sail can ride. It may be entered by a
channel at each end.

The Spaniards had here also got the start of their
enemy. They had thrown up a breastwork on a strong
position, and stationed sentinels to give instant alarm ;
and the buccaneers, who wished to surprise and plunder,
and not to fight against great odds, deemed it prudent
to steer for the Gulf of Amapalla, an arm of the sea
running inland eight or ten leagues, and made remark-
able by two headlands at the entrance, — Point Casivina
on the south side, in latitude 12° 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 Mangera the padre of a village, from which all the
other inhabitants had fled, was caught while endeavour-
ing 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 that 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 marched together, strangers and natives,
to church, which was the usual place of public assembly,

CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE. 343

whether for business or amusement. The images in
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 masques and other pastimes, with abun-
dance of music, on saints' eves and holidays. " Their
mirth," says Dampier, " consists in singing, dancing,
and using as many antic gestures. If the moon shine,
they use but few torches ; if not, the church is full of
light. They meet at these times all sorts of both
sexes. All 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. Their songs are very melancholy and doleful ; so
is their music."

In attending them to the church under the guise of
friendship, Davis intended to ensnare these unsuspect-
ing 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 entrap-
ping his flock. This hopeful project was frustrated
by one of the buccaneers rashly and rudely pushing
a man into the church before him. The alarm was
given, the Indian fled, and his countrymen "sprung

344 CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE.

out of the church like deer." Davis and his men im-
mediately fired, and killed a leading man among the
natives.

The buccaneers were, however, afterwards assisted
by several of the natives in storing the ships with
cattle plundered from an island in the gulf belonging
to a nunnery in some distant place ; and, from some
feelings of remorse, on leaving this quarter Davis pre-
sented the islanders of Amapalla with one of his prize-
ships, and a considerable part of the cargo of flour
which it contained. The ships here broke off consort-
ship. The crews had quarrelled, — Davis's party, in
right of priority in marauding, claiming the larger
share of the spoils. Eaton left the gulf on the 2nd of
September, and Davis, with whom Dampier continued,
on the day following, having previously set the padre
on shore. They stood for the coast of Peru, having
almost every day tornadoes accompanied with thunder
and lightning, — weather of this kind generally pre-
vailing in these latitudes from June to November.
When these gusts were over, the wind generally shifted
to the west. Near Cape San Francisco they had settled
weather and the wind at south. About this place they
again fell in with Eaton, who had encountered terrible
storms — " 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
burned by the lightning." Captain Eaton had touched
at Cocos Island, where he laid up a store of flour, and

CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE. 345

took in water and cocoa-nuts. Cocos Island, as de-
scribed by Eaton, 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 grow-
ing 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
Dampier, from Sir Francis Drake having divided upon
it the plunder of the plate-ship the Cacajuego — the
buccaneers found water, though but a scanty rivulet,
and plenty of small sea-turtle. Captain Eaton's com-
pany 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
Bachelors 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. Water-melons, 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

346 CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE.

plentifully at flood-tide. When first obtained it was
like thin tar, but was boiled down to the consistence of
pitch.

Davis's men landed at Manta, a village on the main-
land, about three leagues to the east of Cape San
Lorenzo, where they made two old women prisoners,
from whom they learned that many buccaneers had
lately crossed the Isthmus from the West Indies, and
were cruising off 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 buccaneers ; 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 take ; when, on the 2nd 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 buccaneers,
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 buccaneer
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 buccaneer

CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE. 347

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 buccaneers.

This was a joyful meeting of old associates ; and the
departure of Eaton was now deeply regretted, as their
united force might have insured success to more im-
portant 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 four hundred tons burden,
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 goods on credit to every buccaneer who would pur-
chase, 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, the whole buccaneers 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 cleaned, a

348 CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE.

small bark was equipped as a fire-ship ; and the vessel
which had been cruising after Eaton not having re-
turned, the squadron sailed without it on the 20th
October, and on the 3rd November landed at Payta,
which was found nearly abandoned, 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 meanwhile three hundred
pecks of flour, three thousand pounds of sugar, twenty-
five jars of wine, and one thousand of water, to be
brought off to the ships ; but, after wasting six days,
they obtained nothing, and in revenge burned the town.
The road of Payta 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 Golan, 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 sterile.

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 harbour, and made some fishermen
bring out water.

CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE. 349

Harris's small vessel being found a heavy sailer, was
burned before leaving Payta, from which the squadron
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 be-
fore." To reconcile his men to what had been the best
fare of the crews of Drake, Cavendish, and the earlier
navigators, Captain Swan commended this food as of
extraordinary delicacy and rarity, comparing the seals
to roasting pigs, the boobies to pullets, and the penguins
to ducks. On the 19th the fleet reached Lobos de la
Mar, where a letter was found deposited at the rendez-
vous by the bark, which was still in search of Eaton.
It was now feared he had sailed for the East 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 fire-wood,
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 buccaneers 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

350 CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE.

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 afterwards, cut clown
her mainmast, and left her at anchor, and next momma-

' O

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 ima-
gined 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 consid-
erable 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 hands of men a greater oppor-
tunity to enrich themselves." His bold and compre-
hensive plan was, with the one thousand negroes found
in the three ships, to have gone to Santa 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 two

CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE. 351

hundred tons of flour laid up at the Galapagos Islands ;
the North Sea would have been open to them;
thousands of buccaneers 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 the 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 buccaneers, 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 had 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 buccaneer company of Davis now mur-
mured 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 com-
pany on the 23rd 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 deficiencies of the Indian and Spanish pilots whom
they had as prisoners on board, these 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, nor settlements of any kind, as conceal-

352 CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE.

ment was most important to the success of their opera-
tions. From the equinoctial line to the Gulf of St.
Michael the coast abounded in unfrequented rivers
where boats might be found. 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 Spaniards, and also took, what the buccaneers
valued much more, a canoe with twelve jars of old wine-
A canoe with a party that rowed six leagues further
up the river, which Dampier names St. Jago, came to
a house belonging to a Spanish lady of Lima, whose
servants at this remote station traded with the natives
for gold. They fled ; but the buccaneers found several
ounces of gold left in their calabashes. The land on
the banks of this river was a rich black mould, pro-
ducing tall trees. The cotton and cabbage trees flour-
ished 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 To-
maco 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 buc-
caneers presented them with wine, which they drank
freely.

On the 1st of January the Cygnet and Bachelors
Delight sailed for the Island of Gallo, carrying with

CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE. 353

them 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 at-
tached to a line and buoy. From these despatches
they learned the welcome and important fact .of the
Governor of Panama hastening the sailing of the trien-
nial 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 them 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 7th — two ships, three barks, a fire-
ship, and two small tenders, 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 island, well -wooded and
watered with brooklets issuing from the high grounds.
Pearl-oysters abounded here. They were found in
from four to six fathoms water, and seemed flatter in
the shell than the ordinary eating oyster. The pearl
was found at the head of the oyster, between the shell
and the meat, sometimes one or two pretty large in
size, and at other times twenty or thirty seed-pearls.
The inside of the shell was " more glorious than the
pearl itself."

(829) 23

354 CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE.

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, bar-
ren, uninhabited island, from which 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.
While 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 fire- wood, 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 plea-
sant." Most of the Pearl Islands were wooded and
fertile ; and from them were drawn the rice, plantains,
and bananas which supplied the city of 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 visit which Dampier had made it with Sawkins,

CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE. 355

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 buccaneers;
and it is stated on good authority that, when they first
hunted in the wilds of Hispaniola, if at nightfall 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 appear-
ance, and the buccaneers again moved, and came to
anchor near Taboga, an island of the bay abounding in
cocoa and mammee, and having fine brooks of pure
water gliding through groves of fruit-trees. About this
time they were nearly ensnared by a stratagem of the
Spaniards, who, under pretence of clandestine traffic, sent
a fire-ship among them at midnight ; but the treachery
was suspected in time, and avoided. This fire-ship 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.

356 CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE.

The squadron, which had been scattered through the
night from alarm of the fire-ship, had scarcely returned
to its station, and looked about for the cut anchors,
when the freebooters were thrown into fresh consterna-
tion by seeing many canoes, full of armed men, passing
through an island channel and steering direct for them.
They also bore up ; but the strangers proved to be a
party of two hundred and eighty buccaneers, French
and English, in twenty-eight canoes, who had just
crossed the Isthmus on an expedition to the 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 one hundred and eighty,
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 yet another strong party, French and English,
were on the way. These also arrived, to the number
of two hundred and sixty-four men, with three com-
manders ; one of whom, Le Picard, was a veteran who
had served under Lolonnois and Morgan at Porto Bello.

CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE. 357

The buccaneer force now amounted to about one
thousand men, 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 was 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 buccaneers reckoned without their
host.

It was now the latter end of May, and for six
months the buccaneers had concentrated their attention
on this single enterprise. Their fleet now consisted of
ten sail ; but, save the Bachelors 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 afterwards 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 fire-ships attended the
Spanish fleet.

Before the buccaneers had finished consultation on
their plan of operations the Spanish fleet advanced upon
them, and battle was resolved on. And, " lying to
windward of the enemy," says Dampier, " we had it not
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

358 CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE.

our enemies, who kept close on a wind to come to us ;
but night came on without anything besides the ex-
changing 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 the 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 wind-
ward of them." At daybreak the buccaneers 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
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 after-
wards 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 after-
wards cashiered by their English associates. The com-
mon accusation which the English buccaneers brought
against their allies was reluctance to fight ; while the
latter blamed their indecent contempt of the Catholic

CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE. 359

religion, displayed as often as they entered the Spanish
churches, by hacking and mutilating everything 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 buccaneers were equally well satis-
fied to escape a renewed engagement, and after con-
sultation 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 re-
solve to march inland and assault Leon, first securing
the port of Ria Lexa.

The assault and conquest of these places offers
nothing of interest or novelty ; they were carried by
the united buccaneer force, amounting to six hundred
and forty men, with eight vessels, three of them being
tenders, and one a fire-ship. In this assault Dampier
was left with sixty men to guard the canoes in which
the party had been landed. At Leon they lost a
veteran buccaneer 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 Jamaica, and had followed privateering
ever since. He would not accept the offer our men
made him to tarry ashore, but said he would venture

360 CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE.

as far as the best of them ; and when surrounded by
the Spaniards, he refused to take quarter, but dis-
charged his gun amongst 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."

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, Dam-
pier describes as one of the most healthy and pleasant
in all South America. No sooner were the buccaneers
masters of it than they demanded a ransom of three
hundred thousand 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 and
Ria Lexa afforded. One Spanish gentleman, who had
been released on engaging to send in one hundred and
fifty head of cattle, redeemed his parole with scrupu-
lous honour. Mr. Smith was exchanged for a female
prisoner, and Ria Lexa was left burning.

The buccaneer squadron now separated, and the
fraternity broke into several small detachments — Dam-
pier choosing to follow Captain Swan, who intended
first to cruise along the shores of Mexico, the country

CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE. 361

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 tempta-
tions to Dampier, whose curiosity and thirst of know-
ledge 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. Cap-
tain 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 3rd September, and
encountered frequent and fierce tornadoes till near the
end of the month. Early in October they were off the
excellent harbour of Guatalco, the mouth of which may
be known by a great hollow 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 killed eighteen
beeves. They next passed on to Colima, 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 Cor-
rientes. After quitting Ria Lexa many of the men
had been seized with a malignant fever ; and as the

362 CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE.

same kind of disease broke out in Davis's squadron, it
was with some feasibility 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 buccaneers 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-men remained in the Cygnet.

To obtain provisions, Swan captured the town of St.
Pecaque, on the coast of New Galicia, 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 buccaneers 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

CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE. 363

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 buccaneers 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
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, " had been
disturbed by grievous groanings, which kept them from
sleeping."

This disheartening affair determined Swan and his
diminished company to quit this coast, and they ac-
cordingly steered for Cape St. Lucas, the south point of
California, to careen and to refresh themselves before cross-
ing the Pacific ; but by adverse winds they were com-
pelled to put into a bay at the east end of the middle
island of the Tres Marias, where they found iguanas,
racoons, rabbits, pigeons, and deer, fish of various kinds,
turtle, and seals. There they careened the ship, divided
and stowed the provisions between it and the tender,
and went over to the mainland for water, having previ-
ously landed the prisoners and pilots, who were now of

* It was then customary, before undertaking a voyage, to consult an astrologer.

364 CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE.

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, Darapier, who had escaped the
contagious fever, languished under a dropsical com-
plaint, 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
before 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 reason-
able fears of their provisions failing before they could
reach the Ladrones. Maize, and the fish which the
Mosquito-men caught, some of which were salted for
store, now constituted the whole provision of above
one hundred and fifty 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

CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE. 365

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, Dam-
pier says, to call them to their victuals, which were
served out by the quartermaster with the exactness of
gold. Two dogs and two cats which were on board
soon learned to attend daily 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 afterwards, in regular
order, all who had promoted this voyage. In the long
run of five thousand miles, they had seen no living
thing, whether bird, fish, or insect, save in longitude 18°3
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 cal-
culated at seven thousand three hundred and two miles.
At this island the Spaniards had 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

366 CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE.

provisions were arranged ; and as these were dictated
by fair principles of exchange, no difficulty was ex-
perienced, 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 Cap-
tain 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, un-
provoked 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 land is a garden."

Dampier reckons that at this time there were not
above one hundred 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 buccaneers. While a friendly and brisk trade
was going on between the shore and the Cygnet, the

CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE. 369

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 buccaneers.
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 buc-
caneers 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 circum-
stances, 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 gov-
ernor and the priest and the English captain, and pre-
parations were made to depart. Here Dampier first
saw the bread-fruit — the staff of life of so many of the
insulated tribes of Polynesia. 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 twenty-four
miles an hour ; " and one had been known to go from
Guahan to Manilla, a distance of four hundred and
eighty leagues, in four days.

It took the Cygnet nineteen days to reach the coast
of Mindanao, for which she sailed on the 2nd June ;
and after beating about through several channels and
islands, she came to anchor on the 18th July opposite

(829) 24

370 CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE.

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 gov-
ernor 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 Min-
danao. Immediately after the Cygnet came to anchor,
Rajah Laut, the brother 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 uncle. When informed that

CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE. 371

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 son, 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 a 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, and 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 here when they received an-
other 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 visitors till they were gone, when
the government officer informed them ; who, according
to the custom of the ports of China and other parts in
the East, came on board to measure the ship — a prac-
tice of which Dampier could not conceive the reason,
unless the natives wished to improve their knowledge
of ship-building.

372 CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE.

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 scarlet 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 councillors all seated on carpets, awaited his
arrival. The present was graciously accepted, a con-
ference took place in Spanish, after which Mr. More
and his attendants, being first treated with supper,
returned on board. Next day Captain Swan was in-
vited on shore, whither he went, preceded by two
trumpeters. He was conducted to an audience, and
entertained with betel and tobacco. Two letters were
shown him, sent by East India merchants 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. Another letter, left by a Captain Goodlud,
who had lately visited Mindanao, and directed generally
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

CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE. 373

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 rice, 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 accordingly 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 En-
glish 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
Rajah 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 spring-tide,

374 CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE.

and was moored within the mouth of the river. The
buccaneers 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 govern-
ment, have rarely found the 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 English-
men, 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 most readily obtained companions and pa-
gallies. 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.

CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE. 375

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 scanti-
ness 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 lead, 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 buccaneers
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 house-
keepers.

The 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 interior and the opposite coasts, and were less
civilized and 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

376 CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE.

natives the libby, from the pith of which sago is manu-
factured. 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 water-melons, betel-
nuts, cocoa-nuts, jacas, durions, cloves, nutmegs, oranges,
etc. 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 areca-leaf,
wrapped up his nut, and proceeded to chew. Where
there are no betel-vines the leaves are imported for
this purpose. The nut is most admired when young,
and while it is green and juicy. It tastes rough in
the mouth, dyes 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 Mindanaianswas the Mohammedan;
and the children were taught to read and write, though

CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE. 377

business was generally transacted by Chinese, the na-
tives 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 countries. The natives were of middle size,
with small limbs, particularly the females. They had
straight bodies, with small heads. Their faces were
oval, but those of the women were round. Their fore-
heads 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 meaner females. In female children the nose,
or rise between the eyes, was sometimes scarcely per-
ceptible. 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 trowsers 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

378 CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE.

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
ear-rings and bracelets, which the pagally would some-
times 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 them-
selves frequently in the rivers, and took great delight
in swimming, to which exercise both sexes are accus-
tomed 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. They had also a traffic with the
Dutch in tobacco, which in Mindanao was of excellent
quality, and sold so low as twelve pounds for a rial.
The Mindanaians were resolute in fight, though they

CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE. 379

avoided 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 Dampier 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 hewing down his antagonist
without mercy.

The people here were liable to a leprous disease, the
skin becoming blotched and scurfy, and rising in white
scales 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 buccaneer 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 enter-

380 CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE.

prise 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 afterwards find some occasion of state
to reclaim those goods for the public service. He was
a little man, now between 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 fisher-
men 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 past,
the Rajah Laut entertained his friend Captain Swan
every night with dances, those bands of regularly-
trained dancing-women being seen here which are com-
mon 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 hand -in -hand, singing in

CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE. 381

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 quarter-deck performers. John Thacker, a
common buccaneer, 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 booty that he now wore fine
clothes, and by his superior dress and dancing was sup-
posed by the natives to be a person of noble extraction.
When the rajah, to satisfy his curiosity on this im-
portant point, put the question to one of the company,
the seaman replied humorously, that the conjecture as
to Jack'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 money, those meanly
clad being but common seamen. The rajah from this
time portioned out his civilities according to the garb
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

382 CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE.

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 power-
ful 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 com-
mander 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 Laut, 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 op-
portunities 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 English-
men 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

•CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE. 383

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 to 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 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 conversa-
tion of the women, considerably increased his acquaint-
ance with the character and customs of the people.
They bathed daily, and washed after every meal ; and
if they became unclean from touching accidentally any
forbidden thing, they 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 Min-
danaians ; and though they invited the seamen to de-
stroy 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 afterwards loathed
and avoided by the natives, and forbidden their houses.

384 CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE.

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 rajah 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 English-
men 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 Min-
danaians, though hospitable and kind, were, when
offended, vindictive and deadly in their resentments.
The conduct of these dissolute and openly profligate
seamen had given them deep offence, and sixteen of
the buccaneers were in a short time taken off by poison,
to which more afterwards fell victims. The islanders
were skilled in subtle poisons, which had not their full
operation till a long while after they were administered.
Some of the men, after they were conscious of having
been poisoned, lingered on for months. When they

CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE, 385

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 vessel had been destroyed by
them in two months, while the 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 and seemed displeased
when he saw that the sheathing of the vessel had pre-
vented 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 out 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.

(829) 25

386 CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE.

His English friend had also lent the rajah twenty ounces
of gold, to defray the expenses of a solemn ceremonial
observed shortly before, when his son had been circum-
cised. This splendid ceremony, at which the English
assisted, had been celebrated with music, dances, the
singular war-dance of the country, banquets, pageants,
and processions by torchlight. The rajah, in a manner
not uncommon in Eastern countries, not only refused to
repay the gold, but when urged, insisted that it had
been a present, and finally demanded payment for all
the victuals Swan and his men had consumed at his
hospitable board.

While the rajah thus refused to discharge his debts,
the buccaneer 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 treach-
erous 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 1687, intending to cruise off Manilla.
A buccaneer of Jamaica, named Read, was chosen com-
mander. The first intimation Swan had of his abandon-
ment 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
apprised of the design of the mutineers, he had come
on board and behaved with prudence and courage, he
might have brought back the greater part of the men

CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE. 387

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 walk-
ing-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 re-
turned like a cloud before sunrise. On the 23rd 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 off the coast of Cambodia.
They anchored at Condore on the 14th March. Two
of the cluster are pretty large and high. They were
tolerably well wooded, and on the largest of them was
found a tree from which the inhabitants extracted a
pith or viscid juice which they boiled up into good tar,

388 CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE.

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 delicious fragrance. The grape-
tree was also seen, with the 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 com-
plexion. 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 buccaneers remained for a month ;
after which they cruised in the Gulf of Siam and in
several parts of the China Seas, taking all barks that
fell in their way, whether Spanish, Portuguese, or native
vessels. From the crew of a junk belonging to the
island of Sumatra 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 buccaneers was the

CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE. 389

Ponghou Islands, which in no respect answered their
purpose of quiet and security. At the place where
they anchored there were 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 con-
venient station, they hoped 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 on the 6th August reached the interest-
ing 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
next 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 fire-arms 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 that captivated the Basheeans, who quickly

390 CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE.

picked up all the little pieces they could find, but were
otherwise perfectly quiet and 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 re-
newed daily. Ever after this slight check they con-
tinued 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-dririk, 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 in honour of their native prince. It is the
largest and most westerly of the group, and was unin-
habited. 2. Grafton Island was so named by Dampier
in compliment to the noble family in whose household
he had, as has been mentioned, left his wife. 3. Mon-
mouth Island was named by the seamen after the un-
fortunate 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 appro-

CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE. 391

bation 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
buccaneers 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 round 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
anything 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 stub-
born " cloth that they manufactured themselves. Both
men and women wore large ear-rings of a yellow glister-
ing metal, found in 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

392 CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE.

knowledge of its natural properties. When first pol-
ished 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 glistering
lustre was found renewed. Our navigator was, unfor-
tunately, too poor to be able to purchase any of this
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 of 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 anything that could have been in-
troduced by sea, save a few bits of iron and pieces of
buffalo-hides. 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 prin-
cipal 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 cotton-plants were
seen, and sugar-canes, from the boiled juices of which

CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE. 393

the natives made the liquor so agreeable to their visitors.
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 glister-
ing 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 buccaneers they begged the skin and garbage,
and when the surly seamen threw them into the sea,
they would take them out. With the hogs they never
meddled. The goat's skin they broiled and gnawed,
and of the paunch made what to them appeared a
delicious 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 Dampier
thought very superfluous trouble in cleaning and mine-

394 CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE.

ing, 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 islands 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 be-
came 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 among the most
singular features of their social condition. In describ-
ing 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 eight 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 vil-
lages built on the sides and tops of rocky hills, three

CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE. 395

or four rows of houses one above another, under such
steep precipices that they go up to the first row with a
wooden ladder, and so with a ladder still from every
story up to that above it, there 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
stand all along the 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, it is but drawing up the ladder if they be as-
saulted, 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. Graf ton
and Monmouth Islands abounded in these rocky for-
tresses, in which the natives felt themselves secure
from pirates, and from enemies whether foreign or
domestic.

The boats of the islanders were ingeniously con-
structed, somewhat like Deal yawls, and some of them
so large that they could carry forty or fifty men.

396 CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE.

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 Mindanao. This primitive bel-
lows 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 com-
mon 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 covered them to the knees,
having holes for the head and arms. No form of
worship was observed among this tribe, nor did any
one seem to have more authority than another. Every
man had one wife, and ruled his own household, — the

CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE. 397

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 yams and potatoes laid
up for 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 com-
rades 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 buccaneers should cut their hair in the Bashee

398 CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE,

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 penal-
ties 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, how-
ever, persuaded by the captain and master to try one
more chance, and agreed to steer for Cape Comorin, for
ever renouncing the long-indulged dream of capturing
the Manilla ship. Dampier 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 mak-
ing 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 Strait 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

CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE. 399

the further we went the more knowledge and experi-
ence I should get, which was the main thing I re-
garded, and should also have the more variety of places
to attempt an escape from them."

On the 3rd October they sailed from the Bashee
Isles, leaving for the first time a somewhat favourable
impression of their characters, and bearing away grate-
ful and affectionate remembrances of this gentle and
amiable tribe. They steered south-south-west, with
the wind at west and fair weather ; and passed certain
islands which lie by the north end of Luconia. Leav-
ing 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 them-
selves so bravely in fight that they were now in high
favour at Mindanao, though it was feared they had

400 CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE.

been found too powerful and useful as allies to be per-
mitted 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 per-
suading 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 expedi-
tion, 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 isl-
and, establish a factoiy and a lawful traffic.

The ultimate fate of Captain Swan, of whom we are
now to lose sight, was not a little painful. Two super-
cargoes 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 in 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 per-
fidious chief, who justified his conduct by imputing as
crimes to the unfortunate Englishman the idle, impo-

CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE. 401

tent threats wrung from him by hope deferred, irrita-
tion, 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 sea-
men obtained a supply of turtle, and found among
other shell-fish 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 wholesome. 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, on the 1st December they saw, and on
the 5th approached, the north-west end of the island
of Bouton. On the evening of the 30th they had seen
at a distance two or three water-spouts, 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, for 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 cocoa-trees. The people re-

(829) 26

402 CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE.

sembled 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 Moham-
medans, and spoke the Malay language. The same de-
scription 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 visitors, the Sultan of Bouton was
pleased to hear that they were English, and made them
a visit in a handsomely-ornamented proa, with a white
silk Hag displayed at the mast-head, 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, and as a for-
lorn 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 January fell in with the north-
west coast of New Holland in 16° 50". They ran close
in, but found no safe anchoring ground, as the coast
lay open to the north-east. They steered for about
twelve leagues north-east by east, 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

CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE. 403

was sent off, but the natives ran away and hid them-
selves ; and though traces of fires were seen, no habi-
tation 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 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
fugitives returned.

The buccaneers 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

404 CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE.

were connected with hard and compulsory labour.
" We put them on them," says Dampier, speaking of
the tattered rags of the buccaneers, " 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

O O

water; and Dampier believed that an English ship-
boy 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 anything we had." In the estimation of Dam-
pier, 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. " Setting
aside their human shape," he says, "they differ but
little from brutes. They are tall, straight-bodied, 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,

CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE. 405

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 something over
them. They have great bottle-noses, pretty full lips,
and wide mouths. The two fore teeth of their upper
jaw are wanting in all of them, men and women, old
and young. Whether they draw 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 fami-
lies of from twenty to thirty, men, women, and chil-
dren ; their only food being a small kind of fish which
they caught at flood-tide in a sort of weirs. Few shell-
fish 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 who were unable to go abroad, as well
as the young and lusty." This disinterestedness, with
their bold defence of the women and children on the

406 CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE.

first appearance of the Europeans and the startling
report of fire-arms, 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 con-
sumed 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, though the natives had never learned to strike
them. They had neither boats, canoes, nor rafts, but
could swim between the islands of the bay. No form
of worship was discerned among them ; 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 :

CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE. 407

nor did Dampier miss the opportunity of once again
persuading his messmates to go to some English fac-
tory 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 Como-
rin; and on the 4th of May they made the Nicobar
Islands, the chief commodities of which were ambergris
and fruits, which the inhabitants disposed of to any
European vessels that chance^ to visit them. Dampier
now openly expressed his intention of leaving the ship ;
and Captain Read, believing that he could not more effec-
tually punish his refractory shipmate than by grant-
ing his wish, and leaving him at one of these islands,
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 buccaneers 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 effecting their
escape, and three of them now joined his party, of

408 CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE.

whom the surgeon was one. The captain and crew
refused on any terms to let the surgeon depart; but
after some altercation Dampier and his two compan-
ions, 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 cap-
tured proa, whom Captain Read refeased before setting
sail ; and now they fancied themselves strong enough
to row to Sumatra. A Portuguese, taken prisoner by
the buccaneers 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 dis-
turb them.

From the owner of an empty hut in which they
slept they bought 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 the 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 sus-
picion, they bartered rags and strips of cloth for inel-

CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE. 409

lory, — 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 vessel, 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 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,

410 CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE.

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 imminent dangers before now, but the worst of
them all was but play-game in comparison with this.
I had long before this repented me of that roving
course of life, but never with such concern as now. I
did also call to mind the many miraculous 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 night 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 to the village, — another
example of the sudden prostration of strength to which
persons who have been in imminent jeopardy are liable

CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE. 411

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
prisoners escaped like the Acheenese from pirates,
treated them with great kindness. A house was pro-
vided for their reception, and far more provisions were
sent 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 unshel-
tered in the noontide sun, and 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 sur-
vive him. Dampier, originally robust, and whose con-
stitution 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 afterwards went to

412 CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE.

Malacca, and thence to Fort St. George, where he
remained for five months, and then returned to Ben-
coolen, to a factory lately established by the English
on what was at that time called the Westcoast. 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
buccaneers. After he had left them at Nicobar, they
steered for Ceylon, but by streas of weather were com-
pelled to seek refreshments upon the coast of Coro-
mandel. Half the crew at this time left the ship, part
of whom afterwards 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.

We may here take a farewell glance of the buc-
caneers, and especially of those left by Dampier in the
South Sea. In pursuing their old vocation they be-
came more successful after the Cygnet crossed the
Pacific. They captured many vessels, and revelled in
the plunder of several towns; sometimes cruising to-
gether, but as often in detached bands. Townley was
so far fortunate as to obtain with ease at Lavelia the
treasure and merchandise landed from the Lima ship

CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE. 413

in the former year, for which Swan had watched so
long in vain, and for which the whole buccaneer force
had battled in the Bay of Panama. Townley after-
wards 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 Bachelors
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 in an attack on Guayaquil, where the
buccaneers amicably divided a rich booty. The
French party, among whom, however, there- were
many Englishmen, afterwards made their way over-
land, and with great difficulty, from the Bay of Ama-
palla to the head of a river which falls into the Carib-
bean 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

414 CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE.

South Sea by Cape Horn. The Galapagos* were be-
come to the buccaneers in the South Sea what Tortuga
had been to their predecessors in the West Indies. In
his run south from the Galapagos, Davis discovered
Easter Island, though the merit of the discovery was
afterwards claimed by the Dutch Admiral Roggewein,
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
Baclielor'a Delight successfully doubled Cape Horn,
and Davis, who among the buccaneers 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 after-
wards 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, buccaneering, 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

* The captain of an English ship, which made a voyage in the Pacific in 1794,
one hundred and ten years after the retreat of the buccaneers 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.

CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE. 415

desperate characters, English or English Creoles, out-
laws or deserters, pretending to be the true successors
of the old rovers, who had strictly limited their depre-
dations 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 buccaneers of America,
the numerous crew of a pirate-ship named the Revenge,
which was 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 Mindanao laden with clove-bark,
having on board an Indian prince he had formerly
seen a slave at 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

* We need scarcely remind the reader of Sir Walter Scott's romance "The
Pirate."

416 CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE.

at that island had proposed to purchase from his master
to be his guide and introducer, was 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 realize his old scheme of going to Meangis
with the native prince, and establishing a commerce in
cloves and gold. Being afterwards 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 south-east. 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 his head. His father
was rajah of the island on which they 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

CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE. 417

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 pecu-
liarly elegant. 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, yams,
fruits, and fish. They had also plenty of fowls. His
native language was quite different from the Malayan,
which 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 to-
wards 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 subjected ; and
though his pecuniary affairs were in greater disorder
than on the day he embarked with the buccaneers, and
he had been glad to earn two dollars, his sole treasure,
by teaching plain sailing to the lads of Weldon's ship,

(829) 27

418 CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE.

he sanguinely promised himself a fortune from Prince
Jeoly, and hoped that in England he might be able to
obtain a ship to carry back the chief to his native isl-
and, where, thus introduced, he could not fail to estab-
lish 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 re-
voked 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 agree-
ment waited for him with a boat, and kept him con-
cealed 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 turns of life deprived him of all
advantage from bringing home Jeoly. He arrived in
the Thames in utter poverty, and was compelled by
necessity to sell his share of "the painted prince;"

CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE. 419

thus for ever renouncing the romantic project of cany-
ing him back to Meangis, which poor Jeoly was des-
tined never again to revisit. After being seen by many
" eminent persons," he caught the smallpox at Oxford,
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 September 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 afterwards a Supplement, which he en-
titled "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 dis-
tinctions, Captain Lemuel Gulliver, at that period a
navigator of very great celebrity, hailed Dampier, from
whom he borrowed many hints, as " Cousin."

CHAPTER V.

VOYAGE TO NEW HOLLAND.

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 re-
commended solely by his qualifications as a seaman,
his large experience, and evident capacity. The coun-
tries 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 port. She carried
twelve guns, and a crew of fifty men and boys, with
provisions for twenty months, and the equipments
necessary to the accomplishment of a voyage under-
taken 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 draftsman with him. The Roebuck left the

VOYAGE TO NEW HOLLAND. 421

Downs on the 14th January 1699, and proceeded pros-
perously to the Cape de Verd Islands, and afterwards
to the coast of Brazil, where Dampier thought it neces-
sary to put 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 23rd April, and on the following
days caught small sharks, which they cooked in the
buccaneer 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 sea-fowl, 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 gave them their name, from
Peter walking on the Lake of Gennesareth."

The voyage proceeded favourably. On 4th July

422 VOYAGE TO NEW HOLLAND.

they frequently made soundings, and ninety leagues
from New Holland often saw whales, and at thirty
leagues bones of the scuttle-fish floating, and also sea-
weed. 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 25°
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 in " (we now adopt Dampier 's
description) " it is a reddish mould, a sort of sand pro-
ducing grass, plants, and shrubs. Of trees and shrubs
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 dif-
ferent sorts of trees were of several colours, but mostly
blue, and smelt very sweet and fragrant. There were
also beautiful and fragrant flowers growing on the

VOYAGE TO NEW HOLLAND. 423

ground, unlike any I had ever seen elsewhere." There
were eagles, but no other large birds; and of small
singing-birds great variety, with fine shrill notes. Be-
sides 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 Tie 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 mussels, oysters, and small shell -fish.
" The shore was lined with strange and beautiful
shells."

They had anchored at three different places to search
for water; and on the llth, for this purpose, and also
to prosecute discovery, they stood further into the bay,
but, after several abortive attempts, again bore out to
sea, having previously scrubbed the ship. Sea-snakes
were seen of different kinds, — one sort yellow with
brown spots, about four feet in length and of the

424 VOYAGE TO NEW HOLLAND.

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 fre-
quently sounding. On the 15th they were in latitude
24° 41' S. ; on the 16th in 23° 22', "jogging on north-
ward," seeing in their progress many small dolphins
and whales, and abundance of scuttle-n'sh shells and
water-serpents. On the afternoon of the 18th, off a
shoal in 22° 22", of which Dampier kept clear, numer-
ous whales were seen on all sides of the ship " blowing
and making a very dismal noise." When the Roebuck
got into deeper water these alarming fellow-voyagers
left her.

On the 20th they were carried out of sight of land,
which was recovered on the 21st, visible only from the
mast, bearing south-east by east, and appearing at the
distance of nine leagues like a bluff headland. Around
this place was an archipelago of islands, of good height,
which Dampier believed to be a range stretching from
east-north-east to west-south-west 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 appear-
ance of the shores and yellow rusty colour of the rocks

VOYAGE TO NEW HOLLAND. 425

made them despair of finding water, though Dampier,
hoping that they might either discover a new channel
leading through 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 Rose-
mary 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 23rd, and for some time
coasted on with the land-breeze, having had, since
leaving Sharks' Bay, fine clear weather, which still
continued. Water-snakes, 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 lati-
tude 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 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 the party fol-
lowed 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.

426 VOYAGE TO NEW HOLLAND.

From this height the party descried a savanna
studded with what they at first fancied to be huts, but
discovered to be only rocks and no water near them.
They returned to the place at which they had landed,
and began to dig, but were menaced by another party
of natives collected on an adjoining height, who vocif-
erated 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 dis-
tance. Dampier went forward to meet them, making
signs of peace 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 as-
sailed, was compelled to fire off his musket in defence
of his man, who, though armed with a cutlass, was un-
able 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 Dam-
pier 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 further, being

VOYAGE TO NEW HOLLAND. 427

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 beauty ; for the New Hollander was
neither so tall nor well-made as some of the others, but
" a brisk young man," active 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 orna-
ment," 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 de-
formity." 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, " with the most un-
pleasant 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 fire-places quantities of shells were
found of the kinds of shell-fish 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

428 VOYAGE TO NEW HOLLAND.

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. Our navigator on the 5th Sep-
tember left this arid and sterile coast ; on the 7th, in
latitude 16° 9' S., 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 22nd he came to anchor
in Coepang Bay, near the Dutch fort Concordia, but
afterwards 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 descried the western coast of this country —
high level land 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 mackerel, and next day anchored

VOYAGE TO NEW HOLLAND. 429

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
wings, 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, occasion-
ally 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 to be slaves of the yellow or
Malay race. The weapons were the same as in Min-
danao, the lances pointed with bone. These inlanders
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

430 VOYAGE TO NEW HOLLAND.

the Dutch Cape Mabo. A small wooded 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, de-
spatched the boats to the island, from whence pigeons
were brought, and cockles of the moderate weight of ten
pounds. The shell alone of one formerly found weighed
fifty-eight pounds. Bats of the large kind were seen
here.

The Roebuck stood onward four or five leagues,
shaping her course to the east, and at a small wooded
island found ordinary-sized cockles in prodigious abun-
dance, and numerous pigeons. On the 7th they anchored
at an island finely wooded with tall "straight trees
fit for any use," which Dampier loyally named 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 head-
lands about twenty miles apart, one to the east, the
other to the west. The last they named the Cape of

VOYAGE TO NEW HOLLAND. 431

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 afterwards stood for the mainland, encoun-
tering 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 well-
wooded, 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 and proas come off in great numbers.
They approached near enough to make signs and to be

432 VOYAGE TO NEW HOLLAND.

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 bottle were readily picked up, and they seemed
pleased 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. It was
impossible, from the state of the current, to get the ship
into the bay to which the natives pointed ; and when
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 tired 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
the Gerrit Denys or Gerard Dynas of the Dutch. It is
high, mountainous, and wooded. The hill-sides were
covered with plantations, and in the sheltered bays
there were cocoa-nut trees. It seemed very populous ;
the natives were black, with crisp hair, which they
shaved in different figures, and dyed of various hues.
They were strong and well-limbed, with broad round

VOYAGE TO NEW HOLLAND. 433

faces and large flat noses ; yet the expression of their
countenance, when not disfigured by their singular
taste in ornament, was not unpleasant. Besides 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 rilled 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, was their symbol of friendship.
These they placed upon their heads, to which they
often lifted their hands.

Dampier next day reached Anthony Kaan's Island,
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 cocoa-nut shells,
and by signs requesting them to bring similar things
to the ship. They understood this language, and out
of one of the canoes took three cocoa-nuts, 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 na-

(829) 28

434 VOYAGE TO NEW HOLLAND.

tives here, like those already seen, were black, tall,
strong, and well made, with crisp hair, and their nose
and 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 cocoa-
nut trees, 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 for 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 wooded, and thinly interspersed with savan-
nas. 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 shore trended
to the westward, as no land was seen beyond it. This
headland he named Cape St. George, the meridian dis-
tance of which from Cape Mabo is twelve hundred and
ninety 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 bay Dampier
named Cape Orford, in compliment to his noble patron.
It is a bluff point, of medium height, and flat at the

VOYAGE TO NEW HOLLAND. 435

top. In advancing on the 14th, a cluster of islands
were seen in a bay in which Darapier hoped to find
anchorage. He ran in, and saw smokes, and, having
got up with the point of the bay, houses, plantations,
and cocoa-nut 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 un-
easy. 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 appre-
hended, 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 afterwards 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 so true an aim, using round and partridge
shot, that they instantly 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

436 VOYAGE TO NEW HOLLAND.

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 intimida-
tion. 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, but over their heads, before the
boat was sent out to sound. The Roebuck followed the
boat, and found good anchorage at a quarter of a mile
from the shore, 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
scattered by the former means, though this shot and
all 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
cocoa-nuts in their boat as a present or a 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

VOYAGE TO NEW HOLLAND. 437

offered in exchange, but they would part with nothing
save cocoa-nuts, 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 frightened, 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 sea-
men 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

438 VOYAGE TO NEW HOLLAND.

a place in the bottom of the bay. Dampier himself
landed, 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 ap-
proached him, and those with reluctance ; and a promise
which an Indian made of bringing cocoa-nuts was prob-
ably never intended to be kept. He visited three dif-
ferent 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 per-
mission to visit the place whither the hogs had been
driven. They extorted a reluctant consent, and de-
parted, 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, shaking their
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

VOYAGE TO NEW HOLLAND. 439

part 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 compen-
sation 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 6° 10' S., and one hundred and fifty-one
miles west of Cape St. George, Dampier named Port
Montague, in honour of the President of the Eoyal
Society. Of the appearance and nature of the coun-
try here he makes a very favourable report. "It is
mountainous and wooded, with rich valleys and pleasant
fresh-water brooks." The rivers abounded in fish;
cocoa-nut trees sprung and throve on every island, and
many 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 22nd March they left Port Mon-
tague, and on the 24th, in the evening, saw high land
bearing north-west, "half -west, and no land visible

440 VOYAGE TO NEW HOLLAND.

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 daylight 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 be-
tween the Burning Island and the mainland. All the
night of the 25th, being still in this strait, they saw
the volcano, "which," Dainpier 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 no longer be seen, the crater lying on its south
side. This volcano lies at meridian distance three hun-
dred and thirty-two 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 mis-
take, and discovered that it was a channel he had
passed through here, in which were many islands. Be-
fore 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. Leav-
ing it upon the larboard side, the Roebuck bore away
close upon the east land, which ends with two remark-
able capes, distant from each other about six leagues,

VOYAGE TO NEW HOLLAND. 441

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
pinnace, 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 over to the islands, and kept a look-out for land
to the north, but 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 geo-
graphy as Dampier's Strait. The island of Nova Bri-
tannia, 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 afterwards
seen.

Advancing in his course, Dampier fell in with several

442 VOYAGE TO NEW HOLLAND.

islands. One eleven leagues in length he named Sir
George Rooke'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 fertile, — savanna and
woodland interspersed, the trees green and flourishing,
and many of them covered with white blossoms. Cocoa-
nut trees 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 drew back ; but neither planta-
tions 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 mid-
way 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 onward
and discovered four more islands, and land to the south-
ward, which might either be another island or part of
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 2nd

VOYAGE TO NEW HOLLAND. 443

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 un-
acquainted with the use of sails. Another island was
descried that sent forth smoke, which, however, soon
dispersed. This is presumed to have been the Bran-
dende 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 been 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 fre-
quently turned round in the whirlpools. A gale for-
tunately 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

444 VOYAGE TO NEW HOLLAND.

next went to Timor, from whence Dampier intended
once more to attempt New Holland in about 20°.
Here he found soundings at forty fathoms, but did not
see the land, and steered westward to search for the
Trial Rocks,* which were supposed to lie in this paral-
lel, and about eighty leagues westward of the coast.
But Captain Dampier was sick and unable to maintain
perpetual watch himself, and the officers were inefficient
and careless, so that this important point was not ascer-
tained ; nor could more be attempted at this time for
purposes of discovery, many of the crew being affected
with scurvy, and the ship hardly seaworthy. The
Roebuck accordingly sailed for Java, and on the 3rd
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 22nd 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

* So named from an English ship called the Trial baring been wrecked upon
them many years before Dampier's voyage.

VOYAGE TO NEW HOLLAND. 445

hard at 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 condi-
tion of the ship rendered every effort abortive. Dam-
pier 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 Dam-
pier and his company remained for about five weeks.
During that time they had seen several ships and fleets
pass ; but none touched till the 2nd 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 accom-
modated in the other vessels.

Though the purpose of his voyage had been accom-
plished, 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 probably lessened his merit with those fortu-

446 VOYAGE TO NEW HOLLAND.

nate 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
by a useless crazy ship unfit for what was considered
better service. The marvel was that it had not foun-
dered 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, in-
scribed his relation of the VOYAGE TO NEW HOLLAND.

About his own private affairs, and his personal feel-
ings, Dampier is at all times modest and reserved, and
we can only surmise his disappointment from an inci-
dental remark into which he is betrayed in the dedica-
tion 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 everything by success, in so much
that whoever has ill-fortune will hardly be allowed a
good name." " Such," he continues, " was my unhappi-
ness in my late expedition in the Roebuck, which foun-
dered through perfect age, though I comfort myself
with the thoughts that no neglect can be charged
against me." Justly, no neglect could be charged

VOYAGE TO NEW HOLLAND. 447

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
Captain 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 ves-
sels equipped by a company of English merchants, and
intended to cruise against the Spaniards in the South
Seas. The St. George left the Downs in April 1703,
with Captain Dampier on board ; but it was September
before both vessels left Kinsale. The basis of the expe-
dition was the old buccaneer maxim, No prey, no pay,
— a principle ill adapted to the maintenance of disci-
pline 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 Strait 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
one hundred and twenty.

448 VOYAGE TO NEW HOLLAND.

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 de-
serted, 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 mis-
representations regarded geographical and nautical facts,
Dampier afterwards 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, with-
out 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 ship cruising
in these seas, and so strongly did the old buccaneer
associations influence Dampier, that he acknowledged
it was with reluctance 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.

Before the proper latitude was reached, the Baldivia
treasure-ships had sailed. Though Dampier was the

VOYAGE TO NEW HOLLAND. 449

nominal commander, Stradling, 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 ten-
der, 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 officers than those whom Dampier
now commanded. They had all the bad qualities of
buccaneers without their bravery, experience, and
hardihood.

The St. George bore northward, and on the 6th De-
cember, 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

(829) 29

450 VOYAGE TO NEW HOLLAND.

and twenty -four pounders, while those of the St.
George were only five-pounders.

This proved a bitter disappointment, and the men
became more 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 on the coast of New Spain; but
this produced nothing, and it was agreed to part com-
pany. One party, instigated by Funnel, the mendacious
historian of the voyage, resolved to sail for 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 coun-
sels ; and the stores, small-arms, and ammunition were
divided, four of the St. Georges 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.

Of this voyage, and of the subsequent misfortunes of
Dampier in India, there remain no certain or distinct
accounts. It is, however, known that, not having a
commission to show, he was thrown into prison by the
Dutch. Before he obtained his freedom and got back
to England, Funnel, his unworthy subaltern, had re-

VOYAGE TO NEW HOLLAND. 451

turned ; and a London bookseller, named Knapton, the
publisher of Dampier's former voyages, had been in-
duced 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 celebrated navi-
gator. Dampier, on coming home, published a few
pages of explanation, entitled " Captain Dampier's Vin-
dication of his Voyage in the Ship St. George, with some
small Observations on Mr. Funnel's chimerical Rela-
tion." Funnel's account, however, as no other was ever
published, 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 impartial inquirer after truth.

The fortunes of Dampier must have been at a very-
low ebb when he returned to England after this dis-
astrous 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,
and was undertaken in the Duke and Duchess, two
privateers fitted out by several Bristol merchants.

Copious narratives of this voyage are written by the
commanders, Woodes Rogers and Cook ; but it is only
incidentally that we learn anything from them of their
distinguished pilot.

452 VOYAGE TO NEW HOLLAND.

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, Sel-
kirk 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 £21,000, and
27,000 dollars as ransom of the town. They afterwards,
off Cape Lucas, captured a Manilla ship richly laden
with merchandise, and £12,000 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 twenty-five men. The natives of
Puerto Segura were blacker than any other people seen
in the South Sea by Woodes Rogers. They were of
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 priv-
ateers was unexceptionable. They rested for ten days,

VOYAGE TO NEW HOLLAND. 453

and made the north of Gilolo in about a month after-
wards. At Bouton they stopped to take in provisions
and water, and next sailed for Batavia, where they ex-
perienced those noxious effects of climate from which
hardly any ship's company escapes at that most un-
healthy 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 merchan-
dise valued at £150,000. From this date we hear no
more of Captain Dampier, whose name appears less
frequently in the narrative of Rogers than, from the
eminent nautical abilities of the man who bore it, it
ought to have done. In difficulties he was, it appears,
constantly applied to, and his former knowledge and
experience were 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 for im-
mediate 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.

454 VOYAGE TO NEW HOLLAND.

By French and Dutch navigators and men of science
he has been uniformly regarded with the warmest ad-
miration, 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 testi-
mony to his merits, placing the buccaneer seaman above
those men of science who afterwards went over the
same ground; Malte-Brun terms him "the learned
Dampier ;" and the author of the " Voyages to Australia"
inquires, "Mais oil trouve-t-on des navigateurs corn-
parables a Dampier?" The acuteness, accuracy, and
clearness of his nautical observations, and of his descrip-
tions and general remarks, have made his voyages be
assumed by foreign navigators as unerring guides and
authorities in all subsequent expeditions ; and his ra-
pidity 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 most disposed to cavil at facts which, being re-
mote from their limited experience, appear extraor-
dinary 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.

VOYAGE TO NEW HOLLAND. 455

The succession of brilliant discoveries which illus-
trated 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
no proportion to the magnitude and splendour of a
regular battle-field, but, from their individuality, often
commanding a more intense and powerful, because a
more concentrated, interest.

The cloud which rested on the personal character of
Dampier from the ignorance or misrepresentations of
envious 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 repeti-
tion 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 that it
appears he had disagreements with some of his ship-
mates, the particular circumstances of which are not
known, further than that he had to deal with a quarrel-
some and mutinous crew. Such petty considerations

456 VOYAGE TO NEW HOLLAND.

should never have been lifted up against the memory
of such a man as Dampier." " It is not easy to name
another voyager 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 philosopher and the naturalist,
who have rarely been so much indebted to any advent-
urer whose pursuits were so entirely remote from their
subjects of speculation. This honourable testimony will
remain to the credit of the writer, 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 inces-
sant action, his natural genius appears to have been
rather speculative than enterprising. He liked to reason
and to scheme, and lost sight of present small but cer-
tain advantage in extensive and brilliant plans for the
future, which his evil fortune forbade him to realize.
If, indeed, there be such things as good and bad fortune
in human affairs independent of skill and exertion,
Dampier may be pointed out as an example of what
the world calls an unlucky man, — one to whom every
event proves adverse, — who seems singled out for mis-
fortune. 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

VOYAGE TO NEW HOLLAND. 457

never once attempted to justify or palliate his manner
of existence for so many years. Amidst 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, pre-
served him, if not entirely spotless from evil contagion,
yet from that decay and deadness of moral feeling
which are among the worst consequences of vicious com-
panionship. He was humane, just in the most strict
and also in the most liberal sense, candid and charitable
in his judgments, and — rare virtues in a buccaneer —
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 buccaneer was a virtuous man. In the
South Sea, and afterwards 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 associates in the Cygnet.

By the time that Dampier returned to England with
Woodes Rogers, he was far advanced in life ; and his

O '

career for forty years had been one of unremitting
hardihood and professional exertion. It is therefore

458 VOYAGE TO NEW HOLLAND.

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 death, 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
amidst the conflicting waves and tides of society, and
no memorial or tradition remains of his death in whose
remarkable life the adventures of Selkirk, Wafer, and
the buccaneer commanders of the South Sea appear
but as episodes. So much for human fame !

THE END.

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