Chapter M (7)

The 4th of November, beating up and down upon the head-land of California, in 23 degrees 40 minutes to the northward, between seven and eight o’clock in the morning, one of the company of our Admiral, who was the trumpeter of the ship, going up unto the top, espied a sail bearing in from the sea with the cape; whereupon he cried, with no small joy to himself and all the company, A sail! a sail! With which chearful word, the Master of the ship, and divers others of the company, went also up to the main-top, who, perceiving his speech to be very true, gave information unto our General of this happy news, who was no less glad than the cause required: whereupon he gave in charge presently unto the whole company, to put all things in readiness; which being performed, he gave them chace for three or four hours, standing with our best advantage, and working for the wind. In the afternoon we got up to them, giving them a broadside with our great ordnance, and a volley of small shot, and presently laid the ship aboard, whereof the King of Spain was owner, which was Admiral of the South Sea, called St. Anna, and thought to be seven hundred tons in burthen. Now, as we were ready on the ship’s side to enter her, there not being above fifty or sixty men at most in our ship, we perceived that the Captain of the Santa Anna had made sights fore and aft, and hid their sails close on their poop, their midship, with their forecastle, and not one man to be seen, they standing so close under their sights, with lances, javelins, rapiers, targets, and an innumerable quantity of large stones, which they threw overboard upon our heads, and into our ships so fast, and being so many of them, that they put us off the ship again, with the loss of two of our men, who were slain, and four or five wounded. But for all this, we new trimmed our sails, 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 unto his close sights, not yielding as yet. Our General encouraging his men afresh, with the whole noise of trumpets, gave them the other encounter with our great ordnance, and all our small shot, to the great discouragement of our enemies, raking them through in divers places, killing and wounding many of their men. They being thus discouraged and spoiled, and their ship being in hazard of sinking, by reason of the great shot which were made, whereof some were under water, after five or six hours fight, set out a flag of truce, and parlied for mercy, desiring our General to save their lives, and to take their goods, and that they would presently yield. Our General promised them mercy, and willed them to strike their sails, and to hoist out their boat, and to come on board: which news they were full glad to hear, 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 pardoned both him and the rest, upon promise of their true dealing with him and his company, 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. Our General promised their lives, and good usage. The said Captain and pilot presently certified the General what goods they had on board, viz. 122,000 pezoes of gold; and the rest of the riches that the ship was laden with, were silks, sattins, damasks, with musk, and divers other merchandize, and great plenty of all manner of provisions, with the choice of many conserves, and several sorts of very good wines. These things being made known to the General by the aforesaid Captain and pilot, they were commanded to stay on board the Desire; and on the 6th day of November following we went into an harbour, which is called by the Spaniards Aguada Segura, or Puerto Seguro.

Here the whole company of Spaniards, both men and women, to the number of 190 persons, were set on shore; where they had a fair river of fresh water, with great plenty of fresh fish, fowl, and wood, and also many hares and conies upon the main land. Our General also gave them plenty of provisions, garvances, peason, and some wine. Also they had all the sails of their ship to make them tents on shore, with licence to take such store of planks as should be sufficient to make them a bark. Then we fell to heaving in of our goods, sharing of the treasure, and allotting to every man his portion; in division whereof, the 8th of this month, many of the company fell into a mutiny against our General, especially those who were in the Content, which were nevertheless pacified for the time.

On the 17th day of November, which is the day of the happy coronation of her Majesty, our General commanded all his ordnance to be shot off, with the small shot, both in his own ship, and in the Content, which was our Vice-Admiral. This being done, the same night we had many fire-works, and more ordnance discharged, to the great admiration of all the Spaniards who were there, for the most of them had never seen the like before.

This ended, our General discharged the Captain, and gave him a royal reward, with provision for his own and company’s defence against the Indians, both of swords, targets, pieces, shot, and powder, to his great contentment. But before his departure, he took out of this great ship two young lads born in Japan, who could both read and write their own language; the eldest, being about twenty years old, was named Christopher; the other was called Cosmus, about seventeen years of age; both of very good capacity. He took also with him, out of their ship, three boys born in the isles of Manilla; the one about fifteen, the other about thirteen, the youngest about nine years of age: the name of the eldest was Alphonso, the second Anthony de Dasi, the third remaineth with the Right Honourable the Countess of Essex. He also took from them one Nicholas Roderigo, a Portuguese, who had not only been in Canton, and other parts of China, but had also been in the islands of Japan, being a country most rich in silver mines, and had also been in the Philippines. He took also from them a Spaniard, whose name was Thomas de Ersola, who was a very good pilot from Acapulco, and the coast of Nueva Espanna, unto the islands of Ladrones, where the Spaniards put in to water, sailing between Acapulco and the Philippines; in which isles of Ladrones they found fresh-water plantains, and potatoe-roots: howbeit, the people are very rude, and heathens.

The 19th day of November aforesaid, about three o’clock in the afternoon, our General caused the King’s ship to be set on fire, which, having to the quantity of 500 tons of goods in her, we saw burnt unto the water, and then gave them a piece of ordnance, and set sail joyfully homewards towards England, with a fair wind, which by this time was come about to east-north-east; and, night growing near, we left the Content a-stern of us, which was not as yet come out of the road: and here, thinking she would have overtaken us, we lost her company, and never saw her after.

We were sailing from this haven of Aguada Segura, in California, unto the isles of Ladrones, the rest of November, and all December, and so forth until the 3d of January, 1588, with a fair wind, for the space of forty-five days; and we esteemed it to be between seventeen and eighteen hundred leagues.

The 3d of January, by six o’clock in the morning, we had sight of one of the islands of Ladrones, called the island of Guarsa, standing in 13 deg. 40 min. towards the north; and, sailing with a gentle gale before the wind, by one or two o’clock in the afternoon we were come within two leagues of the island, where we met with sixty or seventy sail of canoes, full of savages, who came off to sea unto us, and brought with them in their canoes, plantains, cocoas, potatoe-roots, and fresh fish, which they had caught at sea, and held them up unto us for to truck, or exchange with us; which, when we perceived, we made fast little pieces of old iron upon small cords and fishing lines, and so veered the iron into their canoes; and they caught hold of them, and took off the iron, and in exchange of it they would make fast unto the line, either a potatoe-root, or a bundle of plantains, which we hauled in: and thus our company exchanged with them, until they had satisfied themselves with as much as did content them; yet we could not be rid of them; for, afterwards, they were so thick about the ship, that it stemmed and broke one or two of their canoes; but the men saved themselves, being in every canoe four, six, or eight persons, all naked, and excellent swimmers and divers. They are of a tawny colour, marvellously fat, and ordinarily bigger of stature than the most of our men in England, wearing their hair very long, yet some of them have it made up and tied with a knot on the crown, and some with two knots, much like unto their images, which we saw them have carved in wood, and standing in the head of their boats, like unto the images of the devil. Their canoes were as artificially made as any that ever we had seen, considering they were made and contrived without any edged tool: they are not above half a fathom in breadth, and in length some seven or eight fathoms, and their heads and sterns are both alike: they are made out with rafts of canes and reeds on the starboard-side, with mast and sail: their sail is made of mats of sedges square or triangle ways; and they sail as well right against the wind as before it. These savages followed us so long that we could not be rid of them until in the end our General commanded our harquebusses to be made ready, and he himself fired one of them, and the rest shot at them; but they were so nimble, that we could not discern whether they were killed or not, because they could fall backward into the sea and prevent us by diving.

The 14th, by break of day, we fell in with an head-land of the Philippines, which is called Cabo del Spirito Santo, which is of very great bigness and length; high land in the midst of it, and very low land, as the cape lieth east and west, trending far into the sea to the westward. This cape or island is distant from the isle of Guana 310 leagues. We were in sailing of this course eleven days, with scant winds and foul weather, bearing no sail two or three nights. This island standeth in thirteen degrees, and is inhabited for the most part by heathens, and very woody through the whole island. It is short of the chiefest island of the Philippines, called Manilla, about sixty leagues. Manilla is well planted, and inhabited by Spaniards to the number of six or seven hundred persons, who dwell in a town unwalled, which hath three or four small block-houses, part made of wood and part of stone, being indeed of no great strength. They have one or two small gallies belonging to the town. It is a very rich place in gold and many other commodities; and they have yearly traffic from Acapulco, in Nueva Espanna, and also twenty or thirty ships from China, and from the Sanguelos, which bringeth them many sorts of merchandize. The merchants of China and the Sanguelos are part Moors and part heathens; they bring great quantities of gold with them, which they traffic and exchange for silver, and give weight for weight. These Sanguelos are men of great genius for inventing and making all manner of things, especially in all handicrafts and sciences; and every one is so expert, perfect, and skilful in his faculty, that few or no Christians are able to go beyond them in that which they take in hand. For drawing and embroidering upon sattin, silk, or lawn, either beast, fowl, fish, or worm, for liveliness and perfectness both in silk, silver, gold, and pearl, they excel.

The 14th, at night, we entered the straits between the island of Lucon and the island of Camlaia.

The 15th day, we fell in with an island called Capul, and had, betwixt that and another island, a very narrow passage, occasioned by a ledge of rocks, lying off the point of the island of Capul, and no danger, but water enough a good way off. Within the point there is a fine bay, and a very good harbour in four fathoms water, within a cable’s length of the shore. Our ship was no sooner come to an anchor, than presently there came a canoe rowing on board us, in which was one of the chief Casiques of the island, whereof there are seven, who, supposing that we were Spaniards, brought us potatoe roots, which they call camotas, and green cocoas, in exchange for which we gave his company linnen to the quantity of a yard for four cocoas, and as much linnen for a basket of potatoe roots, of a quart in quantity, which roots are very good eating, and very sweet either roasted or boiled.

This Casique’s skin was carved and cut with various coloured strakes and devices all over his body; we kept him still on board, and caused him to send those men who brought him on board back to the island, to invite the rest of the principal men to come on board: who were no sooner gone on shore, than presently the people of the island came down with their cocoas and potatoe roots, and the rest of the Casiques likewise came on board, and brought with them hens and hogs. They used the same order with us which they do with the Spaniards; for they took for every hog, which they call balboye, eight rials of plate, and for every hen or cock one rial of plate. Thus we rode at anchor all that day, doing nothing but buying roots, cocoas, hens, hogs, and such things as they brought, refreshing ourselves very much.

The same day, at night, Nicholas Roderigo, the Portuguese whom we had taken out of the great Santa Anna, at the Cape of California, desired to speak with our General in secret; which, when our General understood, he sent for him, and asked him what he had to say to him. The Portuguese made him answer, That, although he had offended his worship heretofore, yet now he had vowed his faith and true service to him; and, in respect whereof, he neither could nor would conceal such treason as was plotting against him and his company; which was this, that the Spaniard who was taken out of the great Santa Anna for a pilot, whose name was Thomas de Ersola, had written a letter secretly, sealed it, and locked it up in his chest, meaning to convey it, by the inhabitants of this island, to Manilla; the contents whereof were, that there had been two English ships along the coast of Chili, Peru, Nueva Espanna, and Nueva Galicia, and that they had taken many ships and merchandize in them, and burnt divers towns, and spoiled all that ever they could come unto; and that they had taken the king’s ship which came from Manilla, and all his treasure, and all the merchandize that was therein, and had set all the people on shore, taking himself away by force; therefore he willed them that they should make strong their bulwarks, with their two galleys, and all such provision as they could possibly make. He further signified, that we were riding at an island called Capul, which was at the end of the island of Manilla; being but one ship with small force in it; and that the other ship, as he supposed, was gone for the north-west passage, standing in fifty-five degrees; and that, if they could use any means to surprize us, being there at anchor, they should dispatch it, for our force was but small, and our men but weak; and that the place where we rode was but fifty leagues from them: otherwise, if they let us escape, within a few years they must make account to have their town besieged and sacked by an army of English. This information being given, our General called for him, and charged him with these things, which, at the first, he utterly denied; but, in the end, the matter being made manifest and known of certainty by special trial and proofs, the next morning, our General gave orders that he should be hanged, which was accordingly performed the 16th of January.

We rode for the space of nine days about this island of Capul, where we had divers kinds of fresh victuals, with excellent fresh water in every bay, and great plenty of wood. The people of this island go almost naked, and are of a tawny colour. The men wear only a girdle about their waists, of a kind of linnen of their own weaving, which is made of plantain leaves, and an apron, which, coming from their back and covering their nakedness, is made fast to their girdles at their navels.

These people use a strange kind of order among them, which is this: every man and man-child among them hath a little peg-nail thrust through the head of his privy parts, being split in the lower end, and rivetted, and on the head of the nail is as it were a crown; which they take out and in as they have occasion: and for the truth thereof we ourselves have taken one of these nails from a son of one of their kings, who was of the age of ten years.

On the 23d of January, our General, Mr. Thomas Cavendish, caused all the chiefs of this island and of an hundred islands more, whom he had made to pay tribute to him, which tribute was in hogs, hens, potatoes and cocoas, to appear before him, and made himself and his company known unto them, that they were Englishmen, and enemies to the Spaniards; and thereupon spread his ensign, sounded his trumpets, and beat his drums; which they much wondered at. To conclude, they promised both themselves and all the islands thereabout, to aid him whensoever he should come again to overcome the Spaniards. Also our General gave them, in token that we were enemies to the Spaniards, money back again for all their tribute which they had paid, which they took very friendly, and rowed about our ship to give us pleasure. At last our General ordered a sacre to be shot off, whereat they wondered, and, with great contentment, took their leave of us.

The next day, being the 26th of January, we set sail, about six o’clock in the morning, and ran along the coast of the island of Manilla, shaping our course north-west, between Manilla and the isle of Masbat.

The 28th in the morning, about seven o’clock, riding at an anchor between two islands, we spied a frigate under her courses, coming out between two other islands, which, as we imagined, came from Manilla, sailing close by the shore along the main island of Panama. We chaced this frigate along the shore, and gained fast upon her, until in the end we came so near that she stood in for the shore, close by a wind, and being becalmed, banked up with her oars; whereupon we came to an anchor with our ship a league and a half from the place where the frigate rowed in, and manned our boat with half a dozen shot, and as many men with swords, who did row the boat. Thus we made after the frigate, which had run into a river where we could not reach her; but as we rowed along the shore, our boat came into very shallow water, where many marks were set up in divers places in the sea, from whence two or three canoes came forth, whereof one made somewhat near unto us with three or four Indians in it. We called unto them, but they would not come nearer unto us, but rowed from us, whom we durst not follow too far, for fear of bringing ourselves too much to the leeward of our ship. Here, as we looked about us, we spied another balsa or canoe of a great bigness, which they who were in her did set along, as we usually set a barge, with long staves or poles, which was builded up with great canes, and below near the water made to row with oars, wherein were about five or six Indians and one Spaniard. Now, as we were come almost at the balsa, we ran aground with our boat, but one or two of our men leapt overboard and freed it again presently, and keeping thwart her head, we laid her aboard, and took into us the Spaniard, but the Indians leaped into the sea, and dived and rose again far off from us. Presently, upon the taking of this canoe, there appeared upon the sands a band of soldiers, marching with an ensign having a red cross like the flag of England, who were about fifty or sixty Spaniards, lately come from Manilla to that town, which is called Reguan, in a bark to fetch a new ship of the king’s, which was building in a river within the bay, and staid there only for certain irons to serve for the rudder of the said ship, which they looked for every day.

This band of men shot at us from the shore with their musquets, but hit none of us, and we shot at them again. They also manned a frigate, and sent it out after our boat to have taken us, but we with our oars went from them; and whether they perceived they could not overtake us, but that they must come within danger of the ordnance of our ship, they stood in with the shore again, and landed their men; and presently sent their frigate about the point, but whither we knew not: so we came on board with this one Spaniard, who was neither soldier nor sailor, but one who was come among the rest from Manilla, and had been in the hospital there a long time before, and was a very simple fellow, and such a one as could answer to very little that was enquired of him concerning the state of the country. Here we rode at anchor all that night, and perceived that the Spaniards had dispersed their band into two or three parties, and kept great watch in several places with fires and shooting-off of their pieces.

This island hath much plain ground in it in many places, and many fair and straight trees grow upon it, fit to make excellent masts for all sorts of ships. There are also mines of very fine gold in it, which are in the custody of the Indians. And, to the southward of this place, there is another very great island, which is not subdued by the Spaniards, nor any other nation. The people who inhabit it are all negroes; and the island is called the Island of Negroes. It is almost as big as England, standing in nine degrees. The most part of it seemeth to be very low land, and, by all likelihood, is very fruitful.

The 29th day of January, about six o’clock in the morning, we set sail, sending our boat before, until it was two o’clock in the afternoon, passing all this time as it were through a strait, betwixt the said two islands of Panama and the island of Negroes; and, about 16 leagues off, we espied a fair opening, trending south-west and by-south; at which time our boat came on board, and our General sent commendations to the Spanish Captain, whom we came from the evening before, by the Spaniard we had taken, and desired him to provide good store of gold, for he intended to see him with his company at Manilla within a few years, and that he did but want a bigger boat to have landed his men, or else he would have seen him then; and so caused him to be set on shore.

The 8th day of February, by eight o’clock in the morning, we espied an island near Gilolo, called Batochina, which standeth in one degree from the Equinoctial Line, northward.

The 14th day of February, we fell in with eleven or twelve very small islands, lying very low and flat, full of trees; and passed by some islands which are sunk, and have the dry sands lying in the main sea. These islands, near the Moluccas, stand in three degrees ten minutes to the southward of the Line.

On the 17th day, one John Gameford, a cooper, died, who had been sick of an old disease a long time.

The 20th day, we fell in with certain other islands, which had many small islands among them, standing four degrees to the southward of the Line.

On the 21st day of February, being Ash-Wednesday, Captain Havers died, of a most violent and pestilent ague, which held him furiously for seven or eight days, to the no small grief of our General, and of all the rest of the company, who caused two falcons and one sacre to be shot off, with all the small shot in the ship; who, after he was shrouded in a sheet, was thrown over-board, with great lamentation of us all. Moreover, presently after his death, myself, with divers others in the ship, fell very sick, and so continued in very great pain for the space of three weeks, or a month, by reason of the extreme heat and intemperateness of the climate.

The 1st day of March, having passed through the straits of Java Minor and Java Major, we came to an anchor, under the south-west parts of Java Major; where we espied certain of the inhabitants, who were fishing by the sea side in a bay which was under the island. Then our General taking into the ship-boat certain of his company, and a negroe who could speak the Morisco tongue, whom he had taken out of the Santa Anna, made towards those fishers; who, having espied our boat, ran on shore into the woods, for fear of our men. But our General caused his negroe to call unto them; who had no sooner heard him call, than presently one of them came to the shore side, and made answer. Our General, by the negroe, enquired of him for fresh water; which they found; and caused the fisher to go to the King, and to acquaint him of a ship that was come to have traffic for victuals, and for diamonds, pearls, or any other rich jewels that he had for which, he should have either gold, or other merchandize in exchange. The fisher answered, that we should have all manner of victuals that we would request. Thus our boat came on board again. Within a while after, we went about to furnish our ship thoroughly with wood and water.

About the 8th of March, two or three canoes came from the town unto us, with eggs, hens, fresh fish, oranges, and limes, and brought word we should have had victuals more plentifully, but that they were so far to be brought to us where we rode. Which when our General heard, he weighed anchor, and stood in nearer for the town; and, as we were under sail, we met with one of the King’s canoes coming towards us: whereupon we dropt some of our sails, and staid for the canoe until it came aboard us, then stood into the bay, which was hard by, and came to an anchor. In this canoe was the King’s Secretary, who had on his head a piece of died linnen, folded up like unto a Turkish turban. He was all naked, except about his waist; his breast was carved with the broad arrow upon it; he went bare-footed. He had an interpreter with him, who was a Mestizo, that is, half an Indian and half a Portuguese, who could speak very good Portuguese. This Secretary signified unto our General, that he had brought him an hog, hens, eggs, fresh fish, sugar canes, and wine, which wine was as strong as aqua-vitæ, and as clear as any rock-water. He told him farther, that he would bring victuals so sufficiently for him as he and his company would request, and that within the space of four days. Our General used him singularly well, banquetted him most royally with the choice of many and sundry conserves, wines both sweet and otherwise; and caused his musicians to make him music. This done, our General told him, that he and his company were Englishmen; that we had been at China, and had trafficked in that country; that we were come thither to make enquiries, and purposed to go to Molucca. The people told our General, that there were certain Portuguese in the island, who staid there as factors continually, to traffic with them, to buy negroes, cloves, pepper, sugar, and many other commodities. This Secretary of the King, with his interpreter, lay one night on board our ship. The same night, because they lay on board, in the evening at the setting of the watch, our General commanded every man in the ship to provide his harquebuss, and his shot; and so with shooting off forty or fifty small shot, and a sacre, himself set the watch. This was no small wonder to these heathen people, who had not commonly seen any ship so furnished with men and ordnance. The next morning we dismissed the Secretary and his interpreter, with all humanity.

The fourth day after, which was the 12th of March, according to their appointment, came the King’s canoes: but the wind being somewhat scant, they could not get on board that night, but put into a bay under the island until the next day; and, presently after the break of day, there came to the number of nine or ten of the King’s canoes, so deeply laden with provisions as they could swim, with two live oxen, half a score of large fat hogs, a number of live hens, ducks, and geese, with eggs, plantains, sugar-canes, sugar in plates, cocoas, sweet oranges, and bitter limes, great store of wine and aqua-vitæ, salt to season meat with, and almost all manner of provisions besides, accompanied with divers of the King’s Officers who were there. Among all the rest of the people, in one of these canoes, came two Portuguese, who were men of middle stature, and very proper personage: they were each of them in a loose jerkin and hose, which came down from the waist to the ancle, according to the fashion of the country, and partly because it was Lent, and a time for doing of their penance. They account it as a thing of great dishonour among these heathens, to wear either hose or shoes on their feet. The Portuguese had on each of them a very fair and a white lawn shirt, with falling bands on the same, very decent, their bare legs excepted. These Portuguese were no small joy unto our General, and all the rest of our company; for we had not seen any christian that was our friend for a year and an half before. Our General used and treated them singularly well with banquets and music. They told us, that they were no less glad to see us than we were to see them, and enquired into the estate of their country, and what was become of Don Antonio, their King, and whether he were living or not; for that they had not been in Portugal for a long time, and that the Spaniards had always brought them word that he was dead? Then our General satisfied them in every demand, assuring them that their King was alive and in England, and had honourable allowance from our Queen; and that there was war betwixt Spain and England, and that we were come under the King of Portugal into the South Sea, and had warred upon the Spaniards there, and had fired, spoiled, and sunk all the ships along the coast that we could meet with, to the number of eighteen or twenty sail. With this report they were abundantly satisfied.

On the other side, they declared unto us the state of the island of Java: First, the plentifulness, great choice, and store of provisions of all sorts, and of all manner of fruits, as before set down; then the great and rich merchandizes which are there to be had. Then they described the nature and properties of the people, as followeth: The name of the King of that part of the island was Raya Bolamboam, who was a man had in great majesty and fear among them. The common people may not bargain, sell, or exchange any thing with any other nation, without special licence from their King; and, if any so do, it is present death for him. The King himself is a man of great years, and hath an hundred wives; his son hath fifty. The custom of the country is, that, whensoever the King doth die, they take the dead body and burn it, and preserve the ashes of him; and, within five days next after, the wives of the said King so dead, according to the custom and use of their country, every one of them go together to a place appointed; and, the chief of the women, who was nearest to him in account, hath a ball in her hand, and throweth it from her; and to the place where the ball resteth, thither they go all, and turn their faces to the eastward, and every one, with a dagger in her hand (which dagger they call a crise, and is as sharp as a razor), stab themselves to the heart, and, with their own hands, bathe themselves in their blood, and falling flat on their faces, so end their days. This thing is as true as it may seem to any hearer to be strange.

The men of themselves are very politic and subtle, and singularly valiant (being naked men) in any action they undertake, and very submissive and obedient to their king: for example, if their king command them to undertake any exploit, be it ever so dangerous or desperate, they dare not nor will not refuse, though they should die every man of them in executing the same; for he will cut off the heads of every one of them who return alive, without bringing their purpose to pass; which is such a thing amongst them as maketh them the most valiant people in all the south-east parts of the world; for they never fear any death; for being in fight with any nation, if any of them feeleth himself hurt with lance or sword, he will willingly run himself upon the weapon quite through the body to procure his death the more speedily, and in this desperate manner end his days, or overcome his enemy. Moreover, although the men be tawny of colour, and go continually naked, yet their women are fair of complexion, and go more apparelled.

After they had thus described the state of the island and the order and fashion of the people, they told us further, that, if their king, Don Antonio, would come unto them, they would warrant him to have all the Moluccas at command, besides China-Sanglos and the isles of the Philippines; and that he might be assured to have all the Indians on his side that were in the country. After we had fully contented these Portuguese, and the people of Java who had brought us provisions in their canoes, they took their leave of us with promise of all good entertainment at our return; and our General gave them three great pieces of ordnance at their departing.

Thus, the next day, being the 16th of March, we set sail towards the Cape of Good Hope, called by the Portuguese Cabo de Buena Esperanca, on the most southern coast of Africa.

The rest of March, and all the month of April, we spent in traversing that mighty and vast sea, between the island of Java and the main of Africa, observing the heavens, the Crosiers, or the South-pole, the other stars, the fowls which are marks unto seamen of fair weather and foul weather, approaching of lands or islands, the winds, the tempests, the rains and thunder, with the alterations of tides and currents.

The 10th day of May, we had a storm from the west, and it blew so hard that it was as much as the ship could steer close by under the wind; and the storm continued all that day and all that night.

The next day, being the 11th of May, in the morning, one of the company went up to the top, and espied land bearing north and north-by-west of us; and about noon we espied land to bear west of us, which we imagined to be the Cape of Buena Esperanca, whereof indeed we were short about forty or fifty leagues; and, by reason of the scantness of the wind, we stood along to the south-east until midnight, at which time the wind came fair, and we hauled along westward.

The 12th and 13th days we were becalmed, and the sky was very hazy and thick until the 14th day at three o’clock in the afternoon, at which time the sky cleared, and we spied land again, which was that called Cabo Falso, which is short of Cabo de Buena Esperanca forty or fifty leagues.

This cape is very easy to be known, for there are right over it three very high hills, standing but a small way one off another, and the highest standeth in the midst, and the ground is much lower by the sea-side. The Cape of Good Hope beareth west and by-south from the said Cabo Falso.

The 16th day of May, about four o’clock in the afternoon, the wind came up at east a very brisk gale, which continued till Saturday with as much wind as ever the ship could go before. At which time, by six o’clock in the morning, we espied the promontory or head-land called the Cabo de Buena Esperanca, which is a pretty high-land; and at the westernmost point, a little off the main, appear two hummocks, the one upon the other, and three other hummocks lying further off into the sea, yet low land between and adjoining unto the sea.

This Cape of Buena Esperanca is set down and accounted 2000 leagues from the island of Java in the Portuguese sea charts, but it is not so much by almost 150 leagues, as we found by the running of our ship. We were in running of these 1850 leagues just nine weeks.

The 8th day of June, by break of day, we fell in sight of the island of St. Helena, seven or eight leagues short of it, having but a small gale of wind, or almost none at all, insomuch as we could not get into it that day, but stood off and on all that night.

The next day, being the ninth of June, having a pretty easy gale of wind, we stood in with the shore, our boat being sent away before to make the harbour; and, about one o’clock in the afternoon, we came to an anchor in twelve fathoms water, two or three cables length from the shore, in a very fair and smooth bay under the north-west side of the island.

This island is very high land, and lieth in the main sea; standing, as it were, in the midst of the sea, between the main land of Africa, the main of Brazilia, and the coast of Guinea; and is in fifteen degrees forty-eight minutes to the southward of the Equinoctial Line, and is distant from the Cape of Buena Esperanca between five and six hundred leagues.

The same day, about two or three o’clock in the afternoon, we went on shore, where we found an exceeding fair and pleasant valley, wherein divers handsome buildings and houses were set up; and one particularly, which was a church, was tiled and whitened on the outside very fair, and made with a porch; and within the church, at the upper end, was set an altar, whereon stood a very large table, set in a frame, having in it the picture of our Saviour Christ upon the cross, and the image of our Lady praying, with divers other histories curiously painted in the same. The sides of the church were hung round with stained cloths, having many devices drawn on them.

There are two houses adjoining to the church, on each side one, which serve for kitchens to dress meat in, with necessary rooms and houses of office. The coverings of the said houses are made flat, where is planted a very fair vine, and through both the said houses runneth a very good and wholesome stream of fresh water.

There is also over against the church a very fair causeway, made up with stones reaching unto a valley by the sea side, in which valley is planted a garden, wherein grow great store of pompions and melons; and upon the said causeway is a frame erected, whereon hang two bells, wherewith they ring to mass; and near to it a cross is set up, which is squared, framed, and made very artificially of free-stone, whereon is carved in cyphers what time it was built, which was in the year of our Lord 1571.

This valley is the fairest and largest low plot in all the island, and is exceeding sweet and pleasant, and planted in every place, either with fruit or with herbs.

There are fig-trees which bear fruit continually and very plentifully; for on every tree you may see blossoms, green figs, and ripe figs all at once, and it is so all the year long. The reason is, that the island standeth so near the sun. There is also great store of lemon-trees, orange-trees, pomegranate-trees, pomecitron-trees, and date-trees, which bear fruit as the fig-trees do, and are planted carefully and very artificially, with pleasant walks under and between them; and the said walks are overshadowed with the leaves of the trees; and in every void place is planted parsley, sorrel, basil, fennel, anniseed, mustard-seed, radishes, and many very good herbs. The fresh-water brook runneth through divers places in this orchard, and may, with very small pains, be made to water any one tree in the valley.

This fresh-water stream cometh from the tops of the mountains, and falleth from the cliff into the valley the height of a cable; and hath many arms issuing out of it, that refresh the whole island, and almost every tree in it. The island is altogether high mountains and steep vallies, except it be on the tops of some hills, and down below in some of the vallies, where great plenty of all those fruits before spoken of do grow. There are much more growing on the tops of the mountains than below in the vallies; but it is very toilsome and dangerous travelling up unto them and down again, by reason of the height and steepness of the hills.

There are also upon this island great store of partridges, which are very tame, not making any great haste to fly away, though one come very near them, but only to run away and get up into the steep cliffs; we killed some of them with a fowling-piece; they differ very much from our partridges which are in England both in bigness and also in colour, for they are almost as big as hens, and are of an ash colour, and live in covies, twelve, sixteen, and twenty together; you cannot go ten or twelve score paces but you shall see or spring one or two covies at the least.

There are likewise no less plenty of pheasants in the island, which are also very big and fat, surpassing those which are in our country in bigness and in numbers in a company; they differ not very much in colour from the partridges before spoken of. We found, moreover, on this island, plenty of Guinea-cocks, which we call turkies, of colour black and white, with red heads; they are much the same in bigness with ours in England; their eggs are white, and as big as a turkey’s egg.

There are in this island thousands of goats, which the Spaniards call cabritos, which are very wild; you shall see one or two hundred of them together, and sometimes you may see them go in a flock almost a mile long; some of them (whether it be the nature of the breed of them or of the country I know not) are as big as an ass, with a mane like a horse, and a beard hanging down to the very ground; they will climb up the cliffs, which are so steep that a man would think it a thing impossible that any living creature could go there. We took and killed many of them for all their swiftness, for there are thousands of them upon the mountains.

Here are in like manner great store of swine, which are very wild and fat, and of great bigness; they keep altogether upon the mountains, and will very seldom abide any man to come near them, except it be by mere chance, when they are found asleep, or otherwise, according to their kind, are taken lying in the mire.

We found in the houses, at our coming, three slaves who were negroes, and one who was born in the island of Java, who told us, that the East-Indian fleet, which were in number five sail, the least whereof was in burden eight or nine hundred tons, all laden with spices and Calicut cloth, with store of treasure, and very rich stones and pearls, were gone from the said island, St. Helena, but twenty days before we came thither.

This island hath been found long ago by the Portuguese, and hath been altogether planted by them for their refreshment, as they come from the East-Indies; and, when they come, they have all things in plenty for their relief, by reason that they suffer none to inhabit there, that might eat up the produce of the island, except some very few sick persons of their company, whom they suspect will not live until they come home; these they leave there to refresh themselves, and take them away the year following, with the other fleet, if they live so long. They touch here rather in their coming home from the East Indies, than at their going thither, because they are thoroughly furnished with corn when they set out of Portugal; but are meanly victualled at their coming from the Indies, where there groweth but little corn.

The 20th day of June, having taken in wood and water, and refreshed ourselves with such things as we found there, and made clean our ship, we set sail about eight o’clock at night towards England. At our setting sail we had the wind at south-east, and we hauled north-west and by-west. The wind is commonly off the shore at this island of St. Helena.

On Wednesday the 3d day of July, we went away north-west, the wind being still at south-east; at which time we were in one degree and forty-eight minutes to the southward of the Equinoctial Line.

The 12th day of the said month of July there was very little wind; and, towards night, it was calm, and blew no wind at all, and so continued till Monday, being the 15th day of July.

On Wednesday the 17th day of the said month, we had a small gale at west-north-west. We found the wind continually to blow at east and north-east, and east-north-east, after we were in three or four degrees to the northward; and it altered not until we came between thirty and forty degrees to the northward of the Equinoctial Line.

On Wednesday the 21st day of August, the wind came up at south-west a fair gale; by which day at noon we were in thirty-eight degrees of north latitude.

On Friday in the morning, being the 23d of August, at four o’clock we hauled east and east-by-south, for the most northern islands of the Azores.

On Saturday the 24th day of the said month, by five o’clock in the morning, we fell in sight of the two islands of Flores and Corvo, standing thirty-nine degrees thirty minutes; and sailed away north-east.

The 3d of September, we met with a Flemish hulk that came from Lisbon, and declared unto us the overthrowing of the Spanish fleet, to the singular rejoicing and comfort of us all.

The 9th of September, after a terrible tempest, which carried away most part of our sails, by the merciful favour of the Almighty, we recovered our long-wished-for port of Plymouth, in England, from whence we set forth at the beginning of our voyage.”

[The wealth acquired in this voyage, though very considerable, was soon dissipated; and, in less than three years, Cavendish again found himself under the necessity of preparing for a second, in which, however, he was very unfortunate. He had, indeed, increased his preparations; and, it is not to be doubted, but that the certainty he had conceived of acquiring a more ample fortune by a second enterprize, made him the more careless in the management of the treasure he had acquired by the first.

The ships fitted out on this occasion were the Leicester, commanded by himself as Admiral; the Roebuck, Captain Cocke, Vice-Admiral; the Desire, Captain Davis, Rear-Admiral; the _Dainty_, Captain Coffen; and the _Black Pinnace_, whose Commander’s name is not mentioned. The Commanders in this expedition were some of the ablest navigators the nation produced, and the highest expectations were formed from their fortitude and approved experience.

Of the accounts that have been given of this expedition, that published by John Jane, a gentleman who accompanied Captain Davis in the Desire, is the most complete; for which reason, we shall give it in the writer’s own words, as it is but in few hands, and full of interesting events:

“The 26th of Aug. 1591, we departed from Plymouth, says Mr. Jane, with three large ships and two barks.

The 29th of November, we fell in with the bay of Salvador, upon the coast of Brasil, twelve leagues on this side Cape Frio, where we were becalmed until the 2d of December: at which time we took a small bark bound for the river of Plate, with sugar, haberdash-wares, and negroes. The master of this bark brought us to an isle called Placentia, thirty leagues west from Cape Frio, where we arrived the 5th of December, and rifled six or seven houses inhabited by the Portuguese. The 11th, we departed from this place, and, the 14th, arrived at the island of St. Sebastian; from whence Mr. Cocke and Captain Davis presently departed with the Desire and Black Pinnace, for taking the town of Santos. The 15th, at evening, we anchored at the bar of Santos, from whence we departed, with our boats, to the town; by which expedition, we took all the people at mass, both men and women, whom we kept all that day in the church as prisoners. The cause why Mr. Cavendish desired to take this town, was to supply his great wants; and, having it now in quiet possession, we stood in assurance of having provisions in great abundance. But such was the negligence of Captain Cocke, that the Indians were suffered to carry out whatsoever they would in open view, and no man did controul them: and the next day, after we had won the town, our prisoners were all set at liberty; only four poor old men were kept as pledges to supply our wants. Thus, in three days, the town, which was able to furnish such another fleet with all kinds of necessaries, was left unto us nakedly bare, without people and provisions.