Parentage of Cavendish--Sails with Sir Richard Grenville to the West
Indies--Introduced to the Queen--Fits out expedition for the South Sea--
Sails from Plymouth--Lands at Sierra Leone--Attacks a negro town--
Passage across the Atlantic--Anchors off coast of Brazil--Puts into Port
Desire--Large size of natives--Attacked by them--Enters the Straits of
Magellan--A deserted Spanish colony--One man rescued--San Felipe
visited--Port Famine--Enters the Pacific--The squadron puts into Mocha--
Obtains provisions by a mistake of the natives--An expedition on shore
at Quintero--Twelve of the crew cut off--Anchors off Moron Moreno--
Degraded natives--Proceedings at Areca--Prisoners taken and tortured--
Payta plundered--The island of Paria and its wealthy cacique--The
English surprised by Spaniards--Several killed--Cavendish burns the
place--Several vessels captured--Cocoa found on board a prize--Some
persons made prisoners on shore held captive till provisions are
brought--In search of the Manilla galleon--She is attacked and
captured--The prisoners well treated--The _Santa Anna_ set on fire--The
_Desire_ and _Content_ set sail--Ersola, a pilot, carried off--The
_Content_ lost sight of--No tidings ever received of her--The ship
touches at Guham and proceeds on to the Philippines--Treachery of Ersola
discovered--He is hung--A Spanish frigate put to flight--Death of
Captain Havers--Java reached--Reception by the Rajah--The Indian Ocean
crossed--A tempest--Passes the Cape of Good Hope--Touches at Saint
Helena--Hears of the defeat of the Spanish Armada--Enters Plymouth with
silken sails--Knighted by Queen Elizabeth--Sails on a second voyage--
Numerous disasters--Dies of a broken heart.
At an early age Thomas Cavendish, by the death of his father, William
Cavendish, of Trunley Saint Martin, in the county of Suffolk, became an
orphan, and the possessor of that goodly estate on which he was born.
From his childhood he had been wont to gaze on the ocean, which rolled
in front of the family mansion, and thus at an early age he became
enamoured of a sea life.
Instead of spending his time in hunting and hawking, or other field
sports, and indulging in the luxurious ease which his wealth would have
allowed, as soon as he had power over his fortune, after following the
Court of her Majesty for a short period, he resolved to undertake some
noble enterprise which might bring credit to himself and redound to the
honour of his country.
Hearing that Sir Richard Grenville, afterwards so celebrated, was about
to sail, for the purpose of founding a colony in Virginia, in 1585, he
fitted out a vessel at his own cost, of which he took command, and
sailed in the fleet of that brave captain. Although he gained but small
profit by the voyage, he obtained a considerable amount of nautical
skill, and a knowledge of the islands of the West Indies, among which
the squadron cruised before returning home.
Not satisfied with this short voyage, having conversed with several of
those who had sailed with Drake, and with other pilots and mariners, he
resolved on undertaking an expedition which might rival that of the
renowned navigator who had a short time before returned in triumph from
his voyage round the world in the richly-laden _Golden Hind_.
Through the recommendation of his friend Lord Hunsdon, he received a
licence from the Queen to cruise against her enemies, and he lost no
time in fitting out three vessels. These were the _Desire_, of one
hundred and twenty tons burden, in which he sailed as Admiral, the
_Content_, of sixty tons, and the _Hugh Gallant_, a bark of forty tons,
carrying altogether one hundred and twenty-three officers, seamen, and
soldiers. Having embarked near his own house at Harwich on the 10th of
July, 1586, on board the _Desire_, he sailed thence for Plymouth, where
his little squadron was directed to rendezvous.
Those were days when gentlemen considered it necessary to settle all
disputes with the sword, and unhappily one of his followers, Mr Hope,
having engaged in a duel, was mortally wounded, though he insisted on
returning to his ship.
On the 21st of July, all things being ready, the anchors were weighed,
and the little squadron sailed out of Plymouth Sound. On the 25th the
hapless Mr Hope died of his wound. The next day five large Spanish
vessels were seen, which, steering for the _Desire_, attacked her; but
the Admiral plied his guns so vigorously that they were glad to escape,
having done no material damage.
Having sighted various places, on the 26th of August the squadron put
into the harbour of Sierra Leone. The following day two negroes came
off and gave the information that there was a Portuguese vessel higher
up the harbour. In order to learn more about her, some of the crew went
on shore and danced and amused themselves with the negroes, from whom
they learned that it would be impossible to approach her with the ships.
Disappointed in this. Cavendish and seventy of his men landed the
following day, attacked the town, set some of the houses on fire, and
took what little spoil they could find. On their return the negroes who
had fled, having rallied in a wood, shot poisoned arrows at them, and
hurt three or four. Notwithstanding this, the crew again landed for the
purpose of filling their water-casks and washing their clothes. While
they were thus occupied a party of negroes rushed out upon them from the
woods, and shooting their arrows, hurt several of the men, among whom
was a soldier, who, breaking off the shaft, allowed the head to remain
in the wound rather than have it cut out. It being poisoned, his body
swelled and became black, and he died the next morning.
Touching at the Cape de Verde Islands, the squadron steered a
west-south-west course across the Atlantic, and on the 31st of October
sighted a lofty mountain in Brazil, twenty-four leagues from Cape Frio.
The next day the ships came to an anchor between the island of San
Sebastian and the main. Here the greater part of a month was spent in
setting up a pinnace, preparing casks, and other necessary works.
Again sailing on the afternoon of the 17th of December, the squadron
entered a hitherto unknown harbour, to which the Admiral gave the name
of Port Desire, in memory of his own ship. Here vast numbers of seals
were found, and also penguins. As the tides ebbed and flowed
considerably, the ships were put on shore to be careened and graved. No
water, however, being found near the harbour, the people had to go a
considerable distance to fetch it. A man and a boy were thus employed,
when they were set upon by fifty huge savages, who shot their arrows,
and wounded them sorely. They would have been killed had not the
Admiral, with nineteen men, coming up, put the natives to flight.
Though the English followed, so rapidly did the savages run that they
soon made their escape. As they were seen above the rocks they appeared
like giants, and the print mark of one of their feet being measured, was
found, it is asserted, to be eighteen inches in length. This, however,
was not a correct way of judging of their height, and was probably an
exaggeration, as none have since been found much taller than the tallest
Europeans. Cavendish had after this no communication with the natives
of this part of the coast.
Sailing from Port Desire, the voyagers brought up off another island
three leagues away from it, where they salted and dried the penguins
they had taken. They now stood on in sight of land, until on the 6th of
January they entered the Straits of Magellan. Here the squadron
anchored near the first narrow or _angostura_, as the Spaniards called
it. Soon afterwards lights were seen on the northern shore, which, as
they were supposed to be signals, were answered from the ships.
In the morning Cavendish sent off a boat towards the beach, where three
men were seen making signals with a handkerchief. They were soon
perceived to be Spaniards, who had fancied that the ships were manned by
their countrymen; and great was their disappointment when they found out
their mistake. Their history was a sad one. They were part of a colony
which sailed from Spain in twenty-three large ships, carrying three
thousand five hundred men, under the command of Don Pedro Sarmiento,
with the title of Viceroy, it being the intention of the Spanish
Government to found towns and erect forts on the shores of the narrowest
part of the straits, so as to prevent the English or other nations from
passing through them.
The greater number of vessels had been wrecked or had turned back, but
Pedro Sarmiento at length arrived at the straits in February, 1584,
where he landed the colonists, and the foundations of two towns named
Nombre de Jesus and San Felipe were laid, situated about seventy miles
apart. The Viceroy himself was driven away by stress of weather, and
Rivera, one of his officers, with the larger portion of the provisions
intended to support the colonists during the winter, sailed for Spain.
The unhappy settlers were thus left without food in that dreary region,
to endure the inclemency of the winter. Numbers died of famine and
cold. Month after month wore by. At length the settlers at Nombre de
Jesus built two small barks, hoping to make their way to Brazil, but
before they cleared the straits one was wrecked, and the survivors in
the other vessel abandoned their project in despair. Of four hundred
men and thirty women who had formed the inhabitants of San Felipe, only
fifteen men and three women were alive when Cavendish discovered them.
Cavendish at once undertook to convey them to Peru. After some demur,
they agreed to accept his liberal offer, and sent a messenger, Tome
Hernandez, to express their willingness to come on board. Just at this
juncture a strong easterly gale springing up, the vessels were compelled
to weigh and run before it, and the hapless colonists were left to their
miserable fate.
It was hopeless for Cavendish to try and turn back to their relief. As
the vessel sped on, Hernandez showed them the wreck of a small bark
called the _John Thomas_, which it was supposed had been left there by
Drake.
After passing through the narrows, they brought up off the island of
Santa Magdelena on the 8th of January, 1587. Here in two hours they
killed and salted a large supply of penguins. Running to the
south-west, the next day they came off the other Spanish settlement, San
Filipe. Not a living being appeared, but among the ruins of the houses
and forts the bodies of several Spaniards were discovered, lying as they
had died, like dogs.
In the forts several pieces of cannon were found buried, though the
carriages were still standing in their places. The English dug up the
guns and carried them off, the only booty they obtained worth
preserving.
The town had been well built, and had near it an abundance of wood and
water. In one place stood a gibbet, showing that strict discipline had
been maintained by the governor until all had succumbed to the common
misfortune. It is probable that the wretched inhabitants had been
compelled to live on mussels and limpets till they had no strength left
to gather them, and that numbers dying from starvation, the survivors
had been driven by the horrible stench of the corpses in the houses to
seek for pure air and provisions along the shore. Here they had been
killed by the savages, in whose possession a variety of European weapons
were seen.
Cavendish gave the name of Port Famine to the place, and the Spaniards
also call it in their charts Puerto de Hambre. For three weeks the
squadron lay in this sheltered harbour, unable to proceed on account of
contrary winds, but at length a fair breeze springing up, they cleared
the passage on the 24th of February, and entered the Pacific.
On the 1st of March a fearful storm coming on, the _Hugh Gallant_ was
lost sight of, and fears were entertained for her safety. For several
days the storm raged, but at length the _Desire_ and _Content_ managed
to put into Mocha, off the coast of Chili. Here, to the infinite relief
of all on board, they were soon afterwards joined by the _Hugh Gallant_;
but her crew were so greatly exhausted by labouring at the pumps, that
they could scarcely furl the sails.
Wishing to obtain provisions, Cavendish at once sent a boat to the main;
but the fierce Araucanians who inhabited the country, mistaking the crew
for Spaniards, of whom they have ever been the deadly enemies, furiously
assailed them, but were soon compelled to retreat by a few discharges of
the English calivers. They are the most warlike and intelligent
aborigines of the southern part of the continent.
The following day Cavendish landed on the island with seventy men, and
marched to the town of Santa Maria, where he was received in a friendly
way by the chief natives, who also fancied that they were their masters
the Spaniards. Here was a church with several storehouses near it, in
which had been collected the tribute of provisions destined for the
Spanish Governor. These stores, consisting of maize, potatoes, and
dried dog-fish, were at once unsuspectingly handed over to the English,
the inhabitants adding presents of hogs and fowls in large quantities.
In return Cavendish invited the two principal chiefs to dine on board
his ship, where he made them merry with wine, when to their astonishment
they found out that their hosts were not Spaniards, and that they had
handed over their tribute to the wrong persons! On this, nothing
disconcerted, the two chiefs appeared to be as friendly as ever, and
tried to induce the English to go across to Arauco, assuring them that
they would find abundance of gold; but after the experience he had had
with the Araucanians, Cavendish wisely declined to venture among them.
Touching at two other places, the voyagers entered the bay of Quintero.
Here they found a herdsman asleep on the side of a hill, but before they
could get up to him he awoke, and, mounting a horse, galloped off, and,
as was feared, gave information of the English being on the coast.
Cavendish, however, went on shore, where he saw three horsemen
approaching, flourishing their swords. On this he sent Hernandez to
enter into conversation with them. He returned, saying that they were
willing to furnish as large a supply of provisions as he might require.
On being sent a second time to make further arrangements, forgetting all
his vows, he sprang into the saddle behind one of his countrymen, who
then galloped off as fast as they could go, hurried by the shots sent
after them.
Indignant at this, Cavendish resolved to send an expedition on shore to
find their town and burn it. On the following day Captain Havers
accordingly landed with a party of sixty well-armed men, who marched
eight miles inland, till they were stopped by the steepness of the
mountains at whose base they had arrived. On the way they saw vast
numbers of cattle and horses wonderfully wild, as well as hares, coneys,
partridges, and other birds. Finding no town, they were returning, when
they espied two hundred Spanish horsemen; but as they marched along in
battle array, the Dons thought it wise not to attack them, and they
regained their ships that night. On the ist of April a party again went
on shore to fill their water-casks at a bright stream some distance from
the beach. They were thus engaged when a large band of horsemen and men
on foot came pouring down upon them, and twelve were cut off, either
killed or taken prisoners. The rest were rescued by the soldiers who
were sent on shore, and the enemy, after a sharp fight, were beaten off,
with the loss of twenty-four men.
Notwithstanding this, by keeping a vigilant watch, Cavendish obtained
water for all his ships. It was afterwards ascertained that the
Spaniards executed as pirates six of the men they had captured, though
they sailed with a commission from their Queen, who was at open war with
Spain.
Leaving Quintero, they anchored, on the 15th of April, off Moron Moreno.
The natives who came off to the ships were friendly, but appeared to be
a degraded race, their wigwams being of the roughest description,
consisting merely of skins thrown over a pole supported on forked
sticks. Their boats or _balsas_ were looked upon as ingenious
contrivances. They were formed of two large inflated skins, secured
together by sinews. On these they put to sea, and caught numbers of
fish, with which they paid their tribute to the Spaniards, whose cruel
system had reduced them to their present abject state.
Once more sailing, on the 23rd they arrived off Areca, where a small
bark coming out of the harbour was captured; but the crew got away in
the boat, and though the Admiral's pinnace made chase, she failed to
overtake her. Finding, however, a large vessel anchored in the roads,
the pinnace went alongside, and the crew having landed, captured her and
her cargo. Several shots, which she narrowly escaped, were fired from
the fort at the pinnace, and in revenge Cavendish resolved to attack and
pillage the town. The _Content_, however, was not in sight, and it was
necessary to wait for her. When she arrived it was found that she had
been engaged some leagues to the southward in carrying off as much as
she could conveniently stow of a cargo of Spanish wine. By this time
the inhabitants had been able to conceal their treasure, and to make
such preparations for their defence that Cavendish deemed it prudent not
to attack them. He, however, sent the pinnace on shore with a flag of
truce to learn if the Spaniards would redeem the ship just captured,
hoping thus to obtain the men who had been carried off by the horsemen
at Quintero. They replied, however, that they had been ordered by the
Viceroy of Lima not to have any traffic with the heretics under pain of
death, and that the prisoners could not be restored.
While this business was being transacted a vessel was seen standing into
the harbour, on which the boats were sent out to intercept her; but
before they could reach her she was run ashore two miles to the
southward of the town. Numbers of persons were seen escaping from her,
among whom were several friars, but they made such haste that before
they could be taken or killed they had all got away. The vessel was
boarded, but nothing of value being found in her, the boats returned to
the ships.
Next morning the great ship was set on fire and one of the barks sunk,
when, carrying the other with them, the squadron sailed northward. On
the 27th a small bark was captured, having on board a Greek, who proved
to be a good pilot for the coast of Chili, as also one Fleming and three
Spaniards. They were carrying letters from Santiago, near Quintero, to
Lima, giving an account of the squadron being on the coast. The crew,
however, had been sworn not to reveal this should they be captured. To
make them do so their thumbs were put into a winch, and the old Fleming
was persuaded that he would be hung if he did not confess. Still he
resisted. At last one of the Spaniards gave in and acknowledged the
truth, on which the bark was burnt and the men carried off. During the
next fortnight several prizes were made and two towns visited, from
which an ample supply of bread, fowls, and wine was obtained.
On the 20th of April Cavendish, with a large number of his men, landed
at Payta, which they took without loss, the inhabitants after a short
skirmish having fled, carrying with them their treasure, to a place
among the hills.
Here they were pursued, and twenty-five pounds of silver and other
valuable articles taken, besides abundance of household stuff. As,
however, they were a mile and a half from the town, Cavendish would not
allow his men to burden themselves with anything but the silver and
gold, fearing that they might be attacked by the enemy, who outnumbered
them as five to one. They got back in safety to the town, which
consisted of upwards of two hundred well-built houses, was kept very
clean, and had a guildhall in the midst. It was set on fire with goods
in it to the value of five or six thousand pounds, and burnt to the
ground. The vessel in the roads was also burnt, and the squadron then
steered for the island of Puna.
Here a vessel of two hundred and fifty tons was found, and forthwith
sunk. Cavendish then landed, and paid a visit to the cacique, who lived
in a magnificent house richly furnished, and was married to a Spanish
lady. All the people in the island were completely subjected to him,
and he made them work like slaves. The cacique had fled to the
mainland, but was pursued. Cavendish obtained information from an
Indian that a party of sixty soldiers had landed from Guaiaquil to
attack him. Notwithstanding this, he marched on through the woods to
some houses where he heard that the cacique and his wife had taken
refuge. They had, however, again fled with their gold and silver.
Cavendish, here obtained ample stores, which had previously been landed
from the ship he had sunk, and also the rich leather hangings and
household stuff belonging to the cacique's house, which he discovered.
In the garden were fruits and vegetables of every sort in great
abundance, and numbers of horses, oxen, and fat sheep on the
pasture-grounds, together with turkeys, ducks, hens, and poultry of
great size. Not believing that any enemy in the neighbourhood would
venture to attack them, the party on shore had wandered about in search
of provisions, when suddenly a large body of Spanish soldiers made their
appearance, accompanied by a number of natives.
The English were driven back to the water's side, but held the enemy in
check, notwithstanding their overpowering numbers, until a boat arrived
to carry them off. In the meantime several English had been killed, and
the boat was so overloaded that four were left behind. They, however,
held their own under a cliff until the boat returned, after she had
carried the rest on board. Altogether twelve Englishmen were killed,
and forty-six of the enemy slain. Next day Cavendish landed with
seventy men, drove the Spaniards before him, and set fire to the town,
which contained three hundred houses. They then ravaged the fields,
orchards, and gardens, and burnt four large ships building on the
stocks.
The Spaniards not daring again to molest them, the _Content_ was hauled
on shore and graved, and on the 5th of June the squadron sailed from
Puna, and brought up to obtain water at a place named Rio Dolce. Here,
for want of men, the _Hugh Gallant_ was burnt.
After having sighted the coast of New Spain on the 9th of July, they
took what proved to them a valuable prize, a ship of one hundred and
twenty tons, on board of which the pilot was a certain Michael Sancius.
Having no special love for the Spaniards, he told the Admiral that a
rich galleon, the _Santa Anna_, was shortly expected from the Philippine
Islands.
This news exhilarated the hearts of the rovers, who hoped that she might
prove as rich an argosy as that taken by Drake. The rest of the crew,
six in number, with the ropes and fire-wood, being transferred to the
_Desire_, the prize was set on fire. The next day another vessel was
captured, engaged in warning the inhabitants that the English were on
the coast, as also intended to give information to the galleon of her
danger. The crew had got on shore, so their vessel was burnt. Putting
into Acapulco, they found a bark laden with cocoas and anil. They here
landing, burnt the town, the church, and the custom-house, in which
latter they found six hundred bags of anil, to dye cloth, each bag being
worth forty crowns, and four hundred bags of cocoas, each worth ten
crowns. These cocoas served in the country both for food and money, one
hundred and fifty of them being valued at one real of silver. They
resemble an almond in appearance, but are not so pleasant in taste. The
people both eat them and make a drink of them. This appears to be the
first time the English met with the berry now in such general use.
After various adventures on shore, the vessels came off the haven of
Puerto de Navidad, when thirty of the crew went on shore in the pinnace.
They here surprised a mulatto in his bed, who was travelling with
letters warning the people along the coast of the proceedings of the
English. His letters were captured, his horse killed, and the houses of
the town set on fire, as also were two new ships on the stocks, of two
hundred tons each; but the messenger was allowed to go free.
On the morning of the 9th of September Cavendish sent Captain Havers
with forty men on shore, and under the guidance of Michael Sancius they
made their way two leagues up the country. Here they surprised three
householders, with their wives and children, and some Indians, a
carpenter, who was a Spaniard, and a Portuguese.
They were all bound and compelled to accompany the seamen to the beach.
The wives were here set at liberty on condition of obtaining a supply of
plantains, lemons, oranges, pineapples, and other fruits, of which, in a
short time, they brought a large supply. On this they and their
husbands were allowed to depart, but Sembrano, the Spanish carpenter,
and Diego, the Portuguese, were detained to make themselves useful on
board.
Crossing the Tropic of Cancer, the English came to an anchor off a
little island a league to the northward of Mapatalan. Here one of their
prisoners escaped by swimming across to the mainland, a distance of a
mile. They were now in great want of water, and on first landing did
not believe that it could be found on the island; but one of their
Spanish prisoners, called Flores, told them that if they would dig in
the sand they could procure it. This they did, and after getting down
about three feet, it bubbled up in such profusion that they in a short
time were able to fill all their casks.
They remained here until the 9th of October, when again sailing, they
came off the Cape of Saint Lucar, which greatly resembles the Needles of
the Isle of Wight.
Here, according to the information received from Sancius, they expected
to fall in with the Manilla galleon. The _Desire_ and _Content_,
therefore, beat up and down off the headland of California, a bright
look-out being kept for their expected prize. Soon after seven o'clock
the trumpeter of the _Desire_, who had gone aloft, espied a vessel
bearing in from the offing, on which he cried out, with no small joy to
himself and the whole company, "A sail! a sail!"
On this the master and several others hurried aloft, when, convinced
that he was right, Cavendish was informed of the joyful news.
The two small vessels were immediately got ready for the expected fight,
and the sails being trimmed, they gave chase to the galleon. In the
afternoon they got up to her, and without waiting to hail, they each
having given her a broadside and a volley of small shot, laid her
aboard, although she was of seven hundred tons burden and full of men,
whereas their ships' companies had been greatly reduced with those they
had at different times lost. They were at once convinced that she was
the _Santa Anna_, the galleon they were in search of, belonging to the
King of Spain. The tacks had been hauled down, and she was hove to, but
not a man could be seen on her decks. As soon as the English began to
climb up, however, they perceived the Spaniards standing close together,
armed with lances, javelins, rapiers, targets, and vast quantities of
large stones, with which they so warmly attacked the heads of their
assailants that the latter were driven back again into their ships, two
being killed and several wounded. On this, as the two little vessels
sheered off, Cavendish ordered his crews again to fire their great guns,
and to discharge their small arms among the Spaniards, by which the
sides of the galleon were pierced through and through, and many of her
crew killed and wounded.
The Spanish captain, however, like a valiant man, still stood at his
post, refusing to yield. Cavendish on this, ordering the trumpets to
sound, the broadside guns and small arms were again fired, with such
effect that many more Spaniards were killed and wounded; while the shot
striking the huge ship between wind and water, she began to fill. On
this the Spanish captain struck his colours, and holding out a flag of
truce, asked for quarter.
Cavendish promised that it would be given, and ordered the Spanish
officers to strike their sails and lower a boat.
Without loss of time this was done, and one of the principal merchants
coming up the side of the _Desire_, falling on his knees, implored the
Admiral's mercy.
Cavendish assured him it would be granted, that their lives would be
spared, and that they would be well treated, provided he was correctly
informed of the amount of valuables on board the galleon.
The captain and pilot, who had also arrived, told him that the ship
carried one hundred and twenty-two thousand pesos of gold, and that the
rest of her cargo consisted of silks, satins, damasks, with musk and
other merchandise, with provisions of all sorts in abundance.
They were detained on board while the galleon their prize was carried
into Puerto Seguro. There was here a stream of clear water, with plenty
of fish, fowl, and wood to be obtained, as also numerous hares and
coneys. As soon as they had anchored, the English employed themselves
in transferring the rich cargo on board their own vessels, as also in
dividing the treasure, to each man being allotted a certain portion; but
the crew of the _Content_ were very far from contented, and showed some
inclination to mutiny. They were, however, to all appearances speedily
pacified, though as it turned out they were far from being really so.
The Spaniards were supplied with sufficient arms to defend themselves
against the natives and everything else they required, for which the
captain, in the name of the rest, expressed himself very grateful. All
the passengers and most of the ship's company were allowed to go except
two Japanese lads, who were detained, and three others who had been born
in Manilla, the youngest of whom afterwards became a page to the
Countess of Essex.
Besides these, Rodrigo, a Portuguese who had visited Canton and other
parts of China, and had been in Java and the Philippines, was kept, and
a Spaniard, Thomas de Ersola, an experienced pilot between Acapulco, the
Ladrones, and the Philippines.
The _Santa Anna_, which had still five hundred tons of goods in her, was
set on fire, and all arrangements being made, on the 19th of November,
to the joy of their crews, the Admiral, firing a farewell salute, stood
out of harbour at three o'clock in the afternoon, and with a fair wind,
steering westward, they commenced their homeward voyage.
The King's ship was soon burnt down to the water's edge, but curious as
it may seem, she escaped destruction. Her cables being burnt through,
she drifted on shore, when the Spaniards managed to extinguish the
flames, and with the planks they had obtained and the sails and rigging
which had been landed, the trees in the neighbourhood supplying them
with masts and yards, they fitted her for sea, and before long contrived
to make their escape.
Cavendish took a great liking to Ersola, and placed much confidence in
him as a pilot. He seemed to merit this by the accurate way in which he
guided the ship across the Pacific.
On going out of the harbour the _Content_ had been left astern. Night
coming on, she was lost sight of, and when morning broke she was nowhere
to be seen. In vain the _Desire_ waited for her. At length, spreading
her sails, she stood on her course.
From that day no more was seen of the hapless _Content_, nor was the
slightest clue obtained as to what became of her. Some thought that she
had sailed for the Straits and been lost, but Ersola was of opinion that
Captain Hare, who commanded her, thinking to be wiser than Drake, had
attempted the North-East Passage, and had got so far north that he had
perished, with all his company, in the ice.
That there was such a passage no one doubted, and that America was a
continent by itself, independent of the rest of the world.
For forty-five days the _Desire_ glided on with a fair wind out of sight
of land, until on the 3rd of January, 1588, she made the island of
Guham, one of the Ladrones. From thence a number of natives came off,
bringing fruits and vegetables, but became so troublesome that, losing
temper, Cavendish in a most unjustifiable manner ordered a shot to be
fired among them.
On the 14th of the same month the _Desire_ made the Philippines, and
sailing on, came to an anchor, on the morning of the 15th, in a safe
harbour in the island, called Capal. Scarcely had the anchor been
dropped than one of the chief caciques of the island came off with
provisions, supposing the ship to be Spanish. He being detained on
board, his people were sent on shore to invite the other cacique to come
off, which he shortly did, bringing an abundance of provisions, so that
the whole of the clay was spent in buying hogs, hens, roots, cocoas, and
other vegetables, by which the crew were greatly refreshed.
This island was about sixty leagues distant from Manilla, which was
already a flourishing place, containing seven hundred inhabitants, among
them many merchants from China, and also several Sanguelos, who were
partly Moors, or Malays probably, and partly heathen. The Sanguelos
were especially clever in inventing and making all manner, of things, so
that few or no Christians could surpass them. They excelled in drawing
and embroidering upon satin, silk or lawn, representing either beasts,
fowls, fish, or worms, in the most natural manner. They also worked in
silk, silver, gold, and pearl.
On the same night of their arrival at Capal the Portuguese Nicholas
Rodrigo, who had been taken out of the _Santa Anna_, desired to speak to
Cavendish in secret. His request being granted, he told the Admiral
that although he had hitherto appeared to be discontented, he was truly
grateful to him for the kindness he had received, and as a proof of this
he desired to put him on his guard against a treacherous plot which had
been devised by the pilot Ersola to deliver up his vessel to the
Spaniards. As a proof that what he said was true, a letter, he stated,
would be found in Ersola's chest. Search being made, the letter was
discovered, which Ersola had intended to send by some natives to
Manilla. It called on the authorities there forthwith to fit out an
expedition to capture the _Desire_, warning them that if she escaped,
the English would bring their countrymen down to attack the settlement.
A drum-head court martial was immediately held. The hapless pilot at
first denied all knowledge of the letter, but at length compelled to
confess his guilt, with a short shrift he was next morning hanged at the
yard-arm.
The _Desire_ remained nine days at Capal, during which Cavendish obliged
the chief cacique, as well as the caciques of a hundred other islands,
to pay tribute to him in hogs, hens, potatoes, and cocoas. The tribute
being received on board, he hoisted the flags and sounded the drums and
trumpets. Then telling them that the English were enemies to the
Spaniards, he paid them in money more than an equivalent for the
provisions they had brought. To show their pleasure, the caciques rowed
about the ship in their canoes at a great rate. The brave voyagers, who
never doubted the existence of Satan, firmly believed what they
stated,--that those people wholly worshipped the devil, and oftentimes
have conferences with him who "appeareth unto them in a most ugly and
monstrous shape."
Setting sail on the 24th, the _Desire_ ran along the coast, past
Manilla, putting to flight some frigates which had been sent after her,
and dispersing some Spaniards who fired at her boat.
One or two men died at this time, and on the last day of February
Captain Havers succumbed to a burning ague, from which he had suffered
several days, to the great grief of all on board.
Passing by the Moluccas, the _Desire_, after various adventures, reached
Java, where she was visited by the chief Rajah, named Bolamboam, an aged
despot who possessed a hundred wives, while his son had fifty. His
people were said to be the bravest of all those inhabiting the
south-east part of the world, for they never feared any death.
Several Portuguese who were settled in this part of the island visited
the ship, and, hearing that their King, Don Antonio, was a friend of the
Queen of England, urged Cavendish to advise him to come out and found a
kingdom which would comprehend the Moluccas, Ceylon, China, and the
Philippines. A friendly reception was also promised to the English.
Firing a parting salute on the 16th of March, Cavendish took his
departure, traversing for forty days that "mightie and vaste sea between
the yle of Java and the main of Africa, observing the heavens, the
crosiers or southern cross, the other starres, the fowles, which are
marks unto seamen of fair weather or foul weather, approaching of lands
or islands, the winds, the tempests, the rains and thunder, with the
alterations of the tides and currents."
On the 10th of May the _Desire_ was overtaken by a terrific storm, but
it calmed in a few hours, and the next day a look-out from the masthead
saw land, which was supposed to be the Cape of Good Hope, but was
ultimately proved to be False Cape.
It was not until the 16th of May that, with a brisk gale, the ship
passed the Cape of Good Hope, and on the 8th of June she came in sight
of the island of Saint Helena. Only four people were found upon the
island, but it was abundantly stored with fruits and vegetables of all
sorts, carefully cultivated, while there were numberless goats and hogs
running wild among the mountains.
The Portuguese homeward-bound East Indian fleet, the smallest of which
vessels were of eight or nine hundred tons burden, laden with spices,
Calicut cloth, precious stones, pearls, and treasure, had called off
there only twenty days before.
Having touched at the Azores on the 3rd of September, the _Desire_ fell
in with a Plymouth vessel coming from Lisbon, which gave the voyagers
the glorious information of the overthrow of the Spanish Armada.
Directly afterwards the _Desire_ encountered a terrific gale, which
carried away the greater part of her remaining sails. To replace them
others were manufactured from the Indian damasks, and the canvas made of
the silk grass of the South Seas, which had a most lustrous appearance.
One of her topsails was of cloth of gold, while her officers and crew
were dressed in silk clothes, their own having probably long since worn
out.
Thus equipped, on the 9th of September the _Desire_ entered the
long-wished-for port of Plymouth, to the great astonishment of the
inhabitants, who, as they gazed at her, fancied that all her sails were
of silk, supposing naturally that this betokened the value of her cargo.
In this they were not far wrong, for the wealth Cavendish brought home
was enough to buy a fair earldom.
He was received with great kindness by the Queen, who, considering that
his exploit almost rivalled that of Drake, bestowed on him the honour of
knighthood. He boasted to his patron, Lord Hunsdon, that he had burnt
and sunk nineteen sail of ships, small and great; that all the villages
and towns where he had landed he had burnt and spoiled, and had carried
off a great quantity of treasure, his most profitable transaction being
that of the capture of the _Santa Anna_, as her cargo was the richest
that had ever floated on those seas, so that his ships could only
contain a small portion.
Happy would it have been for the gallant Cavendish had he remained
contentedly on shore, but his eager soul burned for fresh enterprises.
Having fitted out a squadron of three ships and two barks, in one of
which, the _Roebuck_, John Davis went as captain, he sailed from
Plymouth on the 26th of August, 1591, for the purpose of finding a
North-West Passage by way of the Pacific into the Atlantic. Disaster,
however, followed him from the first. He was deserted by one of his
captains, and failing to get through the Straits of Magellan, was
compelled to return home. He died of a broken heart, after a vain
search for Saint Helena, where he hoped to refresh his crew, towards the
end of the year 1592.