HOME WITH DRAKE.
During our awful captivity on board the galleon we had well-nigh lost
all count or notion of time. To us one day was pretty much like another.
If we slept it was only to be awakened by the overseer's whip. Day or
night it was all one with us; never did our tormentors cease to afflict
us. We were reduced to the condition of animals, and had not even the
comfort which is allowed to them. Thus when the time of our rescue came,
we had no notion of where we were or what part of the year it was.
We now found that it was the middle of August, and that we were in the
North Pacific Ocean and bearing direct for the Moluccas, where Drake
intended to trade before continuing his voyage homeward by way of the
Cape. We also learnt that this great captain was now taking his first
voyage round the world, and that he had had many great and remarkable
adventures on the Spanish Main and on the coast of Peru, and had
enriched his vessels with the spoils of Spanish treasure-ships, so that
he now had with him a store of great and unusual value. For from some
ships he had taken bars of silver, and from others blocks of gold,
together with rich ladings, merchandise and silks, so rare and curious
as to be worth great sums of money. And all this treasure had been
chiefly won from the Spaniards in fair fight, and that without any
cruelty or lust of blood or revenge.
About the thirteenth day of September we came within view of some
islands, situated about eight degrees northward from the line. From
these the islanders came out to us in canoes hollowed out of solid
trunks of a tree, and raised very high out of the water at both ends, so
that they almost formed a semicircle. These canoes were polished so
highly that they shone like ebony, and were kept steady by pieces of
timber fixed on each side of them by strong canes, fastened at one end
to the canoe, and at the other to the timber.
The first company that came out to us brought fruits, potatoes, and
other commodities, none of any great value, and seemed anxious to trade
with us, making a great show of good-will and honesty. Soon after,
however, they sent out another fleet of canoes, the crews of which
showed themselves to be nothing better than thieves, for if we placed
anything in their hands they immediately considered it to belong to
them, and would neither restore nor pay for it. Upon this we were
obliged to get rid of them, which we did by discharging a gun. As they
had never seen ordnance discharged before they were vastly astonished by
this, and fled precipitately to the shore, having first pelted us with
showers of stones which they carried in their canoes.
On the fifth of November we cast anchor before Ternate, and had scarce
arrived when the viceroy of that place, attended by the chief nobles,
came out in three boats, rowed by forty men on each side. Soon
afterwards appeared the king himself, attended by a large and imposing
retinue. Him we received with discharges of cannon and musketry,
together with various kinds of music, with which he was so highly
delighted that he would have the musicians down into his own boat. At
this place we stayed some days, trafficking with the inhabitants, who
brought us large quantities of provisions, and behaved to us with
civility. After that we repaired to a neighboring island, and there
found a commodious harbor where we repaired the Golden Hinde, and did
ourselves enjoy a much-needed rest.
Leaving this place on the 12th day of December, we sailed southwards
towards the Celebes; but the wind being against us, we drifted about
among a multitude of islands mingled with shallows until the middle of
January. And now we met with an adventure which was like to have stayed
our further progress and put a summary end to all our hopes. For sailing
forward under a strong gale we were one night suddenly surprised by a
shock, caused by our being thrown upon a shoal, on which the speed of
our course served to fix us very fast. Upon examination we found that
the rock on which we had struck rose perpendicularly from the water, and
there was no anchorage, nor any bottom to be found for some distance. On
making this discovery we lightened the ship by throwing into the sea a
not inconsiderable portion of her lading. Even then the ship seemed
hopelessly fast, and we had almost given way to despair when we were on
a sudden relieved by a remission of the wind, which, having hitherto
blown strongly against that side of the ship which lay towards the sea,
holding it upright against the rock, now slackened, and blowing no
longer against our vessel allowed it to reel into deep water, to our
great comfort and relief. We had enjoyed so little hope of ever
extricating ourselves from this perilous position, that Drake had caused
the sacrament to be administered to us as if we had been on the point of
death, and now that we were mercifully set free we sang a Te Deum and
went forward very cautiously, hardly daring to set sails lest we should
chance upon some reef still more dangerous.
We now continued our voyage without any remarkable occurrence or
adventure, until about the middle of March we came to anchor off the
Island of Java. Having sent to the king a present of clothes and silks,
we received from him in return a quantity of provisions; and on the
following day Drake himself went on shore, and after entertaining the
king with music obtained leave from him to forage for fresh food. Here,
then, we remained some days, taking in provisions, and being visited by
the princes and head men of that country, and later by the king, all of
whom manifested great interest in us, and in our armaments and
instruments of navigation.
Leaving Java about the end of March we sailed for the Cape of Good Hope,
which we sighted about the middle of June. During all that time we met
with no very remarkable adventure; nevertheless, because we were sailing
through seas which no Englishman had ever previously traversed there was
not a day which did not present some feature of interest to us, or add
to our knowledge of those strange parts of the world. To me, and to such
of my companions as had suffered with me in the dungeons of the
Inquisition or on the deck of the galleon, this voyage was as a glimpse
of Paradise. For we were treated with the utmost kindness and
consideration by Drake and his men, and they would not suffer us to
undertake anything in the shape of work until our wounds were fairly
healed and our strength recruited. To those of us who had suffered so
bitterly that our strength was well-nigh departed, this welcome relief
was very grateful. As for me, on discovering my condition I was rated
with Drake and his officers, and with them did spend many exceeding
pleasant hours, listening to their marvelous adventures and stories of
fights with our old enemies, the Spaniards. But Pharaoh, hating to do
naught, applied for a rating, and so they made him boatswain's mate, and
thenceforth he was happy, and seemed quickly to forget the many
privations and discomforts which he and I had undergone.
So on the third week of September, 1580, we came to Plymouth Sound, and
once more looked upon English land and English faces. And this we did
with such thankfulness and rejoicing as you cannot conceive. As for
Drake and his men, they had been away two years and some ten months,
and in that time had taken their ships round the world. And because they
were the first Englishmen that had ever done this, there was such
ringing of bells, and lighting of bonfires, and setting up of feasts and
jollities as had never been known in England. From the queen to the
meanest hind there was nobody that did not join in the general
rejoicing. Wherefore, at Plymouth, where we landed, there were great
stirrings, and men clung around us to hear our marvelous tales and
adventures. And as for Drake himself, the queen soon afterwards made him
a knight on the deck of the Golden Hinde; and so he became Sir Francis,
and thereafter did many wonderful deeds which are set forth in the
chronicles of that time.
Now, I no sooner set foot upon English soil than I was immediately
consumed with impatience to go home to Beechcot, and therefore I sought
out Drake and begged him to let me begone.
"Why," quoth he, "knowing your story as I do, Master Salkeld, I make no
wonder that you should be in some haste to return to your own friends. I
pray God that you may find all well with them."
Then he generously pressed upon me a sum of money in gold, wherewith to
fit myself out for the journey and defray my expenses on the way; and
for this kindness I was deeply grateful, seeing that I was utterly
penniless, and owed the very garments I then wore to the charity of one
of his officers. So I said farewell to him and his company, and begged
them to remember me if we should meet no more, and then I went to find
Pharaoh Nanjulian.
"Pharaoh," said I, when I came upon him on the deck of the Golden Hinde,
"I am going home."
He pushed back his cap and scratched his head and looked at me.
"Aye," he said, "I supposed it would be so, master. As for me, I have no
home to go to. My mother is dead and buried in Marazion churchyard, and
I have neither kith nor kin in the wide world."
"Come with me to Beechcot," said I, "you shall abide there for the rest
of your days in peace and plenty."
But he shook his head.
"Nay, master," he answered, "that would never do. I am naught but a
rough sea-dog, and I should be too big and savage for a quiet life.
Besides, yon constable of yours would be forever at my heels, fearing
lest I should break the peace again."
"There shall no man harm you if you will come with me," said I. "Come
and be my man."
"Nay, master, not so. Born and bred to the sea I was, and to the sea I
will cleave. Besides, I am Francis Drake's man now, and with him I shall
see rare ventures. Already there is talk of an expedition against the
Spaniards. That is the life for me."
So there was no more to be said, and I gave him my hand sorrowfully, for
he had proved a true friend.
"Good-bye, then, Pharaoh Nanjulian."
"Good-bye, master. We have seen some rare ventures together. I thank God
for bringing us safely out of them."
"Amen! I shall not forget them or thee. And God grant we may meet
again."
So we pressed each other's hands with full hearts, and I went away and
left him gazing after me.