cordial. The chief or Agouhanna, who was crippled in all his limbs,
begged the captain to touch them, as if he had asked him for a cure.
Then the blind, and those who were blind in one eye, the lame, and
the impotent came and sat down near Jacques Cartier, that he might
touch them, so thoroughly were they persuaded that he was a god
descended to heal them. "The said captain, seeing the faith and
piety of this people, recited the Gospel of St. John, namely: _In
principio_, making the sign of the cross over the poor sick people,
praying GOD that he would give them the knowledge of our holy faith
and grace to accept Christianity and baptism. Then the said captain
took a book of Hours and read aloud the Passion of our Saviour, so
well that all those present could hear it, all the poor people being
quite silent, looking up to heaven and using the same ceremonies as
they saw us use." After making themselves acquainted with the
country, which could be seen for ninety miles around from the top of
Mount Royal, and having collected some information about the
water-falls and rapids of the St. Lawrence, Jacques Cartier returned
towards Canada, where he did not delay to rejoin his ships. We owe
to him the first information on tobacco for smoking, which does not
seem to have been in use throughout the whole extent of the New
World. "They have a herb," he says, "of which they collect great
quantities during the summer for the winter; they esteem it highly,
and the men alone use it in the following manner: they dry it in the
sun and carry it on their necks in a small skin of an animal in the
shape of a bag, with a horn of stone or of wood, then constantly
they make the said herb into powder, and put it into one of the ends
of the said horn; they then place a live coal upon it and blow
through the other end, and so fill their body with smoke that it
issues from the mouth and nostrils, as if from the shaft of a
chimney. We have tried the said smoke, but after having put it into
our mouths, it seemed as if there were ground pepper in them, so hot
is it." In the month of December the inhabitants of Stadacone were
attacked by an infectious disease which proved to be the scurvy.
"This malady spread so rapidly in our vessels that by the middle of
February out of our 110 men there were but ten in good health."
Neither prayers, nor orisons, nor vows to our Lady of Roquamadour
brought any relief. Twenty-five Frenchmen perished up to the 18th of
April, and there were not four amongst them who were not attacked by
the malady. But at this time a savage chief informed Jacques Cartier
that a decoction of the leaves and sap of a certain tree, probably
either the Canadian fir-tree or the barberry, was very salutary. As
soon as two or three had experienced its beneficial effects "there
was a crowding as if they would have killed each other to be the
first to get the medicine; and one of the tallest and largest trees
I ever saw was used in less than eight days, which had such an
effect that if all the doctors of Louvain and Montpellier had been
there with all the drugs of Alexandria, they had not done as much in
a year as the said tree accomplished in eight days."
Some time after, Cartier, having noticed that Donnacona was trying
to excite sedition against the French, caused him to be seized, as
well as nine other savages, that he might take them to France, where
they died. He set sail from the harbour of St. Croix on the 6th of
May, descended the St. Lawrence, and after a voyage which was not
marked by any incident, he landed at St. Malo on the 16th of July,
1536.
Francis I., in consequence of the report of this voyage which the St.
Malo captain made to him, resolved to take effective possession of
the country. After having appointed Francois de la Roque, Sieur de
Roberval, viceroy of Canada, he caused five vessels to be fitted out,
which being laden with provisions and ammunition for two years, were
to transport Roberval and a certain number of soldiers, artizans,
and gentlemen to the new colony, which they were about to establish.
The five vessels set sail on the 23rd of May, 1541. They met with
such contrary winds that it took them three months to reach
Newfoundland. Cartier did not arrive at the harbour of St. Croix
till the 23rd of August. As soon as he had landed his provisions, he
sent back two of his vessels to France with letters for the king,
telling him what had been done, also that the Sieur de Roberval had
not yet appeared, and that they did not know what had happened to
him. Then he had works commenced to clear the land, to build a fort,
and to lay the first foundations of the town of Quebec. He next set
out for Hochelaga, taking with him Martin de Paimpont and other
gentlemen, and went to examine the three waterfalls of Sainte Marie,
La Chine, and St. Louis; on his return to St. Croix, he found
Roberval had just arrived. Cartier returned to St. Malo in the month
of October, 1542, where, probably ten years later, he died. As to
the new colony, Roberval having perished in a second voyage, it
vegetated, and was nothing more than a factory until 1608, the date
of the foundation of Quebec by M. de Champlain, of whom we shall
relate the services and discoveries a little further on.
We have just seen how Cartier, who had set out first to seek for the
north-west passage, had been led to take possession of the country
and to lay the foundations of the colony of Canada. In England a
similar movement had begun, set on foot by the writings of Sir
Humphrey Gilbert and of Richard Wills. They ended by carrying public
opinion with them, and demonstrating that it was not more difficult
to find this passage than it had been to discover the Strait of
Magellan. One of the most ardent partizans of this search was a bold
sailor, called Martin Frobisher, who after having many times applied
to rich ship-owners, at last found in Ambrose Dudley, Earl of
Warwick, the favourite of Queen Elizabeth, a patron, whose pecuniary
help enabled him to equip a pinnace and two poor barks of from
twenty to twenty-five tons' burden. It was with means thus feeble,
that the intrepid navigator went to encounter the ice in localities
which had never been visited since the time of the Northmen. Setting
out from Deptford on the 8th of June, 1576, he sighted the south of
Greenland, which he took for the Frisland of Zeno. Soon stopped by
the ice, he was obliged to return to Labrador without being able to
land there, and he entered Hudson's Straits. After having coasted
along Savage and Resolution Islands, he entered a strait which has
received his name, but which is also called by some geographers,
Lunley's inlet. He landed at Cumberland, took possession of the
country in the name of Queen Elizabeth, and entered into some
relations with the natives. The cold increased rapidly, and he was
obliged to return to England. Frobisher only brought back some
rather vague scientific and geographical details about the countries
which he had visited; he received, however, a most flattering
welcome when he showed a heavy black stone in which a little gold
was found. At once all imaginations were on fire. Several lords and
the Queen herself contributed to the expense of a new armament,
consisting of a vessel of 200 tons, with a crew of 100 men, and two
smaller barks, which carried six months' provision both for war and
for nourishment. Frobisher had some experienced sailors--Fenton,
York, George Best, and C. Hall, under his command. On the 31st of
May, 1577, the expedition set sail, and soon sighted Greenland, of
which the mountains were covered with snow, and the shores defended
by a rampart of ice. The weather was bad. Exceedingly dense
fogs,--as thick as pease-soup, said the English sailors,--islands of
ice a mile and a half in circumferance, floating mountains which
were sunk seventy or eighty fathoms in the sea, such were the
obstacles which prevented Frobisher from reaching before the 9th of
August, the strait which he had discovered during his previous
campaign. The English took possession of the country, and pursued
both upon land and sea some poor Esquimaux, who, wounded "in this
encounter, jumped in despair from the top of the rocks into the
sea," says Forster in his _Voyages in the North_, "which would not
have happened if they had shown themselves more submissive, or if we
could have made them understand that we were not their enemies." A
great quantity of stones similar to that which had been brought to
England were soon discovered. They were of gold marcasite, and 200
tons of this substance was soon collected. In their delight, the
English sailors set up a memorial column on a peak to which they
gave the name of Warwick Mount, and performed solemn acts of
thanksgiving. Frobisher afterwards went ninety miles further on in
the same strait, as far as a small island, which received the name
of Smith's Island. There the English found two women, of whom they
took one with her child, but left the other on account of her
extreme ugliness. Suspecting, so much did superstition and ignorance
flourish at this time, that this woman had cloven feet, they made
her take the coverings off her feet, to satisfy themselves that they
really were made like their own. Frobisher, now perceiving that the
cold was increasing, and wishing to place the treasures which he
thought he had collected, in a place of safety, resolved to give up
for the present any farther search for the north-west passage. He
then set sail for England, where he arrived at the end of September,
after weathering a storm which dispersed his fleet. The man, woman,
and child who had been carried off were presented to the Queen. It
is said with regard to them, that the man, seeing at Bristol
Frobisher's trumpeter on horseback wished to imitate him, and
mounted with his face turned towards the tail of the animal. These
savages were the objects of much curiosity, and obtained permission
from the Queen to shoot all kinds of birds, even swans, on the
Thames, a thing which was forbidden to every one else under the most
severe penalties. They did not long survive, and died before the
child was fifteen months old.
People were not slow in discovering that the stones brought back by
Frobisher really contained gold. The nation, but above all the
higher classes, were immediately seized with a fever bordering on
delirium. They had found a Peru, an Eldorado. Queen Elizabeth, in
spite of her practical good sense, yielded to the current. She
resolved to build a fort in the newly discovered country, to which
she gave the name of _Meta incognita_, (unknown boundary) and to
leave there, with 100 men as garrison, under the command of Captains
Fenton, Best, and Philpot, three vessels which should take in a
cargo of the auriferous stones. These 100 men were carefully chosen;
there were bakers, carpenters, masons, gold-refiners, and others
belonging to all the various handicrafts. The fleet was composed of
fifteen vessels, which set sail from Harwich on the 31st of May,
1578. Twenty days later the western coasts of Frisland were
discovered. Whales played round the vessels in innumerable troops.
It is related even that one of the vessels propelled by a favourable
wind, struck against a whale with such force that the violence of
the shock stopped the ship at once, and that the whale after
uttering a loud cry, made a spring out of the water and then was
suddenly swallowed up. Two days later, the fleet met with a dead
whale which they thought must be the one struck by the _Salamander_.
When Frobisher came to the entrance of the strait which has received
his name, he found it blocked up with floating ice. "The barque
_Dennis_, 100 tons," says the old account of George Best, "received
such a shock from an iceberg that she sank in sight of the whole
fleet. Following upon this catastrophe, a sudden and horrible
tempest arose from the south-east, the vessels were surrounded on
all sides by the ice; they left much of it, between which they could
pass, behind them, and found still more before them through which it
was impossible for them to penetrate. Certain ships, either having
found a place less blocked with ice, or one where it was possible to
proceed, furled sails and drifted; of the others, several stopped
and cast their anchors upon a great island of ice. The latter were
so rapidly enclosed by an infinite number of islets of ice and
fragments of icebergs, that the English were obliged to resign
themselves and their ships to the mercy of the ice, and to protect
the ships with cables, cushions, mats, boards, and all kinds of
articles which were suspended to the sides, in order to defend them
from the fearful shocks and blows of the ice." Frobisher himself was
thrown out of his course. Finding the impossibility of rallying his
squadron, he sailed along the west coast of Greenland, as far as the
strait which was soon to be called Davis' Strait, and penetrated as
far as the Countess of Warwick Bay. When he had repaired his vessels
with the wood which was to have been used in the building of a
dwelling, he loaded the ships with 500 tons of stones similar to
those which he had already brought home. Judging the season to be
then too far advanced, and considering also that the provisions had
been either consumed, or lost in the _Dennis_, that the wood for
building had been used for repairing the vessels, and having lost 40
men, he set out on his return to England on the 31st of August.
Tempests and storms accompanied him to the shores of his own country.
As to the results of his expedition they were almost none as to
discoveries, and the stones, which he had put on board in the midst
of so many dangers, were valueless.
This was the last Arctic voyage in which Frobisher took part. In
1585 we meet with him again as vice-admiral, under Drake; in 1588 he
distinguished himself against the _Invincible Armada_; in 1590 he
was with Sir Walter Raleigh's fleet on the coast of Spain; finally
in a descent on the coast of France, he was so seriously wounded
that he had only time to bring his squadron back to Portsmouth
before he died. If Frobisher's voyages had only gain for their
motive, we must put this down not to the navigator himself, but to
the passions of the period, and it is not the less true that in
difficult circumstances, and with means the insufficiency of which
makes us smile, he gave proof of courage, talent, and perseverance.
To Frobisher is due, in one word, the glory of having shown the
route to his countrymen, and of having made the first discoveries in
the localities where the English name was destined to render itself
illustrious.
If it became necessary to abandon the hope of finding in these
circumpolar regions countries in which gold abounded as it did in
Peru, this was no ground for not continuing to seek there for a
passage to China; an opinion supported by very skilful sailors, and
one which found many adherents among the merchants of London. By the
aid of several high personages, two ships were equipped; the
_Sunshine_, of fifty tons' burden and carrying a crew of
twenty-three in number, and the _Moonshine_, of thirty-five tons.
They quitted Portsmouth on the 7th of June, 1585, under the command
of John Davis.
Davis discovered the entrance of the strait which received his name,
and was obliged to cross immense fields of drifting ice, after
having reassured his crew, who were frightened while in the midst of
a dense fog, by the dash of the icebergs, and the splitting of the
blocks of ice. On the 20th July, Davis discovered the Land of
Desolation, but without being able to disembark upon it. Nine days
later he entered Gilbert Bay, where he found a peaceable population,
who gave him sealskins and furs in exchange for some trifling
articles. These natives, some days afterwards, arrived in such
numbers, that there were not less than thirty-seven canoes around
Davis' vessels. In this place, the navigator perceived an enormous
quantity of drift wood, amongst which he mentions an entire tree,
which could not have been less than sixty feet in length. On the 6th
of August, he cast anchor in a fine bay called Tottness; near a
mountain of the colour of gold, which received the name of Raleigh,
at the same time, he gave the names of Dyer and Walsingham to two
capes of that land of Cumberland.
During eleven days, Davis still sailed northwards on a very open sea,
free from ice, and of which the water had the colour of the Ocean.
Already he believed himself at the entrance of the sea, which
communicated with the Pacific, when all at once the weather changed,
and became so foggy, that he was forced to return to Yarmouth, where
he landed on the 30th of September.
Davis had the skill to make the owners of his ships partake in the
hope which he had conceived. Thus on the 7th of May (1586), he set
out again with the two ships which had made the previous voyage. To
them were added the _Mermaid_ of 120 tons, and the pinnace _North
Star_. When, on the 25th of June, he arrived at the southern point
of Greenland, Davis despatched the _Sunshine_ and the _North Star_
towards the north, in order to search for a passage upon the eastern
coast, whilst he pursued the same route as in the preceding year,
and penetrated into the strait which bears his name as far as 69
degrees. But there was a much greater quantity of ice this year, and
on the 17th of July, the expedition fell in with an "icefield" of
such extent that it took thirteen days to coast along it. The wind
after passing over this icy plain was so cold, that the rigging and
sails were frozen, and the sailors refused to go any further. It was
needful, therefore, to descend again to the east-south-east. There
Davis explored the land of Cumberland, without finding the strait he
was seeking, and after a skirmish with the Esquimaux, in which three
of his men were killed, and two wounded, he set out on the 19th of
September, on his return to England.
Although once more his researches had not been crowned with success,
Davis still had good hope, as is witnessed by a letter, which he
wrote to the Company, in which he said that he had reduced the
existence of the passage to a species of certainty. Foreseeing,
however, that he would have more trouble in obtaining the despatch
of a new expedition, he added that the expenses of the enterprise
would be fully covered by the profit arising from the fishery of
walrus, seals, and whales, which were so numerous in those parts,
that they appeared to have there established their head-quarters. On
the 15th of May, 1587, he set sail with the _Sunshine_, the
_Elizabeth_ of Dartmouth, and the _Helen_ of London. This time he
went farther north than he had ever done before, and reached 72
degrees 12 minutes, that is to say, nearly the latitude of Upernavik,
and he descried Cape Henderson's Hope. Stopped by the ice, and
forced to retrace his way, he sailed in Frobisher's Strait, and
after having crossed a large gulf, he arrived, in 61 degrees 10
minutes latitude, in sight of a cape to which he gave the name of
Chudleigh. This cape is a part of the Labrador coast, and forms the
southern entrance to Hudson's Bay. After coasting along the American
shores as far as 52 degrees, Davis set out for England, which he
reached on the 15th of September.
Although the solution of the problem had not been found, yet
nevertheless, precious results had been obtained, but results to
which people at that period did not attach any great value. Nearly
the half of Baffin's Bay had been explored, and clear ideas had been
obtained of its shores, and of the people inhabiting them. These
were considerable acquisitions, from a geographical point of view,
but they were scarcely those which would greatly affect the
merchants of the city. In consequence, the attempts at finding a
north-west passage were abandoned by the English for a somewhat long
period.
A new nation was just come into existence. The Dutch--while scarcely
delivered from the Spanish yoke,--inaugurated that commercial policy,
which was destined to make the greatness and prosperity of their
country, by the successive despatch of several expeditions to seek
for a way to China by the north-east; the same project formerly
conceived by Sebastian Cabot, and which had given to England the
Russian trade. With their practical instinct, the Dutch had
acquainted themselves with English navigation. They had even
established factories at Kola, and at Archangel, but they wished to
proceed further in their search for new markets. The Sea of Kara
appearing to them too difficult, they resolved, acting on the advice
of the cosmographer Plancius, to try a new way by the north of Nova
Zembla. The merchants of Amsterdam applied therefore, to an
experienced sailor, William Barentz, born in the island of
Terschelling, near the Texel. This navigator set out from the Texel
in 1594, on board the _Mercure_, doubled the North Cape, saw the
island of Waigatz, and found himself, on the 4th of July, in sight
of the coast of Nova Zembla, in latitude 73 degrees 25 minutes. He
sailed along the coast, doubled Cape Nassau on the 10th of July, and
three days later he came in contact with the ice. Until the 3rd of
August, he attempted to open a passage through the pack, testing the
mass of ice on various sides, going up as far as the Orange Islands
at the north-western extremity of Nova Zembla, sailing over 1700
miles of ground, and putting his ship about no less than eighty-one
times. We do not imagine that any navigator had hitherto displayed
such perseverance. Let us add that he turned this long cruise to
account, to fix astronomically, and with remarkable accuracy, the
latitude of various points. At last, wearied with the fruitless
boxing about along the edge of the pack, the crew cried for mercy,
and it became necessary to return to the Texel.
The results obtained were judged so important, that the following
year, the Dutch States-General entrusted to Jacob van Heemskerke,
the command of a fleet of seven vessels, of which Barentz was named
chief pilot. After touching at various points upon the coasts of
Nova Zembla and of Asia, this squadron was forced by the pack to go
back without having made any important discovery, and it returned to
Holland on the 18th of September.
As a general rule governments do not possess as much perseverance as
do private individuals. The large fleet of the year 1595, had cost a
great sum of money, and had produced no results; this was sufficient
to discourage the States-General. The merchants of Amsterdam
therefore, substituting private enterprise for the action of the
government, which merely promised a reward to the man who should
first discover the north-east passage--fitted out two vessels, of
which the command was given to Heemskerke and to Jan Corneliszoon
Rijp, while Barentz, who had only the title of pilot, was virtually
the leader of the expedition. The historian of the voyage, Gerrit de
Veer, was also on board as second mate.
The Dutchmen sailed from Amsterdam on the 10th of May, 1596, passed
by the Shetland and Faroe Islands, and on the 5th of June, saw the
first masses of ice, "whereat we were much amazed, believing at
first that they were white swans." They soon arrived to the south of
Spitzbergen, at Bear Island, upon which they landed on the 11th of
June. They collected there a great number of sea-gulls' eggs, and
after much trouble killed at some distance inland a white bear,
destined to give its name to the land which Barentz had just
discovered. On the 19th of June, they disembarked upon some
far-spreading land, which they took to be a part of Greenland, and
to which on account of the sharp-pointed mountains, they gave the
name of Spitzbergen; of this they explored a considerable portion of
the western coast. Forced by the Polar pack to go southwards again
to Bear Island, they separated there from Rijp, who was once more to
endeavour to find a way by the north. On the 11th of July,
Heemskerke and Barentz were in the parts of Cape Kanin, and five
days later they had reached the western coast of Nova Zembla, which
was called Willoughby's Land. They then altered their course, and
again going northwards, they arrived on the 19th at the Island of
Crosses, where the ice which was still attached to the shore, barred
their passage. They remained in this place until the 4th of August,
and two days later they doubled Cape Nassau. After several changes
of course, which it would take too long to relate, they reached the
Orange Islands at the northern extremity of Nova Zembla. They began
to descend the eastern coast, but were soon obliged to enter a
harbour, where they found themselves completely blocked in by the
pack-ice, and in which "they were forced in great cold, poverty,
misery, and grief, to stay all the winter." This was on the 26th of
August. "On the 30th the masses of ice began to pile themselves one
upon another against the ship, with snow falling. The ship was
lifted up and surrounded in such a manner, that all that was about
her and around her began to crack and split. It seemed as if the
ship must break into a thousand pieces, a thing most terrible to see
and to hear, and fit to make one's hair stand on end. The ship was
afterwards in equal danger, when the ice formed beneath, raising her
and bearing her up as though she had been lifted by some
instrument." Soon the ship cracked to such a degree, that prudence
dictated the debarkation of some of the provisions, sails, gunpowder,
lead, the arquebuses as well as other arms, and the erection of a
tent or hut, in which the men might be sheltered from the snow and
from any attacks by bears. Some days later, some sailors who had
advanced from four to six miles inland, found near a river of fresh
water, a quantity of drift-wood; they discovered there also the
traces of wild goats and of reindeer. On the 11th of September,
seeing that the bay was filled with enormous blocks of ice piled one
upon the other, and welded together, the Dutchmen perceived that
they would be obliged to winter in this place, and resolved, "in
order to be better defended against the cold, and armed against the
wild beasts," to build a house there, which might be able to contain
them all, while they would leave to itself the ship, which became
each day less safe and comfortable. Fortunately, they found upon the
shore whole trees, coming doubtless from Siberia, and driven here by
the current, and in such quantity that they sufficed not only for
the construction of their habitation, but also for firewood
throughout the winter.
[Illustration: Barentz's Ship. _From an old print_.]
Never yet had any European wintered in these regions, in the midst
of that slothful and immovable sea, which according to the very
false expressions used by Tacitus, forms the girdle of the world,
and in which is heard the uproar caused by the rising of the sun.
The Dutchmen, therefore, were unable to picture to themselves the
sufferings which threatened them. They bore them, however, with
admirable patience, without a single murmur, and without the least
want of discipline or attempt at mutiny. The conduct of these brave
seamen, quite ignorant of what so apparently dark a future might
have in reserve for them, but who with wonderful faith had "placed
their affairs in the hands of God," may be always proposed as an
example even to the sailors of the present day. It may well be said
that they had really in their heart the _aes triplex_ of which
Horace speaks. It was owing to the skill, knowledge, and foresight
of their leader Barentz, as much as to their own spirit of obedience,
that the Dutch sailors ever came forth from Nova Zembla, which
threatened to be their tomb, and again saw the shores of their own
country.
[Illustration: Interior view of the house. _From an old print_.]
The bears, which were extremely numerous at that period of the year,
made frequent visits to the crew. More than one was killed, but the
Dutchmen contented themselves with skinning them for the sake of
their fur, and did not eat them, probably because they believed the
flesh to be unwholesome. It would have been, however, a considerable
addition to their food, and would have saved them from using their
salted meat, and thus they might longer have escaped the attacks of
scurvy. But that we may not anticipate, let us continue to follow
the journal of Gerrit de Veer.
On the 23rd September, the carpenter died, and was interred the next
day in the cleft of a mountain, it being impossible to put a spade
into the ground, on account of the severity of the frost. The
following days were devoted to the transport of driftwood and the
building of the house. To cover it in, it was necessary to demolish
the fore and aft cabins of the ship; the roof was put on, on the 2nd
October, and a piece of frozen snow was set up like a May pole. On
the 31st September, there was a strong wind from the north-west, and
as far as the eye could reach, the sea was entirely open and without
ice. "But we remained as though taken and arrested in the ice, and
the ship was raised full two or three feet upon the ice, and we
could imagine nothing else but that the water must be frozen quite
to the bottom, although it was three fathoms and a half in depth."
On the 12th October, they began to sleep in the house, although it
was not completed. On the 21st, the greater part of the provisions,
furniture, and everything which might be wanted was withdrawn from
the ship, for they felt certain that the sun was about to disappear.
A chimney was fixed in the centre of the roof, inside a Dutch clock
was hung up, bed-places were formed along the walls, and a wine-cask
was converted into a bath, for the surgeon had wisely prescribed to
the men frequent bathing as a preservative of health. The quantity
of snow which fell during this winter, was really marvellous. The
house disappeared entirely beneath this thick covering, which,
however, sensibly raised the temperature within. Every time that
they wished to go forth, the Dutchmen were obliged to hollow out a
long corridor beneath the snow. Each night they first heard the
bears, and then the foxes, which walked upon the top of the dwelling,
and tried to tear off some planks from the roof, that they might get
into the house. So the sailors were accustomed to climb into the
chimney, whence, as from a watch-tower they could shoot the animals
and drive them off. They had manufactured a great number of snares,
into which fell numbers of blue foxes, the valuable fur of which
served as a protection against cold, while their flesh enabled the
sailors to economize their provisions. Always cheerful and good
tempered, they bore equally well the ennui of the long polar night,
and the severity of the cold, which was so extreme, that during two
of three days, when they had not been able to keep so large a fire
as usual, on account of the smoke being driven back again by the
wind, it froze so hard in the house, that the walls and the floor
were covered with ice to the depth of two fingers, even in the cots
where these poor people were sleeping. It was necessary to thaw the
sherry, when it was served out, as was done every two days, at the
rate of half a pint.
"On the 7th of December, the rough weather continued, with a violent
storm coming from the north-east, which produced horrible cold. We
knew no means of guarding ourselves against it, and while we were
consulting together, what we could do for the best, one of our men
in this extreme necessity proposed to make use of the coal which we
had brought from the ship into our house, and to make a fire of it,
because it burns with great heat and lasts a long time. In the
evening we lighted a large fire of this coal, which threw out a
great heat, but we did not provide against what might happen, for as
the heat revived us completely, we tried to retain it for a long
time. To this end we thought it well to stop up all the doors and
the chimney, to keep in the delightful warmth. And thus, each went
to repose in his cot, and animated by the acquired warmth, we
discoursed long together. But in the end, we were seized with a
giddiness in the head, some however, more than others; this was
first perceived to be the case with one of our men who was ill, and
who for this reason, had less power of resistance. And we also
ourselves were sensible of a great pain which attacked us, so that
several of the bravest came out of their cots and began by
unstopping the chimney, and afterwards opening the door. But the man
who opened the door fainted, and fell senseless upon the snow, on
perceiving which, I ran to him and found him lying on the ground in
a fainting fit. I went in haste to seek for some vinegar, and with
it I rubbed his face until he recovered from his swoon. Afterwards,
when we were somewhat restored, the captain gave to each a little
wine, in order to comfort our hearts...."
"On the 11th, the weather continued fine, but so extremely cold,
that no one who had not felt it could imagine it; even our shoes,
frozen to our feet, were as hard as horn, and inside they were
covered with ice in such a manner that we could no longer use them.
The garments which we wore were quite white with frost and ice."
On Christmas Day, the 25th December, the weather was as rough as on
the preceding days. The foxes made havoc upon the house, which one
of the sailors declared to be a bad omen, and upon being asked why
he said so, answered, "Because we cannot put them in a pot, or on
the spit, which would have been a good omen."
If the year 1596, had closed with excessive cold, the commencement
of 1597 was not more agreeable. Most violent storms of snow, and
hard frost prevented the Dutchmen from leaving the house. They
celebrated Twelfth Night with gaiety, as is related in the simple
and touching narrative of Gerrit de Veer. "For this purpose, we
besought the captain to allow us a little diversion in the midst of
our sufferings, and to let us use a part of the wine which was
destined to be served out to us every other day. Having two pounds
of flour we made some pancakes with oil, and each one brought a
white biscuit, which we soaked in the wine and eat. And it seemed to
us that we were in our own country, and amongst our relations and
friends; and we were as much diverted as if a banquet had been given
in our honour, so much did we relish our entertainment. We also made
a Twelfth-Night king, by means of paper, and our master gunner was
king of Nova Zembla, which is a country enclosed between two seas,
and of the great length of six hundred miles."
After the 21st January, the foxes became less numerous, the bears
reappeared, and daylight began to increase, which enabled the
Dutchmen, who had been so long confined to the house, to go out a
little. On the 24th, one of the sailors, who had been long ill, died,
and was buried in the snow at some distance from the house. On the
28th, the weather being very fine, the men all went out, walking
about, running for exercise, and playing at bowls, to take off the
stiffness of their limbs, for they were extremely weak, and nearly
all suffering from scurvy. They were so much enfeebled that they
were obliged to go to work several times before they could carry to
their house the wood which was needful. At length in the first days
of March, after several tempests and driving snowstorms, they were
able to verify the fact that there was no ice in the sea.
Nevertheless, the weather was still rough and the cold glacial. It
was not feasible as yet to put to sea again, the rather because the
ship was still embedded in the ice. On the 15th of April, the
sailors paid a visit to her and found her in fairly good condition.
[Illustration: Exterior view of the house. _From an old print_.]
At the beginning of May the men became somewhat impatient, and asked
Barentz if he were not soon intending to make the necessary
preparations for departure. But Barentz answered that he must wait
until the end of the month, and then, if it should be impossible to
set the ship free, he would take measures to prepare the long-boats
and the launch, and to render them fit for a sea voyage. On the 20th
of the month the preparations for departure commenced; with what joy
and ardour it is easy to imagine. The launch was repaired, the sails
were mended, and both boats were dragged to the sea, and provisions
put on board. Then, seeing that the water was free, and that a
strong wind was blowing, Heemskerke went to seek Barentz, who had
been long ill, and declared to him "that it seemed good to him to
set out from thence, and in God's name to commence the voyage and
abandon Nova Zembla."
"William Barentz had before this written a paper setting forth how
we had started from Holland to go towards the kingdom of China, and
all that had happened, in order that, if by chance, some one should
come after us, it might be known what had befallen us. This note he
enclosed in the case of a musket which he hung up in the chimney."
On the 13th June, 1597, the Dutchmen abandoned the ship, which had
not stirred from her icy prison, and commending themselves to the
protection of God, the two open boats put to sea. They reached the
Orange Islands, and again descended the western coast of Nova Zembla
in the midst of ceaselessly recurring dangers.
"On the 20th of June Nicholas Andrieu became very weak, and we saw
clearly that he would soon expire. The lieutenant of the governor
came on board our launch, and told us that Nicholas Andrieu was very
much indisposed, and that it was very evident that his days would
soon end. Upon which, William Barentz said, 'It appears to me that
my life also will be very short.' We did not imagine that Barentz
was so ill, for we were chatting together, and William Barentz was
looking at the little chart which I had made of our voyage, and we
had various discourses together. Finally, he laid down the chart,
and said to me, 'Gerard, give me something to drink.' After he had
drunk, such weakness supervened that his eyes turned in his head,
and he died so suddenly that we had not time to call the captain,
who was in the other boat. This death of William Barentz saddened us
greatly, seeing that he was our principal leader, and our sole pilot,
in whom we had placed our whole trust. But we could not oppose the
will of God, and this thought quieted us a little." Thus died the
illustrious Barentz, like his successors Franklin and Hall, in the
midst of his discoveries. In the measured and sober words of the
short funeral oration of Gerrit de Veer may be perceived the
affection, sympathy, and confidence which this brave sailor had been
able to inspire in his unfortunate companions. Barentz is one of the
glories of Holland, so prolific in brave and skilful navigators. We
shall mention presently what has been done to honour his memory.
[Illustration: Map of Nova Zembla.]
After having been forced several times to haul the boats out of the
water when they were on the point of being crushed between the
blocks of ice; after having seen on various occasions the sea open,
and again close before them; after having suffered both from thirst
and hunger, the Dutchmen reached Cape Nassau. One day, being obliged
to draw up the long-boat, which was in danger of being stove in upon
an iceberg, the sailors lost a part of their provisions and were all
deluged with water, for the ice broke away under their feet. In the
midst of so much misery they sometimes met with good windfalls. Thus,
when they were upon the ice on the Island of Crosses they found
there seventy eggs of the mountain-duck. "But they did not know what
they should put them in to carry them. At length one man took off
his breeches, tying them together by the ends, and having put the
eggs into them, they carried them on a pike between two, while the
third man carried the musket. The eggs were very welcome, and we eat
them like lords." From the 19th July, the Dutchmen sailed over a sea,
which, if not altogether free from ice, was at least clear of those
great fields of ice which had given them so much trouble to avoid.
On the 28th July, when entering the Gulf of St. Lawrence, they met
with two Russian vessels, which at first they dared not approach.
But when they saw the sailors come to them unarmed and with friendly
demonstrations, they put aside all fear, the rather as they
recognized in the Russians some people whom they had met with the
year before in the neighbourhood of Waigatz. The Dutchmen received
some assistance from them, and then continued their voyage, still
keeping along the coast of Nova Zembla, and as close in shore as the
ice would allow. Upon one occasion when they landed, they discovered
the cochlearia (scurvy-grass), a plant of which the leaves and seeds
form one of the most powerful of known anti-scorbutics. They eat
them, therefore, by handfuls, and immediately experienced great
relief. Their provisions were, however, nearly exhausted; they had
only a little bread remaining and scarcely any meat. They decided
therefore to take to the open sea, in order to shorten the distance
which separated them from the coast of Russia, where they hoped to
fall in with some fishermen's boats, from which they might obtain
assistance. In this hope they were not deceived, although they had
still many trials to undergo. The Russians were much touched by
their misfortunes, and consented on several occasions to bestow
provisions upon them, which prevented the Dutch sailors from dying
of hunger. In consequence of a thick fog the two boats were
separated from each other, and did not come together again until
some distance beyond Cape Kanin on the further side of the White Sea,
at Kildyn Island, where some fishermen informed the Dutchmen that at
Kola there were three ships belonging to their nation, which were
ready to put to sea on their return to their own country. They
therefore despatched thither one of their men accompanied by a
Laplander, who returned three days afterwards with a letter signed
_Jan Rijp_. Great was the astonishment of the Dutch at the sight of
this signature. It was only on comparing the letter just received
with several others which Heemskerke had in his possession, that
they were convinced that it really came from the captain who had
accompanied them the preceding year. Some days later, on the 30th
September, Rijp himself arrived with a boat laden with provisions,
to seek them out and take them to the Kola River, in which his ship
was at anchor.
Rijp was greatly astonished at all that they related to him, and at
the terrible voyage of nearly 1200 miles which they had made, and
which had not taken less than 104 days--namely, from the 13th June
to the 25th September. Some days of repose accompanied by wholesome
and abundant food sufficed to clear off the last remains of scurvy,
and to refresh the sailors after their fatigues. On the 17th
September, Jan Rijp left the Kola River, and on the 1st November the
Dutch crew arrived at Amsterdam. "We had on," says Gerrit de Veer,
"the same garments which we wore in Nova Zembla, having on our heads
caps of white fox-skin, and we repaired to the house of Peter
Hasselaer, who had been one of the guardians of the town of
Amsterdam charged with presiding over the fitting out of the two
ships of Jan Rijp and of our own captain. Arrived at this house, in
the midst of general astonishment, because that we had been long
thought to be dead, and this report had been spread throughout the
town, the news of our arrival reached the palace of the prince,
where there were then at table the Chancellor, and the Ambassador of
the high and mighty King of Denmark and Norway, of the Goths and the
Vandals. We were then brought before them by M. l'Ecoutets and two
lords of the town, and we gave to the said lord Ambassador, and to
their lordships the burgomasters, a narrative of our voyage.
Afterwards each of us retired to his own house. Those who had not
dwellings in the town, were lodged in an inn until such time as we
had received our money, when each went his own way. These are the
names of the men who returned from this voyage: Jacob Heemskerke,
clerk and captain, Peter Peterson Vos, Gerrit de Veer, mate, Jan Vos,
surgeon, Jacob Jansen Sterrenburg, Leonard Henry, Laurence William,
Jan Hillebrants, Jacob Jansen Hoochwout, Peter Corneille, Jacob de
Buisen, and Jacob Everts."
Of all these brave sailors we have nothing further to record except
that De Veer published the following year the narrative of his
voyage, and that Heemskerke after having made several cruises to
India, received in 1607 the command of a fleet of twenty-six vessels,
at the head of which, on the 25th of April, he had a severe battle
with the Spaniards under the guns of Gibraltar, in which battle,
although the Dutch were the conquerers, Heemskerke lost his life.
The spot where the unfortunate Barentz and his companions had
wintered was not revisited until 1871, nearly three hundred years
after their time. The first to double the northern point of Nova
Zembla, Barentz had remained alone in the achievement until this
period. On the 7th September, 1871, the Norwegian Captain, Elling
Carlsen, well known by his numerous voyages in the North Sea and the
Frozen Ocean, arrived at the ice haven of Barentz, and on the 9th he
discovered the house which had sheltered the Dutchmen. It was in
such a wonderful state of preservation that it seemed to have been
built but a day, and everything was found in the same position as at
the departure of the shipwrecked crew. Bears, foxes, and other
creatures inhabiting these inhospitable regions had alone visited
the spot. Around the house were standing some large puncheons and
there were heaps of seal, bear, and walrus bones. Inside, everything
was in its place. It was the faithful reproduction of the curious
engraving of Gerrit de Veer. The bed-places were arranged along the
partition as they are shown in the drawing, as well as the clock,
the muskets, and the halberd. Amongst the household utensils, the
arms, and the various objects brought away by Captain Carlsen, we
may mention two copper cooking-pans, some goblets, gun-barrels,
augers and chisels, a pair of boots, nineteen cartridge-cases, of
which some were still filled with powder, the clock, a flute, some
locks and padlocks, twenty-six pewter candlesticks, some fragments
of engravings, and three books in Dutch, one of which, the last
edition of Mendoza's "History of China" shows the goal which Barentz
sought in this expedition, and a "Manual of Navigation" proves the
care taken by the pilot to keep himself well up in all professional
matters.
Upon his return to the port of Hammerfest, Captain Carlsen met with
a Dutchman, Mr. Lister Kay, who purchased the Barentz relics, and
forwarded them to the authorities of the Netherlands. These objects
have been placed in the Naval Museum at the Hague, where a house,
open in front, has been constructed precisely similar to the one
represented in the drawing of Gerrit de Veer, and each object or
instrument brought back has been placed in the very position which
it occupied in the house in Nova Zembla. Surrounded by all the
respect and affection which they merit, these precious witnesses of
a maritime event so important as the first wintering in the Arctic
regions, these touching reminiscences of Barentz, Heemskerke, and
their rough companions, constitute one of the most interesting
monuments in the Museum. Beside the clock is placed a copper dial,
through the middle of which a meridian is drawn. This curious dial,
invented by Plancius, which served without doubt to determine the
variations of the compass, is now the only example extant of a
nautical instrument which has never been in very general use. For
this reason it is as precious as, from another point of view, are
the flute used by Barentz, and the shoes of the poor sailor who died
during the winter sojourn. It is impossible to behold this curious
collection without experiencing poignant emotion.
CHAPTER IV.
VOYAGES OF ADVENTURE AND PRIVATEERING WARFARE.
Drake--Cavendish--De Noort--Walter Raleigh.
A very poor cottage at Tavistock in Devonshire was the birthplace in
1540, of Francis Drake, who was destined to gain millions by his
indomitable courage, which however, he lost with as much facility as
he had obtained them. Edmund Drake his father, was one of those
clergy who devote themselves to the education of the people. His
poverty was only equalled by the respect which was felt for his
character. Burdened with a family as he was, the father of Francis
Drake found himself obliged from necessity to allow his son to
embrace the maritime profession, for which he had an ardent longing,
and to serve as cabin-boy on board a coasting vessel which traded
with Holland. Industrious, active, self-reliant, and saving, the
young Francis Drake had soon acquired all the theoretical knowledge
needed for the direction of a vessel. When he had realized a small
sum, which was increased by the sale of a vessel bequeathed to him
by his first master, he made more extended voyages; he visited the
Bay of Biscay and the Gulf of Guinea, and laid out all his capital
in purchasing a cargo which he hoped to sell in the West Indies. But
no sooner had he arrived at Rio de la Hacha, than both ship and
cargo were confiscated, we know not under what frivolous pretext.
All the remonstrances of Drake, who thus saw himself ruined, were
useless. He vowed to avenge himself for such a piece of injustice,
and he kept his word.
In 1567, two years after this adventure, a small fleet of six
vessels, of which the largest was of 700 tons' burden, left Plymouth
with the sanction of the Queen, to make an expedition to the Coasts
of Mexico. Drake was in command of a ship of fifty tons. At first
starting they captured some negroes on the Cape de Verd Islands, a
sort of rehearsal of what was destined to take place in Mexico. Then
they besieged La Mina, where some more negroes were taken, which
they sold at the Antilles. Hawkins, doubtless by the advice of Drake,
captured the town of Rio de la Hacha; after which he reached St.
Jean d'Ulloa, having encountered a fearful storm. But the harbour
contained a numerous fleet, and was defended by formidable artillery.
The English fleet was defeated, and Drake had much difficulty in
regaining the English coast in January, 1568.
Drake afterwards made two expeditions to the West Indies for the
purpose of studying the country. When he considered himself to have
acquired the necessary information, he fitted out two vessels at his
own expense: the _Swan_, of twenty-five tons, commanded by his
brother John, and the _Pasha_ of Plymouth, of seventy tons. The two
vessels had as crew seventy-three jack-tars, who could be thoroughly
depended on. From July, 1572, to August, 1573, sometimes alone,
sometimes in concert with a certain Captain Rawse, Drake made a
lucrative cruise upon the coasts of the Gulf of Darien, attacked the
towns of Vera Cruz and of Nombre de Dios, and obtained considerable
spoil. Unfortunately these enterprises were not carried out without
much cruelty and many acts of violence which would make men of the
present day blush. But we will not dwell upon the scenes of piracy
and barbarity which are only too frequently met with in the
sixteenth century.
After assisting in the suppression of the rebellion in Ireland,
Drake, whose name was beginning to be well known, was presented to
Queen Elizabeth. He laid before her his project of going to ravage
the western coasts of South America, by passing through the Strait
of Magellan, and he obtained, with the title of admiral, a fleet of
six vessels, on board of which were 160 picked sailors.
Francis Drake started from Plymouth on the 15th November, 1577. He
had some intercourse with the Moors of Mogador, of which he had no
reason to boast, made some captures of small importance before
arriving at the Cape de Verd Islands, where he took in fresh
provisions, and then was fifty-six days in crossing the Atlantic and
reaching the coast of Brazil, which he followed as far as the
estuary of La Plata, where he laid in a supply of water. He
afterwards arrived at Seal Bay in Patagonia, where he traded with
the natives, and killed a great number of penguins and sea-wolves
for the nourishment of his crew. "Some of the Patagonians who were
seen on the 13th May a little below Seal Bay," says the original
narrative, "wore on the head a kind of horn, and nearly all had many
beautiful birds' feathers by way of hats. They also had the face
painted and diversified by several kinds of colours, and they each
held a bow in the hand, from which every-time they drew it, they
discharged two arrows. They were very agile, and as far as we could
see, well instructed in the art of making war, for they kept good
order in marching and advancing, and for so few men as they were,
they made themselves appear a large number." M. Charton, in his
_Voyageurs Anciens et Modernes_, notices that Drake does not mention
the extraordinary stature which Magellan had attributed to the
Patagonians. For this there is more than one good reason. There
exists in Patagonia more than one tribe, and the description here
given by Drake of the savages whom he met, does not at all resemble
that given by Pigafetta of the Patagonians of Port St. Julian. If
there exist, as seems now to be proved, a race of men of great
stature, their habitat appears fixed upon the shores of the Strait
at the southern extremity of Patagonia, and not at fifteen days'
sail from Port Desire, at which Drake arrived on the 2nd June. On
the following day he reached the harbour of St. Julian, where he
found a gibbet erected of yore by Magellan for the punishment of
some rebellious members of his crew. Drake in his turn, chose this
spot to rid himself of one of his captains, named Doughty, who had
been long accused of treason and underhand dealing, and who on
several occasions had separated himself from the fleet. Some sailors
having confessed that he had solicited them to join with him in
frustrating the voyage, Doughty was convicted of the crimes of
rebellion, and of tampering with the sailors, and according to the
laws of England, he was condemned by a court martial to be beheaded.
This sentence was immediately executed, although Doughty until the
last moment vehemently declared his innocence. Was his guilt
thoroughly proved? If Drake were accused upon his return to
England--in spite of the moderation which he always evinced towards
his men,--of having taken advantage of the opportunity to get rid of
a rival whom he dreaded, it is difficult to conceive that the forty
judges who pronounced the sentence should have concerted together to
further the secret designs of their admiral and condemn an innocent
man.
On the 20th of August, the fleet, now reduced to three vessels--two
of the ships having been so much damaged that they were at once
destroyed by the admiral--entered the strait, which had not been
traversed since the time of Magellan. Although he met with fine
harbours, Drake found that it was difficult to anchor in them, on
account both of the depth of the water close to the shore, and of
the violence of the wind, which, blowing as it did in sudden squalls,
rendered navigation dangerous. During a storm which was encountered
at the point where the strait opens into the Pacific, Drake beheld
one of his ships founder, while his last companion was separated
from him a few days afterwards, nor did he see her again until the
end of the campaign. Driven by the currents to the south of the
strait as far as 55 degrees 40 minutes, Drake had now only his own
vessel; but by the injury which he did to the Spaniards, he showed
what ravages he would have committed if he had had still under his
command the fleet with which he left England. During a descent upon
the island of Mocha, the English had two men killed and several
wounded, while Drake himself, hit by two arrows on the head, found
himself utterly unable to punish the Indians for their perfidy. In
the harbour of Valparaiso he captured a vessel richly laden with the
wines of Chili, and with ingots of gold valued at 37,000 ducats;
afterwards he pillaged the town, which had been precipitately
abandoned by its inhabitants. At Coquimbo, the people were
forewarned of his approach, so that he found there a strong force,
which obliged him to re-embark. At Arica he plundered three small
vessels, in one of which he found fifty-seven bars of silver valued
at 2006_l._ In the harbour of Lima, where were moored twelve ships
or barks, the booty was considerable. But what most rejoiced the
heart of Drake was to learn that a galleon named the _Cagafuego_,
very richly laden, was sailing towards Paraca. He immediately went
in pursuit, capturing on the way a bark carrying 80 lbs. of gold,
which would be worth 14,080 French crowns, and in the latitude of
San Francisco he seized without any difficulty the _Cagafuego_, in
which he found 80 lbs. weight of gold. This caused the Spanish pilot
to say, laughing, "Captain, our ship ought no longer to be called
_Cagafuego_ (spit-fire), but rather _Caga-Plata_ (spit money), it is
yours which should be named _Caga-Fuego_." After making some other
captures more or less valuable, upon the Peruvian coast, Drake,
learning that a considerable fleet was being prepared to oppose him,
thought it time to return to England. For this, there were three
different routes open to him: he might again pass the Strait of
Magellan, or he might cross the Southern Sea, and doubling the Cape
of Good Hope might so return to the Atlantic Ocean, or he could sail
up the coast of China and return by the Frozen Sea and the North
Cape. It was this last alternative, as being the safest of the three,
which was adopted by Drake. He therefore put out to sea, reached the
38 degrees of north latitude, and landed on the shore of the Bay of
San Francisco, which had been discovered three years previously by
Bodega. It was now the month of June, the temperature was very low,
and the ground covered with snow. The details given by Drake of his
reception by the natives, are curious enough: "When we arrived, the
savages manifested great admiration at the sight of us, and thinking
that we were gods, they received us with great humanity and
reverence."
"As long as we remained, they continued to come and visit us,
sometimes bringing us beautiful plumes made of feathers of divers
colours, and sometimes petun (tobacco) which is a herb in general
use among the Indians. But before presenting these things to us,
they stopped at a little distance, in a spot where we had pitched
our tents. Then they made a long discourse after the manner of a
harangue, and when they had finished, they laid aside their bows and
arrows in that place, and approached us to offer their presents."
"The first time they came their women remained in the same place,
and scratched and tore the skin and flesh of their cheeks, lamenting
themselves in a wonderful manner, whereat we were much astonished.
But we have since learnt that it was a kind of sacrifice which they
offered to us."
The facts given by Drake with regard to the Indians of California
are almost the only ones which he furnishes upon the manners and
customs of the nations which he visited. We would draw the reader's
attention here, to that custom of long harangues which the traveller
especially remarks, just as Cartier had observed upon it forty years
earlier, and which is so noticeable amongst the Canadian Indians at
the present day. Drake did not advance farther north and gave up his
project of returning by the Frozen Sea. When he again set sail, it
was to descend towards the Line, to reach the Moluccas, and to
return to England by the Cape of Good Hope. As this part of the
voyage deals with countries already known, and as the observations
made by Drake are neither numerous nor novel, our narrative here
shall be brief.
On the 13th of October, 1579, Drake arrived in latitude 8 degrees
north, at a group of islands of which the inhabitants had their ears
much lengthened by the weight of the ornaments suspended to them;
their nails were allowed to grow, and appeared to serve as defensive
weapons, while their teeth, "black as ship's pitch," contracted this
colour from the use of the betel-nut. After resting for a time,
Drake passed by the Philippines, and on the 14th of November arrived
at Ternate. The king of this island came alongside, with four canoes
bearing his principal officers dressed in their state costumes.
After an interchange of civilities and presents, the English
received some rice, sugar-canes, fowls, _figo_, cloves, and sago. On
the morrow, some of the sailors who had landed, were present at a
council. "When the king arrived, a rich umbrella or parasol all
embroidered in gold was borne before him. He was dressed after the
fashion of his country, but with extreme magnificence, for he was
enveloped from the shoulders with a long cloak of cloth of gold
reaching to the ground. He wore as an ornament upon the head, a kind
of turban made of the same stuff, all worked in fine gold and
enriched with jewels and tufts. On his neck there hung a fine gold
chain many times doubled, and formed of broad links. On his fingers,
he had six rings of very valuable stones, and his feet were encased
in shoes of morocco leather."
After remaining some time in the country to refresh his crew, Drake
again put to sea, but his ship on the 9th of January, 1580, struck
on a rock, and to float her off it was necessary to throw overboard
eight pieces of ordnance and a large quantity of provisions. A month
later, Drake arrived at Baratena Island where he repaired his ship.
This island afforded much silver, gold, copper, sulphur, spices,
lemons, cucumbers, cocoa-nuts, and other delicious fruits. "We
loaded our vessels abundantly with these, being able to certify that
since our departure from England we have not visited any place where
we have found more comforts in the way of food and fresh provisions
than in this island and that of Ternate."
After quitting this richly endowed island, Drake landed at Greater
Java, where he was very warmly welcomed by the five kings amongst
whom the island was partitioned, and by the inhabitants. "These
people are of a fine degree of corpulence, they are great
connoisseurs in arms, with which they are well provided, such as
swords, daggers, and bucklers, and all these arms are made with much
art." Drake had been some little time at Java when he learnt that
not far distant there was a powerful fleet at anchor, which he
suspected must belong to Spain; to avoid it he put to sea in all
haste. He doubled the Cape of Good Hope during the first days of
June, and after stopping at Sierra Leone to take in water, he
entered Plymouth harbour on the 3rd November, 1580, after an absence
of three years all but a few days.
The reception which awaited him in England was at first extremely
cold. His having fallen by surprise both upon Spanish towns and
ships, at a time when the two nations were at peace, rightly caused
him to be regarded by a portion of society as a pirate, who tramples
under foot the rights of nations. For five months the Queen herself,
under the pressure of diplomatic proprieties, pretended to be
ignorant of his return. But at the end of that time, either because
circumstances had altered, or because she did not wish to show
herself any longer severe towards the skilful sailor, she repaired
to Deptford where Drake's ship was moored, went on board, and
conferred the honour of knighthood upon the navigator.
[Illustration: Elizabeth knighting Drake.]
From this period Drake's part as a discoverer is ended, and his
after-life as a warrior and as the implacable enemy of the Spaniards
does not concern us. Loaded with honours, and invested with
important commands, Drake died at sea on the 28th January, 1596,
during an expedition against the Spaniards.
To him pertains the honour of having been the second to pass through
the Strait of Magellan, and to have visited Tierra del Fuego as far
as the parts about Cape Horn. He also ascended the coast of North
America to a point higher than any his predecessors had attained,
and he discovered several islands and archipelagos. Being a very
clever navigator, he made the transit through the Strait of Magellan
with great rapidity. If there are but very few discoveries due to
him, this is probably either because he neglected to record them in
his journal, or because he often mentions them in so inaccurate a
manner that it is scarcely possible to recognize the places. It was
he who inaugurated that privateering warfare by which the English,
and later on the Dutch, were destined to inflict much injury upon
the Spaniards. And the large profits accruing to him from it,
encouraged his contemporaries, and gave birth in their minds to the
love for long and hazardous voyages.
Among all those who took example by Drake, the most illustrious was
undoubtedly Thomas Cavendish or Candish. Cavendish joined the
English marine service at a very early age; and passed a most stormy
youth, during which he rapidly dissipated his modest fortune. That
which play had robbed him of, he resolved to recover from the
Spaniards. Having in 1585 obtained letters of mark, he made a cruise
to the East Indies and returned with considerable booty. Encouraged
by his easy success as a highwayman on the great maritime roads, he
thought that if he could acquire some honour and glory while engaged
in making his fortune, so much the better would it be for him. With
this idea he bought three ships, the _Desire_, of twenty tons, the
_Content_, of sixty tons, and the _Hugh Gallant_, of forty tons,
upon which he embarked one hundred and twenty-three soldiers and
sailors. Setting sail on the 22nd July, 1586, he passed by the
Canaries, and landed at Sierra Leone, which town he attacked and
plundered; then, sailing again, he crossed the Atlantic, sighted
Cape Sebastian in Brazil, sailed along the coast of Patagonia, and
arrived on the 27th November at Port Desire. He found there an
immense quantity of dog-fish, very large, and so strong that four
men could with difficulty kill them, and numbers of birds, which,
having no wings, could not fly, and which fed upon fish. They are
classed under the general names of auks and penguins. In this very
secure harbour, the ships were drawn up on shore to be repaired.
During his stay at this place Cavendish had some skirmishes with the
Patagonians,--"men of gigantic size, and having feet eighteen inches
long"--who wounded two of the sailors with arrows tipped with
sharpened flints.
On the 7th January, 1587, Cavendish entered the Strait of Magellan,
and in the narrowest part of it received on board his ships
one-and-twenty Spaniards and two women, the sole survivors of the
colony founded three years previously, under the name of
Philippeville, by Captain Sarmiento. This town, which had been built
to bar the passage through the strait, had possessed no fewer than
four forts as well as several churches. Cavendish could discern the
fortress, then deserted and already falling into ruins. Its
inhabitants, who had been completely prevented by the continual
attacks of the savages from gathering in their harvests, had died of
hunger, or had perished in endeavouring to reach the Spanish
settlements in Chili. The Admiral, upon hearing this lamentable tale,
changed the name of Philippeville into that of Port Famine, under
which appellation the place is known at the present day. On the 21st
the ships entered a beautiful bay, which received the name of
Elizabeth, and in which was buried the carpenter of the _Hugh
Gallant_. Not far from thence a fine river fell into the sea, on the
banks of which dwelt the anthropophagi who had fought so fiercely
with the Spaniards, and who endeavoured, but in vain, to entice the
Englishmen into the interior of the country.
On the 24th February, as the little squadron came forth from the
strait, it encountered a violent storm, which dispersed it. The
_Hugh Gallant_, left alone, and letting in water in all directions,
was only kept afloat with the greatest trouble. Rejoined on the 15th
by his consorts, Cavendish tried in vain to land on Mocha Island,
where Drake had been so maltreated by the Araucanians. This country,
rich in gold and silver, had hitherto successfully resisted all
Spanish attempts to subjugate it, and its inhabitants, fully
determined to maintain their liberty, repulsed by force of arms
every attempt to land. It was necessary therefore to go to the
island of St. Maria, where the Indians, who took the Englishmen for
Spaniards, furnished them with abundance of maize, fowls, sweet
potatoes, pigs, and other provisions.
On the 30th March, Cavendish dropped anchor in 32 degrees 50 minutes
in the Bay of Quintero. A party of thirty musketeers advanced into
the country and met with oxen, cows, wild horses, hares, and
partridges in abundance. The little troop was attacked by the
Spaniards, and Cavendish was obliged to return to his ships after
losing twelve of his men. He afterwards ravaged, plundered, or burnt
the towns of Paraca, Cincha, Pisca, and Paita, and devastated the
island of Puna, where he obtained a booty in coined money of the
value of 25,760_l._ After having scuttled the _Hugh Gallant_, which
was totally unfit any longer to keep the water, Cavendish continued
his profitable cruising, burnt, in the latitude of New Spain, a ship
of 120 tons, plundered and burnt Aguatulio, and captured, after six
hours of fighting, a vessel of 708 tons, laden with rich stuffs, and
with 122,000 gold pesos. Then, "victorious and contented," Cavendish
wished to secure the great spoils which he was conveying against any
chance of danger. He touched at the Ladrones, the Philippines, and
Greater Java, doubled the Cape of Good Hope, recruited himself at St.
Helena, and on the 9th September, 1588, anchored at Plymouth, after
two years of sailing, privateering, and fighting. At the end of two
years after his return, of all the great fortune which he had
brought back with him, there remained only a sum sufficient for the
fitting out of a third, and as it proved, a last expedition.
Cavendish started on the 6th August, 1591, with five vessels, but a
storm on the coast of Patagonia scattered the flotilla, which could
not be collected again until the arrival at Port Desire. Assailed by
fearful hurricanes in the Strait of Magellan, Cavendish was obliged
to go back, after having seen himself deserted by three of his ships.
The want of fresh provisions, the cold, and the privations of all
kinds which he underwent, and which had decimated his crew, forced
him to return northwards along the coast of Brazil, where the
Portuguese opposed every attempt at landing. He was therefore
obliged to put to sea again without having been able to revictual.
Cavendish died, from grief perhaps as much as from hardships, before
he reached the English coast.
One year after the return of the companions of Barentz, two ships,
the _Mauritius_ and the _Hendrik Fredrik_, with two yachts, the
_Eendracht_ and _Esperance_, having on board a crew of 248 men,
quitted Amsterdam on the 2nd July, 1598. The commander-in-chief of
this squadron was Oliver de Noort, a man at that time about thirty
or thereabouts, and well known as having made several long cruising
voyages. His second in command and vice-admiral was Jacob Claaz
d'Ulpenda, and as pilot there was a certain Melis, a skilful sailor
of English origin. This expedition, fitted out by the merchants of
Amsterdam with the concurrence and aid of the States-General of
Holland, had a double purpose; at once commercial and military.
Formerly the Dutch had contented themselves with fetching from
Portugal the merchandise which they distributed by means of their
coasting vessels throughout Europe; but now they were reduced to the
necessity of going to seek the commodities in the scene of their
production. For this object, De Noort was to show his countrymen the
route inaugurated by Magellan, and on the way to inflict as much
injury as he could upon the Spaniards and Portuguese. At this period
Philip II., whose yoke the Dutch had shaken off, and who had just
added Portugal to his possessions, had forbidden his subjects to
have any commercial intercourse with the rebels of the Low Countries.
It was thus a necessity for Holland if she did not wish to be ruined,
and as a consequence, to fall anew under Spanish rule, to open up
for herself a road to the Spice Islands. The route which was the
least frequented by the enemy's ships was that by the Strait of
Magellan, and this was the one which De Noort was ordered to follow.
After touching at Goree, the Dutch anchored in the Gulf of Guinea,
at the Island _do Principe_. Here the Portuguese pretended to give a
friendly welcome to the men who went on shore, but they took
advantage of a favourable opportunity, to fall upon and massacre
them without mercy. Among the dead were Cornille de Noort, brother
of the admiral, Melis, Daniel Goerrits, and John de Bremen--the
captain, Peter Esias, being the only man who escaped. It was a
sorrowful commencement for a campaign, a sad presage which was
destined not to remain unfulfilled. De Noort, who was furious over
this foul play, landed from his ships 120 men; but he found the
Portuguese so well entrenched, that after a brisk skirmish in which
seventeen more of his men were either killed or wounded, he was
obliged to weigh anchor without having been able to avenge the
wicked and cowardly perfidy to which his brother and twelve of his
companions had fallen victims. On the 25th December, one of the
pilots named Jan Volkers, was abandoned on the African coast as a
punishment for his disloyal intrigues, for endeavouring to foment a
spirit of despondency amongst the crews, and for his well-proved
rebellion. On the 5th January, the island of Annobon, situated in
the Gulf of Guinea, a little below the Line, was sighted, and the
course of the ships was changed for crossing the Atlantic. De Noort
had scarcely cast anchor in the Bay of Rio Janeiro before he sent
some sailors on shore to obtain water and buy provisions from the
natives; but the Portuguese opposed the landing, and killed eleven
men. Afterwards, repulsed from the coast of Brazil by the Portuguese
and the natives, driven back by contrary winds, having made vain
efforts to reach the island of St. Helena, where they had hoped to
obtain the provisions of which they were in the most pressing want,
the Dutchmen, deprived of their pilot, toss at random upon the ocean.
They land upon the desert islands of Martin Vaz, again reach the
coast of Brazil at Rio Doce, which they mistake for Ascension Island,
and are finally obliged to winter in the desert island of Santa
Clara. The putting into port at this place was marked by several
disagreeable events. The flag-ship struck upon a rock with so much
violence that had the sea been a little rougher, she must have been
lost. There were also some bloody and barbarous executions of
mutinous sailors, notably that of a poor man, who having wounded a
pilot with a knife thrust, was condemned to have his hand nailed to
the mainmast. The invalids, of whom there were many on board the
fleet, were brought on shore, and nearly all were cured by the end
of a fortnight. From the 2nd to the 21st of June, De Noort remained
in this island, which was not more than three miles from the
mainland. But before putting to sea he was obliged to burn the
_Eendracht_, as he had not sufficient men to work her. It was not
until the 20th December, after having been tried by many storms,
that he was able to cast anchor in Port Desire, where the crew
killed in a few days a quantity of dog-fish and sea-lions, as well
as more than five thousand penguins. "The general landed," says the
French translation of De Noort's narrative, published by De Bry,
"with a party of armed men, but they saw nobody, only some graves
placed on high situations among the rocks, in which the people bury
their dead, putting upon the grave a great quantity of stones, all
painted red, having besides adorned the graves with darts, plumes of
feathers, and other singular articles which they use as arms."
[Illustration: A Sea-lion Hunt. _From an old print_.]
The Dutch saw also, but at too great a distance to shoot them,
buffalos, stags, and ostriches, and from a single nest they obtained
ten ostrich eggs. Captain Jacob Jansz Huy de Cooper, died during the
stay at this place, and was interred at Port Desire. On the 23rd
November, the fleet entered the Strait of Magellan. During a visit
to the shore three Dutchmen were killed by some Patagonians, and
their death was avenged by the massacre of a whole tribe of Enoos.
The long navigation through the narrows and the lakes of the Strait
of Magellan was signalized by the meeting with two Dutch ships,
under the command of Sebald de Weerdt, who had wintered not far from
the Bay of Mauritius, and by the abandoning of Vice-admiral Claaz,
who, as it would appear, had been several times guilty of
insubordination. Are not these acts, which we see so frequently
committed by English, Dutch, and Spanish navigators, a true sign of
the times? A deed which we should regard now-a-days as one of
terrible barbarity seemed, doubtless, a relatively mild punishment
in the eyes of men so accustomed to set but little value upon human
life. Nevertheless, could anything be more cruel than to abandon a
man in a desert country, without arms and without provisions, to put
him on shore in a country peopled by ferocious cannibals, prepared
to make a repast on his flesh; what was it but condemning him to a
horrible death?
On the 29th of February, 1600, De Noort, after having been
ninety-nine days in passing through the strait, came out on to the
Pacific Ocean. A fortnight later, a storm separated him from the
_Hendrik Fredrik_, which was never again heard of. As for De Noort,
who had now with him only one yacht besides his own vessel, he cast
anchor at the island of Mocha, and, unlike the experience of his
predecessors, he was very well received by the natives. Afterwards
he sailed along the coast of Chili, where he was able to obtain
provisions in abundance in exchange for Nuremberg knives, hatchets,
shirts, hats, and other articles of no great value. After ravaging,
plundering, and burning several towns on the Peruvian coast, after
sinking all the vessels that he met with, and amassing a
considerable booty, De Noort, hearing that a squadron commanded by
the brother of the viceroy, Don Luis de Velasco, had been sent in
pursuit of him, judged it time to make for the Ladrone Islands,
where he anchored on the 16th of September. "The inhabitants came
around our ship with more than 200 canoes, there being three, four,
or five men in each canoe, crying out all together: 'Hierro, hierro'
(iron, iron), which is greatly in request amongst them. They are as
much at home in the water as upon land, and are very clever divers,
as we perceived when we threw five pieces of iron into the sea,
which a single man went to search for." De Noort could testify
unfortunately, that these islands well deserved their name. The
islanders tried even to drag the nails out of the ship, and carried
off everything upon which they could lay their hands. One of them,
having succeeded in climbing along a part of the rigging, had the
audacity to enter a cabin and seize upon a sword, with which he
threw himself into the sea.
On the 14th October following, De Noort traversed the Philippine
Archipelago, where he made several descents, and burnt, plundered,
or sunk a number of Spanish or Portuguese vessels, and some Chinese
junks. While cruising in the Strait of Manilla he was attacked by
two large Spanish vessels, and in the battle which followed the
Dutch had five men killed, and twenty-five wounded and lost their
brigantine, which was captured with her crew of twenty-five men. The
Spaniards lost more than 200 men, for their flag-ship caught fire
and sank. Far from picking up the wounded and the able-bodied men,
who were trying to save themselves by swimming, the Dutch, "making
way with sails set on the foremast, across the heads which were to
be seen in the water, pierced some with lances, and also discharged
their cannon over them." After this bloody and fruitless victory, De
Noort went to recruit at Borneo, captured a rich cargo of spices at
Java, and having doubled the Cape of Good Hope, landed at Rotterdam
on the 26th of August, having only one ship and forty-eight men
remaining. If the merchants who had defrayed the expenses of the
expedition approved of the conduct of De Noort, who brought back a
cargo which more than reimbursed them for their expenditure, and who
had taught his countrymen the way to the Indies, it behoves us,
while extolling his qualities as a sailor, to take great exception
to the manner in which he exercised the command, and to mete out
severe blame for the barbarity which has left a stain of blood upon
the first Dutch voyage of circumnavigation.
[Illustration: Battle of Manilla. _From an old print_.]
We have now to speak of a man who, endowed with eminent qualities
and with at least equal defects, carried on his life's work in
divers, sometimes even in opposing directions, and who after having
reached the highest summit of honour to which a gentleman could
aspire, at last laid his head upon a scaffold, accused of treason
and felony. This man is Sir Walter Raleigh. If he have any claim to
a place in this portrait gallery of great sailors, it is neither as
founder of any English colony nor as a sailor; it is as a discoverer,
and what we have to say of him is not to his credit. Walter Raleigh
passed five years in France fighting against the League, in the
midst of all those Gascons who formed the basis of the armies of
Henry of Navarre, and in such society he perfected the habits of
boasting and falsehood which belonged to his character. In 1577,
after a campaign in the Low Countries against the Spaniards, he
returns to England and takes a deep interest in the questions so
passionately debated among his three brothers by the mother's side,
John, Humphrey, and Adrian Gilbert. At this period England was
passing through a very grave economic crisis. The practice of
agriculture was undergoing a transformation; in all directions
grazing was being substituted for tillage, and the number of
agricultural labourers was greatly reduced by the change. From
thence arose general distress, and also such a surplussage of
population as was fast becoming a matter of anxious concern. At the
same time, to long wars succeeds a peace, destined to endure
throughout the reign of Elizabeth, so that a great number of
adventurers know not how to find indulgence for their love of
violent emotions. At this moment, therefore, arises the necessity
for such an emigration as may relieve the country of its population,
may permit all the miserable people dying of hunger to provide for
their own wants in a new country, and by that means may increase the
influence and prosperity of the mother country. All the more
thoughtful minds in England, who follow the course of public
opinion--Hakluyt, Thomas Hariot, Carlyle, Peckham, and the brothers
Gilbert--are struck with this need. But it is to the last named that
belongs the credit of indicating the locality suitable for the
establishing of colonies. Raleigh only joined with his brothers in
the scheme, following their lead, but he neither conceived nor began
the carrying into execution--as he has been too often credited with
doing--of this fruitful project, the colonization of the American
shores of the Atlantic. If Raleigh, all-powerful with Queen
Elizabeth, fickle and nevertheless jealous in her affections as she
was, encourage his brothers; if he expend himself 40,000_l._
sterling in his attempts at colonization, he still takes good care
not to quit England, for the life of patience and self-devotion of
the founder of a colony would have no attractions for him. He gives
up and sells his patent as soon as he perceives the inutility of his
efforts, while he does not forget to reserve for himself the fifth
part of any profit arising eventually from the colony.
[Illustration: Sir Walter Raleigh. _From an old print_.]
At the same time Raleigh fits out some vessels against the Spanish
possessions; and himself soon takes part in the strife and the
battles which saved England from the Invincible Armada, afterwards
proceeding to support the claims of the Prior de Crato, to the
throne of Portugal. It is a short time after his return to England
that he falls into disgrace with his royal mistress, and after his
release from prison, while he is confined to his princely mansion of
Sherborne, he conceives the project of his voyage to Guiana. To his
mind, this is a gigantic enterprise of which the marvellous results
are destined to draw upon him the attention of the whole world, and
to restore to him the favour of his sovereign. Would not the
discovery and conquest of El Dorado, of the country in which
according to Orellana, the temples are roofed with plates of gold,
where all the tools, even those for the meanest purposes, are made
of gold, where one walks upon precious stones, "procure for him
greater glory," these are the very words which Raleigh employs in
his account, "than Cortes had gained in Mexico, or Pizarro in Peru.
He will have under him more golden towns and nations than the King
of Spain, the Sultan of the Turks, and no matter what Emperor!" We
have already spoken of the fables which Orellana had invented in
1539, and which had been the fruitful source of more than one legend.
Humboldt discloses what had given them birth when he describes to us
the nature of the soil and the rocks which surround Lake Parima,
between the Essequibo and the Branco. "They are," says this great
traveller, "rocks of micaceous slate, and of sparkling talc, which
are resplendent in the midst of a sheet of water, which acts as a
reflector beneath the burning tropical sun." So are explained those
massive domes of gold, those obelisks of silver, and all those
marvels of which the boastful and enthusiastic minds of the
Spaniards afforded them a glimpse. Did Raleigh believe really in the
existence of this city of gold, for the conquest of which he was
about to sacrifice so many lives? Was he thoroughly convinced
himself, or did he not yield to the illusions of a mind eager for
glory? It is impossible to say, but this at least is indisputable,
that, to borrow the just expressions of M. Philarete Chasles, "at
the moment even of his embarkation men did not believe in his
promises, they were suspicious of his exaggerations, and dreaded the
results of an expedition directed by a man so fool-hardy, and of a
morality so equivocal."
[Illustration: Raleigh seizes Berreo. _From an old print_.]
Nevertheless, it seemed that Raleigh had foreseen everything needful
for this undertaking, and that he had made the necessary studies.
Not only did he speak of the nature of the soil of Guiana, of its
productions, and its inhabitants with imperturbable assurance, but
he had taken care to send, at his own expense, a ship commanded by
Captain Whiddon, to prepare the way for the fleet which he intended
to conduct in person to the banks of the Orinoco. What he took good
care, however, not to confide to the public, was that all the
information he received from his emissary was unfavourable to the
enterprise. Raleigh himself started from Plymouth on the 9th
February, 1595, with a small fleet of five vessels, and 100 soldiers,
without reckoning marines, officers, and volunteers. After stopping
four days at Fortaventura, one of the Canaries, to take in wood and
water there, he reached Teneriffe, where Captain Brereton ought to
have rejoined him. Having waited for him in vain for eighty days,
Raleigh sailed for Trinidad, where he met Whiddon. The island of
Trinidad was at that time governed by Don Antonio de Berreo, who, it
is said, had obtained accurate information concerning Guiana. The
arrival of the English did not please him, and he immediately
despatched emissaries to Cumana and to Margarita, with orders to
gather together the troops to attack the Englishmen, while at the
same time he forbade any Indians or Spaniards to hold intercourse
with them under pain of death. Raleigh, forewarned, determined to be
beforehand with him. At nightfall he landed in secret with 100 men,
captured the town of St. Joseph, to which the Indians set fire,
without a blow, and carried off Berreo and the principal personages
to the ships. At the same time arrived Captains Gifford and Knynin,
from whom he had been separated upon the Spanish Coasts. Raleigh at
once sailed for the Orinoco, entered Capuri Bay with a large galley
and three boats carrying 100 sailors and soldiers, became entangled
in the inextricable labyrinth of islands and canals which form the
mouth of the river, and ascended the Orinoco for a distance of 330
miles. The account which Raleigh gives of his campaign is so
fabulous, with the coolness of a Gascon transported to the banks of
the Thames, he so heaps one falsehood upon the top of another, that
one is almost tempted to class his narrative amongst the number of
imaginary voyages. He says that some Spaniards who had seen the town
of Manoa, called El Dorado, told him that this town exceeds in size
and wealth all the towns in the world, and everything which the
"conquistadores" had seen in America. "There is no winter there," he
says; "a soil dry and fertile, with game, and birds of every species
in great abundance, who filled the air with hitherto unknown notes;
it was a real concert for us. My captain, sent to search for mines,
perceived veins both of gold and silver; but as he had no tool but
his sword, he was unable to detach these metals to examine them in
detail; however, he carried away several bits of them which he
reserved for future examination. A Spaniard of Caracas called this
mine _Madre del Oro_ (mother of gold)." Then, as Raleigh well knows
that the public is on its guard against his exaggerations, he adds,
"It will be thought perchance, that I am the sport of a false and
cheating delusion, but why should I have undertaken a voyage thus
laborious, if I had not entertained the conviction that there is not
a country upon earth which is richer in gold than Guiana? Whiddon
and Milechappe, our surgeon, brought back several stones which
resembled sapphires. I showed these stones to several inhabitants of
Orinoco, who have assured me that there exists an entire mountain of
them." An old cacique of the age of 110, who nevertheless could
still walk ten miles without fatigue, came to see Raleigh, boasted
to him of the formidable power of the Emperor of Manoa, and proved
to him that his forces were insufficient. He depicted these people
as much civilized, as wearing clothes, and possessing great riches,
especially in plates of gold; finally, he spoke to him of a mountain
of pure gold. Raleigh relates that he wished to approach this
mountain, but, sad mischance, it was at that moment half submerged.
"It had the form of a tower, and appeared to me rather white than
yellow. A torrent which precipitated itself from the mountain,
swollen by the rains, made a tremendous noise, which could be heard
at the distance of many miles, and which deafened our people. I
recollected the description which Berreo had given of the brilliancy
of the diamonds and of the other precious stones scattered over the
various parts of the country. I had, however, some doubt as to the
value of these stones; their extraordinary whiteness, nevertheless
surprised me. After a short time of repose on the banks of the
Vinicapara, and a visit to the village of the cacique, the latter
promised to conduct me to the foot of the mountain by a circuitous
route; but at the sight of the numerous difficulties which presented
themselves, I preferred to return to the mouth of the Cumana, where
the caciques of the neighbourhood came to bring various presents,
consisting of the rare productions of the country." We will spare
the reader the description of people three times taller than
ordinary men, of cyclops, of natives who had their eyes upon the
shoulders, their mouth in the chest, and the hair growing from the
middle of the back--all affirmations seriously related, but which
give to Raleigh's narrative a singular resemblance to a fairy tale.
One fancies while reading it that it must be a page taken out of the
_Thousand and one Nights_.
If we put on one side all these figments of an imagination run mad,
what gain has been derived for geography? There was certainly no
pains spared in announcing with much noise, and very great puffing,
this fantastic expedition, and we may well say with the
fable-writer,--
"In fancy free I an author see,
Who says, 'The awful war I'll sing
Of Titans with the Thunder-King:'
Of this grand promise the result, we find,
Is often wind."
CHAPTER V.
MISSIONARIES AND SETTLERS. MERCHANTS AND TOURISTS.
I.
Distinguishing characteristics of the Seventeenth Century--The more
thorough exploration of regions previously discovered--To the thirst
for gold succeeds Apostolic zeal--Italian missionaries in Congo--
Portuguese missionaries in Abyssinia--Brue in Senegal and Flacourt
in Madagascar--The Apostles of India, of Indo-China, and of Japan.
The seventeenth century has a distinctive character of its own,
differing from that of the preceding century in the fact that nearly
all the great discoveries have been already made, and that the work
of this whole period consists almost exclusively in perfecting the
information already acquired. It contrasts equally with the century
which is to succeed it, because scientific methods are not yet
applied by astronomers and sailors, as they are to be 100 years
later. It appears in fact, that the narratives of the first
explorers--who were only able, so to speak, to obtain a glimpse of
the regions which they traversed while waging their wars,--may have
in some degree exercised a baneful influence upon the public mind.
Curiosity, in the narrowest sense of the word, is carried to an
extreme. Men travel over the world to gain an idea of the manners
and customs of each nation, of the productions and manufactures of
each country, but there is no real study. They do not seek to trace
what they see to its source, and to reason scientifically upon the
why and wherefore of facts. They behold, curiosity is satisfied, and
they pass on. The observations made do not penetrate beneath the
surface, and the great object appears to be to visit, as rapidly as
may be, all the regions which the sixteenth century has brought to
light.
Besides, the abundance of the wealth diffused on a sudden over the
whole of Europe has caused an economic crisis. Commerce, like
industry, is transformed and altered. New ways are opened, new
mediums arise, new wants are created, luxury increases, and the
eagerness to make a fortune rapidly by speculation, turns the heads
of many. If Venice from a commercial point of view be dead, the
Dutch are about to constitute themselves, to use a happy expression
of M. Leroy-Beaulieu, "the carriers and agents of Europe," and the
English are preparing to lay the foundations of their vast colonial
empire.
To the merchants succeed the missionaries. They alight in large
numbers upon the newly-discovered countries, preaching the Gospel,
civilizing the barbarous nations, studying and describing the
country. The development of Apostolic zeal is one of the dominant
features of the seventeenth century, and it behoves us to recognize
all that geography and historic science owe to these devoted,
learned, and unassuming men. The traveller only passes through a
country, the missionary dwells in it. The latter has evidently much
greater facilities for acquiring an intimate knowledge of the
history and civilization of the nations which he studies. It is
therefore very natural that we should owe to them narratives of
journeys, descriptions, and histories, which are still consulted
with advantage, and which have served as a basis for later works.
If there be any country to which these reflections more particularly
apply, it is to Africa, and especially to Abyssinia. How much of
this vast triangular continent of Africa was known in the
seventeenth century? Nothing but the coasts, it will be said. A
mistake. From the earliest times the two branches of the Nile, the
Astapus and the Bahr-el-Abiad, had been known to the ancients. They
had even advanced--if the lists of countries and nations discovered
at Karnak by M. Mariette may be believed--as far as the great Lakes
of the interior. In the twelfth century, the Arab geographer Edrisi
writes an excellent description of Africa for Roger II. of Sicily,
and confirms these data. Later on, Cadamosto and Ibn Batuta travel
over Africa, and the latter goes as far as Timbuctoo. Marco Polo
affirms that Africa is only united to Asia by the Isthmus of Suez,
and he visits Madagascar. Lastly, when the Portuguese, led by Vasco
da Gama, have completed the circumnavigation of Africa, some of them
remain in Abyssinia, and in a short time diplomatic relations are
established between that country and Portugal. We have already said
something of Francesco Alvarez; in his train several Portuguese
missionaries settle in the country, amongst whom must be named
Fathers Paez and Lobo.
Father Paez left Goa in 1588 to preach Christianity upon the eastern
coast of North Africa. After long and sad mishaps, he landed at
Massowah in Abyssinia, traversed the country, and in 1618 pushed on
as far as the sources of the Blue Nile,--a discovery the
authenticity of which Bruce was hereafter to dispute, but of which
the narrative differs only in some unimportant particulars from that
of the Scotch traveller. In 1604, Paez, arrived at the court of the
king Za Denghel, had preached with such success that he had
converted the king and all his court. He had even soon acquired so
great an influence over the Abyssinian monarch, that the latter, in
writing to the Pope and to the King of Spain to offer them his
friendship, asked them to send him men fitted to teach his people.
Father Geronimo Lobo landed in Abyssinia with Alfonzo Meneses,
patriarch of Ethiopia, in 1625. But times were greatly changed. The
king converted by Paez had been murdered, and his successor, who had
summoned the Portuguese missionaries, died after a short time. A
violent revulsion of feeling ensued against the Christians, and the
missionaries were driven away, imprisoned, or given up to the Turks.
Lobo was charged with the mission of obtaining the sum necessary for
the ransom of his companions. After many wanderings, which led him
to Brazil, Carthagena, Cadiz, and Seville, to Lisbon and to Rome,
where he gave the Pope and the King of Spain numerous and accurate
details upon the Church of Ethiopia and the manners of the
inhabitants, he made a last journey in India, and returned to Lisbon
to die, in 1678.
Christianity had been introduced into Congo, upon the Atlantic coast,
in 1489, the year of its discovery by the Portuguese. At first
Dominicans were sent; but as they made scarce any progress, the Pope,
with the consent of the King of Portugal, despatched thither some
Italian Capuchins. These were Carli de Placenza in 1667, Giovanni
Antonio Cavazzi, from 1654 to 1668, afterwards Antonio Zucchelli and
Gradisca, from 1696 to 1704. We shall mention these missionaries
only, because they have published accounts of their journeys.
Cavazzi explored in succession Angola, the country of Matumba, and
the islands of Coanza and Loana. In the ardour of his apostolic zeal,
he could devise no better means of converting the blacks than by
burning their idols, rebuking the kings for the time-honoured custom
of polygamy, and subjecting to torture, or to being torn with whips,
those who relapsed into idolatry. Notwithstanding all this, he
gained considerable ascendancy over the natives, which, if it had
been well directed, might have produced very useful results in the
development of civilization and the progress of religion. The same
reproach is due also to Father Zucchelli and to the other
Missionaries in Congo. The narrative of Cavazzi, published at Rome
in 1687, asserted that Portuguese influence extended from 200 to 300
miles from the coast, and that in the interior there existed a very
important town, known by the name of San Salvador, which possessed
twelve churches, a Jesuit college, and a population of 50,000 souls.
At the close of the fourteenth century Pigafetta published the
account of the journey of Duarte Lopez, ambassador from the King of
Congo to the Courts of Rome and Lisbon. A map which accompanies this
narrative presents to us a Lake Zambre, in the very place occupied
by Lake Tanganyika, and more to the west, Lake Acque Lunda, from
whence issued the Congo River; south of the equator two lakes are
indicated, one the Lake of the Nile, the other, more to the east,
bears the name of Colue; they appear to be the Albert and the
Victoria Nyanza. This most curious information was rejected by the
geographers of the nineteenth century, who left blank the whole
interior of Africa.
Upon the West Coast of Africa at the mouth of the Senegal, the
French had established settlements which, under the skilful
administration of Andrew Brue, speedily received considerable
extension. Brue, _Commandant for the King and Director-general of
the Royal French Company upon the Senegal Coast and in other parts
of Africa_--so ran his official title--although he may be little
known, and the article which treats of him may be one of the most
curtailed in the great collections of biography, deserves to occupy
one of the most prominent positions among colonizers and explorers.
Not content with extending the colony as far as its present limits,
he explored countries which have been only lately revisited by
Lieutenant Mage, or which have not been visited at all since Brue's
time. He carried the French outposts eastwards above the junction of
the Senegal and the Faleme, northwards as far as Arguin, which we
have since abandoned, although reserving our rights, and southwards
as far as the island of Bissao. He explored in the interior Galam
and Bambouk, so rich in gold, and collected the earliest documents
concerning the Pouls, Peuls or Fouls, the Yoloffs and the Mussulmen,
who coming from the north, attempted the religious conquest of all
the black nations of the country. The information thus collected by
Brue about the history and migrations of these various people, is of
the greatest value, affording clear light, even in the present day,
to the geographer and the historian. Not only has Brue left us the
narrative of deeds of which he was witness and the description of
the places which he visited, but we also owe to him much information
about the productions of the countries, the plants, the animals, and
all the objects which would give occasion for commercial or
industrial enterprise. These most curious documents, put together
very maladroitly it must be confessed, by Father Labat, formed the
subject, a few years ago, of a very interesting work by M. Berlioux.
To the south-east of Africa, during the first half of the
seventeenth century, the French founded some commercial settlements
in Madagascar, an island long known under the name of St. Lawrence.
They build Fort Dauphin under the administration of M. de Flacourt;
several unknown districts of the island are explored as well as the
neighbouring islands upon the coast; the Mascarene Islands are
occupied in 1649. Although firm and moderate towards his countrymen,
De Flacourt did not use the same self-control towards the natives;
he even brought about a general revolt, as a consequence of which he
was recalled. Expeditions into the interior of Madagascar were
henceforth very rare, and it is not until the present day that we
find a thorough exploration carried out.
Of Indo-China and Thibet the only information which reached Europe
during the whole of the seventeenth century was due to the
missionaries. Such names as Father Alexandre de Rhodes, Ant.
d'Andrada, Avril, Benedict Goes, may not be passed over in silence.
In their _Annual Letters_ is to be found a quantity of information,
which even in the present day retains a real interest, as concerning
regions so long closed against Europeans. In Cochin China and Tonkin,
Father Tachard devoted himself to astronomical observations, of
which the result was to prove by the most conclusive evidence the
great errors in the longitudes given by Ptolemy. This called the
attention of the learned world to the necessity of a reform in the
graphic representation of the countries of the extreme east, and for
attaining this end, to the absolute need of close observations made
by specially qualified scientific men, or by navigators familiar
with astronomical calculations. The country which especially
attracted the missionaries was China, that enormous and populous
empire, which ever since the arrival of Europeans in India, had
persevered with the greatest strictness in the absurd policy of
abstention from any intercourse whatsoever with foreigners. It was
not until the close of the sixteenth century that the missionaries
obtained the permission, so often demanded before in vain, to
penetrate into the Middle Empire. Their knowledge of mathematics and
astronomy facilitated their settlement and enabled them to gather,
as well from the ancient annals of the country, as during their
journies, a prodigious quantity of most valuable information
concerning the history, ethnography, and geography of the Celestial
Empire. Fathers Mendoza, Ricci, Trigault, Visdelou, Lecomte,
Verbiest, Navarrete, Schall, and Martini, deserve especial mention
for having carried to China the arts and sciences of Europe, while
they diffused in the west the first accurate and precise information
upon the unprogressive civilization of the Flowery Land.
II.
MISSIONARIES AND SETTLERS. MERCHANTS AND TOURISTS.
The Dutch in the Spice Islands--Lemaire and Schouten--Tasman--
Mendana--Queiros and Torres--Pyrard de Laval--Pietro della Valle--
Tavernier--Thevenot--Bernier--Robert Knox--Chardin--De Bruyn--
Kaempfer.