[The above engraving is an exact copy of an armed ship of the time
of Queen Elizabeth, the original publication of which bears date
1594, and is to be found in that rare old work on "Nauigation,
lately collected out of the best _Moderne writers thereof by M.
Blundinile, and by him_ reduced into such a plaine and orderly
forme of teaching as euery man of a meane capacitie may easily
vnderstand the same."
It is doubtless a much better representation of the ships that
transported our fathers to these shores than any hitherto given.]
It was long ago remarked that but for the voyages and expeditions of
SIR FRANCIS DRAKE, North America would have remained unsettled, if
not almost unknown, for many years, if not for ages. To those who are
familiar with the history of the state of Europe during the century in
which Elizabeth lived, no argument will be required to convince them of
the truth of that position.
An exception may be taken to the heading of our article, but we are
well aware of the voyages of the Cabots, of Ponce de Leon, and of
Verazzini; the former of whom it is said discovered Newfoundland,
and the latter ravaged some part of Florida; and that Verazzini, a
little later, was eaten by the Indians of North America. If we consult
history, popularly known as such, it will hardly appear that the Cabots
set foot on these shores, while what was done by the others tended only
to discourage voyages of discovery in this hemisphere.
It is the intention in this article to furnish as complete a list
of the persons who sailed upon the voyage with SIR FRANCIS DRAKE
round the world, as can be collected, after long and patient search
and investigation. That such a list or catalogue cannot fail to be
interesting at this day, we feel assured, for two reasons; first,
because they were probably the first Englishmen, (certainly the first
whose names we have,) who landed in North America; and secondly, many
of them bore names common amongst us, even to this time. Whether they
were the ancestors or connections of the ancestors of these, we leave
for the investigation of those who bear these names, or who may have
the curiosity and leisure to pursue the interesting inquiry.
A third reason might have been given why such a catalogue of names
should be made out, had we published earlier, but as a settlement of
the "Oregon Question" has taken place, no one will be likely to put in
a claim to any part of that territory by right of discovery made by his
ancestor; and hence an emigrant to that region has no other reason for
any interest he may take in the following names than any of us have on
this side of the Rocky Mountains. And instead of the ancient claim of
rights by discovery, the Oregonian must now console himself as well as
he can with this distich of our famous revolutionary poet, Freneau:
For the time once was here, to the world be it known,
That all a man sail'd by, or saw, was his own.
By the following list it will be seen that the largest number of
those who embarked in the voyage, continued during it, and that some
others did not; while of some it is uncertain whether they continued
in it, returned with Capt. Winter, were lost with Capt. Thomas, or are
otherwise to be accounted for.
DRAKE set sail from Plymouth, Nov. 15, 1577, and returned to the same
port Sept. 26, 1580.
The following is the last entry, in the only true and authentic journal
preserved of that voyage. It is entitled "THE WORLD Encompassed by SIR
FRANCIS DRAKE," &c., and was printed in a small quarto volume, with
this imprint, "LONDON, Printed for NICHOLAS BOVRNE, and are to be sold
at his shop at the _Royall Exchange_, 1628."
"And the 26. of Sept. [1580 in the margin,] (which was Monday in
the just and ordinary reckoning of those that had stayed at home in
one place or countrie, but in our coputation was the Lord's day or
Sonday) we safely with ioyfull minds and thankfvll hearts to God,
arriued at Plimoth, the place of our first setting forth after we
had spent 2. yeares 10. moneths and some few odde daies beside,
in seeing the wonders of the Lord in the deep, in discouering
so many admirable things, in going through with so many strange
aduentures, in escaping out of so many dangers, and ouercomming so
many difficulties in this our encompassing of this neather globe,
and passing round about the world, which we haue related."
We now proceed with the proposed catalogue of names, in which we shall
study brevity.
FRANCIS DRAKE, Admiral, or as that officer was then generally
denominated, general, of the expedition, in the ship called the
Pelican, which name she bore until she entered the South Sea, when
it was changed to the GOLDEN HIND. He was born about 1537,[N] and
died on board his ship near Porto Bello, Jan. 28, 1596.
JOHN WINTER, Vice-Admiral, in the Elizabeth. He continued in the
voyage till the passing of the Straits of Magellan, when a storm,
which for its fury and duration, had never been known to him or his
companions, made every heart quail but the Admiral's, and compelled
him, for his own safety, as he contended, to forsake the voyage and
return to England. How many returned with him, we have no means of
knowing, at present.
To form an estimate of the violence of the tempest which deprived
Drake of all his ships but that in which he himself was, one must
recur to the original Journal of the voyage before noticed. That
the reader may have an idea of that curious work, and lest he may
never see it, a short extract will here be introduced. The writer
of the Journal was in the Admiral's ship, to which it applies.
"For such was the present danger by forcing and continuall flawes,
that we were rather to looke for present death then hope for any
deliuery, if God almightie should not make the way for vs. The
winds were such as if the bowels of the earth had set all at
libertie; or as if all the clouds vnder heauen had beene called
together, to lay their force vpon that one place: The seas,
which by nature and of themselues are heauie, and of a weightie
substance, were rowled vp from the depths, euen from the roots of
the rockes, as if it had beene a scroll of parchment, which by the
extremity of heate runneth together: and being aloft were carried
in most strange manner and abundance, as feathers or drifts of
snow, by the violence of the winds, to water the exceeding tops of
high and loftie mountaines. Our anchors, as false friends in such
a danger, gaue ouer their holdfast, and as if it had beene with
horror of the thing, did shrinke downe to hide themselues in this
miserable storme; committing the distressed ship and helpelesse men
to the vncertaine and rowling seas, which tossed them, like a ball
in a racket. In this case, to let fall more anchors would auaile
vs nothing; for being driuen from our first place at anchoring,
so vnmeasurable was the depth, that 500. fathome would fetch no
ground: So that the violent storme without intermission; the
impossibility to come to anchor; the want of opportunitie to spread
any sayle; the most mad seas; the lee shores; the dangerous rocks;
the contrary and most intolerable winds; the impossible passage
out; the desperate tarrying there; and ineuitable perils on euery
side, did lay before vs so small likelihood to escape present
destruction, that if the speciall providence of God himselfe had
not supported vs, we could neuer haue endured that wofull state:
as being inuironed with most terrible and most fearfull judgements
round about. For truly it was more likely that the mountaines
should have beene rent in sunder, from the top to the bottome, and
cast headlong into the sea, by these vnnatural winds, than that we,
by any helpe or cunning of man, should free the life of any one
amongst vs.
"Notwithstanding, the same God of mercy which delivered _Ionas_
out of the Whales belly, and heareth all those that call vpon him
faithfully, in their distresse; looked downe from heauen, beheld
our teares, and heard our humble petitions, ioyned with holy vowes.
Euen God (whom not the winds and seas alone, but euen the diuels
themselues and powers of hell obey) did so wonderfully free vs, and
make our way open before vs, as it were by his holy Angels still
guiding and conducting vs, that more then the affright and amaze of
this estate, we received no part of damage in all the things that
belonged vnto vs.
"But escaping from these straites and miseries, as it were through
the needles ey (that God might haue the greater glory in our
deliuery) by the great and effectuall care and trauell of our
Generall, the Lord's instrument therein; we could now no longer
forbeare, but must needes finde some place of refuge, as well to
provide water, wood, and other necessaries, as to comfort our men,
thus worne and tired out, by so many and so long intollerable
toyles: the like whereof, its to be supposed, no traveller hath
felt, neither hath there ever beene, such a tempest (that any
records make mention of) so violent, and of such continuance, since
_Noahs_ flood; for as hath beene sayd, it lasted from September 7.
to October 28, full 52 dayes."
Though this extract be long, we have given but the closing part of the
description of the storm. When we consider that it was winter in that
region, and the nature of those seas, the storm (of which we have heard
so much,) which overtook Columbus sinks into comparative insignificance.
We cannot close this lengthened digression, (if so it may be
considered,) without an extract from a Poem on the Death of Drake by
CHARLES FITZ-GEFFREY; who in the following passage seems to have had
the wild scenes of Terra del Fuego, in a dismal winter's night, vividly
before him:--
"Huge mountain islands of congealed ice,
Floating (like Delos) on the stormy main,
Could not deter him from his enterprise,
Nor blood congealing winter's freezing pain,
Enforce him, coward like, turn back again:
Valor in greatest danger shines most bright,
As full-faced Phoebe in the darkest night."
JOHN THOMAS, captain of the Marigold. He was lost with all his
company, after the expedition had passed the Straits of Magellan,
in the terrible tempest, just described, among the islands of Terra
del Fuego.
JOHN CHESTER, captain of the Swan. He probably continued throughout
the voyage.
THOMAS MOONE, captain of the Christopher. He was with Drake in his
early voyages to South America, and seems always to have been with
him and to have followed his fortunes as long as he lived, and to
have died almost at the same time with his beloved commander; not
however from disease like him, but by the hand of his enemy, being
killed by the Spaniards.
THOMAS DRAKE, the youngest brother of the Admiral. He does not appear
to have been in any command at the outset of the voyage, but was
soon after raised to the command of one of the ships. At this
time he was probably about 18 years of age. He continued with his
brother in most of his voyages afterwards, was with him in his last
voyage, and in command of a ship. From him are descended the Drakes
of Buckland, and of several other places in the south of Devonshire.
FRANCIS FLETCHER, chaplain to the expedition. He kept a journal of
the voyage, a copy of which in MS. is said still to be seen in the
British Museum, and from which the account before mentioned is
supposed to be principally made up.
EDWARD CLIFFE, who sailed in Capt. Winter's ship, and returned with
him. He left a good account of his voyage.
JOHN DRAKE, who for being the first to discover a Spanish
treasure-ship was rewarded by the Admiral with his gold chain,
"which he usually wore." He does not appear to have been of the
Admiral's immediate family, but was very probably a near relative.
He was afterwards a captain in Fenton's disastrous expedition, was
cast away in the mouth of the Rio de la Plata, fell into the hands
of the Indians, thence into the hands of the Spaniards, and was not
heard of after.
HENRY DRAKE. Of his relationship to the Admiral we have no certain
knowledge, nor are we _certain_ that he was one of the "great
voyage." He was in the last voyage, was present when a cannon-shot
from the castle of Porto Rico passed through Sir Francis's ship,
while he with his principal officers were at supper, which shot
struck his seat from under him, mortally wounding Capt. _Brute
Browne_ and _Sir Nicholas Clifford_. "This," says Dr. Thomas
Fuller, "I had from the mouth of HENRY DRAKE, ESQ., there present,
my dear and worthy parishioner lately deceased."
FRANCIS PRETTY. About this individual there has been of late much
controversy; whether or not he was one of Drake's company, and if
he was, whether he was the author of the "Famous Voyage," (as that
around the world was styled,) first printed by Hakluyt, in 1589.
We have not space here to go into an examination of that question,
and shall only remark, that it is possible he may have been one of
Drake's company. Some have made him a Frenchman; but that opinion
we entirely reject. It is certain that he sailed with Cavendish,
and wrote an account of his voyage. The two voyages of Drake and
Cavendish were printed in connection, which may have given rise
to an error. Dr. Twiss, in his late examination of the Oregon
Question, has, to our mind, set the matter in a clear light.
GEORGE FORTESCUE, probably a connection of Drake, and perhaps of the
family of Bartholomew Fortescue, Esq., whose daughter Gertrude
married Sir Bernard Drake of Ash. This George Fortescue left a
MS. account of the voyage, or at least some part of it, as we are
informed by Dr. Fuller. He was a captain under his old commander in
the West Indies, in 1585, and died during that expedition.
THOMAS DOUGHTY. One of those, who, if we can credit Herrera, went out
as a gentleman, "to learn navigation" and naval warfare, without
any particular office. He became mutinous before the fleet arrived
on the coast of Brazil, and was finally tried, condemned, and
executed on a small island in the harbor of Port St. Julian. "In
the Island," says the writer of the voyage, "as we digged to burie
this gentleman, we found a great grinding stone, broken in two
parts, which wee tooke and set fast in the ground, the one part
at the head, the other at the feet, building vp the middle space
with other stones and turfes of earth, and engraved in the stones
the names of the parties buried there, with the time of their
departure, and a memoriall of our generalls name in Latine, that
it might the better be vnderstood, by all that should come after
vs." He was buried with Mr. Oliver, who had just been killed by the
Indians.
THOMAS HOOD, mentioned only in connection with the case of Doughty.
THOMAS BLACOLER, afterwards in the expedition of Fenton. The name is
spelt with variation. There are those bearing it now in New England.