Having refreshed our selves well in this iland, for that little time wee
stayed, which was some three dayes, wee set sayle with great joy, and
with a fayre winde sayled alongst the coast; and some eight leagues to
the northwards, we anchored againe in a goodly bay, and sent our boates
ashore, with desire to speake with some of the Indians of Arawca, and to
see if they would be content to entertaine amitie, or to chop and change
with us. But all that night and the next morning appeared not one
person, and so wee set sayle againe; and towardes the evening the winde
began to change, and to blow contrary, and that so much, and the sea to
rise so sodainely, that we could not [A cruel storme.] take in
our boates without spoyling of them. This storme continued with us ten
dayes, beyond expectation, for that wee thought our selves out of the
climate of fowle weather; but truely it was one of the sharpest stormes
that ever I felt to endure so long.
In this storme, one night haling up our boates to free the water out of
them, one of our younkers that went into them for that purpose, had not
that regard, which reason required, unto our light horseman: for with
haling her [The important losse of a small vessell.] up to
step into her out of the boate, he split her asunder, and so we were
forced to cut her off; which was no small heartes grief unto me, for
that I knew, and all my company felt, and many times lamented, the losse
of her.[182]
The storme tooke end, and wee shaped our course for [Saint Maries.] the
iland of Saint Maries, which lyeth in thirtie seaven degrees and forty
minuts; and before you come unto the iland some two leagues, in the
trade way lyeth a rocke, which, a farre off, seemeth to be a shippe
under sayle. This iland is little and low, but fertill and well peopled,
with Indians and some few Spaniards in it. Some ten leagues to the
north-wards of this iland, lyeth the citty Conception, [Citty of
Conception.] with a good port; from this we coasted alongst till wee
came in thirty-three degrees and forty minutes. In which [Iuan
Fernandes.] height lay the ilands of Iuan Fernandes, betwixt threescore
and fourescore leagues from the shore, plentiful of fish, and good for
refreshing. I purposed for many reasons not to [Good to avoid
discovery.] discover my selfe upon this coast, till wee were past Lyma
(otherwise called Cividad de Los Reyes, for that it was entered by the
Spaniard the day of the three kings); but my company urged me so farre,
that except I should seem in all things to over-beare them, in not
condescending to that which in the opinion of all, but my selfe, seemed
profitable and best, I could not but yeelde unto, though it carried a
false colour, as the ende prooved, for it was our perdition. This all my
company knoweth to be true, whereof some are yet living and can give
testimonie.
[Wilfulnesse of mariners]
But the mariner is ordinarily so carried away with the desire of
pillage, as sometimes for very appearances of small moment hee looseth
his voyage, and many times himselfe. And so the greedines of spoyle,
onely hoped for in shippes of trade, which goe too and fro in this
coast, blinded them from forecasting the perill whereinto wee exposed
our voyage, in discovering our selves before we past the coast of
Callao, which is the port of Lyma. To be short, wee haled the coast
aboord, and that evening we discovered the port of Balparizo,[183] which
serveth the citty of Saint Iago, standing some twenty leagues into the
countrey; when presently [They seize upon four ships.] we
descried foure shippes at an anchor: whereupon wee manned and armed our
boate, which rowed towards the shippes: they seeing us turning in, and
fearing that which was, ran a shore with that little they could save,
and leaft us the rest; whereof we were masters in a moment, and had the
rifling of all the storehouses on the shoare.
This night I set a good guard in all the shippes, longing to see the
light of the next morning to put all things in order; which appearing, I
began to survay them, and found nothing of moment, saving five hundred
botozios[184] of wine, two or three thousand of hennes, and some
refreshing of bread, bacon, dried beefe, waxe, candles, and other
necessaries. The rest of their lading was plankes, spares, and timber,
for Lyma, and the valleyes, which is a rich trade; for it hath no timber
but that which is brought to it from other places. They had also many
packes of Indian mantles, but of no value unto us, with much tallow, and
manteca de puerco,[185] and aboundance of great new chests, in which wee
had thought to be some great masse of wealth, but opening them, found
nothing but apples therein; all which was good marchandize in Lyma, but
to [And the warehouses.] us of small accompt. The marchandize
on shore in their store-houses was the like, and therefore in the same
predicament. The owners of the shippes gave us to understand that at a
reasonable price they would redeeme their shippes and loading, which I
hearkened unto; and so admitted certaine persons which might treat of
the matter, and concluded with them for a small price rather then to
burne them, saving for the greatest, which I carryed with me, more to
give satisfaction to my people then for any other respect; because they
would not be perswaded but that there was much gold hidden in her;
otherwise shee would have yeelded us more then the other three.
[They seize upon another ship,]
Being in this treatie, one morning at the breake of day came another
shippe touring into the harbour, and standing into the shore, but was
becalmed. Against her wee manned a couple of boates, and tooke her
before many houres. In this shippe we had some good quantitie of
[and some gold.] gold, which shee had gathered in Baldivia,
and the Conception, from whence shee came. Of this shippe was pilot and
part owner, Alonso Perezbueno, whom we kept for our pilot on this coast;
till moved with compassion (for that he was a man charged with wife and
children), we set him ashore betwixt Santa and Truxillo. Out of this
shippe we had also store of good bacon, and some provision of bread,
hennes, and other victuall. And for that shee had brought us so good a
portion, and her owner continued with us, the better to animate him to
play the honest man (though we trusted him no further then we saw him,
for we presently discovered him to be a cunning fellow), and for that
his other partner had lost the greatest part of gold, and seemed to be
an honest man, as after he prooved by his thankfulnesse in Lyma, we gave
them the ship and the greatest part of her loading freely.
[Light anchors brought from the North sea.]
Here we supplied our want of anchors, though not according to that which
was requisite in regard of the burden of our shippe; for in the South
sea, the greatest anchor for a shippe of sixe or eight hundreth tunnes,
is not a thousand waight; partly, because it is little subject to
stormes, and partly, because those they had till our comming, were all
brought out of the North sea by land; for [And the first
artillerie.] they make no anchors in those countries. And the first
artillerie they had was also brought over land, which was small; the
carriage and passage from Nombre de Dios, or Porto Velo to Panama, being
most difficult and steepe, up hill and downe hill, they are all carried
upon negroes backes.
But some years before my imprisonment, they fell to making of artillery,
and, since, they forge anchors also. [Sayles of cotton cloth.]
Wee furnished our shippe also with a shift of sayles of cotton cloth,
which are farre better in that sea then any of our double sayles; for
that in all the navigation of that sea they have little rayne and few
stormes; but where rayne and stormes are ordinary, they are not good;
for with the wett they grow so stiffe they cannot be handled.