Our necessary busines being ended, wee purposed the fifteenth day of
May, in the morning, to set sayle; but the foureteenth in the evening,
we had sight of a shippe, some three leagues to sea-wards; and through
the importunitie of my captaine and companie, I condiscended that our
pinnas should give her chase: which I should not have done, for it was
our destruction. I gave them precise order, that if they stood not in
againe at night, they should seeke mee at Cape San Francisco, for the
next morning I purposed to set sayle without delay. And so seeing that
our pinnas slowed her comming, at nine of the clocke in the morning wee
weyed our anchors, and stood for the cape, where wee beate off and on
two dayes; and our pinnas not appearing, wee stood againe into the bay,
where wee descried her turning in without a maine mast, which standing
off to the sea close by, with much winde, and a chapping sea, bearing a
taunt-sayle, where a little was too much (being to small purpose),
sodainely they bare it by the bourd; and standing in with the shore, the
winde, or rather God blinding them for our punishment, they knewe not
the land; and making themselves to bee to wind-wards of the bay, bare
up, and were put into the bay of San Mathew. It is a goodly harbour, and
hath a great fresh river, which higheth fifteene or sixteene foote
water, and is a good countrey, and well peopled with Indians: they have
store of gold and emeralds. Heere the Spaniards from Guayaquill made an
habitation, whilst I was prisoner in Lyma, by the Indians consent; but
after, not able to suffer the insolencies of their guests, and being a
people of stomacke and presumption, they suffered themselves to bee
[The Indians led by a Molato.] perswaded and led by a Molato.
This leader many yeares before had fled unto them from the Spaniards:
him they had long time held in reputation of their captaine generall,
and was admitted also unto a chiefe office by the Spaniardes, to gaine
him unto them.
But now the Indians uniting themselves together, presuming that by the
helpe of this Molato, they should force the Spaniards out of the
countrey, put their resolution into execution, drove their enemies into
the woods, and slue as many as they could lay hands on; some they
killed, few escaped with life; and those who had that good happe,
suffered extreame misery before they came to Quito, the place of neerest
habitation of Spaniards.
To this bay, assoone as our people in the pinnas saw their errour, they
brought their tackes abourd, and turned and tyded it up, as they could.
Assoone as we came to anchor, I procured to remedie that was amisse; in
two daies wee dispatched all we had to doe, and the next morning wee
resolved to set sayle, and to leave the coast of Peru and Quito.
The day appearing, we began to weigh our anchors, and being a pike,
ready to cut sayle, one out of the toppe descryed [Spanish
Armado.] the Spanish armado, comming about the cape; which by the course
it kept, presently gave us to understand who they were: though my
company, as is the custome of sea-men, made them to be the fleete bound
for Panama, loaden with treasure, and importuned that in all hast we
should cut sayle and stand with them; which I contradicted, for that I
was assured, that no shipping would stirre upon the coast till they had
securitie of our departure (except some armado that might be sent to
seeke us), and that it was not the time of the yeare to carry the
treasure to Panama. And besides, in riding still at an anchor, they ever
came neerer unto us; for they stood directly with us, and wee kept the
weather gage; where if we had put our selves under sayle, the ebbe in
hand, wee should have given them the advantage, which we had in our
power, by reason of the point of the bay. And being the armado, as it
was, we gained time to fit ourselves, the better to fight. And truly (as
before, to a stiffe-necked horse), so now againe I cannot but resemble
the condition of the mariner to any thing better, then to the current of
a furious river, repressed by force or art, which neverthelesse ceaseth
not to seeke a way to overthrow both fence and banke: even so the common
sort of sea-men, apprehending a conceite in their imaginations, neither
experiment, knowledge, examples, reasons, nor authority, can alter and
remoove them from their conceited opinions. In this extremitie, with
reason I laboured to convince them, and to contradict their pretences:
but they altogether without reason, or against reason, breake out, some
into vaunting and bragging, some into reproaches of want of courage,
others into wishings that they had never come out of their countrey, if
we should refuse to fight with two shippes whatsoever. [The
unadvised courage of the multitude.] And to mend the matter, the gunner,
for his part, assured me that with the first tire[207] of shott, he
would lay the one of them in the sods: and our pinnace, that she would
take the other to taske. One promised that he would cut downe the mayne
yard; another that he would take their flagge; and all in generall
shewed a great desire to come to tryall with the enemy. To some I turned
the deafe eare, with others I dissembled, and armed myselfe with
patience (having no other defence nor remedie for that occasion),
soothing and animating them to the execution of what they promised, and
perswaded them to have a little sufferance, seeing they gained time and
advantage by it.
And to give them better satisfaction, I condiscended that our captaine,
with a competent number of men, should with our pinnace goe to discover
them; with order that they should not engage themselves in that manner
as they might not be able to come unto us, or we to succour them. In all
these divisions and opinions, our master, Hugh Dormish,[208] who was a
most sufficient man for government and valour, and well saw the errors
of the multitude, used his office as became him; and so did all those of
best understanding.
In short space our pinnace discovered what they were, and casting about
to returne unto us, the vice-admirall, being next her, began with her
chace to salute her with three or foure peeces of artillery, and so
continued chasing her and gunning at her. My company seeing this, now
began to change humour; and I then to encourage and perswade them to
performe the execution of their promises and vaunts of valour, which
they had but even now protested, and given assurance of by their
proferres and forwardnesse.
And that we might have sea-roome to fight, we presently weighed anchor,
and stood off to sea with all our sayles, in hope to get the weather
gage of our contraries. But the winde scanting with us, and larging with
them, we were [The beginning of the fight.] forced to lee-ward. And the
admirall weathering us, came rome[209] upon us: which being within
musket shott, we hayled first with our noise of trumpets, then with our
waytes, and after with our artilery: which they answered with artilery,
two for one. For they had double the ordinance we had, and almost tenne
men for one. Immediately they came shoring[210] abourd of us, upon our
lee quarter, contrary to our expectation, and the custome of men of
warre. [The inexperience of the Spaniards.] And doubtlesse, had our
gunner beene the man he was reputed to be, and as the world sould him to
me, shee had received great hurt by that manner of bourding. But [And
carelesnesse of the English.] contrary to all expectation, our stearne
peeces were unprimed, and so were all those which we had to lee-ward,
save halfe one in the quarter, which discharged, wrought that effect in
our contraries as that they had five or sixe foote water in hold, before
they suspected it.
[How farre a commander is to trust his officers.]
Hereby all men are to take warning by me, not to trust any man in such
extremities, when he himselfe may see it done: and comming to fight, let
the chieftaine himselfe be sure to have all his artilery in a
readinesse upon all occasions. This was my oversight, this my overthrow.
For I and all my company had that satisfaction of the sufficiencie and
the care of our gunner, as not any one of us ever imagined there would
be any defect found in him. For my part, I with the rest of our
officers, occupied our selves in cleering our deckes, laceing our
nettings, making of bulwarkes, arming our toppes, fitting our
wast-cloathes, tallowing our pikes, slinging our yards, doubling our
sheetes, and tackes, placing and ordering our people, and procuring that
they should be well fitted and provided of all things; leaving the
artilery, and other instruments of fire, to the gunners dispose and
order, with the rest of his mates and adherents; which, as I said, was
part of our perdition. For bearing me ever in hand, that he had five
hundred cartreges in a readinesse, within one houres fight we were
forced to occupie three persons onely in making and filling cartreges;
and of five hundred elles of canvas and other cloth given him for that
purpose, at sundry times, not one yard was to be found. For this we have
no excuse, and therefore could not avoyd the danger, to charge and
discharge with the ladell, especially in so hotte a fight.[211] And
comming now to put in execution the sinking of the shippe, as he
promised, he seemed a man without life or soule. So the admirall comming
close unto us, I myselfe, and the master of our shippe, were forced to
play the gunners.
[Deceit of the gunner, and his extreme carelesnesse, and
suspitious disloyalty.]
Those instruments of fire wherein he made me to spend excessively,
before our going to sea, now appeared not; neither the brasse balles of
artificiall fire, to be shott with slurbowes (whereof I had six bowes,
and two hundreth bals, and which are of great account and service,
either by sea or land); he had stowed them in such manner, though in
double barrels, as the salt water had spoyled them all; so that comming
to use them, not one was serviceable. Some of our company had in him
suspition to be more friend to the Spaniards then to us; for that he had
served some yeares in the _Tercera_, as gunner, and that he did all this
of purpose. Few of our peeces were cleere, when we came to use them, and
some had the shott first put in, and after the powder. Besides, after
our surrendry, it was laid to his charge, that he should say, he had a
brother that served the king in the _Peru_, and that he thought he was
in the armado; and how he would not for all the world he should be
slaine. Whether this were true or no, I know not; but I am sure all in
generall gave him an ill report, and that he in whose hands the chiefe
execution of the whole fight consisted, executed nothing as was promised
and expected.
[Admonitions for commanders.] The griefe and remembrance of
which oversights once againe inforceth me to admonish all captaines and
commanders hereby to take advice, now and then to survey their officers
and store-roomes, the oftener the better; that so their defects and
wants may be supplied in time: never relying too much upon the vulgar
report, nor giving too much credite to smooth tongues and boasting
companions. But to performe this taske, it is requisite that all
captaines and commanders were such, and so experimented in all offices,
that they might be able as well to controule as to examine all manner of
errors in officers. For the government at sea hardly suffereth a head
without exquisite experience. The deficiency whereof hath occasioned
[Who to be accounted a true mariner.] some ancient sea-men to
straighten the attribute of marriner in such sort, as that it ought not
to be given but to the man who is able to build his shippe, to fit and
provide her of all things necessary, and after to carry her about the
world: the residue to be but saylers. Hereby giving us to understand,
that though it is not expedient that he [His knowledge for
materialls.] should be an axe-carpenter, to hewe, cut, frame, and mould
each timber piece, yet that he should know the parts and peeces of the
shippe, the value of the timber, planke, and yron-worke, so to be able
as well to build in proportion, as to procure all materialls at a just
price. And againe, though it be not expected that he should sowe the
sayles, arme the shrowds, and put the tackling over head, yet is it
requisite that he should knowe how to cut his sayles, what length is
competent to every roape, and to be of sufficiency to reprehend and
reforme those who erre [For provisions.] and doe amisse. In
providing his shippe with victualls, munition, and necessaries, of force
it must be expected that he be able to make his estimate, and (that once
provided and perfected), in season, and with expedition to see it loden
and stowed commodiously, with care and proportion. After that, he is to
order the spending thereof, that in nothing he be defrauded at home; and
at sea, ever to know how much is spent, and what remaineth unspent.
[For navigation.]
In the art of navigation, he is bound also to know so much as to be able
to give directions to the pilote and master, and consequently to all the
rest of inferiour officers.