about 4,000 ducats Spanish. We took the silver and left the man. Not far from hence, going on land for fresh water, we met with a Spaniard and an Indian boy driving eight llamas or sheep of Peru, which are as big as asses; everyone of which sheep had on his back two bags of leather, each bag containing 50 lbs. weight of fine silver. So that, bringing both the sheep and their burthen to the ship, we found in all the bags 800 weights of silver. Herehence we sailed to a place called Arica, and, being entered the haven, we found there three small barques, which we rifled, and found in one of them fifty-seven wedges of silver, each of them weighing about 20 lbs. weight, and every of these wedges were of the fashion and bigness of a brickbat. In all these three barques we found not one person. For they, mistrusting no strangers, were all gone on land to the town, which consisteth of about twenty houses, which we would have ransacked if our company had been better and more in number. But our General, contented with the spoil of the ships, left the town and put off again to sea, and set sail for Lima, and, by the way, met with a small barque, which he boarded, and found in her good store of linen cloth. Whereof taking some quantity, he let her go. To Lima we came on the 13th of February, and, being entered the haven, we found there about twelve sail of ships lying fast moored at anchor, having all their sails carried on shore; for the masters and merchants were here most secure, having never been assaulted by enemies, and at this time feared the approach of none such as we were. Our General rifled these ships, and found in one of them a chest full of reals of plate, and good store of silks and linen cloth, and took the chest into his own ship, and good store of silks and linen. In which ship he had news of another ship called the Cacafuego, which was gone towards Payta, and that the same ship was laden with treasure. Whereupon we stayed no longer here, but, cuting all the cables of the ships in the haven, we let them drive whither they would, either to sea or to the shore, and with all speed we followed the Cacafuego toward Payta, thinking there to have found her; but before we arrived there she was gone from thence towards Panama, whom our General still pursued, and by the way met with a barque laden with ropes and tackle for ships, which he boarded and searched, and found in her 80 lbs. weight of gold, and a crucifix of gold with goodly great emeralds set in it, which he took, and some of the cordage also for his own ship. From hence we departed, still following the Cacafuego; and our General promised our company that whosoever should first descry her should have his chain of gold for his good news. It fortuned that John Drake, going up into the top, descried her at about three o'clock, and at about six o'clock we came to her and boarded her, and shot at her three pieces of ordnance, and struck down her mizen, and, being entered, we found in her great riches, as jewels and precious stones, thirteen chests full of reals of plate, fourscore pounds weight of gold, and six-and-twenty tons of silver. The place where we took this prize was called Cape de San Francisco, about 150 leagues from Panama. The pilot's name of this ship was Francisco, and amongst other plate that our General found in this ship he found two very fair gilt bowls of silver, which were the pilot's, to whom our General said, "Senor Pilot, you have here two silver cups; but I must needs have one of them," which the pilot, because he could not otherwise choose, yielded unto, and gave the other to the steward of our General's ships. When this pilot departed from us, his boy said thus unto our General, "Captain, our ship shall be called no more the Cacafuego, but the Cacaplata, and your ship shall be called the Cacafuego," which pretty speech of the pilot's boy ministered matter of laughter to us, both then and long after. When our General had done what he would with this Cacafuego, he cast her off, and we went on our course still towards the west, and not long after met with a ship laden with linen cloth and fine China dishes of white earth, and great store of China silks, of all which things we took as we listed. The owner himself of this ship was in her, who was a Spanish gentleman, from whom our General took a faulcon of gold, with a great emerald in the breast thereof; and the pilot of the ship he took also with him, and so cast the ship off. This pilot brought us to the haven of Aguatulco, the town whereof, as he told us, had but seventeen Spaniards in it. As soon as we were entered this haven, we landed, and went presently to the town and to the Town-house, where we found a judge sitting in judgment, being associated with three other officers, upon three negroes that had conspired the burning of the town. Both which judges and prisoners we took, and brought them a-shipboard, and caused the chief judge to write his letter to the town to command all the townsmen to avoid, that we might safely water there, which being done, and they departed, we ransacked the town, and in one house we found a pot, of the quantity of a bushel, full of reals of plate, which we brought to our ship. And here one Thomas Moon, one of our company, took a Spanish gentlemen as he was flying out of the town, and, searching him, he found a chain of gold about him, and other jewels, which he took, and so let him go. At this place our General, among other Spaniards, set ashore his Portuguese pilot which he took at the Islands of Cape Verde out of a ship of St. Mary Port, of Portugal; and having set them ashore we departed hence, and sailed to the Island of Canno, where our General landed, and brought to shore his own ship, and discharged her, mended and graved her, and furnished our ship with water and food sufficiently.... On the 5th of June, being in forty-three degrees towards the Arctic Pole, we found the air so cold, that our men being grievously pinched with the same, complained of the extremity thereof, and the further we went, the more the cold increased upon us. Whereupon we thought it best for that time to seek the land, and did so, finding it not mountainous, but low plain land, till we came within thirty-eight degrees towards the line. In which height it pleased God to send us into a fair and good bay, with a good wind to enter the same. In this bay we anchored, and the people of the country having their houses close by the waterside, shewed themselves unto us, and sent a present to our General. When they came unto us, they greatly wondered at the things that we brought, but our General (according to his natural and accustomed humanity) courteously entreated them, and liberally bestowed on them necessary things to cover their nakedness, whereupon they supposed us to be gods, and would not be pursuaded to the contrary: the presents which they sent to our General, were feathers, and cauls of net-work. Their houses were digged round about with earth, and have from the uttermost brims of the circle, clifts of wood set upon them, joined close together at the top like a spire steeple, which by reason of that closeness are very warm. Their bed is the ground with rushes strewed on it, and lying about the house, they have the fire in the midst. The men go naked, the women take bulrushes, and comb them after the manner of hemp, and thereof make their loose garments, which being knit about their middles, hang down about their hips, having also about their shoulders a skin of deer, with the hair upon it. These women are very obedient and serviceable to their husbands.... Our General called this country New Albion, and that for two causes, the one in respect of the white banks and cliffs, which lie towards the sea, and the other, because it might have some affinity with our country in name, which sometimes was so called. There is no part of earth here to be taken up, wherein there is not probable show of gold or silver. . . When we had ended our business here we weighed, and set sail to run for the Moluccas; but having at that time a bad wind, and being amongst the islands, with much difficulty we recovered to the northward of the island of Celebes, where by reason of contrary winds, not able to continue our course to run westwards, we were enforced to alter the same to the southward again, finding that course also to be very hard and dangerous for us, by reason of infinite shoals which lie off and among the islands; whereof we had too much trial to the hazard and danger to our ship and lives. For, of all other days, upon the 9th of January, in the year 1580, we ran suddenly upon a rock, where we stuck fast from eight o'clock at night till four o'clock in the afternoon the next day, being indeed out of all hope to escape the danger; but our General as he had always hitherto shewed himself courageous, and of a good confidence in the mercy and protection of God; so now he continued in the same, and lest he should seem to perish wilfully, both he and we did our best endeavour to save ourselves, which it pleased God so to bless, that in the end we cleared ourselves most happily of the danger. We lightened our ship upon the rocks of three tons of cloves, eight pieces of ordnance, and certain meal and beans; and then the wind (as it were in a moment by the special grace of God) changing from the starboard to the larboard of the ship, we hoisted our sails, and the happy gale drove our ship off the rock, into the sea again, to the no little comfort of all our hearts, for which we gave God such praise and thanks, as so great a benefit required. On the 8th of February following, we fell in with the fruitful island of Barateue, [Borneo] having in the mean time suffered many dangers by winds and shoals.... At our departure from Barateue, we set our course for Java Major, [Java] where arriving, we found great courtesy, and honourable entertainment.... Not long before our departure, they told us that not far off there were such great ships as ours, wishing us to be ware; upon this our captain would stay no longer. From Java Major we sailed for the Cape of Good Hope, which was the first land we fell in withal; neither did we touch with it, or any other land, until we came to Sierra Leone, upon the cost of Guinea; notwithstanding we ran hard aboard the Cape, finding the report of the Portuguese to be most false, who affirm that it is the most dangerous Cape of the world, never without intolerable storms and present danger to travellers which come near the same. This Cape is a most stately thing, and the fairest Cape we saw in the whole circumference of the earth, and we passed by it on the 18th of June. From thence we continued our course to Sierra Leone, on the cost of Guinea, where we arrived on the 22nd of July, and found necessary provisions, great store of elephants, oysters upon trees of one kind, spawing and increasing infinitely, the oyster suffering no bud to grow. We departed thence on the 24th day. We arrived in England on the 3rd of November, 1580, being the third year of our departure. (Hakluyt, ed. cit., p. 145.) 146. Frobisher's First Voyage Hakluyt Sir Martin Frobisher (1535-1594) was distinctively the navigator of the time of Elizabeth in whom Columbus' desire to discover a short passage to Cathay found expression. Through this, the third great incentive to English exploration, he made voyage after voyage to the northern coast of America. The account of George Best, one of those who accompanied Frobisher on his first voyage, well illustrates the character of the expedition, and also gives us a view of the speculative fever that burned in the veins of Englishmen. To these the pyrites — well termed "fools' gold" - brought back by Frobisher, opened visions of treasure surpassing that of the fabled city of Manoa. NARRATIVE BY GEORGE BEST Which thing being well considered, and familiarly known to our general Captain Frobisher, as well for that he is thoroughly furnished of the knowledge of the sphere and all other skills appertaining to the art of navigation; as also for the confirmation he hath of the same by many years' experience both by sea and land, and being persuaded of a new and nearer passage to Cathay than by Capo de Buona Speranza, which the Portuguese yearly use: he began first with himself to devise, and then with his friends to confer, and laid a plain plot unto them that that voyage was not only |