And Then He
Demanded Of Us If We Knew One Francis Drake, And We Answered No.
While these things were in doing, there came news that all the
Englishmen were gone; yet was there eight
Hundred men made out under
the leading of several captains, whereof two hundred were sent to the
port of St. John de Ullua, upon the North Sea, under the conduct of Don
Luis Suares; two hundred were sent to Guatemala, in the South Sea, who
had for their captain John Cortes; two hundred more were sent to
Guatelco, a port of the South Sea, over whom went for captain Don Pedro
de Roblis; and two hundred more were sent to Acapulco, the port where
it was said that Captain Drake had been, and they had for captain
Doctor Roblis Alcalde de Corte, with whom I, Miles Phillips, went as
interpreter, having licence given by the Inquisitors. When we were
come to Acapulco we found that Captain Drake was departed from thence,
more than a month before we came thither. But yet our captain, Alcalde
de Corte, there presently embarked himself in a small ship of
threescore ton, or thereabout, having also in company with him two
other small barques, and not past two hundred men in all, with whom I
went as interpreter in his own ship, which, God knoweth, was but weak
and ill-appointed; so that for certain, if we had met with Captain
Drake, he might easily have taken us all.
We, being embarked, kept our course, and ran southward towards Panama,
keeping still as nigh the shore as we could; and leaving the land upon
our left hand, and having coasted thus for the space of eighteen or
twenty days, and were more to the south than Guatemala, we met at last
with other ships which came from Panama, of whom we were certainly
informed that he was clean gone off the coast more than a month before;
and so we returned back to Acapulco again, and there landed, our
captain being thereunto forced, because his men were very sore sea-
sick. All the while that I was at sea with them I was a glad man, for
I hoped that if we met with Master Drake we should all be taken, so
that then I should have been freed out of that danger and misery
wherein I lived, and should return to mine own country of England
again. But missing thereof, when I saw there was no remedy but that we
must needs come on land again, little doth any man know the sorrow and
grief that inwardly I felt, although outwardly I was constrained to
make fair weather of it.
And so, being landed, the next morrow after we began our journey
towards Mexico, and passed these towns of name in our way, as first the
town of Tuatepec, fifty leagues from Mexico; from thence to Washaca,
forty leagues from Mexico; from thence to Tepiaca, twenty-four leagues
from Mexico; and from thence to Lopueblo de Los Angelos, where is a
high hill which casteth out fire three times a day, which hill is
eighteen leagues directly west from Mexico; from thence we went to
Stapelata, eight leagues from Mexico, and there our captain and most of
his men took boat and came to Mexico again, having been forth about the
space of seven weeks, or thereabouts.
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