The Famous Voyage Of Sir Francis Drake Into The South Sea, And Therehence About The Whole Globe Of The Earth, Begun In The Year Of Our Lord 1577 Narrative By Francis Pretty
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We Being On Land, The People Came Down To
Us To The Water Side With Show Of Great Courtesy, Bringing To Us
Potatoes, Roots, And Two Very Fat Sheep; Which Our General Received,
And Gave Them Other Things For Them, And Had Promised To Have Water
There.
But the next day repairing again to the shore, and sending two
men a-land with barrels to fill water, the people taking them for
Spaniards (to whom they use to show no favour if they take them) laid
violent hands on them, and, as we think, slew them.
Our General seeing
this, stayed there no longer, but weighed anchor, and set sail towards
the coast of Chili. And drawing towards it, we met near the shore an
Indian in a /canoa/, who thinking us to have been Spaniards, came to
us and told us, that at a place called Santiago, there was a great
Spanish ship laden from the kingdom of Peru; for which good news our
General gave him divers trifles. Whereof he was glad, and went along
with us and brought us to the place, which is called the port of
Valparaiso. When we came thither we found, indeed, the ship riding at
anchor, having in her eight Spaniards and three negroes; who, thinking
us to have been Spaniards, and their friends, welcomed us with a drum,
and made ready a /botija/ of wine of Chili to drink to us. But as soon
as we were entered, one of our company called Thomas Moon began to lay
about him, and struck one of the Spaniards, and said unto him, /Abaxo/
perro!/ that is in English, 'Go down, dog!' One of these Spaniards,
seeing persons of that quality in those seas, crossed and blessed
himself. But, to be short, we stowed them under hatches, all save one
Spaniard, who suddenly and desperately leapt overboard into the sea,
and swam ashore to the town of Santiago, to give them warning of our
arrival.
They of the town, being not above nine households, presently fled away
and abandoned the town. Our General manned his boat and the Spanish
ship's boat, and went to the town; and, being come to it, we rifled
it, and came to a small chapel, which we entered, and found therein a
silver chalice, two cruets, and one altar-cloth, the spoil whereof our
General gave to Master Fletcher, his minister. We found also in this
town a warehouse stored with wine of Chili and many boards of cedar-
wood; all which wine we brought away with us, and certain of the
boards to burn for firewood. And so, being come aboard, we departed
the haven, having first set all the Spaniards on land, saving one John
Griego, a Greek born, whom our General carried with him as pilot to
bring him into the haven of Lima.
When we were at sea our General rifled the ship, and found in her good
store of the wine of Chili, and 25,000 pesos of very pure and fine
gold of Valdivia, amounting in value to 37,000 ducats of Spanish
money, and above. So, going on our course, we arrived next at a place
called Coquimbo, where our General sent fourteen of his men on land to
fetch water. But they were espied by the Spaniards, who came with 300
horsemen and 200 footmen, and slew one of our men with a piece. The
rest came aboard in safety, and the Spaniards departed. We went on
shore again and buried our man, and the Spaniards came down again with
a flag of truce; but we set sail, and would not trust them. From hence
we went to a certain port called Tarapaca; where, being landed, we
found by the sea side a Spaniard lying asleep, who had lying by him
thirteen bars of silver, which weighed 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; every of which
sheep had on his back two bags of leather, each bag containing 50 lb.
weight of fine silver. So that, bringing both the sheep and their
burthen to the ships, we found in all the bags eight hundred weight of
silver.
Herehence we sailed to a place called Arica; and, being entered the
port, we found there three small barks, which we rifled, and found in
one of them fifty-seven wedges of silver, each of them weighing about
20 lb. weight, and every of these wedges were of the fashion and
bigness of a brickbat. In all these three barks, we found not one
person. For they, mistrusting no strangers, were all gone a-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 bark, which he boarded, and found in her good store of linen
cloth. Whereof taking some quantity, he let her go.
To Lima we came the 13th of February; and, being entered the haven, we
found there about twelve sail of ships lying fast moored at an 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 the 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, cutting all the cables of the
ships in the haven, we let them drive wither 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.
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