These Were, The Royal Exchange,
Which Went As Admiral, Commanded By Captain George Cave; The May-Flower,
Vice-Admiral, Commanded By Captain William Anthony; And The Sampson,
Which My Lord Was Pleased To Commit To Me, Nicholas Downton.
In all the
three ships there were embarked 420 men of all sorts, or 140 in each.
Besides these, there, was a pinnace:
Called the Violet, or _Why-not-I._
[Footnote 393: Hakluyt, III. 14. Astley, I 250.]
Our instructions were sent to us at Plymouth, and we were directed to
open them at sea. The 6th of April 1594, we set sail from Plymouth
sound, directing our course for the coast of Spain. The 24th, being then
in lat. 43 deg. N; we divided ourselves east and west from each other, on
purpose to keep a good look out, with orders from our admiral to close
up again at night. In the morning of the 27th, we descried the
May-flower and the little pinnace, in company with a prize they had
taken belonging to Viana in Portugal, and bound for Angola. This vessel
was about 28 tons burden, having 17 persons on board, with some 12 tons
of wine, which we divided among our ships, together with some rusk in
chests and barrels, 5 bales of coarse blue cloth, and some coarse linen
for negroes shirts; all of which goods were divided among our fleet. The
4th of May, we had sight again of our pinnace and the admirals shallop,
which had taken three Portuguese caravels, two of which we sent away and
kept the third. The 2d June we came in sight of St Michaels. The 3d we
sent off our pinnace, which was about 24 tons burden, together with the
small caravel we had taken off the Burlings, to range about the
anchorages of the Azores, trying to make captures of any thing they
could find, appointing them to meet with us at a rendezvous 12 leagues
W.S.W. from Fayal. Their going from us served no purpose, and was a
misfortune, as they omitted joining us when appointed, and we also
missed them when they might have been of much service.
The 13th of June we fell in with a mighty carak from the East Indies,
called _Las cinquellagues_, or the five wounds. The May-Flower was in
sight of her before night, and I got up with her in the evening. While I
had ordered our men to give her a broadside, and stood carefully
examining her strength, and where I might give council to board her in
the night when the admiral came up, I received a shot a little above the
belly, by which I was rendered unserviceable for a good while after, yet
no other person in my ship was touched that night. Fortunately, by means
of one captain Grant, an honest true-hearted man, nothing was neglected
though I was thus disabled. Until midnight, when the admiral came up,
the May-Flower and the Sampson never desisted from plying her with our
cannon, taking it in turns: But then captain Cave wished us to stay till
morning, when each of us was to give her three broadsides, and then lay
her on board; but we long lingered in the morning till 10 o'clock,
before we attempted to board her.
The admiral then laid her on board amid ships, and the May-Flower came
up on her quarter, as if to take her station astern of our admiral on
the larboard side of the carak; but the captain of the May-Flower was
slain at the first coming up, on which his ship fell astern on the
_outlicar_[394] of the carak, a piece of timber, which so tore her
foresail that they said they could not get up any more to fight, as
indeed they did not, but kept aloof from us all the rest of the action.
The Sampson went aboard on the bow of the carak, but had not room
enough, as our quarter lay on the bow of the Exchange, and our bow on
that of the carak. At the first coming up of the Exchange, her captain
Mr Cave was wounded in both legs, one of which he never recovered, so
that he was disabled from doing his duty, and had no one in his absence
that would undertake to lead his company to board the enemy. My friend,
captain Grant, led my men up the side of the carak; but his force being
small, and not being manfully seconded by the crew of the Exchange, the
enemy were bolder than they would have been, so that six of my men were
presently slain, and many more wounded; which made those that remained
return on board, and they would never more give the assault. Some of the
Exchanges men did very well, and I have no doubt that many more would
have done the like, if there had been any principal men to have led them
on, and not to have run into corners themselves. But I must allow that
the carak was as well provided for defence as any ship I have seen; and
perhaps the Portuguese were encouraged by our slackness, as they plied
our men from behind barricades, where they were out of danger from our
shot. They plied us also with wildfire, by which most of our men were
burnt in some parts of their body; and while our men were busied in
putting out the fire, the enemy galled them sore with small arms and
darts. This unusual casting of wildfire did much dismay many of our men,
and caused them greatly to hang back.
[Footnote 394: Probably a boom or outrigger for the management of the
after-sails. - E.]
Finding that our men would not again board, we plied our great ordnance
at them, elevated as much as possible, as otherwise we could do them
little harm. By shooting a piece from our forecastle, we set fire to a
mat at the beak head of the enemy, which kindled more and more,
communicating from the mat to the boltsprit, and thence to the
top-sail-yard; by which fire the Portuguese abaft were much alarmed, and
began to make show of a parley:
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