We Now Continued Our Course To Plymouth, Where We Arrived Within Six
Hours After Our Prizes, Though We Sent Them Away Forty Hours Before We
Began Our Homeward Course.
We were joyfully received, with the ordnance
of the town, and all the people hailed us with willing hearts, we not
sparing our shot in return with what powder we had left.
From thence we
carried our prizes to Southampton, where our owner, Sir Walter Raleigh,
met us and distributed to us our shares of the prizes.
Our prizes were laden with sugars, elephants teeth, wax, hides,
Brazil-wood, and _cuser?_ as may be made manifest by the testimony of
me, John Evesham, the writer hereof, as likewise of captains Whiddon,
Thomas Rainford, Benjamin Wood, William Cooper master, William Cornish
master, Thomas Drak corporal, John Ladd gunner, William Warefield
gunner, Richard Moon, John Drew, Richard Cooper of Harwich, William
Beares of Ratcliff, John Row of Saltash, and many others.
SECTION IV.
_Brief relation of notable service performed by Sir Francis Drake in
1587_[338].
INTRODUCTION.
The title of this article at large in Hakluyt is, A brief relation of
the notable service performed by Sir Francis Drake, upon the Spanish
fleet prepared in the road of Cadiz; and of his destroying 100 sail of
barks; passing from thence all along the coast of Spain to _Cape Sacre_,
where also he took certain forts; and so to the mouth of the river of
Lisbon; thence crossing over sea to the isle of St Michael, where he
surprised a mighty carak called the St Philip, coming from the East
Indies, being the first of that kind ever seen in England.
[Footnote 338: Hakl. II. 607. Astl. I. 197.]
The editor of Astleys Collection says, that this relation seems to have
been taken from a letter, written by one who was in the expedition to a
friend; and thinks that it is not unlike the manner of Sir Walter
Raleigh. - E.
* * * * *
Being informed of mighty naval preparations in Spain for the invasion of
England, her Majesty queen Elizabeth, by the good advice of her grave
and prudent council, thought it expedient to use measures to prevent the
same; for which purpose she caused a fleet of some thirty sail to be
equipped, over which she appointed as general Sir Francis Drake, of
whose many former good services she had sufficient proof. She
accordingly caused four ships of her royal navy to be delivered to him,
the Bonaventure, in which he went general; the Lion, under the command
of Mr William Borough, comptroller of the navy; the Dreadnought,
commanded by Mr Thomas Venner; and the Rainbow, of which Mr Henry
Bellingham was captain[339]. Besides these four ships, two of her
majestys pinnaces were appointed to serve as tenders or advice boats. To
this fleet, there were added certain tall ships belonging to the city of
London, of whose special good service the general made particular
mention, in his letters to the queen.
[Footnote 339:
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