Under Drake's Flag Part 27

Such a place they found at Philip's Bay, in lat.i.tude 32 degrees.

Here they came to an anchor; and an Indian, described as a comely personage of a goodly stature, his apparel being a white garment reaching scarcely to his knees, came on board in a canoe. His arms and legs were naked; his hair upon his head very long, and without a beard; of very gentle, mild, and humble nature, and tractable to learn the use of everything. He was courteously entertained and, receiving gifts, returned to the sh.o.r.e; where his companions, being much pleased with his reception, at once did all that they could for the fleet, and brought down provisions and other things desired.

The natives also offered to guide them to a better harbor where, the people being more numerous, they could obtain a greater store of the things desired. The offer was accepted, and on the 4th of December, piloted by him, they came to a harbor in such a place as was wished for. This was the Spanish harbor of Valparaiso, and here, indeed, they found all that they desired, and that without payment. The Spaniards, having no idea of the English being in the vicinity, received them with all honor; but as soon as the mistake was discovered they fled, and the town fell into their hands. In a s.h.i.+p in the harbor, called the Grand Captain, 1800 jars of wine and a large quant.i.ty of gold were found. The churches were plundered of their ornaments and relics, and the storehouses of the city laid under contribution of all things desired.

Sailing again on the 19th of December, they touched to the southward of the town of Coquimbo, where fourteen of them landed.

The Spaniards here, however, appeared to be bolder than their comrades in other towns; for a hundred of them, all well mounted, with three hundred natives, came up against them. This force being descried, the English retreated, first from the mainland to a rock within the sea, and thence to their boat. One man, however, Richard Minnioy, refused to retire before the Spaniards; and remained, defying the advancing body, until they arrived. He, of course, fell a victim to his obstinacy; and the Spaniards, having beheaded the body, placed it against a post, and used it as a target for the Indians. At nightfall they left it, and the English returned to sh.o.r.e in their boat, and buried it.

The next day, finding a convenient place, they remained for a month; refitting the s.h.i.+ps and resting the crews, obtaining an abundance of fish and other provisions such as they required; fresh water, however, being absent.

Sailing along, they came to Iquique and, landing here, they lighted upon a Spaniard who lay asleep, and had lying by him thirteen bars of silver. Thinking it cruel to awaken him, they removed the money, and allowed him to take his sleep out in security. Continuing their search for water they landed again, and near the sh.o.r.e met a Spaniard, with an Indian boy, driving eight "Peruvian sheep," as the chronicler calls them; these being, of course, the llamas, which were used as beasts of burden. Each sheep bore two leathern bags, in each of which was fifty pounds weight of refined silver.

The chronicler says:

"We could not endure to see a gentleman Spaniard turned carrier so; and therefore, without entreaty, we offered our services, and became drivers; only his directions were not so perfect that we could keep the way which he intended, for almost as soon as he was parted from us we, with our new kind of carriages, were come unto our boats."

Beyond this Cape lay certain Indian towns, and with the natives of these, who came out on frail rafts, they trafficked knives, beads, and gla.s.ses, for dried fish. Here they saw more of the llamas, which are described at great length by the historians of the expedition; who considered, and rightly, that they were extraordinary and most useful animals. If however this a.s.sertion, that upon one of their backs "did sit at one time three well-grown and tall men, and one boy" be true, they must have been considerably larger in those days than at present.

It was but a few days later that they arrived at Arica, at which place also they gleaned considerable booty, and thence proceeded to Lima, which they reached seven days after leaving Arica.

After their long voyage out to sea they again bore north, and reached the land at the Bay of San Francisco. Here they complained bitterly of the cold; which is not a little singular, inasmuch as the time of the year was June, a period at which the heat at San Francisco is, at present, excessive. It must be a.s.sumed, therefore, that some altogether exceptional season prevailed during this portion of the voyage.

Here they were well north of the Spanish possessions, and fell among a people who knew nothing of the white man. A native in a canoe speedily came out to the s.h.i.+p, as soon as she cast anchor; and, standing at a long distance, made delivery of a very prolix oration, with many gestures and signs, moving his hand, turning and twisting his head and body, and ending with a great show of reverence and submission. He returned to sh.o.r.e. Again, and for a third time, he came out and went through the same ceremony; after which he brought a little basket of rushes, filled with an herb which is called there tambac, which he threw into the boat. Then he again returned to sh.o.r.e.

The people came out, many of them in boats, but would not approach the vessel; and upon the third day the vessel, having received a leak at sea, was brought to anchor nearer the sh.o.r.e, and preparations were made to land her stores.

Chapter 18: San Francis...o...b..y.

After his experience of the treachery of the native, the admiral determined to build a fort to protect the party on sh.o.r.e. The people, seeing these preparations, appeared in large numbers and approached, but their att.i.tude expressed astonishment rather than hostility. They then, laying down their arms, gathered round the little party of white men; but as they brought their women with them, the admiral concluded that no hostility was intended, and allowed them freely to mix with the whites. Their att.i.tude and deportment showed that they looked upon them as G.o.ds, paying wors.h.i.+p in the most abject manner. In order to show them that his men were but human, the admiral ordered them to eat and drink, that the people might observe that they were but men, as they. Even this failed to convince them and, during the whole time that they remained there, they were treated as being creatures of celestial origin.

Two days later, the natives returned in great numbers. A leader at their head again delivered a long and tedious oration, "to which,"

according to the chronicler, "these people appear to be much addicted." This oration was delivered with strange and violent gestures, the speaker's voice being extended to the uttermost strength of nature, and his words falling so thick, one in the neck of another, that he could hardly fetch his breath again.

When he had concluded, the people bowed to the earth, giving a long cry of "Oh," which appears to have answered to our "Amen." Then the men came forward, and the women went through a number of exercises, which appear to have shocked and appalled our seamen.

"As if they had been desperate, they used violence against themselves, crying and shrieking piteously, tearing their flesh with their nails from their cheeks in a monstrous manner, the blood streaming down over their bodies. Then, holding their hands above their heads so that they might not save their bodies from harm, they would with fury cast themselves upon the ground; never respecting whether it were clean or soft, but dash themselves in this manner on hard stones, k.n.o.bby hillocks, stocks of wood, and p.r.i.c.kly bushes, or whatever else were in their way; iterating the same course again and again, some nine or ten times each, others holding out for fifteen or sixteen times, till their strength failed them."

The admiral, horrified by this cruel exhibition of reverence, ordered his men to fall to prayers; and signified to them that the G.o.d whom we did serve did not approve of such measures as they had taken.

Three days later the king himself came down, and the ceremonies were repeated. The king then offered to the admiral the monarchy of that land, and perceiving that this would please them, and having in mind the honor and glory of her majesty, Captain Francis accepted the crown, and with many ceremonies was installed king of that country, taking possession of the land in the name of the Queen. It is not a little singular that this, one of the richest and most valuable portions of the United States, should thus have become by right, alike, of discovery and of free gift of the people, a possession of England.

For some days the people continued their cruel exercises upon themselves, and so fixed were they in their idolatry that, even when forcibly prevented acting this way, they would, immediately they were released, set to with even redoubled fury to cut and injure themselves.

After a time, their wors.h.i.+p took a new form. All the people of the country having wounds, shrunken limbs, or diseases of any kind were brought down to be cured; and the people were much grieved that an instantaneous cure could not be effected, but that our men proceeded, by the application of lotions, plasters, and unguents, to benefit those who had antic.i.p.ated immediate remedy.

Altogether, the account given by the voyagers of the people of this part of America is most favorable They appear to have been of a tractable, free, and loving nature, without guile or treachery.

They were finely built men, and one of them could carry easily, uphill and down, a weight which two or three Englishmen could scarcely lift. They were swift at running, and could catch a fish in the sea, if it were in water within their depth.

When the s.h.i.+p was repaired, the admiral, with many of his officers, made a journey into the interior, and found that it was a goodly country, with a very fruitful soil. There were many thousands of large and fair deer, grazing in herds. This country was christened, by the admiral, Albion; partly from the color of its cliffs, partly in remembrance of his country. On the sh.o.r.e a monument was set up, and on it a plate of bra.s.s was affixed, engraven with the Queen's name, the date of the arrival of the s.h.i.+p, and of the free giving up of the province and kingdom into her majesty's hand; and a piece of current English money was fastened beneath a hole made in the bra.s.s plate, so that it might remain as a proof that the English had taken possession of this land, to which the Spaniards had never approached.

As the stores were being taken on board again, and the natives saw the preparations for embarkation, the joy with which the arrival of these white beings had been received was changed into sorrow, and all the people went about mourning and crying. For many days this continued, and the parting, when the s.h.i.+p set sail on the 23rd of July, was a very sorrowful one, the people climbing to the top of the hills, so as to keep the s.h.i.+p in sight as long as they could, and making great fires and burning thereon sacrifices to the departing G.o.ds.

The admiral had now made up his mind to abandon the search for a pa.s.sage round the north of America. The cold had become even greater, while they remained in the bay. The natives themselves were wrapped in black cloths, and huddled together for warmth; and those in the s.h.i.+p suffered exceedingly. Moreover, the sh.o.r.es of the country trended far more to the west than had been expected, and the admiral concluded that, far to the north, the sh.o.r.es of America and Asia must unite. He thought, too, that in that country must be very lofty mountains, covered with snow; for so alone could he account for the exceeding coldness of the wind. Believing, therefore, that no pa.s.sage could be made in that way, and seeing that the s.h.i.+p had already gone through heavy tempests, and the men, although still of good heart, yet were longing for a return home after their great labors, he steered to the west, making the Moluccas his aim.

During the voyage from Lima along the coast of South America, the boys had met with no special adventures. Upon the day after they came on board s.h.i.+p, Ned and Tom were called by the admiral into his cabin, and there recounted to him, at great length, all the adventures that they had gone through. He wondered greatly at their recital, and commended them exceedingly for the prudence and courage which they had shown. The account of the strange places, never before trodden by the foot of white men, which they had seen, he ordered his secretary to write down, at full length, that it might be delivered to her gracious majesty, together with the record of the voyage of the Golden Hind; and he predicted that the Queen would take great pleasure in this record of the first journey across the continent.

"As to you," he said, turning to Ned, "you seem to be fated to get into adventures, and to find your way out of them. I have not forgotten the strange pa.s.sage in the Island of Puerta Rico; and I predict that, if you go on as you have begun, you will come to great things."

Warmly, also, did he praise Ned's companion on the journey; but the latter modestly ascribed all the success, which had attended their journey, to the knowledge of native life which Ned had gained among the negroes, and to his courage and prudence.

"Nevertheless," said the admiral, "there is praise due also to you, for you have known when to subordinate yourself to one younger in years, although older in experience. This virtue is rare, and very commendable; and I doubt not that, had you not so freely given up your own wishes and inclinations to those of your comrade, you might both have perished miserably."

He further expressed his high opinion of Ned's bravery, and discretion, by giving him a command in the s.h.i.+p as third officer; finding, on inquiry, that he had learned how to take the alt.i.tude of the sun, and to do other things necessary for the discovery of the position of the s.h.i.+p.

These signs of goodwill on the part of the admiral caused, as might have been expected, some jealousy among a considerable portion of the equipage. Many, indeed, were glad at the position which Ned had gained by his enterprise and courage. Others, however, grumbled, and said that it was hard that those who had done their duty on board the s.h.i.+p should be pa.s.sed over, in favor of mere youngsters, who had been wandering on their own account on land. Ned himself felt that there was some reason for this jealousy, upon the part of those who had borne the burden of all the great labors, which those on board the Golden Hind had undergone; and he spoke to the admiral and expressed his willingness, nay more, his desire, to remain as a private gentleman and adventurer on board the s.h.i.+p. This, however, Captain Francis would not hear of.

"Merit has to be rewarded," he said, "wheresoever it is found.

These men have done their duty. All indeed on board the s.h.i.+p have wrought n.o.bly, for their own safety and for the honor of her majesty the Queen. But you have gone beyond this; and have, by your journey across the continent, brought fame and credit to the country. It is right that men who discover strange lands into which, some day, the power of Christianity and civilization may enter, should receive honor and credit of their countrymen. Of those who seek to do these things many perish, and those who survive should be held in honor"

Most of all delighted, at the success and honor which had befallen Ned, were his three friends. Two of them considered that they owed their lives to him. All regarded him as their leader, as well as their comrade. But Reuben Gale grumbled much that he had had no share in the adventures which had befallen his three friends.

"You have all three strange histories to tell. You have seen wonderful things, and have journeyed and fought with wild men and Spaniards; while I, with equal goodwill, have never had the chance of doing more than join in the taking of Spanish caravels, where the resistance was so poor that children might have done the business."

Ned laughed, and promised him that the next adventure he got into he would, if possible, have him as his comrade.

"We have a long voyage yet," he said. "We have not gone much more than a third of the circ.u.mference of the world and, before we reach England, strange things may happen yet. We left Plymouth with a n.o.ble fleet of six s.h.i.+ps. Now there remains but one, and fifty-eight men. At the same rate we shall be reduced to a c.o.c.k boat, and four men, before we reach England. So keep up your heart, there is plenty of time before us."

So great was the confidence which they felt in Ned that Reuben was cheered with this promise; although he knew, in his heart, that these adventures fell upon Ned not from any effort of his own, but by the effect of accident; or, as we may say, Providence.

The young men liked not their stay in San Francis...o...b..y. Those who were best-looking and youngest were especially chosen out by the women as objects of their adoration, and the lads were horrified at the way in which these poor creatures beat and tore themselves, and groveled upon the ground; and so, being sick at heart at these mummeries, and at receiving a wors.h.i.+p fit only for the Creator of the world, they remained on board s.h.i.+p, as much as possible, during the time that they tarried there.

Except for a group of islands which they pa.s.sed the day after sailing west, the Golden Hind saw no more land from the 23rd of July until September 30th, sixty-eight days in all, when they fell in sight of some islands, lying about eight degrees to the northward of the line. As soon as the s.h.i.+p was seen a great number of canoes came out, having in them some four, some six, some fourteen, or even twenty men, paddling rapidly and bringing cocoas, fish, and fruits.

The beauty and workmans.h.i.+p of these canoes astonished the voyagers.

They were made out of one tree of great length, hollowed with fire and axe; and being so smooth, both without and within, that they shone like polished wood. The bow and stern were alike in shape, rising high and falling inwards almost in a semicircle, and being covered with white and glistening sh.e.l.ls, for ornament. These canoes had upon either side outriggers--that is, pieces of cane extending six or seven feet beyond the side, and to which were fixed spars of very light wood, so that the boat could in no wise overturn.

These people evinced no fear of the English, and it was clear that, although they might not themselves have seen a s.h.i.+p before, the presence of the Portuguese in these seas was known to the islanders, and the manner of their vessels.

The nature of these people was very different from that of the gentle savages on the western coast of America. They did not trade honestly, as these had done; but obtained as much as they could, and then pushed off from the side of the s.h.i.+p, without handing up the goods which they had bargained to give; and behaved so rascally that the admiral, seeing that their intentions were altogether evil, ordered a gun to be fired, not with the intent of hurting any, but of frightening them. The roar of the cannon was followed by the instant disappearance of every native from the fleet of canoes, amid the laughter of those on board s.h.i.+p. For a long time none could be seen, each as he came above water keeping on the further side of his canoe, and then paddling with it astern, so that the s.h.i.+p, as she floated on, left them gradually behind. When they thought that they were in safety they again took their places in the canoes, and finding that none were hurt, again paddled alongside the s.h.i.+p, and made pretense to barter. Some of them indeed came on board with their wares, but while pretending to be engaged in honest trade, they stole the daggers and knives from the men's girdles, and pillaged whatever they could lay their hands upon.

The admiral, being wroth at this conduct, had some of these men seized and flogged; and then, driving the rest into their canoes, hoisted sail and went onwards, christening the place the "Island of Thieves," so as to deter all pa.s.sengers, hereafter, from ever visiting it.

Pa.s.sing through many other islands they made for Tidore, the princ.i.p.al place in the Moluccas. But as they pa.s.sed the Island of Motir, which was then called Ternate, a deputy, or viceroy, of the king of that island came off to the s.h.i.+p in a great canoe, and entreated the admiral to anchor at that island, and not at Tidore; a.s.suring him, in the name of the king, that he would be wondrous glad to see him, and to do all that the admiral could require. He himself promised to return to the king at once, who would get all in readiness; whereas, if they went on to Tidore, where the Portuguese held sway, they would find in them deceit and treachery.

On these persuasions Captain Drake resolved to run into Ternate; where, next morning, he came to anchor. The admiral then sent a party, consisting of Ned and three other adventurers, to the king; bearing the present of a velvet cloak, as a testimony of his desire for friends.h.i.+p and goodwill; with the message that he should require no other thing at his hands but that he might be allowed, by traffic and exchange of merchandise, to obtain provisions; of which, after his long voyage across the seas, he had now but small store.