but especiallie having three daintie Pinnaces made in Plimouth, taken asonder all in pieces, and stowed aboard, to be set up (as occasion served), set saile from out of the SOUND of PLYMOUTH with intent to land at NOMBRE DE Dios."

On the 2nd of July they came in sight of the high land of Santa Martha, and directed their course to Port Pheasant,

"Which," says the narrative," our Captaine had so named it in his former voyage, by reason of the great store of those good lie foules, which hee and his companie did then dailie kill and feede on in that place. When we landed here, we found by evident marks that there had been latelie there an Englishman of Plimouth called John Garrett, who had been conducted thither by certaine English Mariners which had been there with our Captain in some of his former voyages, who on a plate of lead, fastened to a very great tree, greater than any foure men joyning hands could fathom about, left these words engraven:

66

Captain Drake, If you fortune to come into this port make haste away; for the Spaniards which you had with you here last year have betrayed this place, and taken away all that you left here. I departed hence this present 7th July, 1572. "Your very loving friend,

"JOHN GARRET."

Notwithstanding this warning, Captain Drake resolved to put together his pinnaces in this convenient port: this work was finished in seven days.

"Here he fortified himself on a plot of three-quarters of an acre of ground to make some safety for the present, by felling of great trees and bowsing and trailing them together with great pullies and halsers, until they were enclosed to the water, and then letting other fall upon them, until they had raised with trees and boughs thirty foot in height round about, leaving only one gate to issue at, neare the water side, which every night was shut up, with a great tree drawne athwart it.

"The next day after we had arrived, there came also into that bay an English barque of the Isle of Wight, of Sir Edward Horsey's, wherein James Rause was captaine, and John Overy maister, with 30 men, of which some had bin with our captaine in this same place the year before. They brought in with them a Spanish carvell of Sevill which he had taken the daie before, also one shallop with oares which he had taken at Cape Blanche. This Captaine Rause, understanding our Captaine's purpose, was desirous to joyne in consort with him, and was received on conditions agreed upon between them.

"22nd July. Drake disposing there of all his companies according as they enclined most, he left the three ships and the Carvell with Cap: Rause, and chose into his four pinnaces (Cap: Rause's shallop made the fourth) besides 53 of his own men, 20 to atchieve what he intended, especially having proportioned, according to his owne purpose, and the men's disposition, their severall armes: namely, 6 Targetts; 6 Fire Pikes; 12 Pikes; 24 Muskets and Callivers; 16 Bowes and 6 Partizans; 2 Drums and 2 Trumpets."

With this force he set out for Nombre de Dios; and reached the Isles of Pinos on the 22nd of July. Here he met with certain black men who had fled from the Spaniards their masters, and were known by the name of Symerons, who had enrolled themselves under two kings or chiefs. Drake, thinking these people might be of service to him, set them on shore on the main land, that they might make their way to the Isthmus of Darien. These Symerons were not negroes, but the native Indians of this part of the continent, who had fled from their tyrannical persecutors; they were not very dissimilar either in manners or character to the maroons of Jamaica; but in the latter there was a mixture of the negro race.

Drake came silently and by night before Nombre de Dios; and finding his people were talking of the greatness of the town, and what its strength was, according to the report of the negroes whom they took at the Isle of Pinos, thought it best to put these conceits out of their heads at once, and therefore took the opportunity of the rising moon to persuade his people that it was the dawn of day.

"By this occasion we were at the towne, a longe hower sooner than was first purposed. For we arrived there by three of the clock after midnight; at what time it fortuned that a ship of Spaine of sixtie tunnes, laden with Canary wines and other commodities, which had but lately come into the Bay, and had not yet furled her sprit-sayle, espying our foure Pinnaces, sent away her Gundeloe towards the towne to give warning."

Drake perceiving this, took his course between her and the town, and forced her to go to the other side of the bay; by which means they landed without opposition, although they found one gunner upon the platform.

"On landing on the platform, we found six great pieces of brass ordinance mounted upon their carriages, some demy, some whole Culverins: we presentlie dismounted them, the Gunner fledd, the Towne tooke Alarum, (being verie ready thereto by reason of their often disquieting by their neare neighbours the Symerons,) as we perceived not onelie by the noise and cryes of the people, but by the Bell ringing out, and drums runninge up and downe the towne. Our Captaine sent some of our men to stay the ringing of the Alarum bell, which had continued all this while, but the Church being verie strongly built, and faste shutte, they could not without firing (which our Captaine forbad) get into the steeple where the Bell hung."

In the market-place the Spaniards saluted the party with a

volley of shot: Drake returned the greeting with a flight of arrows, "the best ancient English compliments," says Prince. This drove them away, but he himself received a dangerous wound; which he courageously concealed for a long time, "knowing, if the general's heart stoops, the men's will fail; and that if so bright an opportunity once setteth, it seldom riseth again.” He left twelve of his men to keep their pinnaces and secure their retreat, and having strengthened the port, sent the rest to reconnoitre the town. He then commanded his brother and John Oxenham with sixteen men to go above the King's Treasure-house, and enter near the east end of the market-place, he himself designing to march with the rest up the broad street, with trumpets sounding and drums beating, to the market-place, the fire-pikes being divided between ooth companies, which whilst they affrighted the enemy gave light to the English. After a skirmish with the Spaniards, they seized upon two or three, and compelled them to conduct them to the Governor's house; where usually all the mules, which brought the king's treasure from Panama, were unladen, though the silver only was kept there, the gold, pearls, and jewels being carried to the Treasury hard by.

Drake and his party then went to the Governor's house, and found the door open, a fine Spanish horse ready saddled, and a candle lighted on the stairs; by means of this light they saw a vast heap of silver in the lower room, consisting of bars piled up against the wall; as nearly as they could guess, seventy feet in length, ten in breadth, and twelve in height, each bar between thirty-five and forty pounds' weight. If this estimate be correct, the value of the heap must have been about a million sterling. He next proceeded to the King's Treasure-house, telling his people

"That he had now brought them to the mouth of the Treasury of the World; which if they did not gain, none but themselves were to be blamed."

After this, he ordered his brother, with John Oxenham and their company, to break open the Treasure-house; whilst he with the rest kept possession of the market-place; but as he stepped forward, his strength, and sight, and speech failed him, and he fainted from loss of blood. At this his men were greatly dis

tressed, and giving him somewhat to drink to revive him, they bound up his wound with his scarf, and urged him to leave the place. On his refusing to do so, they added force to their entreaties, and carried him to his pinnace.

"Divers of his men, besides himself, were wounded, though but one, and he a trumpeter, slain. Many of them got good booty before they left the place. But the wines in a Spanish ship, which they found in the harbour, they took along with them for the relief of their Captain and themselves. They carried off their prize to an island, which they called the Island of Victuals, where they staid two days to cure their wounded men, and refresh themselves in the gardens they found there, abounding with all sorts of roots, fruits, poultry, and other fowls no less strange than delicate."

During their short stay there, an officer belonging to the garrison came to visit them, protesting that his coming was only to see and admire the courage of those who, with so small a force, had made so incredible an attempt. They had reason, however, for believing that his visit was made by the direction of the governor; for he asked them whether the commander was the same Captain Drake who had been on their coast the two preceding years he inquired also whether their arrows, with which many of the Spaniards had been wounded, were poisoned, and how the wounds might be cured. Drake made answer,

"That he was the same Drake they meant; that it was never his custom to poison arrows; that their wounds might be cured with ordinary remedies; and that he wanted only some of that excellent commodity, gold and silver, which that country yielded, for himself and his company; and that he was resolved, by the help of God, to reap some of the golden harvest, which they got out of the earth, and then sent into Spain to trouble all the world.

"To this answer, unlooked for, this gentleman replied, 'If he might without offence move such a question, what should then be the cause of our departure from that town at this time, where there was above 360 tonnes of silver ready for the Fleet, and much more gold in value resting in iron chests in the King's Treasure House?'

"But when our Captain had showed him the true cause of his unwilling retreat on board, he acknowledged that we had no less reason in departing than courage in attempting.

"Thus with great favour and courteous entertainment, besides such gifts from the Captain as most contented him, after dinner he was in such sort dismissed to make report of that he had seen, that he protested he was never honoured so much of any in his life."

After a short rest at this place, Drake proceeded to the Isle of Pinos, where he had left his ships under the charge of Captain

Rawse; who, being unwilling to continue the enterprise, now that they had been discovered by the enemy, was remunerated by Drake for his services; and they parted on the 7th of August.

The General now dispatched his brother and Ellis Hixon to examine the River Chagre, where he had been the year before, but of which he wished to have some further knowledge. On their return, he departed with his two ships and three pinnaces for Cartagena, where he arrived on the 13th; and the same day took two Spanish ships, one of 240 tons.

Here he came to anchor in seven fathoms water, between the Island of Caresha and St. Barnard's. He led the three pinnaces round the island into the harbour of Cartagena, where, at the very entrance, he found a frigate at anchor, with only one man on board, the rest of the crew having gone ashore to fight about some fair lady. This man inadvertently revealed to Drake that, two hours before, there had passed by them a pinnace, with sail set, and rowing as fast as they could; that the men on board asked them whether there had been any English or French there lately? and upon being told that none had been seen, they bid them look to themselves.

From this account, combined with other circumstances, Drake perceived that he was discovered: but as he learned from the same man that there was a large ship from Seville which was preparing to sail on the morrow for St. Domingo, he resolved to capture it; and this he did with little difficulty. As the presence of his ships was now known at two of the most important places on the coast, Drake abandoned his intended attack in this quarter; and turned his attention to opening a communication with the Symerons but perceiving that the success of all his future efforts must depend on the efficient state of his pinnaces, and that he had not a sufficient number of sailors to man them fully, in addition to the crews necessary for his two ships, he came to the bold determination of destroying one of the two, the Swan. But knowing the affection of the men for their ships, he was aware that some artifice must be used to accomplish this. He therefore sent for Thomas Moone, the carpenter of the Swan, and taking him into his cabin, and speaking to him privately, ordered him, in the middle of the second watch, to go down secretly into the well of the ship, and with a large spike-gimlet to bore three