He Then
Required To Know If Wars Were Between England And Spain; To Which They
Answered, That They Knew Not, But If He Would Go To Their General He
Could Best Resolve Him Of Such Particulars.
And for his assurance of
passage and repassage these captains made offer to engage their
credits, which he refused
For that he was not sent from his governor.
Then they told him if his governor did desire to take a course for the
common benefit of the people and country his best way were to come and
present himself unto our noble and merciful governor, Sir Francis
Drake, whereby he might be assured to find favour, both for himself
and the inhabitants. Otherwise within three days we should march over
the land, and consume with fire all inhabited places, and put to the
sword all such living souls as we should chance upon. So thus much he
took for the conclusion of his answer. And departing, he promised to
return the next day; but we never heard more of him.
Upon the 24th of November, the General, accompanied with the
Lieutenant-General and 600 men, marched forth to a village twelve
miles within the land, called Saint Domingo, where the governor and
the bishop, with all the better sort, were lodged; and by eight of the
clock we came to it, finding the place abandoned, and the people fled
into the mountains. So we made stand a while to ease ourselves, and
partly to see if any would come to speak to us. After we had well
rested ourselves, the General commanded the troops to march away
homewards. In which retreat the enemy shewed themselves, both horse
and foot, though not such force as durst encounter us; and so in
passing some time at the gaze with them, it waxed late and towards
night before we could recover home to Santiago.
On Monday, the 26th of November, the General commanded all the
pinnaces with the boats to use all diligence to embark the army into
such ships as every man belonged. The Lieutenant-General in like sort
commanded Captain Goring and Lieutenant Tucker, with one hundred shot,
to make a stand in the marketplace until our forces were wholly
embarked; the Vice-Admiral making stay with his pinnace and certain
boats in the harbour, to bring the said last company abroad the ships.
Also the General willed forthwith the galley with two pinnaces to take
into them the company of Captain Barton, and the company of Captain
Biggs, under the leading of Captain Sampson, to seek out such munition
as was hidden in the ground, at the town of Praya, or Playa, having
been promised to be shewed it by a prisoner which was taken the day
before.
The captains aforesaid coming to the Playa, landed their men; and
having placed the troop in their best strength, Captain Sampson took
the prisoner, and willed him to show that he had promised. The which
he could not, or at least would not; but they searching all suspected
places, found two pieces of ordnance, one of iron, another of brass.
In the afternoon the General anchored with the rest of the fleet
before the Playa, coming himself ashore, willing us to burn the town
and make all haste aboard; the which was done by six of the clock the
same day, and ourselves embarked again the same night. And so we put
off to sea south-west.
But before our departure from the town of Santiago, we established
orders for the better government of the army. Every man mustered to
his captain, and oaths were ministered, to acknowledge her Majesty
supreme Governor, as also every man to do his utter-most endeavour to
advance the service of the action, and to yield due obedience unto the
directions of the General and his officers. By this provident counsel,
and laying down this good foundation beforehand, all things went
forward in a due course, to the achieving of our happy enterprise.
In all the time of our being here, neither the governor for the said
King of Spain, which is a Portugal, neither the bishop, whose
authority is great, neither the inhabitants of the town, or island,
ever came at us; which we expected they should have done, to entreat
us to leave them some part of their needful provisions, or at the
least to spare the ruining of their town at our going away. The cause
of this their unreasonable distrust, as I do take it, was the fresh
remembrance of the great wrongs that they had done to old Master
William Hawkins, of Plymouth, in the voyage he made four or five years
before, whenas they did both break their promise, and murdered many of
his men; whereof I judge you have understood, and therefore it is
needless to be repeated. But since they came not at us, we left
written in sundry places, as also in the Spital House (which building
was only appointed to be spared), the great discontentment and scorn
we took at this their refraining to come unto us, as also at the rude
manner of killing, and savage kind of handling the dead body of one of
our boys found by them straggling all alone, from whom they had taken
his head and heart, and had straggled the other bowels about the
place, in a most brutish and beastly manner. In revenge whereof at our
departing we consumed with fire all the houses, as well in the country
which we saw, as in the town of Santiago.
From hence putting off to the West Indies, we were not many days at
sea but there began among our people such mortality as in a few days
there were dead above two or three hundred men. And until some seven
or eight days after our coming from Santiago, there had not died any
one man of sickness in all the fleet. The sickness showed not his
infection, wherewith so many were strucken, until we were departed
thence; and then seized our people with extreme hot burning and
continual agues, whereof very few escaped with life, and yet those for
the most part not without great alteration and decay of their wits and
strength for a long time after.
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