Chapter LXIII: Section III

_Cruizing Voyage to the Azores by Captain Whiddon, in 1586, written by John Evesham_[336].

This voyage was performed by two barks or pinnaces, the Serpent of 35 tons, and the Mary Sparke of Plymouth of 50 tons, both belonging to Sir Walter Raleigh, knight. Leaving Plymouth on the 10th June 1586, we directed our course in the first place for the coast of Spain, and thence for the islands called the Azores, in which course we captured a small bark, laden with sumach and other commodities, in which was the Portuguese governor of St Michael's Island, with several other Portuguese and Spaniards. Sailing thence to the island of Gracioso, westward of Tercera, we descried a sail to which we gave chase, and found her to be a Spaniard. But at the first, not much respecting whom we took, so that we might enrich ourselves, which was the object of our expedition, and not willing it should be known what we were, we displayed a white silk ensign in our maintop, which made them believe that we were of the Spanish navy laying in wait for English cruizers; but when we got within shot, we hauled down our white flag, and hoisted the St Georges ensign, on which they fled as fast as they were able, but all in vain, as our ships sailed faster than they; wherefore they threw overboard all their ordnance and shot, with many letters and the chart of the straits of Magellan, which lead into the south sea, immediately after which we took her, finding on board a Spanish gentleman named Pedro Sarmiento, who was governor of the straits of Magellan, whom we brought home to England, and presented to the queen our sovereign.

[Footnote 336: Hakluyt; II. 606. Astley, I. 196. The command of this expedition is attributed by the editor of Astley's Collection to captain Whiddon, on the authority of the concluding sentence.--E.]

After this, while plying off and on about the islands, we espied another sail to which we gave chase, during which our admiral sprung his main-mast; yet in the night our vice-admiral got up with and captured the chase, which we found was laden with fish from Cape Blanco on which we let her go for want of hands to bring her home. Next day we descried two vessels, one a ship and the other a caravel, to which we gave chase, on which they made with all haste for the island of Gracioso, where they got to anchor under protection of a fort; as having the wind of us we were unable to cut them off from the land, or to get up to attack them with our ships as they lay at anchor. Having a small boat which we called a _light horseman_, there went into her myself and four men armed with calivers, and four others to row, in which we went towards them against the wind. On seeing us row towards them, they carried a considerable part of their merchandise on shore, and landed all the men of both vessels; and as soon as we got near, they began to fire upon us both from their cannon and small arms, which we returned as well as we could. We then boarded one of their ships, in which they had not left a single man; and having cut her cables and hoisted her sails, we sent her off with two of our men. The other seven of us then went very near the shore and boarded the caravel, which rode within stones throw of the shore, insomuch that the people on the land threw stones at us; yet in spite of them, we took possession of her, there being only one negro on board. Having cut her cables and hoisted her sails, she was so becalmed under the land that we had to tow her off with our boat, the fort still firing on us from their cannon, while the people on shore, to the number of about 150, continually fired at us with muskets and calivers, we answering them with our five muskets. At this time the shot from my musket, being a bar-shot, happened to strike the gunner of the fort dead, while he was levelling one of his great guns; and thus we got off from them without loss or wound on our part. Having thus taken five[337] sail in all, we did as we had done with the ship with the fish, we turned them off without hurting them, save that we took from one of them her mainmast for our admiral, and sent her away with all our Spanish and Portuguese prisoners, except Pedro Sarmiento, three other principal persons, and two negroes, leaving them within sight of land, with bread and water sufficient to serve them ten days.

[Footnote 337: Four only are mentioned in the text; and it appears that they only sent away at this time the first taken ship, in which they had captured Sarmiento.--E.]

We now bent our course for England, taking our departure from off the western islands in about the latitude of 41° N. and soon afterwards one of our men descried a sail from the foretop, then ten sail, and then fifteen sail. It was now concluded to send off our two prizes, by manning of which we did not leave above 60 men in our two pinnaces. When we had dispatched them, we made sail towards the fleet we had discovered, which we found to consist of 24 sail in all; two of them being great caraks, one of 1200 and the other of 1000 tons, and 10 galeons, all the rest being small ships and caravels, laden with treasure, spices, and sugars. In our two small pinnaces we kept company with this fleet of 24 ships for 32 hours, continually fighting with them and they with us; but the two huge caraks always kept between their fleet and us, so that we were unable to take any one of them; till at length, our powder growing short, we were forced to give over, much against our wills, being much bent upon gaining some of them, but necessity compelling us by want of powder, we left them, without any loss of our men, which was wonderful, considering the disparity of force and numbers.

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.