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1570.

Papal bulls were sold in the West Indies for the first time. Every Indian above twelve years of age paid four reals for his bull: other pardons were also sold, for such as had died even 100 years before the Spaniards came into the country. Every Christian paid fourteen reals for his bull; added to which, there were certain bulls which served for pardoning all faults against the King, by keeping back his customs." For every 100 crowns whereof a man's conscience doth accuse him that he hath deceived the King, or any other, he must give ten for a bull; and so, after that rate, for every 100 which he hath any way stolen and so is pardoned the fault." The yearly revenue from the sale of bulls was above 3,000,000 of gold.

In the course of a few years, the Indians, instead of taking one for each person in their house, took one for the whole, which they broke into as many parts as there were persons, and stuck the pieces up against the wall" saying, that they need now no more, seeing, in that which they bought the year before, they had above 10,000, yeres pardon.”

1572.

About this year Francis Drake, with four pinnaces, entered the port of Nombre de Dios in the night, and landed 150 men. Proceeding to the market-place, he sounded his trumpet and discharged his guns. The inhabitants were all in their beds, but alarmed by the noise, they fled to the mountains, except fourteen or fifteen men, who went into the market-place, and seeing only a few Englishmen in one corner of it, they fired at them, killed the trumpeter, and wounded the commanding officer: the rest retreated towards a fort they had taken when they landed. Those in the fort hearing the firing, and not having their signal answered, concluded the rest of their countrymen were killed, and went off to their ships. Francis Drake and the rest coming to the fort soon afterwards, and finding it abandoned, stripped themselves and swam to the vessels:- thus quitting Nombre de Dios with the loss of only his trumpeter killed, and having killed only one of the Spaniards.

From hence he proceeded to the Gulf of Darien, and by the information of some Negroes, stopped two convoys of mules, laden with gold and silver from Panama, going to Nombre de Dios. The English were only able to carry away the gold over the mountains.

On their road back, they set fire to a warehouse, and burnt merchandize to the value of two hundred thousand ducats, and got on board in safety with their gold.

On the 24th of May, 1572, Francis Drake sailed from Plymouth in the Pascha of seventy tons, accompanied by the Swan of twentyfive tons, commanded by his brother John Drake, having in both vessels seventy-three men and boys, with a year's provisions. On the 29th of June they passed between Guadaloupe and Dominica; and on the 6th of July saw the high land of Santa Martha. 'Drake proceeded to a port to the eastward of Nombre de Dios, which he had named in a former voyage Port Pheasant: here he proposed to build his pinnaces, which he had brought out in frames, and was going ashore with a few men unarmed; but discovering a smoke at a distance, he ordered an armed boat to follow them. The fire "was in the top of a high tree," and near it nailed to another tree, was a plate of lead, with an inscription on it, engraved by one Garret, an Englishman, who had left the place five days before, and had taken this method of informing Drake, that the Spaniards had been advertised of his intention to anchor at that place. Notwithstanding this, Drake determined to stay there; and ordered a palisade to be made, by felling large trees, and laying the trunks and branches one upon another by the side of the river. Here he was joined by Captain "Rause," with a bark and fifty men; and on the 20th of July, their pinnaces being built, they sailed for Nombre de Dios. At the Isle of Pines they captured two frigates, and were informed by the Negroes on board, that the "Symerons" (Maroons) had chosen two kings, and on each side of the way between Nombre de Dios and Panama waged war against the Spaniards, who were in great consternation at Nombre de Dios. Drake landed the Negroes upon the Main, and with seventy-three picked men he embarked in the pinnaces, and made sail for Nombre de Dios.

July the 28th, at night, he anchored close under the shore, intending, after his men were refreshed, to begin the attack; but finding that they were terrifying each other with formidable accounts of the strength of the place and the multitude of the inhabitants, he determined to lead them immediately into action: he landed without any opposition, near a battery of six brass cannons of the largest size-but there was only one man near them, who ran away and alarmed the town. Drake dismounted the guns, and leaving twelve men to guard the pinnaces, marched round the town, "with no great opposition, the men being more hurt by treading on the weapons left on the ground by the flying enemy than by the resistance which they encountered." At length, having taken some prisoners, Drake commanded them to shew him the governor's house they found the door open: and entering the room, found silver bars heaped up in such quantities "as almost exceed belief

'Gent. Mag. Aug. 1740. p. 390.

the pile being, they conjectured, seventy feet in length, ten in breadth, and twelve in height; each bar weighing between thirty and fortyfive pounds." The men were for loading themselves with the silver: to prevent this, which might have retarded their march, Drake proposed leading them to the royal treasure-house, where there was gold and jewels, which were not only more valuable and portable, but nearer the boats. In the market-place he rejoined his brother, with the main body of the men, who were alarmed for fear the Spaniards should gain possession of the pinnaces. Drake immediately sent to the boats to see if there was any foundation for the alarm; but finding all safe, he led the troops to the treasurehouse. On their way a violent shower of rain wetted some of their bow-strings, and put out several of their matches: this spread alarm among the men, who were for retreating with what they had got. Drake perceived this with indignation; and told them, "that if, after having had the chief treasure of the world within their reach, they should go home and languish in poverty, they could blame nothing but their own cowardice: that he had performed his part, and was still desirous to lead them on to riches and to honour." He then ordered the treasure-house to be forced, and leaving his brother and Oxenham to take charge of it; he was returning to the marketplace, to prevent the Spaniards from uniting into one body — when his strength suddenly failed him and he fell down speechless. Then it was that his companions perceived a wound in his leg, which he had hitherto concealed, for fear of discouraging the men. Some cordials revived him, and he still exhorted them to finish the enterprize; but in vain: they carried him back to the boats, in which they were all embarked by day-break, and took with them, out of the harbour, a ship laden with wines: they then proceeded to the Bastimentos, to repose the wounded men. During their stay here, the governor sent to offer Drake refreshments, and to inquire if his men used poisoned arrows. Drake, although he suspected the messenger was a spy, assured him, that he was the same Drake with whose character they were before acquainted; that he was a rigid observer of the laws of war, and never permitted his arrows to be poisoned: he then dismissed him with considerable presents.

Drake, on the 1st of August, returned to his ships at the Isle of Pines, where Captain Rouse, who judged it unsafe to stay any longer on the coast, parted company.

Drake now resolved to attack Carthagena. August the 13th he anchored between two islands, at a little distance from the harbour's mouth, where he left his vessels, and with the boats went into the harbour. At the entrance he found a frigate, with only an old man on board: from him he heard that the alarm was given, which other circumstances corroborating, he contented himself with taking away a ship from Seville of 240 tons, and two small frigates.

Not having men enough to man his pinnaces and his vessels, Drake was desirous of destroying the Swan; but she had been a lucky ship, and he knew her crew would be unwilling to destroy her he therefore sent for the carpenter, and ordered him, in the middle of the night, secretly to bore three holes through her bottom; the carpenter reluctantly obeyed. The next morning, August the 15th, Drake went alongside in his pinnace, and with a negligent air enquired why the ship was so deep in the water. The alarm now spread; and having laboured till three in the afternoon at the pumps, without gaining much upon the water, they followed Drake's advice, set her on fire, and went on board the pinnaces. Drake now determined to lie concealed till the Spaniards should remit their vigilance: he therefore stood down into the "Sound of Darien," where he stayed fifteen days to clean his vessels and refresh his men.

On the 5th of September he set out with two pinnaces for the Rio Grande, leaving his brother, with the ship, at Darien. With the pinnaces he collected such a quantity of provisions, that in different parts of the coast they built four magazines, which they filled with necessaries for their voyage: they were at such a distance from each other, that if the Spaniards discovered one, the rest might be safe.

In the mean time, Captain John Drake was cultivating a friendship with the Symerons, whom Drake found most valuable allies. By their advice the ship was shifted into a secret bay, among beautiful islands covered with trees, where the channel was so narrow and rocky, that it was impossible to enter it by night: here they entered into engagements, which mutual interests preserved from violation.

From hence Drake, with three pinnaces, set out for Carthagena, and anchored, upon the 16th October, within sight of the town. On the 17th, he took a Spanish bark, with which they entered the harbour, where a boat came alongside them, with a message from the governor, professing esteem, and promising refreshments: for these Drake waited till the next morning.

October the 20th, Drake captured, at the mouth of the harbour, two frigates without lading from Carthagena. A few hours afterwards, two well-manned frigates came out: these were soon forced to return. Finding nothing was to be done, Drake resolved to return to his brothers. When he arrived at Port Diego (so named from the Negro who had procured them their intercourse with the Symerons, he found Captain John Drake had been killed in an unsuccessful attack upon a frigate. A malignant fever soon afterwards carried off several of the men, and among others Joseph Drake, another brother of the commander. In this harbour Drake remained till February of the year following.

Gent, Mag. Aug. 1740. p. 393.

1573.

February the 3d, Drake, with only eighteen English and thirty "Symerons," left Port Diego to intercept the mules with the treasure, on their road from Panama to Nombre de Dios, where he knew the Spanish fleet were arrived to ship it. Twenty-eight of Drake's men had died of the fever, and some were obliged to be left to guard the ship- so that, on this expedition, he was accompanied by only eighteen Englishmen. Upon the march the Symerons proved themselves invaluable allies - supplied the provisions, carried the sick, and brought accurate information of the Spaniards' approach.

On the 11th of February they arrived at the top of a high hill, on the summit of which grew a very large tree, in which the Symerons had cut steps for the more easy ascent to the top, which served them as a watch-tower-to which they invited Drake, and from thence shewed him the two great seas, on one of which no English vessel had ever sailed. Drake lifted his hands to God, and implored his blessing upon the resolution which he then formed, of sailing in an English ship upon that sea.

Near Venta Cruz he received certain information of the approach of the treasure. Drake therefore ordered his men to lie down in the grass, half on each side of the road: and Oxenham, with the captain of the Symerons, so much behind, that one company might seize the foremost "Recoe" (Recuero), and the other the last-as these drovers tie their mules together, and travel in a line a-head. In about an hour the bells of the mules were heard on each hand: orders were therefore given, that the droves from Venta Cruz should pass unmolested, and those only which were travelling thither to be stopped- and that every man should lie close till the signal was given; but one Robert Pike, in his impatience to signalize himself, got up to see what was passing: the passenger was observed immediately to change his pace from a trot into a gallop. Soon afterwards, the drove passing towards Venta Cruz came up, and were eagerly seized by the English, who, to their great mortification, found only two mules laden with silver- the rest carried provisions. The driver was carried to Drake, and informed him, that the horseman whom he had observed pass had informed the treasurer of what he had seen, and advised him to send back the mules which carried the gold and jewels, and ascertain by the rest whether there was any ambush or not.

Drake immediately saw the difficulties of his situation, and determined to pass forward to Venta Cruz, as on that road he should only have to fear open attacks. Near the town they defeated a body of Spaniards, and entered the place with the fugitives: some plunder

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