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. 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.

Soon

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

199

was found, but the inhabitants were treated with great clemency, Drake himself going to the Spanish ladies, to assure them that no injuries should be offered them. From hence he returned to his ship, as fast as his men could travel, and the whole got safely back on the 23d of February.

Drake now planned another expedition: he sent Oxenham with the Bear (a pinnace) to procure provisions near Tolon, and went himself in the Minion, the other pinnace, to the Cabezas, where he captured a frigate of Nicaragua, the pilot of which informed him, that there was in the harbour of Veragua a ship with more than a million of gold on board, to which he offered to conduct him. When they arrived at the harbour, Drake found that they were discovered: he therefore determined to return to his ship, where he found Oxenham with his prize, a stout frigate, laden with hogs, hens, and maize.

March the 21st, Drake sailed with the new frigate and the Bear pinnace for the Cabezas, where he found Tetu, a Frenchman, with a ship of war, who requested that he might join company. Drake consented to admit him to accompany them with twenty men, stipulating to allow them an equal share of whatever booty they should gain. At the Cabezas they left the frigate, and with two pinnaces proceeded to the Rio Francisco: here they landed, and having ordered the pinnaces to return to the same place for them on the fourth day following, travelled through the woods towards Nombre de Dios, to the great alarm of the French, who doubted the fidelity of the Symerons—who, in their turn, did not treat them with the same respect that they did the English.

At length, after a laborious march of seven leagues, they heard the hammers of the carpenters on board the Spanish ships, and in a short time saw three droves of mules coming from Panama: the three droves consisted of 109 mules, each of which carried 300lbs. weight of silver. It was to little purpose that the soldiers ordered to guard the treasure attempted resistance. After a short combat,

in which the French captain and one of the Symerons were wounded, the whole were taken. Only a small part of the treasure could be carried away: they therefore hid the rest in shallow water and in holes, and determined to return by the same way: they entered the woods without being pursued, where the French captain's wound obliged him to stay, two of his men staying with him.

April the 3d, Drake arrived at the Rio Francisco; but, instead of their pinnaces, he was surprised with the sight of seven Spanish shallops the men immediately concluded that their own pinnaces were destroyed, and the crew tortured to discover where the frigate and ship were. Drake persuaded them that better things were to be hoped; and ordering a raft to be made out of the floating trees that were in the river, offered himself to put off to sea upon it, and

Gent. Mag. Aug. 1740. pp. 445, 446.

chearfully asked who would accompany him. John Owen, John Smith, and two Frenchmen volunteered to share his fortune, and embarked with him on the raft, which was fitted out with a biscuitbag for a sail, and an oar instead of a rudder. Drake having comforted the rest with assurances of his regard for them, and his determination to leave nothing unattempted for their deliverance, put off; and after having with much difficulty sailed three leagues, he saw his two pinnaces at anchor behind a point that jutted out into the sea: he crossed the isthmus on foot, and was received by his company with that satisfaction which is only known to those acquainted with dangers and distress. The same night they rowed to Rio Francisco, and took on board the rest, with what treasure they had brought : they then returned to the frigate, and soon afterwards to the ship, where Drake divided the gold and silver equally between the French and English. Twelve English and sixteen Symerons went for the French captain, and the rest of the treasure. Drake went with them to the Rio Francisco, but his men would not suffer him to hazard his person in another land expedition: here they found one of the Frenchmen who had staid to attend their captain; from whom they learnt, that half an hour after their separation, the Spaniards came upon them, and easily seized the wounded captain; but that his companion might have escaped had he not preferred money to life for seeing him throw away a box of jewels that retarded him, he could not forbear taking it up, and with that and the gold which he had before was so loaded, he could not escape. With regard to the buried bars, 2000 men had been employed in digging for them.

The men, however, determined to pursue their journey; but, upon their arrival at the place, found the ground turned up for two miles round, and were able to recover no more than thirteen bars of silver and a small quantity of gold. They discovered afterwards that the Frenchman who was taken in the woods was tortured till he confessed where Drake had concealed his plunder.

Drake now dismissed the French, and soon afterwards captured a frigate laden with honey and provisions: he then steered for the Cabezas, where the vessels were refitted to return to England. The pinnaces were broken up, and the iron given to the faithful Symerons, who considered it the most valuable thing in the world. Pedro, their captain, being desired by Drake to go round the ship, and choose what he most desired, fixed his eye upon a scimitar set with diamonds, which the French captain had presented to Drake; and being unwilling to ask for so valuable a present, offered for it four large quoits or thick plates of gold: but Drake gave it him, with the highest professions of satisfaction and esteem. Pedro intended to present it to his King, and expected to obtain the highest rank among the Symerons: he, however, persisted in his

resolution of leaving the gold, which Drake threw into the common stock.

They now quitted the coast of America, which for many months they had kept in perpetual alarm, having taken more than 200 vessels, of all sizes, between Carthagena and Nombre de Dios, of which they never destroyed any unless they were fitted out against them, nor ever detained the prisoners longer than was necessary for their own security.

They arrived at Plymouth on the 9th of August, 1573, on Sunday in the afternoon: and so much were the inhabitants delighted with the news of his arrival, that they left the church, and ran in crowds to the quay to welcome him.

1575.

The success of Francis Drake induced John Oxnam, of Plymouth, to undertake a similar expedition: he proceeded, in a vessel of 140 tons, with seventy men, to the same place where Drake had landed, and being joined by the natives, he hauled his vessel on shore, covered her with boughs, and buried his great guns, taking only two smaller ones with him. After marching twelve leagues inland, guided by the Negroes, they got to a river that ran into the South Sea. Here Oxnam built a pinnace of forty-five feet keel; and taking six Negroes with him, went down the river to the Island of Pearls, twenty-five leagues from Panama. After concealing themselves ten days, they captured a bark from Quito, with provisions, and 60,000 pesos of gold on board. Not content with this, he staid six days longer, and captured another bark from Lima, with 100,000 pesos in silver on board. In one of these vessels was a table of massy gold set with emeralds, intended as a present for the King, and a very beautiful Spanish lady, with whom Oxnam fell desperately in love, at whose request he liberated all his prisoners, one of whom was either her son or nephew, and let them go to Panama, from whence they soon returned with a superior force in search of the English.

Before Oxnam could make up his mind to leave such good cruizing ground, he went to the islands for pearls, and found a few: with these he returned to the river which he had descended.

Juan de Ortega, with four vessels and 100 men, followed Oxnam up the river, which had three mouths: and while Ortega was hesitating which to take, one of his soldiers observed some feathers floating down, which it was concluded had been thrown over by Oxnam's party: this decided their choice, and Ortega came upon

Dr. Johnson's Life of Sir F. Drake.

Hakluyt, vol. iii. pp. 526, 527.

Oxnam's boat and hut by surprise, retook all the treasure, and carried it on board their vessels. Three days after this, Oxnam, with his men and 200 Indians, attacked the Spaniards, but was defeated with the loss of eleven English and five Negroes killed, and seven English were taken prisoners.

Oxnam had quarrelled with his men, because they would not take his word that he would give them part of the plunder when they had got it down to his vessel: they wanted to have it immediately, and refused to carry the treasure unless it was shared out. While Oxnam was searching for Indians to carry it, the Spaniards retook the whole.

Ortega returned to Panama with his prize; but the Spaniards finding out from their prisoners where the English ship was concealed, sent an express to Nombre de Dios. The vessel was taken, and another expedition sent against Oxnam and his followers, who were all taken and executed, except five boys, who were sent to Lima.

1576.

Mr. Andrew Barker, of Bristol, having by some treachery of the Spaniards lost his property which had been sent to Teneriffe, resolved to revenge himself upon that nation by cruizing against their vessels in the West Indies; for which purpose he fitted out two barks, called the Ragged Staff and Bear-going himself in the Ragged Staff, and William Coxe in the Bear. They sailed from Plymouth the beginning of June, and at the Isle of Maio had their trumpeter killed by the Portuguese, for which the English burnt two of their villages. From hence they went to Trinidad, and put together a pinnace, whose frame they had brought out. After staying six days, they went to Santa Margarita, and captured a Spanish vessel of thirty tons, out of which they took five tons of Canary wine, and let her go. From Margarita they proceeded to Curaçoa, where they had fourteen men wounded as they were watering. From hence they went to a bay eighteen leagues S. W. of Carthagena, where they captured a frigate, with 500l. worth of gold and silver on board, and some emeralds "whereof one very great, being set in gold, was found tied secretly about the thigh of a friar." At the River Chagre they tried to find some of the "Symerons," or friendly natives, but failing in this, and several of the crew dying of the fever, they stood to sea again, and off Veragua captured a frigate with bullion on board, and four guns that had belonged to J. Oxnam. The Spaniards they put on shore, but took two Flemings out of her.

At Veragua, Captain Barker quarrelled with his master, and