1592.

William King, in the Salomon of 200 tons and 100 men, in company with the Jane Bonaventure, of forty tons and twenty-six men, arrived at Dominica about the 10th of April, and captured a slave ship with 270 Negroes on board, which they carried to San Juan de Puerto Rico, into which harbour they sent an armed boat, and brought out an English ship laden with Canary wines, and then stood to the westward, and landed all the Negroes except fifteen. At the island of Mona they watered, and passed along the south side of Española to Cape Tiburon, capturing a small vessel upon the passage. They then coasted the south side of Jamaica, and anchored at the Caimanes, where they watered, and caught sixty turtle. From hence they rounded Cape Antonio, went to the Tortugas, and came across to Cuba, where they captured a bark with forty hogs, "and dried porke cut like leather jerkins along;" a ship of eighty tons, laden with hides, &c.; and a frigate of twenty tons, with Spanish broad cloth, and other "small pillage." They then cruized for twelve days off the Matanças, and then came off the Havannah, where they got under the batteries, and beat off two gallies, rowing fifty-four oars each. From hence they went to the harbour of Cavannas: the gallies followed and attacked them; but after an action of three hours, the gallies were again beat off. Here the English were joined, four days afterwards, by "Master Captaine Lane, generall of Master Wats his fleet;" Captain Roberts, in the Exchange, of 140 tons, from Bristol; Captain Wood, with four ships, belonging to Lord Thomas Howard; and Captain Kenel, in the Centaur, from Weymouth : these cruized together, in all about thirteen sail, and with their boats captured a shallop, laden with wines and oil. They chased a ship of sixty tons into a harbour, a league to the N.W. of the Havannah, and brought her out with their boats: this ship they brought to England, where the Salomon arrived about the 10th of November.

1593.

In June, Mr. James Lancaster, in the Edward Bonaventure, from the East Indies, attempted to gain the island of Trinidad but was driven by the current into the Gulf of Paria. Mr. Lancaster sailed from Plymouth in company with the Penelope, commanded by M. George Raymond, and the "Marchant Royall," commanded by Mr. Abraham Kendal. Upon the 10th

Hakluyt, vol. ii. p. 108.; vol. iii. p. 570, 571.

of April, 1591, several of their crew dying of the scurvy, the Marchant Royall was left at Saldanha Bay, to return to Europe, and the Penelope parted company in a gale of wind off Cape Corrientes. The Edward proceeded to the East Indies, and upon her passage home arrived at St. Helena on the 3d of April, 1593, where they found John Segar, an Englishman, who had belonged to the Marchant Royall, and been left upon that island eighteen months before by Abraham Kendal. "At our comming wee found him as fresh in colour, and in as good plight of body, to our seeming, as might be; but crazed in mind, and halfe out of his wits, as afterward wee perceived: for whether he were put in fright of us, not knowing at first what we were, whether friends or foes, or of sudden joy, when he understood we were his olde consorts and countreymen, hee became idle-headed, and for eight days' space, neither night nor day, tooke any naturall rest, and so at length died for lacke of sleepe."

From St. Helena, M. Lancaster was obliged by his crew to steer for England; but contrary winds detained them six weeks before they got as far as lat. 8° north, and the provisions and water beginning to fail, at the suggestion of one of the crew, who had been at Trinidad with M. Chidlies, they stood for that island, but were driven past it, in the night, into the Gulf of Paria. Afterwards they made the isle of Mona, where they anchored and received refreshments from the Indians. While they were there a French ship from Caen, commanded by M. de Barbaterre, arrived. From him the English got a supply of bread and wine, and sailed for Newfoundland; but a gale of wind from the northward drove them to the southward of Saona. They stood to the westward, and passed between Cuba and Española, where they again met the French ship from Caen, and purchased from her some hides to serve as food. After getting sight of Florida, they stood to the northward, as far as lat. 36°. In the longitude of Bermuda they sprung a leak in a heavy gale of wind, and determined to run for Dominica; but the wind coming scant, they could only fetch the " Nueblas, or Cloudie Islands," near Puerto Rico, where they arrived in great distress, having been obliged to live for several days upon hides. Here they staid eighteen days, and then resolved to return to the island of Mona. Five of the crew refused to go, and were left upon the Nueblas, from whence they came home in an English ship.

The Edward arrived at Mona the 20th of November, and Edmond Barker was sent immediately to the houses of the Indian and his three sons for some provisions. The third day after their arrival, the ship's carpenter took an opportunity, when nineteen of the crew were on shore with the captain, to cut the ship's cable and let her drive off, with only five men and a boy on board. One place not being able to sustain the whole number left on shore, they

divided into different companies. Six went with Captain Lancaster, and for twenty-nine days their principal food was purslain boiled in water, and now and then a pompion, which they found in the old Indian's garden-who, with his three sons, upon this second visit of the English, had fled to the mountains. At the end of the twentyninth day a sail was discovered from the island, and to attract her attention the English immediately made a large fire in a conspicuous place, which was seen, and the ship stood in for the island, and came to an anchor. She proved to be the Luisa, Captain Felix, from Dieppe. Captain Lancaster and his party went on board her, and were kindly received. The next day eleven more of the English came on board, and another ship from Dieppe arrived at the island. Guns were fired frequently, to bring down the other seven men; but nobody appearing, both ships at night left the place, each of them having on board six of the English, and stood for the north side of San Domingo, where they staid two months, trading with the inhabitants, by permission, for hides, &c. In the meanwhile a ship arrived from Newhaven, and brought intelligence of the seven men that had been left upon the island of Mona, two of whom, in attempting to catch birds upon the cliffs, had fallen down and broken their necks. Three others were killed by the Spaniards, who came from Española for that purpose, upon the information they had received from the Edward. The other two had escaped the Spaniards' bloody hands, and were on board the ship from Newhaven.

Captain Lancaster and his men came to Europe in these vessels, and arrived at Dieppe the 19th of May, 1594, and at Rye the 24th, having been three years, six weeks, and two days upon his

voyage.

The Anthonie of 120 tons, Captain James Langton, and Antonio Martino, pilot, in company with the Pilgrim of 100 tons, Captain Francis Slingsbie, and the Discovery, parted company with the Earl of Cumberland off the coast of Spain, and proceeded to the West Indies: they made Saint Lucie, and went to Martinico, where they remained three days; then crossing over to Margarita, they landed in the night, forced a Spaniard to guide them to the principal village, five leagues off, and assaulted it with only thirty men. The inhabitants fled, but left two thousand pounds worth of pearls, with which, and some other plunder, the English returned to their ships, after an absence of five days. In the ships they went off the town, and got 2000 ducats in pearls, as a ransom for the town and the boats. At Cumana they were beat off with loss. At Aruba they landed and refreshed themselves; and proceeded to Española, coasting its west and north sides. At Mona and Savona they watered, and stood along the south side of the island. Five leagues to the east

Purchas, 1. 6. c. 1. p. 1146.

ward of Santo Domingo, they took several houses, which they obliged the owners to ransom: they then anchored to windward of the harbour of Santo Domingo, where the sergeant-major came on board with an Englishman who had belonged to Captain Lancaster's company, to treat for an exchange of prisoners. The Spaniards sent two caravals after the English boats, and captured them; "but (Purchas says) the ships recovered the taken and takers together. They brought foure brasse falcons of Captain Lancaster's ship: ten others of iron they left for the heavinesse, being somewhat farre from the water. They also tooke a fine friggot, hidden under the trees, which they brought for England." From Española they went to Jamaica, where they captured two barks laden with hides and canna fistula, and proceeded to cruize off Cape Antonio. The Pilgrim returned to England; the Antonia and the frigate went to the bay of Honduras, where they saw seven ships, the smallest of 180 tons, at anchor in a road four leagues from Puerto Cavallo. The English anchored within shot, and continued to engage them all that day and night. Captain Langton then sent two boats on shore, and brought off a frigate of twenty tons, converted her into a fire ship, and towed her towards the Spanish ships. Their crews immediately abandoned them and went on shore having slipt the cables and unhung the rudders of six, that they might drive on shore. The English shifted the most valuable part of the others' cargoes into the admiral's ship, and sent on shore to know if they would ransom the vessels; but this the Spanish government had forbidden ever to be done they therefore set fire to two of the vessels, one laden with hides and logwood, and the other with "susaparill"; and throwing all the guns overboard, except two or three brass pieces, "in hope some Englishman might be the better for them afterward," they brought away the admiral's ship of 250 tons, and arrived with her at Plymouth the 15th of May 1594-the next day after the arrival of the Pilgrim.

The first Englishman ever known to have been upon the Bermudas or Summer Islands, was Henry May, a worthy mariner, that went with Captain Lancaster to the East Indies in 1591; and on his return to England by the West Indies, Captain Lancaster being in distress, sent May to England by one Monsieur de la Barbotier, to acquaint the merchants with their estate: they sailed from Laguna, in Española, the last day of November, and upon the 17th of December following were cast away upon the N.W. end of the Bermudas. Twenty-six of the crew only were saved. May being the only Englishman on board, and the raft and boat that towed it only holding half of the crew, May did not attempt to get upon it till he was called by La Barbotier. After rowing all day they landed before dark, almost dead with thirst. They found

several wrecks, and from some inscriptions learnt they were some Spanish, some Dutch, and some French.

They lived five months upon the island- built themselves a bark of eighty tons, and fitted her out with stores saved from the wreck. Instead of pitch, they caulked her with plaster made of lime and tortoise oil, which dried as hard as stone. Their seastock were thirty live tortoise, and with the tops of the palmetaberries they made bread. Several hogs were upon the island, but so lean, they could not eat them. Upon the 20th of May they made Cape Breton, in Newfoundland-got refreshments from the savages, and proceeded to the banks, where they spoke several ships that refused to take any of them on board. A bark from Falmouth received them for a short time: in her they took a French ship, into which Captain Barbotier and his company were put, and May arrived at Falmouth in August 1594.'

1595.

Upon the 1st of February, Sir Robert Duddeley, in the Bear, of 200 tons and 140 men, with two caravals, which he had captured off Palma, arrived at Trinidad. He had appointed Benjamin Wood captain of one caraval, and Captain Wentworth to the other. At Trinidad, Sir Robert remained until the 12th of March, "during which time" he says, " for my experience and pleasure, I marched four long marches upon the yland, and the last from one side of the yland to the other, which was some fifty miles, going and comming, through a most monstrous thicke wood, and lodging myselfe in Indian townes." Sir Robert was delighted with the island, and supposing his ship was too large to cruize in those seas, he sent the two caravals to "try their fortunes in the Indies, not appointing any other place to meet but England." Having heard from the Indians of a gold mine upon the continent, he wished to look for it; but the crew," he says, "altogether mutinied against my going, because they something feared the villany of Abraham Kendal (the master), who would by no means go. I was therefore constrained to send fourteen men in my ship's boat for this discovery these proceeded up the Oronoco, and from Armago, captain of the town of Orocoa, received permission to trade, if they would bring hatchets, knives, and jewes-harps." He sent Sir Robert four golden half-moons, weighing a noble each, and two bracelets of silver; also he told them of another rich nation, " that sprinkled

1 This account is written by Henry May himself, and published in Smith's History, p. 173.