weeks; wherein ‘they hazarded their best cables and anchors that we had for to hold, which if they had failed we had been in danger to have been cast away, or at least famished.’ For quite a month, adds Pretty, ‘we fed almost altogether on muscles, and limpets, and birds, or such as we could get on shore, seeking for them every day as the fowls of the air do, where they can find food, in continual rainy weather.’
On 24 Feb. Cavendish entered the South Sea or Pacific and plied along the coast of Chili until 30 March, when he reached the Bay of Quintero, a little to the N. of Valparaiso; here Hernando, the Spaniard saved from starvation in the straits, upon being landed to parley with three other mounted Spaniards, leaped up behind and rode away with one of them, and doubtless alarmed the Spaniards along the whole seaboard. On 1 April a handful of the three crews was attacked by nearly two hundred horsemen while watering, but the enemy retired with a loss of twenty-five men as against twelve slain of the English. Sailing along the coast from 15 to 23 April, Cavendish, with two of his ships, came athwart the Port of Mormoreno (Monte Moreno), where he landed. He afterwards came to Arica, where he awaited the arrival of the Content, the crew of which had found in a bay fourteen leagues southwards of Arica 300 tons of botizios of wine of Castile buried in the sand, and she laded herself with as many as she could carry. In this place Cavendish burned three barques and a large ship of 100 tons, which last the inhabitants refused to ransom in exchange for English prisoners taken at Quintero. The Spanish authorities were now thoroughly roused, for Cavendish intercepted two barques coming from the southward towards Lima, 25 to 27 April; the second, from Santiago, near Quintero, had on board letters of advice for the viceroy concerning Cavendish, which were thrown overboard before they could be secured. The contents were revealed by one of the Spaniards, who, by the order of Cavendish, ‘was tormented with his thumbs in a wrench.’ Among the captured was also found ‘a reasonable pilot for those seas,’ who, according to N. H., was also a Spaniard, but according to Pretty a Greek. From 3 to 5 May the little fleet rode in Pisa bay, near the Chincha islands, now famed for its guano deposits. Sailing forward on 16 and 17 May they captured three large ships, one worth 20,000l., which had the chief merchandise in it. Cavendish filled his ships with as much of this as they could carry and burnt the remainder with the captured ships. On 25 May Cavendish arrived at the island of Puna in the gulf of Guayaquil; here they remained eleven days, hauled the Desire and Content on shore for repairs, sank a large Spanish ship lying at anchor, with all her furniture, and burned the town, out of revenge for an unsuccessful sortie of the Spaniards and natives upon a foraging party wherein forty of the enemy were slain, with the loss of twelve English. Pretty describes the ‘great casique’ of the island, his Spanish wife and treasures, his palace with its chambers decorated with old-world hangings of ‘Cordovan leather gilded all over and painted very rare and rich.’ On 7 June Cavendish set forward for Rio Dolce, near the equator, where he sank the Hugh Gallant for want of men. Five days later they doubled the equinoctial line and continued their course northward until 9 July, when off the coast of Guatemala they captured a ship in ballast piloted by Michael Sancius, a Provençal, who informed Cavendish of a great prize that was on its way from the Philippines. Cavendish burned the ship in ballast, as also a barque which he captured the next day which was sent from Lima to carry warning all along the coast. On 28 July he reached Aguatulco (Guatulco), which town they also spoiled and burned during a stay of five days. Weighing anchor from this place in the night of 2 Aug. he overshot Acapulco, the Mexican port for the arrival and departure of the Spanish fleet for the Philippines, and came on 24 Aug. to Puerto de Natividad, where he landed and captured a mounted mulatto, from whom he took more letters of advice. After setting fire to the town and shipping he proceeded to a small island near Mazatlan, where he anchored to water and refit from 27 Sept. until 9 Oct., when the ships weighed anchor for Cape St. Lucas, the well-known headland of Lower California, which Pretty remarks ‘is very like the Needles at the Isle of Wight.’ Here the Desire and Content were beating up and down the coast from 14 Oct. for a whole month, when, between seven and eight in the morning of 14 Nov., the crews of the two ships were roused by the watch in the maintop of the Desire by the cry of ‘A sail!’ which proved to be no other than the long-expected prize from the Philippines, the Admiral of the South Sea, owned by the king of Spain, the Great St. Anna of 700 tons richly laden. Cavendish captured the ship after an obstinate fight of six hours and brought it into the neighbouring harbour of Aguada Segura, where he proceeded to divide the treasure among his own company and that of the Content, who were inclined to mutiny about their share of the money taken. Besides 22,000 pesos of gold the prize contained 600
