Voyager's Tales

by Richard Hakluyt

THE SIXTH CHAPTER.

WHEREIN IS SHOWED HOW WE WERE USED IN THE RELIGIOUS HOUSES, AND THAT WHEN THE TIME WAS EXPIRED THAT WE WERE ADJUDGED TO SERVE IN THEM, THERE CAME NEWS TO MEXICO OF MASTER FRANCIS DRAKE'S BEING IN THE SOUTH SEA, AND WHAT PREPARATION WAS MADE TO TAKE HIM; AND HOW I, SEEKING TO ESCAPE, WAS AGAIN TAKEN AND PUT IN PRISON IN VERA CRUZ, AND HOW AGAIN I MADE MINE ESCAPE FROM THENCE.

I, Miles Phillips, and William Lowe were appointed to the Black Friars, where I was appointed to be an overseer of Indian workmen, who wrought there in building a new church, amongst which Indians I learned their language or Mexican tongue very perfectly, and had great familiarity with many of them, whom I found to be a courteous and loving kind of people, ingenious, and of great understanding, and they hate and abhor the Spaniards with all their hearts. They have used such horrible cruelties against them, and do still keep them in such subjection and servitude, that they and the negroes also do daily lie in wait to practice their deliverance out of that thraldom and bondage that the Spaniards do keep them in.

William Lowe, he was appointed to serve the cook in the kitchen; Richard Williams and David Alexander were appointed to the Grey Friars; John Storey and Robert Cooke to the White Friars; Paul Horsewell the Secretary took to be his servant; Thomas Hull was sent to a monastery of priests, where afterward he died. Thus we served out the years that we were condemned for, with the use of our fools' coats, and we must needs confess that the friars did use us very courteously, for every one of us had his chamber, with bedding and diet, and all things clean and neat; yea, many of the Spaniards and friars themselves do utterly abhor and mislike of that cruel Inquisition, and would as they durst bewail our miseries, and comfort us the best they could, although they stood in such fear of that devilish Inquisition that they durst not let the left hand know what the right doeth.

Now after that the time was expired for which we were condemned to serve in those religious houses, we were then brought again before the Chief Inquisitor, and had all our fools' coats pulled off and hanged up in the head church, called Ecclesia Majora, and every man's name and judgment written thereupon with this addition—HERETIC LUTHERAN RECONCILED. And there are also all their coats hanged up which were condemned to the galleys, with their names and judgments, and underneath his coat, HERETIC LUTHERAN RECONCILED. And also the coats and names of the three that were burned, whereupon were written, AN OBSTINATE HERETIC LUTHERAN BURNT. Then were we suffered to go up and down the country, and to place ourselves as we could, and yet not so free but that we very well knew that there was a good espial always attending us and all our actions, so that we durst not once to speak or look awry. David Alexander and Robert Cooke they returned to serve the Inquisitor, who shortly after married them both to two of his negro women; Richard Williams married a rich widow of Biskay with four thousand pezoes; Paul Horsewell is married to a Mestiza, as they name those whose fathers were Spaniards and their mothers Indians, and this woman which Paul Horsewell hath married is said to be the daughter of one that came in with Hernando Cortes, the Conqueror, who had with her in marriage four thousand pezoes and a fair house; John Storie he is married to a negro woman; William Lowe had leave and licence to go into Spain, where he is now married. For mine own part I could never thoroughly settle myself to marry in that country, although many fair offers were made unto me of such as were of great ability and wealth; but I could have no liking to live in that place where I must everywhere see and know such horrible idolatry committed, and durst not once for my life speak against it; and therefore I had always a longing and desire to this my native country; and to return and serve again in the mines, where I might have gathered great riches and wealth, I very well saw that at one time or another I should fall again into the danger of that devilish Inquisition, and so be stripped of all, with loss of life also, and therefore I made my choice rather to learn to weave Groganes and Taffataes, and so compounding with a silk weaver, I bound myself for three years to serve him, and gave him one hundred and fifty pezoes to teach me the science, otherwise he would not have taught me under seven years' prenticeship, and by this means I lived the more quiet and free from suspicion.

Howbeit I should many times be charged by familiars of that devilish house, that I had a meaning to run away into England, and be an heretic Lutheran again; to whom I would answer that they had no need to suspect any such thing in me, for that they knew all very well that it was impossible for me to escape by any manner of means; yet notwithstanding I was called before the Inquisitors and demanded why I did not marry. I answered that I had bound myself at an occupation. "Well," said the Inquisitor, "I know thou meanest to run away, and therefore I charge thee here upon pain of burning as an heretic relapsed, that thou depart not out of this city, nor come near to the port of St. John de Ullua, nor to any other port;" to the which I answered that I would willingly obey. "Yea," said he, "see thou do so, and thy fellows also; they shall have the like charge."

So I remained at my science the full time and learned the art, at the end whereof there came news to Mexico that there were certain Englishmen landed with a great power at the port of Acapulco, upon the South Sea, and that they were coming to Mexico to take the spoil thereof, which wrought a marvellous great fear among them, and many of those that were rich began to shift for themselves, their wives and children; upon which hurly-burly the Viceroy caused a general muster to be made of all the Spaniards in Mexico, and there were found to the number of seven thousand and odd householders of Spaniards in the city and suburbs, and of single men unmarried the number of three thousand, and of Mestizies—which are counted to be the sons of Spaniards born of Indian women—twenty thousand persons; and then was Paul Horsewell and I, Miles Phillips, sent for before the Viceroy and were examined if we did know an Englishman named Francis Drake, which was brother to Captain Hawkins; to which we answered that Captain Hawkins had not any brother but one, which was a man of the age of threescore years or thereabouts, and was now governor of Plymouth in England. And then he demanded of us if we knew one Francis Drake, and we answered no.

While these things were in doing, there came news that all the Englishmen were gone; yet was there eight hundred men made out under the leading of several captains, whereof two hundred were sent to the port of St. John de Ullua, upon the North Sea, under the conduct of Don Luis Suares; two hundred were sent to Guatemala, in the South Sea, who had for their captain John Cortes; two hundred more were sent to Guatelco, a port of the South Sea, over whom went for captain Don Pedro de Roblis; and two hundred more were sent to Acapulco, the port where it was said that Captain Drake had been, and they had for captain Doctor Roblis Alcalde de Corte, with whom I, Miles Phillips, went as interpreter, having licence given by the Inquisitors. When we were come to Acapulco we found that Captain Drake was departed from thence, more than a month before we came thither. But yet our captain, Alcalde de Corte, there presently embarked himself in a small ship of threescore ton, or thereabout, having also in company with him two other small barques, and not past two hundred men in all, with whom I went as interpreter in his own ship, which, God knoweth, was but weak and ill-appointed; so that for certain, if we had met with Captain Drake, he might easily have taken us all.

We, being embarked, kept our course, and ran southward towards Panama, keeping still as nigh the shore as we could; and leaving the land upon our left hand, and having coasted thus for the space of eighteen or twenty days, and were more to the south than Guatemala, we met at last with other ships which came from Panama, of whom we were certainly informed that he was clean gone off the coast more than a month before; and so we returned back to Acapulco again, and there landed, our captain being thereunto forced, because his men were very sore sea-sick. All the while that I was at sea with them I was a glad man, for I hoped that if we met with Master Drake we should all be taken, so that then I should have been freed out of that danger and misery wherein I lived, and should return to mine own country of England again. But missing thereof, when I saw there was no remedy but that we must needs come on land again, little doth any man know the sorrow and grief that inwardly I felt, although outwardly I was constrained to make fair weather of it.

And so, being landed, the next morrow after we began our journey towards Mexico, and passed these towns of name in our way, as first the town of Tuatepec, fifty leagues from Mexico; from thence to Washaca, forty leagues from Mexico; from thence to Tepiaca, twenty-four leagues from Mexico; and from thence to Lopueblo de Los Angelos, where is a high hill which casteth out fire three times a day, which hill is eighteen leagues directly west from Mexico; from thence we went to Stapelata, eight leagues from Mexico, and there our captain and most of his men took boat and came to Mexico again, having been forth about the space of seven weeks, or thereabouts.

Our captain made report to the Viceroy what he had done, and how far he had travelled, and that for certain he was informed that Captain Drake was not to be heard of. To which the Viceroy replied and said, surely we shall have him shortly come into our hands, driven on land through necessity in some one place or other, for he, being now in these seas of Sur, it is not possible for him to get out of them again; so that if he perish not at sea, yet hunger will force him to land. And then again I was commanded by the Viceroy that I should not depart from the city of Mexico, but always be at my master's house in a readiness at an hour's warning, whensoever I should be called for. Notwithstanding that, within one month after, certain Spaniards going to Mecameca, eighteen leagues from Mexico, to send away certain hides and cuchionelio that they had there at their stantias, or dairy houses, and my master having leave of the secretary for me to go with them, I took my journey with them, being very well horsed and appointed; and coming thither, and passing the time there at Mecameca certain days, till we had certain intelligence that the fleet was ready to depart, I, not being more than three days' journey from the port of St. John de Ullua, thought it to be the meetest time for me to make an escape, and I was the bolder presuming upon my Spanish tongue, which I spake as naturally as any of them all, thinking with myself that when I came to St. John de Ullua I would get to be entertained as a soldier, and so go home into Spain in the same fleet; and, therefore, secretly one evening late, the moon shining fair, I conveyed myself away, and riding so for the space of two nights and two days, sometimes in, and sometimes out, resting very little all that time, upon the second day at night I came to the town of Vera Cruz, distant from the port of St. John de Ullua, where the ships rode, but only eight leagues; and here purposing to rest myself a day or two, I was no sooner alighted but within the space of one half hour after I was by ill hap arrested, and brought before justices there, being taken and suspected to be a gentleman's son of Mexico that was run away from his father. So I, being arrested and brought before the justices, there was a great hurly-burly about the matter, every man charging me that I was the son of such a man, dwelling in Mexico, which I flatly denied, affirming that I knew not the man; yet would they not believe me, but urged still upon me that I was he that they sought for, and so I was conveyed away to prison. And as I was thus going to prison, to the further increase of my grief, it chanced that at that very instant there was a poor man in the press that was come to town to sell hens, who told the justices that they did me wrong, and that in truth he knew very well that I was an Englishman, and no Spaniard. Then they demanded of him how he knew that, and threatened him that he said so for that he was my companion, and sought to convey me away from my father, so that he also was threatened to be laid in prison with me. He, for the discharge of himself, stood stiffly in it that I was an Englishman, and one of Captain Hawkins's men, and that he had known me wear the San Benito in the Black Friars at Mexico for three or four whole years together; which when they heard they forsook him, and began to examine me anew, whether that speech of his were true, yea or no; which when they perceived that I could not deny, and perceiving that I was run from Mexico, and came thither of purpose to convey myself away with the fleet, I was presently committed to prison with a sorrowful heart, often wishing myself that that man which knew me had at that time been further off. Howbeit, he in sincerity had compassion of my distressed state, thinking by his speech, and knowing of me, to have set me free from that present danger which he saw me in. Howbeit, contrary to his expectation, I was thereby brought into my extreme danger, and to the hazard of my life, yet there was no remedy but patience, perforce; and I was no sooner brought into prison but I had a great pair of bolts clapped on my legs, and thus I remained in that prison for the space of three weeks, where were also many other prisoners, which were thither committed for sundry crimes and condemned to the galleys. During which time of imprisonment there I found amongst those my prison fellows some that had known me before in Mexico, and truly they had compassion of me, and would spare of their victuals and anything else that they had to do me good, amongst whom there was one of them that told me that he understood by a secret friend of his which often came to the prison to him that I should be shortly sent back again to Mexico by waggon, so soon as the fleet was gone from St. John de Ullua for Spain.

This poor man, my prison fellow, of himself, and without any request made by me, caused his said friend, which came often unto him to the grate of the prison, to bring him wine and victuals, to buy for him two knives which had files in their backs, which files were so well made that they would serve and suffice any prisoner to file off his irons, and of those knives or files he brought one to me, and told me that he had caused it to be made for me, and let me have it at the very price it cost him, which was two pezoes, the value of eight shillings of our money, which knife when I had it I was a joyful man, and conveyed the same into the foot of my boot upon the inside of my left leg, and so within three or four days after that I had thus received my knife I was suddenly called for, and brought before the head justice, which caused those my irons with the round bolt to be stricken off, and sent to a smith in the town, where was a new pair of bolts made ready for me of another fashion, which had a broad iron bar coming between the shackles, and caused my hands to be made fast with a pair of manacles, and so was I presently laid into a waggon all alone, which was there ready to depart, with sundry other waggons to the number of sixty, towards Mexico, and they were all laden with sundry merchandise which came in the fleet out of Spain.

The waggon that I was in was foremost of all the company, and as we travelled, I being alone in the waggon, began to try if I could pluck my hands out of the manacles, and as God would, although it were somewhat painful for me, yet my hands were so slender that I could pull them out and put them in again, and ever as we went when the waggons made most noise and the men busiest, I would be working to file off my bolts, and travelling thus for the space of eight leagues from Vera Cruz we came to an high hill, at the entering up of which (as God would), one of the wheels of the waggon wherein I was brake, so that by that means the other waggons went afore, and the waggon man that had charge of me set an Indian carpenter at work to mend the wheel; and here at this place they baited at an ostrie that a negro woman keeps, and at this place for that the going up of the hill is very steep for the space of two leagues and better, they do always accustom to take the mules of three or four waggons and to place them all together for the drawing up of one waggon, and so to come down again and fetch up others in that order. All which came very well to pass, for as it drew towards night, when most of the waggoners were gone to draw up their waggons in this sort, I being alone, had quickly filed off my bolts, and so espying my time in the dark of the evening before they returned down the hill again, I conveyed myself into the woods there adjoining, carrying my bolts and manacles with me, and a few biscuits and two small cheeses. And being come into the woods I threw my irons into a thick bush, and then covered them with moss and other things, and then shifted for myself as I might all that night. And thus, by the good providence of Almighty God, I was freed from mine irons, all saving the collar that was about my neck, and so got my liberty the second time.