SECTION XLIV.
Description of the bay.
A league or better before a man discover this baye to the south-wards, lyeth a great rocke, or small iland, neere the shore; under which, for a need, a man may ride with his shippe. It is a good marke, and sure signe of the port, and discovering the bay a man must give a good birth to the poynt of the harbour; for it hath perilous rockes lying a good distance off. It neither ebbeth nor floweth in this port, nor from this till a man come to Guayaquill, which is three degrees from the equinoctiall lyne to the south-wards. Let this be considered. It is a good harbour for all windes that partake not of the north; for it runneth up south and by west, and south south-west, but it hath much fowle ground.
A new devise for stopping a leake without board.
In one of these shippes we found a new devise for the stopping of a sodaine leake in a shippe under water, without board, when a man cannot come to it within board; which eased us of one that we had from the day we departed from Detford, caused by the touching a-ground of our shippe at low water, being loaden and in the neap streames, comming a-ground in the sterne, the force of the tyde caused to cast thwart, wrested her slegg, and that in such sort, as it made a continuall leake, though not much. And for that others may profit themselves of the like, I thinke it good to set downe the manner of it: which was, taking a round wicker basket, and to fill it with peeces of a junke or rope, chopped very small, and of an inch long, and after tozed all as oacombe;[187] then the basket is to be covered with a nett, the meshes of it being at the least two inches square, and after to be tied to a long pike or pole, which is to goe a crosse the baskets mouth; and putting it under water, care is to be had to keepe the baskets mouth towardes the shippes side. If the leake be any thing great, the oacombe may be somewhat longer, and it carrieth likelihood to doe good, and seemeth to be better then the stitching of a bonnet, or any other diligence which as yet I have seene.
Another thing I noted of these shippes, which would be Spare rudders. also used by us; that every shippe carrieth with her a spare rudder, and they have them to hange and unhange with great facilitie: and besides, in some parts of the shippe they have the length, breadth, and proportion of the rudder marked out, for any mischance that may befall them; which is a very good prevention.[188]
Tenne leagues to the north-wards of this harbour, is the Bay of Quintera. bay of Quintera, where is good anchoring, but an open bay; where master Thomas Candish (for the good he had done to a Spaniard, in bringing him out of the Straits of Nota verum hispanum. Magellan, where, otherwise, he had perished with his company),[189] was by him betrayed, and a dozen of his men taken and slaine. But the judgement of God left not his ingratitude unpunished; for in the fight with us, in the vice-admirall, he was wounded and maymed in that manner, as, three yeares after, I saw him begge with crutches, and in that miserable estate, as he had beene better dead then alive.
Coquinbo.
From Balparizo wee sailed directly to Coquinbo,[190] which is in thirtie degrees; and comming thwart the place, wee were becalmed, and had sight of a shippe: but for that shee was farre off, and night at hand, shee got from us, and wee having winde, entered the port, thinking to have had some shipping in it; but we lost our labour: and for that the towne was halfe a league upp in the countrey, and wee not manned for any matter of attempt, worthy prosecution, we made no abode on the shore, but presently set sayle for the Peru. This is the best harbour that I have seene in the South sea, it is land-locked for all winds, and capeable of many shippes; but the ordinary place where the shippes lade and unlade, and accommodate themselves, is betwixt a rocke and the mayne on the wester side, some halfe a league up within the entrance of the port, which lyeth south and south, and by east and north, and by west.
In the in-country, directly over the port, is a round piked hill, like a sugar loafe, and before the entrance on the southern poynt of the port, comming in out of the sea, is a great rocke, a good birth from the shore; and these are the markes of the port as I remember.
Arica in Chily much commended.
Being cleere of this port, wee shaped our course for Arica, and leaft the kingdomes of Chily, one of the best countries that the sunne shineth on; for it is of a temperate clymate, and abounding in all things necessary for the use of man, with infinite rich mines of gold, copper, and sundry other mettals.[191]
The poorest houses in it, by report of their inhabitants, have of their owne store, bread, wine, flesh, and fruite; which is so plentifull, that of their superfluitie they supply other partes. Sundry kindes of cattell, as horses, goates, and oxen, brought thither by the Spaniards, are found in For all sorts of fruits. heardes of thousands, wilde and without owner; besides those of the countrey, which are common to most partes of America: in some of which are found the bezar stones, and those very good and great.
Amongst others, they have little beastes like unto a squirrell, but that hee is gray; his skinne is the most delicate, soft, and curious furre that I have seene, and of much estimation (as is of reason) in the Peru; few of them come into Spaine, because difficult to be come by; for that the princes and nobles laie waite for them. They call this beast chinchilla, and of them they have great abundance.
All fruites of Spaine they have in great plentie, saving stone fruite and almonds; for in no part of the Indies have I knowne that plumbes, cherries, or almondes have borne fruit: but they have certaine little round cocos, as those of Brasill, of the bignesse of a wall-nut, which is as good as an almond; besides it hath most of the fruites naturall to America, of which in another place I shall, God willing, speake particularly.
And plenty of gold.
The gold they gather is in two manners: the one is washing the earth in great trayes of wood in many waters. as the earth washeth away, the gold in the bottome remaineth. The other is, by force of art to draw it out of the mynes, in which they finde it. In most partes of the countrie, the earth is mingled with gold; for the butizias, in which the wine was, which wee found in Balparizo, had many sparkes of gold shining in them. Of it the goldsmiths I carryed with me, for like purposes, made experience.
When Baldivia and Arawca were peaceable, they yeelded greatest plentie, and the best: but now, their greatest mynes are in Coquinbo, as also the mines of copper, which they carry to the Peru, and sell it better cheape then it is ordinarily sold in Spaine.
The Indians forbid the search of gold.
The Indians knowing the end of the Spaniards molestation to be principally the desire of their riches, have enacted, that no man, upon paine of death, doe gather any gold.
Every showre a showre of gold.
In Coquinbo it rayneth seldome, but every shower of rayne is a shower of gold unto them; for with the violence of the water falling from the mountaines, it bringeth from them the gold; and besides, gives them water to wash it out, as also for their ingenious to worke; so that ordinarily every weeke they have processions for rayne.
Linnen and woollen cloth made in Coquinbo.
In this kingdome they make much linnen and woollen cloth, and great store of Indian mantles, with which they furnish other partes; but all is course stuffe. It hath no silke, nor iron, except in mynes, and those as yet not discovered. Pewter is well esteemed, and so are fine linnen, woollen cloth, haberdashers wares, edge tooles, and armes, or munition.
It hath his governour, and audiencia, with two bishoppes: the one of Saint Iago, the other of the Imperiall; all under the vice-roy, audiencia, and primate of Lyma. Saint Iago is the metropolitan and head of the kingdome, and the seate of justice, which hath its appellation to Lyma.
The valour of the Arawcans.
The people are industrious and ingenious, of great strength, and invincible courage; as in the warres, which they have susteyned above fortie yeares continually against the Spaniards, hath beene experienced. For confirmation whereof, I will alledge onely two proofes of many; the one was of an Indian captaine taken prisoner by the Spaniards; and for that he was of name, and knowne to have done his devoire against them, they cut off his hands, thereby intending to disenable him to fight any more against them: but he returning home, desirous to revenge this injury, to maintaine his libertie, with the reputation of his nation, and to helpe to banish the Spaniard, with his tongue intreated and incited them to persevere in their accustomed valour and reputation; abasing the enemy, and advancing his nation; condemning their contraries of cowardlinesse, and confirming it by the crueltie used with him, and others his companions in their mishaps; shewing them his armes without hands, and naming his brethren whose halfe feete they had cut off, because they might be unable to sit on horsebacke: with force arguing, that if they feared them not, they would not have used so great inhumanitie; for feare produceth crueltie, the companion of cowardize. Thus incouraged he them to fight for their lives, limbes, and libertie, choosing rather to die an honourable death fighting, then to live in servitude, as fruitlesse members in their common-wealth. Thus, using the office of a sergeant major, and having loaden his two stumpes with bundles of arrowes, succoured those who in the succeeding battaile had their store wasted, and changing himselfe from place to place, animated and encouraged his countri-men with such comfortable perswasions, as it is reported, and credibly beleeved, that he did much more good with his words and presence, without striking a stroake, then a great part of the armie did with fighting to the utmost.[192]
The other proofe is, that such of them as fight on horsebacke, are but slightly armed, for that their armour is a beasts hide, fitted to their bodie greene, and after worne till it be dry and hard. He that is best armed, hath him double; yet any one of them with these armes, and with his launce, will fight hand to hand with any Spaniard armed from head to foote. And it is credibly reported, that an Indian being wounded through the body by a Spaniards launce, with his owne hands hath crept on upon the launce, and come to grapple with his adversary, and both fallen to the ground together. By which is seene their resolution and invincible courage, and the desire they have to maintaine their reputation and libertie.