After assisting in the suppression of the rebellion in Ireland, Drake, whose name was beginning to be well known, was presented to Queen Elizabeth. He laid before her his project of going to ravage the western coasts of South America, by passing through the Strait of Magellan, and he obtained, with the title of admiral, a fleet of six vessels, on board of which were 160 picked sailors.
Francis Drake started from Plymouth on the 15th November, 1577. He had some intercourse with the Moors of Mogador, of which he had no reason to boast, made some captures of small importance before arriving at the Cape de Verd Islands, where he took in fresh provisions, and then was fifty-six days in crossing the Atlantic and reaching the coast of Brazil, which he followed as far as the estuary of La Plata, where he laid in a supply of water. He afterwards arrived at Seal Bay in Patagonia, where he traded with the natives, and killed a great number of penguins and sea-wolves for the nourishment of his crew. "Some of the Patagonians who were seen on the 13th May a little below Seal Bay," says the original narrative, "wore on the head a kind of horn, and nearly all had many beautiful birds' feathers by way of hats. They also had the face painted and diversified by several kinds of colours, and they each held a bow in the hand, from which every-time they drew it, they discharged two arrows. They were very agile, and as far as we could see, well instructed in the art of making war, for they kept good order in marching and advancing, and for so few men as they were, they made themselves appear a large number." M. Charton, in his Voyageurs Anciens et Modernes, notices that Drake does not mention the extraordinary stature which Magellan had attributed to the Patagonians. For this there is more than one good reason. There exists in Patagonia more than one tribe, and the description here given by Drake of the savages whom he met, does not at all resemble that given by Pigafetta of the Patagonians of Port St. Julian. If there exist, as seems now to be proved, a race of men of great stature, their habitat appears fixed upon the shores of the Strait at the southern extremity of Patagonia, and not at fifteen days' sail from Port Desire, at which Drake arrived on the 2nd June. On the following day he reached the harbour of St. Julian, where he found a gibbet erected of yore by Magellan for the punishment of some rebellious members of his crew. Drake in his turn, chose this spot to rid himself of one of his captains, named Doughty, who had been long accused of treason and underhand dealing, and who on several occasions had separated himself from the fleet. Some sailors having confessed that he had solicited them to join with him in frustrating the voyage, Doughty was convicted of the crimes of rebellion, and of tampering with the sailors, and according to the laws of England, he was condemned by a court martial to be beheaded. This sentence was immediately executed, although Doughty until the last moment vehemently declared his innocence. Was his guilt thoroughly proved? If Drake were accused upon his return to England—in spite of the moderation which he always evinced towards his men,—of having taken advantage of the opportunity to get rid of a rival whom he dreaded, it is difficult to conceive that the forty judges who pronounced the sentence should have concerted together to further the secret designs of their admiral and condemn an innocent man.
On the 20th of August, the fleet, now reduced to three vessels—two of the ships having been so much damaged that they were at once destroyed by the admiral—entered the strait, which had not been traversed since the time of Magellan. Although he met with fine harbours, Drake found that it was difficult to anchor in them, on account both of the depth of the water close to the shore, and of the violence of the wind, which, blowing as it did in sudden squalls, rendered navigation dangerous. During a storm which was encountered at the point where the strait opens into the Pacific, Drake beheld one of his ships founder, while his last companion was separated from him a few days afterwards, nor did he see her again until the end of the campaign. Driven by the currents to the south of the strait as far as 55° 40', Drake had now only his own vessel; but by the injury which he did to the Spaniards, he showed what ravages he would have committed if he had had still under his command the fleet with which he left England. During a descent upon the island of Mocha, the English had two men killed and several wounded, while Drake himself, hit by two arrows on the head, found himself utterly unable to punish the Indians for their perfidy. In the harbour of Valparaiso he captured a vessel richly laden with the wines of Chili, and with ingots of gold valued at 37,000 ducats; afterwards he pillaged the town, which had been precipitately abandoned by its inhabitants. At Coquimbo, the people were forewarned of his approach, so that he found there a strong force, which obliged him to re-embark. At Arica he plundered three small vessels, in one of which he found fifty-seven bars of silver valued at 2006l. In the harbour of Lima, where were moored twelve ships or barks, the booty was considerable. But what most rejoiced the heart of Drake was to learn that a galleon named the Cagafuego, very richly laden, was sailing towards Paraca. He immediately went in pursuit, capturing on the way a bark carrying 80 lbs. of gold, which would be worth 14,080 French crowns, and in the latitude of San Francisco he seized without any difficulty the Cagafuego, in which he found 80 lbs. weight of gold. This caused the Spanish pilot to say, laughing, "Captain, our ship ought no longer to be called Cagafuego (spit-fire), but rather Caga-Plata (spit money), it is yours which should be named Caga-Fuego." After making some other captures more or less valuable, upon the Peruvian coast, Drake, learning that a considerable fleet was being prepared to oppose him, thought it time to return to England. For this, there were three different routes open to him: he might again pass the Strait of Magellan, or he might cross the Southern Sea, and doubling the Cape of Good Hope might so return to the Atlantic Ocean, or he could sail up the coast of China and return by the Frozen Sea and the North Cape. It was this last alternative, as being the safest of the three, which was adopted by Drake. He therefore put out to sea, reached the 38° of north latitude, and landed on the shore of the Bay of San Francisco, which had been discovered three years previously by Bodega. It was now the month of June, the temperature was very low, and the ground covered with snow. The details given by Drake of his reception by the natives, are curious enough: "When we arrived, the savages manifested great admiration at the sight of us, and thinking that we were gods, they received us with great humanity and reverence."
"As long as we remained, they continued to come and visit us, sometimes bringing us beautiful plumes made of feathers of divers colours, and sometimes petun (tobacco) which is a herb in general use among the Indians. But before presenting these things to us, they stopped at a little distance, in a spot where we had pitched our tents. Then they made a long discourse after the manner of a harangue, and when they had finished, they laid aside their bows and arrows in that place, and approached us to offer their presents."
"The first time they came their women remained in the same place, and scratched and tore the skin and flesh of their cheeks, lamenting themselves in a wonderful manner, whereat we were much astonished. But we have since learnt that it was a kind of sacrifice which they offered to us."
The facts given by Drake with regard to the Indians of California are almost the only ones which he furnishes upon the manners and customs of the nations which he visited. We would draw the reader's attention here, to that custom of long harangues which the traveller especially remarks, just as Cartier had observed upon it forty years earlier, and which is so noticeable amongst the Canadian Indians at the present day. Drake did not advance farther north and gave up his project of returning by the Frozen Sea. When he again set sail, it was to descend towards the Line, to reach the Moluccas, and to return to England by the Cape of Good Hope. As this part of the voyage deals with countries already known, and as the observations made by Drake are neither numerous nor novel, our narrative here shall be brief.
On the 13th of October, 1579, Drake arrived in latitude 8° north, at a group of islands of which the inhabitants had their ears much lengthened by the weight of the ornaments suspended to them; their nails were allowed to grow, and appeared to serve as defensive weapons, while their teeth, "black as ship's pitch," contracted this colour from the use of the betel-nut. After resting for a time, Drake passed by the Philippines, and on the 14th of November arrived at Ternate. The king of this island came alongside, with four canoes bearing his principal officers dressed in their state costumes. After an interchange of civilities and presents, the English received some rice, sugar-canes, fowls, figo, cloves, and sago. On the morrow, some of the sailors who had landed, were present at a council. "When the king arrived, a rich umbrella or parasol all embroidered in gold was borne before him. He was dressed after the fashion of his country, but with extreme magnificence, for he was enveloped from the shoulders with a long cloak of cloth of gold reaching to the ground. He wore as an ornament upon the head, a kind of turban made of the same stuff, all worked in fine gold and enriched with jewels and tufts. On his neck there hung a fine gold chain many times doubled, and formed of broad links. On his fingers, he had six rings of very valuable stones, and his feet were encased in shoes of morocco leather."
After remaining some time in the country to refresh his crew, Drake again put to sea, but his ship on the 9th of January, 1580, struck on a rock, and to float her off it was necessary to throw overboard eight pieces of ordnance and a large quantity of provisions. A month later, Drake arrived at Baratena Island where he repaired his ship. This island afforded much silver, gold, copper, sulphur, spices, lemons, cucumbers, cocoa-nuts, and other delicious fruits. "We loaded our vessels abundantly with these, being able to certify that since our departure from England we have not visited any place where we have found more comforts in the way of food and fresh provisions than in this island and that of Ternate."
After quitting this richly endowed island, Drake landed at Greater Java, where he was very warmly welcomed by the five kings amongst whom the island was partitioned, and by the inhabitants. "These people are of a fine degree of corpulence, they are great connoisseurs in arms, with which they are well provided, such as swords, daggers, and bucklers, and all these arms are made with much art." Drake had been some little time at Java when he learnt that not far distant there was a powerful fleet at anchor, which he suspected must belong to Spain; to avoid it he put to sea in all haste. He doubled the Cape of Good Hope during the first days of June, and after stopping at Sierra Leone to take in water, he entered Plymouth harbour on the 3rd November, 1580, after an absence of three years all but a few days.
The reception which awaited him in England was at first extremely cold. His having fallen by surprise both upon Spanish towns and ships, at a time when the two nations were at peace, rightly caused him to be regarded by a portion of society as a pirate, who tramples under foot the rights of nations. For five months the Queen herself, under the pressure of diplomatic proprieties, pretended to be ignorant of his return. But at the end of that time, either because circumstances had altered, or because she did not wish to show herself any longer severe towards the skilful sailor, she repaired to Deptford where Drake's ship was moored, went on board, and conferred the honour of knighthood upon the navigator.