It was now the mariner’s intention to proceed northwards into a warm climate; but a terrific tempest carried the ships southward of Cape Horn, thus giving to Drake the distinction of being the first European to view the union of the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. Cape Horn had, it is said, been sighted by the Spanish Commodore Lope de Loyaya in 1525, and was doubled by Le Maire and Schouten in 1646, the latter bestowing upon it the name of Hoorn, his native place in Holland.[W] On endeavouring to regain their way northwards, the “Marigold” was lost with all hands, whilst the “Golden Hind” and the “Elizabeth” were separated, the latter vessel, on re-entering the strait, giving up the voyage “by Captain Winter’s compulsion, full sore against the mariners’ minds.”
Drake’s ship being now left alone with the little pinnace, was again driven back into the latitude of 55° south, in which the captain anchored among some islands. After two days, however, they were driven from their anchorage, when the pinnace lost sight of the ship. By good fortune the former re-entered the Straits of Magellan, and her crew of eight men proceeded to Port St. Julian, and thence to the Plata. Of the eight men, four were captured by Indians, two wounded men died, and the remaining two stayed on a small island for two months, subsisting on crabs, eels, and fruit, but without water. They at length succeeded in reaching the mainland, when one of the two survivors died from the effects of drinking too much of the stream.[X]
Meanwhile Drake, in the “Golden Hind,” proceeded towards the north-west. He fell in with two islands, where he laid in a supply of fowls, and then continued his course to the island of Macho, inhabited by Indians, by whom some of his men were attacked and slain. Drake himself was hit in the face by an arrow, and he likewise received another wound in the head. On the 13th of November he captured an Indian in a bay called St. Philip, whom he treated with kindness, and dismissed to rejoin his countrymen, who brought fowls, eggs, and a hog to the boat. An Indian chief now joined Drake’s vessel, and conducted it to Valparaiso, where he met with such stores as he needed, and parted with his Indian pilot.
On the 19th of December the “Golden Hind” entered a bay near a town called Cyppo, where three hundred Spaniards and Indians came down to the shore, one of Drake’s men being slain. The navigator now proceeded to the north, where a pinnace was set up in a convenient spot, in order that search might be made in the creeks for intelligence of the missing ships.
The next place landed at was Tarapaca, in about 20° S. latitude, where a Spaniard was found asleep, with a bundle of thirteen silver bars at his side, valued at four thousand ducats. The sleeper himself remained uninjured otherwise than by his loss. In another place eight llamas were taken, laden with one hundred pounds’ weight of silver. Still further on Drake reached a town where the Spaniards agreed to traffic with him. On the 7th of February he arrived before Arica, where he took some barques carrying much silver. On the 15th he reached Callao, the port of Lima, which harbour he entered without resistance, although thirty vessels were gathered within it. Of these he plundered seventeen, which were laden. The vessels had no one on board, as the visit of an enemy was the last event which was expected. In one of these ships alone were found fifteen hundred bars of silver, whilst another contained a large chest of coined money.
Drake took the precaution of cutting the cables of these vessels before he set out in pursuit of a ship laden with gold and silver, which had on the eve of his arrival departed for Panamá. As he was on his way he fell in with a brigantine, from which he helped himself to eighty pounds’ weight of gold, together with other treasures. At length he came in sight of the “Cacafuego,” about one hundred and fifty leagues from Panamá, when she was boarded and easily captured. From her Drake obtained pearls and precious stones, together with eighty pounds’ weight of gold and thirteen chests of silver. It was estimated that the “Golden Hind” now carried a treasure of ninety thousand pounds. The “Cacafuego” was permitted to go on her way, Drake’s object being plunder and not wanton destruction.
He had good reason to avoid Panamá, so he stood to the westward, where he fell in with another ship, the pilot of which he retained for his own service. It is not within the plan of this work to follow the adventurous navigator to North America or on his further course over the globe, on completing which he reached Plymouth on the 26th of September 1580, having been absent two years, ten months, and some odd days, during which time he had, in the expressive language of an old writer, “ploughed up a furrow round the world.” It may be permitted, however, to mention one or two points, as throwing light upon the very singular history of the relations between Spain and England at that period, and as therefore illustrating the position in which the Spanish possessions in South America were placed.
The arrival of Drake at Plymouth was hailed, as on a former occasion, with the most warm welcome, the mayor and corporation receiving him, and the bells of St. Andrew’s Church ringing a continuous peal during the day, whilst the gentlemen of the neighbourhood vied with the burghers to do him honour. But all was not quite clear on Drake’s horizon. That he had committed acts against Spain which could only be justified by his country being at war with that power was abundantly clear. Drake was therefore in one of two positions. Either he was an officer bearing letters of marque, or other authority, from Queen Elizabeth, which entitled him to commit the acts which he had committed, in which case Elizabeth was at war with Spain; or he had committed these unquestioned acts of piracy on his own account, in which case he was liable to punishment, and the Spaniards whom he had plundered were entitled to demand restitution of the losses they had sustained through his acts.
Queen Elizabeth and her Ministers took five months to decide this point, in which they were so deeply interested and on which so much depended. During this time Drake remained in semi-disgrace, since no ray of court favour fell upon him. It may readily be imagined with what doubts the Queen was at this time perplexed. That she heartily approved of the deeds of Drake, and that she gloried in him as a gallant navigator, no one would for a moment question; but, on the other hand, there was the supposed colossal power of Spain, backed by the Church,—so soon to be shivered against the force of England, but a contest with which was not lightly to be entered upon.
Fortunately for the human race, Queen Elizabeth and her counsellors determined to take upon themselves the responsibility of avowing the acts of Drake, who, whilst the issues of the question concerning him were being discussed, received the complimentary appellation of “the master thiefe of the unknowne world,” which it must be admitted he fully deserved. It may be interesting to state that the immediate pecuniary results of this voyage to Drake himself, and to his partners and fellow-adventurers, after all charges had been paid, was four thousand seven hundred per cent. He was likewise knighted and promoted to the rank of admiral, whilst in the “Golden Hind” he was visited by the Queen.