The 6th September, they reached the western extremity of the straits, and entered into the great South Sea or Pacific Ocean. On the 7th, the fleet encountered a storm, by which they were driven one degree to the southwards of the straits, and more than 200 leagues in longitude back from that entrance.[25] They were driven even so far as the lat. of 57° 20' S. where they anchored among the islands, finding good fresh water and excellent herbs.[26] Not far from thence, they entered another bay, where they found naked people, ranging about the islands in canoes, in search of provisions, with whom they had some intercourse by way of barter. Continuing their course towards the north, they discovered three islands on the 3d October, in one of which there was an incredible number of birds. On the 8th October, they lost company of the Elizabeth, the vice admiral, commanded by Captain Winter. At his return home, they found that Mr Winter had been forced to take refuge from the storm in the straits, whence he returned to England, though many of us feared he and his people had perished.
[Footnote 25: This is a gross error, probably a misprint for 20 leagues of longitude, as the quantity in the text would have driven them far to the eastwards of the straits, into the Atlantic, which is impossible, the whole of Tierra del Fuego being interposed.--E.]
[Footnote 26: This too is erroneous, as Cape Horn, not then known, is only in lat. 55° 58' 30' S.]
Having now got back to the western entrance of the straits, they made sail for the coast of Chili, which the general maps represented as trending N.W. but which they found to the east of N. so that these coasts had not been fully discovered, or very inaccurately represented, for the space of 12 degrees at least, either for the purpose to deceive, or through ignorance. Proceeding northwards along the coast of Chili, they came to the island of Mocha, in 38° 30' S. latitude, on the 29th November, where they cast anchor. The admiral went here ashore with ten men, and found the island inhabited by a people who had fled from the extreme cruelty of the Spaniards, leaving their original habitations on the continent, to enjoy their lives and liberties in security. These people at first behaved civilly to the admiral and his men, bringing them potatoes and two fat sheep, promising also to bring them water, and they received some presents in return. Next day, however, when two men went ashore with barrels for water, the natives suddenly assailed and killed them. The reason of this outrage was, that they mistook the English for Spaniards, whom they never spare when they fall into their hands.
Continuing their course along the coast of Chili, they met an Indian in a canoe, who mistook them for Spaniards, and told them of a great Spanish ship at St Jago, laden for Peru. Rewarding him for this intelligence, the Indian conducted them to where the ship lay at anchor, in the port of Valparaiso, in lat. 33° 40' S.[27] All the men on board were only eight Spaniards and three negroes, who, supposing the English to have been friends, welcomed them with beat of drum, and invited them on board to drink Chili wine. The English immediately boarded and took possession; when one of the Spaniards leapt overboard, and swam ashore to give notice of the coming of the English. On this intelligence, all the inhabitants of the town, being only about nine families, escaped into the country. The admiral and his men landed, and rifled the town and its chapel, from which they took a silver chalice, two cruets, and an altar cloth. They found also in the town a considerable store of Chili wine, with many boards of cedar wood, all of which they carried on board their ships. Then setting all the prisoners on shore, except one named John Griego, born in Greece, who was detained as a pilot, the admiral directed his course for Lima, the capital of Peru, under the guidance of this new pilot.
[Footnote 27: More correctly, 33° 00' 30" S. and long. 71° 38' 30" W. from Greenwich.--E.]
Being now at sea, they examined the booty in their prize, in which they found 25,000 pezos of pure gold of Baldivia, amounting to above 37,000 Spanish ducats. Continuing their course for Lima, they put into the harbour of Coquimbo, in lat. 29° 54' S. where the admiral sent fourteen men on shore for water. This small company being espied by the Spaniards, they collected 300 horse and 200 foot, and slew one of the Englishmen, the rest getting back to the ship. From thence they went to a port named Taropaca in Peru, in lat 20° 15' S. where landing, a Spaniard was found asleep on the shore, having eighteen bars of silver lying beside him, worth about 4000 Spanish ducats, which they carried away, leaving him to his repose. Going again on shore, not far from thence, in search of water, they met a Spaniard and an Indian, driving eight Peruvian sheep, laden with fine silver, each sheep having two leather bags on his back, in each of which were about fifty pounds weight. These they carried on board, finding in the whole of these bags 800 pounds weight of silver. From thence they went to Arica, in lat. 18° 40' S. in which port they plundered three small barks of fifty-seven bars of silver, each bar being in shape and size like a brick-bat, and weighing about twenty pounds. Not having sufficient strength, they did not assault the town, but put again to sea, where they met another small bark, laden with linen, part of which was taken out, and the bark dismissed.
They came to Calao, the port of Lima, in lat. 12° 10' S. on the 13th February, 1579, where they found twelve ships at anchor, with all their sails down, without watch or guard, all their masters and merchants being on shore. On examining the contents of these ships, they found a chest full of dollars, with great store of silks and linen, and carried away all the silver, and part of the other goods to their own ships. Here the admiral got notice of a very rich ship, called the Cacafuego, which had sailed for Paita, in lat. 5° 10' S. Pursuing her thither, they learnt, before arriving at Paita, that she had sailed for Panama. In continuing the pursuit to Panama, they took another, which paid them well for their trouble; as, besides her ropes and other tackle, she yielded eighty pounds weight of gold, together with a large golden crucifix, richly adorned with emeralds.
Continuing to pursue the Cacafuego, the admiral promised to give his gold chain to the first person who descried the chase, which fell to the share of Mr John Drake, who first discovered her, one morning about three o'clock. They came up with her about six, gave her three shots, which struck down her mizen-mast, and then boarded. They found this ship fully as rich as she was reported, having thirteen chests full of dollars, eighty pounds weight of gold, a good quantity of jewels, and twenty-six tons of silver in bars.[28] Among other rich pieces of plate found in this ship, there were two very large gilt silver bowls, which belonged to her pilot. On seeing these, the admiral said to the pilot, that these were fine bowls, and he must needs have one of them; to which the pilot yielded, not knowing how to help himself; but, to make this appear less like compulsion, he gave the other to the admiral's steward. The place where this rich prize was taken was off Cape San Francisco, about 150 leagues from Panama, and in lat. 1° N. [00° 45'.] When the people of the prize were allowed to depart, the pilot's boy told the admiral, that the English ship ought now to be called the Cacafuego, not theirs, as it had got all their rich loading, and that their unfortunate ship ought now to be called the Cacaplata, which jest excited much mirth.[29]
[Footnote 28: Without calculating on the jewels, for which there are no data, the silver and gold of this prize could hardly fall short of 250,000l--worth more than a million, in effective value, of the present day.--E.]