The Observations of Sir Richard Hawkins, Knt, in his Voyage into the South Sea in the Year 1593 / Reprinted from the Edition of 1622

by Sir Richard Hawkins

But now the Indians uniting themselves together, presuming that by the helpe of this Molato, they should force the Spaniards out of the countrey, put their resolution into execution, drove their enemies into the woods, and slue as many as they could lay hands on; some they killed, few escaped with life; and those who had that good happe, suffered extreame misery before they came to Quito, the place of neerest habitation of Spaniards.

To this bay, assoone as our people in the pinnas saw their errour, they brought their tackes abourd, and turned and tyded it up, as they could. Assoone as we came to anchor, I procured to remedie that was amisse; in two daies wee dispatched all we had to doe, and the next morning wee resolved to set sayle, and to leave the coast of Peru and Quito.

The day appearing, we began to weigh our anchors, and being a pike, ready to cut sayle, one out of the toppe descryed Spanish Armado. the Spanish armado, comming about the cape; which by the course it kept, presently gave us to understand who they were: though my company, as is the custome of sea-men, made them to be the fleete bound for Panama, loaden with treasure, and importuned that in all hast we should cut sayle and stand with them; which I contradicted, for that I was assured, that no shipping would stirre upon the coast till they had securitie of our departure (except some armado that might be sent to seeke us), and that it was not the time of the yeare to carry the treasure to Panama. And besides, in riding still at an anchor, they ever came neerer unto us; for they stood directly with us, and wee kept the weather gage; where if we had put our selves under sayle, the ebbe in hand, wee should have given them the advantage, which we had in our power, by reason of the point of the bay. And being the armado, as it was, we gained time to fit ourselves, the better to fight. And truly (as before, to a stiffe-necked horse), so now againe I cannot but resemble the condition of the mariner to any thing better, then to the current of a furious river, repressed by force or art, which neverthelesse ceaseth not to seeke a way to overthrow both fence and banke: even so the common sort of sea-men, apprehending a conceite in their imaginations, neither experiment, knowledge, examples, reasons, nor authority, can alter and remoove them from their conceited opinions. In this extremitie, with reason I laboured to convince them, and to contradict their pretences: but they altogether without reason, or against reason, breake out, some into vaunting and bragging, some into reproaches of want of courage, others into wishings that they had never come out of their countrey, if we should refuse to fight with two shippes whatsoever. The unadvised courage of the multitude. And to mend the matter, the gunner, for his part, assured me that with the first tire[207] of shott, he would lay the one of them in the sods: and our pinnace, that she would take the other to taske. One promised that he would cut downe the mayne yard; another that he would take their flagge; and all in generall shewed a great desire to come to tryall with the enemy. To some I turned the deafe eare, with others I dissembled, and armed myselfe with patience (having no other defence nor remedie for that occasion), soothing and animating them to the execution of what they promised, and perswaded them to have a little sufferance, seeing they gained time and advantage by it.

And to give them better satisfaction, I condiscended that our captaine, with a competent number of men, should with our pinnace goe to discover them; with order that they should not engage themselves in that manner as they might not be able to come unto us, or we to succour them. In all these divisions and opinions, our master, Hugh Dormish,[208] who was a most sufficient man for government and valour, and well saw the errors of the multitude, used his office as became him; and so did all those of best understanding.

In short space our pinnace discovered what they were, and casting about to returne unto us, the vice-admirall, being next her, began with her chace to salute her with three or foure peeces of artillery, and so continued chasing her and gunning at her. My company seeing this, now began to change humour; and I then to encourage and perswade them to performe the execution of their promises and vaunts of valour, which they had but even now protested, and given assurance of by their proferres and forwardnesse.

And that we might have sea-roome to fight, we presently weighed anchor, and stood off to sea with all our sayles, in hope to get the weather gage of our contraries. But the winde scanting with us, and larging with them, we were The beginning of the fight. forced to lee-ward. And the admirall weathering us, came rome[209] upon us: which being within musket shott, we hayled first with our noise of trumpets, then with our waytes, and after with our artilery: which they answered with artilery, two for one. For they had double the ordinance we had, and almost tenne men for one. Immediately they came shoring[210] abourd of us, upon our lee quarter, contrary to our expectation, and the custome of men of warre. The inexperience of the Spaniards. And doubtlesse, had our gunner beene the man he was reputed to be, and as the world sould him to me, shee had received great hurt by that manner of bourding. But And carelesnesse of the English. contrary to all expectation, our stearne peeces were unprimed, and so were all those which we had to lee-ward, save halfe one in the quarter, which discharged, wrought that effect in our contraries as that they had five or sixe foote water in hold, before they suspected it.

How farre a commander is to trust his officers.

Hereby all men are to take warning by me, not to trust any man in such extremities, when he himselfe may see it done: and comming to fight, let the chieftaine himselfe be sure to have all his artilery in a readinesse upon all occasions. This was my oversight, this my overthrow. For I and all my company had that satisfaction of the sufficiencie and the care of our gunner, as not any one of us ever imagined there would be any defect found in him. For my part, I with the rest of our officers, occupied our selves in cleering our deckes, laceing our nettings, making of bulwarkes, arming our toppes, fitting our wast-cloathes, tallowing our pikes, slinging our yards, doubling our sheetes, and tackes, placing and ordering our people, and procuring that they should be well fitted and provided of all things; leaving the artilery, and other instruments of fire, to the gunners dispose and order, with the rest of his mates and adherents; which, as I said, was part of our perdition. For bearing me ever in hand, that he had five hundred cartreges in a readinesse, within one houres fight we were forced to occupie three persons onely in making and filling cartreges; and of five hundred elles of canvas and other cloth given him for that purpose, at sundry times, not one yard was to be found. For this we have no excuse, and therefore could not avoyd the danger, to charge and discharge with the ladell, especially in so hotte a fight.[211] And comming now to put in execution the sinking of the shippe, as he promised, he seemed a man without life or soule. So the admirall comming close unto us, I myselfe, and the master of our shippe, were forced to play the gunners.

Deceit of the gunner, and his extreme carelesnesse, and suspitious disloyalty.

Those instruments of fire wherein he made me to spend excessively, before our going to sea, now appeared not; neither the brasse balles of artificiall fire, to be shott with slurbowes (whereof I had six bowes, and two hundreth bals, and which are of great account and service, either by sea or land); he had stowed them in such manner, though in double barrels, as the salt water had spoyled them all; so that comming to use them, not one was serviceable. Some of our company had in him suspition to be more friend to the Spaniards then to us; for that he had served some yeares in the Tercera, as gunner, and that he did all this of purpose. Few of our peeces were cleere, when we came to use them, and some had the shott first put in, and after the powder. Besides, after our surrendry, it was laid to his charge, that he should say, he had a brother that served the king in the Peru, and that he thought he was in the armado; and how he would not for all the world he should be slaine. Whether this were true or no, I know not; but I am sure all in generall gave him an ill report, and that he in whose hands the chiefe execution of the whole fight consisted, executed nothing as was promised and expected.