A third and last cause, of the losse of sundry of our men, most worthy of note for all captaines, owners, and carpenters, was the race[233] building of our shippe, the onely fault shee had; and now a-dayes, held for a principall grace in any shippe: but by the experience which I have had, it seemeth for sundry reasons verie prejudiciall for shippes of warre. For in such, those which tackle the sayles, of force must bee upon the deckes, and are open without shelter or any defence: yet here it will be objected, that for this Wast clothes not so useful inconvenience, wast clothes are provided, and for want of them, it is usuall to lace a bonnet, or some such shadow for the men: worthily may it bee called a shadow, and one of the most pernitious customes that can be used; for this shadow, or defence, being but of linnen or wollen cloth, emboldeneth many, who without it would retire to better securitie; whereas, now thinking themselves unseene, they become more bould then otherwise they would, and thereby shot through when they least thinke of it. Some captaines observing this errour, have sought to remedie it in some of his Majesties shippes; not by altering the building, but as other devises. by devising a certaine defence, made of foure or five inch planckes, of five foote high, and sixe foote broad, running upon wheeles, and placed in such partes of the shippe as are most open. These they name blenders, and made of elme for the most part; for that it shivers not with a shot, as oake and other timber will doe, which are now in use and service: but best it is, when the whole side hath one blender, and one armour of proofe, for defence of those which of force must labour and be aloft.
This race building, first came in by overmuch homing[234] in of our shippes; and received for good, under colour of making our shippes thereby the better sea-shippes, and of better advantage to hull and trye: but in my judgement, it breedeth many inconveniences, and is farre from working the effect they pretend, by disinabling them for bearing their cage worke correspondent to the proportion and mould of the shippe, making them tender sided, and unable to carry sayle in any fresh gaile of winde, and diminishing the play of their artillery, and the place for accommodating their people to fight, labor, or rest.
And I am none of those who hold opinion that the over-much homing in, the more the better, is commodious and easier for the shippe; and this out of the experience that I have learned, which with forcible reasons I could prove to be much rather discomodious and worthy to be reformed. But withall, I hold it not necessary to discourse here of that particularitie, but leave the consequence to men of understanding, and so surcease.
SECTION LXII.
All this second day, and the third day and night, our captaine and company susteined the fight, notwithstanding the disadvantage where with they fought; the enemie being ever to wind-ward, and wee to lee-ward, their shott much The disadvantage of ships to lee-ward. damnifying us, and ours little annoying them; for whensoever a man encountreth with his enemie at sea, in gayning the weather gage, hee is in possibilitie to sinke his contrary, but his enemie cannot sinke him; and therefore And the best remedie. hee which is forced to fight with this disadvantage, is to procure by all meanes possible to shoote downe his contraries masts or yards, and to teare or spoyle his tackling and sayles; for which purpose, billets of some heavy wood fitted to the great ordinance, are of great importance. And so are arrows of fire, to bee shott out of slur-bowes, and cases of small shott, joyned two and two together, with peeces of wyer, of five or sixe ynches long, which also shot out of muskets are of good effect, for tearing the sayles or cutting the tackling.
Some are of opinion that crosse barres and chaine-shot are of moment for the spoyling of masts and yards; but experience dayly teacheth them not to be of great importance, though neere at hand, I confesse, they worke great execution; but the round shott is the onely principall and powerfull meane to breake mast or yard.
The Spaniards fore-mast thrice shot through.
And in this our fight, the admirall of the Spaniards had his fore-mast shot through with two round shott, some three yardes beneath the head; had either of them entred but foure ynches further into the heart of the mast, without all doubt it had freed us, and perhaps put them into our hands. The third day, in the after-noone, which was the 22nd of June 1594, according to our computation, and which I follow in this my discourse, our sayles being torne, our mastes all perished, our pumpes rent and shot to peeces, and our shippe with fourteene shott under water and seven or eight foote of water in hold; many of our men being slaine, and the most part of them which remayned sore hurt, and in a manner altogether fruiteles, and the enemie offering still to receive us a buena querra, and to give us life and libertie, and imbarkation for our countrey;—our captaine, and those which remayned of our company, were all of opinion that our best course was to surrender our selves before our shippe suncke. And so by common consent agreed the second time to send a servant of mine, Thomas Sanders, to signifie unto mee the estate of our shippe and company: and that it was impossible by any other way to expect for hope of deliverance, or life, but by the miraculous hand of God, in using his Almighty power, or by an honourable surrender: which in every mans opinion was thought most convenient. So was I desired by him to give also my consent, that the captaine might capitulate with the Spanish generall, and to compound the best partido he could by surrendring our selves into his hands, upon condition of life and libertie. This hee declared unto me, being in a manner voyd of sence, and out of hope to live or recover; which considered, and the circumstances of his relation, I answered as I could, that hee might judge of my state, readie every moment to give up the ghost, and unable to discern in this cause what was convenient, except I might see the present state of the shippe. And that the honour or dishonour, the welfare or misery was for them, which should be partakers of life. At last, for that I had satisfaction of his valour and true dealing in all the time hee had served me, and in correspondence of it, had given him (as was notorious) charge and credit in many occasions, I bound him, by the love and regard hee ought me, and by the faith and duty to Almighty God, to tell me truely if all were as he had declared. Whereunto hee made answere, that hee had manifested unto mee the plaine and naked truth, and that hee tooke God to witnesse of the same truth; with which receiving satisfaction, I forced my selfe what I could to perswade him to annimate his companions, and in my name to intreate the captaine and the rest to persevere in defence of their libertie, lives, and reputation, remitting all to his discretion: not doubting but he would be tender of his dutie, and zealous of my reputation, in preferring his liberty, and the liberty of the company, above all respects whatsoever. As for the welfare hoped by a surrender, I was altogether unlikely to be partaker thereof, death threatning to deprive me of the benefit which the enemie offered; but if God would bee pleased to free us, the joy and comfort I should receive, might perhaps give me force and strength to recover health.
Which answere being delivered to the captaine, hee presently caused a flagge of truce to be put in place of our ensigne, and began to parley of our surrendry, with a Spaniard, which Don Beltran appointed for that purpose, from the poope of the admirall, to offer in his name, the conditions before specified; with his faithful promise and oath, as the king generall, to take us a buena querra, and to send us all into our owne countrey. The promise hee accepted, and sayd that under the same hee yeelded, and surrendred himselfe, shippe, and company. Immediately there came unto me another servant of mine, and told me that our captaine had surrendred himselfe, and our shippe; which understood, I called unto one Juan Gomes de Pineda, a Spanish pilote, which was our prisoner, and in all the fight we had kept close in hold, and willed him to goe to the generall Don Beltran de Castro from mee, to tell him that if he would give us his word and oath, as the generall of the king, and some pledge for confirmation, to receive us a buena querra, and to give us our lives and libertie, and present passage into our owne countrey, that we would surrender ourselves and shippe into his hands; otherwise, that he should never enjoy of us nor ours, any thing but a resolution every man to dye fighting.