While our ship continued on its way that night, having parted company with the other, great storm-winds arose at sea, so that we saw the land by twelve or one o’clock, before we could anchor.
And when the ship had touched the ground, we having notwithstanding a full mile to make in order to reach land, knew of no other counsel save to appeal to God Almighty that He might be merciful and take pity on us. That same hour our ship was broken into many thousand pieces, and fifteen of our men and six Indians were drowned. Some taking hold of large pieces of timber swam out, and I with five of my companions escaped on the mast. But of the fifteen drowned we could not find one. God bless them and us all. Amen.
We had afterwards to go on foot one hundred miles,[135] having lost all our clothes and victual, and had to sustain ourselves with such roots and fruits as we could find in the fields, until we came to the haven called S. Gabriel, where we found the aforesaid ship with her captain, which had arrived there thirty days before us.
[135] The distance which Schmidt and his companions would have had to walk, in a straight line between Cape Santa Maria, where it is probable that the shipwreck took place, and the island of San Gabriel, would have been 255 English miles.
When this mishap had been reported to our commander, Martino Domingo Eijolla,[136] he and all his men were very sorry, for they thought we had all perished, and they had already caused masses to be said for our souls.
[136] Domingo Martinez de Irala.
As soon as we had arrived at Bonas Aeieres,[137] our commander, Martin Domingo Eijolla, ordered the captain of our ship and the pilot to come before him; and if there had not been much intercession on behalf of the pilot he would have been hanged. He was, however, condemned to stay for four years on the bergentin ships.
[137] Buenos Ayres.
All the people being together at Bonas Aeieres, our chief captain ordered that the bergentin ships should be made ready, and that all the soldiers should be in them together, and that they should burn the great ships; preserving, however, the iron tackling. After this had been done, we sailed once more up the river Paranaw, and came to the town Noster Signora Desumsion, where we remained two years, waiting further orders from H. I. Majesty.
Meanwhile, another chief commander named Albernunzo Cabessa de Bacha,[138] came from Spain, appointed by H. I. Majesty, with four hundred men and thirty horses, in four vessels, two of which were large ships, and the other two Karabella.[139] These four ships arrived in Brazil at the haven called Wiessay, or S. Catherina,[140] to seek provision of victual, and when the commander had sent the two Karabella to sail eight miles distance from that port to seek for victuals, such a storm befell them that they were both compelled to remain at sea, and they perished, being broken all to pieces, but the men escaped.[141] When the chief captain heard of this, he durst not put to sea with the other two ships; but, since they were unseaworthy, he had them broken up, and came to us in haste by land to Riodellaplata, to the town Noster Signora desumsion, on the river Paraboe, and brought not more than three hundred out of the four hundred men with him, the remainder having died of hunger and disease.[142]