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Ne* York 14609 (713) 482 - 0300 - Phone (716) 288 - S98 - Fax USA OUT WITH THE OLD VOYAGERS ^w H 3 I mi.VKi', TX iTiisrir i»k riii': Ti;r..vsui;K->iiii'. \s^ O U T \y I T H THE OLD VOYAGERS nv HORACE G, GROSER AUrUOH Off "ATLANTIS, ANU OTIlliK TOKMu' "And they co Ion;; days tossiiisf up and down Over the grey sea ridge., and the sliiiipse Of port thiy had makes bitterer far their toil." Mattiiuw Arnold SIXTH TflOUbAXD l&l London-: ANDREW MELROSE Toronto: WILLLAM BRIGGS, Publisher VAM!{!1^^P'J>F^*ecF;BP '' RY VANIlR, (Oi r.-.v.'Ay ONT. '^ K1L 7C3 s CONTENTS iNTnonroToiiY riiArrRU . . , . lUINCK HKNUY OF POllTUOAI, (1:394-11(10) r.Y THK .SEA-nOAD TO INDIA — Till; VOYAOK OF VASCO PA (JAMA (1497) . WESTWAKU TO A Ni:\V WOULD — THE VOYAOK OF CHUISTOPIIK It COLUMBUS (1492) . THE FIRST VOYAGE ItOUNl) THE WOULD — THE EXPLOIT OK FEUDINANI) MAGELLAN (1519) . WESTWAllD WITH THE CAIIOTS (1497 AND 1498) TO THE LAND OF THE ESKIMO— THE THIIEE VOYAGES OF MAUTIN FKOBISHEK (1576- 1578) TO THE ISLES OF THE CAKIIJ SEA— THK THREE VOYAGES OF SIR JOHN HAWKINS (1562-1568) KOUND THE WOULD WITH DUAKE (1577-1580) IN OnEENLAND WATEIiS— THE THIiEE VOYAGES OF JOHN DAVIS (1585-1587) Vii PAr.B xi 21 89 60 80 99 132 151 174 4 vm Contents KASTWAKD TO TllK INDIES — THE VOYAGES OF Sill JAMES LANCASTEK (1591-1000) WITH BAUKNTS TO NOVA ZKMlil.A (159 J-1.J97) . "N0UTH-EA8T OK NOKTll-WEST '/ " — THE FOUR VOYAGES OF HEXIIY lirnsoN (IG07-1010) PAOK 190 219 2J9 n LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS DUAKE IX PUllSUIT OF TIIK TREASUUE-SIIII' IIKNIIY TUE NAVIGATOR .... I'RIXCE HEXUY's ships KETURXINO to LAGOS . VASCO PA OAMA BIUDINO FAREWELL TO HIS FRIENDS VASCO DA GAMA TOWARD Tin; LAND OF TUE .SETTING SUN :— THE "SANT MARIA," FLAG-S' - OF COLUMBUS. THE LANDING OF COLUSIBUS .... FERDINAND MAGELLAN ..... FLYINO FISH PURSUED BY BONITOS THE DEATH OF MAGELLAN .... "ISLE AFTER ISLE, BEAUTIFUL WITH PALMS AND REDOLEN' OF SPICES, FADED BEHIND THEM " CHART OF THE NORTHERN SEAS, SHOWING VOYAGES FROM 1497 A.D, ...... ON THE NEWFOUNDLAND COAST "swarms OF SEA-BIRDS FILLED THE AIR WITH THKIR HOARSE cries" • ■ . . . ^JAUTIN FKOBIStlER ... ESKIMO IN THKIR KAYAKS .... PAGE Frontispiece 3 13 23 33 '15 53 61 65 73 77 S9 93 96 101 109 X L ist of Illitsti'ations Tin: WILD BLEAK COAST OK TlIK OKKNEYS CAUUHT IN- THE OIIEIKLANI) ICE "VEr.Y SOON TllEIlE CAME A M K.SSENGER ItlDINC OUT WP A FLAG OF TUfCE" .... ".SOME WAXnEItEI) NOllTH, AM) WEIU: liliOlGHT HoME UV FllENcn .SIIII'.S" . . . . SIR FUAXCI.S DRAKE ..... EN'GLI.sn ROVERS ATTACKING A SPANISH GALLEON "the green plumes OF THK ISLAND PALMS WERE GRATEIT TO THE eye" ..... "a huge rear was caught NAPPING ON TMK TOP OF A island" ...... "the myriads of SEA-BIKDS AMAZED THE VOYAGEP.s" CARACK OF EARLY SEVENTEKNTII CENTURY "such AN(tTlIER PLAINE MAP.KE IS KOT IN ALL THAT CUAST : TABLE MOUNTAIN FROM THE SEA . "the invitation came, with true ORIENTAL PdMP AN DISl'LAY " . Model of armed dutch merchantman of the period discussing the possibility of a north-east passage a terror of the arctic seas "a supply ok the timber was FETCHKl) ON ROUGH SLEDGES "they set TO WORK TO CUT A PASSAGE T:gyptian king Pharaoh Necho, about 600 B.C. They are said to have sailed right round the African con- tinent, starting from the Eed Sea, doubling the Cape touching at Cadiz, and so by the Mediterranean reachmg the delta of the Nile. xiv Out ivith tJte Old Voyagers To the Pluenicians, as wc have said, belongs the honour of being the first to trace the coast-line of North Africa. About the same time, or rather later, a branch of the v'reek race, the lonians vi Phokica, were showing themselves almost as able and intrepid, Thjir swift fifty-oared galleys were becoming quite a familiar sight on the coasts of the Adriatic, and the pirates, lying in wait for the timid, clumsy merchant- man, let the sharp-beaked Ionian trader pass on her way. The earliest knowledge of the irregular northern coast-line of the Mediterranean is certainly due largely to these adventurous Phokieans. They reached at last the southern shores of France, and the city of Marseilles owes its rise to them. vSoon the furrows ploughed by Phtenician ships began to be crossed and recrossed by Greek voyagers. Into many a harbour of the Levant, and across many a dangerous strip of sea, the mariners of Tyre and Sidon saw with annoyance "... the merry Grecian coaster come. Freighted with amber grapes, and Chian wine. Green, bursting ligs, and tunnies steep'd in brine— And knew the intrudt-rs on their ancient home." As the Phwnieians of Cadiz widened for tliemselves the limits of trade, and carried Tyrian speech, and Tyrian money and wares, yet farther afield and across i Introductoiy Chapter XV sens yet iiioio remote, so did the Pliu'iiicians of Cartliiige niuke exploring cruises on their own account. Tlie record of Ilanno's voyage down the west coast of Africa, aw far perhaps as Sierra Leone, is one of the most interesting fragments of ancient history. The sliipmen seem to liave been much alarmed at certain sights along the coast. The warlike natives frightened them with their huge bonfires and the din of tlicir drums and tom-toms. Plenty of crocodiles were seen, and hippopotami wallowing in the river-reeds; and an entertaining account is given of the attempted capture of gorillas, and of how the fierce, hairy brutes lied to the steep rocks and hurled down stones at their pursuers. The expedition took place about the year 520 B.C. Just two centuries later, we fiiid a Phoki^an navigator sailing out through the Straits of Gibraltar and making his way to our own obscure island, which he rot only rounded in safety, but held on his course till new shores were sighted. Probably these were the Shetlands, but very vague ideas prevailed about the new " island," which was eventually called mtima Tkulc, and becjinie a proverbial phrase for something very far north, something very far away "at the edge of the world." Had Alexander of Macedon lived longer, we should most likely have had some big exploring trips to -Si XVI Out zaii/i lite Old Voyagers record^ H,s maritime general, Nearcl.us. .„ islander fio,a Crete, had already pleased the young hero bv .....k,„g a voyage from the Indus round to the mouti, o the Euphrates, at the head of the Persian Gulf More ambitious plans would no doubt have been' put lu action, but the touch of fever that laid low Alexander stayed alike the tide of Greek conquest ... As,a and the work of his fleets upon the seas. Alexander's generals, Seleueus, Antiochus, and rtolemy, on their attaining to royal positions of the.r own, each patronised nautical research The l'toIe„,les, who ruled Egypt, specially deserve recht^ llu,v sent out "navies" every year from their l.ed Sea ports to Arabia, and to places on the coasts of Afr,ca and India. Xhey were the patrons of •.ratosthenes (270-196 B.C.). who is fan.ous as hein^. tl.e first to make geography a science, and to construe! out of a medley of loose facts an orderly ..vstem It was already recognised that the earth .nnst be a globe u..d not as was formerly believed, a flat surface; aud Eratosthenes set himself to mark out the relative posifon of the various countries, and the proportion of space they really occupied. Nothing is more amusing, »' lookmg at ancient maps of the world, than to see the wrong sizes attributed to certain countries- ■""ch after the style of the first outline map drawn by boys at scliooi, ^ (:1 Ms 1 islcindor hero bv he moutli ifin Gulf. i\e been laid low conquest seas, us, and tions of deserve 3m their e coasts ;rons of IS beiiiLj HIS true t em. It a globe, :e; and relative rtiou of n using, lian to tries — iwu by Introductory Chapter XVII Hipparehus (1GO-U55 ac.) mapped out the starry heavens, on which the sailor .so long hud to rely for his knowledge of di«tanee and direction. This brings us down to IJoman times. But the Komans, except as their coni^uests demanded, did little to increase the knowledge of unknown shores and seas. Agricola, while in Scotland, a.d. 78, fighting tlie fierce tribes along the CIranipians, directed his ships, which followed hun as he moved northward, to find out how I'ar our island coasts extended. Ca'sar had Iduvcd J3ritain to be an island ; Agrieola's sailors 'proved it to be such. Tiiey furthermore sighted tlir3 Orkneys and Shetlands ; and their connades on shore in Galloway stared across the giey sea i,t the dim coast-line of Ireland which the legions had never reached. From the days of lloman rule we come to the time wlieu the disciples and successors of Mahomet in Arabia started on their long career of conquest, which took them eventually as far westward as Spain. Here a Moorish (Arab) kingdom long survived, with Cordova as its centre, and the splendid towers and temples of the invaders are still among the art-glories of that country. The home-centre of the race was at Bagdad- a name familiar from childhood to every reader of the AraUan Nirjhts. Here the science of geography, with many other sciences, was studied by men of learning and ■ * ■•"(4=5. xviii Qui with the Old Voyagers astuteness. Arab travellers began to win a name for themselves. Some of their writings and records have come down to us. The earliest is that of the merchant Sulainian, who, starting from the Persian Gulf, made several voyages to India and China, about the middle of the ninth century, A.u. To the same period belongs the story of Siiibad the Sailor, which we have been perhaps too ready to regard as pure romance. Probably there is a substratum of fact even in such fictions as the valley of diamonds, and the enormous roc, and the huge serpents ; as there certainly is in the episode of the cannibals and of the custom of living burial. As for the killing of the one-eyed geni, that incident is t)bviously an Eastern version of the old Greek story of Ulysses and Polyphemus. While the slant sails of Arab voyagers were skimming over the blue waters of the Indian Ocean, the less sunny seas of the north were being explored by a hardier and more daring race. The Norsemen were the boldest of all the navigators of the ancient world. We can gauge their spirit from their songs or sagas. We can judge of their fierce rapacity from the terror they inspired in every coast town. "Sea wolves" they called themselves. Sea eagles they were, rather ; red, indeed, beak and talon, with the blood of the slain, but splendid in their audacity of flight. No leaping billows Introducton> Chaptcf '% XIX over soaiecl tl.om from their que«t. Their .spi.it roso with the tempest, for the «nlt wuh iu their veinH. and uh3 turbulcnoe of the storm was in their hearts. A poor soil drove them fron. their farmsteads by crowds to seek a living with the sword, and they sailed to neighbouring coasts and ran up inland on the river- tides, and came home again with galleys treasure-laden. But the Norsemen were not all Vikin-s and marauders. Some fought only with the winds and waves, and traded peacefully enough. Our own Kin-^ Alfred eniployed or encouraged certain of them to bring him accounts of outlying regions. One pene- trated up the Baltic; another, Othere, went north- ward and eastward past the North Cape to Lapland and the White Sea. "Otlien., tlu) (.1,1 sea captain, Who (hvdt ill Helgoland, T() Kin- Alfred, the Lover of Tiuth, 13rou;,dit a snow-white walrus tooth, ' Whieh ho held in his brown right Imn.l." And Longfellow tells, in his ballad, how the king wrote down the old Norseman's story, with its strange tale of the midnight sun, and the chase of seal and whale m "a nameless sea." About the end of the m„th century men of Norse blood coIo„,.ed Iceland. T„ 877 they righted Green- land, which was so named by Erik the K«l a century XX Out luitk the Old Voyagers l^teir. Hu dt'libciiiU'ly Holocted wliiit he llmtij^'liL would ^ an eiitieiug name, luul iKn'suiided soiuo ul' his Xv, 'lawdic coiint-t'yiiu'ii to iiiukc^ a liomo there. In the year CHI), Bjonii, si'u ..i one (if ICrik's comrades, set •sail ill iiu Iceland to join his father in Greenland, hnt he niidc; ton southerly a ccjurse, and canio nixtn a new country. It was the '"oast-line of what are now the New England States. V'irtually, therefore, the young Viking was the discoverer of America. He steered northward at once, coasting along Connecticut, Massa- chusetts, and so hy Nova Scotia and Newfonndland, round to GreiMiland and tlie spot where his father was awaiting him. Fired by his story, Leif, a son of Red Erik, bought Bjorni's ship and sailed away, with a crew of five and twenty men, in quest of new hinds. The bleak snow- plains of what seems to have been Labrador were first reached. Passing on tluiy came to another coast, low, level, and wooded, which they named Markland (Wood- land). Thence a north-easterly wind bore them in two days to a river-mouth where they moored their galley, and on the banks they set up their winter camp. Where this spot was it is dillicult to say exactly, for the climate has evidently grown colder during the last thousand years, but it must have been pretty far south, for the voyagers revelled in tin; pleasantness even of the winter season, during which no frosts wliitenod the Introductory Chapter XXI 1 green grass. ITngn sulinon were .)io;icil at the camp fire,an.l the foiaging parties bro.i^ht in arm-loads of wild vines, in which the country abounded. Indeed from this it received itH name of Vinhind. a nam. that occurs fr('(iueniiy in Norse song and story, and vvliich must have had a dt-Hghtful suggestivenoss to the dwellers on the rugged iields and by the lonely fjords at home in Norrowuy. The discoverer of Vinhind had a brother. Tliorwuld. who was envious and eager to outdo Leif's exploit. He' took thirty men and sailed to the new country. There, with his brolher's old camp as headquarters and base,' he made exploring trips right and left. Then he pushed northward and eastward, and fell u with the Eskimo. One day, drowsy with the cold, tlu- Norsemen were nodding and dreaming in their ship w hen. says the saga, " a sudden scream came to them, and a count- less host from up the creek came in skin boats, and laid themP.lvcs alongside." With ranged shieMs the voyagers warded off the arrows that came hurtlin >■ from the /mya/^-s, until the shower ceased and the att.- -king horde drew off. But at least one of their numbc' , and that no less a man than Thorwald their leade. ' had been struck down by a dart, and his men carried him ashore and buried him at a pleasant spot which he ,ad pointed out as fit for sojourning. And there as fie old chronicle says witli sad humour, he did sojourn l.t xxil Out with the Old Voyagers with a cross at his feet and at his head. When the spring came his men sailed home to Greenland. The most famous, however, of the voyagers to Vin- land was Thorfinn Karlsefiio, who, coming from Norway to Greenland, about 1005, led a colonising expedition to the much talked of new country. There went 160 men, in three ships, and five women had the courage to go too. They found Leif's settlement, and were de- lighted with the place. They felled the forests, pastured the cattle they had brought with them, and gathered the wild grapes. The Eskimo, ever thievish and in- quisitive, pestered the settlers, and a palisade had to be put up round the circle of huts. Eventually a serious affray took place, which ended in the natives being worsted and dispersing into the woods. The settlement was abandoned in about two years, the ships returning laden with furs and timber to Greenland. This seems to have been the last vigorous attempt to establish a colony in Vinland. The cause of failure lay chielly in the fact that the colony was too far off to be easily succoured and supported. The Norse settlements in Greenland long survived. The famous voyagers, Nicolo and Antonio Zeno, two Venetian brothers, employed by Henry Sinclair, Lord of the Orkneys, make reference to them, and Antonio is known to have actually visited Greenland, Tjie colonics were blotted out by a savage raid of the "WMM XXlll lnlroducto7y CItapler natives about the yea.- U18 ; this catasfopl.e was no doubt the outcome of long years of jealousy and re- sentment of the intruders. -riie Crusades naturally drew the attention of Kurope to Oneutal alfairs, and the interest did not die out when this scries of "holy wars" canu. to an end. Among the travellers of the period cue name stands out prc-ennncut-that of Mareo Polo. His were chicHy land travels, but his valuable contribution to the geo- g.aph,eal knowledge of the day nu.st not bo passed over here. He journeyed as far as China, .and was for^seventeen years in the service of the Grand A less fannliar figure is that of the indefatigable Arab traveller Ihn H-ifi.to u i m 1304. and d.ed m 1377. His wanderings were far and wrde by land and sea, in Africa and through great ..csofA,, He , eomputed to have "covered 7o,000 mdes, a wonderful record for those days of slow journeyn^. He was absent fron, home for twenty-four years, and after settling down for less than three year, he was otr once more. '" Italian nan.es then begin to shine out tron> the page Ihose of N,oolo Conti through Persia and ChiL and the islands of the Iiidhn « • , , ° ^'"'"*'' *"". occupied twenty-five years; he returned to Venice in 1444. The name of iWMIIM %it Hlte i''"^!*^ xxiv Out loith the Old Voyagers Ludovico de Vurthema also deserves mention, as a five years' wanderer in the Far East. The mariner's compass is claimed by the Chinese as one of their inventions, but in the hands of enter- prising Europeans its use made little less than a re- volution in nautical affairs. Tt opened out splendid possibilities to the explorer. The old cautious, coast- hugging voyager, with his d(^pendence on landmarks, and his utter dread of the vast sea solitudes, became a creature of the pasl. To Flavio Gioja, an Italian, living at Amalfi, we are said to owe this inestimable gift ; tiie date of its introduction was about 1307. Portugal was destined to take the lead in the new era of discovery which was at hand, but sailors of other nations— Italian, French, and English— were before the Portuguese. The first of these three showed themselves vigorous pioneers. As far back as 1270— about the time that our own Prince Edward was fighting gallant but useless battles in Palestine against the irresistible Moslem power— the Italian, Lancelot .Alalocello, re-dis- covered the Canary Islands, and a few years later the ships of Genoa ventured down the Barbary coast beyond the furthest point then known. In 1341 the Canaries were again visited, by a mixed crew of Portuguese and Italians from Lisbon. Probably about this time European traders got scent of the good things to be had by pushing south to the Gulf of Guinea, and ■3 Introdiictoiy Chapter XXV i. bartering with tlie natives of tlie Guld Coast ; but, naturally, no accounts of sucli stealthy trips would be' published by those who planned them. It was to their interest to say nothing, and let people contiinie to think that only perilous seas awaited the sailor wlm attempted to push southward. The share which England had in these discoveries on the West Coast of Africa was quite an accidental one. The story is one of the most romantic conceivable. A young Englisliman, named Robert Machin, courted and won the aflections of a lady who was of much higlier rank than his own. Her friends haughtily re- fused tlieir consent to the union, succeeded in getting the youth put under arrest, and as speedily as p.,ssible arranged a marriage between the young lady and Lord d'Arfet. The latter took his bride to Bristol, and thither as soon as he was set free, the indignant lover secretly made his way. He engage.l a ship from the nmny lying in tliat busy port, and sent a boat up the Avon witli a message to his sweetheart. She olfected her escape from the lordly home which she hated, was borne swiftly and safely down the river, and taken on board the ship. Joyful was the meeting of the long- separated pair ; and when the wind filled the broad sails and the Severn mouth was left astern, it seemed as if all thoir troubles were over. But the pleasant land of France where they had intended to settle down was xxvi Old with the Old Voyagers never to be trodden by them. A north-east gale carried them southward and westward, day after day, until there was nothing but sea all round then., and the pilot had to admit that he had lost his bearings. On the fourteenth day a faint coast-line was sighted. It proved to be a verdant and beautiful island. The lovers and their friends went ashore in the ship's boat, and roamed delightedly among the green valleys, ad- miring the birds and bright insects, the fronds of the great ferns, and the innumerable flowers. To them, after the discomforts of the stormy seas, it was like Paradise. They built themselves bowers of woven boughs, and prepared for a sojourn of several days. But a renewal of the tempest tore the ship from her mooringc, and swept her out of sight. To the fugitives and such of the crew as happened to be on shore at the time, it was a terrible blow. Their last link with the outer world was gone. The lady, weakened and overwrought with all she had suffered in that dreadful voyage, died of the shock. Her dis- consolate lover survived her but a few days, and the ill-fated pair were laid side by side to rest. The remainder of the party, having got across in the boat to the African mainland, were seized and sold as slaves in Barbary. They told their story to a Tellow- captive, an old sea-dog from Seville. This man beincr ransomed and sent home was intercepted by Zarco, Introductory Chapter xxvii a captain in the service of Prince Henry of Portugal. And so it came about that the story of the Enc^Hsh lovers and the new island reached the ears of\he Navigator Prince. How he made use of the news will be seen in a subsequent chapter. The massacre of a band of Christian settlers in the Canary Islands prompted certain iVench adventurers notably Jeau de B^^thencourt, to attempt the conquest of these islands. The enterprise was for the most part successful, and the Frenchmen established several colonies. But their wish to explore the African coast does not appear to have carried them further south than Cape Bojador. It seemed as if the world was waiting for a man to arise, having the imagination to conceive, the brain to plan, and the means to organise, definite voyages of discovery, using, indeed, the knowledge collected by previous seafarers, but setting to work in a more systematic manner. And in Prince Henry of Portugal such a man was found. ■i*"iiiiii«n Ill All I PPJNCE HENRY OF PORTUGAL 1394-1460 jE Englisli who use, more tliun any other nation, the sea-paths of the world, should be proud to remember that the wise prince who helped so largely to trace those paths was liimself "luilf an Englishman." His father, Khig John L, had married Philippa, the slaughter of "old Jolui of Gaunt," son of our Kdward III. To the wise training and fostering care of this mother her sons owed much. Five noble young fellows they were -Edward the Eloquent, Pedro the Great Pegent, Henry the Navigator, John the Constable, and Ferdinand the 8aint; and of these five, none did more than the Navigator to help Portugal in her expansion from a little free state to a colonising power. His father's sword had given her independence from Spanish rule; the son's pen planned for her a dominion beyond the seas. CI'", '(kwaj 2 Oiit ivith the. Old Voyagers Homy was botli .studniit and num of action, a dreamer of dreams, which he himself lielped to fidfil. At the age of twenty-one he had fought like a hero in the desperate liand-to-hand encounters before the gates and within the walls of Ceuta, the chief port of Morocco, when his father had led a crusading expedition against this nest of Paynims and Barbary corsairs. The Christians succeeded in capturing the city, and the spoil was immense. Prince Henry, who had won the chief honours of the great fight, remained for son- time at Ceuta. There was wo'k for him to do, but lie was also interested in certain facts wliich some of his Moorish prisoners had disclosed. He learned that there was a constant coming and going of caravans fr^^m the coasts of Tunis across the desert sands of the interior to Timbuctoo, and to Cantor on the Gambia Eiver. The Moors also told him of a landmark which should guide his ships to the Senegal Eiver— a cluster of very tail palms, growing at the river mouth. Now, to reach either of those two rivers by sea, would be to venture further round the great bend of the West African coast than vessels of that day had dared to go. Cape Bojador marked the limit of their journeyings. What lay beyond the Cape ? This was the question to which the Portuguese Prince set himself to find the answer. Prince Henry of Portugal 3 For the past four or five years, his n,a,riners had been feeling their way cautiously along those sunny shores, and he now detern.iued to achieve somothinc. of more importance. He went hack to Portugal in 1418 refusing many a tempting invitation to "courts and courtly gaieties, and settled down to live for forty years tiie life of a quiet student. IIKNUY TIIK VAVrr.ATOI!. ( From an old Poiiw/ncse Prhit. ) On a lonely promontory looking out over the Atlantic, at what we now know as Cape St. Vincent (a name made glorious to us Engli,.. hy Nelson's great «ea fight), the Prince built himself "a palace, a chapel a study, an observatory-ihe earliest in Portugal-and ■UIbh^ 4 Out zvith the Old Voyaiicrs ii villiig(! for his lu'l|i('is iiiid attciKlants." IftTO, to ([iiotu tho wolds of Mr. liuynioiid Ijca/lcy, llio I'rinco'.s most recent bionrapher, " tliou^li lie became a recluse from the Court life of Lislxni, he soon guthcKul round himself a rival Court of science and seanianshi[)," Learned nuui were invited to come and reside at Sagres as it was then called. Tho niakiug of maps and the studying of maps went on ceaselessly. Every scrap of informati(jn that came from a reliable source was welcomed. The Prince's own brother I'edro was himself a gr(!at traveller, and he placed at Henry's disposal a store of collected facts and figures which was most valuable to him. Both Edward and Pedro, in turn, proved themselves staunch friends to their student brother, and saw to it that he was provi.led with means for carrying out his plans. If Sagres was Henry's study, the port of Lugos was his workshop. There lay the stout slii[)s that must undertake the voyages sketched out oi. the maps. To make good and accurate charts was the first thing, but the next and equally important task was the preparation of suitable vessels. That the sailor Prince worked equally h.ird at the latter, we have plenty of evidence, and Cadaniosto, tlie famous Italian navigator of that day, bears generous testimony to the result. The caravels of Portugal, he says, are the best ships afloat. The one great object of Prince Henry's life was to .;»lii&Silil* Prince Henry of Por/iig,,,' - krge the bo„„dH „t U,„nv|„|g„ ,,y „,,,,„;„,, t,,e WKlo uufaversed soa,,, by tmcuis; the ,,,ast-Ii,„.., of K.-eat continent. ,,nd distant island.., „,„1 l,y (In.lin. 1.0 ocean-paths that should hereafter hnk land to iiUltl. It was natural that dwellers on the westernnu,.st fringe "t Southern Europe should look towards Africa and the South. And .so at last it ean,o about that to sail round the e.xtren.ity of that vast continent, and somehow get acro.,s to India an,l China, grew to be the great idea of the age. But the nearer seas had first to b„ e.xplored. I„ 1418 Join, Gonsalvo. Zarco, ..nd Tristan, Va., another n.en,ber of the Sagres household, set out to .;,.,. an. econnctrc the CU,i„ea Coast. They fell in with „ reed eapt.ve fro,,. Barbary. Mo.ales by na.ne. a Seville pl ndlear,,ed from hi.„, as n,entioned in a previous h.,,te,, the r„,nant,c story of the English lovers and h. discovery of Madeira. Guided by Morales, Za.-co and "S crew found the wooden cross and grave of the bap essp.,.a,,dtl,es.,enceofthatlo,,elyspotwasbrok offersIandmthenameofGodandthcKini He came again, i„ 1421, with honours and" titles to 2; M "t ?"" "■' P"' "' Macbico (called after " '*"'""> -" "- -'y of Fuucbal (so named 6 O/i/ lijitk the Old Voyagers from tlio ^'I'oiind beiiii^' ovor<,Mi)Wii with fenmi) owo their origin. Sliips that canio from I'ortugiil bringing su]ii)lios went buck froiglitcd wiLli com and timber, and the curious red .suljstanco known as dragon's blood. Later on, the MaiU'ira vineyards and sugar plantations began to be talked about. lUit an experiment made for "clearing" the ground further inland, by firing the outskirts of the woods, i)r()ved oidy too successful. The llames went on eating into the dense growth behind, in a way that defied any attempts to arrest them. Up the glorious ravines hito the very heart of the mountains went the devouring fire, until the forest giants and gay festooning flowers alike shrivelled and blackened, and the wild blaze leaped up into the night sky lighting the ocean for miles around. It was called the " Seven Years' Fire," and the Prince's ships guided themselves by it as they steered southward towards the ("Uiinea Coast. Not a year passed but vessels sailed out from Sagres to reach that coast. Further than Cape Bojador, however, tl>e mariners could not or would not go. It is easy for us, with our complete maps and magnificent steamships, to laugh at their hesitating reluctance. But if, in fancy, we substitute clumsy caravels for those fast ocean liners ; blot out all West Africa south of, say, the Tropic of Cancer ; write across the blank space " Sea of Darlcness " ; ant 3ople this unknown I Prince Ifenry of Porfu^at refcl.... with nioiKstors and terrorH of all ki,MlH_wo shall better unde,..an,l the he.sitution which ' they showed and the alann which they felt. This wide-spread fear was largely the fault of Moslem geographers. Excellent work was done by then., as we have already seen ; but their influence on European voyagers was most mischievous They uivented and repeated the wildest fancies and super- Htitions about the unknown world. Our own Sir John Mandeville, who visited the East in the fourteenth century, mvcnted a sullicient number of marvels but few people believed his rambling statements. But these learned, serious, map-making Moslems of Ba^rdad and Cordova did convince the world that the terrors thev described were real. And so in addition to the ordinary perils of storn. and rock and hunger, which had to be encountered, these early Portuguese mariners had visions of malignant water sprites and monstrous genii, ocean serpents and hre-breatlung demons, magnetic islands and whirlpools that sucked into their vortex straws and great ships alike. One common belief was that any Christian who passed beyond Cape Bojador would turn into a black Another was that Satan lay in wait on the further side' like an octopus behind a rock, ready to stretch out a' cMchn^ hand as soon as the first ship came round the headland. And these fearsome tales were believed 8 Out loith the Old J/oya^crs by l)r()ii/.c(l captiiiiis as well as l)y idle loafers on the quays at home. Just as many a child grows up timid and full of nervous fancies because in his early childhood he has been under the influence of some superstitious nurse who frightened him with stories of goblins that lurked in every dark corner, and ghosts that haunted every lonely place, so did the modern world in the days of its fresh vigorous youth find it hard to throw off the fears of its childhood. It still believed that " tlie Unknown " must necessarily be the terrible. Men talked then, as now, of "God's earth"; that was right and natural enough; but the ocean wildernesses, treacherous, changeful, mysterious, these surely had been left to the Prince of Darkness. Deliberately to penetrate those wildernesses meant, in plain words, to run beyond the reach of Clod. Such was the kind of diificulty with which Prince Henry had to deal, and in the face of which he resolutely set himself to act. He appealed to the courage of his seamen, above all to their common- sense. He ridiculed the wild tales which tiicy gravely repeated, and bade them go and show themselves intrepid voyagers and loyal servants. And loyally and intrepidly they went. Gil Eannes, in 14o4, ran boldly south towards Capo Bojador, and in a wide curve doubled that forbidding lieadland. No storm-wind rushed down upon him ; no flying demons settled upon i Prince Henry of Portugal 9 the shrouds; no awful liiind rose up out of the sea depths to clutch and drag under the pigmy vessel. But instead, the men rowed ashore, and found a fair country, peaceful and quiet enough. They went liither and thither plucking the gay Howers, and as they paced " tlje yellow sand, Whuro tlic blue wave civamed soit with fairy foam," they must have laugliingly contrasted the placid heauty of the place with the terrible picture they had once conceived. They were pleased, and they were proud; and tliey had leason to be so. It was a most notable achievement. They had broken down the prejudice of centuries. It was tlie old story over again —the haunted house, which a little courage and decision liad stripped of all its mysteries and terrors. Prince Henry was delighted, as well he might be. The great obstacle was now removed. Henceforward, the work of discovery went steadily on. The next sliip sent out ran past the Cape a hundred and fifty miles ; the next, three hundred and ninety miles. In tliis latter expedition two boys figured promin- ently. They were bold, spirited lads, of noble birtli, eager for adventure and longing to do some doughty deed to please the Prince. Tliey had heard that he wished to obtain one or more natives from these western regions, in order to question them concerning Fi I iittsir'"" i^^g^m^^^llA 10 Out with the Old Voyage^^s the trade routes of the iVrab niercliaiits. They resolved to try and gratify his wisli ; and the way in whicli they set about their tusk is enougli to win tlio heart of the most adventure-loving schoolboy of to-day, Tiiey obtained the use of a couple of liorses brouglit in tiie ship, and, without troubling about armour, took lance and sword and rode inland. They went twenty miles, and then they sighted a band of natives. They were nineteen in number, but the two audacious boys couched their lances and rode boldly in upon them, caring nothing for tlie fierce looks and brandished spears. Tliey tried to corner one or two of their opponents, and were seriously disappointed when the blacks fled to a place of vantage, whence there was no dislodging them. As daylight was failing, they rode back to the beach, much chagrined at having to return without a " specimen " of these outland tribes. Between 14.3G and 1441 little of importance was done in maritime exploration. Political clianges and a crusading attack on the Moorisli stronghold of Tangier— a disastrous failure tliough gallantly con- ducted—tilled the sailor prince's thoughts. Indeed, the Tangier crusade was his own idea, and he came back well-nigh brok(Mi-hearted, for he and his men had fought like lions and had been defeated by sheer weight of numbers. Ships sent out in 1441 brought back several natives Prmcc Henry of Portugal II captured south o" Cape Bojador, One of the ships under Nuno Tristani had gone as far as Cape Blanco, which was so named from the white, sandy hills that broke the dull level of the plains. But it was Antam Gonsalvez who brought home something which made every sea-going Portuguese as enthusiastic for the cause of Discovery as Prince Henry himself. It 7cas a hand- ful of (/old dusL To only a few great souls could the passion for knowledge appeal with sufficient force to make them dare much and sacrifice much; but noble and base minds alike could feel the magic spell of that other attraction. The glittering dust, traced at last to the Guinea Coast, served its purpose. It set men thinking of the gold of the Indies, and it stimulated them in their efforts to find the way thither. In 1444, a fleet of six caravels manned exclusively by men of Lagos, Henry's near neighbours, sailed for the Coast of Guinea. Gold and, alas, s^am were the object. The cause of discovery was getting to be lost sight of, and precious years were wasted in mere raiding trips, which turned peaceful villages into smoking heaps, and laid up a store of vengeance which was wreaked upon later comers. One expedition alone brought back two hundred and thirty blacks,, who were .«.nld by auction at Lagos. The massacres that attended such captures were deplorable. Out with the Old Voyagers It is pleasant, liowever, to find witli wliat stnuK'o kindness these poor creatures were treated by their purchasers, many of the children being reared and educated by childless parents as if they had been sons and daughters. The picture is in welcome contrast to the fate of tlie negroes that hereafter were to toil and suffer on the American plantations. An old sea-captain, Diniz Diaz by name, at last begged leave to trace the coast-line further than had been attempted yet. He reached a new headland, which, from its grassy and well-wooded slopes, he named Cape Verde. In 1445 the popular feeling in Portugal showed itself in the fitting out of a fleet of no less than twenty- seven vessels, large and small, and among the list of olFicers we find the names of nearly all the famous voyagers already mentioned— Diniz Diaz, Zarco, Gil Eannes, Tristam Vaz, and others. The day of sailing was the 10th August. No very rich results accrued from the venture, though the previous murder of some of their countrymen was sharply avenged by a landing party. Outrages and reprisals seem, indeed, to have become common enough by this time. The very next ship that went out, and which ran on past Cape Verde to the mouth of the Eio Grande, lost nineteen men. Her boat's crew was attacked by a fleet of war canoes, and I Prince Henry of Portugal 1 5 hardly a man escaped the horrible poison.d asscgaies. The captain, Nuno Tristam, himself was slain, and the caravel laden with dead and dying men was lieaded for home. Only five hands remained to work her, of whom three were mere boys. One of these, a brave little fellow, took upon himself the duties of helmsman, and for sixty days the helpless remnant of a smart crew drifted on the deep, miserable with grief and with fear of what new dangers each burning day or silent night might bring. Eventually they reached Lagos, and l,old their harrowing story to the Prince. A ship commanded by Zarco's nephew. Alvaro Fernandez, had better luck, reaching, in 1446, what is now called Sierra Leone, and in the following year the Portuguese at home had the delight of staring at a real African lion-the first which had been brouc^ht over. ° All these years Prince Henry's ships had been push- ing further and further southward, while a group of islands was lying almost unknown away out in the Atlantic, in a direct line witli Lisbon. These were the Azores, so named from the myriads of hawks which hovered over the islands, "so tame that they could be caught by the hand." Not until 1444 was St. Michael's, the isle of orange groves, discovered, and Terceira still later. Once found, the islands were ^m^ i6 Oiti with the Old Voyagers favourably legjiided, and oiuigmnts poured out to them from Portugal. The achievements of the Venetian sea-captain, Cadamosto, in Prince Henry's employ, in 1455-G, made a great impression on the minds of the people of his day. His name shines out with special lustre in the long list of " Old Voyagers." The records he has left are most interesting reading, especially what he has to say about the ebony-skhined natives of the Senegambia Coast, and the caravans which came thither across the desert with their loads of precious things for barter; of the surprise of the negroes at the ships, firearms, trumpets, etc., of the visitors; of the exphning trip up the Gambia River, and the fights with the tribes that dwelt on tlie banks; and of the melancholy slave trade. CadLmosto made another voyage in the following year, as far south perliaps as Sierra Leone, and went ashore elephant hunting, and saw much to marvel at from time to time in the way of huse turtles and giant trees and so forth. The last captain sent out by the wise Prince was Diego Gomez, who accomplished little, but brought back a goodly freight of gold, ivory, and pepper. He it was, however, who in a later voyage, about 1400, first sighted the Cape Verde Islands, and landed on one of them. That same ve;ir Prince Hcnrv fell sick, nnd in mid- Prince Henry of Porttigal 17 to on Novembt'i- rortugul was inouruing the loss of the most glorious of her sous. Soldier, statesman, and student, he did more than perhaps any other royal patron before or after hi»n to advance the cause of discovery on tlie seas. He was a man every inch of him, fearless and enthusiastic, clear-headed and pure-hearted, ready to spend himself and be spent in the great cause which he had so much at heart. He left the map of the world a very difl'erent thing to what he found it; for not only did his own ships trace the unknown West Coast of Africa, and dispel the mystery and terror which hung over it, but he caretuUy and intelligently collected and set forth the results of other men's travels and researches. Though he did not live to see what he so desired — the rounding of the African continent and the reaching of India — the first and most difficult part of that great undertaking was cer- tainly accomplished by those who went out at his bidding. And his work did not end with his death. He had set going a movement which saw at last the silks and spices of the Indies carried home to Europe independ- ently of slow-paced camels and Arab traders. Ships of the west with the Cross on sail or pennon surprised the Moslem traffickers in the furthest islands of the Eastern seas. The old overland trade, by which Venice had grown rich, gave way to the new sea-borne i8 Out zvitk the Old Voyagen ucjimiierce, with Portuj^.il as its chief agent. Tho camvel bogiiii to replace the caravan. Eleven years after tho Prince's death two Portuguese pilots, Martin Fernaiule/. and Alvaro Esteeves, traced the entire length of tiio Guinea Coast and crossed the Equator. In 1484 Diego (Jam went further, and discovered the mouth of the great Congo Kiver: and in his next year's voyage got actually as far ar what is now Walfisch Bay, in the country of the Hottentots. Still there was no eastward trend in the coast, and Cam went home. If only he and his master King John had known how near was the goal, the great southernmost Cape, what burning excitement there would have been to finish tlie race ! But the crowning exploit was near at hand. The name of Diaz has occurred before in this chapter. John Diaz was the second voyager to pass the haunted headland of Cape Bojador, Diniz Diaz had added Cape Verde to the map, and now the third and most illus- trious of the trio was about to r. own the long series of southward sailings by a greater feat than all. In August, 148G, Bartholomew Diaz steered for the Guinea Coast with two little fifty-ton "frigates." He reached and passed Waltisch Bay and the mouth of the Orange River, and then, because he felt certain that the continent could not stretch much further, he stood out to sea, and with a boldness which we cannot too 1 Prince Ilcnry of Portugal 19 greatly adiuire, he run HuiUkicard fur thiiian t/ai/s. Tlio wind wjis at liis IkicIc, and the bitter cold told liiiii he had gone far. The shrouds glittered with icicles, and the great rollers of the South Atlantic swept down upon the tiny vessels as if they must inevitably engulph them. League after league, di ping and rearing, with shortened sail and sloping decks, they held on their way. Finally Diaz turned eastward, and, after five days, felt it would be safe to steer northward. The great Cape was passed, though he knew it not. Dut land of some sort rose in sight at length, and at Algoa Bay, where now stands the busy English town of Port Elizaljcth, Diaz went ashore. Sixty miles furtlier, at the Great Fish Eiver, the crews protested against continuing the apparently fruit- less journey, and Diaz had to yield. But as with heavy heart and despondent thoughts he retraced his course, away over the grey ridges of the sea upon his right rose the gicat promontory, telling of splendid effort rewarded and of success achieved. Many a bark had crept down towards it, hoping to reach and round it. Many were the eyes that had desired to see it. Great sea-captains would have given their right hand to have had the proud honour of doubling that Cape ; and what would not the Navigator Prince have given to have heard before he died the news he had waited for so lon which would bc^ attended by many very real risks, and the consequences of which, if successful, would be great and far-reaching. All eyes were bent upon him as down to the water- side he came, he and his followers. Most of the latter were capable-looking fellows, to whom danger, whether of cruel foes or stormy waves, was no new thine Vasco himself was a trained seaman, and had known what it was to handle his ship skilfully in the midst of a fighting fleet. His French opponents could testify to that. But the diihculties and perils that he was going forth to meet required something more than the dashing courage which could win a sea-fight. Would he prove equal to the task ? Well, the King who had chosen him no doubt knew best, and the King, it was said, trusted him entirely. On the shining waters of the Tagus four ships lay moored. They had dropped down with the river-tide from Lisbon, where there had been great doings in honour of their departure. A brilliant assembla'^e had gathered in the cathedral to listen to an address by the bishop, and to see Da Gama receive the royal standard from the King's own liand. For this was no ordinary voyage that was to be made, and it was . ■1 VA«C() ],.v (i.v.MA mi)I.IN-,; F.uiKWiaL TO HIS Ki:,i.-Nl.. 2:t ' ■ Pi 3 .i*i.»-M«f* The Voyage of Vasco dci Gama 25 fitting that both pomp and ceremony should attend the start. All was now ready; and the vessels, gaily dressed out with flags and banners, were waiting for their crews to come aboard. Considerable delay ensued as the mariners took leave of friend after friend; every, body seemed pressing forward to say farewell and to wish them God-speed. A train of priests moved in the midst, in their gorgeous vestments, chanting and singing anthems, and beseeching the special protection of Heaven to rest upon those who were about to set forth. Tears and prayers mingled together, and the distress of parting, especially among the relatives of tlie seamen, was piteous. Da Gama himself had much ado to control his feelings amid this demonstration, but at last he broke away from the throng of out- ^ U'-tched hands, and followed his men on board. ihe wind was favourable. The vessels, loosed front their moorings, glided down the river, and, as the sailors waved their last farewells, a great wail rose from the crowds along the shore, knowing that they iiiiglit see the adventurers no more. N(jt until the sails of the four ships finally disappeured from view did the concourse break up and disperse homeward towards the city. And now, while the dusk settles down upon roof and field and river, and the briUiaut stars of the 26 Out with the 0/d Voyagers souUioni iiiglit begin to twinkle, let us leave tlie little fleet speeding southward, and see what is the object of tlieir voyage. In the previous chai.ter we have traced the progress of discovery along the western sliores of Africa. We have seen how, league by league, Prince Henry's caravels had felt their way down to tlie Guinea Coast ; and I'ow the ships that followed these had proceeded yet further. And last of all we saw the two ships of Bartholomew Diaz rounding the stormy Cape, and returning with the glad news to Portugal. Wo also noted the fact that while the King's ships had been finding the sea-road to the Cape— the half- way liouse to India— his energetic travellers had been gaining information in Egypt, Arabia, and Mozambique, as to the other half of the route. They had, in fact, been prying into the secrets of the Mosleia traders, whose wing-sailed craft for many a long year liad been crossing and re-crossing between East Africa and the Indian ports. Thus provided with good sound facts, King Manuel had felt himself in a position to complete the long sea journey for wliich Diaz had p.epared the way. Three stout caravtds were then lying ready in the royal dockyards at Lisbon, having been specially built by his predecessor, King John, for cxpluration ; and tliese were forthwith equipped and provisioned. tlic the The Voyage of Vasco da Gama 27 Th8 choice of a commander had fallen on a yoiin- man of noble biitli, a gentleman of the King's honse" hold,— "a discreet man, of good understanding, and (,f great courage for any good deed,"— by name Vasco da Gama. The business-like way in which lie proceeded to make ready for the great voyage won the King's heart entirely, and the result, as we shall see, fully justified the confidence whicli had been placed in him. Let us now follow the four little barks which we left heading southward, their sails well filled, and fair weather attending their course. They are of only about 120 tons burden (contrast tliat with a Cape Liner of to-day-say, the Scot, 6,850 tons), but well built, and carrying a few pieces of cannon. The San Raphael bore Da Gama himself; the second, the San Gabriel, was commanded by his brother Paulo; Nicolas Coelho was captain of the San Mifjud- and the fourth, a storeship, sailed under Gonzalo Nunez. The three l)rincipal ships each carried a crew of eighty men, and the majority of these were picked seamen. " Several interpreters," says an old writer, " skilled in the Ethiopian, Arabic, and other Oriental languages, went with them " ; and he adds, what will seem slrange' to us: "Ten malefactors, men of abilities, whose sentences of death were reversed on condition of their obedience to (Jama in whatever embassies or dangers among the barbarians he might tliink proper to employ 28 Out with the Old Voyagers them, were also on board." (An ingenious way n[ getting rid of criminals, and, at the same time, of turning them to good account !) The Canary Islands, and even the Cape Verde Islands, were passed, and still blue skies and sunshine prevailed. Then came a change. It seemed as if they had been tempted thus far only to be destroyed. Fearful storms swept down upon them, and for days they tossed on a wild expanse of angry waters. To their unaccustomed eyes the waves seemed mountainous in height ; t)ie bitter cold chilled liand and heart alike, and the pilot's voice could scarcely be heard above the howling of the wind. Then would come a lull, and almost ere each ship could be got once more upon the right course, the wind would die away altogether. A dead calm settled down upon the ocean, only less trying than the violent tempest. So passed the days, peril and delay coming alter- nately to daunt these early navigators. The men, utterly discouraged and worn oat, clamoured for return. Da Gama remained firm. P-nz had rounded the terrible Cape a few years before,., I liis pilots were with the present expedition. It would be shameful, therefore, to turn back. Alternately tlse ileet stooil out to sea and in to shore, running south-west and then south-east, in what must I I T/ic Voyage of Vasco da Cam a 29 luive been a very ;iig-ziig C(nirse. They ],,id loft Portugal noiirly five months wlioii they put in at St. Helena Bay. Again they stood out westward for one month, and tlien, turning in, scanned the coast. But it still stretched south. Once more, in spite of protest. Da Gama headed away, trusting in one great curve to pass the extremity of the vast continent. For two montlis he stood out to sea. Tlie weather was boisterous ; cold rains almost disabled tlie wretched mariners, and the sun gave light for only six hours in the day. At niglit, with bitter murmurings, tlio ship's watch, hugging hnnself as he tramped tlie deck, «aw tlie lantern of the llagship rising and falling over the stormy waters, and in its wake the three vessels followed. Of all this hardship the admiral took his share, "without sleeping or taking repose, but ever coming up at the boatswain's pipe." At L.St, the sea grew calmer, and, bearing eastward again under full sail, " one morning they sighted some mountain peaks which seemed to touch the clouds; at which," says the ancient chronicler, "their pleasure Mas so great that all wept with joy, and all devoutly (»ii their knees said the ^cdc," The tempest-guarded headland was doubled once more, this time by crews xvhich, for the time being at all events, were as eager to go forward as those of Diaz had been to turn back. Now, truly, it merited the new name which King John 30 Out with the Old Voyagers of Portugfil liiid bestow t"(l upon it— Capo IJona Speiuiizu. the Cape of Good Hope. Under tlic bright November skies, the lleet prepared to follow the eastern coast-line of the African continent. Entering the mouth of a great river, which contained very good fish, "Vasco da Cama went to sec his brother, and so did Nicholas Coelho, and they all dined with great satisfaction, talking of the hardships they had gone through." So, day by day, they crept northward, landing at more than one point to revictual and water the shiits; and the men, no doubt, found plenty of use for their cross-bows in the vast plains and trackless forests. But again the storm fiend assailed them, and the battered vessels could with difficulty keep together. Despair seized all but the stoutest-hearted, and the admiral was implored to turn homeward. His little squadron was in pitiable plight, but back he would not go. The crews mutinied then, and the i)erils of disunion were added to those of lightning and tempest. A ship-boy, loyal to Coelho, his master, disclosed the plot, and the ringleaders were put in irons. Da Gama, to show his independence of his subordinates, even of his faint-hearted pilots, tossed the quadrants over- board. So the days went by. Eventually the sea grew smoother, and in due time land was again sicdited. >. The Voyage of Vasco da Gam a x\ This wuti on CliriHliiias Day, uiid liciice the region was named Natal. The new year found tlie voyagers again hugging the coast. About tlie Gllj of January, 1498, they reached tlie mouth of a large river, which with grateful hearts they named the Uiver of ]\fercy. Several canoes came off, bearing friendly natives with peace-offerings of delicious fruit and fowls ; and the visitors laughed and danced and chattered with delight over the pieces of linen and biscuits and looking-glasses which the sailors gave them. After careening and cleansing the ships (the store ship had been burned, as being no longer needed), the expedition proceeded, and arrived ofi' Mozambique towards the end of March. Here a Moor, named Davane, whom they had captured at sea, proved of great service to them. He had been much impressed by his foreign captors, and his fidelity was now put to the test. They gave him a scarlet cap and some coral beads, and sent him as their ambassador to the Arab Sheikh, who was the ruler of IMozambique. Davam' played his part so well that the Sheikh, finely clothed, came aboard tlie admiral's ship. There was a long palaver, and finally Vasco da Gama obtained what he wanted, namely, pilots to conduct him to India. But the Arab's greed had been aroused by the gold 32 Out with the Old Voyagcys \\ iiiul silver shown hiiii on board. Trcicliery was soon at work. A party of sailors sent ashore to procure water, under guidance of one of the pilots, were deceived by him, and the boat's crew had to beat a retreat under a storm of missiles from the shore. When the admiral heard of this he felt loth to proceed without meting out punishment to the Sheikh, but not caring to provoke a feeling of hostility among the peoples of that coast ho sent one of his ten convicts with a letter of friendly protest to the Slieikh, and then weighed anchor. The remaining pilot on board wa^ as bitter against the Christian intruders as his master. He advised them to let him steer them into the harbour of Quiloa, meaning to run the ships aground. But the wind blew off-shore, and the fleet passed on to Mombasa. Here the fine stone houses had quite a Spanish look, and there were many signs of trade. But rumour, in the form of a swiftly-oared galley, sent by the old Sheikh, had preceded them, and the King's flattering messages and gifts were merely a decoy. He invited them to enter the harbour, and the pilot again tried to run the leading ship aground. But the admiral was on the alert, and the cry to drop anchor and shorten sail rang out just in time. The treacherous pilot was put to the torture, and confessed. It was high time to be off. The broad moonli;on, and erelong, from / The Voyage of Vasco da Gama 37 deck iiiid rigging, the mariners stared at tlie liind they hud risked so niucli to reach. Of all the adventures that were still in store for them— of how Vasco sent ambassadors to the King of Calicut, and how he himself was induced to visit the King in person ; of the treachery and intrigue he had to encounter; of the nv.narch's avarice and the cour- tiers' jealousy-there is no room to speak here. A more friendly reception awaited them at the seaport of Can- unor, and here they left the faithful Moor, DaA.me, whom they dismissed with valuable presents. On the' 20th November they again set sail, and ran west- ward and southward once more. Early in January, 1499, tliey put in at Melinde liavmg promised the King to bear . urn him tokens of friendship to the Court of Lisbon. The crews had suftered greatly from sickness brouglit on by the climate and unsuitable diet, and thirty seamen had died. The quiet rest, and the fresh food and water, were most wel- come. Then, after an excliange of costly gifts, which it is dazzhng to picture, the homeward voyage was resumed. ^ One account says that, before they reached Zanzibar, Taulo da CJama's ship ran aground on a sand bank, and was set on fire and abandoned, her occupants bein.r distributed between the tw.) remaining vessels, fair weather prevailed, and they rounded the Good Hope, in sight of it, under full sail I3ut Cap(j oi 38 Out loith the Old Voyagers AN'liile crushing the Etjiuitoi-, dead culms ot'tuii caii.sed delay, and the floating fields of sargasso weed hindered them. The good I'aulo da (Jama, who seems to have been as able a seaman as Vasco, and a more lovable character, had fallen ill, and, being carried ashore while the ships lay anchored off the Island of Terceira, in the Azores, he there died, and was buried in the monastery. His brother, the admiral, was inconsolable. Now, when the brightest moment of his life was at hand, the clouds of sorrow had come up. It was with a sad face and a heavy heart that he entered the Tagus and looked on the preparations that had been made to celebrate his return. The arrival took place on September 18th, 140li, after an absence of two years and a half. A swift caravel had carried the news from Terceira to King Manuel, and crowds were waiting to catch sight of the sun-blistered, water-logged ships which had accomplished so wonderful a voyage. Honours of the highest sort were forced upon the grief-stricken admiral, and money gifts were lavished freely on Nicolas Coelho, and all who had survived among the crews. And for long afterwards, the people loved to talk of the trophies which I3om Vasco had spread out before the King — lustrous jewels and golden chains, spices and perfumes, porcelain and richly-woven stufl's — pledges of tlie wo;- 1th which was to pour intoEurop; . now that Portugal liad found the sea-road to India. ■ *, * WESTWARD TO A NEW WORLD THK ^•uYAUE OF CHI{J8T0riIL'J{ 1402 COLUAllJL'S W fill fclio "Old V\)VHr,.,v" „1. 1 v^m vuj.igtib, who cvor put t,. seu there is none wl.„so ],lace in history i« «o sure, none whose exi.loit has been so fully und gratefully recognised, .,s Clins topher Columbus. He had his share, and more tlian his share, of disappointment and fret .,nd ill-us..ro m Ins lifetin^e, but the centuries that have passed sinL^ he died in poverty and obscurity at V.lladolid have seen his fame spread through all the world. He was no mere fortunate discoverer, no idle - venturer who reaped the reward of other men's ^ ours a.lumbus was one of the world's heroes. H would have been a truly great n.n even had he ^•"led in the grand undertaking of his life. Many a tempts have I.e.. made to disparage what he did. to lob him of the credit due to him, and slander has tried Y'"*' 40 Ou^ ivith the Old Voyagers to .siuiivli lii.sgood name. But the luuro our la. twleclge of him has grown, our knowledge, of his hopes and fcais, his AVniking and waiting, his unfaltering trust in (Jod, aud his deep conviction that (Jod was calHng liim to the task set before him — the more we are forced to admire tlie hero and respect the man. The story of his hfe lius been told so many times, and the main facts are so well known, that the events leading up to the great voyage of 1492 need not be retailed here at any Uujgth. The Genoese sea-captain came to Lisbon about the year 1454, as many of liis Italian countrymen had come before him. He was then about twenty years of age, a rather powerfully-built young fellow, with clear piercing eyes and high calm forehead, ruddy checks, and a mouth that suggested (htcrminalion. He was tlie sun of a weaver, but had taken early to a sea- calling, and had seen something of serious fii]rhtinlorers and The Voyage of Christopher Columbus 4 1 exploring sclioines. To see the forest of masts beside the quays, and to listen to the number of foreign tongues chattoiing along the water-side, was in itself enough to set the visitor thinking of lands across the ocean. Here was tlu. place for any maiin.^r with a bold project to obtain a hearin- And young Columbus had a project. It was shaping Itself slowly ; so slowly, indeed, that the patron most hkely to have entertained it-the wise, enthusiastic Prince Henry at Sagres-died without having been consulted. Perhaps even he would not have taken up the idea, fur his gaze was steadily fixed on the south, and the eyes of the young Genoese were looking wistfully to the west. Each had in view as his object the reaching of the Ip^dies ; but the Prince was hopina that each frosh caravel that left Lagos and ran down along the West Coast of Africa would double the far end of the continent and so get eastward, whereas Columbus argued to himself that, if the world was round, a more direct way would be to strike due west across the vast ocean whose waves rolled in upon the Portugal clilTs. At last, after much pondering and long studying, of maps and charts, Columbus submitted his project to King John. He had the greatest confidence in himself mid his plan, but the wiseacres to whom the Kina referred the matter shook tlu-ir heads. The idea was too -t'.^.. Pr 42 Out 7vitk the Old Voyagers i! much of a novelty, and they would not countenance it. When he urged it, they resented it as an unwarrant- able pipce of assumption ; he was treated as a faddist, a niar« >vith a craz(;. His eager enthusiasm bored them. Their royal master was also cold to the scheme. Columbus seems to hare stipulated that he should he allowed a free hand in the enterprise, and X\\;\ whatever new countries should be discovered, .he administration and a large share in the profits sin uld be his. Tiiat did not please the Kiug. He coveted the prize and the glor}-, but he grudged the concessions. 80, when one of his priestly advisers suggested that some of the King's own men should be sent tut to try the rout- with Columbus's cliarts, the shameful trick- was agreed to. r.ut no .s;u rss favoured the attempt. Back to Lisbon c;'n)(i ; he craven pilots, with a long story of how baffling tempests and blinding mists had foughl, igainst them ; of bad omens and warning signs ; and of the Uoatuig sargasso weed through whose matted webs the prows could not cleave their way. When Columbus saw how he had been betrayed, he turned his back on I'ortugal, and looked about for a worthier patron. The French and the English Courts both occurred to him. But at last ho made up his mind 1;o l;.y the matter before the r.;yal pair who sat upon the Spanish throna f\ The Voyage of Christopher Co/umdiis 43 Thn time was not favourable. TI,e renuiins of a civil war were still suiouklering like hot embers here ciiKl there, and Ferdinand and his Queen were taken up witii a great scheme for driving the Moors out of Granada-a new crusade within tlieir own borders «o, in spite „f the help of influential frie.ids ami relatives, no serious attention would be got for his project. A delay of something like seven years ensued durnig which Columbus was restless with suspense' "Hope deferred maketh the heart sick," and what wonder if, absorbed in his "dreams," he grew careless of all besides and was ridiculed as half-melancholy half-mad? ^' How better days came at last, every schoolboy knows. It is a romantic story; the dreamer and his httle son stopping at the gate of the monastery of La liabida to ask for alms; his kindly reception by the good monks ; the intercessory letter sent to Queen Isabella ; the Queen's answer, and the long interval that followed; the second visit to the Court; the refusal, and finally the accepfince, of the startling terms which Columbus insisted on. The royal assent was followed by a message to the town of Palos, command- mg It to supply ships, men, and stores. But even better than this peremptory decree was the knully assistance given by Ju.u Pere., the "friend at Court, who had seconded the appeal of Columbus I 44 Out ivith the Old l^oyagers fi 1I<' liugely helped to win over the ])eop]e of Paloa, and induce them to look favourably on Mie Genoese and his i^reat scheme. Another important helper was a Ideal shipbuilder and master maiiner, Martin Alonzo I'inxoii. That the expedition gdt afloat with so little further delay was due in a .great measure to this energetic seaman. The pco]>le of the place knew and respected him, and when he put his hand to the enterprise the whole outlook was changed. Mallet and plane and saw were set merrily going ; mast.s, sails, and cordage came together as if by magic; the vessels and their destination was the one subjec-t of talk in the town ; and the roads to and from Talus and the convent of La Eabida, where Columbus still lodged, were thronged with visitors and messengers. At last the ships were ready, and the crews were ordered to be prepared to start as soon as ever t.he right wind should blow. In the Colum])ian Library at Seville may be seen sketches of the three caravels drawn by the hand of Columbus himself. They show striking dilTerences in size and rig. Tiie Banta Maria was the biggest, and was built very high in the stern ; she was the only decked ship of the three, and was allotted to the admiral. Next in size was the Finta, of which Martin Pinzon was commander. The Nina was a tiny ship, very I') % I :!.'£:-,rS5^fc^*r»-|j_^ -«i^#^ ^^^#•"5^^ V-*St, TOWARD Till". LAND OF TIIK .SKTTIXO SUX:— Tlir: "sANTA MAUIA,' M,.V(.;siiii' OF roLrMiU's. 45 I t J 1 i\ The Voyage of Christopher Columbus 47 iiHich like the liitei'i, '.^goa fi.sIiiii ^ of the Afctlitenajiean. It is interesting to note that on board of lior was an Engliahman and an Irish guide. Natui-ally, the men of Paloa predominated among the crews. On the evtn.ing of Au-iist 2nd, 1492, the mariners walked in procession to the convent on the bree/.y clitrs, and the blessing of Heaven was invoked upon the great enterprise. Pieturning to the ships they hoisted sail in readiness for the favouring breeze. At three o'clock in the morning the trees round the convent began to whisper, and Columbus awaking stole into the little dim chapel and knelt in silent prayer. What his thoughts were, as ., bowed before the altar, on the eve of separation from home and loved ones, who can describe ? At daybreak a boat put off from the Santa Maria, and without further ceremony or delay the admiral went on boaul. The rattle of ropes, and the cheery cries of the brown-skinned sailors at their final duties, soon awoke the light sleepers in Palos, and out came the villagers, eager, in spite of tlu a- drowsiness, to be •esent when the last farewells were said. But the hearu of the Genoese, though sad with the i)ain of parting, was impatient to get away upon his piest; and soon the tJiree ships were gli.^ from that pleasant shore which had seen the lifting of hadow II u 48 Out with the Old Voyagers MHcl the riiKilnuMit of his deurost wish. The wiHtluI oycs of r,.,,>z find liis nttoiul;in(8 watched from the iH'i-lits of La K'nbida the receding fiail.s, until they l»ii.ssed out of sight. Away went the h'ttle fleet, to.iohin^r ^t th.; Canary Lsliinds to repair an injury to the steering-gear of the PuUa, and then, on tlie Gth September, standing out " into the unknown west." T., very many of the men on board, wiHing tliough tliey Iiad been to throw in their lot with such a shrewd iind seasoned master mariner as Martin Pinzon, the whole Mnng seemed a rasli experiment. It was easy enough, when lounging mallet in hand among ropes and timber at Palos, to smile a superior smile as the old stories of sea-tern.rs went round. But when away out on the deep, rising and falling to the long Atlantic swell, with a stretch of green water from horizon to horizon, and the ship's prow pointing westward, ever westward, day after day and niglit after niglit— it was very diirerent. Then would come crowding back into the mind all the wild tales that their forefathers had implicitly believed, and many a stout fellow on board fervently wished himself again at Palos, and called I'iniself "fool" for ever having embarked on such a mad quest. The last, or well-nigh the last, sight of land, hud been the giant cone of Teneriffe, cappe.l with fiery ii The Voyage oj Christopher Co/unibits 49 Biuoke— a vul(.ino in erudition. Tliia vvuh .sullieifiitly Uisquietiiij,', (uul Coluiiibim Imcl to explain it iully bot'oro their alurin wu8 di.siiulled. Sliditly afU'r tiiit they were licrplexod and troubled by what niddorn Hailora laniiliarly know as the variation of the eonipa«!s. Even Columbus himself had to invent an explanation, being at a loss to know how to account for it. And S(., with fear and misgiving in the hearts of all but a few on board, the three little ships ploughed their way towards the far country which was somewhere across the ocean. Tlie admiral from the first had kept a daily journal, and the opening line under the title, " In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ," quite represents the feeling with which he regarded the voyage and the record of it. The words were not put as a formality, a mere pious heading. Columbus was firmly convinced that ho was "called of Cod," and that the whole enteiin-ise. so lou" postponed, was directly under Divine guidance. It was this, as much as his natural perseverance, that strengthened him against all temptations to turn back. After the first day or two, the admiral gave attention to every sign, however trivial, that could be construed as an indication of land. A stray bird or two winging over the water was noticed by the men of the Nina : at once he reminded them that it was not the habit of this and that .species to go more than so many leagues from shore. A bunch of water-weed drawn up disclosed WT' 50 O/t/ with the Old Voyagers IH \\ ^ ■tcml, -;m.j.1o.I in it, " tlioso cntb.s,"uvorml the u.l,nii;,l "are u cHTtain sign of land." A whale went plunging I'iist tlu' s],ip, and he declared tlie same of it. K^'ily in September the ^anta Maria shipped a heavy sea across her bows, but for the most part tlie ■'^Inps were wafted along by halcyon breezes. For eleven days there was no need to trim the sails Columbus was well pleased. In his log. he writes that the early mornings on deck were quite a source ot dehght-the weather being like that of an Andalusian .spnng-and the only thing wanting was the song of nightingales. On the 18th. a great flock of birds went past llv'i'g west; and he recalls how most of the islands Iield by the Portuguese were discovered by the fli^^ht of birds. On the 20th, "two or three land-birds came s.nging to the ship. a..d disappeared before sunset." On the 25th, a cry was raised on one of the ships that land could be seen, and congratulations were freely exchanged ; but the supposed coast-line proved to be only a low-lying cloud. In order to prevciit the crews getting alarn.cd at the mcrcsing stretch of water that lay between them and the hills of 8pain, Columbus frankly admits in ln« journal, that he kej.t two reckonh.gs; one, 'the true di.^tance, fur his own guidance, the other, short.n- und feigiiud, r,.r the men. For instance, on October Lst, i The Voyage of Christopher Columbus 51 it was iuiiK.unced thai 584 leagucb liad been covered, l»iit tliu priviiLe loj-' in llii- a.liiiiritl'H cabin sliowcd 707. Four days klci', the cut - runs: "To Cod bo many tlianks given, the air being pleasant and temperate, witli no weed {i.e. in the sea), many sandpipers and Hying- lish coming on tiie deck in numbers." This sargasso weeci, to which reference is so often made in tlie journal, was what had scared back to Lisbon the Portuguese pilots whom the King had sent out pro- vided with Columbus's charts. The very natural fear of being caught in this clogging tangle, that sometimes extends like lioating fields over the ocean's surface, recurred to tjic mariners now. AVhat could be more horrible than to drive into this network and remain there, helpless to move in any dn-ection ? And they pictured the prospect— the sails hanging against the mast, unstirred by any wind, the burning sun beating down from a cloudless heaven, the food supply failing, and, more terrible still, the water-casks drained to the dregs. Such thoughts, when based on knowledge, drive men desperate. Murmur- ings began to L- heard on board even the admiral's shij). Columbus met these with combined gentleness and linnness. The short entry in the journal speaks volumes: "Here the people could endure no longer. They complained of the length of the voyage. Bui the admiral cheered them up in the best way he r S| 52 Ou/ with the Old Vvyaocrs cuukl, giving Lhem liopes of the advantaoes tl.ey n.i.l.L gam tVoni it. He added tl.at. however much they mi-'^I.L complain, he had to go to the Indies, and that he would yo on until he found them, with the help of our Lord." Pinzou was quite as determiued, and roundly he-rated the niurmurers for their cowardice. "Your grace should hang half a doxen of these fellows, and throw them overboard," crie.l the bluut sea-dog. The in- fluence he had over the mariners was very great; they respected him as a practical and experienced ship- master; and they were now ready to abide by the wish of the two leaders, and sail onward. The 11th of October brought fresh signs of land l)emg not far distant-a broken reed, a branch of a tree with ripe red berries, and. more significant than all, a wooden pole bearing traces of an iron tool. The evening closed in. and the stars came out clear and brdhant, lonking down on the calm deep. Columbus felt certain that he was nearing some cast. He was keenly anxious and full of thought. Sleep was out of the cp.estion. but he passed much of the time below deck in earnest prayer. The Pinta, a faster sailer, was ahead of the ^^anta Maria. At two in the morning a glad cry rang out over the waters. IJodrigo de Triana, a sean.an, peivhed 111 the tops of rinzon's vessel, had sighted, several mil.s away, a low sandy beach .n which the moonlight fell lii tig if I / The Voyac^c of Christopher Columbus 55 Close upon th(> e,y came the rej.ort of a .„,, It was rinzon's signal ti.at the voyage was onde.l. the long anxiety at rest, the hope ^A a lifetime fulfilled. Columbus himself had already seen a moving light, "luce a candle that went up and down, as if people' nn shore were passing with it from house to house." But, at the time, he could not be eertain whether or no it betokened land. The three ships were hove-to until daylight. " Then," says the rloquent Spanish writer, Emilio Castelar, " Columbus donned his richest apparel, flung upon his' .shoulders a eloak of rosy purple, grasped in one hand the sword of combat, and in the other the Eedeemer's Cross, and standing be>..>ath the sovereign banner, sprea.l like a canopy above his head, and .^old-' enibroi.iered with the royal initials and the Cast'lian crown, he assend.led all the chief conuades of liis voyag,> about him, as in a peerless court pageant Ihen. disendKirking, he knelt upon the land, raisc-d liis eyes heavenward, and, with uplifted arms, joined with his followers in a 7'c Dam." Such was the great voyage, and such was its ending Only the island fringes of the vast continent had as yet been touched. But a New World had been given to the mariner, to the trader, to the conqueror, when tl.e feet of the great Genoese trod the island sands of oan Salvador. *?ll^' THE FTEST VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD THE EXPLOIT OF FERDINAND MAGELLA^■ 1519 HE first mail who attempted to sail riglit round the globe must have been a man of no common courage. Everything almost was against him. The knowledge at his disposal was scanty. Such maps and charts as he carried had great blanks in them, which he himself ailed in as he proceeded. Ships in those days were small and clumsy — even the best of them. Food and water could not be kept fresh for long, and to be far from land for several months together meant facing the horrors of tliirst and hunger. Then, too, unknown seas might have special dangers uf their own— dense fogs, cross-currents, fearful tempests ; and superstition hinted darkly of evil spirits lying in wait to baffle and destroy the intruder. Over against these discouragements were set the 60 The Exploit of Ferdinand Magellan 5 7 passion for discovery, the restless love of adventure, and, equally potent, if not more so, the hope of maldn.r money. ° The name of Columhiis is in the mouth of every schoolboy. The name of Ferdinand Ma^roHan is far loss familiar. And yet, of these two splendid explorers the man who passed through the narrow straits which' bear his name, and struck out boldly in a line of four thousand leagues across the unknown vast Tueific, deserves the higher honour. Side by side with this exploit, even the voyage of Vaseo da (Jama round the Cape of Storms to hidia sinks into the shade. For Da (Jama did not originate the enterprise which he carried out, and the most •I'iiicult part of it had been already accomplished by l>ia;^. His sliips, moreover, were manned by his own countrymen, and he carried with him th. Kinc^'s authority. And, as for the object of his voyage, it was before everything, a money-making one: namely, the' opening ui: of a rich trade with the East. Whereas Magellan, like Columbus, thought out the enterprise himself, and had tu urge a foreign monarch to provide the means; his crews -..xve aim, st entirely composed of Spaniards, jealous of ■:.„, and resentful of hi<^ command; and, inasmuch as the Spice Islands which they were to make for would probably be found to lie well within Portugal's share of the world, the honour )>! 58 Out with the Old Voyagers of discovering a new sea-route to " the sinning Orient " would liave to be the chief reward. These facts ought to be remembered — not tliat the glory due to brave men like Vasco da Gama should be made less, but that tlie glory of the two greatest voyagers sliould be seen and admired the more. Ferdinand Magellan (or de Magalhaes, as the old documents spell it) was of noble birtli, and had served his sovereign, tlic King of Portugal, in an expedition to India as early as the year 1510. On one occasion, wlu'u t\v(i of the ships ran aground among the IMaldivc Islands, and the ca])tains and chief men took to the boats, Magellan volunteered to remain with the crews and direct operations until assistance could be sent. "And in this," .says the old chronicler, " Fern an de Magalhaos worked hard, and did much service, and attended well to evoiytliing." K% a gentleman of the King's household, Magellan knew full well that the lickle sunshine of royal favour nmst be sought if a man would rise to honour; and ho seems to iiave sought it long, Ho could claim to be a skilled soldier, who had received and given many strokes in hard light, and his knowledge and experi- ence as a navigator were indisputable. But, for reasons which are not very clear to us, he was coldly dealt with, iind shunted and rebulTed. He luul a project in his mind for finding a new sea-road to the Indies by I Tne Exploit of Ferdinand Mac^clian 5 9 way of the west. His sovereign, King Muimel, woiil.l not listen to it; wl.ereupon, indignant and discouraged, Magellan determined to offer his scheme and \is services elsewhere. He left Povtugal and settled in the kingdom of Castile. Its Hiler, Ciiarles V., ai)preciated his new suh.ject, considered and approved iiis plans, and gave him ships and men. King Manuel now did his utmost to thwart and hinder him, setting spies to watch him and make mischief ; and some of the ill-natured letters sent homo by these spies to their royal master may still be read. Ih.t, on the 10th of August, 1519, Magellan dropped down stream from Seville, and, after some delay at St. Lucar, the bar was crossed, and the expedition headed south-west for the Canary Islands. It consisted of some two hundred and thirty-seven men and live vessels— the St Antonio, 120 tons burden ; the Trimty, 110 tons; the Conception, 90 tons; the' Victoria, 85 tons; and the Santiiujo, 75 tons. The llagslnp was the Trinitij, nnd she carried iAIagellan, to whom absolute power had been given by the Kin^r. The liagship led the way, and the admiral had arranged a system of signals, by means of lanterns, to guard against the scattering of his little fleet. The towering cone of Teneriile was left behind on the 3rd of Ontobor, and they ran south down the west coast of Afiica. .JiaH 1. 60 Out ivilk the Old I 'oyagcrs J}ullliiig wiiuls and lazy eulins proved early hiiidmnee.s, and the SiKinlards slmddcrod ns they wiitchcd Llie great sharks moving ronnd the sliips when the ocean hiy like glass under the torrid sun. Sudden scjualls varied the monotony, and then, in the hlack starless nightp, tho crews watched with superstitious awe the lightning dani 'iig )i( thr luast-hoad.' Mediterranean sailors still call this strange phenomenon "the fire of St. Elmo," antl these early voyagers deemed it betokened the presence of the patron saint, and took courage at the sight. It was their belief that no vessel on which the lire descended could founder. A safe passage was made across to Brazil, and a. fortnight was spent in the beautiful harbour of what is now Eio Janeiro. The degraded habits of the cannibal natives were a source of wonder to the sailors, and they stared with interest at the sleeping- hammocks in the huts, the rude canoes hollowed out ol" tiee-trunk.- v.ith stone tools, the girdles of parrot feathers wojt by the men, and the curious pebble ornautent.-, u.. .-aed in the lower lip. ' Our readers may icinember tlic iiassagc iii Shakespeare's Tempest, where lie describes the tricks phtycd at Prospero's biihliiig by tlie .siiiiit Ariel, who had taken tlie Ibrni of a wandering lirc-flanie: — "1 bdariloil llio King's .sliip; iiuu on tlic. boak, Kow in tlio waist, the deck, in every cal)in, I flaniM ainazoment. Somi'tlMics I'd dividi-, Ami Imiii in many pkici.'.s ; on the topmast, Tlio janis, and bowsprit, would I ilame distinctly 'I'lien meet, an 1 join." ^ I ^, I'Ki.iUNANn MAC 1. 1. LAN. CI % ':^^m^ m% it>i MICROCOPY RESOLUTION TEST CHART (ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No. 2) 1.0 I.I 1.25 Hi im ■ 5,0 ""1= i" IIIIIM If IIIM If IIIIIM 1.4 2.5 [| 2.2 2.0 1.8 1.6 ^^. '65J East Mom Street —.= Rochester. New York 14609 USA '.^S: i ''6) 482 - 0300- Phone I "6) 288 - 5989 - Kox >> m '■ I The Exploit of Ferdinand MaisiHted, and at mid- night the expedition, with a flotilla of native boats, set out. The hostile island was reached before day- break, and in the early light of the tropic dawn the attacking force waded through the shallows. The islanders — fifteen hundred strong — were in no way daunted, and a shower of spears hurtled through the air. The Spaniards replied with their cross-bows and muskets, but, owing to the wooden shields and the agile movements of their foes, neither bolts nor bullets did much execution. Thinking to terrify the enemy more eriectually, Magellan ordered some of his men to fire the thatch of the huts, but this only heightened the fury of the warlike natives. With loud cries they crowded down to the waier's edge, and the Spaniards were at length compelled to retreat. Only some six or eight men were left witii Magellan, and, amid a storm of stones and darts, the little band began to give way. In the haiid-to-hand fighting it was "every man for himself"; and the islanders, recognisinrr Magellan as the leader, pressed hard upon him. Tvice his helmet was struck of!", a poisoned arrow pierced Iiis leg, and when, having lost his lance, he tried to draw his sword, he found his arm had been mmm t) 72 Oui ivith the Old Vovoi^eis li m ilii crippled by a further wound. Witli splendid solf-forget- fulness, he kept looking,' round to see if liis followers had reached tlie boats, " as though," says an eye-witness, " his obstuiate figlit had no other object than to give an opportunity for the retreat of his men." A heavy blow threw him on his face, and the next moment, from a score of wounds, his life-blood was reddening the waters. The remnant who had stood by him staggered out, bruised and bleeding, to the boats, and the crews, heartsick and dejected, made their way l)ack to the sliips. It was a most sad and deplorable ending to the adventurous life of so notable a seaman. The one bright feature in this episode was the personal bravery and unselfishness displayed by Magellan, and to this the chief narrator of the voyage bears loving and elf)quent testimony. This occurrence took place on 27th April, 1521, and the departure of the fleet was hastened by treachery. An ill-used slave, on board fled ashore and induced the King of Sebu to entrap the olHcers. The latter weie invited to a feast and murdered, and, this becomintr known, the crews weighed anchor and sailed away, leaving behind them the unburied body of Magellan (for which the islanders had refused ransom) and of four-aud-twenty leading members of the expedition. Juan Carvalho, pilot of the flag -ship, was now elected to the vacant command. r TllK DK.VTII (IK M.VfJKI.I.AN. The Exploit of Ferdinand Jllagel/an 75 The serious losses sustained by the lleet led to the crew of the Conccjjtion, ulmig with the principal stores she carried, being distributed between the two remain- ing ships, and the abandoned vessel was set on fire. Then away down the island -studded seas went the survivors, landing at intervals to gather fruit and refill their water-butts, and ever wonderinn; at the strange sights they saw. Now it would be the blow- pipes and poisoned arrows of the natives; now, the grotesque hog -deer of Borneo, or splendid plumes of the birds of paradise. They were fetched ashore in proas (sail canoes), bedizened with peacock feathers, and accompanied with musicians playing on drums and cymbals ; they rode on stately elephants, gaily caparisoned ; hey slept on soft beds with silk coverlets — luxurious, indeed, after a ship's berth ; they had audience with dusky potentates, squatting on rich carpets, and surrounded by fierce-eyed warriors; they listened to curious and amusing wonder-stories about hidden treasure and fabulous creatures; they tasted cloves and cinnamon, ginger and palm wine; they loaded their ships with spices till a King's present had to be refused for very lack of space ; they fought with junks and drove them aground ; and they experienced, especially one October night, the builetings of a troi)ical storm. It was not until Wednesday, November Gth, 1521, I H 76 Out ivith the Old Voyagers ! 1 that their long search was rewarded. Fourteen leagues away to the eastward rose the high coast-line of the Moluccas, or Spice Islands, and two days later they dropped anchor at Tidore, with a loud salute of guns. Trade relations were established and tokens of good- will were exchanged, the King proving most gracious and kindly disposed. Wiien, on preparing to depart, the Trinitji was found to be leaking, he offered the free services of his workmen to repair her, and provided dwelUngs for tlie sailors during their enforced stay. Wishing to make liaste back to Spain, the crew of the Victoria bade good-bye to th(Mr comrades, and, having received their messages and letters for friends at home, set sail. Juan Carvalho, with fifty-three men, remained at Tidore; and the heavily-laden Victoria, witli sixty souls on board of her, ploughed her way southward across the sunny seas. Isle after isle, beautiful with palms and redolent of spices, faded behind them, and then began the long mid -ocean voyage to the Cape of Good Hope. Boisterously the waves of that stormy headland beat upon the gallant little ship, leaky and over-freighted, and her crew sickened with hunger and cold and the hardships of incessant work and vigil. A few of tliem had begged that a stay might be made at ]\Io/ambique, but the duty of speedy return and the Jlllt r> V. C X H 7: o ft y. a o H w e 97 )> I f i u . '%■ The Exploit of Ferdinand Magellan 79 natural home - longing prevailed. The Cape was passed on May (Ith, and after toueliing, in July, for a final food supply, at jne of the Cape Verde Islands wluae a boat's crew was arrested and detained by the Portuguese authorities, the Victoria entered the familiar waters of Lucar, Seville, on Saturday, the Gth of September, 1522. Out of the sixty men who had sailed in her from the Moluccas only eighteen remained. Says one who was of that number : " From the day when we left this bay of San Lucar until our return thither, we reckoned that we had run more than fourteen thousand four hundred and sixty leagues, and we had completed going round the caith from East to West.' m liiH WESTWARD WITH THE CABOTS 1497 AND 1498 T was an exciting time for nuirinevs and dwellers in seaport towns. A wondorfnl story of newly-found lands far off across the Atlantic was passing from lip to lip, and Southern Europe was thrilling with the news. A Genoese navigator, aided and commissioned by the King of Spain, had crossed the ocean, intent on reach- ing the Indies, and, after sailing westward for nine weeks, had reached land. How vast that land was no one then realised. Indeed, only the outlying fringe of islands had been explored; the continent itself was still unknown. The islands, moreover, were supposed to be part of the Indies; and over this comforting fancy there was great rejoicing. Even the quiet folk of England, settling down (so far as royal impostois and iiinied risings would permit) 80 Weskvard with the Cabots 8i after the long, fierce rivalry and strife of the White Kose with the Eetl, caught the excitement. The " salt blood " began to tingle in their veins. They grew t(j look upon the sea no longer as a barrier shutting them in, but as a free highway into the mysterious West. Might they not hope to take their part in the dis- coveries which were marking the close of the century ? They were indeed to share in them. A year or two more was to elapse, and then an English crew, in an English ship, sailing from an English port, was to discover the coast of the North American Continent. But a far-famed Republic on the Adriatic was to provide the captain ! There was a boy in Venice who was destined to go with that expedition, to see with his own eyes the new land beyond the seas, two thousand three hundred miles away. His father was a merchant, and, as his business took him a great deal to foreign parts, the little fellow must early have exchanged his cradle songs and fairy stories for " traveller's taler, " at his father's knee. Perhaps the sunburnt face bending over him would twitch with a smile, and there v/ould come a marvellous romance of ogres and dragons, sea-monsters and mermaids, i II / If il Ala! of the cannibals that each other eat, The Anthropophagi, and men whoso headd Do grow beneath their siiouldcns."' !i' 82 Out Willi the Old Voyagers m l^ut if the child's louiid-eyed woiidor was sluidowcd with a doubt, the spcuker could full bcack on the " quite true " stories told by Miirco Polo, himself a Venetian, of what he had seen during his travels in the East. And if that was not sufficiently real to the young listenei', the narrator could introduce the personal touch to give it an added charm. For he, John Cabot, trading with the towns and settlements on the Arabian Coast, had himself seen much that was strange and unfamiliar to European eyes. He had trodden the sun-scorched sands, had mixed with the motley crowds in Moslem cities, and had watched the patient camels plodding in from the desert, laden with spices from the East. rerhai)S, indeed, it was this last named sight which first turned the current of his thoughts towards a voyiige of discovery. It set him puzs^ling how far those fragrant loads had como, and by what means he might gain access to the remote places whence they had been brouyht. Much of his experiences, possibly some of his aspira- tions too, were no doubt told by the father to his three boys; and, if so, it is no wonder that young Sebastian grew up tilled with sea dreams, and sea - going intentions. In the frequent absence of his merchant - father there would be plenty to keep the fire of his ambition \\\ IVcshuard loith the Cabot s 83 burning brightly. Ho liud not, indeed, like boys of to- day, }i slielf-full of books about the wide world and its wonders, with graphiu pictures Kup[)lenienting the letterpress ; but for him there were sources of informa- tion even more interesting. He had only to go down to the busy quays where the ships were unloading, and talk with the bronzed sailors lounging and gossiping in the sunshine. For Venice, though she was on the eve of her decline, was still a great and bustling seaport. The Grand Canal bristled with masts. Argosies as rich as those which Shakespeare's Antonio was master of, and small coasters from many a blue harbour in the IMediter- ranean, were ever coming and going; while the overland trade v»ith the East, of which she had long had the monopoly, was not yet superseded by the sea- borne commerce of her Portuguese rivals. Young Sebastian must have been al)out eighteen years of age when his nautical dreams and fancies were broken in upon by a great fad. There came to Venice the news of the famous voyage successfully completed by the Genoese Columbus. An easy and direct way to Asia xid the West had been discovered, so it was said, and the outlying islands explored. All Venice, all Western Europe, was in a flutter of excitement. It is not known where John Cabot was when he I' &£ i-\^ Mfi 84 Ou^ ivith the Old Voyagers heard tho report, but it seems to have stirred him deeply. He himself was by birth a Genoese, thon'i the voyagois in whatever way it was neetlcd ; and the tader ia signed tiius: — •• Wiliio.ssc write to the Duke of Milan, his lua.ter, speaking confidently of the sailors of Bristol as having the reputation of being "great seamen." Slowly across the waste of waters, for fifry days, the little clumsy vessel ploughed her way. Th,^ direction she kept was due west, but as she iieared tli. unknown land the current must have bent the straig it line of her course, deflecting it slightly to the south perhaps by some two hundred miles. 88 Out with the Old Voyagers The darkness of a night in June closed in upon sky and ocean. It was Midsummer Eve, and it was the eve of a great discovery. As the shadows deepened, and the ship's lantern gleamed more brightly for the surrounding gloom, the Bristol men gathered in knots about the deck, chatting in the warm summer darkness. The thoughts of some, especially the younger ones, wandered no doubt to the fair home-land that now lay seven hundred leagues astern. What was happening in the flower-scented lanes and on the village greens from Avon to Thames that night ? A red-letter date in the rustic calendar of Old England was Midsummer Eve, and well might they sigh at having to spend it on the lonely seas. There would be merrymaking in every town and hamlet. Great bonfires would be crackling and blazing, and a ring of dancers would encircle them. There would be wrestling and other sports to watch or to join in. The girls would be wearing their brightest kirtles, and there would be garlands and fresh herbs to scatter, and pipe and tabor and singing. And then, as midnight drew near, couples would link hands, and, according to time-honoured custom, leap through the stinging wood-smoke over the dying fires. Ah, it would be pleasant to be back that night " in merrie England." So came and went Midsummer Eve, 1497, for the mariners of the good ship MaWmc of Bristol. Dawn Westwai^d ivith the Cabots 89 broke early, and in the quiet grey light, to the joy of all on board, a dim coast-line was in sight. What this coast really was is a question that lias — «^ Coast ditcovered up to 1650 ""vi."^ Juj.^ 1650 - 18H ^^^ do., by PranJdm, J^Savxh. Ex- 1 peiiitUins.l8-i4-69: do. tines 1859 : 9 FranJdin Lvt.Wia. APOures N.W.r,Lssas».18S0-ii. yordmskivlds N.E.Vojsa^e.lB^STI CHAKT op THE NOKrHEllN SEAS SHOWING VOYAGES FKOM 1497 A. P. not been intelligently decided until recently. A map and globe prepared by John Cabot are lost, likewise a map by Sebastian, which was drawn half a century later ; but of this latter chart one copy has survived. fll * 90 Out ivith the Old Voyagers From this it seems clear that tlie Prima Terra Vista (land first seen), as the place is called in the map, must be the northern end of Cape Breton. Another large island, sighted on the same day, and named St. John's (Midsummer Day is St. John's Day), corresponds to the position of the Magdalen Islands. The dense mists which prevail on the coast of Newfoundland must have concealed tliat great island, the southern end of which lay so near. A l)oat's crew landed on the lonely shores, and Cabot hoisted the banner of England in token of possession. Not f(jrgetting, too, his Venetian citizenship, he unfurled beside King Henry's iiag another emblazoned witli the lion of St. Mark. If any native eyes looked from the pine woods upon the strangers, no sign of their presence was obser.e.l. But traces of human residents were detected later, in the shape of snares set for catching the wild creatures of the forest, and a primitive needle for making nets ; also several trees were found to have been notched. Nothing else could be discovered, so the boat's crew pulled back to the ship. Fearing lest his stock of provisions should give out, and being anxious to return with the good news, Cabot relinquished the thought of further researches, and the homeward voyage was begun. "Two islands to the light" were noticed after a run of some seventy miles, JVesiwaj'd with the Cabot s 91 iuul then, heading eastward, the Matthew crossed the Atlantic once more. Tlie passage only occupied tiiirty- five days, and early in August the adventurers dropped anchor in Bristol waters. The welcome accorded to Cabot, on presenting him- self at Westminster with the report of his journey, s(^ems to have been a warm one. In a letter written about this time, and h)\\m\ among the State Papers of Venice, the following reference occurs : — " Our Venetian who went with a small ship from Bristol has returned. . . . The King has been nnich pleased. . . . The King has promised for another time ten armed ships as he desires . . . and has given him money to amuse him- self till tlien. ... He is called the Great Admiral, great honour behig paid to him, and he goes dressed in silk." Among the Privy Purse Accounts of Henry VIT. there is one interesting item. It is entered thus: — " lOth Aug. 1497. To hyni that foundc the new isle, £10." With the envoy of the Duke of Milan, Cabot seems to have had very friendly intercourse, becoming quite confidential at times. To him the old sea captain spoke enthusiastically of the teeming supply of fish which the seas held on that far-off coast, and which his crew had tasted. He believed that, if fisheries could be estabiiahed there, Euglaud would no longer have need of goiug to Iceland for that commodity. i _ !<• i*- >> i M 92 Out with the Old Voyagers He also praised the temperate climate, and stated his belief that the spice countries could be reached by penetrating further. Not much time elapsed between Cabot's return and the issuing of a royal order for a second expedition. These authorised "our well-beloved John Kabotto, Venician," to select and fit out six ships, not exceeding 200 tons burden, " and theym convey and lede to the Londe and lies of late founde by the seid John in oure name." ^ Bristol was again the port chosen, and the five ships were away in or before the month of July, 1498. Sebastian probably accompanied his father ; the former was about twenty-three years of age, the latter over sixty. Two of the vessels were commanded by London men, Thos. Bradley and Lancelot Thirkell by name, to whom King Henry had lent the neces- sary means. Tlio Hcet was furnished with food for one year. A northerly course was steered at first. A great gale which they encountered drove one of the ships back to the Irish coast in a crippled condition; the ^ This and other statements show pretty conclusively that to Cabot the father, and not Cahot the younger, belongs the honour of these North American discoveries. It is not pleasant to find that Sebastian, after his father's death, tried to fix that honour upon liimself, wilfully misrepresenting facts. It is only recently that the truth has been laid bare. 93 Westward with the Cabot s 95 rost seem to have continued their journey. Higli latitudes were reached ere long, the cold increased, " And ice, mast higli, came floating by, As green as emert'ld." Here, in July, "continuall daylyght" was experienced. This was cheering to the mariners; but the wooden sides of the ships of those old days were too frail to risk the chances of the ice-grip, and Cabot turned, and bore southward and westward, running down tlie New- foundland " banks." These banks, famous now for nearly four hundred years, and still the scene of one of the greatest fisheries in the world, are swept by the cold Labrador current. This it is which brings the fish and the seals from the North, and many an iceberg drifts in, too, and gets stranded in the shallows. A cloud of fog, generated by the warm breath of the Gulf Stream, lies over the banks, which stretch for three hundred miles in a south-easterly direction. Along this now far-famed coast Cabot's little fleet came sailing, the men marvelling at the prodigal way in which Nature had stocked the waters with fish —and such fish! So dense were the shoals, we are told, that "they sometymes stayed his shyppes." Bacallaos he called them, which is the Basque word for cod. Swarms of sea-birds, too, floating or diving, perching or flying, filled the air with their hoarse cries. 'f ( 96 Oui ivith the Old Voyagers Conspicuous among tliuni was a bird whose eggs are now a golden prize to the naturalist— the groat auk — which was then to be seen in thousaurls on rock-ledue and strand. Now it is f^one for ever. "swarms of SE.V-BIRDS Fir.tED THE AlU WITH THEIli HOARSE CRIES." Whether Cabot landed, and if so, at what points, we are not told ; but it is likely that one or more of the succession of fine bays which indent the coast attracted him. Beautiful they are, many of them, with green Wesiivard with the Cabots 97 islets dotting their calm expanse. From their lofty and craggy cliffs the dark forests slope down to the water's edge, and the winding silver of the sea rmis in for many a mile. The wide-winged eagles sail above the inland solitudes that are scarcely less lonely than in Cabot's day ; and the wolf and the black bear still lurk among the pine woods. An inscription on Sebastian Cabot's map of 1544 mentions the presence of " very large stags, like horses," which may mean moose, to which the descrip- tion well applies, or reindeer, of which great herds still exist in Newfoundland. The fish-hunting habits of the white bear are else- where described : " Plungeing themselves into the water where they perceive a multitude of these fyshes to lye, they fasten theyr clawes in theyr scales, and so drawe them to lande and eate them ; so that, the Beares, beyjng thus satisfied with fyslie, are not noysome (harmful or dangerous) to men." More interesting to the mariners were the natives, numbers of whom were seen during this second visit. They were clad in the skins of animals, and seemed to be not lacking in intelligence. Bows and arrows, slings and spears, were ir use among them. Continuing his course southward, Cabot seems to have traced the North American coast-line as far at least as Cape Hatteras— one account says as far even as 98 Qui loith I he Old Voyagers ^''•'^■^•''^— ^^J'^» hiy l'.lili„j, yt,^l.^,y Q,^JJ^,^.^| Jjjj^^ ^^ J^,^^^^^^^ buck t(j England. Over tlie cuiicliisi..ii „f this nienioruhlo voyugo Uil; curtain drops. Tlu' lleet was expected lioine by September; but when it actually arrived, and when nnd wliere John Cabot died, is not known. Nothing further is recorded. The v,'ork of the old voyager was continued by others. In LoOl three Bristol merchants, Warde, Ashurst, and Thomas, were auMiorised to visit New- foundland, and the Atlantic was again crossed. It is thought that Sebastian Cabot took charge of this venture. His after life was more eventfid ai.-I more full of strange adventures than his father's. But to the latter belongs tlie honour and glory of that useful voyage which showed to Englishmen that the New World could be reached without crossing the track of a Spanish keel. I TO TIFE LAND OF TIIK ESKIMO TIIK TIIKKK VOYA(li:S OF MAIITIN FKOBISIIKH lo7G-ir)78 |T^¥]1AT llic ;itl(-iii].t to reach (lie Xoilli role \H to us, Lho seaieh for tlie NorLli-West rassago was to our couutrymeu tliree hundred years iigo. It was tlieir generul liehef that America was an island, hut the si/e and shape of it was still only imperfectly known. That there was a watei-way round the southern end of the great continent had heen proved by Magellan, who had passed through the straits which have since l)orne his name. Now the question was, Did a similar water-way exist at the northern end ? To these forefatliers of ours it was a (juestion of intense interest and very great impurlance. If a passage for ships could be discovered, the merchants lOO Oui witli the Old Voya^^a-s of our iioitlifily country hoped to bo able to rciich Asia— to get tit " Cathay " and the spiee-bearing islands —by a quick route, without crossing the sea-paths of tlie Portuguese and the Spaniards. It was their belief, moreover, that America (they had not yet learned to think of it as two immense continents joined together by a ribbon of land) tapered to a point northward as it did southward. They little realised how the nortliorn continent spread itself out into the cold Arctic seas,, and willi what a network of islands it ended. The honour of being the first to set sail in search of this North -West Passage rests with the English, and pre-eminently with Martin Frobisher. He had thought much upon the subject. A York- shire boy, with a London training, ho had already learned the handling of a ship, and, doubtless, even in the days of his trading trips to the West African Coast, his heart had inclined towards those dreary seas where the sunshine was dim and pale, but the glory of pioneering would be great. For fifteen long years no opportunity offered. No well-to-do burgher was adventurous enough to lend him money for the attempt. At last, " perceiving that hardly he was hearkened unto of the merchants," who, he says bitterly, never rise V '-ss they could see in it looked at a brave enterp a) ill IM >>' The Three Voyages of Martin Fr obi sher 103 "sure, certain, and present gains," he ki.l the matter before tlie great personages of the Court. His scheme seems to l>ave been favourably received, and one of the nobles, tht; l^]arl of Warwick, came forward to su])ply his wants. One cannot read without a thrill the simple words which relate how Frobishor's expedition was prepared. " By little and little, with no small expense and pain, he brought his cause to some perfection, and drew together so many adventurers and such sums of money as might defray a reasonable charge to furnish himself to sea withal. He prepared two small barks of twenty and five and twenty tons apiece, wlicrein he intended to accomplish his voyage." Think of it, reader ! Idealise the quiet courage that enabled these sea-going ancestors of ours to start on such a quest with means so poor and rude— attempting to solve tlie great problem of their day in a frail little wooden vessel of five and twenty tons ! On the 7th of June, 1576, the two barks, the Gabriel and the Michael, accompanied by a pinnace of 10 tons burden, dropped down the Thames from llatclifle to Deptford, where an accident to the pinnace detained them. Proceeding past Greenwich Palace, a salute vras fired, and was acknowledged bv the Queen in person. With that wise graciousness which made the gentlemen and commoners of England alike her devoted slaves, she came to the windows and }> 104 Oi// tvilli tJic Old Voyagers waved the iulveutureis a fuicnvoll. She also despatched one of lier attendants to assure the crews of lier hearty good wishes, and invited their commander to come and bid her adieu. Gravesend was left behind on the 12th of June, and away into the north-west went the tiny fleet. On the 11th of July a jagged coast-line rose before them witli the afternoon light upon its crags and spires. This was Greenland. The ice lay thick along the shores, and Frobisher dared not venture in among those grindiug masses. At times the dense mists that haunt that region almost blotted out the sun — " And all the niLjIlt, tliiougli lojf-siiioke wliito, Glimmered the pale moonshine. ' Then would come fear and anxiety to relieve the monotony of the cold watch on deck. Stormy weather shortly ensued, and the little pinnace went down, with the four seamen aboard her. The crew of the Michael grew distrustful of the whole enterprise, and, to their shame, retraced their course, and carried back to England a false story of failure and wreck. Not a whit disconcerted by these losses, Frobisher held on towards the North-West. His own ship had been roughly handled by the storm, the nuist being sprung and the topmast blown away, but his cheerful courage never failed. FiHgerly he watched for further The IViree Voyages of Martin Frohishcy 105 signs of land, and on July 20l1i the little island, lying to the north of what is now Resolution Island, was siglited, and loyally named "Queen Elizabeth's Fore- land." Continuing in a northerly direction he passed another headland, and getting free of tlie dangerous drift ice, which he had previously encountered, he saw before him an opening towards the west. This opening, which still goes by the name of Frobislier liay, he fondly imagined might be tlie long-souglit water-way, the North-West Passage of his dreams. "The land upon his riglit hand as he sailed westward he judged to be the Continent of Asia, and there to be divided from the firm of America which lieth on the left hand over agahist the same." For this to have been the case Frobisher should have been some three thousand miles further on his way. As it was the land on his riglit was Bafiin Land. It is not, however, for us to smile at his mistake. Those old voyagers won l)y pluck and endurance and painful experience what we of to-day learn easily fi-om the printed page. All honour to them ! Proceeding witli care and caution, the adventurers passed a grcut island of ice whicli suddenly split in twain, the two halves of the berg falling into the waves with a tiemendous noise and commotion. (Jales and calm, fog and clear weatlier, alternately prevailed, as the Qahrid picked her way along the desolate strait; and at times riipid currents sorely tried the helmsman's fill I) '1 Vm io6 Out ivith the Old Voyagers skill. On August 14tli, anchoring in u quiet cove, tlic mariners repaired and caulked their vessel, and refilled their water-butts. Five days later they fell in with the Eskimo, and in this wise. The day was calm, and the captain and Christopher Hall, master of the Gahrid, rowed ashore with eight of the men. Wanting to ascertain if there were any signs of human life, they climbed a hill. Presently a number of small black objects were seen moving across the water. At first they were taken to be porpoises or seals ; but as they came nearer they proved to be a fleet of hxyalis, or native canoes. Paddling towards the beach where the seamen liad landed, they attempted to steal the boat. With loud shouts the owners swooped down on the astonished thieves and saved their property. Later on the natives were encouraged to come to the ship; this they did, bringing presents of salmon and raw flesh, some of which they greedily partook of, while the Englishmen stood round and stared at their uncouth gestures. They showed their agility by clambering about the rigging, and danced and tumbled and grimaced; and they were mightily pleased by presents of toys and trinkets given them on leaving. The description of these Eskimo by the old chronicler is correct enough. He says : " They be like to Tartars, with long black hair, broad faces, and flat noses, and tawny in colour, wearing sealskins, and so do the The Three Voyages of Martin Frobishcr 107 women, not differing in the fashion ; but the women are marked in the face witli bhie streaks down the cheeks and round about the eyes." Of tlie kayaks he adds: "Their boats are made all of sealskin, with a keel of wood within the skin ; the proportion of them is like a Spanish shallop, save only tliey be flat in tlie bottom and sharp at botli ends." The natives, however, were treaclierous as well as timid. One of them having to bo put ashore after a visit to the ship, the boat's crew, instead of landing him at a solitary point as tlie captain had advised, took him direct to his friends, who straightway captured the live sailors and carried them olf as prisoners.^ Their comrades on board, having no other boat, could not come to their rescue, and, after waiting as long as seemed of any use, they were compelled to sail away. But not without retaliating ; for an Eskimo was decoyed to the ship's side by a tinkling bell, and was snatched up and dragged on board. " Whereupon," we are told " when ho found himself in captivity, for very choler and disdain he bit his tongue in twain within his mouth ; notwithstanding, he died not thereof, but lived A tradition about these uufortunatc iiicix seems to liave been handed down among tlie Eskimo, for, as Mr. Edward J. Payne notes, a story was told to an American explorer, who visited those regions three hundred years later, of how tlia white men had built and rigged a boat, with timber left by Frobisher on his third vnyagc, an:ni (l.k. ii. canto xii. ver. 23), writteu between 1580 ami 1590. The Three Voyages of Martin Frobishcr 11^ '* rn .rtViiliiiiclio broko tlio dead Bilcncc. Tlio iccbci"H bordering tlie shore drifted in fre(]ueut collision, grinding and janiniiiig; and Frobisber, thrice essaying to slip in between thoni, liud to give up an attempt fraught with so nuich danger. A more cheering feature waa the presence of little land-birds which perclied on the rigging; this seemed to hint that tlie country inland was not as wintry as the coast. Some good sport was had with the fishing-lines let down, a hu^'i! halibut providing the sailors with very satisfying food. The icebergs themselves proved useful, for when morsels were melted it was found that the water thus obtained was not salt nor even brackish ; the bergs had apparently been carried down from some river mouth. Four days reconnoitring along this inhospitable shore tried even Frobisher's patience, and he resolved to bear out to sea and run for the Straits discovered in tlie previous year, and bearin >;s name. In so doing, he encountered storms and ijitterly cold weather, which seemed at strange variance with the sumiuer-like length of 'I ^.light. On reaching and searching the small island where the black stone had been picked up, no further supply could be found, but there was plenty to be had on adjacent islets. Wishing to explore more thoroughly, and gain a better knowledge of the Eskimo people, the captain went ashore one Friday, taking with him some forty of his company, \mong the latter were many ii6 Out with the Old Voyagers geiitlomeii uiid soldiers. Owing to the treacherous habits of the natives all went armed. A survey from a hill- top showed the whole region to be rugged and barren- looking, and the party was descending to the shore when they were hailed by some of the Eskimo. Some shy traflicking took place, and gifts were exchanged ; but the meeting ended in a fight, entirely provoked (so it seems to us) by the English. Ever intent on gaining more information, the captain appears to have thought it quite justifiable to kidnap any of the natives, when a chance occurred, for training as interpreters. These higli-handed proceedings v/ere naturally resented ; bows were bent, and after a flight of arrows the islanders fled. The soldiers iu their armour were no match in running for the Eskimo, but a fleet-footed Cornish wrestler, Nicholas Conyer by name, overtook one of them, grappled witli him and secured him. Eeturning to the ships, the adventurers sailed slowly on through the perilous floating ice. The find- ing of a dead narwhal, some twelve feet in length, excited much interest — a sea unicorn the sailors called it. The long tapering horn was cut off, and eventually presented to the Queen. Frobishcr and his men were anxious to learn whether their comrades, seized a year ago by the Eskimo, were still alive. It was suggested, by signs, to the captive, that these unfortunate men had been killed and eaten ; but this he vigorously denied. That such might, how- The Time Voyages of Jllaiiin FrobisJiey 1 1 7 over, have been the case seeincfl likely vvlieii an odd assortment of clothing, of English make, was found in some deserted tents among "raw and new-killed Hush of unknown sorts." It was a grim probability. An attempt was made to cut off and capture a number of the natives, but the only result was a fierce contest, in which several of the English were wounded. Many of their opponents, when shot, saved themselves from capture by drowning, " with deadly fury casting themselves headlong from off' the rocks." One old woman, who was so hideous that the superstitious sailors believed she must be a witch, was caught and allowed to hobble away ; but a younger woman and her child were taken and brought away to the ships. A letter penned by Frobisher, and addressed to the live missing men, was placed where tlie natives might fetch it, in the hopes that it would fall into the rigJjt hands. It assured the men of his anxiety to rescue them, and bade them arrange their own exchange for the three prisoners now detained as hostages. But the days passed and no answer came. Continual vigilance had to be observed, especially at night, in case the ships' boats should be cut adrift and stolen, or the hostages escape. A small fort was built, and military rules were enforced ; and the visitors and the inhabitants watched each other's movements suspiciously, like angry cats. The description, which one of our accounts contains, 10 \t> lit 4 HI ■di m h,t ii8 O/i/ luith the Old Voyagers of the Eskimo, as our couiiirynieu saw tliciii Lliiec hundred years ago, may be compared with that given by moderji travellers. "The men are of large cor- porature (big build) and good proportion; their colour is not much unlike the sunburnt countryman who laboureth daily in sun for his living. They wear their hair something long, and cut before with stone or knife, very disorderly. . . They eat their meat all raw ... or parboiled with blood and a little water, which they drink. For lack of water, they will cat ice that is hard frozen, as pleasantly as we will do sugar candy, or other sugar. . . They neither use table, stool, or table-cloth for comeliness ; but when they are imbrued with blood, knuckle-deep, and their knives in like sort, they use their tongues as apt instruments to lick them clean." In fact, they were what one of the narrators calls them, "savages," and, as he shrewdly guesses " anthropophagi " also, ix. cannibals. We are told that they were dressed in skins sewn together with sinews. In cold weather they wore the fur side inward, and in summer outN.ard. Their weapons were rude, and their arrows not effective, except at close range. Their kaijaks are thus described : " They have two sorts of boats made of leather set out on the inner side with quarters of wood. . . The greater sort are not much unlike our wherries, wherein sixteen or twenty men may sit; they have for a sail dressed the guts of such beasts aa i I' ^ . 3 ^ i The Three Voyages of Mar tin Frobisher 119 tliey kill, very fine and thin, whicli they sew together. The other boat is but for one man to sit and row in, with one oar." Eeference is also made to their roaming, unsettled mode of life, and to the famous dog-teams which have been employed by so niany of our Arctic explorers since that day. August was not far advanced before the increasing cold warned the adventurers that it was time to be getting back into more southerly latitudes. The work of digging and carrying aboard great quantities of the ore had been proceeding apace, tlie men— soldiers and gentlemen alike with the miners — working well. By the 21st of August the task was finished, all hands being wearied out. Two hundred tons of pyrites were stowed away, and the next day, having lit a big bonfire on the highest hill and fired a salute which reverber- ated far and wide among the mountains, the little fleet sailed away. A curious story is told of a young seaman, William Smith, " master " of the Gabriel It was the 30th day of August, and a heavy sea was running. As he stood watching the great white-crested rollers, he was telling his captain in a laughing, light-hearted way about a dream he had had the previous night. He dreamed that he had fallen overboard, and that the boatswain had caught him by the hand, but could not save him. He had scarcely finished speaking when a lurch of the ship flung him into the sea, together with the boat- if 7 . p^): I20 Oul ivith the Old Voyagers bwaiii, who had been btaudiiig by, no doubt an amused listener. The latter clutched him, holding on with his other hand to a loose rope, but the strain was too great, and he had to relax his grip. The boatswain was dragged back into the ship; the young master went down in the deep waters. Several storms were encountered, and the fleet got scattered, but finally all reached port — one coming in to Milford Haven, one to Bristol, and one, which had steered round the north-east of Scotland, arriving safely at Yarmouth. Frobisher's reception by the great Queen was most flattering and gracious, and the courage and hardihood shown by all in the late expedition was warmly commended. The region visited was named by Elizabeth herself, Mda Incorjiiita — the boundary of the unknown; and arrangements were forthwith put in hand for establishing a colony there, the better to develop its supposed mineral riches. The ore brought home by the three ships had been lodged partly in Bristol Castle and partly at the Tower of London. A sample of it when submitted to an assay or testing raised such high expectations that no doubt was felt that huge profits would result from this third and greater expedition. It was decided that a party, numbering a hundred men, should be quartered in tlie newly-discovered land, of whom forty should be seamen for navigating the The Three Voyages of Martin Frobisher 1 2 1 surrounding sounds and inlets, thirty should be miners, and thirty should be soldiers. The latter were to give protection to the others in the exercise of their duties ; and "a strong fort or house of timber, cunningly devised hy a notable learned man here at home," was to be taken aboard in sections, and set up as a shelter and a citadel for those who were to winter in that ice-bound region. The prospect offered to these hundred men was hardly a cheerful one; but there was a spice of romance about it, and plenty of volunteers came forward. Captains Fenton, Best, and Philpot were to have charge of this contingent, and three ships of the tleet were to be left at their disposal for exploring trips, and as a means of escape if serious peril threatened the colony. Compared with the two previous expeditions this was quite a big undertaking. No less than fifteen ships were to take part in it. Full power was in the hands of Frobisher, who was a pretty severe disciplinarian, and the rules drawn up for the conduct of the voyage were strict enough. The first article ran thus : " I. Imprimis, to banish swearing, dice, and card-playing, and [foul talk], and to serve God twice a-day, with the ordinary service usual in churches in England." Two otlier regulations are interesting: "III. That no man shall by day or by night depart further from the admiral than the distance '1 122 Ou^ ivith the Old Voyagers of one English mile " ; and " IX. That every ship in the fleet in the time of fogs, which continually happen with little winds, and most part calms, shall make a reason ahle noise with trumpet, drum, or otherwise, to keep themselves clear one of another." It must have heen comforting to the sailors, hut not a little dis- concerting to the coast trihes, to hear those strange noises coming muffled through the fog. Such un- explained sounds probably gave rise to many a weird story among the natives, of sea-monsters with bellowing throats and scaly folds rattling as they wound in and out among the ice. An impressive incident marked the farewell inter- view between the great Queen and her redoubtable subject. The former spoke words of warm apprd^'al and encouragement, and as Frobisher knelt to kiss her hand, she laid " a fair chain of gold," about his neck. The day of departure was the 31st of May, 1578, and the port Harwich; but this time the route lay along the English Channel and tlie southernmost point of Ireland. Off Gape Clear the admiral sighted a small vessel, which he suspecti to be a corsair, and gave chase to it; but, instead of a piratical crew bent on mischief, the English found a sorry spectacle awaiting them. The ship was a Bristol bark, and she was full of dead and wounded men. The bloodstains on the deck, the empty water-casks, the gaunt, haggard faces, all told a pitiful tale. The Three Voyages of Martin Frobisher 1 2 It appeared that the crew had been attacked, robbed, and maltreated by some rascally Frenclnuen, and the survivors, after drifting on the high seas without food, and too weak to navigate their vessel, were ready to perish. In those days the ocean was not crossed by tliousands of ships in all directions, and it was fortunate indeed that the unhappy men fell in with Frobisher's fleet. Every assistance was given them by their countrymen, and food and drink were supplied them, ere the expedition proceeded on its way. Here are the names of the ships composing the fleet : the Queen's " tall ship " the Aid (which carried the admiral), the Thomas Allen (bearing Captain York, the vice-admiral), the Judith, the Anne Francis, the Hope- iMl, the Bear, the Thomas of Ipswich, the Emmanuel of Exeter, the Francis of Foy, the Moon, the Buss of Bridgwater, the Salamander of Weymouth, the Dionyse or Dennis, the Gabriel, and the Michael. From which it would seem that the two ships of last year's voyage were now the smallest in point of size. The rugged white hills of Greenland," familiar to the eyes of many among the crews, rose at lust on the 20th day of June. No long stay was made here, Mcta Incognita being the destination of the fleet. The latter accordingly sailed onward, meeting on the way many whales. One of these monsters had cause to rue the presence of the visitors, the hard nose of the Salamander butting it with such force that the sliip il 1 24 Out ivith the Old Voyagers stood still. " Whereat," we are told, " the wliale made a great and ugly noise," as well it might, " and cast up his body and tail, and so went under water." Two days Inter, the floating carcase of a dead wliale was espied, and judged to be tlie one rammed by the ship. As su(»n as the ilcet got in anionic the floatinfr ice. which lay between tliem and their destination, their troubles began. The fu'st disaster was the loss of the Dennis, a 100-ton ship, but already weakened by the ice-grip; slie was struck by a berg, and sank so rapidly that none of her stores could be saved. Boats, launched from the nearest vessels, happily were in time to rescue her crew. Jiefore the dismay caused by this incident had passed off, a storm which had been gathering burst with pitiless fury. The sea was churned up into white waves, and the crash and grinding of the bergs appalled oven the stoutest hearts. Hope died, escape appeared impossible. All, however, was done that could be done for avoiding the destruction which seemed so imminent, lilach ship struck her topmasts and took in sail. Those which were riding where the water-way was fairly open contrived by skilful steering to dodge the drifting masses ; others were seen boldly moored to the larger floes, making of the terrible glassy clifis a shelter from the gale. Thuse around which the ice had gathered, pressing with sharp edges against the stout British oak, r jiifl m The Three Voyages of Martin Frobisher 127 were more helpless ; but the indomitable fellows aboard took poles and pikes, oars and thick planks, and stooti night and day fending oil' the white walls that threatened to enclose and crush them ; some even "going out upon the ice to bear it olT with their shoulders from the ship," When the pressure grew too great they hung coils of rope, mattrasses, boards, and such like over the sides, and waited patiently for release. At night, to add to their dismay, a fog came down upon the scene. The glimpse we get, in the old records, of these "mariners and poor miners" battling thus doggedly with the unfamiliar dangers of the Arctic Seas, pre- pares us to find them meeting with an audacity bordering on contempt the human terrors of the Armada, exactly ten years after. Four of the ships, fast sailers, ran out into the open sea while yet there was time, choosing to be tossed hither and thither among *:he loose ice, rather than to be caught by the pack ice, where their sailing qualities would be of no avail. No sooner had they reached comparative safety than, with simple devoutness, their brave crew.i gathered around the mast, and kneeling down, gave thanks for their own deliverance, and prayed for their fell -ws who were still struggling with death. There were many bended knees, too, on the ice-bound ships, and, as if in direct answer to those earnest prayers, tho pile dropped, the fog lifted with 128 Out wf't/i the Old Voy aiders ir ;h tlio rutuni of ilayli;^'h«, a liglifc wind wuftcd Lliu Hout into open water, and brighter and better weatlier tbiiii they liad known for a long while euin{deted the liaj)])!- noHS of their relief. Kepairs were now diligently set going, and an the work of nailing and rigging and splicing went on apac(!, the tongn(!a of the workers wagged nieri'ily, each recounting the special incidents, grave or amus- ing, which hnd come under his notice during the late anxious time. Early in July the sea f(jg returned, and prevailed for nearly a fortnight, and what with this, and the altered aspect of many of last year's landmarks (owing to the fallen snow), the fleet lost its bearing; None of the places along the coast could be identified, and one experienced mariner, who had accompanied Frobisher during tiie previous voyage, roundly declared tliat he had never set eyes on those shores before. To the bewildering mist was now added the presence of swift currents which swung the vessels round like chips in a mill-race. The noise, too, was startling; it reminded the Londoners of the rushing of the river between the piles of London Bridge — the old clumsy bridge of their day, under whose narrow arches the swollen Thames ran like a sluice. It was a trying situation. The leaders of the ex- pedition might well have been dismayed, and Frobisher most of all. But an idea seems to have presented 'I' The Three Voyages oj Martin Frobii>iicr I2y iLscIf Lt) liim which teiulecl to IcsHeii his chagrin. Supposin},' thiH part, winch none of his men recogniacti, WU8, after nil, a new Strait! What if this shouhl he the outlet k'ailing round to Cathay. If the aupposition did occur to him, his instructions did not allow of hiri satisfying himself on this point. He was in charge of a mining expedition — the North -West Pa> bage must wait. The truth was that Frobishcr's foremost ships had got further to the south than was realised, and «];- wittingly he had discovered what is now knowr. as Hudser.'rf oi^'ait — the sea-gate of that very North-West Pa8SL'g(? on V liich his waking and sleeping thoughts so loh;r i; td br* oded. He had been carried some sixty leagues } liie Strait. It was time to turn hack and find the real Mda Inmjnita, and with much ditliculty this was eti'ected. The dangers and hardships which the men hod borne so long began to tell on them; murmnrings were heard on all sides, and sickness spread through the tleet. Before the end of July blinding snowstorms tilled the air, and the poor wearied fellows were wet to the skin. A happier feeling was bred by the finding of one of the vessels, the Gabriel, which had got separated from the rest, and was given up for lost. Her crew had an excithig tale to tell of dangers encountered and hair- breadth escapes. i t • ! , ilit i * 130 (9^// xuiU the Old Voyagers Arriving at lust at Lliu place of their search, whicli iiad hcen named the Countess of Warwick's Sound, Frobisher called a council of his captains. Mining operations were ordered to be connnenced without further delay, and a large quantity of the "black earth" was dug up and carried on board the ships. But the project of establishing a winter camp was abandoned. Only pan of the "fort" had survived the voyage; the remaining sections had gone down with the ill-fated Bmnis, or had been used for fending off the ice. It was found that a new fort could not be built in time. Both provisions and fuel, moreover, were running short. All things rendered the plan of a colony no longer practicable. A few final exploring trips were made by the admiral. Captain Best, and others. ^est had ..n adventure. He descried from a hill- top what he took co be an Eskimo settlement. Per- ceiving him, a party of men came out and waved to him with a ilag— an English iiag. Descending the hill, and rowing over to them as near as he deemed prudent, he was greeted by voices unmistakably English. " What cheer ? " came the cry across the water. Best was reassured. "All's well!" he shouted back, and up went the men's caj^s, and the rocks rang with a glad sliout of joy and relief. The men imagined him the survivor of some terrible calamity which had overtaken the tluet. The Three Voyages of Martin Frobishcr 131 In tliis and oilier ways lliu scuUercd fsliips were rcunitcil, and, when most of the squadron liad come together, a farewell service was conducted by the chaplain of the licet, and instructions for the return journey were handed to the various captains. It was none too soon. Tlie night frosts sheathed the rigging in ice, whicli cut the hands like a knife. There was every chance of being shut in among the Hoes should the licet delay longer. And so, with mucli diliiculty, owing to the rough sea and boisterous wind, •the departure took place. By various routes, and with various mishaps, the sorely-bruised vessels reached England in the early days of October, some arriving at one port, some at another. The Buss of Bridgwater had the most ad- venturous voyage. She was left behind with a fair prospect of not getting away at all; but pluck and good seamanship overcame every obstacle, and, thread- ing her way through a rock-encumbered channel, she reached the open water and struggled home. TO THE [SLES OF THE CAKIB SEA u THE THIIEE VOYAGES OF Slli JOUN HAWKINS 1562-1568 EVON may well be proud of the splendid set of seumeu whom she bred and sent forth in " the spacious times of j^'reat Elizabeth." It is hardly too much to say that to write the sLory of English enterprise on the seas three hundred years ago, is simply to relate the adventures of Devonshire captains and courtiers. " It was good to be English then ; it was best to be West Couiitrie." What a brilliant galaxy it was that group of Devon worthies — Drake, the most daring of them all; the astute Hawkins ; John Oxenham, whose story li\ us for over in the pages of Kingsley ; Davis, whoso name wo connect with the Arctic seas ; Ealeigh, courtier, adven- turer ana author ; Gilbert, whose end was nobler even The Three Voyages of Sir John Haivkius i than his life, and many another whose heart was as stout as liis ship was small. Sir John Hawkins was one of the most redoubt- able of these. His name and tliat of Frobisher and Drake make up a trio known to every school-boy. Their share in the defeat of the Armada cannot be forgotten; but we must tliiuk of them also as great voyagers, men who knew how to liandlc tlieir vessels in a storm quite as well as tliey knew how to train their guns on a foe. There were three famous captains of tliis name: William Hawkins, tlie grandfather, who, in the days of Bluff King Hal, sailed thrice to Brazil; Sir John, the hero of these pages; and Sir Eichard, whose gallant and eventful life would require a chapter to itself— three generations of seamen, all of whom won distinction. The story of John Hawkins takes us away to the lovely West ludinn Islands. The Spanish conquests in America had been pitiless and bloody. Tliey had nearly exterminated tlie poor Caribs who once peopled the Islands, and disdaining to work their plantations themselves, the Spaniards had begun looking to Africa for supplies of negro labourers. The Bortuguese had readily encouraged this export of slaves, for their own island colonies off the West African Coast made it easy for them to collect and ship batches of negroes from the villag(\s on the mainland. Spanisli gold was III m % 11 m It i i W m 1 34 Ou^ zuith the Old Voyagers ulready finding its way into the pockets of Poitugucse shippers. John Hawkins, of Plymonth, who had made several voyages to the Canary Islands, heard of this. The traffic in forced labour, so hateful to us mode,rn folk, did not strike our forefathers as being wicked or even questional)le. They knew that the negro was a lower being than the Oarib, whose place he was to take, and that the only hope of saving the Indians from extinc- tion was to furnish enough negroes to do the work. Tlierefore, was it not a humane project, apart from its profitableness to the carrier? Thus they reasoned, and John Hawkins saw no objection to trying for a share in so lucrative a trade. Having persuaded certain well-to-do Londoners to assist him with loans, he fitted out three ships, the Solomon of 120 tons, the Swallov: of 100 tons, and a little 40-ton bark, the Jonas. The crews were wisely restricted to a hundred men. The date of departure was October, 15G2. Tlie young commander— he was only about thirty years of age, and hud just wedded the daughter of no less a personage than the Treasurer of the Navy— pro- ceeded first to Teneriffe, and crossed over to the Guinea Coast. Here he went to work to obtain, by capture or barter, a supply of negroes. Some three hundred were eventually got together, and, setting sail across the Atlantic, he arrived at the Island of San Homintro The Three Voyages of Sir John Haivkins '35 then called Hispaniola. Calling at one port after another, he succeeded at last in disposing of his living freight. It was evidently a business needing sharp wits as well as a taste for bargaining. In those days a trader was apt to have his vessel seized on very slight pretext, and the Spaniards were both crafty and cruel. So John Hawkins went about his work warily, always making certain that he was in a position to fight his customers or to % them. There was good reason for his caution, as we shall presently see. When the time came for returning home, he found that he had done well. His three ships were crammed with sugar and ginger and pearls, besides a goodly store of hides, the surplus of which freighted two other vessels, which he placed under the charge of his subordinate. Captain Hampton, and sent across to Cadiz. As it turned out, these were pounced upon by the authorities there, before their cargoes could be sold. Hawkins, with his own three barks, reached England safely in September, 1563. We know little or nothing more about this voyage, bub it is memorable as being the first occasion on which English ships broke in upon the privacy of West Indian waters. Of the second voyage undertaken by Hawkins, we have much fuller information. It was an interesting and evejitful one. The squadron consisted of four '36 Out ivith the Old Voyagers ml sliii)S, the Jcmf^ of Lubeck,^ a bark of 700 tons, tlie Solomox, the Tir/cr, and the Swallow. Shares in the enterprise liad been taken by many well-to-do merchants and gentlemen. The adventurers were, however, confronted by an awkward dilemma. Besides the high -handed treatment of Wv:. two cai^oes despatciicd to Cadiz, there had been an order if-, ucd by the Spanit^h Government prohibitiiig the Wesi; Indian planters and traders from having any dealings with the English. Hawkins made light of this dilU- culty. Once there he would soon find means to evade or break througli all restrictions. Ho on the 18th of October, 15(54, lie sailed out of ViyiiOilJ; !iar]:o(n', and, falhng in with two English mervJ-iatnien, bound likewise for the Guinea Coast, proceeded tc the Canaries; thence, steering for the Cape Verde Islands, he obtained from them and from the African mainland a fairly large sujtply of negroes, though in one or two of his expeditions many of the sailors were killed. A prolonged stay on the unhealthy coast was not desirable, and, several cases of fever having occurred. * The Jcsiis of Lubeck had been originally purchased by Henry VIII. from the important trading town of Lubeck. She was still in the Royal Navy, and Hawkins probably got the loan of her through the inliueuce of his fathcr-in-la-v. Whether the Sivallow was the same bark as the one mentioned as going on tlie first voyage is not quite clear. Tliere is a discrepancy between tlie two narratives in regard to her tonnage and that of M;c Solomon also. The Three Voyages of Sir John Haivkins 137 the fleet stood out to sea on the 29tli of January, and the voyage to the West Indies was conunenced. It proved a tedious one. Cahns and tornadoes were experi- enced, and the delay thus caused threatened the crews and their human cargoes witli the unspeakable horrors of thirst in mid-ocean. On the IGth of February, how- ever, the welcome trade-wind filled tiie flapping sails, and on Saturday, 9tii of March, Dominica was reached. The jealous decree of the Spanish Viceroy hindered commerce with the colonists, and Hawkins passed from port to port, and from island to island, doing very little business. He watered his ships at Santa F^, and received from the natives presents of maize and sweet potatoes; in exchange for which beads and glasses, knives and pewter whistles were given. The arrows of these Indians had proved very formid- able to the invading Spaniards. The tips were steeped in the juice of certain apples, " very fair and red of colour, but a strong poison "—probably the deadly manchineel. And so, sailing westward, Hawkins arrived early in April at Puerto Cabello (then called Burboroata) on the coast of Venezuela. Here he had much trouble to induce the Spaniards to trade. His stock of negroes included many who were "lean and sick, and like to die upon his hands"; it was desirable to get these poor creatures on ^crra>rwm, where they would have proper treatment and better food. Tlie townsfolk hesitated and shuffled and parleyed, insisting, for one thing, on m i 11 138 i! liJfi r * ? ? *- Out zvith the Old Voyagers the piiyiiu'ut of the King's tax or duty on every slave sold. Their behaviour so angered Hawkins that he resolved to frigliten them into a more reasonable mood. He armed a hundred of his men and marehed them up to the to\v)i. The threat was enough, the slaves were sold, and on the 4th of May the ships weighed anchor and sailed away to Cura(;oa. Here the great numbers of cattle bred in the island astonished the visitors, who lost no wune in taking on board a supply of fresh meat. Coasting along, they reached liio de la Hacha, and finding here the same obstinacy as at Puerto Cabello, the English captain repeated his former device. At the approach of his boat's crew, a warlike display greeted him from the town, but a few cannon-shot scatteied the prancing horsemen and silenced the noisy drums. Very soon there came a messenger riding out with a flag of truCe, and an interview with the authorities ended in a free permission to trade. To US it is most amusing to watch the progress of this redoubtable merchant-adventurer, this truculent sea-captain, alternately bargaining and threatening — his hand as ready to fly to his sword-hilt us to sign contracts. But the men of those days did not mince matters. Once away from the orderly staid life of counting-house and mar*;, the trader was not too scrupulous in his methods of lightening his ships and filling his purse. "very SQQIT TflERE CAME A MESSENGER RIPINO OUT WITH A FLAG OF TRUCE," 130 «• III! M 1 I'' The Three Voyages of Sir John Hazokins 141 Tho rivur ii '.u Haelia swuimed with iilligutois. A queer fancy vaa believed coiiceruiiig this creature. Says the old historian, " His nature is ever, when he would have his prey, to cry and sob like a Christian body, to provoke them to come to him, and then he snatches at then)." Hence, ho aays, the jihraso, " croco- diles' tears," as applied (0 any show of grii which is unreal and made for a purpose. More dangerous were the treacherous schemes of tho Spaniards at this place. But Hawkins was wariness itself, and on May 31st, having finished Ins business, he sailed away across tlie open seas to Jamaica. Touchnig at "The Dry Tortugas," low-lying, sandy islets, Wi.ore the sailors went turtle-catching, they steered for Havana on the Cuba Coast. This place they overshot, and beating back towards the Cape of Florida, in order to refill their almost empty water-casks, they got roughly handled by a storm. Two boa's with twenty-one men were away at the time searching for springs on the neighbouring islands, nnd the galo separated them from the ships. The poor fellows were almost in despair when they were pi* ked up. It was well for them that they had not run for the mainland, as they had almost decided to do; for the natives were warlike and savage. Indeed, a friar who had vrniured among tliem to ^uade them to submit to the Spaniards, had hocn car. uy them, "and his skin I e pulled over his cares and his flesh c.ten." Il 142 Out with t/ic Old Voyaj^crs I I 80 8ay8 llichiiKl Kdcii in his Dn'mha of the New World, printed in 1555. The ships proceeded leisurely along the Florida coast, anchoring every night. Two things Hawkins wanted — to obtain a RU[)ply of fiesh watcu' and to ascertain the wlioreabouts of a certain French settle- ment. At lasl, ip the St. John's Kiver the latter was dis- covered. Very beautiful was this Morida country to the eyes of the English adventurers, " marvellously sweet, with both marish and meadow ground, and gcjodly woods among." The vineyards bore grapes of tt!mpting size and luscious taste, and the soft eyes of the deer stared wonderingly at the intruders where the forests reached down to the sands. The Frenclimen were friendliness itself. When the four strange ships were seen approaching, it was feared that they were Spaniards; but on discovering who the visitors were, the colonists were overjoyed. They inovided guides to point out the best watering place, and entertained Hawkins and his oiliccrs within their fort, although to provide the feast the Governor, Monsieur Laudonni^re, had to kill the little remnant of sheep and poultry which he had been preserving to stock the country with. Hawkins, on his part, proved a veritable saviour to these unfortunate settlers. They had a doleful tale to tell, It appeared that they had been located there The Three Voyages of Sir John I faivkins 143 fi)r aome fourteen months. The food KU]>[)ly liail (quickly hIiovvu hIj^mis of giving out, and only a liniited (juantity of mai/,o-com could bo bought from tho Indinn.s. There was plenty of flHli in tlie river, but the soldiers scornfully refused to procure their own food, and their cruelty and rapacity only scared away tho natives or changed them into revengeful enemies. A large number of tlu; more insubordinate spirits deserted and sailed away to get their living by piracy. There was only ten days' food remaining in the fort when Hawkins arrived. Boat-loads of bread and wine were at once sent to the settlers' relief, and an otl'er of free transport to France being declined, Hawkins sold them one of his vessels, the Tiycr, and generously pressed upon them numerous gifts from his ships' stores. July was ending Itefore he finally bade the grateful colonists farewell. Owing to many a contrary wind and many a dead calm his homeward voyage was unduly prolonged, and it was the 20th of September before the Cornish elilt's rose in sight, and the ships came gliding into I'adstow Harbour. Hawkins himself has left us an account of the third voyage. He went in the Jems of Lubeck, and with him sailed live other vessels of smaller size — the Minion, the William and John, the Judith, of which Francis Druke was captain, the Aiu/ti, and the Swalloio. They left Plymouth on the 2nd October, 15G7, but such terrible storms beat upon them before they had )> i!i f I 1 44 Old with the Old Voyagers c'leuicd tho Buy (jf JUscay tliut tlio captains were on the point of turning back and rolinquisliing the voyage. But the wind dropped ere long, and under fair skies they ran on t(j the Cape Verde Islands. Here an attempt was made to kidnap some of the natives, but the adventurers got more wounds tlian victims, and mauy a Devon man lay hetwoc'u decks dying with burning veins and locked teeth, thanks to the poisoned arrows. But the tribal wars of the natives on the mainland gave tlie English a better chance, and, by aiding one dusky chief against his neighbour, they obtamed a goodly share of the captives. By the 3rd of February, 1568, having collected about four or five hundred negroes, the course was laid for the West Indies. A bad passage was made, and the month of March was drawing to a close before the weather-beaten fleet reached Dominica. Again they had trouble with the authorities at liio de la Hacha. This time the town had been fortified, and a hundred arcjuebus men were in readiness to enforce the rule, " No trade with the English." How- ever, Englishmen of the stamp of John Hawkins vcr.? not to be frightened by a show of force. He was de- termined to turn hip, negro cargo into money, and a landing party of two hundred resolute fellows rushed the defences, and entered the town with but little loss. The townsmen, pretending that thoy were compelled, The Three Voyages of Sir John Haiukins 145 came to terms readily enough, being at lieart only too glad to buy the slaves. While passing the western end of Cuba, one of the hurricanes that sweep these sunny seas ovej-took the ships, and further gales chased them to the Mexican port of San Juan de Ulloa, since called Vera Cruz, When the inhabitants found that, instead of the exi)ccted Spanish fleet, it was an English squadron, they were in great alarm ; but Hawkins laid hands on notliing, and nieicly asked leave to trade and relit his vessels. Ho despatched messengers to the city of Mexico, which was a long distance off, and waited. The next morning, what should he espy but the Spanish ileet approaching the harbour! He was now in an awkward dilenmia. If he re- fused, as he could easily do, to allow it to enter, the million or more of treasure wliich it carried would probably go to the bottom. For there was no other anchorage anywhere near, and storms are sharp and sudden in those regions. If this happened, what would the iMiglish Queen say? There was still out- ward peace between the two nations, and the loss to King Philij/s treasury would have to be made good. On the other hand, if Hawkirs stood aside for these lumbering galleons, there was every chance of their commander playing him some dirty trick. For of Spanish treaehery every Englisli captain had some- thing to say. 'i'" **", 1'^ blip m^\ 1 46 Oia with the Old V^oyagcrs Hawkins chose tlic latter risk as the less serious of the two. He would be on the alert, and if cauglit, he "yet might sting." He asked for, and promptly received, a written promise from the Spanish Viceroy tliat his crews and vessels sliould in no wise be inter- fered with. This promise was " signed with the Vice- roy's hand, and scaled with his seal, and forthwith a trumpet blown." It was a lie. The Spaniard saw a chance of destroying the foreign traders, and, at a pre- arranged hour and place, a large number of the English- men, who had gone ashore, were set upon, and cut down almost to a man. The handful that escaped got aboard the Jems. Then, one after another, the great galleons came up, and from shore and sea the iron hail poured upon the little English squadron. But the Devon men fought boldly, repulsing or dodging their opponents, whose aim was now to pre- vent their retreat. Says Hawkins, in his narrative: " The fight began so hot on all sides that, within one hour, the admiral of tlie Spaniards and one other of tlieir princii)al ships were supposed to be sunk, and their vice-admiral burned." Tiie enemy, being thus roughly handled, tried other means. They sent two tireships in among the Englisli, and the device suc- ceeded. The Jems lay like a log on the water, her masts and spars having been slint away, and, as her escape seemed an impossibility, Hawkins transferred himself to the Minion, and those of his crew who w 147 Ill' i! It*' The Three Voyages of Sir John Hawkins 149 were .still alive followed him in one of their boats, The three smaller vessels of the squaaron hud been' sunk by tlie Spanish guns, so that there was now only the Minion and the Judilh, a little bark of 50 tons, " which bark," says Hawkins bitterly, " forsook us in' our great misery." Doubtless there was much to be said in defence of Drake's "desertion." His was a small craft, and fit rather to be shielded tlian to render help; besides which, the orders given by Hawkins were to get out to sea, which Drake did without stopi,ing, us his commander did, to ar.chor when he had got clear of the land. The homeward voyage of tlie Mimon was a most disastrous one. She was ill-stocked with food and water; her crew was thinned by disease and sbeer hunger; and in a great storm in t]>e Mexican seas she well-nigh foundered. She was overcrowded too Hud Hawkms, finding tlua many of the men would as soon be put ashore as proceed home, landed a number of them on the coast of Mexico, gave tliem money or ^.rticles of barter, and bade them "a sorrowful fare- well." The after-suflerings of those who continued the voyage were terrible enough, but their poor comrades fared worse. Some wandered north into what we now call Canada, and si H were brought home by French ps; most of them fell into tlie hands of the Si 12 ^ )aniardi- ^50 Out with the Old Voyagers and ultimately into the pitiless grip of the Inquisition. Horrible tortures were inilicted on tlieni; some lan- guished in foul dungeons, others were burned us heretics. One or two snem to have escai)ed ; others became galley-slaves, and toiled ..t the weary sweeps for many a hopeless year. Three of them — David Ingram, Job Hortop, and ]\Iiles Philips — lived to write the story of their a^i-'p'.ed in him; the war-party in her councils regarded him as the readiest agent for tlif carrying out of their bold scheuies; anvl every mariner knew him as the hero of enter} )i.,ea that were sure to be audacious, and pretty certat ■ 'O be successful. As early as 1577, the year of his great voyage, Drake l);id v9oii a reputation for dui ing and resource, as well as for skill in navigation. He had vowed undying enmity to the nation from whose treachery he 161 '' i ii I! i I J 52 O//I ivitli the Old Voyagers m jind liis kiiiHiuan ILuvkiiis liiul sufleivd, in tlic luirbour- ti'iip uf ^'('l•a Cruz,^ and he had since intlictud on the Si)anish colonists a series of blows startling in their variety and sharpness. He had stormed the great seaport of Nond)re de Dios with sixty men, and with eighteen and a contingent of natives lie had marched forward ]»y the mountain patli and liad fallen on the trading city of Venta Cruz. The Spaniards every- where were growing aghast. Ho seemed to choose the apparently impossible for his favourite feats. There was no knowhig where he might turn uj) next. The whole of the S[)anish ]\Iain was ke[>t in a llutter of excitement whenever he was known to be on the seas. Such was the man who was now authorised to find a way into the Pacilic — to get at the back of the world's treasure-house, of which Spain kept the key. The route was to l)e that of Magellan in his famous voyage of 1519; but with the imperfect instruments and charts then alone available, to successfully repeat Magellan's ex^tloit was by no means easy. ]\rany had tried it and failed, and there was such a strong feeling, even among the Spaniards, against using the southerly passage, that they preferred painfully to transport the gold and spices of the East overland across the Isthnnis of Panama, rather than let their treasure-ships encounter the storms of the dreaded Straits. To re-ojjen, as it ' Sec the story of tlio thinl voviigc of Jolm Ilawki'is, toM on li,i<,'o 140. sin FltAXCIS PIJAKK, F.ngmvcl },,, K. Uliymper, from an ohl Pmnthtg. on 153 >N III! r ., M' Round . >ic World with Drake 155 vveio, this soa-route was lust tin; kind of undertaking Drake would relish, and it ^vns one he was well fitted to Try out. He w to go at his o 1 risk ; if he foil into !io liandH of tho Spaniards no Qik en's comniiN-iioii ^vonld .save him from tho death metod out to cor.sairs. But the money for r(iiii|ij»iii- the expedition was readily forthcoming, iind royalty took bliare.s in the Ncntuie. On the 15th November, 1577, the live .ships left Plymoutli. But thivS mnmor, voyngi had a bad beginning. Before they were oi l the Channel they were eaiight in a violent gale, uud had to return for extensive repairs. A delay of nearly a month ensued, and then Drake was off once more. Fair winds favoured him, and on the morning when tlie Christmas bells were ringing across his native Dartmoor, he was running pleasantly down the African Coast- Jiis Ueet consisted of four ships and apinn;ice. And what were their sizes? In view of the project they were to attempt, we cannot but wonder and admire. The largest of them was the Pdican, 120 tons; the second was fresh from the shipwright's hands — a Deptford vessel of 80 tons, the Elizahdh\ the Swan, a fly-boat of 50 tons; the Marigold, of 30 tons; and a 10-ton pinnace, the Benedict. And these were the craft in which English mariners ventured, even con- fidently, to fiieo the great Atlantic rollers, the MICROCOPY RESOLUTION TEST CHART (ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No. 2) m 1^ m IIIIIM i;^ iiM 114.0 12.2 2£ 1.8 ^ /IPPLIED IN/M G E Inc Srr. 1,353 Ea^t Main Stre'' lii» \i- % 156 Ou^ with the Old Voyagers hiUTi.j;.,n-cs ..f tlio West, and tlio fogs and ico-flocs of the fur XoiLh! Thoy believed in themselves, they believed in tlioir coninianders, and they believed in the sailing powers of their shii)s, pigmy barks though they were. In tlie present ease they had special grounds for confidence. Drake was tlieir leader— Francis Drake, the nian of infinite resource, tlio most indomitable of fighters. It was clear that no ordinary voyage lay before them, and among the hundred and sixty men and boys aboard the five ships, expectation rose higli. Oir Cape Blanco tlie admiral laid hands on a foreign l)ark in the harbour, and left in exchange his small pinnace. This prize was renamed the Christopher, and was added to the fieet. The Cape Verde Islands being reached, the delicious grapes and the sweet milk of the cocoa-nuts proved a dainty variation to ship's biscuit and hard meat, and the duties of the landing-parties must have been envied by their shipmates. Wiien these pleasant islands were left, fifty-four days were to pass without sight of land. For three weeks the ships lay on a windless ocean with the torrid sun beating down on them, till it seemed as if the very deep must stagnate underneath them. Kound and red the sun rose up out of the eastern waters, and round and red he dipped below the green sea-line of the west. The deck planks burned the feet, the pitch bul)bled in tlie seams, the painted woodwork blistered; and the i» «1^ Round the World with Drake 1 5 7 ship-boys miglit whistle tlieir loudest without the least response of a breeze among the sails. Thunderstorms broke the monotony of the ocean silence— and such thunderstorms! The blackening skies seemed as if they were breaking up, and from far horizon to far horizon the long-drawn i)eals ran booming and crack- ling, louder than the broadside of fifty galleons ; while the lightnings darted and danced among tlie gloomy clouds, and the rain fell in sheets. The Brazil coast was sighted on 5th April, 1578. Soon the mouth of the Plate Eiver was passed, fresh water being drawn up at the shi])'s side; and further south a raid was made on the seal rookeries for a supply of fresh meat. A grave incident was aljout to mark the voyage. It seems that a certain Thomas Doughty, a personal friend of the admiral's, had accompanied the expedition as commander of one of the ships. It is more than probable that he was in the pay of : ^ in, and had his orders to embarrass and, if possible, wreck the whole undertaking. From the outset he had been working mischief in the fleet. Drake's suspicions were aroused, and when, about this time. Doughty and his ship were found to be missing, the truant bark was sought and brought back, her stores and fittings taken out of her, and the empty hulk sec on fire. Doughty was taken on board Drake's own vessel, and when, on the 20ili June, the fleet came to nnchor in port St. Julian, a m\ ^•^^ w ■I I Ifil ill i ii 158 Ou^ ivith the Old Voyagers court-martial was held to inquire into the whole affair. It was a serious matier. The success of the expedi- tion depended on perfect disciplini^, and co-operation being maintained; the natural perils were quite enougli without the added dang(;r of disunion and nmtiny. l^oughty was cliiirged with tampering with the men, and inciting them to disobedience. The evidence brought forward, taken in adchtion to his own confes- sions, was such that Drake daral not spare him. It was a piteous scene. Sentence of death was pronounc(Hl. and together the doomed man and his connnander knelt to receive the sacrament. " Which being done," says an eye-witness, " and the place of execution made ready, he having emhraced our gener il, and taken his leave of all the company, with prayers for the Queen's Majesty and our realm, in quiet sort laid his head to the block, where he ended his life. This being done, our general made divers speeclies to the whole com- pany, persuading us to unity, obedience, love, and regard of our voyage." Strangely enough, it wa'^? i very place whore Magellan, some sixty years before, had meted out punishment to a mj_itiDC3r of his own, and the very gibbet rose before the eyes of the Englishmen, to emphasise the warning which their leader was pro- nouncing by solemn act that day. Round the World joith Drake 1 59 A long stay was made at this Port St. Julian, it being winter in these parts, and not until mid- August did the fleet make ready to depart. It consisted now of three sliips, for the ^imn and the Christopher had been abandoned as unfit for further navigation. Running down the l)leak Patagonian coast, they arrived three days later at the mouth of Magellan's Straits. J3rake needed no spur to induce him to enter; if one had been needed he would have found it in the thought that where a foreigner could go he and his men of Devon could go too. Seventy miles of water-way, twisting and winding in the most perplexing and hopeless manner, lay before the new-or>riiors. They had no charts, no knowledge of the soundings. Thoy entered warily and began to feel their way along, threading the labyrinth but with- out a clue. On either liand great walls of snowy roclc towered up forbiddingly, and higher still, through foggy clouds, the mariners could catch glimpses of lofty mountain - tops white with perpetual winter. Through these dismal Straits a cold wind was blowing, and the cries of the sea-fowl seemed in accord with the dreariness of their surroundings. The ships emerged at last, and the wide Pacific opened out before them. But the worst troubles were yet in store. A terrific gale caught and swept them southward, under bare polos, for many a league. An eclipse of the moon added to the general gloom, and p' Hi! |!!P' i 1 u i!i!' 1 60 Oil/ voith the Old Voyagei's the bufletiiig of winds and liilluws was iiierciless. The Marvjold went down with all hands, and when at length Captain AVinter, who was in charge oi' the Elizabeth, regained the Straits, he forthwith determined to return home by the way he had come. One account says that his men protested, but he was sick at heart, and, deeming it probable that Drake's sbip had foundered like her consort, he was in no mood to continue the daring voyage alone. The admiral, however, had weathered the storm, and bearing up to the cluster of islands south of the Straits, he lay at anchor.^ As the skies cleared and the seas grew smooth he set about finding Winter, and seeing nothing of him at the mouth of the Straits, he coasted north, along the Chili seaboard, hoping to find him perhaps at Valparaiso. He was destined, as we know, to see nothing more of the EHxuldk in those waters, but an Indian reported that- a great ' Diiiko toll] Rk'hard llaukiiis that at this time, being iiiiahle to sail round the southernmo.st islaml, he liinisclt' went asliore, "and, seeking out tlie southernmost part of the island, caste liimselfo downe upon the uttermost roynt, grovelling, and so reached out his bodie over it. Presently he imbarkcd, and then recounted unto his peo])le that he had beene upon tlie southernmost knowne land in the world, and more further to the southwards iii)on it than any of them, yea, or any man as yet knownc." This boast is delightful. It is just like that of a schoolboy revelling in the tliought that he has outdone his fellows and beaten tlie record. I quote it here because it is cha- rai.'teristic of Drake. It was in this spirit that most of his adventures were attempted. They re.ul like schoolboy jji'anks ; but they were done with the skill and calculation of a clever man, ) Ro7uid the World ivilh Drake .61 Spaniisli ship \viis lying in Valparaiso Harbour, well freighted, and promised to guide them thither. The crew of the galleon oH'ered little or no resist- ance, so astounded were they to find English swords on that side of the American continent. Tn a very short time her golden store was transferred, a landing- party meanwhile ransacking the town ; no blood was shed, and the Fclimii (now for politic reasons re-named the Golden Hind, the creou J Sir Christopher Hatton) ran on towards Lima. Her wine casks were brimming with the contents of Spanish cellars; her fires were fed right royally with cedar wood ; and 37,000 ducats' worth of "very pure and fine gold of Valdivia" lay piled below decks. At Cociuimbo a force of five hundred soldiers pre- vented the English from going ashore. At Tarapaca a Spaniard was caught napping. Beside him lay thirteen bars of silver. Says the old narrator, with delicious brevity, "We took the silver and left the man." A little farther up the coast they met a train of llamas driven by a man and a boy. Eight hundred- weight of silver was packed away in the panniers. The sailors chuckled over their good fortune. So large a sum necessitated a change of drivers, and the queer, deer-like creatures were guided down to the boats. And so, picking up valuables at one point and victuals and requisites at another, Drake's ship stole on to Lima, and glided into the harbour— a veritable Ill 162 11 I" ; ' Out with the Old Voyagct : li i I ! ap})iii'ition. Twelve ships lay sleeping there; tlie erews were mostly ashore ; the merchants would have laughed at tlie suggestion of- danger from Englisli rovers — did not tlie breadtli of a continent lie be* veen them ? For all that, Drake was in the harbour; and they l)it their nails in helpless wrath as the chests of raih and rich China silks passed into alien hands. But the bigg(!sL prize was yet to 1ki won, A great galleon had started nortliward witii an immense treasure in her hold. This was the Caaifimjo, or, as we may say, the Spitfire. Drake vowed he would have her, and in hot haste he sailed away in pursuit. He stopped once to overhaul a smaller ship, which yielded him an acceptable supply of ship's tackling, besides eighty pounds' weight of gold and a crucifix studded with huge emeralds. Then on once more, while rumours of his coming flew along the shore, and the enraged viceroy armed and sent his tardy vessels in pursuit of the pursuer. For eight hundred miles the Goldoi Hind sped on. The excitement on board grew with every league. Drake had promised a golden chain to the first man who should sight the prize. It was an ocean race such as none on board had ever joined in yet. The first day of March was drawing to a close, and they had just crossed the Line, when, in tlie afternoon light, young John Drake, nephew and page of tlie admiral, sighted from the ship's top a strange sail. It I 'mim^.iM-m '^-^-•-^^^'?^^^'ft^" 103 i r, ,'' 1 :-■% Hiii Round the World with Drake 165 was Llio (Jauafarijo, loisiiroly lolliiij^ al<»iig oil' (Jii[)0 Sail Francisco, the high wliite dill's of which shouldered up out of a forest of vari-colourcd grccii. Fearing to startle his prey, Drake followed warily and at. a slower pace, and it was sunset, if not later, when, like a thunderbolt from a blue .sky, he swooped upon her. The supposed peaceful trader labouring in her wake changed as if by magic hito a swift war-ship armed to the teeth, and the most terrible of lOnglish captains summoned her to surrender. The clatter of falling spars that followed the roar of his guns was quickly succeeded by a rush of English feet upon her decks, and the great galleon with all her immense treasure was in Drake's hands ! To ensure the capture, the two ships were headed seaward out of reach of possible pursuers, and in the solitude of the wide Pacific the ransacking was begun. The spoil was dazzling. Pearls and precious stones, eighty pounds' weight of gold, thirteen chests full of silver coins, and six-and-twenty tons of silver were brought up from her hold and packed away by the side of the glittering harvest reaped at earlier stages of the voyage. Verily the losses of that dark day of treachery in Vera Cruz Harbour were being repaid in full ! T'^or several days the prize and her captor rocked together on the sea, the Spanish comm.-'nder bein" treated with courtesy and consideration ; but before 13 w }\ 1 66 Out ivith the Old Voyagers piirtin^- Dnilco fviinklv lade liiiii tell tlie viciaoy (n put to (liMtli ii<» luoro KngliHli prisoners, or ho, Drake, would retiiliatr in a more suinrniiry way than his Excellency had ever experienced before. It was no idle threat. The Cacafuego was now cast off, and her crew, thankful, no doubt, to get away from this terrible lOnglishman, took her home. Meanwhile, .aessengers hastened to Spain to apprise King Philip, and before many weeks had passed an armed watch was being kept for the Dragon, both among the West Indian islands and at Magellan's Straits. Tlie expectation was that he would creep back by the way he had come, or, transporting his booty across the Isthmus of Panama, build a ship on the Atlantic side, and sail home direct. But the Dragon was too wary to choose either of these alternatives. He had an idea that the cold seas of the north might provide a safer and yet quite practicable route. So he sped away up the coast, not without further adventures, till he got as far as Canoa Bay, California, where, being beyond danger of molestation, he beached his good ship and set about extensive repairs. Her weedy keel was scraped, her storm-strained cordage replaced with new, and she was rendered as sound and tight as tar-barrel and ship- wright's hammer covdd make her. Thousands of leagues lay between her and home, and all care would p Round the II \irld ivith Drake 167 Imve to 1m' l;il<(.ii if Llio .LflitU'viii^' loiul hIic riirrit.I was to reach Llio t^ueoii in sjil'ety. All.iiit once more, the Golden Uiml run northwards till she was uhroust of what in now Oregon; but the mariners siillcred ho from the cold that a return was made to the kindly San Francisco haven, where a sliort sojourn was made. The old chronicler, himself one of the crew, gives a lengthy description of the hidians, who came down to sec the Kiiglishi:ien, believing them to be gods, and them 1, remain and reign over the With strange dances and weird cries and entreating land. uncouth gestures they signified their wishes, and pressed upon the admiral the chains and crowns and rude sceptres whieli were their insignia of authority. For all their antics and their painted laces they were a gentle folk, not yet exasperated to cruelty by white men's greed and oppression. We of to-day, who know California as the home of thousands of English-speaking people, read with interest of how Drake christened the country "New Albion," because of the resemblance of its white clills to our own island coasts— the Albion that Julius Cccsar knew and coveted. And the statement that " there is no part of earth here to be taken up wherein there is not some probable show of gold or silver," sounds like a fulfdled prophecy, when we remember the rush to the Californian gold-fields half a century ago. r^i m llli Jill H m r '!!■ 1 68 Oiil with iJie Old Voyagers Tho (iual operations were tlieii gone tlirougli. " Al- our dopuitiu'e hence our general set up a nionuinenli of our being there, as also of Her INIajesty's right and title to the same, nAniely, a plate, nailed upon a fair great post, whereupon was engraved Her Majesty's name, the day and year of our arrival there, with the free giving up of the province and people into Her Majesty's hands, together with Her Highness' picture and arms, in a piece of six pence of current English money under the plate, whereunder was also written the name of our general." Drake was anxious, "s well he might be, to get home with his treasurt A recent capture off the coast had yielded a precious find in the shape of a charo of the Indian seas, through whose countless islands he meant to steer his way. But a tremendous blank of waters lay between him and the Moluccas, whose distant shores he aimed at reaching. Drake had conlidence in himself and confidence in his vessel. lie stood out fearlessly into the west, and on the 14th November he was among the islands. What strikes us most about Drake's movements is the spirit of calm audacity in which they were made. Every step is well planned. Nearly all his attempts are successful ; and when circumstances d^ c. mpel him to desist, he and his men draw otf, laughing boister- ously, as it were. He is cowed by nothing, deterred by nothing. On board his vessel all is order and Round the World ivith Drake 169 precision; the fifty seasoned mariners obeyed liini implicitly and trusted him utterly, and to the thirty or more youths and ship-boys he was king and hero in one. His cabin was fitted luxuriously, and at tlie door a sentry was always stationed. He dined with all ceremony, and to the accompaniment of music. As for the appointments of the ship itself, they were perfect, and her sailing powers were the astonishment of the many lumbering craft which she overtook in her adventurous course. After a passage of nearly seventy days without sight of land, the green plumes of the island palms were grateful to the eye. At Ternate the monarch sought favour with the new-comers, begged to enter into a special trading treaty with England, and finally came off to "-he ship in person, attended by a fleet of largo canoes bearing his counsellors and head-men. At another island twenty-six days were spent in careening and scraping the vessel. The curious creatures to be met with there filled the mariners with wonder — the fireflies dancing in the dark woods after sundown, the great flitting bats, "as big as large hens," and the huge burrowing crabs. It required the utmost vigilance to thread a passage with safety through the shoals and reefs abounding in these seas, and despite such care shipwreck was narrowly avoided. At eight o'clock one evening, early in the new year, the Golden Hind ran suddenly upon (. t\ 1}- L I 70 Out zvith the Old Voyagers t ■ {il a rock. All that night aiul the next day, until four o'clock in the ufKirnoou, she lay immovable, at the mercy of the liist gale that might spring up. The anxiety on board must have been terrible, it .seemed as if, after all, the gallant bark was fated to go to pieces under the beating of the wild white surf, and founder with all the enormous spoil she carried. Hope sank in nearl;, every breast, but Drake never lost heart. He lightened the ship as much as possible ; overboard went eight of his cannon, three tons of cloves, and a quantity of provisions ; while prayers, many and earnest, went up to Heaven for deliverance. Almost as suddenly as she had struck, the vessel got free. A gentle breeze began to blow from the right quarter. The seamen sprang aloft with eager haste, the sails were spread, and apparently without rent or bruise the Golden Hind slid from the rock and passed safely on her way. A friendly reception was given to the English on arriving at the island of Java, and then, glad to get free from the island- studded seas, with all their peculiar perils, Drake ran southward and westward across the Indian Ocean, and reached the Cape of Good Hope on the 18th of June. Hounding the stately headland he steered for Sierra T.eone, and thence by the familiar Atlantic sea path to the fair Plymouth haven he had left three years before. Autumnal skies hung over England as the redoubt- four the . It id to surf, ;'ried. lever lible ; IS of ,yers, aiice. I sot rii rht laste, lit or issed h on D get iuliar 3 the pe on id he 111 liar had oubt- )> I Round the World with Drake 173 I able little vessel, 80 long given up for lost, sailed in past the green and russet heights of Mount Edgcumbe. But the feelings of captain and crew were enviable. As navigators they had acconiplished a m(>st daring feat, as adventurers they had piolvcd the lock of the world's treasure-house, as patriots they had flouted thu arch-enemy of their race and faith. Angrily and indignantly the Spanish authorities demanded restitution of the golden spoil, alleging that the captures had been made in time of peace. The Queen replied by pointing to Ireland, where Spanish money and Spanish intrigue had stirred up rebellion which had cost her dear. She must first recoup herself for that. In her heart she was delighted with Drake's exploit and bade him deduct £10,000 (the sum representing infinitely more in those days) as his own share before handing over the treasure to be valued and registered by her commissioner. Drake's personal gifts to the Queen were of the costliest kind: his finest diamonds and largest emeralds soon sparkled on the hair and robes of his royal mistress, who listened with undisguised satisfaction to the story of the voyage. She requested that the Golden Hind sliould be brought round and laid up at Deptford aa a memorial of the great achievement, and, at the final banquet held on board, she bestowed upon her favourite the honour of knighthood. -% w I' ; In: I'- ' IN OREENLAND WATERS THE THIiKH VOYAGES OF JOHN DAVIS 1585-1587 P be. ciiiight in tlie grip of the ice-king is a (lunger which the boldest Arctic navigator even of to-day cannot afford to smile at. Against the slow, pitiless pressure of the drifting floes, ribs of steel and the stoutest of jilanks have no chance. The strong ship which could face the wildest hurricane cracks like an egg-shell. If this is so with the skilfully-built vessels of our own time, what risks awaited the little clumsy barks in which our forefathers tried to pierce the network of frozen shores which lay between them and the China seas ! What risks — ay, and what pluck was needed to face those risks ! Every boy glows with admiration when he reads of how the Elizabethan traders fought the great Spanish ])ower that tried to hinder and crush them; but perhaps he does not quite see how equally glorious, and more so, was tlie way in which they fought the The Three Voyaoes of John Davis 175 ice-king in his own doniiuiuns. Heiu was a foe who cared nothing for cannon-balls, and against whom reckless daring and clever rnses were of no avail. Moreover, to sail northward meant no sunny havens, no fruit-laden trees, no treasure-ships to plunder. It meant solitude and dreary coasts, bewildering mists and deadly cold. At Sandridge, a pleasant house on a little hill, around which the snake-like Eiver Dart well-nigh coils itself, was born, about the year 1550, a boy whose name was to be " writ large " on tlic map of the Arctic world. He had for nciglibours, perhaps for companions (though they were all older than he), the Gilberts of Greenway, three lads of whom Sir Humphrey was to become the most famous. Trom his beautiful river- side home, this boy, Johii Davis, passed out to follow a sea calling. In due time, thanks to his influential friends, the Gilberts and Sir Walter Ealeigh, he became a prominent man and was recognised as a skilful and experienced navigator. And so it came to pass that when a company of merchants, with Adrian Gilbert for president, obtained the royal permission to search for the North- West Passage, John Davis was given command of the expedi- tion. It consisted only of two small ships — the SuTishine, a London bark of 50 tons burden, ami the Moonsldne of Dartmouth, 35 tons. The money m |h ! V'' hi W 176 Oh^ with the Old Voyagers \ III Wiis supplied partly by West of England men and partly by Londoners. Among the latter, a certain William Sanderson was forinnost. His name occurs rej)eatedly in the story of Davis, to whom he proved a staunch friend and a generous patron. He believed in Davis, and respected his sterling qualities ; and Davis, on his part, seems to have given loyal and whole- hearted service in return. The two ships sailed out of Dartmouth, on June 7, 1585, and made their way by degrees down the Cornish coast, the wind being contrary. Twice they were forced to put in at the Scilly Isles, and on the second occasion the young commander showed his skill and his wise use of opportunity by making a nautical survey of the islands, noting the position of " rockes and harboroughs to the exact use of Navigation," By the end of the month, they were speeding northward, and out of sight of land. Davis was on board the Sunsliine, with a total of twenty-three men, among whom was John Jane (or Janes), a nephew of Mr. Sanderson, and the historian of this and the third voyage undertaken by Davis into the North-West. Four musicians were also aboard, a welcome addition to the crew of any bark bound for those dreary regions. A certain William Bruton was captain of the M'lonshim; with a crew of nineteen all told. Shoals of porpoises onlivened the way in the early days of July, and some of them being caught were The Three Voyages of John Davis lyy cooked iiiul liiglily approved of. FiuLIrt on, a sur- prising number of whales wore seen, and the new hands were full of excited interest in the unwonted spectacle. Shortly after passing tlnongli a turmoil of violent currents, the ships reached smooth water, and as thoy did so a thick fog came down, hiding even the two close-following vessels from one another. Then out of the mist came strange and terrifying noises. Some said it must be one thing and some another, but the more experienced declared it must be the sea-tide roaring in the clifl'-caves of some neighbouring shore. So Davis and two of his chief men got into a boat and rowed in the direction of the noise, sounding with lead and line as they went. But it was all deep water. Presently, they came upon clusters of lloating ice, and scrambling on to them they discovered that ihe mysterious sounds were made by the rolling and grinding together of the bergs. I ' 1 "The ice was hero, the ice was there. The ice was all around, It cracked and growled, and roared and howled, Like noises in a swound." By the 20th July, the cry was, "Land ho!" Says John Janes : " As we sayled along the coast the foggc brake up, find we discovered the land, which was the most deformed, rocky, and mountainous land that ever we sawe. The first sight whereof did show us as if it had bene in forme of a sugar loafe, standing to our :i iINi Hight above the cloudes, fur that it di.l show. „vvi- tl.. t«'gg." liko a white list(> iu the .skye, tho tops ultogethcr eoveiv,! with snowe. and the shoare hcset with yce a louguo olf into tiio sea, making such yrksonie noyse as that ,t seemed to be the true patterne of desolation, Hud after the same our captaine named it the ' Land of Desolation.'" They wero now olT the east coast of Groonland Much ice baffled their attempts to trace the shore-line but the men asserted that they saw woods crowning the rocks in the distance, and one tree sixty feet long, probably a giant pine, was seen floating past. The weather was very cold for the time of year; and to put the nmriners in good humour their rations wero increase,!. It was ordered " that every niesse benig fi've persons, should have halfe a pound of bread and a kan of beere every morning b, brea.kfast." So the expedition rounded the soutliern point of (Jreenland and sailed up the western coast as far as an inlet which they named Gilbert's Sound, in latitude 64°. On one of the islands in this sound the Enolish fell in with the Eskimo. They, "having espied^ us made a, lamentable noyse, as we thought, with great outcryes and skreechings; we hearing them thought It had been the howling of ^volves." It was, however only the native mode of hailing thrfr unexpected visitors, and when overtures were made to them the The Three J'oyaocs of John Davis 179 Hiuiplii-iiiiiKled folic were suuu (Imwii into parley. The musiciaii.s were retched ushoro, mid the sailors danced and laughed mid held out hands of frieiidshi].; until with straii-,^! l(inK'"l into tho sou, but tl Kl Hod it with their boar lo'nicn rowed al'tor it. and do8[»alc,hed that evcFii apears. Two nnuc bears w ere "R- 10 next di-y another bear was caught nap[)ni[,' on tli(! Lop of H:n island. He wuh a monster, witli feet ourteen inche. in breadth. He took several bullets without fiuccunibing, gra[)p] and finally swam across to ng savagely with th(! spears, ind si it cove, wliere lu; was followed fun. IM The expedition then proceeded up the wide inlet »w called Cumberland (lulf, and, after tra.ung the was decided to return home. slidnvs for some distance, it Fourtn-n days' sailii.g brought the two sbip.s safely into Dartmouth, on the closing day of September. Tn the following May, Davis was again all(,at. This time his fleet consisted of a ship of 120 tons, called the Marmaid; another of 60 tons, named Wx^^nnsUnc; the old Moonshine, an.l a TO-ton pinnace, the North Star. The Greenland Coast was sighted about the 15th of June. Kre this, Davis had divided his little squadron, sending the Snushme and the North Star to make their way up the rn,l coast of Greeidand and ascertain whether there was ..pen water between that continent and Iceland. He himself, with \he. Mermaid and the Moonshine, held on towards the nortii-webt. t n liiiL loro Tt iiikI ruru U on its Diirs, let 118 tlG 311 1 H M The Three Voyages of John Davis 183 While the ships' boats were exploring one of the sounds, a number of hayaU were seen approaching. At first prompted merely by curiosity, the native")? at length espied in the boats certain sailors who had visited the country during the previous summer. At once they uttered glad cries of recognition; and, paddling closer, they " tooke hold of the oars and hung about the boate with such comfortable joy as woulde require a long discourse to be uttered." Davis himself came in for a warm reception, and his presents of cutlery made the simple natives reaihinc took yonie days; and the heat of the suiuuier sun, and the mosquito pest, made the task rather a trying one. But on the 12th August she was ready, and parting coni- pany with her consort, she sailed away in further search of the great North-West Passa-^e. The coast trended south, and Davis followed it till he was ahreast of Hudson Strait, and hy and bye of Newfoundland. At many points the myriads of sea- birds, congregated on cliff-ledge and outlying rock, amazed the voyagers. The st'a swarmed with Ksh too, so that half an hour at the lines resulted in a catch of a hundred cod. A more important fact was that at one gap on the coast a strong current was noticed which ran in a westerly direction as if there was open sea beyond. But all attempts to follow up what was judged to be a promising discovery w ere frustrated by rough weather and contrary winds. On the 6th September a landing-party of five younc-- seamen was surprised and attacked by the suspicious natives. Two of the five fell i)ierced with arrows, and tw(j more were badly hurt. The fifth plunged into the sea and swam towards the ship. One of his arms was 1 86 Out with the Old Voyagers sliot tlirou^li with an arrow, but ho pluckily held on his way, and was (bagged on board by his messmates. That night a great gale got up, and the Moonshine, was nearly wrecked, her cable having parted. The terror of tiie situation was increased by the fear of being driven ashore among the hostile natives, who were believed, perhaps rightly, to be cannibals. In the beginning of October Davis arrived home. He found that the Sunshine had preceded him. The Mermaid must have reached England much earlier. The little North Star, however, had got separated from her consort, the Sunshine, during a September storm, and was never heard of again. Yet once more John Davis persuaded his patrons to send him northward; and next May, with three ships, he sailed out of the familiar harbour of Dart- mouth. The two larger vessels were tlie Elizabeth and the Simshijie, jjesides which there was a stout little pinnace, the IJtlen. The two previous voyages having brought no profits to those who had fitted out the expedition, it was arranged that two of the ships should be employed in fishing, while the third went on a tour of discovery. It was not a very eventful voyage, and it left the problem of a North-West Passage pretty mucli where it was before. IJut tho courage and hardihood shown by both commander and men in searching those remote shores and steering their perilous way through the 5 O v. W > «1 o > w 03 187 >> iili li The Three Voyaocs of John Davis i S9 ♦Iril'Lin^r ico was lH>y.,.i,l all piaiHc. A 111010 ii.,rLlieily point, too, was micliud, iiuiiiely, SaiuUir.son'.s Hoi.t", near Upernavik. The lofty lioadlaii.l was so callo.l l.y Davis, fiftor the kindly iu,d generous London niciclumt to whoso patronage he owed so much, und the name has never heen altered. The date of its discovery by Davis was 30th June, 1 587. J^cturning southward to the appointed meeting-place, lie found the two ships which were left for fishing pur- poses—gone. They had weighed anchor and sailed home, deserting their commander, to whom a solemn promise had been given that they would wait for him. Happily, Davis was not in need of succour, though his supplies were running short ; and, setting his course for England, he arrived safely in mid-September at the old west-country port. Other voyages he was to make, and other seas he was to sail ; but it is with the solitudes of " the white North," into which, with his tiny vessels, he thrice ventured, tiuit the name of John Davis will ever be associated. EASTWARD TO TfTE INDIES TUB VOYAGES OF SIR JAMKS LANCASTER 1591-1600 ifii! UMBKK8 of people vbo tare familiar with the names of Drake, Frobisher, and Hawkins, will confoss that they have never heard of Sir James Lancaster, though he belongs to the great Eli;.c.bethan group of sea captains, of whom so much has been written. If anyone will turn, however, to the map of North America, and run their finger along the west coast of (rreeuland, and across to the northern end of Baffin Land, they will find the name Lancaster Sound has been given to a broad strip of water there. The name was bestowed by one great captain — William Bathn himself — in honour of a brother- voyager. But in no other way was Sir James Lancaster a^^suciatcd with the dreary North. The sunny Indian seas claim him as the pioneer of those countless fleets that have since sailed forth from England. The East 190 The Voyages of Sir James Lancaster 191 India Company was foundtHl by Lontlon merchants in lo90, thanks largely to information brought humo by Lancaster on his first voyage. And when, early in the following year, tlie Company's yhips paid their first visit to the Indies, he went with them as commander. Two accounts of Lancaster's first voyage have come down lo us. He sailed from Plymouth on the 10th of April, 1591, with three ships; the Penelope, the Merchant Boyal, and tlie Edward Ikmavcnturc. Touching at tlie Canaries, they proceeded down the west coast of Africa, capturing on the way a Portuguese merchant- man, which yielded a most acceptable pi-ize of wine, oil, olives, etc. "These stores," says the historian of the voyage, "were better to us than gold." For sickness was rife among the crews. The drenching tropical stormb, the salted victuals, and the fever-laden land breeze, all had a share in the mischief, which, indeed, grew so serious that the Merchant Royal was taken and filled with invalid sailors and sent back to England. In a wide curve the remaining ships ran down towards the Cape of Good Hope, and doubled that mighty headland on the Stli of Septemlier. A stay was made at a pleasant 1 'y on the east coast, where the negroL's were induced ou come and trade. Gifts of knives and trinkets led to a supply of cattle being received in excliange. Penguins and seals were got by I 192 Onl loith the Old I 'oja^irs Iiuiiliii--, ,111(1 Liiiicisfcr liiiiiscll" killed ji line spt'ciiufii oi' luitelopo— "of Llic l>i<4ii('ss plenish their food siip|)ly. Tliey The Voyages of Sir James Lancaster 197 called at Tiinidad, but the presence of the Spaniards hindered them, and tiie relief they needed was not obtained until they fell in with a Normandy bark, from whose captain they b(>gged or bought bread and wine ennugh for present need. Later on, when a hurricane carnVd away nearly all their sails, the Frenchman provided tliem with fresh canvas. These pleasant relations were ups.'t by tlie disorderly conduct of the English crev-, and it was some time before the misunderstanding was made riglit. Fresh misfortunes and privations awaited the adventurers. Their ship grew water-logged with the buffetings of frecpient storms, and hor foremast was carried away. For a week salted hides were the chief, if not the sole, article of food left. Crabs and tortoises' were eagerly sought and eaten. At one island several of the crew went ashore and refused to rejoin the ship in si)ite of all persuasions. The final mishap came when, during the absence of Lancaster and nineteen of the crew on the small island of Mona. the ship itself drifted away with five men and one boy aboard ; it was alleged that the carpenter had secretly cut the cable. The castaways divided them- selves into two parties, and each had much ado to get food enough for subsistence; for nearly a month their cliief diet consisted of "slalkes of purse-laine boyled in water." At last, the captain and the six men who were with him, were seen and taken off by a French 15 riv 198 Ou^ "cvith the Old Voyagers vessel, and oiitertaincd most hospitably. Another French bark, which was starting for home, carried the Englislnnen back to Europe, and, at last, on the 24th of May, 1594, at the Port of Rye, Lancaster again set foot on liis native soil, lie had been absent three years, six wefkn, and two days. Of the other castaways, consisting of a ]iarty of S(naMi, tidings soon came to hand: two, while chunber- ing after sea-fowl, had fallen from the cliffs and been killed ; three had been massacred as interlopers by Spaniards from San Domingo; and two were taken off by a ship of Newhaven, and eventually reached England in safety. The next voyage undertaken by Lancaster was a piece of piracy pure and simple. It consisted of an expedition in which three shi[)S made a descent on rern;ind)uco, a Portuguese settlement on the coast of r.razil. It was carried out with a spirit and daring worthy of Drake himself, and was comph^tely success- ful. The cargo of a W(>althy East Indian carad; which had been unloaded here, fell into the hands of the audacious Englishmen, together with much cotton, sugar, lUa/il wood, etc. This expedition started in September, ir.94, and returned home in the following July. A far more important undertaking was that which belongs to the year IGOO. A report drawn up by a certain Dr. Thorne, em- ttier ried the am lireo of by vOll an oil of L'jiitr tl le on. ni :\u<2 199 ill The Voyages of Sir James Lancaster 201 bodying the facts and figures furnishod by Lancaster after liis first voyage, liad led tlie merchants of London to decide on founding a company for estab- lishing a regular trade with tlie East Indies. Tlie idea was warmly taken up. A sum of £30,000 was rapidly subscribed, and this was eventually increased to £72,000. The Queen's favour was easily won for the scheme, and on the last day of 1599 a royal charter was granted, giving the adventurers trading privileges for fifteen years. Her Majesty also furnished them with letters of introduction to certain of the Indian potentates. Captain John Middleton was vice-admiral, John Davis, of Arctic fame, was pilot of tlie fleet, and the whole command was entrusted to Captain James Lancaster. The Lord - Treasurer had proposed Sir Edward Michelborne, a gentleman of the Court, for the command, but the shrewd London business men at the liead of the concern preferred a practical sea- man, and stuck to their first choice. Davis had boon out to Lidia before witli the Dutcli, and on his return he had been very wisely secured by the Company to lead their ships. The expedition left Woolwich and dropped down the Tliaraes on the 13th of February, 1600. It con- sisted of four large ships— large, that is, according to the notions of the day. There was the Red Dragon, of 600 tons, with two hundred and two men; the i\l 202 Ou^ tvitk the Old Voyagers Ilcdor, of oOO tons, with one hundred and eight men ; tlie Ascension, of 260 tons, with eighty-two men ; the Susan, of 240 tons, witli eighty-eight men; and a victualling ship, the Guest, oi 130 tons. Supplies for twenty months were carried. Besides the crews, merchants went with the vessels to conduct the trad- ing operations, and everyone was eager and expectant. Very slow progress was made, owing to the lack of favouring winds, until the Channel was left, and then a good passage was made to the Canaries; but off the Guinea Coast bad weather and fearful lightnings, alternated with vexatious calms. A Portugal ship, however, was intercepted near the Equator, and re- lieved of her cargo of wine, oil, and meal, which, says the historian of the voyage coolly, " was a great help to us in the whole voyage after." This curious mixture of honest trading and bare piracy seems strange to us nowadays. But we must remember that in those old times there was no such thing as international law. The armed merchantmen that left the sliores of Europe did pretty much what they pleased, and they paid for the privilege by taking upon themselves all risks. A great trading compt!ti- tion was going on between the old, strong, seafaring peoples of Spain and Portugal, and the new-comers from Holland, England, and France; but to read the stories which Hakluyt has collected and preserved for us, one might suppose that, when once away upon TJie Voyages of Sir James LancastLV 203 the high sens, each looked upon the other as his natural enemy. " Capture when you can, surrender when you must" — tliat seems to have been the rule. So the swift rover had no hesitation in laying aboard the slow, helpless freight ship, being quite aware that, if in turn pursued and captured by some powerful foe, death or slavery would be the probable penalty. Here, for example, we find that the Portugal ship, taken by Lancaster's fleet, had got separated from her armed consorts. These were three men-of-war that had been sent out to India by the I'ortuguese Govern- ment, " to Iceep the coast of the East India fiom Icing traded with hy other nations" There lay the point of the quarrel. One nation wanted to keep the trade of certain foreign countries in its own hands, and the other nations resented this, and were quite prepared to use force. Hence we must regard what so often looks like piratical doings as the natural give-and- take of a great mercantile competition. After crossing the Line the victualler was emptied and dismantled, and the bare hulk was cast adrilt. The Cape of Good Ho[io was reached at last, and the ti(iet put into Table l»ay. The greater part of the seamen were down with scurvy. In some of the sliips the poor fellows were so sick and weak that they could scarcely haul at the ropes, and the merchants aboard — landsmen though they were — had to mount the rigging and lend a liand at taking in the top-sails. 'V, 'HI lli!ii 'i! 204 0?^ with the Old Voyagers It is distressing to find how tlie old voyagers suffered from this disease. They had no means of preserving meat except by steeping it in brine, and the lack of vegetable food and proper variety of diet soon told upon their health. The long passages ac- complished so marvellously quickly by our modern liners, built of steel and moved by steam, meant to our forefathers weeks and months of slow sailing. Storms and calms alike prevented any certainty as to time. And so the water-casks would give out, and sickness and thirst would work together to enfeeble the crews. Is it strange that they grew weary of the world of waters, the hard fare, the long unrest, the heaving deck ; n ii asl,.,ie. A.^eor,li„}^r to ciistoiu, a sal. It.' was fuod by tlio ship's gl^ls^ Rysoiui. luiscluuiccMlu! slint Jiad n..t been oxtmcted, and, as hick would have it, sLnick one of tlio boats of the fmionil party, kiHin- both the captain and the boatswain's mate. «8o that," as tlie old writer rue- fully obs.«rves, "they that went to see the buriall of another were both buiied their the'uselves." On the 5th of June, aft.>r a L.g run across the broad Indian Ocean, the English fleet dropped anchor ore Aeheen, an important town at the northern end of the great Island of Sumatra. Many foreign craft were lying there as they entered; traders fi-oni Calicut and Bengal, Malabar and Pegu.' Two Dutch merchants, resident at the fort, came aboard, and in the most friendly way oriered their services. They encouraged the Englishmen by telling them that the native King was hospitable to strangers, and that the fame of Queen Eli>:abeth I'-i'l already reached there; the news of the crushing l^^'lVat of the Spani '1 Armada seems also to have mipressed the Xing considerably. '^••, when Lancaster ch(»se Captain John Middleton •^^^^<\ u suite of four or tive gentlemen, and sent them to request an interview, the swarthy monarch (wlio, by the bye, had risen, tradition says, from the hundjle grade of a lisherman), received the deputation most graciously. "And withall he sent his commendations Ill 207 ^^ A If J II I If. The Voyages of Sir James Lancaster 209 to the geiiomll, willing hini to Btay 0110 day alHH.id his ships Lo rest himsolfo after hia coininiiig from tho disijuiet sous, and the next day to come a land, and liuvo kind iUidicMicc and frank leave with us j^rcut asKnranec as if he were in tiie kin;.^d((me of the Qiienne, hi.s niistri.s," Nothing could be more reassuring than tills. On the third day, therefore, Janeaster went ashore with some thirty picked men, and lodg(Ml with tho friendly Hollanders, pending the arrival of a formal invitation from the Kin<'. Presently it eamo, with true Oriental pomp and display. The street filled with eager spectators, a dense throng of brown faces; and in the midst tho English saw approaching, with slow swinging trunks and solemn gait, six tall elepliants. The biggest, which was about thirteen or fourteen feet high, had a gorgeous howdah strapped on its back. Inside the howdah was a gr fc basin of gold, wiia a silken kerchief; this was .. be the receptacle of the Queen's letter of introduction. Lancaster was invited to mouat another of the elephants, some of his suite also riding, others preferring to walk. The procession then started for the palace gates, where the Englishmen dismounted and were ushered into the royal prosoncO: After the customary greetino-p and palaver, Diiu ister proceeded to uncover and present his gifta Thoy were costly enough. "A ip' II III i !H!l ■ i mi 2IO 6^?^/ 2i;zV// f/ie Old Voyagers bason of silver, with a fountaiuo in the niidtlest of it, weighing two hundred and five ounces ; a great stand- ing cup of silver, a rich looking-glasse, a head-piece with a plume of featliers, a case of very faire daggers, a rich wrought embroidered belt to h;ing a sword in, and a fan of feathers." Tlie last was not least, for the King appeared much pleased witli it, and ordered one of his women slaves to begin fanning him with it furtliwith. Then they all sat down to a grand banquet, the platter being of pure gold ; and tlie feast was followed by an entertainment of music and dancing. On leav- ing, the admiral was presented with " a fine white robe of calico, ricldy wrought with gold, and a very faire girdle of Turkey worke, and two cresses (creases), which are a kind of daggeis." And so, with further interchange of courtesies, the Englishmen took their departure, leaving tlie Cj)ueen's letter to be read at leisure by the monarch. A copy of this letter has come down to us. It is in the usual stately language of royal documents. With many words it urges the King of Acheen to admit English traders, and promises that the consequences will be highly beneficial to his own merchants. One reference to the monopoly hitherto enjoyed by the Spaniards and the Portuguese is interesting ; it scorn- fully questions their exclusive rights, and cleverly persuades the King to favour those nations no more by I )rn- 3rly rilE INVITATION t'A.MK, \VI1I1 TIU'E UKIKNTAL 1V)M1' AM) DISl'LAV. •211 la ! t'l .a,'i I ' t hi ) The Voyages of Sir J avics Lancaster 213 appealing to his piide, and reminding him of certain blows which he had inflicted upon the Portuguese in Malacca some thirty years before. The letter then goes on to request leave to establish " a settled house of factorie " at Acheeu, with resident English merchants. Shortly after delivering tliis letter, Lancaster had a conference with certain of the head-men, I'nd the result was, that not only were the requests of the English granted, but in a most liberal and friendly spirit. And the Portuguese ambassador, on applying for important concessions as a set-off to all this, was sharply snubbed, "and went from the Court much discontenteil." One thing, however, marred the satisfaction which Lancaster felt. His pilot, John Davis, had given the London merchants to understand that pepper — a highly-prized commodity in those days — could be got at a certain very low price in Sumatra. Lancaster found to his annoyance that not only was there a very scanty supply to be had, owing to the previous year having proved a bad one, but the price of it was far in excess of that quoted by Davis. The consequences would, he naturally feared, cast a slur either upon his honesty or his business sagacity ; and this was mortify- ing after all the trust that had been reposed in him. The summer days went by and September came, and Lancaster felt it was time to visit other ports to com- 16 \ 1 M J i 2L Out ivith the Old Voyagers m w 'if ■If plcte his freight. So leaving two of the merchants behind at Acheen, under the King's protection, to buy up any further quantities of pepper whicli they could get, the ships sailed away towards the Straits of Malacca. The adventurers do not seem to have done any business ; but they came back well-laden for all that. For, one afternoon while cruising in the Straits, a great Portuguese merchantman of 900 tons burden came in sight, and at once all eyes were upon her. The guns of tlie Hcdor assailed her as she drew near, and she returned the fire, but a volley from the admiral's ship disabled her, and she ceased to resist. The swift closing-in of tlie tropical night put an end to the unequal combat, for the attacking force feared lest a chance shot might sink their prize. They lay round her through the night, and when the eastern sky reddened with the dawn, the work of unlading lier was quietly and methodically set about. No violence was used. The captain and ollicers were temporarily put on board the three English vessels, and then her crew lowered the cargo, bale by bale and package by package, into the English boats lying alongside. The work occupied about five or six days, and some nine hundred and fifty " packes of calicoes and pintados," besides large (piantities of rice and other stores, were transferred. It was a big haul, and Lancaster — after the curious fashion which strikes The Voyages of Sir James Lancaster 215 i^y us of to-day as so incongruous, but was so entir'^ly sincere — tluinked Providence devoutly for throwing such rich booty in his w.iy, and thus supplying what he despaired of getting by peaceful trading. The Portugal ship was on her way from a port in the Bay of Bengal to Malacca, and she carried, besides her crew, nearly six hundred souls — men, women, and children. For them it must have been a sufficiently frightening time. As the lust boatloads of cargo were moving off from the ship, signs of ji break in the weather were noticed. Her captured officers were hastily taken back and put al)oard, and the English then departed, leaving her riding safely at anchor. As thoy again came in view of Acheen, they wit- nessed, at too close proximity to be pleasant, a v:atcr- sjMiU ! It was a new sight to many of the sailors, and they stared in terror at the whirling column that joined the low clouds and the tossing sea, threatening destruction to any bark that cnme too near. They found all well at Acheen, where the two merchants had been busy buying up pepper and cloves and cinnamon. These were stowed away in the Ascension, and, with a sheaf of letters to friends at home, she was sent back to England. Lancaster intended with the two remaining ships to visit Bantam in the Island of Java, and went to bid good-bye to the friendly monarch who had made their I )> *H^.- 2l6 Out ivith the Old Voyagers slay at Aclieeu so prosperous, lie gave to Laiicastei' a letter of goodwill written in Arabic for Queen Elizabetli, with a gift of gokl-enibroidered garinents and a ring of gold set with a fine ruby. An interesting incident occurred while tlie visitors were about to depart. It is thus related by the old writer: "And when the gencrall tooke his leave the King said unto him, Have you the Psahues of David extant among you ? The generall answered, Yea, and we sing them daily. Then said the King, I and the rest of these nobles about me will sing a Psalme to God for your prosperitie ; and so they did very solemnly. And after it was ended the King said, I would heare you sing another Psalme, although in your owne lan- guage. So there being in the company some twelve of us, we sang another Psalme ; and after the Psalme was ended the generall tooke his leave of the King." So, in this pleasant fashion, the interview closed, and with a final exchange of kindly words the royal host and his guests parted. On the 9th of November the English ships sailed away, and one morning in mid-December they entered the port of Bantam. A tremendou oadside from the Red Dragon and the Hcdor, "such as had never been rung there before that day," announced their arrival, and no uoubt the good folks of Bantam were duly impressed. Lan- caster presented his letters of introduction to the King, who was quite a young lad, and met with a is The Voyages of Sir J aincs Lancaslcr 217 frieiKlly reception. Tr;ule vviis pennitted, and in letuiii for English goods and hard cash, two hundred and seventy-six bugs of pepper wore taken on board th(^ ships. (There were but two now, for the Sumn liad lately been sent back, like the Ascension, well laden with spices, to England.) The natives of Java were notorious for theft and pilfering; but the English were not much troubled. We are told the reason. The King gave them per- mission to kill any of the Javanese who were found breaking into their lodgings, and, says the narrator naively, "after foure or five were thus slaine, we lived in reasonable peace and quiet." By the 10th February it was time to depart, and Lancaster made a few last arrangements. He des- patched a pinnace, with twelve men and several merchants to the Moluccas, to trade there and found a settlement, and be ready for the next English fleet that should be sent out to the Indies. Eight men and three merchants were left behind at Bantam, with similar instructions. The two ships then stood out to sea, but the captain of the Ifecto7% John Middleton, had succumbed to fever before the homeward voyage was begun. The passage to the Cape of Good Hope seems to have been a terrible one. More than one great storm burst upon them, and the mariners were at their wits' ends to know how to keep their craft afloat. Every sail 4 2l8 Out ivitli the Old Voyagers m ;i luul to bo taken in. The lied Dvckjoii liad lier rudder torn iiwiiy, und Itoth tlie vessels leaktid dangerously. Torrents of rain and cutting sleet and snow drenched the poor mariners to the skin, and d(!spair and ntter weariness seized upon them as they drifted before the gale. The Hector bravely kept company with her half- disabled consort; and this was in itself a source of comfort. Her crew, moreover, as soon as the weather moderated, lent their aid in refitting the sister ship with an extemporised rudder, and, under fairer skies, the two battered vessels ran on to St. Helena, where, after three montls' tossing on the high seas out of sight of land, the crews were glad to set foot on shore. The wild goats of the island fell to the guns of the more nimble marksmen, and the supply of fresh meat staved off the scurvy and fever that was already rife on board. The remainder of the voyage was uneventful ; and on the 11th of September the two ships anchored safely in English waters. Captain Lancaster was knighted for his great achievement ; but honour is due also to the nameless seamen who endured with him the risks of a climate with which few, except Davis, their pilot, were familiar, and the hardships and perils of that stormy passage when hope was wcU-nigh lost. WITH BARENTS TO NOVA ZEMBLA n 1594-1597 VEPtYONE who has read his history well knows something of the brave struggle for freedom which little Holland made against her great and cruel enemy, Spain. He will remember how long that struggle had to be kept up before the light for liberty was won, and the Spanish troops were at last withdrawn. While it lasted, every device was used to crush these gallant Netlierlanders. Oppressive laws were made that took away their rights, the least resistance was savagely punished, and time after time the streets of the quaint old towns ran with the blood of the noblest and bravest of the citizens. As if this was not enough, a blow was struck at the very root of their prosperity. Their sea trade was interfered with. Holland is not rich, like other countries, in iron or coal or the precious metals ; she has no vast ]>laiiis for growing corn : and the day of 219 \l If II 220 Oi/^ ivith the Old Voyagers great factorios had not yet como. Trade was what her people lived by. They despatched their clumsy, but well-manned and well-handled, ships to far-oil' foreign ports, especially to India and the sunny islands of the Eastern seas; and the silks and spices, drugs MODEL OF ATlMEn DUTCH MEIICHAKTJIAX OF THE I'EniOD. and gems, with which the vessels came back laden, meant goodly fortunes to those who had sent them out. To strike at these sturdy subjects of his through their shipping, the Spanish King believed, would be to quickly and effectually cripple them. The Dutch IVii/i Barents to Nova Zoubla 22 1 I inercliuntiiicn were uo match for the gruuL galleons that swooped upon them; and as the way to the Indies hiy past the coasts of Spain and Portugal, it was easy enough for the Dons to intercept them. The poor Hollanders were in a dilemma. If their trade, their very means of living, was to be maintained, their sea captains must either light the Spaniards or avoid them. To attempt the former seemed hopeless. And yet how was the 'latter alternative to be acted upon? It was a knotty question. Many a grizzled head was bent over the queer old sea-charts with repeated shakes of honest perplexity and much knitt- ing of brows. Many an eager discussion was wageci between be-ringed and be-ruffed burghers and weather- beaten skippers and pilots; and many a pipe was smoked out in fruitless debate. At last someone threw out a suggestion— a very bold suggestion it sounded, but there was sense in it. "What," said he, "is the use of trying to run the gauntlet of the Spanish ships that are always watching for us as we go south ? The northern ocean is grey and cheerless, but at least it is free from that terror. Let us sail northward and eastward, instead of south- ward and eastward." "But," was the reply of many, "surely we shall find the way is blocked by the ice." "Well," retorted the advocates of the scheme, "we can only tell that by trying. Heaven knows how I. J 222 Out with the Old Voyagers III many of our traders have diud by Spanish trouchery and cruolLy. It is worlh risking a few more lives to Knd ont a trade route along which they will not care to molest us." Thus arose the great (piestion of a North-East Passage — never so popular, indcnnl, as that of the North-West Passage which our English adventurers essayed so often, but exacting nevertheless a heavy tribute of brave lives. The scheme once proposed and discussed, it was not long before money and men were forthcoming. To three burghers of Middelburg in Zeeland, and Enck- huysen in West Friesland, belongs the honour of making the first move. Two ships were litted out by them, and the command given .o Cornelis Nai. Amsterdam determined not to be outdone. In those days the city was thrice as Inistling and thrice as important. Built as it is at the south-west corner of the huge bay known as the Zuyder Zee, the largest of vessels could anchor close in, and many of them were towed up those convenient canals or water-streets which intersect the city, and were moored directly opposite their owner's door. The place had a savour of hemp and tar and salt sea-brine about it, and the familiar sight of silken bales and kegs of spices being brougiit up from below decks, and carried into the roomy store-cellars of the merchants' houses, naturally stimulated in all the boys of Amsterdam a taste for H 6 y. « Ml H H ft y. O !.« I 223 I). J 'Si' liif If IHil I / IVit/i Barents to Nova Zembla 225 ii sea-calling, or for a trade which dupeiidcd on the sea. The name of tho vessel now fitted out by the city was the Mercuri), and the command was given to William Barents, one of her sailor-citizens. William Barents (or, to spell the name correctlv. Willem Barentszoon) was a native of Friesland, and was well qualified for the post. He was an experienced navigator, a man of great courage and perseverance, and one whose character made him respected and readily obeyed by the crews. ^ On the 5th of June 1594, the little fleet of four small ships left the Texel. Orders had been given to keep company as far as Kildin, on the coast of lapland, but after that the Amsterdam vessel and a fishing-boat, which Barents took with him, were to continue the voyage by a diderent route, namely, round to tiie north of Nova Zembla, instead of between it and the Eussian mainland. On June 29th Barents parted from the others and sailed away, sighting Nova Zembla on the 4th July, and, before he rejoined his comrades, is reckoned to have accomplished altogether about 1,700 miles— a marvellous feat, when we find, by his journal, how many hindrances and perils he encountered. The whole fleet, having come together once more, returned to Holland in September. The report brought home roused umch interest, and lilt! 226 Out with the Ohi Voyagers the Stiites-Geneml resolved to fit out a bigger ilcet next year. Accordingly, in the spring seven ships were got ready. Amsterdam provided two, Zeeland two, Enckhuysen two, and Eotterdam one. So great was the hope of getting through the far-off Straits of Waygatz to Japan and China, that all the ships carried merchandise with " factors " (merchants) to do business with the foreign people. The chief of these factors, and tlie one who represented Amsterdam, was Jacob van Ileemskerclc. He was a young fellow of good family and great gallantry, and wis destined to die in battle for his country against Spain a few years later ; the sea-fight took place off Gibraltar, and proved a glori(jus victory, seven of tlie Spanish vessels being burned, and most of the others sunk. At the time of our story Heemskerck was about eight-and-tweuty, and already full of spirited self-coniidence. William liarents commanded the Greyhmmd, a 200- toii ship of Amsterdam, and went as pilot-major of tlie licet. Cornelis Nai was admival-in-chief. The day of departure from the Texel was Sunda}' 2nd of Jvdy, 1595. ]5y the time that the trees along the canals at home were beginning to turn yellow under the mid-August Hun, tlie adventurers had rounded the North Cape, made their way across the wide sea I hat lies to the north of I'lissia, and had reached the Straits of Waygatz. With Barents to Nova Zenibla 227 Here the prospect was lonely and depressing enough. Snowy plains and ice-bearded cliffs reminded them that they had entered the region of perpetual winter. The few human figures which were seen moving about fled at the approach of a landing-pavty. But the following day brought some encouragement. The sailors had found certain sledges, packed with furs, and leather bottles filled with oil, which had been abandoned by the natives in tlieir fliglit. Not an article was disturbed, and, further to conciliate tne owners, slices of bread and Dutch cheese were put temptingly Iry the side of the goods. During the night these were evidently found and appreciated, and next day, in token of friendship, a large party of these Samoyedes came in their reindeer sledges to meet the Hollanders. With smiles and many gesticulations they tried to show how pleased they were, and when one of the crew, who understood their language, questioned tliem as to what lay beyond those dreary Straits, they readily stated all they knew, and spoke, among other things, of a warm, sunny sea, which could be readied by long journeying. Naturally, Barents and his men caught at this eagerly. It was a very vague piece of information, but it agreed with what they had believed when they set out. Much elated, the landing-party returned to the ships, and made preparations for sailing eastward in the direction indicated by the natives. But their it. f r«*»i(«*i*^(ip?*"- N>' 228 Out with the Old Voyai^ crs 111 liopcs wore not to be fiilHlled. The ice closed ii), barring the way; a sea -fog settled down, thick- enough to hide one vessel from another, and this wi a succeeded by a contrary wind, which completed their discomfiture. On the Gth of September, while they were labouring to get past a certain island, permission was given for a boat's crew to go ashore. This led to an exciting adventure. The rocks hereabout glistened and glinted in the sunshine, owing to their being full of bright crystals. These the men desired to gather, and with all the delight of a party of school-boys out bird's-nesting, they set to work, scrambling up the great boulders, snatching at the crystals in the clefts and crevices, and shouting with pleasure whenever they came upon a particularly fine one. In the midst of this pleasant exercise a cry of distress came from behind one of the rocks. Everyone hurried to see what was the matter. A savage growl made them quicken their steps. There, in the grip of a huge snow-bear, was one of their comrades. Hastily they ran for their weapons, but when they returned the poor fellow was past help. At their shout the monster looked up, licking his red- stained jaws, and then calmly went on lapping the dead man's blood. When, however, his assailants came near and lunged at him with their sharp lances, he turned savagely upon them, and the whole party With B arc 1 lis to Nova Zcmbia 229 beat a retreat to the boats. Loaded iimskets were procured, and, after a long and dangerous fight, the enormous brute was despatched. He had killed two men, and his skin was carried away as a tropliy to show to the good folks in Amsterdam. This untoward event seems to liave been tlie lust weight in the scale, determining tlie adventurers to give up the aLlempt for that year. I'areuts and A TRUUOn OF TIIK AKCTrC SEAS. young Heemskerck wanted two shii>s' crews to winter in those regions and continue the voyage as soon as the ice pack should break up under the warm spring winds. They themselves would have been ready enough to stay at all hazard, but the men shrank from the prospect. We cannot blame them. Wintering among the Arctic ice is terrible even in these days of scientific equipment and tinned meats; but these 17 if! 0. -> -o Out ivith the Old Voyagers Btimly Hollanders had neither the experience nor the proper appliances now available. And so it came about tluit before the month of November was out they had re-crossed the seas, and were once more clasping the hands (.f tiicir friends on the quays of old Amsterdam. When the lirst words of welcome had given place to (piestioMS about the results of thi: exividition theie was jMUchgiumblingand shaking ol hea.^s on the \>^\^:t of the merchants who had supplied the funds ; ana when Barents entreated them to allow another attempt to be made, he was told that a trading expedition which brouglit Ijack a white bearskin and a few rock-cry sials was not exactly a paying conce,rn. However, enthusiasm is infectious. Barents was sure th't if properly searched for, the North-East Passage might yet be found. He went from one person to another, talking ni his cheerful, persuasive way, and at last so far succeeded that the money was forthcoming to fit out two small ships, and the (;overnm(nit olfered a large sum, and special trading ii«dits to the owners of the ships, if the China S(!as could be reached by the new route. Heeniskerck was the nominal, and Barents the actual, leader of the new expedition, and they picked their men wisely. Food stores and merchandise were stowed away on board, and on the 10th of May, 159G, the two vessels left Amsterdam for the dreary northern seas. With Barents to Nova Zcmbla 231 As they got into higli latitudes they were lirst mystified and then deligliled with wliat to them was a novel and extraordinary sight. They had reached the roalm of the midnight sun. For six long weeks darkness never settled down upon the grey seas through which the two little ships ploughed tiieir way. Such hooks as the nuiii had hrought with them could be read distinctly at any hour of tlie twenty-four, and those of the crew who had left wife and children behind them smiled at the thought of the stories they would take home. Sunshine at midnight! How the eyes of Hans and Gredel would sparkle, and how their round cheeks would redden with excitement, as the wonderful tale went on. Mock suns, too! Three shining at once-one on either side of the real sun, and ringed round with rainbows ; looking for all the world as if the Lapland witches were playing tricks with the sky ! The children would say they had heard nothing stranger, not even in the forest legends told them by their nurse as tliey sat on winter nights beside the cosy kitchen hearth, witii its quaint picture tiles. But something besides marvels was in store for these brave Amsterdam sailors. Hitherto they had fared prosperously enough, circunmavigating what we now know to be the Spitzbergen group"of inlands, and meeting with various new and interesting adventures. Dut Barents and the other captain, Jan Corneliszoon t ' 232 (ht^ ivith the Old Voyagers i \m liijp by nume, could not jigico about the route. On July Ist they had a final discussion, the result of which was that the two ships separated. "It was agreed that wee should follow on our course, and hee hia." Of llijp and his subsequent doings — where he went and when he rtU,urned — scarcely anything is known. The record we have deals solely with Barents and Heeniskerck. They held on their way eastward till the west coast of Nova Zembla was reached, and in safety they rounded the north-eastern end of that country. Then their troubles began. On all sides the thin flakes of floating ice got more and more dense, until the ship's nose could no longer butt its way through, and a solid glistening barrier resisted their attempts to advance. Huge towering clilfs of ice moved past them, threatening, if they toppled and fell, to crush ship and crew alike. The unfamiliar noise of the grinding, crunching bergs was terrifying, and as there was often a chain of ice-blocks between the vessel and the shore, it was not pleasant either for the watch on deck or those who were trying to sleep below to hear after nightfall the growls of hungry bears. At last the ice-pack closed in all round, and forced itself like a wedge nnderneath the vessel, liill the latter lay as if stranded, tilted up against a great hummock. King Frost had fairly caught these intruders upon his territory. It was the last day of August when this appalling IVii/i Barents to Nova Zevibla 233 fact was realised. Fearing that as tlie pressure on the ship grew greater her stout timbers would be crushed and she would founder, the men at once hoisted out tlie boats and dragged them to a place on the ice. Then some of the stores were got out, and the building of a hut was commenced. There were no trees to cut down, but a good niany had been drifted to a spot some two miles off and thrown up on the beach. A supply of this timber was fetched on rougli sledges ;i the men worked hard, and their willing hands soon erected a very roomy and sul)stantial house. The ship's furniture was used to fit up the interior, and a big barrel fixed on tlie roof was made to serve as a chimney. Altogether, tilings began to look more cheerful, and as soon as the whole company had taken up its abode in the house it began to bear a cosy and home-like appearance. The white bears haunted the neighbourhood per- sistently, no doubt with pleasant expectations of their own. No sailor dare stir abroad unless armed, and everyone kept on the alert, ready ;d a moment's notice to join in driving off or attacking and killing these prowling monsters. In time the men got quite expert in the use of their spears, and many a tliick, warm skin was added to the stock of rugs and olothiiiir ; ' The illustration of this, and those of tliree other ineidcnts, have lieen closely rci)rocluced from the quaint woodcuts in the ori^'inal e lition of Gerrit de Veer's nccount of the r.aiunts .'xpcdition. 234 Out with the Old Voyai^crs HI' but more than oiico lliuin tunicil furiously ut l)!iy, and 11 battle royal ensuoil, in which the men had several narrow escapes. With Oetol)er tlie cold increased. It was a more dillicult ((uemy to figlit than tlu' bears. It nijiped the hands ■ . • ' and face; it kept everyone on the m< , ' n the sailors turned in to their sleepinj^ quavLcrs for the night it crept in after them. They set themselves tiring tasks just for the sake of exercise ; they j)layed games and romped about like children; they made traps aiui dcu iliem; they sawed up wood for liring; tlu'y turned tailor, and stitched away at their bearskin and foxskin garments; and the cold grew worse and worse. Then the very daylight forsook them. Early in November they saw the last of the sun — a thin red strip just peering above the horizon — and the long Arctic night settled down upon the desolate icefields, and the tiny encampment, and the dismantled ship. It was a most trying time. The spirits of the party sank at the prospect before them. l^Ieven weeks of darkness had to be lived through befuie the sunlight would again gladden their eyes, and even then there was the question of liow to i'_aeh home. Tiie conduct of 1- 'uts • ud Heo iskerck under these discouraging circumstances showed the heroism that was in hem, and prnvcl how full" they po^'^essed the qualities of the tiue leader. They did cverythinT tliat could be '^jm^M' i.'35 Ili^ \m n ff ill l(! IVii/i Barents to Nova Zoubla 237 done to hearten their men. They set them to frosli duties, planned new amusements, and saw to it that each man was well occupied, and not allowed to sit and brood over his troubles. It would have been easy to lose count of time ; but the hour-f,dusses were kept going, and the long, mono- tonous days were thus measured and counted. So, thougli there was no change in tlio dreary world out- side, they know which day was Christmas and which was the first of tlie New Year. It was difficult not to be gloomy and anxious on these anniversaries, which at home would bo kept with 80 much mirtli and merry- making. For them out here in the terrible Nortli there were no cliurch bells ringing, no evergreen garlands, no children to kiss, no neighbours to greet. Would the old home joys ever be theirs again ? There were, indeed, times when the love of fun and frolic got the better of their melancholy. Then with the help of a slight addition to the usual rations, and another bciir'.s -grease candle or two by way of illumina- tion, the men held revel in the smoky wooden house, and played all sorts of antics in the way that sailors love. It was rather forced fun, but the jests and the laughter and the romping did everyone good, and Heemskerck and Barents looked on well pleased, and "kept the ball rolling." Still the t(!rriblc cold increased. The bcor-casks KIR i ml HI! w- IM' ■ I'M -^^S Oul ivith the Old Voyagers si.lit with the ice inside ti.oin. The fire was piled with fuel, but the house never seemed reully warn), and the men lay and shivered, though often so near to the bright glow that their clothing scorched. One December evening, feeling utterly niiserablo, the uicn were imprudent enough to dispeuHc with the usual means of ventilation. They blocked up the chimney, sealed up the crevices in the doors, put a large supply of coal on the fire, and turned in fur a good night's sleep. Everyone, in more and more sleepy tones, re- marked on the success of tlicir plan. " For once we can say we are (piite warm and comfortable." At last silence reigned in the house. The thoughts of its drowsy inmates were very pleasant ones, and the outside world, with all its bitter chill and dreariness, was forgotten. So the time went by. Suddenly, one of the sleepers awoke with a con- fused sense that something was wrong. A painful feeling of suffocation and giddiness had come over him; he started up and called to his companions; there was no reply. Staggering across the room, he got to the door, clutched at the latch, and tore it open. The icy breath of the winter night struck him as he reeled out on to the snow, and fell. Ihit the fresh air was just what he needed. He shook olf the deadly stupor and re-entered the hut. The rush of cold air had already aroused others of the sleepers, and one by one the whole comi)any awoke. It was With Barents to Nova Zenibla 239 iuducd a merciful escape. The stilling smoke IVom the burning coal, having no means of exit, had been filling the apartment, and stupefying the inmates. The very inlhience which had induced sleep, and given that delightful, dreamy sense of comfort, would before morning have turned the wiutia- house into u chamber of death. Sick and faint, but grateful for their preservation, the men laid to heart the lesson they had learned, and thanked (5od for having spared their lives. And so again they took up their monotonous tasks— the narrow round of duties inside their smoky dwelling, the inventing of new means for keeping out the cold, the snaring of the sliy white foxes under the starlight, the keeping of the daily journal in which the entries were so much alike. ]3y the 9th January the weather was less bitter. It had been terrible at times. Shoe-leather had frozen, and the men had to improvise sheepskin foot-gear. On certain days they dared not so much as put their heads outside the door for fear of frost-bite. Once they tried to ascertain which was the way of the vi'id by fixing a fragment of cloth on a stick and thrusting it up through the chimney-hole; hut they had scarcely had time to see which way it blew before it stifiened and grew rigid. At times wild snowstorms swept across tlie desclate land, and by the end of the ^ IV I year the house was buried so deep tliat a ihght of -»ljrtt»" )N ■H (f .«! 240 Out ivith the Old Voyagers steps had to bo cut in tlie frozen drift lor the men to get abroad. On the IGth January, a faint ruddy glow in the sky warned them that tlie sun woukl shortly rise to gladden their eyes once more. The welcome dri-p, drqi, of snow on the house-roof, melting with the heat of the fire, showed that the cold was no longer so intense. And on the 24th January— a full fortnight before Barents had reckoned it would appear— Heemskerck and Gerrit Do Veer (the historian of the voyage) caught sight of the edge of the sun's red disc as they rambled along the seashore. Home they raced with the glad news, but it was pronounced too good to be true. The next two days were misty and overcast, but on the 27th all the men turned out lo gaze, for there was the bright orb well risen above the horizon, " which nuide us all glad, and we gave God hearty thanks for His grace shewed unto us, that that glorious light appeared unt.. us againe." Still there was need for patience. The cold was still severe. The supply of fuel began to gmw ominously small, and several of the men were sirk and disabled. The scarcity of food, also, was making itself felt in the increasing bodily weakness of every- one. Ordinary labours were a weariness, and oflm the poor fellows left oft' exhausted in the middle of some task of hauling or lifting, nnd sat down rendy to cry like clnhUcn. IVilk Barents to Nova Zcmbla >4i all The bears, too, had to be reckoned with. They had begun to prowl abroad a^^ain, since the return of the daylight, and the spears and clumsy matchlocks thnt menaced ilicni were held now in very fecible and shaking han.ls. One evening in April a great shaggy brute came snilVmg ro\ii,d the house, and the men had barely time to slam to the door before she was heard shulUing down the snow-steps. Finding no means of entrance, she went away, but after dark she returned, and the men suddenly heard a heavy body dragging itself across the roof. Then a low growl was heard, and soon the silence of the night was broken by the most dismal howling and roaring, as the fierce beast tore savagely at the sail which was spread over the roof and secured to the chimney-barrel. Everyone was greatly relieved when she took herself olF, having done no further mischief. liy the 1st May, the last bit of beef was eaten, and the sight of the open water iKjt far from their stranded ship made the men eager to be olf. IIe«imskeick wanted to get the injured vessel afloat if it were possible, and postponed the date of dei)arture as long as he dare. But at last, orders were given to get out the two boats, whieh were lying under the snow, and mend them and provision them for the long journey home. There was much to be done; but, as the old writer says, "the labour and paines that we tooke seemed light and easie unto u^^, because of the hope w^.. w^MnvMMinWM*^ )>, If/ t ' t 242 Out -with the Old Voyagers that we had to get out of that wild, desart, irkesome, fearefull, and cold country." Poor fellows ! They had suffered long and much, and the very thought of departure put strength and spirit into their bodies, enfeebled with the cold an JiMBiHinRSPl^'iWW r ■''.w^tn'^s'wwimi^'Wf . wm •smusm nriir ^jKCSUii. 4."Mar'. .'-mw. 247 "^SB^" I < > it 'a. 11 IP^it/i Bannts to Nova Zcmbla 249 hiainiiiiid, iiud on mo 4tli Aii;,aist tlicy stood in closo to the low-lyipg shores about tho mouth of tho Kivor Petchoiii. As they sailed aking, a tract of green with sundry small trees gladdoi :heir eyes, weary of tho ice-K Ids and weary of " t barren sea." Pmt hm '^er was now staring them in tho faio, and it was seriously debated whether they liad not better abandon the boats and make their way homo overland. Four of the jioor fellows who had gone ashore to iticonnoitre came back dragging a dead seal which they had found ; it was l)utrid and stinking, but f lieir comrades were scarcely able to persuadp t ! .t to eat portions of the carcase, so ravenous were ti At another poii , having beached the boats on account of a heavy gale, torrents of rain fell, and while the crews crouched shivering under the sail-cloth, vivid lightnings lit up the dreary coast, and the sick men lay and trembled at the thunder peals. Several Kussian fishing barks were passed during the next few days. From these food was obtained, and the voyagers deemed themselves " in clover " when they were able to lay to and regale themselves on a jiot of l)oiled meal and water, flavoured with homsy and bacon fut. On the 25th August, they reached a familiar point, namely, Kildin on the Lapland Coast. A little further they eri:;:c upoa a iiouso by the shore, and, at their ai^proach, three men and a big dog came out. From these meu they in([uired if any Dutch ship was likidy MICROCOPY RESOLUTION TEST CHART (ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No. 2) 1.0 I.I 1.25 1^ 2.8 1 2.5 |j|5 II ' == m II '' 2.2 «^ IIIIM IIIIM 2.0 i- ^ ■ l-UL. i.8 1.4 1.6 ^ APPLIED IM^GE I6'i 1 East Main Street Rochester, New rork 14609 (716) 482 - 0300 - Phone (716) 288 - 5989 - Fax USA 250 Out with the Old Voyagers m. to bo fonnd at Kola, a well-known port further along the coast. Hearing that there was, they begged tlie Eussians to accompany one of their number to the place. This they would not do, even for money, but they said that a native could be got from a Lapp settle- ment not far off", and he would be an even better guide. The waiting time was made pleasant by berry- gathering — bilberries and blackberries being plentiful hereabouts, and most acceptable. At last tlie Lapp was seen returning. He came alone, but he brought a written messnge which alike gladdened and puzzled those to whom it was addressed. It was signed " by me, Jan Cornelisz. Eijp," and expressed surprise and delight at finding them in those parts, having long since believed them cast away. Surely, said the sailors on their part, this cannot be the Jan Eijp who commanded our sister ship on the voyage out from Holland a year and more ago ? Heemskerck hunted over his papers and drew out a letter which Eijp had once written him, and, when the signatures were com- pared, there was no longer any room for doubt. Their old comrade had evidently gone home soon after they had parted, and had since come out to those blenk northern coasts on a less ambitious cruise. While they were still eagerly discussing the letter, a boat came in sight. It was a Eussian yawl, and was making straight for where they stood. All eyes were at once upon her, and what a shout went up when it > CI 2,-1 )■" m \m I. With Barents to Nova Zcihjla 253 was seen that the figures on board were none other than Jan Itijp himself and their messmate whom they had sent to Kola ! The meeting was a joyful one, and the stolid Lapp, if he was standing by, must have thought his employers had gone crazy, so boisterous was their gladness at the unexpected reunion. XJijp had thoughtfully brought an instalment of food and wine to meet their present wants, and it was with m'atcful as well as with lightened hearts that the little band of fellow-countrymen sat down to the unwonted feast. The Lapp was not forgotten. Beside the payment agreed upon, gifts were added in recognition of the wonderfully speedy nicinner in which he bad brought back the letter— less than half the time he had taken when going with his sailor companion. The simple fellow was made happy by being rigged out as a Hollander with an r.ssortment of cast-off garments. It did not take long to launch the boats and proceed to Kola, where in the river lay Jan Eijp's good ship, and a warm welcome awaited them from the crew, some of whon. had taken part in the previous year's expedi- tion. " On the 3rd September," says the record, " we unladed all our goods, and there refreshed ourselves after our toylesome and weary journey, and the great hunger that we had indured, thereby to recover our healthes and strengthes againe." The two stout boats in which they had made the long voyage of sixteen ^>^/:«F< !!■ iff - :l\ 1'^ 254 Ou^ 7ml k the Old Voyagers huiKlred miles, through the desolate northern seas, were laid up under cover in the merchants' quarter of the town, and crowds gathered to stare at them and ask questions about the intrepid navigators. And so Heemskerck and his men sailed liome with Jan Rijp, and on the first day of November they set foot on the stones of Amsterdam. Out of the original crew of seventeen, only twelve survived, and these had long since been counted as cast away and dead. When it was noised abroad that Pfeemskerck's men were come back, everyone rushed to catch sight of them, and the burghers' wives lifted up their rosy-cheeked babes to see the travel-stained voyagers in their thick clothes and white fox-skin caps, as they went, by special invitation, to tell their story before Prince ^laurice and the foreign ambassadors. There was only one sobering thought amid the general enthusiasm— the sense of sad regret that William Barents, the true, stout-hearted captain who had done so much to cheer and sustain the hearts of his men, had not lived to yhare with them the welcome home. NOTE. All interesting discovery of relics relating to the liaients expedition was made l>y an Englishman as rccentlv as 1870. In his yacht, Qlow-worm, Mr. o td H > »-« '/ o o d 01 CD 255 )>^ i'i :!i s;i li!i!^ M It: With Barents to Nova Zembla 257 Charles Gardiner ventured into the ice-laden waters of the Kara Sea, and on 29th of July reached Barents Haven. Amid fog and drifting snow he set to work diligently and methodically to find out how nuich remained of the old wooden house erected two hundred and eij^hty years l»(;fore. The structure itself was in ruins, hut a hundred or more articles were picked out and brought away : — "Eemains of carpenters' tools, broken parts of old weapons, and sailors' materials ; a wooden stamp with a seal, a leaden inkstand, two goose-feather writing- pens, a small iron pair of compas3e'=', a little cubic die- stone, a heavy harpoon with ring, besides twenty well- preserved wax candles, probably the oldest in existence. Ijesides these, there were three Dutch books, two Dutch coins, an old Amsterdam ell-measure, together with the ship's flag of Amsterdam, having been the first European colour which passed a winter in the Arctic regions." Perhaps the most interesting find of all was that of the letter or statement written by Barents and hung up, just before leaving, in a powder-flask suspended in the chinniey. The writing, all but a few words, was found to be quite legible. AT these relics were courteously and generously handed ove; by Mr. Gardiner to the Dutch Government. He, however, was not the first to visit and explore the spot. Five years earlier, Captain EUing Carlsen, 11 l!i!l 258 02it with the Old Voyagers sailing from Hmuuieii'ist, had niadc his way to V.avcnts Haven, and diggin<; about on the spot, had found the house fallen into decay, but otherwise just as the Hollanders had left it. The friendly snow had covered it up in a firm white casing, and the various articles which had been left behin'l in the house when lUirents and his men 8(!t out on their homeward journey were in surprisingly good condition. Five seaman's chests were found, which contained files, sledge-hammers, compasses, engravings, a flute, etc. The fireplace had evidently occupied the middle of the floor, and two copper cooking-pans slill stood on the long since extinguished embers. The great clock, which for a while was kept going to mark the weary hours was also found, and the alarum belonging to it. There were also several candlesticks, a crowbar,"a great iron chest; and a grindstone, which had probably sharpened the point of many a hunting- spear and the edge of many an axe. All these relics were brought away, and were finally purchased by the Dutch Government to be preserved as national treasures in the Naval Department at the Hague. "NOimr-RAST OR NOimi WEST?" THE FOUR VOYAUIW OP HENRY HUDSON 1G07-1010 OW yoii I'^nglish leave your dead about the world," was the remark of a foreigner to one of our countrymen. Whether that was said flippantly, or scornfully, or with a secret grudging admiration, matters not. It is true— and we are proud that it is true. We of the great Anglo-Saxon race are a restless, roving people, who turn up in all sorts of places, and have a tinger in all sorts of enterprises. Dut we are more than mere desultory globe-trotters. The Englishman abroad is a strenuous worker, who usually sets his hand to a big task as much from the love of carrying it through and con(iueriiig dilH- culties as from the shrewd hope of solid gain, which was hifv c xuse for taking it up. Indeed this is one of the most striking characteristics of the typical Euglish- man— the union of what we may call a business aim 259 26o Out 7ci//i ihc Old Voyagers Is f 51 f n Hi " HI IliH «ilh a BU'ong K„i,li„g sense of ,l„ty. Tl,i, smrit Im, mrricti us IHv, by Inncl ,«ul by water. " ''mI:!:''''" "■'■'"'" •''''° "»'•'■''''''■«»''■'» -r .v«,y Of the "Old V„y„.,.r," wh„ w,.,, l.:„.,li..h, l,o«- many l.ave ,Iio,l far away fr<„„ U„. little i.,ia,al wMcI, save then, birth .- Si,- Hugh Will„„ghby, on the bleak l^'pluna ahore; Si. II„„,pbroy Gilbert i„ the wave, of '10 West Atlantic; John Davis, beneath the knives of Japanese, pirates ; Hawkins and Drak,-, i„ West In .au waters; Ballin. on the eoast of Ifeia; and ast but not least, Hexuv HunsoN, whose grave an.on.,' the icebergs of the Arctic seas no l„,n,an li„,„, ,, ' over pointed out. Two great water-ways, Hudson Strait and the Iluclson K,ver, and the vast expanse of Hudson Lay, eounnemorate the work of tins bold ex Plorer. But hLstorically the nau.es are n.i.sleading" or the places had been n.arked out on n,aps prepar.: long before Hudson's day. ^Vhat he really did was to go over the explorations of other and earlier adven- turers, determining this and that, and making nmny valuable observations.' Of all the work done by the ' '■ Beatles l,i.5 „w,i original discoveries," asserts oii« ,>f I,- i ■ beo.1 vLsitcil I.v I.;. ,„. I , Amenta which ha.l spirit has •r tlioir very liniifis." ;liali, how uicl whicli tluf Idoak I waves of lie knives in West oiu; and, ve amoiiir iii'^ei- lias and the ITudsoii old ex- sleading, prepared I was to adveii- g many by the f his bio- Jiy nearly iiich had ;uiy, and 77ic Voyages of Hcnyy If uiUo'i 261 old iiuvij^'aloiH in these cold .seas that of Hiidbon may bo said to have been the moat thorough. Wo know singularly little about his life. A very imperfect record of the last four years is all that is spared us. He made four voyages in that time, and in each case the object was to reach the eastern shoves of Asia by r. short route tljrough the unknown northern seas. It was the old tempting prospect of trade with China which (h'ew him, as it had drawn others. The glittering prize was too great to be readily abaniloned. It had cost many lives already, it was to cost one more in the case of Henry Hudson. We usually think of this navigator solely in connec- tion with North America, where his name fignres so prominently on the map. But, as a matter of fact, he thrice set sail with the purpose of attempting to find a North-East Passage. Only his last voyage and the latter part of the third are associated with North America. It mattered little to him whether Cathay was to be reached by a north-east Oi. a north-west route. Finding one way blocked he turned to discover some other channel. The •persistence of his effort , first in one direction, then in another, forms, perhaps, Hudson's chief title to fame, among voyagers. The North-East Passage was the object of his first voyage, and it was undertaken in the year 1G07 on 19 II! f ? ! II ini! it; 1 li 262 Oia zvith the Old Voyao^ers behalf of the I^f uscovy Company (an association formed in the reign of Queen Mary for purposes of trade with Russia). The first part of the route lay round the northern coasts of Norway and Lapland, and led past Spitzhergen or by Nova Zembla. On this occasion Hudson chose the former and more outlying course. Spitsbergen had been discovered only some eleven years before, and little was known about it. In ?,ishopsgate Street, London, there may still be seen the quahit little church of Saint Ethelburga's, where on 10th April, 1G07, small company of mariners met to partake of the sacrament. They were about to leave England on a quest which all knew to be full of risks, and out of the twelve who knelt to receive the cup sonic possibly might never return. The company consisted of " Henry Hudson, master ; William Colines, his mate ; James Young, John Colman, John Cooke, James Beubery, James Skrutton, John rieyce, Thomas Baxter, Eichard Day, James Knight, and John H udson, a boy,"-allgood English names. Tlie boy mentioned was the captain's son, who was destined to share the cruel fate meted out to him four years later. On the 1st of May the crew weighed anchor at Gravesend. Steering north by way of the Shetlands, they sighted and sailed along the Greenland coast from the 13th to the 22nd of June. In those days the coast formed Ic with oi'thern ibergen fi chose :^eii had )re, and still be Iburga's, pany of ley were know to knelt to • return. master ; Colman, )n, John Knight, nes. The , destined )nr years mchor at ands, they b from the the coast The Voyages of Henry Hudson 263 was more approachable; a broad margin of ice has formed since then, and the whereabouts of the places mentioned in the journal are not easy to guess. North- eastward, then, they went, with shrouds and sails freezing. At times snow fell, und still more often a thick fog hung like a low cloud over the sea. For eighteen days they never saw the sun. About the 25th June the increasing number of birds warned them that they were npproacliing land, and two days later the ice-bound coast of Spitzbergen (tlien called Newland) rose in sight. Creeping in, they found themselves in a bay ringed round with mountains. Underneath their keel the still dark water was too deep for them to fathom. Two simple statements in the journal were destined to have impor' t consequences. They recur several times, " We saw many seals," " We saw many whales." IMention is also made of the walrus. The publication of these facts led directly to the Spitzbergen fisheries being established. In 1613 the Muscovy Company obtained sole rights ; and their agents stood upon i\\om rights in a sufhciently truculent maimer, to the dis- comfiture of foreign fishing -barks wlio came to get their share. On the 27th July the ice again made progress dangerous, and the crashing and jarring of the loose masses became so alarming that the crew hoisted out their one boat and endeavoured to tow the ship out flu III! li 1! 264 Out with lite Old Voyasers into clearer >vatei-. But a heavy sea was tunuiui;, h.k1 the rowevs were not sorry when a breeze sprang »P whieh mied the sails and saved them further exertion. About this time Hudson made one of his diseovorves He had wished to get round the north of Greenland into Davis Straits, and so hon.e. He found there was no water-way existing. So ho desisted and eame home, „Ue to write against yet one move Aretio door one n,oro supposed outlet, the words, "No thoroughfare. Some of Hudson's most useful diseoveries were to be ot this uegative kind, showing what could mt be done and therefore what need not be further attempted. The homeward journey was made mA Cherie Island and the Faroes, and by the loth of September the ship was in the Thames. On the 22nd April, 1608, Hudson and his little son, with a crew of thirteen hands, again left London, u, the service of the Muscovy Company. Bounding the northernmost point of the Norway coast, they met the loose ice, and ran boldly m among it One morning there was great excitement on board. Says the old record: "One of our compame lookmg overboord saw a mermaid, and calling up ««'"^ »' '- companie to see her, one move can.e up, and by th tinr. she was come close to the sh.p's side, looking earnestly on the men. A little after, a sea canie and overturned her. . . . Her body was as big as one of „,. l,cr skin very white, and long haire hanging downc The Voyages of Henry Hudson 265 downe behinde, of colour blacke. In her going downe they saw her tayle, which was like the tayle of a porposse, p'a ' ,seckled like a macrell." Tiie entry for 20th J.ime mentions that "heere we heard beares roar on the ice; and wee saw upon the ice and ueare unto it an incredible number of seals." The ship was now approaching Nova Zembla. The last European visitors to that dreary region had been Barents and Heemskerck, whose trials and adventures have been narrated in a previous chapter ; and Hudson seems to have had information about their stay there.^ On 26th June the land was sighted. On the beach stood one of those wooden crosses ■* which Barents had seen at different points. Tlieir origin and meaning is, we believe, still a mystery ; the cross is a Christian symbol, but it is also used by some heathen tribes and treated with great reverence. Going ashore the men noticed the footprints of huge bears, besides those of deer and foxes. Herds of walrus were swimming in the calm waters, and one island rock was crowded with their clumsy bodies. The ^ Barents was before Hudson, but two English navigators were before Barents. Pet and Jack man explored these cold seas in 1580, and a Dutch translation of their journals was found in the wooden house where Barents had wintered. Earlier still, in 1553, the ill- fated Sir Hugh Willoughby had sighted the western coast of Nova Zembla, part of which is called after him. The name Nova Zembla (or Novaia Zenilaia) is, however, a reminder that the Portuguese had penetrated liere a century before. iK ^Mri i im^ \ljW smaitmammmim m ¥ hi \IW ■ \< 111 266 Oiti with the Old Voyagers sicrht was tempting, and Hudson sent the whole of his cmw a-hunting, but the herd took fright and slid off into the sea, all escaping save one. Tlie massive head with its gleaming tusks was brought on board, along witli a supply of seabirds' eggs. Numbers of white deer were seen, and there appeared to be plenty of herbage for them,— moss and ilowers and grass. The drift-i'ce was still a source of anxiety. Here is an extract which we take fro.u the log-book entry for 2nd July ; it gives us some idea of the dangers faced by the crew 'of this tiny ship and the spirit in which they were met : " At sixe a clocke this morning, came much ice from the southward driving upon us, very fearfull to looke on ; but by the mercy of God and His mightie helpe, wee being moored with two anchors ahead with vering out of one cable and heaving home the other, and fending off with beames and sparres, escaped the danger; which labour continued till sixe a clocke in the^eevening, and then it was past us, and we rode still and tooke our rest this night." Hudson has a good word to say about Nova Zembla, which was far less desolate than he had expected it would be ; but his disai^pointment was great at finding no water-way through which he could penetrate to the Eastern Sea. It seemed strange to the crew as they came home- ward to have to " light up " of an evening, for, from the 19th of May to the 27th of July, the never-setting sun The Voyages of Henry Hudson 267 had been their Ccandle day and night. Gravesend was reached on the 2Gth Augubi;. In March, 1609, Hudson was off once more, this time in the service of the Dutch East India Company. The starting-phace was Amsterdnm, and the object in view was, as before, the discovery of a North-East Passage. His previous journey had convinced him that the only hope of such a passage was by the Straits of Waygatz, and this he was not then in a position to attempt. In May he again found himself saihng past the great bird-haunted headland of the North Cape, in perpetual daylight. But as he drew near Nova Zembla the ice-barriers looked so impenetrable, that the attempt was given up. Failing the North -East, Hudson resolved to try the North-West. Accordingly his ship, the Half Moon, was headed westward and southward, and through fog and rain they ran for the Faroe Islands. Two Englislimen had recently been " hammering at the great North-West Gate" — John Knight in 1606, and Captain George Weymouth, four years earlier. The discoveries of the latter were known to the Hollantlers, and Hudson took with him, when he sailed from Amsterdam in 1609, the coast tracings of liis brother- voyager. It is not too much' to say that Weymouth "lighted Hudson into the Strait," as ii -:-^ L^.:*&.*MiA±j2:^JM^^ ml f i ' H! Hi! V J , 268 Ou^ with the Old Voyagers one old writer puts it, in the following year. Hudson Strait we call it, but Weymouth had preceded hiui down this great opening for a long distance. A south-west 'ard course brought Hudson and his Hollanders to the already famous fishing-grounds of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, and they found a ilee*- of Frenchmen busily engaged there. A little later they themselves tried their luck with the lines and caught a hundred and eighteen big cod. By the 4th of August they were as far south as Stage Harbour, Massachusetts, and, a little later, off the South Carolina coast; after which they returned north. In the midst of a monotonous series of ships' reckonings, plain matter-of-fact entries, which make up the journal about this time, it is quite a relief to come across a genuine bit of sailor superstition, like the following : " This night our cat ranue crying from one side of the ship to the other looking overboord, which made us to wonder; but we saw nothing." This little incident probably loosed a good. many tongues on the subject of apparitions and warnings given by duv.il) creatures, weird tales that could be told with pretty considerable effect on a little lonely ship anchored in a fog. Early in September the Kalf Moon was ofi' the broken coast-line where now upon the map we lind in bold letters the name. New York. The city then was The Voyages of Henry Hudson 269 not even begun ; it was owing to the favourable report 1)rouglit home by Hudson, endorsed by later visitorH, thnt led a band of Dutch adventniers to settle there. From the fort and factory then built, on an island at the mouth of the Hudson Eiver, spiaug the modern city with all its wealth and activity. Hudson stood in, and began to look about him. " A pleasant land to fall with and a pleasant land to see," is the comment in the journal. In the harbour, which is also praised, some good fishing was got, one gigantic ray being hauled up, which took four men to lift it into the boat. Great oak-woods covered part of the country. The Indian tribes who came out to traffic with the visitors seemed the only inhabitants. Some of these wore capable of mischief, as a boat's crew found to their cost. These men had been sent to explore part of an inlet four leagues distant, and they were coming back with good news of the fragrant stretch of field and forest which had delighted them, when they were attacked by two canoes, full of armed natives. Hudson's men defended themselves vigorously, but night closed in and rain began to fall. This put out the matches, and without firearms the crew were in evil plight. Two of their number were wounded ; and another, Jolin Colnian who had shipped with Hudson before on his first voyage, was shot in the throat with an arrow. All night tlicy rowed to and fro, vainly endeavouring in the A^:*^ '"t 'riTiiBi -Hi TriMhii<8W«ji||jMajjB )•> N 270 Oit^ zvith the Old Voy aiders black darkness to find the sliip, and it was not till ten o'clock next mornini,' that tlio poor, weary fellows returned, brinj^ing with them the dead body of their comrade. It is but fair to say that these North American Indians were by no means unprovoked in their enmity to European ships. The acts of violence done by traders were quite as numerous as the acts of treachery on the part of the natives.^ Often a peaceful landing- party would get slain, in requital of the wanton cruelties of some boat's crew years before. Among savage races a wrong is remembered, and revenge wailed for, year after year ; and sometimes it happens that the blow falls upon innocent heads. In the case of Ifenry Hudson's men, the mistrustful spirit they harboured against the natives wtis in marked contrast with the frank kindness which their captain preferred to show. The Half Moon then proceeded up the Hudson Eiver. (This river had been discovered previously by the Italian Verazzano in 1524.) The grand scenery must have impressed everyone on board. The Catskill Mountains (hereafter to be inseparably associated with 1 Tliis is fnuikly admitted often enough. Hero is an instance from the journal of the third voyage: "-JiiJu 25/A. — In tlic morning wee manned our scute (boat) with fonre muskets nnd sixc men, and tooke one of their shallops {i.e. seized one of the Indian canoes.) Then we maimed our boat witli twelve men and muskets, and drave the savages from their houses, and tooke the spoyle of them, */.s- ihe.]i icmdd hare done of us." Tlie last sentence is delicious in its self-justilication. ON TIIR HUDSON RIVF.K. Ii71 }> »!iJ?SlB««*< ••• ■*.--.■ 'i^l :W^6»'>** i! fi The Voyages of llcnry Hudson 273 the Dutch-niado k-gend of liip van Winkle)/ lift their masses of grey and purple above the climbing woods often in precipices of a tliousand feet, sheer from the water's edge; and many of the peaks are three and four times tliat height. The Half Moon crept up tlie river by easy stages, until her boat, which had been sent on ahead, brought back word that for heavy cral't it was only navigable for a few leagues further. The return journey then commenced. From time to time trafficking took place with the Indians, who brought fruit and maize and tobacco, besides otter and beaver skins, and the like. Friendly intercourse and exchange of hospitalities alternated, as they proceeded, with many sharp aOrays ; the crew resenting with blows the thievish tricks of the Kedskins. On the 4th October the ship " came out of the river, into which we had run so farre." The home- ward voyage was uneventful, and Dartmouth was reached early in November. It woi.id seem that the story of Hudson's successful voyage quickly came to the ears of the English Govern- ment. The Half Moon was allowed, after a short delay, to continue her voyage to Amsterdam, but her captain was requested to remain and await further orders. Eventually he was commissioned to make another * Those wlio do not already know tho delightful story of Rip van Winkle, and how he came upon the ghosts of Hudson's crew playing nine-pins in a hollow of the mountains, may find it in Washington 1 wing's Sketch Book. WF^ 'If 274 Ofi/ with the Old Voya\^ci's expedition to the Noitli-Wcst, and atteuiipt lo coi'ipleto wl I Jotin Davis had so nobly bcj^'im. ''hree Eu<^!isli j^ciitleincn canu! forvvaid to pvovidu the i.iuaus, and on 17ili April, KUU, Hudson wt-nt aboard the DUcovery, and s«i'<'d from the Thaiut'S on what provcu to be his last voya<,^e. As they neared Tchuid, the lurid <;laro from the flery summit of Hccla wa,, seen reddenin.t^ the sky. The men were allowed to go ashore, and found much amuse- ment in the hot springs, which are a natural curiosity of the island ; some of thom stripped and had " a bath hot enough to scald a fowle." Then away they sailed into the ice -infested seas about the Greenland Coast, and so, with a westerly course they entered and passed up Hudson Strait, till they rounded Cape AVolstenholmo, about the ord of August. At this stage our copy of Hudson's journal breaks off abruptly. The fact of so much lieing missing has an ugly significance, in view of what was about to happen. The missing pages probably contained references to the rebellious spirit of a section of the crew, and if we had them we should most likely be able to trace the events which culminated at last in open mutiny. "What we know of the remainder of the voyage is gathered from two other sources. It scorns that already there had lieen serious mur- muriiigs on board. Discontent, and fear of being cnuglit and crushed in the ice, made the men flaiu/^M' for lor The Voyai^es of Ifcnry Ifndson 275 rutvini. lIu(l8on refused to enturtuiii such an idea; \\v. was lu'iit, oil r\i»loriiij^ the Strait "'id the great Bay, whieli were in iture to be call * .^-r him. South- ward down th" (uist cnaKt of lludnon Hay sailed the little 8hii», till it had reached the extreme southern corner. Wini r set in, and the scarcity of i.itions bej^'an to tell upon the crew, depressed and sullen with what they considereU fruitless wanderin;^. Suspicion and mistrust poisoned the hearts of many, and the captain is said to have accused one and >uother of hiding supplies of food. Thus in unhappy wise the weeks and months went by. On Saturday, 21st June, the climax came. At night the more headstrong of the disaHected party took matters into their own hands. There svas not more than a fortnight's food left. It was resoi ved that the captain and all the sick men should be ])ut into the ship's boat, and left to fend for themselv s. Neither anger nor argument availed. All that tht mutineers would p^ree to was to wait until morning belcre putting their plan into execution "Then," says the old record, "the shallop N'-as haled up to the ship side, and the poore, sicke, and 1 me men were called upon to get out of their cabliins into the shallop." The carpenter, John King, loyally re used to leave his captain, and followed him into the bout, only requesting that his tool-chest should be giv* a him, which was done. Firearms, food, and a few utensils r '*i«ia^S^Me*i^ IIP 1^'^Ti't nr w fff j-cTtf jiilt 276 Out with the Old Voyagers were haiiaea down, and tlie boat was thou cut adrift. And so tho brave navigator and his little yon, with the stout-hearted carpenter and six helpless seamen, were abandoned to their fate. How long the frail boat managed to survive among the drift-ice of that inhos- pitable region, we know not. Fancy alone can follow it through those last dreadful days of cold, hunger, and despair. When the top-sails of the receding shii) had passed out of sight, all hope vanished too. The end was merely a question of time, and whether it came by daylight, when the bright June sunshine only showed up the dreariness of the scene, or in the darkness of the freezing night, none can tell. Iil!i ii! THE END. I!1i t 'Ii < rUlNTliD liV MOUinSON ANb Gllil) I-IMITr.l), EDINIIURGU <