The last voyage of the worshipfull M. Thomas Candish
esquire, intended for the South sea, the Philippinas,
and the coast of China
, with 3. tall ships, and two
barks: Written by M. John Jane, a man of good observation, imployed in the same, and many other voyages.
THE 26. of August 1591, wee departed from Plimmouth
with 3. tall ships, and two barkes, The Galeon wherein
M. Candish went himselfe being Admiral, The Roebucke
vice admirall whereof M. Cocke was Captaine, The Desire Rereadmirall whereof was Captaine M. John Davis (with
whom and for whose sake I went this voyage) The Blacke
pinnesse, and a barke of M. Adrian Gilbert, whereof M.
Randolfe Cotton was Captaine.
The 29. of November wee fell with the bay of Salvador
upon the coast of Brasil
12. leagues on this side Cabo
Frio, where wee were becalmed untill the second of
December: at which time wee tooke a small barke bound
for the
River of Plate with sugar, haberdash wares, and
Negros. The Master of this barke brought us unto an
yle called Placencia thirtie leagues West from Cabo Frio,
where wee arrived the fift of December, and rifled sixe
or seven houses inhabited by Portugales. The 11 . wee
departed from this place, and the fourteenth we arrived
at the yle of S. Sebastian: from whence M. Cocke and
Captaine Davis presently departed with The Desire and
the blacke pinnesse, for the taking of the towne of Santos
.
The 15. at evening we anckered at the barre of Santos
,
from whence we departed with our boates to the towne;
and the next morning about nine of the clocke wee came
to Santos
, where being discovered, wee were inforced to
land with 24. gentlemen, our long boat being farre a
sterne, by which expedition wee tooke all the people of
the towne at Masse both men and women, whom wee
kept all that day in the Church as prisoners. The cause
why master Candish desired to take this towne was to
supply his great wants: For being in Santos
, and having
it in quiet possession, wee stood in assurance to supply
all our needes in great abundance. But such was the
negligence of our governour master Cocke, that the
Indians were suffered to carry out of the towne whatsoever
they would in open viewe, and no man did controll them:
and the next day after wee had wonne the towne, our
prisoners were all set at libertie, onely foure poore olde
men were kept as pawnes to supply our wants. Thus in
three dayes the towne that was able to furnish such
another Fleete with all kinde of necessaries, was left unto
us nakedly bare, without people and provision.
Eight or tenne dayes after master Candish himselfe
came thither, where hee remained untill the 22. of January, seeking by intreatie to have that, whereof we were
once possessed. But in conclusion wee departed out of
the towne through extreeme want of victuall, not being
able any longer to live there, and were glad to receive
a fewe canisters or baskets of Cassavi meale; so that
in every condition wee went worse furnished from the
towne, then when wee came unto it. The 22. of January
we departed from Santos
, and burnt Sant Vincent to the
ground. The 24. we set saile, shaping our course for
the Streights of Magellan.
The seventh of February we had a very great storme,
and the eighth our Fleet was separated by the fury of
the tempest. Then our Captaine called unto him the
Master of our ship, whom hee found to be a very honest
and sufficient man, and conferring with him he concluded
to goe for Port Desire, which is in the Southerly latitude
of 48. degrees; hoping that the Generall would come
thither, because that in his first voyage he had found
great relief there. For our Captaine could never get
any direction what course to take in any such extremities,
though many times hee had intreated for it, as often I
have heard him with griefe report. In sayling to this
port by good chance we met with The Roe-bucke, wherein
master Cocke had endured great extremities, and had lost
his boate, and therefore desired our Captaine to keepe
him company, for hee was in very desperate case. Our
Captaine hoised out his boate, and went abord him to
know his estate, and returning tolde us the hardnesse
thereof, and desired the Master and all the company to
be carefull in all their watches not to loose The Roebucke, and so wee both arrived at Port Desire the sixth
of March.
The 16. of March The Blacke pinnesse came unto us,
but master Gilberts barke came not, but returned home
to England
, having their Captaine abord the Roe-bucke
without any provision more then the apparell that hee
wore, who came from thence abord our ship to remaine
with our Captaine, by reason of the great friendship
betweene them. The 18. the Galeon came into the road,
and master Candish came into the harborough in a boat
which he had made at sea; for his long boat and lighthorseman were lost at sea, as also a pinnesse which he
had built at Santos
: and being abord The Desire he tolde
our Captaine of all his extremities, and spake most hardly
of his company, and of divers gentlemen that were with
him, purposing no more to goe abord his owne ship, but
to stay in
The Desire. We all sorrowed to heare such
hard speaches of our good friends; but having spoken
with the gentlemen of the Galeon wee found them faithfull, honest, and resolute in proceeding, although it pleased
our Generall otherwise to conceive of them.
The 200. of March we departed from Port Desire, master
Candish being in
The Desire with us. The eighth of
April 1592, wee fell with the Streights of Magellan, induring many furious stormes betweene Port Desire and
the Streight. The 14. we passed through the first
Streight. The 16. we passed the second Streight being
ten leagues distant from the first. The 18. we doubled
Cape Froward, which Cape lieth in 53. degrees and 1/2.
The 21. wee were inforced by the fury of the weather
to put into a small coove with our ships, 4. leagues from
the said Cape, upon the South shoare, where wee remained
until the 5. of May. In the which time wee indured
extreeme stormes, with perpetual snow, where many of
our men died with cursed famine, and miserable cold,
not having wherewith to cover their bodies, nor to fill
their bellies, but living by muskles, water, and weeds of
the sea, with a small reliefe of the ships store in meale
sometimes. And all the sicke men in the Galeon were
most uncharitably put a shore into the woods in the
snowe, raine, and cold, when men of good health could
skarcely indure it, where they ended their lives in the
highest degree of misery, master Candish all this while
being abord the Desire. In these great extremities of
snow and cold, doubting what the ende would be, he
asked our Captaines opinion, because he was a man that
had good experience of the Northwest parts, in his 3.
severall discoveries that way, imployed by the marchants
of London
. Our Captaine tolde him, that this snow was
a matter of no long continuance, and gave him sufficient
reason for it, and that thereby hee could not much be
prejudiced or hindered in his proceeding. Notwithstanding he called together all the company, and tolde them,
that he purposed not to stay in the Streights, but to
depart upon some other voyage, or else to returne againe
for Brasil
. But his resolution was to goe for the
Cape
of Buena Esperanza. The company answered, that if it
pleased him, they did desire to stay Gods favour for a
winde, and to indure all hardnesse whatsoever, rather
then to give over the voyage, considering they had bene
here but a smal time, and because they were within fourtie
leagues of the
South sea, it grieved them now to returne;
notwithstanding what hee purposed that they would performe. So hee concluded to goe for the
Cape of Buena
Esperanza, and to give over this voyage. Then our
Captaine, after master Candish was come abord The
Desire from talking with the company, tolde him, that
if it pleased him to consider the great extremitie of his
estate, the slendernesse of his provisions, with the weakenesse of his men, it was no course for him to proceed in
that newe enterprize : for if the rest of your shippes (said
hee) bee furnished answerable to this, it is impossible to
performe your determination: for wee have no more sailes
then mastes, no victuals, no ground-tackling, no cordage
more then is over head, and among seventie and five
persons, there is but the Master alone that can order the
shippe, and but foureteene saylers. The rest are gentlemen, servingmen, and artificers. Therefore it will be a
desperate case to take so hard an enterprize in hand.
These perswasions did our Captaine not onely use to
master Candish, but also to master Cocke. In fine upon
a petition delivered in writing by the chiefe of the whole
company, the Generall determined to depart out of The
Streights of Magellan, and to returne againe for Santos
in Brasil
.
So the 15. of May wee set saile, the Generall then being
in the Galeon. The eighteenth wee were free of the
Streights, but at
Cape Froward it was our hard hap to
have our boat sunke at our sterne in the night, and to be
split and sore spoiled, and to loose all our ores.
The twentieth of May being thwart of Port Desire, in
the night the Generall altered his course, as we suppose,
by which occasion wee lost him: for in the evening he
stood close by a winde to seaward, having the winde at
Northnortheast, and wee standing the same way, the
winde not altering, could not the next day see him: so
that we then perswaded our selves, that hee was gone
for Port Desire to relieve himselfe, or that hee had sustained some mischance at Sea, and was gone thither to
remedy it. Whereupon our Captaine called the Generals
men unto him, with the rest, and asked their opinion what
was to bee done. Every one sayde, that they thought
that the Generall was gone for Port Desire. Then the
Master being the Generals man, and carefull of his
masters service, as also of good judgement in
Sea-matters,
tolde the company howe dangerous it was to goe for Port
Desire, if wee shoulde there misse the Generall: for (saide
hee) wee have no boate to lande our selves, nor any
cables nor anckers that I dare trust in so quicke streames
as are there: yet in all likelyhood concluding that the
Generall was gone thither, wee stayed our course for
Port Desire, and by chance mette with the Blacke pinnesse, which had likewise lost the Fleete, being in very
miserable case: so wee both concluded to seeke the
Generall at Port Desire.
The sixe and twentieth day of May we came to Port
Desire, where not finding our Generall, as we hoped,
being most slenderly victualled, without sailes, boate,
ores, nailes, cordage, and all other necessaries for our
reliefe, wee were strooken into a deadly sorrow. But
referring all to the providence and fatherly protection of
the Almightie, wee entered the harbour, and by Gods
favour found a place of quiet roade, which before wee
knewe not. Having mored our shippe with the pinnesses
boate, wee landed upon the South shore, where wee found
a standing poole of fresh water, which by estimation
might holde some tenne tunnes, whereby wee were greatly
comforted. From this poole wee fet more then fortie
tunnes of water, and yet we left the poole as full as wee
found it. And because at our first being in this harbour
wee were at this place and found no water, we perswaded
our selves that God had sent it for our reliefe. Also
there were such extraordinary low ebbes as we had never
seene, whereby wee got muskles in great plentie. Likewise God sent about our shippes great abundance of
smelts, so that with hookes made of pinnes every man
caught as many as hee coulde eate: by which meanes wee
preserved our ships victuals, and spent not any during
the time of our abode here.
Our Captaine and Master falling into the consideration
of our estate and dispatch to goe to the Generall, found
our wants so great, as that in a moneth wee coulde not
fitte our shippe to set saile. For wee must needes set
up a Smiths forge, to make boltes, spikes, and nayles,
besides the repairing of our other wants. Whereupon
they concluded it to bee their best course to take the
pinnesse, and to furnish her with the best of the company,
and to goe to the Generall with all expedition, leaving the
shippe and the rest of the company untill the Generals
returne; for hee had vowed to our Captaine, that hee
would returne againe for the Streights, as hee had tolde
us. The Captaine and Master of the pinnesse being the
Generals men were well contented with the motion.
But the Generall having in our shippe two most pestilent fellowes, when they heard of this determination they
utterly misliked it, and in secret dealt with the company
of both shippes, vehemently perswading them, that our
Captaine and Master would leave them in the countrey
to bee devoured of the Canibals, and that they were
mercilesse and without charitie: whereupon the whole
company joyned in secret with them in a night to murther
our Captaine and Master, with my selfe, and all those
which they thought were their friendes. There were
markes taken in his caben howe to kill him with muskets
through the shippes side, and bullets made of silver for
the execution, if their other purposes should fable. All
agreed hereunto, except it were the boteswaine of our
shippe, who when hee knew the matter, and the slender
ground thereof, reveiled it unto our Master, and so to
the Captaine. Then the matter being called in question,
those two most murtherous fellowes were found out,
whose names were Charles Parker and Edward Smith.
The Captaine being thus hardly beset in perill of famine,
and in danger of murthering, was constrained to use
lenitie, and by courteous meanes to pacific this furie:
shewing, that to doe the Generall service, unto whom
he had vowed faith in this action, was the cause why hee
purposed to goe unto him in the pinnesse, considering,
that the pinnesse was so necessary a thing for him, as that
hee could not bee without her, because hee was fearefull
of the shore in so great shippes. Whereupon all cried
out with cursing and swearing, that the pinnesse should
not goe unlesse the shippe went. Then the Captaine
desired them to shewe themselves Christians, and not
so blasphemously to behave themselves, without regard
or thankesgiving to God for their great deliverance, and
present sustenance bestowed upon them, alleaging many
examples of Gods sharpe punishment for such ingratitude;
and withall promised to doe any thing that might stand
with their good liking. By which gentle speaches the
matter was pacified, and the Captaine and Master at the
request of the company were content to forgive this great
treachery of Parker and Smith, who after many admonitions concluded in these wordes : The Lord judge betweene
you and mee: which after came to a most sharpe revenge
even by the punishment of the Almightie. Thus by a
generall consent it was concluded not to depart, but there
to stay for the Generals returne. Then our Captaine and
Master, seeing that they could not doe the Generall that
service which they desired, made a motion to the companie, that they would lay downe under their handes the
losing of the Generall, with the extremities wherein we
then stoode: whereunto they consented, and wrote under
their hands as followeth.
