The victorious voyage of Captaine Amias Preston now
knight, and Captaine George Sommers to the West
India, begun in March 1595. Wherein the yle of
Puerto Santo, the yle of Coche neere Margarita, the
fort and towne of Coro
, the stately city of S. Iago de
Leon were taken sacked and burned, and the towne of
Cumana
ransomed, & Jamaica
entred. Written by
Robert Davie one of the company.
CAPTAINE AMIAS PRESTON, and captaine Sommers, both
valiant gentlemen & discreet commanders, lying ready
with two tall ships, the Ascension and the Gift, and a
small pinnesse at
Plimmouth, for the space of a moneth
attending the comming of captaine Jones their consort,
which in al that time, through the bad dealing of those
which he put in trust, could not make his ship in readines,
according to his appointment, the 12. of March 1595. set
forward on their voyage for the West Indies. We with
captaine Jones in the Derling, and Captaine Prowse in the
Angel, followed after them the 19. of the said moneth.
The last of March, captaine Preston by giving chase to a
saile, was separated from captaine Sommers, and his
pinnesse, so that they utterly lost sight ech of other:
whereupon captain Preston
in his ship alone, resolved to
surprise the yle of Puerto santo, and shortly after came
before the same. This yland standeth in the Northerly
latitude of 33. degrees, and lieth to the Northward of the
yle of Madera, and is inhabited by old souldiers, which the
kings of Portugal
were wont to reward for their former
olde services, by placing of them there. This yland is
rich in come, wine, & oile: and hath good store of sheep,
asses, goats & kine: they have also plenty of foules,
fishes, & fruits. Captaine Preston comming before this
yland with one ship only sought with 2. long boats to land
his men & to force the same: but the people were on shore
in warlike array, with baricados & trenches made, ready
to withstand them. Whereupon, considering the great
danger, and disadvantage of the place, he caused his
people to returne abord againe. And the next morning
3 or 4 houres before day, he landed in a place of greater
security, with 60 men onely, who lay closely in a chapel,
to defend themselves from the raine til break of the day,
and so marched forward upon the backs of their enemies,
which kept their baricados upon the shore. By this time
the enemie was 500 strong. But, being so suddenly surprised, after some resistance of our muskets, when they
saw our pikes approch, and had tasted somewhat of their
force they began to flee into certaine thickets, & shrubs,
thinking from thence to gall our men: but with very litle
or no losse at all, our men dislodged them of that place
also. Hereupon, they all fled toward the chiefe towne of
the yland: but once againe they thought to make a new
stand at a certaine house by the way, from whence they
were repulsed by captaine Roberts. So in the flight part
of them were slaine, and an ensigne, which one captaine
Harvey
an English man had lost not long before, was
recovered: and the chiefe towne it selfe was by our men
wholly woon and possessed. But before the entrance of
our men they had conveighed their wives, their children,
and the rest of their goods into an exceeding high hil
which standeth neere the towne, and could not be conquered, but with exceeding losse. Although they sent
divers times to redeeme their towne, which was very faire
and large, yet in regard of their crueltie and treachery,
which they used towards captaine Harvey
and his people,
captaine Preston would shew them no favour, but utterly
burnt their towne to ashes, and sent his men to wast the
rest of their villages of the yland, preferring the honour
& just revenge of his country men, before his owne
private gaine, & commodity. And so with small pillage
and great honour he retired in safetie and all his small
company with him, from the conquered yland unto his
ship. But we in our ship met not with him, untill the 12.
of April following. We therefore in the Derling pursuing
our voyage, had sight of the yles of the Canaries the 6 of
April, and the 8 of the same, we watered on the Southeast
side of the grand Canaria. There we met with capt.
Sommers, & his pinnesse, & 3 ships of Hampton
, in one
whereof was cap. Willis
. The 9 of April we al departed
for Tenerif to seeke captaine Preston: and standing over
towards Tenerif, the 9 day at night I came into captaine
Sommers ship. The 10 in the morning we brake our
maine yard, yet we recovered Tenerif, & the same day
towards night we ankered under the southside of the
same. There I went aland in our boat, & found 3 or 4
fisher boats, and brought one of them off. The rest
bulged themselves. Here we rode to mend our yard til
the 11 at night: then we set saile to find captaine Amias
Preston: and standing towards Gomera
, the 12 in the
morning we had sight of him. Then we thought to have
landed in Gomera
: but the wind blew so much, that we
could not. So we departed altogether with joy the 13 of
April, & set our course for the West Indies. And the 8 of
May next ensuing, we arrived at the yland of Dominica
.
In all which time nothing happened unto us saving this,
that the 18 day of April at midnight, our admiral lost her
long boat in towing. We staied at Dominica
til the 14 of
May, to refresh our sicke men. Here the Indians came
unto us in canoas made of an whole tree, in some wherof
were 3 men, in some 4 or 6, & in others 12 or 14, and
brought in them plantans, pinos, and potatos, and trucked
with us, for hatchets, knives, & small bead-stones. Here
in refreshing of our men, we found an hot bath hard
joyning to a cold river side: wherein our sick men bathed
themselves, and were soone recovered of their sicknesses.
This is a goodly yland, and something high land, but al
overgrowen with woods. The 14 we departed from
thence, & the 16 sailing Southwestward, we had sight of
Granada
, but landed not there. The 17 we arrived at the
Testigos & ankered there, and consorted with the 3 ships
of Hampton
, wherin captaine Willis
was. The 18 we
landed our men & tooke view and muster of all, & the
same night set saile away. The 19 we had sight of
Margarita, where the Spaniards by their Indians fish for
pearle : we stood in very neere the rode, but saw nothing
there. Therefore we went no further in, but stood from it
againe. The same day toward night, we had sight of a
litle yland, betweene Margarita & the maine, called
Coche. We came neer it in the night with our ships
within some 3 leagues, & there ankered under the maine
side, and about midnight we manned our pinnesses &
boats, and in the morning about breake of day, we landed
on the yland, wherein are few or none inhabitants, but
they commonly come from Margarita in boats on the
munday, and remaine there fishing for pearles untill the
Saturday, and then returne & cary al that they have taken
to Margarita. Here we tooke some few Spaniards and
Negros their slaves with them, and had some smal quantitie of pearls. We remained on this iland the 20 and 21,
in which time we went a fishing with our seine, and tooke
good store of mullets and other fish, and amongst the rest
drew a shore in the seine a fish called by the Spaniards
Lagarto, and by the Indians Caiman, which is indeed a
Crocodile, for it hath 4 feete and a long taile, and a wide
mouth, and long teeth, & wil devour men. Some of these
Lagartos are in length 16 foot, some 20 foot, and some
30 foot: they have muske in them, and live as wel on
the land, as in the water. The 21 of May we departed
for Cumana
, thinking to have gotten in that night to have
landed: but the current striketh so strong out of the bay
that we could not recover the towne till day light. In the
morning we espied 2 sailes before the towne but could
not fetch them. Here we plied too and againe in the
sound all the forenoone, but could not get up so farre as
the towne. These 2 sailes came roome to us, after they
saw that we were at an anker, & came somewhat neere us,
and sent their skyphs abord our admiral. They were 2
flieboats of Middleburgh
which traded there, & had
secretly advertised the country of our comming, to our
great hinderance: but we knew it not at our first arrivall.
Here they of Cumana
perceiving that we would land,
came to parle with us, and tolde us, if we would land, we
might easily take the towne, for they ment not to withstand us, but that they had caried all their goods into the
mountaines, but, if we would not land to burne and spoile
the towne, they would give us some reasonable ransome,
and any victuals that we wanted. So our general agreed
with them, received their ransome, and departed without
landing. But at our first arrival in this bay, our generals
long boat was sent forth wel manned, and tooke 3 Caravels, but found litle or nothing of value in them: saving
in one were some sides of bacon, and some maiz and
Guiny-wheat. Here we staied til the 23 of May, & in the
evening we set saile, and departed from thence. And the
26 of the same we thought to have landed at a fort that
standeth by the sea-coast in the Caracos, as you go for
S. Iago. This is a marveilous high land, as high as the
pike of Tenerif. We could not land here over night, by
reason of the roughnes of the sea, which goeth in that
place, & there is but one litle creeke against the fort, to
come in with your boat. So, we perceiving no fit place
to land, by reason of the sea, stood away some league to
the West-ward, about a litle head-land, there we ankered
al night: and the 27 in the morning we all landed in
safety, none resisting us. Then we presently set our
selves in aray, and marched toward the fort, & tooke it
without any resistance. Here we remained al the rest
of this day until the 28, about three of the clock in the
afternoone. We found nothing in this fort but a litle
meale, or 2 or 3 tunnes of wine, which by reason of some
disorder amongst the company overcharging themselves
with the wine, our general for the most part caused to be
spilt. While we remained here, some of our company
ranging the woods, found the governor of the fort where
he lay asleepe, brought him to our general: who examined
him touching the state of the citie of S. Iago de Leon
.
Who declared unto us that they had newes of our commind a moneth before, and that they of the towne had
made preparation for our comming: and that if we did go
the common beaten way, it was never possible for us to
passe, for that they had made in the midst of the way
betweene this fort and the said city, an exceeding strong
baricado on the top of a very high hil, the passage being
not above 25 or 30 foot in bredth, & on each side marveilous steep-upright, and the woods so thicke that no
man could passe for his life: which indeed at our returning
backe we found to be true. Upon which speeches our
general demanded of him if there were not any other way:
who answered, there is another way marvellous bad and
very ill to travel, which the Indians do commonly use: but
he thought that the Spaniards had stopt the same, by
cutting downe of great trees and other things, as indeed
they had. This Spaniard was a very weake and sickle
man not able to travel, so our generall sent him abord his
ship, & there kept him. In the taking of our 3 small
Caravels at Cumana
, we had a Spaniard in one of them
that had traveiled these wayes to the citie of S. Iago. He
told us he would cary us thither by any of both these
wayes, if afterward we would set him at libertie: the
which was granted. While we remained at the fort by the
waters side, the Spaniards came downe unto us by the
great & beaten way on horsebacke, who being discovered,
our generall sent out to meete them captaine Roberts with
some 40 or 50 musketeirs, who came to skirmish with
them, but they would not stay. The same day in the
afternoone we marched forth toward S. Iago, & tooke the
Indians way called The unknowen way. In our march we
came to divers Indians houses, which we never hurt, but
passed by and left them untouched: but the Indians were
all fled into the woods, and other places, we know not
whither. We marched until it was night over such high
mountaines, as we never saw the like, and such a way as
one man could scarse passe alone. Our general being in
the forward, at length came whereas a river descended
downe over the mountaines, and there we lodged all that
night. Here in going this way, we found the Spanish
governours confession to be true: for they had baricadoed
the way in divers places with trees, & other things in such
sort, that we were driven to cut our way through the
woods by Carpenters, which we caried with us for that
purpose. The next day being the 29 of May early in the
morning we set forward to recover the tops of the mountaines: but (God knoweth) they were so extreeme high and
so steep-upright, that many of our souldiers fainted by
the way: and when the officers came unto them, and
first entreated them to goe, they answered, they could
goe no further. Then they thought to make them
goe by compulsion, but all was in vaine: they would goe
a little and then lie downe, and bid them kill them, if they
would, for they could not, nor would not goe any further.
Whereby they were enforced to depart, & to leave them
there lying on the ground. To be short, at length with
much ado we gat the top of the mountaines about noone :
there we made a stand til all the company was come up,
and would have stayed longer to have refreshed our men:
but the fogge and raine fell so fast, that wee durst not
stay. So wee made hast to descend towards the towne
out of the fogge and raine: because that in these high
mountaines by report of the Spaniards themselves, it doeth
almost continually raine. Assoone as we were descended
downe neere halfe the way to the towne the raine ceased,
and going downe a little further, on the toppe of a hill we
saw the towne not farre distant from us. Here we all
cleared our muskets: and when our colours came in sight,
we discharged a second volee of shot to the great discouragement of the enemie. Thus we marched on a round
pace. The enemie was in readinesse a little without the
towne to encounter us on horsebacke. Being nowe fully
descended from the mountaines wee came into a faire
plaine champion fielde, without either hedge, bush or
ditch, saving certaine trenches which the water had made,
as it descendeth from the mountaines. Here we set our
selves in a readinesse, supposing the enemie would have
encountered us: but having pitched our maine battell, and
marching forward a good round pace, captaine Beling,
and captaine Roberts tooke ech of them some loose shoot,
and marched in all hast toward the enemie before the
maine battell, wherein was our generall with capt.
Sommers and came to skirmish with them: but it was
soone ended: for the enemie fled. One Spaniard was
slaine in this skirmish, and not any one of our companies
touched either with piece or arrow, God be thanked. We
soone marched into the towne, and had it without any
more resistance: but there we found not the wealth that
we expected: for they had conveyed all into the mountaines, except such goods as they could not easily cary, as
wine, and iron, and such things. By three of the clocke
in the afternoone the 29 of May, we entred the citie.
Here we remained until the 3 of June without anie great
disturbance, saving sometime by night they would come
on horsebacke hard unto our Corps du guard, and finding
us vigilant, and readie for them, would depart againe.
The first of June, there came a Spaniard neere unto us
alone: the Corps du guard perceiving him, called our
General, who soone came towards him: but before he
approched, the Spaniard made signes that he should lay
aside his armes : which he refused to doe, but promised as
he was a souldier, if he would come, hee should have
free passage. Upon which promise hee came to him on
horse-backe, and our General brought him within the
towne, and there communed with him. Who demanded
what he ment to do with the towne: he answered that he
meant to remaine there and keepe it; or if he did depart
from it he would burne it. The Spaniard then demanded,
what the ransome of it should be. Our General required
30000 ducats. Whereunto he replied that it was very
much. So having had some other conference together,
hee shewed him that hee had bene a souldier in Flanders
a long time, and now was sent thither by his kings commandement. Among other things our General demanded
of him, what the reason was they had not walled the citie,
being so faire a thing as that was. The Spaniard replied,
that hee thought it to bee stronger walled than anie citie
in the world, meaning, by those huge & high mountains
which the enemie must passe over before he can approch
it; which we found very true. Thus with many other
faire speeches, he tooke his leave for that day, and told
our Generall, that he would go speake with the governour: (but it might be himselfe, for any thing we know)
howbeit because our General had granted him free comming and going, he suffred him to depart: who before his
departure, requested to have a token of our General, that
he might shew to the Governour how he had spoken with
us, or else he doubted, that he would not beleeve him.
Wherupon our General gave him a piece of 12 pence: so
he departed and promised the next day by ten of the
clocke to returne unto us with an answere: in which
meane time nothing befel. The next day being the 2 of
June, at his houre appointed, he returned with his Indian
running by his horses side. So he was brought to the
Generall, and there remained till after dinner, and dined
in his company in the governours house that was. The
dinner ended, with the best entertainement which could be
given him, they communed again about the ransome of the
citie. Our General proposed his old demand of 30000
ducats. The Spaniard first proffered him 2000, then 3000,
last of all 4000, and more he would not give. Our
General counting it a small summe of money among so
many, did utterly refuse it. So the Spaniard departed.
But before his departure our general told him, that if he
came not to him again before the next day noone, with the
ransome which he demanded, he would set all on fire.
That whole day past, and the night also without any thing
of moment, except some shew of assault, by their approching towards our Corps du guard, and retiring backe
againe. The 3 day being come, in the morning some of
our company went forth, a league or more from the towne,
& some two leagues and more unto certaine villages thereabout, & set them on fire: but the enemy never came to
resist them, so they returned backe againe safe into the
towne, and brought certaine Indian prisoners with them,
among whom there was one which spake broken Spanish,
which being examined, confessed unto us of his own
accord, how the General had sent to the other towns thereabout for aide, and that he thought they would be there
with him that day. When we understood this, we grew
into some distrust of the Spaniards trechery, and thought
upon the messenger, how he had used long delayes with
us: wherupon we were commanded presently, every man
to make ready to depart, and to fire the citie: which
forthwith was done. And after we had seene it all on
fire, & burnt to ashes, we tooke our leaves and so
departed, & marched away that day being the 3 of June,
not that way we came, but by the great beaten way.
And when we had marched halfe the way towards the
waters side, we came unto that strong baricado which they
had made, and there lay all that night. Here we found
the Spanish captaines word to be true which we tooke
at the fort by the waters side: for this baricado was of
such force, that 100 men in it wel furnished, would have
kept backe from passing that way 100000: first by reason
of the huge and high mountaines, next the steepenes of
them, on both sides, last of all in regard of the fine contriving of it with the large trenches, and other munitions,
which I cease to recite. The fourth day of June in the
morning wee departed from thence: but before our departure, wee overthrew on the one side of the steepe hill two
bases of yron, which we found there planted by the
enemie, and so set forward toward our ships, and by 12 of
the clocke came to the waters side, and there remayned in
the fort which wee had taken before, untill the fift day at
night: in which time we laded some small quantity of
hides, and Salsa-perilla, which we found there at our first
landing. So the fift day at night we departed from
thence, to goe to a towne called Coro
: but before wee
departed, wee set fire in the fort, and all the Indians
houses that were about it, and burnt them. Then we set
sayle, and standing along the coast, our Spanish guide
signified unto us, that there were foure sayles of ships
about five leagues from thence, in a place called Checherebiche, and Caio, and Maio
. So the 6 day in the morning
we were thwart of the place, and there our generall sent
away his long boate with captaine Sommers, unto those
places, where they found 3 of the ships: but the Spaniards
had conveyed their sailes ashore into the woodes, so that
they could not bring them off, but set fire in them and
burnt them. From hence we stood along the shore, sailing untill the ninth day of June, on which day toward the
evening we imbarked our selves in our pinnesses and small
caravels, to land at
Coros: but we had none that knew the
place certainely: wherefore we ankored that night some
two leagues to the Eastward of it, and in the morning I
went on land, and nine more with me, to see if we could
discover the towne, but we could not, wee went above
a league up into the countrey, but could not see any
village or towne. So returning backe, wee met our
Generall, with divers others which came ashore with him,
with whom we marched into the countrey againe, but
could see nothing, & so returned. At the water side
captaine Prowse died. There we remained all that day on
land, by reason the wind blew so much that wee could not
get aboord untill the evening. After our comming aboord
a boat which we sent into the bay, returned and brought
us newes, that there rode a barke within the bay, and by all
likelyhood the towne should be there. So presently our
Generall went into the bay with the Derling and some of
the small caravels. The tenth day in the morning, the
rest of our shipping came into the bay, and our men
landed the same day, about 10 or 11 of the clocke in the
night, & so marched on toward the towne: but in the way
they had made baricados, and kept them very strongly.
Notwithstanding the courage of our men was such, as that
they feared nothing, and forced them to leave their forces,
and flie. Having wonne this baricado they there remained
untill the next day being the 11 of June, and then early in
the morning they marched on towards the towne, where
by the way, the enemie often times came to skirmish with
them, but alwayes fled. In fine they wan the towne without any great losse of men, God be thanked. Having
gotten the town, they found nothing in it at all; for they
had intelligence from Sant Iago, how wee had used them
before, which caused them to convey all their goods into
the mountaines and woods: finding nothing in it, our
Generall caused it to be set on fire, thinking it not good
to remaine there, but to returne againe, backe to the ships :
and the greatest cause was by reason of the departure of
captaine Sommers: who the day before in a most furious
tempest, being in the pinnesse, with some 50 men at
anker, had his cables broken and lost all his ankers, and
so was faine to put to sea to save himselfe, otherwise they
had bene in danger of perishing. Thus our General and
his company, returned backe againe the twelfth day and
imbarked themselves, and departed away with all speede
to seeke captaine Sommers. The 13 toward night, hee
came where captaine Sommers was, and found him riding,
but not by anie ankers, but by two bases, which they had
made for to stay their barke by: at which meeting the
company was very glad. Then they determined to go into
a mighty great bay, to a towne called Laguna
: but the
bay was so deepe and should withall, that we returned
backe againe, after wee had stood in two daies & a night.
So we sayled over toward the
Isle of Hispaniola the
sixteenth of June: and the twentieth day we saw it. The
21 we ankored under
Cape Tiburon. Here we watered,
and stayed untill the 25 of the same. After our departure
out of the bay of Laguna
, a great sicknes fell among our
fleete, and there died about eighty men of the same. This
sicknesse was the fluxe of the bellie, which is a common
disease in that countrey. We remayned about this Island
untill the eight and twentieth of this moneth. Then we
departed from thence, and the second of July arrived at
the
Island of Jamaica. Before our comming hither, the
three ships of Hampton
had forsaken us, and left our
company. And the Derling wherein was captaine Jones,
was sent to discover some other secret matter, in which
discovery the valiant gentleman ended his life. So our
whole fleete was now but our generall, with captaine
Sommers, and a small pinnesse. We stayed at this
Isle
of Jamaica until the sixt of July, in which meane time we
landed to see if we could kill any beeves, but we could not,
they were so wild : here is great store of them, and great
plenty of fresh-fish. We departed hence the 6 of July,
and passed by the Islands, called Caimanes, and the
Isle
de Pinos, and the 12 of the said moneth by Cape de
Corrientes where we watered, and the same night, wee set
saile towards the cape of S. Anthony, being the westermost part of the
Isle of Cuba. The 13 day in the morning
we were under this cape, and the same day we met with
the honourable knight, Sir Walter Ralegh, returning from
his paineful, and happie discovery of Guiana
, and his
surprise of the
Isle of Trinidad. So with glad hearts, wee
kept him and his fleete of three ships company till the
twentieth day at night, what time we lost them. In all
which time nothing of moment fell out, save that we gave
chase to a couple of frigats, but could not fetch them.
Afterward we plyed to recover Havana
, untill the five
and twentieth of July: then we set our course for the
head of the Martyrs, the 27 we were in sight of them.
The 28 wee entred the gulfe of Bahama: then we set our
course homeward toward Newfoundland
, but we could not
fetch it, but were on the Banke, and tooke fish there the
20 day of August. The same night we set sayle to come
home, by reason the wind was contrary to goe in with
Newfoundland
. So the tenth day of September, we
arrived in safety (God be thanked) in Milford
haven in
Wales, having performed so long a voyage in the space
of sixe moneths, or somewhat lesse.
