A briefe relation of a voyage of The Delight a ship of
Bristoll one of the consorts of M. John Chidley esquire
and M. Paul Wheele, made unto the Straight of
Magellan: with divers accidents that happened unto
the company, during their 6. weekes abode there:
Begun in the yeere 1589. Written by W. Magoths.
THE fift of August 1589. the worshipfull M. John Chidley
of Chidley in the countie of Devon
esquire, with M. Paul
Wheele and Captaine Andrew Mericke set forth from
Plimmouth with three tall ships, the one called The wilde
man of three hundred tunnes, wherein went for General
the aforesaid M. John Chidley and Benjamin Wood as
Master, the other called The white Lion, whereof M.
Paul Wheele was captaine and John Ellis Master, of the
burthen of 340. tunnes: the third The Delight of Bristol
,
wherein went M. Andrew Merick as Captaine, and Robert
Burnet Master, with two pinnesses of 14. or 15. tunnes
a piece. The Generall in his ship had 180. persons: M.
Paul Wheele had 140, in our owne ship we were 91. men
and boyes. Our voyage was intended by the Streight of
Magellan for The South Sea, and chiefly for the famous
province of Arauco on the coast of Chili. We kept company together to the yles of the Canaries and so forward
to
Cape Blanco standing neere the Northerly latitude of
20. degrees on the coast of Barbarie, where some of our
people went on shoare finding nothing to their content.
Within 12. dayes after our departure from this place The
Delight, wherein I William Magoths was, lost the company of the other two great ships, and the two small
pinnesses. Howbeit we constantly kept our course according to our directions along the coast of Brasil
, and by
the
River of Plate, without touching any where on land
untill we came to Port desire in the latitude of 48 degrees
to the Southward of the Equinoctial. Before we arrived
at this place there died of our company by Gods visitation
of sundry diseases 16. persons. Wee stayed in this harborough 17. dayes to grave our ship & refresh our wearied
people, hoping here to have met with our consorts: which
fell out contrary to our expectations. During our abode
in this place we found two little springs of fresh water,
which were upon the Northwesterly part of the land, &
lighted upon good store of seales both old and yong.
From hence we sailed toward the Streight of Magelan,
and entred the same about the first of January. And
comming to Penguin yland within the Streight we tooke
and salted certaine hogsheads of Penguins, which must
be eaten with speed: for wee found them to be of no
long continuance; we also furnished our selves with fresh
water. And here at the last sending off our boat to the
yland for the rest of our provision, wee lost her and 15.
men in her by force of foule weather; but what became
of them we could not tel. Here also in this storme we
lost two anckers. From hence we passed farther into
the Streight, and by Port famine we spake with a
Spaniard, who told us that he had lived in those parts
6. yeeres, and that he was one of the 400. men that were
sent thither by the king of Spain
in the yere 1582. to
fortifie and inhabit there, to hinder the passage of all
strangers that way into the
South sea. But that and the
other Spanish colonie being both destroyed by famine,
he said he had lived in an house by himselfe a long time,
and relieved himselfe with his caleever until our comming
thither. Here we made a boat of the bords of our chests;
which being finished wee sent 7. armed men in the same
on land on the North shore, being wafted on land by the
Savages with certaine white skinnes; who as soone as
they came on shore were presently killed by an 100. of
the wilde people in the sight of 2. of our men, which
rowed them on shoare, which two onely escaped backe
againe to us with the boat. After this traiterous slaughter
of our men, we fell backe againe with our ship to the
Northeastward of Port famine to a certaine road, where
we refreshed our selves with muskles, and tooke in water
& wood. At this time wee tooke in the Spaniard aforesaid, and so sailed forward againe into the Streight.
Wee passed 7. or 8. times 10. leagues Westward beyond
Cape Froward, being still encountered with mightie
Northwest winds. These winds and the current were so
vehement against us, that they forced us backe asmuch
in two houres, as we were getting up in 8. houres. Thus
after wee had spent 6. weekes in the Streight striving
against the furie of the elements, and having at sundry
times partly by casualtie, and partly by sicknes lost 38.
of our best men, and 3. anckers, and nowe having but
one ancker left us, and small store of victuals, and, which
was not the least mischiefe, divers of our company raising
dangerous mutinies: we consulted, though somewhat with
the latest, for the safegard of our lives to returne while
there was some small hope remayning: and so set saile
out of The Streight homeward about the 14. of Februarie
1590. We returned backe againe by The
river of Plate;
and sailing neere the cost of Brasill we met with a Portugal
ship of 80. tunnes, which rode at an ancker upon
the coast, who as soone as she descried us to chase her,
incontinently weyed, & ran her selfe on ground betweene
the yland of S. Sebastian and the maine land. But we
for want of a good boat, and by reason of the foule
weather, were neither able to bord her, nor to goe on
shore. Thence in extreeme misery we shaped our course
for the yles of
Cape Verde, and so passing to the yles of
The Azores
, the Canaries being something out of our
course; the first land that wee mette withall in our
Narrow sea was The yle of Alderney
. And having now
but sixe men of all our company left alive, the Master
and his two mates and chiefe Mariners being dead, wee
ran in with Monville de Hage eight miles to the west
of Cherbourg
in Normandie
. Where the next day after
our comming to an ancker, having but one in all left,
being the last of August 1590. by the foule weather that
rose the ancker came home, and our ship drave on the
rocks: And the Normans which were commanded by the
governor of Cherbourg
(who came downe to us that night)
to have layd out another ancker for her, neglecting his
commandement, suffered her miserably to be splitted, with
desire to enrich themselves by her wracke. Within few
dayes after this last mischance foure of us being Englishmen departed from Cherbourgh, and passed home for
England
in a barke of Weymouth
, leaving the two
strangers there behinde us.
The names of us sixe that returned of all our company
were these.
- 1 William Magoths of Bristol
.
- 2 Richard Bush.
- 3 John Reade.
- 4 Richard Hodgkins of Westburie neere Bristol
.
The two strangers.
- 5 Gabriel Valerosa a Portugal
.
- 6 Peter, a Briton.
