Volume 1

A new and complete collection of voyages and travels / [John Hamilton Moore].

  • John Hamilton Moore
Date:
[1785?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A new and complete collection of voyages and travels / [John Hamilton Moore]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    24 1578 Maikr Doughty’s fake, and at his requeft, I forgive thee ; but become an honeft man hereatter. So then Mafter Doughty embracing the general, naming him his good captain, bid him farewel, and bidding the whole company farewel, he laid his head to the block. He is executed the which being ftricken off, Drake moft delpitefully made the head to be taken up and fhewed to the whole company, himfelf faying. See this is the end of traitors.” We have already obferved that there have been va¬ rious accounts of this matter. In one of thefe we find it related, that at Port St. Julian, Drake called a fort of council of war or court martial, and fhewed his commiffion, by virtue of which the queen gave him power of life and death, which was faid to be delivered with thefe words from her own mouth : cc We do ac- Rein ark able fpeech of Drake to his company. a a «c “ count, Drake, that he who ftrikes at thee ftrikes “ at us.” Here likewife it is pretended that he ex- pofed Mr. Doughty’s bad pra&ices from the time of their leaving England, appealing to the company for his cordial behaviour to the gentleman accufed, fup- porting his charge by producing papers under his own hand, “ to which Mr. Doughty [a circumftance not “ very probable] added a full and free confejjion.” Nor is what follows, at all more likely, viz. That the acculed having it left to his choice to be executed on the ifiand, where they then were, to be fet on fhore on the mainland, or to be fent home to abide the juf- ticeofhis country ; after a day’s confideration, gave his reafons [to be fure they muff have been weighty ones] for chufing to be executed at Port Julian, “ and having received the facrament with the general from the hands of Mr. Francis Fletcher, chaplain to the fleet, and made a full confeflion, his head was cut ofi' with an ax, by the provoff marlhal, July the 2d, 1578.” The execution of Doughty was followed by fome inftances of partiality againft particular perfons, which at the fame time that they marked the partiality of Drake, feemed ftrongly to indicate his doubts relative to the expedition in which he was engaged, and wherein it appeared plainly enough that all the queen’s concern was that of having condefcended to advance a confiderable fum as a private adventurer. The laft proof which we fhall here adduce to fup- port the opinions we have advanced we fhall draw from this commander’s fpeech to his men on the 6th of Auguft, a few days before he left Port Julian. “ Commanding his whole, company afhore, and placing himfelf in a tent, one fide of which was open, h: called Mafter Winter on one fide of him, and John Thomas on the other fide ; his men laid before him a great paper book, and withal Mafter Fletcher offered himfelf to make a fermon. Nay, foft, Mafter Fletcher (faid he) I muft preach this day myfelf, although I have fmall fkill in preaching. Well, all ye the company, are ye [all here] or not ? Anfwer was made that they were all there. Then commanded he every fhip’s company feverally to ftand together, which was alfo done. Then faid he. My mafters, I am a very bad orator, for my bringing up hath not been in learning, but whatfo I fhall here fpeak, let every man take good notice of, and let him write it down, for I fhall fpeak nothing but what I will an¬ fwer it in England, yea, and before her Majefty, as I have it here already fet down.* Thus it is my mafters, that we are very far from our country and friends ; we are compaffed in on every fide with our enemies, wherefore we are not to make fmall reckoning of a man, for we cannot have a man if we would give for him ten thoufand pounds, wherefore we muft have thefe mutinies and difeontents that are grown amongft us redreffed ; for, by the life of God, it doth even take my wits from me to think on it. Here is fuch controverfy between the failors and the gentlemen, and fuch ftomachino- between the gentlemen and failors, that it doth even make me mad to hear of it. But my mafters, I muft have it ceafe ; for I muft have the gentlemen to haul and draw with the marines, and the marines with the gentlemen; and let us fhew ourfelves to be all of a company, and let us not give occafion to the enemy to rejoice at our decay and overthrow. I would [fainj know him that would refufe to let his hand to a rope ; but I truft, there is not any fuch here ; and as gentle¬ men are very neceffary for government fake on the voyage, fo have I fhipt them for that purpofe, and to fome further intent, and yet, though I know failors to be the moft envious people of the world and fo unruly without government, yet may I not be without them. “ Alfo if there be any willing to return home, let me underftand of them, and there is the Marygold, a fhip that I can very well fpare, I will furnifh her to fuch as will return, with the moft credit that I can give them, either by my letter or any way elfe ; but let them take care that they go homeward; for,, if I meet them in my way, I will fink them; therefore you fhall have time to confiderhereof until to-morrow, for, by my troth, I muft needs be plain with you ; / have taken that in hand that I know not in the world how to go through withal; it paffeth my capacity, it hath even bereaved me of my wits to think on it. [Well yet the voice was that none would return, they .would all take fuch part as he did.] Well then, my mafters, quoth he, came ye all forth with your own goodwills or no ? They anfwered all. Willingly.]: At whofe hands, my mafters, demanded he, take ye to receive your wages ? At your’s, anfwered the company. Then faid he. How fay you, will you take wages, or ftand to my good courtefy ? To your courtefy, good captain, was the reply. “ Then he commanded the fteward to the Elizabeth to bring him the key of the ftores, the which he did. Then turning him unto Mafter Winter, he faid, Mafter Winter, I do here difeharge you of your eaptainfhip j and fo in brief he faid to all the officers. Then Mafter Winter, and John Thomas afked him what fhould move him to difplace them ? He afked, in return, whether they could give any reafon why he fhould not do fo ? So willing them to content themfelves, he willed filence in thefe matters, faying, ye fee here the great diforders we are entangled into -y and although fome [meaning Doughty] have already received condign punifhments, as by death, who, I take God to witnefs, as you all know, was to me as my other hand, yet you fee, over and befides the reft, his own mouth did bewray his treacherous dealings ; and fee how, trufting to the fingularity of his wit, lie over-reached himfelf at unawares. But fee what God would have to be done ; for her Majefty commanded that of all men my lord treafurer fhould have no knowledge of this voyage, and to fee that his own mouth hath declared that he had given him a plot [plan] thereof. But truly, my mafters, and as I am a gentleman, there fhall no more die ; I will lay my hand on no more, although there be here who have deferred as much as he : and fo charging [chargedJ one Worrall, that was prefent, that his cafe was worfe than Doughty’s, who, in Mafter Doughty’s extremities, was one of Drake’s confellows, who [hej humbling himfelf to Drake, even upon his knees, prayed him to be good unto him. Well, well, Wor¬ rall, faid he, you and I fhall talk well enough of this matter hereafter. Then he charged one John Audley with fome ill dealings towards him, but opened no matter, but faid he would talk with him alone after dinner. “ Here is fome again (faid he) my mafters, not knowing how elfe to diferedit me, fay and affirm that I was fet out on this voyage by Mafter Hatton ; fome, by Sir W illiam Winter j and fome, by Mafter Flan- kins ; * “ But whether it were in his book or not (fays the author) that I know nor, but this was the effect of it, and very near the words.” X f But we have already noticed, it was to fail to Alexandria, and not with a view to the enterptife wherein they - were new engaged.
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