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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    1579 the commander chofe to bring his fhips, which flood v-sr*—'' in need of repairs, clofe to this friendly coafl. Land¬ ing, in order to take out the lading, the Englifh yet dubious of the iincerity of the natives, raifed a forti¬ fication of earth, fenced with palifadoes, a work which the Indians* whilft it was going on, furveyed with admiration. The admiral, at length, convinced of their fincerity, having prevailed on them to lay afide their bows and arrows, prefented them with linen and fome other neceffary articles, which were received by them with equal demonftrations of wonder and refp.edL -'; ' , > The Indians They returned two days afterwards, their numbers behaviour and being greatly increafed, flopping on the top of a neigh- csiemomes. bouring hill, and by their voices and gestures draw¬ ing the attention of the Englifh, who conceived by their manners at the firfi: meeting, and the loud noifes they afterwards made, that they were inclined to pay them a fort of worfhip according to the cuftom of their country. Drake and his followers were confirmed in this opinion* by a long oration that one of the In¬ dians now made, all of them bowing their bodies, at the end of it and repeating the word Oh as expreilive of their approbation. Then they laid afide their bows, and the men coming down towards the tents thus unarmed, were kindly received by the Englifh commander ; while the women,- who furveyed what puffed at a diftance, began to tear themfelves with their nails, and throw themfelves on the ground, in token of reverence to the flrangers. Soon after came two ambafladors from the Hioh or king, who demand¬ ing certain tokens of peace, which requeff being grant- ed, the king himfelf paid a vifit to the fettlement. A perfon preceded him bearing a kind of fceptre of black wood, ornamented with chains made of horn or bone, which they ufe as tokens of diflinotion. The monarch himfelf came next. His apparel was a coat made of fkins, and 011 his head he wore a crown of feathers cnrioufly interwoven. He had a hundred tall men for a guard. His attendants who followed him wore a drels fomewhat refemblins; his own, and the comrqon people brought roots and fifh in bafkets, which were contrived fo as to be capable of holding water. Though the procellion had every appearance of peace, and the natives, notwithflanding they were ilout men, had no -weapons adequate for defending themfelves or afiaulting others, their bows being too • weak to be properly confidered as warlike implements, yet Drake took the precaution of drawing up his men in order, while they approached, and when they flop¬ ped, the fceptre bearer began a fort of fong and dance, the men accompanying him. But the women were obferved to dance only, without joining in the fong. In the mean time every look and geflure fo fully denoted their peaceable defigns, that the Englifh ad¬ mitted them into their camp, and after a repetition of their dance and fong, another fpeech was made, the purport of which was the defire the king had of Drake takes conferring his kingdom on Drake, who was accord- poilcfiion of ingly crowned, had the title of Hioh given him, and New Albion was invefled with all the infignia of royalty that were for lire queen. uf£(] jn the invefliture of fovereign princes in that country. He having gone through thefe ceremo¬ nies, took pofleffion of the place for queen Elizabeth, and then the common people retiring, tore their ftefh as before, in token of refpeet, a ceremony which they repeated till at laft they were given to underftand that it was highly difagreeableto their guefts; at the fame time that by proper applications they cured the wounds by ■which thefe poor creatures teflified their love and fubmiflion. When thefe ceremonies were laid afide, •* Thefe are deferibed as having bags under their chins which Live them to carry food to their joung, with rats tails and paws like thole of a mole. t They at firft brought fruits and other tilings of fmall value, and were contented with a regular exchange; but afterwards thinking Sightly of the force of the Englifh,°a number of men in canoes were fent, who infolently took whatever they could lay their hands on, without giving any thing in exchange. It fol¬ lowed, that at laft they were dcfired to keep away, on which thev ithey Hill continued thefe vifits., while Drake and J fome of his men, in return, went up the country, ’ which they found fertile enough by nature at fome diflance from the fea fhore, and full of large deer, and remarkable for a particular fort of conies*. The En¬ glifh found the houfes of the natives like fome already deferibed to be nothing but holes dug to a convenient depth, with rafters meeting fo as to form the roof at the top. The fire tvas made in the middle of each houfe, without a chimney, the fmoke being fuffered to ifl'ue out at the door. Rufhes ferved thefe fimple people inftead of beds; the women wore nothing but each a petticoat of bulrufhes, and the men in ge¬ neral went quite naked. They feemed ignorant of the ufeful arts of life, they took fifh, but wanted not the afilflance of nets, being fo dextrous as to catch them in- their hands whenever they fvam near the fhore. Though it does not appear that thepeffeffion of this land, which was ufeful only to Drake by furnifiling him with provifions and a refling place, could b.e of any great ufe to his country, yet he fee ms to have valued himfelf upon the acquiiition, and before his departure, caufed the account of the refignation of it to be engraven on a brafs plate, and fixed up by way of memorial. The inhabitants greatly lamented the lofs of thefe their guefls, kept them as long as pofiible in their fight from the hills, and after they fet fail, lighted up fires as if intended for facrifices, which the Englifh. confirmed as the lafl token of refpedt they thought they could fhew to fuch wife and beautiful flrangers, who had deigned to honour them with their prefence. Vanity might poffi’bly have a fhare in fome of thefe conelufipns ; however, when it is confidered with what efleem next to veneration the Spaniards were at firfl received by the Americans, we may well credit, in general, the account given of the reception of the Englifh in this hofpitable country, to which the commander gave the name of New Albion, from the white cl ills that furrounded it. They quitted this harbour on the 23d of July, and after having touched at fome neighbouring iflands, it was refolved in a general confultation to fail for the Moluccas, whither they diredled their courfe on the Sails for the 25th of the fame month, ileering weflerly, without Moluccas, coming in fight of land, till they difeovered fome ifiands on the 30th of September in 20° north lat. from whence the inhabitants at firil came to them peace¬ ably toexchange provifions for European commodities, but at length growing infolent, Drake thought proper to give them an idea of his power by his ordnance, which, without hurting them, had the defired effedl of preventing further infolence from the untutored favages. f It was on the 3d of November that our adventurers arrived at the Moluccas, intending to touch at Teri- dore or Tidore : as they coafled along the ifland of Mutua, the viceroy of the king of Ternate paid them a vifit recommending to them to make application to- his mailer for fupplies, and not to the king of Por¬ tugal, who was at enmity with him. The command¬ er was accordingly prevailed on, and anchored on the 5th before Ternate. Three large barges with the viceroy and feveral of the principal nobility came out to conduit the vefiel fafe into harbour. The king likewife,' having been prefented with a velvet cloak in fign of amity, afterwards came in great flate, and was received under the difeharge of the cannon, themufic linking up as he approached.j. This prince had guards who underflood the ufe of fire-arms, though javelins, and bows and arrows were their principal weapons. He is deferibed as a perfon of began hofulities with a fliower nf Hones ; but Drake in this infiance (hewed his moderation, by firing his great guns without hurting them, but the found of which fo affrighted them* that jumping into tire water, they hid themfelves under their canoes, for fear of thefe terrible engines, which indeeel, might have been ufed for their deffruftion. X He was fo well finished with this mark of refpeet, that he invited the performers on board his own barge, in token of his approbation.
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