The daye that our generall had newes of our returne, he ment to way and fall nearer to the river Chagree with the fleete, leavinge some few to bringe us if we were enforced to retire, wherof hee little doubted. But beinge beaten from the place where it appeered all his hopes rested for gayninge to himselfe and others this masse of treasure which he so confidently promised before, it was high time for him to devise of some other course. Wherfore, on the fourth of January, he called us to counsayle, and debated with us what was nowe to be done. All these parties had notice long before of all our intentions, as it appeered by letters written from the governor of Lima to the governor of Panama and Numbre de Dios, givinge them advice to be carefull and to looke well to themselves, for that Drake and Hawkins were makinge readie in England to come upon them. Lima is distant from these places more than three hundred leagues, all overlayed with snakes. It appeareth that they had good intelligence. This made them to convey theyr treasure to places which they resolved to defend with better force than we were able to attempt. Like as upon the cominge of the sun, dewes and mistes begin to vanish, so our blinded eyes began now to open, and wee founde that the glorious speeches, of an hundred places that they knew in the Indies to make us rich, was but a baite to drawe Her Majestie to give them honorable employments and us to adventure our lives for theyr glory; for now cards and mappes must bee our cheefest directors, hee beinge in these partes at the furthest limit of his knowledge. There hee found out a place called Laguna de Nichoragua, upon which standeth certaine townes, as Granada, Leon, and others; also the bay of Honduras, a place knowne to be of small wealth by itsealfe, unles it be brought thither to be imbarqued for Spaine. He demanded which of those we would attempt; our coronell saide, bothe, one after another, and all to little to content us if wee tooke them. It was then resolved that we should first for the river, and as matters fell out, for the other. Numbre de Dios, together with their negroe towne were fyred; and we suncke and fyred fourteen small frigotts which we founde in the rode. We gott here twenty barres of silver, with som gould and certaine plate; more would have benne founde, had it bene well sought; but our generall thought it folly to gather our harvest graine by graine, beinge so likely at Panama to thrust our handes into the whole heapes: and after our returne, beinge troubled in minde, hee seemed little to regard any consayle that should be given him to that purpose, but to hasten thence as fast as he might. This is a most wealthy place, being setled upon a grounde full of camphyre, environed with hilly woodes and mountaines, the bottom a dampish fen. Hence wee departed the fifth, and held our course for Nichragua.