The Boy's Hakluyt: English Voyages of Adventure and DiscoveryHakluyt, Richard
History
The Boy's Hakluyt: English Voyages of Adventure and Discovery
Hakluyt, Richard
Discoveries in geography -- English -- Juvenile literature; Voyages and travels -- Juvenile literature
Drawing toward the coast again, the next day anchor was dropped in a bay
called St. Philip. Here an Indian came out in a canoe, and taking the
“Golden Hind” to be Spanish, told of a great Spanish ship at a place
called “S. Iogo” (Valparaiso), laden from Peru. For this exhilarating
news Drake rewarded the canoeist with divers trifles, and under his
pilotage straightway put off for Valparaiso to seize the prize if there.
True enough, she was found in that harbour riding quietly at anchor,
with only eight Spaniards and three Negroes on board. They also
supposing the new comer to be Spanish, welcomed her with beat of drum
and made ready a “Bottija [a Spanish pot] of wine of Chili to drink” to
her men. So soon, however, as the craft was come up to, one of Drake’s
impatient men began to lay about him, and striking one of the Spaniards
cried “Abaxo Perro, that is in English Goe downe dogge!” This, in modern
parlance, gave the “Golden Hind” away. But not a moment was lost in
parley. “To be short,” says the chronicler, “wee stowed them away under
hatches all save one Spaniard, who suddenly and desperately leapt over
board into the sea, and swamme ashore to the towne ... to give them
warning of our arrival.” There were then in Valparaiso “not above nine
households,” and it was instantly abandoned. Drake proceeded to rifle
the place. A lot of Chili wine was taken from a warehouse, and from a
chapel a silver chalice, two cruets, and an altar cloth were carried
off. All of the pious spoil was generously given by Drake to his
chaplain, Master Fletcher. This business done, all of the prisoners were
freed with one exception, John Griego, a Greek, whom Drake held to serve
him as pilot to the haven of Lima, and the “Golden Hind” set sail again
with the Spanish prize in tow. She was rifled leisurely when at sea, and
produced “good store of the wine of Chili, 25,000 pezoes of very pure
and fine gold of Baldivia, amounting in value to 37,000 ducats of
Spanish money or above.” This was reckoned a pretty fine haul for the
first one on the Pacific coast, but greater were to follow.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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