The Works of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. in Eleven Volumes, Volume 06: Reviews, Political Tracts, and Lives of Eminent PersonsJohnson, Samuel
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The Works of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. in Eleven Volumes, Volume 06: Reviews, Political Tracts, and Lives of Eminent Persons
Johnson, Samuel
English essays -- 18th century
Here they spent about fourteen days in fitting out their frigate more
completely, and then dismissing the Spaniards with their ship, lay a
few days among the Cabezas; while twelve English and sixteen Symerons
travelled, once more, into the country, as well to recover the French
captain, whom they had left wounded, as to bring away the treasure
which they had hidden in the sands. Drake, whom his company would not
suffer to hazard his person in another land expedition, went with them
to Rio Francisco, where he found one of the Frenchmen, who had stayed
to attend their captain, and was informed by him, upon his inquiries
after his fortune, that, half an hour after their separation, the
Spaniards came upon them, and easily seized upon the wounded captain;
but that his companion might have escaped with him, had he not
preferred money to life; for, seeing him throw down a box of jewels
that retarded him, he could not forbear taking it up, and with that,
and the gold which he had already, was so loaded that he could not
escape. With regard to the bars of gold and silver, which they had
concealed in the ground, he informed them that two thousand men had
been employed in digging for them.
The men, however, either mistrusting the informer's veracity, or
confident that what they had hidden could not be found, pursued their
journey, but, upon their arrival at the place, found the ground turned
up for two miles round, and were able to recover no more than thirteen
bars' of silver, and a small quantity of gold. They discovered
afterwards, that the Frenchman who was left in the woods, falling
afterwards into the hands of the Spaniards, was tortured by them, till
he confessed where Drake had concealed his plunder. So fatal to
Drake's expedition was the drunkenness of his followers.
Then, dismissing the French, they passed by Carthagena with their
colours flying, and soon after took a frigate laden with provisions
and honey, which they valued as a great restorative, and then sailed
away to the Cabezas.
Here they stayed about a week to clean their vessels, and fit them for
a long voyage, determining to set sail for England; and, that the
faithful Symerons might not go away unrewarded, broke up their
pinnaces, and gave them the iron, the most valuable present in the
world, to a nation whose only employments were war and hunting, and
amongst whom show and luxury had no place.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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