Ap V. during the Reign os %xeen Elizabeth.

*5 7

72.

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their Weapons, and fled out of theTown.

Th e Englijh pursued them to theGate,and then, returning, took their Standtowards the Middle of the Market-place.Having taken two or three Spaniards, intheir Flight, he ordered them to shewhim the Governour’s House, where hewas informed the Treasure, which camefrom Panama , was deposited. Theyfound the great Door open, a Candleupon the Stairs, and a fine Horse stand-ing ready saddled.

By Means of the Light, they saw ahuge Heap of Silver, in the lower Room,being a Pile of Bars, as near as theycould guess, seventy Foot in Length,ten in Breadth, and twelve in Height,piled up against the Wall, each Bar be-ing about thirty or forty Pound-weight.At Sight of this, Drake gave strict: Or-ders, that none should touch a Bar ofSilver, but stand to their Arms; Be-cause the Town was still full of People,and there was in the King’s Treasure-house, near the Water-side, more Goldand Jewels, than all their Pinnacescould carry.

They were no sooner returned totheir Arms, than a Report was brought,by some of their Men, that their Pinna-ces were in Danger of being taken; Andthat, if themselves did not get on Boardbefore Day-light, they would be over-powered by Multitudes of Soldiers andTown’s-men. Drake immediately senthis Brother, with John Oxenham, toenquire what had occasioned this Re-port : And they found the Men, whowere left to guard the Pinnaces, verymuch difheartned; Because they sawgreat Troops, running up and down,some with lighted Matches, and somewith other Weapons.

In this Instant, a terrible Shower ofRain fell, with frightful Thunder andLightning, which poured down so vehe-mently, that before they could takeShelter under a Pent-house, at theAVestern-End of the King’s Treasure-house, some of their Bow-strings werewet, and their Match and Powder da-maged. During this Interval, whichWas about half an Hour, some of theMen began to murmur, and sh,ew anUneasiness at the dangerous SituationDrake had brought them into; whichhe being made sensible of, told them,he had led them to the Mouth of theTreasure of the World, which, if bytheir Cowardice they went away without,

they hadselves.

As soon as theFury of the Storm was,in some Measure, abated, being un-willing to give his Men more Time toraise Difficulties, and the Enemy an Op-portunity to get together, he ordered hisBrother, and John Oxenham , with theirCompany, to break open the King’sTreasure-house; While he, with hisMen, secured the Market-place, ’tilltheir Business was done; But in the In-stant, whilst he was distributing his Or- £ ut i e - imders, his Strength, Sight, and Speech wounded, *failed him, and he Anted, with theLoss of a great Quantity of Blood, bya Wound in his Leg, which he receivedin the Beginning of the Fray, and had’till then concealed, to keep his Com-pany from being difheartned.

Being, in some Measure, recovered,his Company used all the Persuasionsthey could, to induce him to go onBoard, to have his Wound dress’d, pro-mising to return with him again, andpursue their Design: But he, havinghis Scarfs tied about his Wound, andbeing sensible if they now lost Ground,it Would be in vain to return to theCharge, persisted in going on with whatthey had so happily begun ; ’till thewhole Company uniting against his Re- n forcedlysolution, by Force, accompanied with kis Men , tofair Words, they carried him on Boardhis Pinnace, and put offfrom the Shoar, '

with the Booty they had already got-ten. They abandon’d the richest Spoil,that ever raised the Expectations of suchlike Adventurers; Being, as they wereafterwards informed, three Hundredand sixty Tun of Silver, and a far great-er Value in Gold, which was in Iron-Chests, in the King’s Treasure-house.

It was about Break of Day, the nineand twentieth of July, when they em-barked, having several Men, besides theCaptain, wounded; But none killed,ex-cepting one of their Trumpetters. Be-fore they, left the Haven, to comfortthemselves, under this Disappointment,they took the Ship loaded with Wine,after some Resistance, and carried heroff with them, to the Island of Rajlimi-entes, about a League from Nombre deDtos, where they refreshed themselvestwo Days, and then returned to theirShips, to the Island of Pirns. Holdingthere a Consultation with CaptainK^w/s,what was best to be done, in the pre-sent Situation of A stairs, the latter,raising several Difficulties, and thinking

: no Body to blame but them- 1 §72°