Chap. XV. from- the I. of James, I. to the Revolut

ion.

161 y.

Raleigii'j-

Ivftruffionsto Captain■Key mis.

a

€ f

Key mis,

Whereas you were resolved, af-S/r Walter « ter y Qur Arrival into Oronoque, to

" pass to the Mine, with my Cousin1C Herbert, and six Musketeers, and to" that End you desired to have Sir" John Feme's Shallop, I do not allow" of that Course, because you cannot" land so secretly, but that some In-" dians, on the River Side, may dis-“ cover you, who giving Knowledge of“ your Passage to the Spaniards, you" may be cut off, before you can reco-" cover your Boat. I do, therefore," advise you, to suiter the Captains and" the Companies of the Englijh, to pass" up to the Westwards of the Moun-“ tain Aio, from whence you have no“ le & sitan three Miles to the Mine,and to lodge and encamp, betweenthe Spanish Town and you, if therebe any Town near it, that, being sosecured, you may make Trial whatDepth and Breadth the Mine holds," and whether or no it answer our" Hopes. And if you find it Royal,,c and the Spaniards begin to War upon" you, then let the Serjeant Major re-" pel them, if it be in his Power, and" drive them as far as he can.

" But if you find that the Mine be" not so rich, as it may persuade the" Holding of it, and draw on a second" Supply, then shall you bring but aBasket or two, to satisfy His Maje-sty, that my Design was not imagi-" nary, but true, tho’ not answerable" to His Majesty’s Expectations, for" the Quantity, of which I never gave" Assurances nor could.

" On the other Side, if you shallfind, that any great Number of Sol-" diers be newly lent into Oronoque, as" the Cacique ot Caliana tells us there" were, and that the Passages be already" forc’d, so that without manifest Peril“ of my Son, yourself, and other Cap-" tains, you cannot pass towards the" Mine, then be well advised how you

\

* c land, for I know (that a few Gentle- i6iy.

" men excepted) what a Scum of Men" you have, and I would not, for all" the World, receive a Blow from the" Spaniards, to the Dishonour of our(e Nation ■, I, myself, for my Weak-" ness cannot be present, neither will" the Company land, unless I stay with“ the Ships, the Gal lions of Spam be-" ing daily expected. Pig ot, the Ser-te jeant-Major is dead. Sir Warham ,

“ my Lieutenant, without Hopes of" Life, and my Nephew, your Ser-" geant-Major, now but a young Man.

“ It is therefore on your Judgment I" rely, whom I trust Gon will direct" for the best.

" Let me hear from you> as soon ascc you can, you shall find me at Punto-“ Gallo, dead or alive, and if you find" not my r Ships there, yet you shall" find their Asses. For I will fire with" the Gallions, if it come to Extremity,

" but ran away I will never.

As they passed up the River, the T^Spani-Spaniards began the W ar, and Shot atthe Ships, both with their Ordnance andsmall Arms. They landed their Forces,however, without any great Loss, nearunto a Town call’d St. Thomas's, (f)and gallantly charged the Enemy to thevery Ports, where finding some littleOpposition, they at last forced a Passage, St.Thomas’iand made themselves Masters of the a en 'Town ; But in the Assault Captain Wal-ter Raleigh was stain.

The other five Ships staid with the ships re-General at Punto Gallo, in Trinadada. mainingThe first was commanded by himself, ^iter^ tthe second by Captain John Pennington, Trinidada,Vice Admiral; the third by Sir War-ham Santleger, the fourth by Sir JohnFern, and the fifth by Captain Chidley,of Devonshire. With these five Shipsthey daily expected the Armada ofSpain, and had they set upon them,while their Force was thus divided, notonly these Ships would have been en-dangered, but those in the River hadalio perished. . Nevertheless, tho’ thesefive Ships, with the General, might

seem

[f) This was, in some Measure, acting cory to Sir Walter's Instructions and Design ;it seems, they landed between the Mine ancTown, not thinking the Town so near, ancsigning to rest by the River-Side, ’till theDay, were in the Night set upon by the SpamAnd following them upon theirRetreat,theyready to enter the Town, before they knew v

they were. Being there, a second. Time, attack 'dby the Gqvernour and several Officers, they drovearid pursued them into the Town, where the Go-vernour and his chief Officers being killed, theSpaniards retired into aHouse, from whence theygauled the Englijh, in such Manner, that theyhad no Way to save themselves but by firing the:Houses adjoining,