A DESCRIPTION OF DRAKE

By Don Francisco de Zarate, Commander of the Spanish ShipCaptured by Drake Just Before He Reached Guatulco THE general of the Englishmen is a cousin of Juan Aquines. He is the same who five years ago took Nombre de Dios. He must be a man of about thirty-five years, short, with a ruddy beard, one of the greatest mariners there are on the sea alike from his skill and his power of command. His ship is a galleon of about four hundred tons, a very fast sailer, and there are aboard her a hundred men, all skilled hands and of warlike age, and all so well trained that they might be old soldiers of the Italian tertias. Every one is specially careful to keep his harquebuss clean. He treats them with affection, and they him with respect. He carries with him nine or ten gentlemen, cadets of high families in England. These are members of his council, and he calls them together upon all occasions, however simple, and although he takes counsel from no one, he is pleased to hear their opinions before issuing his orders. He has no favorite (privado). These of whom I speak are admitted to his table, as well as a Portuguese pilot whom he brought from England. This man never spoke a word the whole time I was there. He is served with much plate with gilt borders and tops and engraved with his arms, and has all possible kinds of delicacies and scents, many of which he says the Queen gave him. None of the gentlemen sit or cover in his presence, without first being ordered once and even several times. The galleon carries about thirty pieces of heavy ordnance and a large quantity of fireworks, and a great deal of ammunition and other necessaries. They dine and sup to the music of violins; and he carries all the appliances of carpenters and caulkers, so as to careen his ship when there is occasion. His ship is not only of the latest type, but sheathed. I understand that all the men he carries are paid, because when they plundered our ship nobody dared take anything without his orders. He keeps very strict discipline, and punishes the slightest fault. He has painters, too, who sketch all the coast in its proper colors. This troubled me to see most of all, because it was so true to nature, that whosoever follows him can by no means lose his way. I heard that he started from his country with five ships and four sea-going shallops, and that the half of the squadron was the Queen's; and I understand this is so, for the reasons I shall give Your Excellency."

GOSNOLD'S SETTLEMENT AT CUTTYHUNK

AFTER discovering and naming Cape Cod and sailing around it, Captain Bartholomew Gosnold discovered and named Martha's Vineyard, and planted a settlement on Cuttyhunk Island, which he called Elizabeth.

Cuttyhunk is one of the 13 small islands known today as Elizabeth Islands.

Gosnold's settlement was the first to be made in New England by Englishmen, but it lasted only a few weeks as the colonists decided to return to England.

Gabriel Archer, who wrote this account of the expedition, was one of Gosnold's associates.

Captain John Smith became interested in American ventures as a result of Gosnold's expedition, and decided to join the colony which came to Jamestown five years later. Both Gosnold and Captain Gabriel Archer were members of the Jamestown expedition. The former was a member of the first council at Jamestown, but died there within a year after his arrival.

THE said captain did set sail from Falmouth the twenty-sixth of March, 1602 (the 42nd year of Elizabeth's Reign), and accompanied with thirty-two persons, whereof eight mariners and sailors, twelve purposing upon the discovery to return with the ship for England, the rest remain there for population. The fourteenth of April following, we had sight of Saint Mary's, an island of the Azores.... The fifteenth day of May we had again sight of the land, which made ahead, being as we thought an island, by reason of a large sound that appeared westward between it and the main, for coming to the west end thereof, we did perceive a large opening, we called it Shoal Hope. Near this cape we came to anchor in fifteen fathoms, where we took great store of codfish, for which we altered the name, and called it Cape Cod. Here we saw sculls of herring, mackerel, and other small fish, in great abundance. This is a low sandy shoal, but without danger, also we came to anchor again in sixteen fathoms, fair by the land in the latitude of 42 degrees. This cape is well near a mile broad, and lies north-east by east. The captain went here ashore and found the ground to be full of peas, strawberries, whortleberries, etc., as then unripe, the sand also by the shore somewhat deep, the firewood there by us taken in was of cypress, birch, witch-hazel and beech. A young Indian came here to the captain, armed with his bow and arrows, and had certain plates of copper hanging at his ears; he showed a willingness to help us in our occasions. . . .

The eighteenth, being fair we sent forth the boat, to sound over a breach, that in our course lay of another point, by us called Gilbert's Point, who returned us four, five, six, and seven fathoms over. Also, a discovery of divers islands which after proved to be hills and hammocks, distinct within the land. This day there came unto the ship's side divers canoes, the Indians appareled as aforesaid, with tobacco and pipes steeled with copper, skins, artificial strings and other trifles to barter ; one had hanging about his neck a plate of rich copper, in length a foot, in breadth half a foot for a breastplate, the ears of all the rest had pendants of copper. Also, one of them had his face painted over, and head stuck with feathers in manner of a turkey-cock's train. These are more timorous than those of the Savage Rock, yet very thievish....

The four-and-twentieth, we set sail and doubled the cape of another island next unto it, which we called Dover Cliff, and then came into a fair sound, where we rode all night; the next morning we sent off one boat to discover another cape, that lay between us and the main, from which were a ledge of rocks a mile into the sea, but all above water, and without danger; we went about them, and came to anchor in eight fathoms, a quarter of a mile from the shore, in one of the stateliest sounds that ever I was in. This called we Gosnold's Hope; the north bank whereof is the main, which stretches east and west. This island Captain Gosnold called Elizabeth's isle, where we determined our abode : the distance between every of these islands is, viz. from Martha's Vineyard to Dover Cliff, half a league over the sound, thence to Elizabeth's isle one league distant. From Elizabeth's island unto the main is four leagues. On the north side, near adjoining unto the island Elizabeth, is an islet in compass half a mile, full of cedars, by me called Hill's Hap, to the northward of which, in the mouth of an opening on the main, appears another the like, that I called Hap's Hill, for that I hope much hap may be expected from it.