Drake, the sea-king of Devon

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Preface

IR FRANCIS DRAKE, called in his own time the " Sea-King of Devon," was one of the chief figures in that brilliant group of genius and valor which surrounded the throne of the Maiden Queen Elizabeth. He was the foremost of the sea-conquerors of his age. Amid a throng of English captains skilled in every maritime art, fearless in encounter, dauntless in attack and spirited in adventure, Drake rose to undisputed pre-eminence. As a buccaneer, ploughing the oceans in search of captures and plunder, preying upon the commerce of the hated Spaniards, pillaging colonies and filling the holds of his ships with the gold and gems taken from the enemy, he was more vigorous, successful and ruthless than any corsair of that day. He was the first English admiral to sail a ship completely around the globe ; and a remote result of his famous and romantic

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voyage was the establishment of an English Empire in the Orient. He was the hero of the magnificent victory which the English won over the Invincible Armada in the Channel; and his bravery, which drove the Armada, burning, scattered, and wrecked, from English waters, may be said to have determined the course which the civilization of the world — especially of the New World — would thenceforth pursue.

Drake was one of those rough, blunt, sturdy, fearless men who seem peculiarly formed to do deeds of heroism, to appear most nobly in scenes of danger, and to achieve the most difficult feats of daring and action, whether in warlike contention or in conflict with formidable elements of nature ; and his career, stirring and adventurous, bold and unresting from early youth to age, in spite of the piracies which were excused by his own time, though they seem wicked in ours, is full of lessons of manly qualities, and of great and often admirable deeds.

Chapter I. Youthful Days

HE picturesque and historical English county of Devon was not only the birthplace of Sir Walter Ralegh, whose career was described in our last volume, but was also the birthplace of his great predecessor in naval warfare, who forms the subject of these pages.

While Ralegh's boyhood, however, was spent in the eastern part of the county, that of Drake was passed some miles westward, where Devon borders on Cornwall.

In this western part, the pastoral beauties of the county, its dipping vales and verdant hills, its noisy streams and ancient manors, rival the scenes of Ralegh's early days.

There still clusters on the banks of the river Tavy the old market town of Tavistock, in the midst of a fertile valley, and at the central point of a smiling landscape. The town is as busy and bright as it was three centuries ago. The surrounding farmers still flock into its zigzag streets on market days, display the fruits of their toil, and bargain, haggle, and gossip, just as their sturdy ancestors were wont to do in the remote days of the good Queen Bess. The two strong bridges which even so long ago spanned the Tavy in the midst of the little town, still serve to bear the heavy wagons as they creep along to the scene of bucolic trade.

Indeed, Tavistock, with its straggling thoroughfares by the river side, its quaint old rows of houses, its homely and cozy hostelries, has changed its aspect but very little since the troublous times of the Tudors. A few small manufactories have been added to its farming industry ; and these serve to sustain its ancient importance in the county.

Just aside from the Tavy, you may espy the venerable abbey, the largest and most imposing in Devonshire ; where the good people of Tavistock have worshipped, wedded, and been buried these nine hundred years or more. It is said that the second printing press ever set up in England was put in motion in Tavistock abbey.

When this ancient edifice was taken away from its original proprietors, the Benedictine monks, it was conferred on Lord Russell, the ancestor of the famous family of that name, which has taken so notable a part in English history ; and the abbey is still the property of the Duke of Bedford, the head of the Russell family.

At a place named Crowndale, about a mile from the town, there used to stand, as recently as the latter part of the last century, a low, wide-roofed cottage, almost hid from view by dense ivies and other clinging vines, and almost buried amid copses of venerable trees. It was a queer old place, with its gables, its small-paned windows, and its air of drowsy age. Those who came, ever and anon, to visit it, did not fail to observe how it lay in the midst of a lovely picture of pastoral scenery. On one side rose the rough, imposing Morwell Rocks ; from its windows you had charming glimpses of the sloping and winding vales of the Walcombe and the Lyd ; not far off you might examine the Dewer Stone, and crouch in the " Cave of the

Virtuous Lady," listening to the legend which suggests its name, as told by some loquacious rustic.

It was in this cottage, and amid these sweet and sunny scenes, that there lived, in the time of bluff Henry the Eighth, a modest, retiring, and somewhat poverty-stricken gentleman, by the name of Drake. What had been the avocation of his early days, or how he came to settle down in this quaint Devon cottage, we do not know. But in the middle of the sixteenth century he was serving as a chaplain in the royal navy ; while he eked out a straitened existence by the cultivation of his little farm. Mr. Drake no doubt found it a far from easy task to satisfy the appetites of his healthy and fast growing boys ; but he kept working away, and besides feeding them, imparted to them such an education as his knowledge of men and books could supply. But Mr. Drake had a trait which got him into trouble. He was a firm and sturdy Protestant, and made no secret of his conversion to and zeal in the new faith. Those were stormy and uncertain days for Protestants in England ; for Henry the Eighth, though he had introduced the Reformation into England, was capricious in his theological course, and sometimes oppressed the Protestants as bitterly as he had done the Catholics.

Under one of the royal edicts, the poor navy-chaplain of Tavistock became liable to punishment for the boldness and openness of his religious views ; to escape which, he one night suddenly broke up his household at Crowndale, and hastened with his family to an obscure retreat in Kent, at the other end of England. How long he staid in Kent, or what he did to gain a living during his sojourn there, history does not tell us ; but there is reason to believe that after bluff King Hal had been succeeded on the throne by the boy king, Edward the Sixth, Mr. Drake returned to his former home in Devonshire.

The eldest of his family of twelve hearty boys was named Francis, after his father. Francis was born, undoubtedly, before his father hurried away so abruptly into Kent. The date of his birth was probably 1539 ; though, so obscure are the records of his early life, that some historians are disposed to believe that he came into the world at a later period. At all events, Francis Drake spent the days of his early childhood amid the lovely surroundings of Tavistock. He was from the first noted for his active and restless temperament, his hardy frame and powers of endurance, his fondness for daring adventure and athletic sports. He fished in the pretty, winding Tavy ; he climbed the Dartmoor hills, and perhaps hunted among their dells for small game ; he studied somewhat, though his opportunities for education were for the most part confined to the instruction his father, in moments snatched from absorbing toils, was able to give him ; and, in the midst of his pursuits and recreations, he began very early in life to dream glowing dreams of a career at sea.

In pursuance of his duties as navy-chaplain, the elder Drake often repaired to the busy Devon port of Plymouth ; and was in the habit of sometimes taking his eldest son with him. Indeed it is said that for a while the family resided in that town. Here Francis was brought in contact with many a talkative "old salt," who told him tales of the sea which made him impatient to grow big enough to follow the adventures of the perilous main himself. While his good father was busy with his pious services, the boy wandered delightedly about the wharves and ships, or strolled among the rocks and cliffs which overlook the English Channel.

Among the many hardy navigators whom young Drake met at Plymouth, was the famous Captain, afterwards Sir John Hawkins. This brave man was a cousin of Drake's, and had long been engaged in the trade which existed between England and the Canary Islands. Hawkins took a great fancy to his young cousin, and liked to sit and tell him long and thrilling yarns about his adventures at sea. He encouraged the lad's desire to himself follow the sea as a profession ; and soon perceived that he was the sort of stuff to carve out a brilliant career for himself.

In after years, Hawkins was destined to perform many feats of naval warfare and peril ; and the fate of young Drake became, for a time, closely connected with that of his doughty kinsman.

One day, as young Drake was idling among the ships, he was accosted by a brawny seaman, whom he had often seen and talked with at his father's house. This seaman, being a bachelor, had often sojourned for a week or two with the Drakes ; and had received many kindnesses from the navy-chaplain. He owned, it seemed, a sturdy little vessel, which he was in the habit of sailing between Plymouth and the French coast, carrying backward and forward such modest cargoes as he could pick up.

He was not long in perceiving Francis's bent, and his big heart warmed to the boy who, thus early, evinced a passion for all that pertained to the sea. So, on this day, taking him on board his vessel, and bidding him sit down on the ropes, he said to him, —

" Don't you think I've a tight little craft here, my lad ? "

"You have, indeed," rephed Drake, looking around. "There's none stancher in Plymouth harbor."

" So you like her, do you ? And how would you like to sail in her back and forth ? "

Young Drake stared at the seaman with a look of surprise ; and his face lit up with an eager expression. He had never been really out to sea; and his dream by day and night had long been to find himself on the broad deep, and out of sight of land.

" Oh, I should Uke it," replied he, " more than anything."

"Well," said the master of the vessel, ''I'll tell you what I've been thinking. I've followed the sea now this many a year ; and though I'm tough still, I feel myself getting old. My arms and legs don't stand me in as good stead as they used to do, and I find it harder, in an ugly squall, to manage my boat than I did a year or two ago. Now, I want a good, sturdy young fellow to help me run her back and forth ; and I rather think you're just the boy for me. Would you like to be my apprentice ? "

"I'd like nothing better in all the world," responded Francis, with beaming eyes.

" But how would your father like it .-* Do you think he would consent ? "

" Oh, I hope so. If you will only ask him, sir, I think he will."

" Well, I will lose no time in doing so," was the hearty reply of the old mariner.

He was as good as his word. He sought an early occasion to talk with Mr. Drake, who was at first very unwilling to give his consent to the proposal. The boy, he said, was too young, and had not yet received his education. But when he found that not only the master of the vessel, but Francis himself was set upon the plan, he yielded.

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It did not take Francis long to prepare for the momentous change in his boyish life. With eager zeal he devoted himself to learning the various terms for the rigging and other parts of the vessel ; how to manage the sails, how to steer, and how to ascertain the position of the ship. He watched, more narrowly than ever before, the manoeuvres of the sailors on board the various vessels in the harbor ; and received with more than willing ear the careful advice and instructions of his father.

A snug little berth was fitted up for him on board the vessel which was, for a while at least, to become his rude and tempest-tossed home ; and a suit of rough sailor's clothes was soon completed for him by the busy hands of his mother.

It was with much emotion that, on the eve of his first voyage, he embraced and bade adieu to father and mother, and the noisy troop of his many little brothers ; and that, at last, he found himself on the deck of the vessel, one afternoon, gliding under a brisk breeze out of Plymouth harbor.

We may well imagine that the first few hours were not very comfortable ones to our verdant young sailor ; but we may be sure that, through all the discomfort and danger, he kept up a stout, manly heart. He soon became used to the sloughing and pitching of the ship ; and before his first voyage was over, knew as well how to hoist, trim, and take in sail as his master. The latter was surprised at the quickness with which his apprentice learned to perform every task on board ; and exultingly declared to him that he *' was born to be a great sailor."

It was not many months before the worthy skipper found himself able to leave the entire charge of his vessel to Drake's management ; and being now old and infirm, he often remained ashore, and allowed the young tar to run along the c^ast, and to and fro on the Channel by himself.

The more Drake saw of the rough life of the sea, the fonder he became of it, and the more ardent grew his ambition to pursue it in a wider sphere. Month by month he added to his experience, and managed to lay up a little of the small wages he received. By and by his master admitted him into partnership, so that he shared the modest profits acquired by the excursions of the little craft.

Drake's courage and quickness to learn, his manly and active temperament, and his love for the sea, completely won the affection of his master, who ended by adopting him as his heir.

One day the old skipper was taken ill in his cottage ; and it soon became clear that he would never rise from his bed again. When Drake returned from the short voyage he had been making to a neighboring port, he found the good man dying. He was overwhelmed with grief, for his master had been all that was kind and generous to him. The young sailor devoted his care and time to his departing friend ; tended at his bedside, and iiid what he could to comfort his last hours.

When at last the skipper breathed his last, and was buried, Drake found that he had bequeathed all his earthly possessions to him. These possessions were, indeed, trifling ; but in them was included the stout little craft in which Drake had sailed so long, and to which he was so strongly attached.

He now found himself her sole owner ; and with her, the master of a thriving coastwise trade. Several of his younger brothers, — he had eleven brothers in all, — had now reached an age when they, too, could go to sea. They shared their eldest brother's love of a seafaring life ; and he initiated the two next younger than himself in the mysteries of managing a vessel.

He pursued his trade with all the strength, ardor, and ambition of his hardy nature. He braved the fiercest storms with a cool intrepidity which won him praise on every hand. No tempest, however furious, could keep him in port when he had a voyage in view. Many times he was in great peril of his life, and once or twice he was driven by the heavy seas of the Channel upon the islands.

As, month by month, and year by year, he steadily stuck to his business, he gradually saved a goodly sum ; and with it he aided his father and mother, who were now old and poor, and gave, now and then, a lift to his little brothers.

But after a while, he began to long to take part in larger undertakings than those of the Channel trade. At the age of eighteen, he was a man in height and strength, and in the fullness of his experience. He thought himself capable of greater things than the humble calling which he had thus far followed ; and he made up his mind that, at the first opportunity, he would transfer his faithful little craft to one of his brothers, and embark on more ambitious enterprises.

At that period of the world's history, no one seemed to regard the slave trade as barbarous or cruel. It was considered a proper and lawful object of commerce to seize the savage Africans on their coast, to stow them away in the holds of vessels, and to carry and sell them where their labor was needed. The traffic in slaves was indulged in without hindrance by the most civilized nations. The slave merchant grew rich, and was respected in the community where he lived. The moral sense even of the most enlightened men had not been aroused to regard this trade as an enormity and a crime.

The slave trade was indeed, in Drake's time, the most profitable of all the branches of English commerce. All who entered it made fortunes. Besides, there was just enough danger in it to stimulate the love of adventure and incident which found a place in the hearts of the tough English sailors.

Drake, never once taking it into his head that it was wrong to kidnap and sell^ the poor blacks of Africa, began to be anxious to share in the perils and profits of this traffic. He saw in it a chance to get rich, to give ease to the declining years of his parents, and at the same time to indulge in the stirring life for which his bold and uneasy spirit yearned.

Ere long an opportunity presented itself ; and Drake found himself launched upon a far more exciting sphere of action than that in which he had hitherto labored.

Chapter II. Drake Crosses The Atlantic

RAKE'S kinsman, stout John Hawkins, had been for some years actively engaged in the slave trade. He would sail his ship to the coast of Guinea, and there, by force or stratagem, would procure his cargo of dusky savages, and carry them away to the Spanish islands. There he would barter them for gold ; and returning to Plymouth, would relate with rough glee the adventures and profits of his expedition.

Of course, there were now and then times when Drake found himself in Plymouth when Hawkins was there. He heard the captain's glowing stories of gain, and became fired with the ambition to follow his example. It never entered his mind that the trade in slaves was cruel and infamous ; it was the custom of the age, and was encouraged by the sovereign herself. Why should he not enrich himself in this way, as others had done and were doing ?

Finally, Hawkins agreed to take his brave and

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sturdy young kinsman into his service. He gave him the place of mate in his own ship ; and after a while, Drake was admitted to a share in the large profits of the voyages.

Drake soon found himself quite at home in his wider sphere of action. Familiar now with all the arts of practical navigation, and fearless amid the most formidable perils, he won the complete admiration and confidence of Hawkins. He bore a stout and blithe heart amid the tempests, and in dealing with the sailors showed that he possessed the genius of command. When, on his first voyage, the ship anchored off the Guinea coast, Drake was one of the foremost of those who went ashore, and invaded the rude villages of the ill-fated natives. In the unequal contests between the invaders and their victims, he always took a vigorous part ; and soon proved himself as dauntless in this savage warfare as he was when ploughing the mighty deep.

Ere very long, Drake found himself in possession of a goodly competence, which he freely lavished upon his parents and brothers. Visions of a yet wider career began to occupy and stir his mind ; and when, one day, Hawkins announced to him that he was about to proceed with a squadron across the Atlantic, and offered him the command of one of the vessels, Drake seized the chance with joyful promptness.

Drake was now a muscular man of twenty-eight. His features had become bronzed and weather-beaten ; his frame, of medium height, was strongly knit by the exposure and hardships which he had been continually undergoing from early boyhood ; his countenance was bold, fearless, and somewhat stern ; his bearing betokened a man used to command. His large blue eyes were bright and piercing ; a flowing moustache and a pointed beard on his chin followed the fashion of Queen Elizabeth's time. Drake made himself respected and feared by the sailors over whom he was placed. He had but little education, and was rough and sailor-like in his ways. His was a soul of iron ; he was full of courage, of determination, and had great mental and physical vigor.

The expedition to the islands of the Spanish Main was to sail from the familiar Plymouth harbor. It was not Hawkins's first voyage across the Atlantic. Twice before, he had followed the track of Columbus toward the setting sun. English navigators and buccaneers, who had long ceased to find a profit on the American coast, had once more turned their eyes in that direction ; and their ambition had been aroused anew by the rivalry which had arisen between England and Spain. Spain had become England's bitterest foe ; and England had resolved, in retaliation, to become Spain's rival on the high seas, and in the conquest and colonization of distant lands. But previous to this quarrel, Hawkins had made two voyages to the American islands ; and had succeeded in making them exceedingly profitable by the sale of his slaves. The last of these voyages had taken place two years before the expedition was planned, in whose adventures Drake was destined to take part.

Now, the prospect of capturing rich Spanish galleons, laden with cargoes of precious metals and the valuable products of remote climes, was added to the almost certain profits to be gained from the sale of slaves ; and both Hawkins and Drake looked forward with high hope to the results of their venture.

It was in the early autumn of 1567 that the six goodly ships, which were to form Hawkins's squadron, rode at anchor in the pretty harbor of Plymouth. One of the smallest, but stoutest and most seaworthy, of the ships, was the "Judith,'* of the burden of only fifty tons. It was the "Judith" which was assigned to Drake's command. In the last days preceding the setting forth of the expedition, Drake busied himself in making ample preparations for the long and perilous voyage.

With what pride did he watch the movements of the trim little ship, as she rocked gently on the waves of the harbor ! With what paternal fondness did he examine her rigging, her sides, her masts, and her cabin ! He stocked his own cabin with such nautical instruments as were then known to mariners, and with a few books on the art of navigation ; he took great care in selecting his crew, choosing them, as far as he could, from among the sturdy companions of his former voyages ; and he made provision for the comfort of his parents during his long stay on distant waters.

At last, on the second of October, all was ready, and the little squadron set sail, with colors flying and amid a chorus of farewells from the quays, just as the sun was rising to its zenith. Hawkins himself commanded the " Jesus," the flag-ship, which led the rest out into the Channel. Then came the "Judith," upon whose deck stood the bronzed and stalwart Drake, with plumed hat and flowing cloak.

For a week the squadron proceeded on its way, the six ships keeping close together, under sunny skies and wafted by gentle breezes. But on the eighth day out a tremendous storm scattered them over the angry waves, and the coolness and skill of Drake were sorely tried. So violent were the winds that even the hardy Hawkins deemed it wise to turn his prows homeward ; and gave the order to such ships as he could hail, to return towards England. Scarcely had the ships headed in a northerly direction, however, than the wind suddenly changed again, and fell to a light breeze ; whereupon Hawkins once more gave the order to proceed toward the African coast.

The ships, scattered over the great deep by the storm, found a rendezvous at the Canary Islands, where they took in water. In just six weeks after setting out from Plymouth, Drake espied, from the deck of the "Judith," the familiar coast of Guinea ; and the squadron was soon after safely anchored off Cape Verde.

The first thing to do was to seize as many negroes as possible, and to stow them away in the ships. Landing with one hundred and fifty picked men, Hawkins and Drake scoured the country in the vicinity of the coast. But their success was not equal to their hopes, for they were able to capture but few blacks ; and even these were not secured until they had killed a number of the English with their poisoned arrows and javelins. " Although in the beginning," wrote Hawkins in narrating the expedition, " these seemed to be but small hurts, yet there escaped hardly any men who had blood drawn of them ; but they died in a strange manner, after their wounds seemed healed. I myself had one of the most serious wounds ; yet, thanks be to God, I escaped." After this rather unlucky adventure, Hawkins continued cruising along the African coast, and picking up, here and there, what few unfortunate blacks he and his men could lay their hands on.

One day the ships anchored in a harbor where

there seemed to be a good prospect of making

'some captures. While Hawkins was preparing to

make an incursion inland, some of his men came

to him and told him that a negro, evidently of rank and importance, had arrived from the interior, and was anxious to communicate with the captain.

Seating himself on a little knoll just above the harbor, with Drake and the other shipmasters around him, Hawkins ordered that the negro should be brought before him. The new comer was so very black that his features could scarcely be distinguished. His big eyes glistened and showed their whites, partly from distrust and fear, and partly from curiosity. He wore nothing but a rude robe made from a tiger's skin ; and in his ears hung two enormous rings of some shining metal.

As soon as he had recovered from his timidity at finding himself alone in the midst of a group of white men, the negro began to make rapid motions and gestures, chattering all the while in his native tongue, of which, of course, none of the Englishmen understood a word. But Hawkins had been so long engaged in the slave trade, and had had so many dealings with the negroes, that he was not slow to understand the meaning of his gestures and grimaces.

He succeeded in making out that the negro was the envoy of a certain swarthy king, who ruled one of the countries not many miles in the interior ; and that this potentate, hearing of the arrival of the English on the coast, had sent to seek their aid in a desperate war which he was at that moment carrying on. It appeared that two neighboring kings had joined forces for the purpose of destroying him, and dividing his dominions between them. He was now in a forlorn state, for his subjects had been overwhelmingly defeated in a long and ferocious battle.

Hawkins, always with a keen eye to his own advantage, saw at once that this was an opportunity to profit by the quarrels of these savage monarchs. By allying himself with the defeated king, and putting his enemies to rout, he might hope to fill the nearly empty holds of his vessels with the human cargoes he had hitherto failed to obtain ; and by capturing and sacking their towns, he might also find treasures worth carrying away with him.