THE ENGLISH VOYAGES 



a terrific storm, or series of storms, fell upon the 

 ships. The Marigold was overwhelmed and lost; 

 and the Elizabeth^ separated from the Golden Hind^ 

 waited for a time at the mouth of the Straits 

 and then returned to England. The two other vessels 

 had been broken up or cast off on the coast of Brazil. 

 Drake's ship was left alone to finish the voyage. The 

 storm brought him the discovery that Tierra del Fuego 

 was not a continent, as had been supposed, but that 

 Th I t f ^^^^^ w^^ open sea to the south of it. And now his 

 the Pacific. reward was near. The Pacific had been treated by the 

 Spaniards as if it were an inland lake; their route to 

 it lay overland ; and the ships they sailed on it were 

 built on its own shores. No enemy had as yet entered 

 it by water; the ports were feebly guarded; and 

 the crews of the merchant ships were very small. 

 The Golden Hind was well-manned, and bristled with 

 guns ; the Pacific fell a prey to her. Her voyage north- 

 wards along the coast was a carnival of plunder, the 

 richest prize of all being the Cacafuego^ a treasure-ship 

 bound from Guayaquil to Panama. Drake's ship was 

 now heavy with precious metals, and the only question 

 was how to get her home. He sailed northward, almost 

 to Vancouver's Island, but was deterred by the cold 

 and fogs from proceeding further. Turning to the 

 south again, along the coast of California, he put into 

 a bay near San Francisco, repaired his ship, and was 

 solemnly crowned by the Indians as their king. He 

 named the district 'New Albion,' and nailed a sixpence 

 to a great post, leaving it, with the Queen's name 

 inscribed above it, for the Indians to worship. Then 

 he struck across the Pacific, to the Philippines and 



60 



Drake 

 crowned by 

 the Indians. 



