DEAKE AT THE ISTHMUS. 803 



ambition of glory and hopes of wealth, was so vehemently transported with desire to 

 navigate that sea, that falling down there upon his knees, he implored the divine assistance, 

 that he might at some time or other sail thither, and make a perfect discovery of the 

 same."* Drake was the first Englishman to gaze on its waters. 



On the isthmus, Drake encountered an armed party of Spaniards, but put them to 

 flight, and destroyed merchandise to the value of 200,000 ducats. Soon after he heard 

 "the sweet music of the mules coming with a great noise of bells," and when the trains 

 came up, he found they had no one but the muleteers to protect them. It was easy work 

 to take as much silver as they would, but more difficult to transport it to the coast. 

 They, in consequence, buried several tons, but one of his men, who fell into the hands of 

 the Spaniards, was compelled by torture to reveal the place, and when Drake's people 

 returned for a second load it was nearly all gone. When they returned to the coast 

 where the pinnaces should have met them, they were not to be seen, but in place, seven 

 Spanish pinnaces which had been searching the coast. Drake escaped their notice, and 

 constructing a raft of the trees which the river brought down, mounted a biscuit sack for 

 sail, and steered it with an oar made from a sapling, out to sea, where they were constantly 

 up to their waists in water. At last they caught sight of their own pinnaces, ran the 

 raft ashore, and travelled by land round to the point off which they were laying. They 

 then embarked their comrades with the treasure, and rejoined the ship. One of their negro 

 allies took a great fancy to Drake's sword, and when it was presented, to him, desired the 

 commander to accept four wedges of gold. " Drake accepted them as courteously as they 

 were proffered, but threw them into the common stock, saying, it was just that they who 

 bore part of the charge in setting him to sea, should enjoy their full proportion of the 

 advantage at his return." Drake made the passage home to the Scilly Isles in the 

 wonderfully short period of twenty-three days. Arriving at Plymouth on a Sunday, the 

 news was carried into the church during sermon time, and "there remained few or no people 

 with the preacher," for Drake was already a great man and a hero in the eyes of all 

 Devon. 



John Oxenham, who had served with Drake in the varied capacities of soldier, sailor, 

 and cook, was very much in the latter's confidence. Drake had particularly spokea of his 

 desire to explore the Pacific, and Oxenham in reply, had protested that "he would follow 

 him by God's grace." The latter, who " had gotten among the seamen the name of captain 

 for his valour, and had privily scraped together good store of money/' becoming 

 impatient, determined to attempt the enterprise his late master had projected. He reached 

 the isthmus to find that the mule trains conveying the silver were now protected by a 

 convoy of soldiers, and he determined on a bold and novel adventure. " He drew his 

 ship aground in a retired and woody creek, covered it up with boughs, buried his provisions 

 and his great guns, and taking with him two small pieces of ordnance, went with all his 

 men and six Maroon guides about twelve leagues into the interior, to a river which 

 discharges itself into the South Sea. There he cut wood and built a pinnace, ' which was 

 five-and-forty feet by the keel;' ; ' embarked in it, and secured for himself the honour of 



* Camden. Balboa, the discoverer of the Pacific, had expressed the same feelings in almost the same locality. 



