WESTWARD HO 



regain their treasure in the absence of the main body of English. As 

 soon as he heard of his loss Oxenham hastened to attack, although he 

 was hopelessly outnumbered, and the result was that the entire expedi- 

 tion was killed or executed with the exception of two boys. Had he 

 followed the Spanish custom of killing his prisoners he would have saved 

 his men and his treasure. 



Thomas Cavendish. 



The expedition of Thomas Cavendish (or Candish as he was some- 

 times called) in 1586 is a good example of the morals of the time. He 

 was a Suffolk gentleman with a great enthusiasm for exploration and 

 accordingly fitted out three ships in the hope of going round the world. 

 Reaching the Straits of Magellan he carried out some practical survey- 

 ing work and then took on board one of the last survivors of an 

 unfortunate colony that a Spaniard named Sarmiento had founded on 

 the Patagonian coast. This man, Tomas Hernandez, said that there 

 were fifteen other survivors, including two women, only a mile away, 

 and Cavendish promised to rescue them, but immediately callously 

 changed his mind and left them to their fate. Hernandez landed at 

 Valparaiso as guide to a watering party whom he betrayed to the 

 Spaniards and caused to be hanged at Santiago de Chile. Long after- 

 wards he died a beggar. Cavendish pushed on, burned a few towns 

 and looted a few ships and reached the Californian coast where he 

 captured a valuable treasure ship. He then crossed the Pacific, lost his 

 last remaining follower, and in the Desire rounded the Cape of Good 

 Hope and reached home. He was possessed of courage and determina- 

 tion but was a bad leader and achieved very little. Being in financial 

 difficulties soon afterwards he planned a fresh venture in which he was 

 accompanied by John Davis, whom he falsely accused of its failure. 

 He died before the expedition reached home. 



Raleigh's Colony in Virginia. 



Sir Walter Raleigh's great contribution to the Empire was his 

 attempt to found an English colony in Virginia in 1583, the actual site 

 now being part of the State of North Carolina. He really had very poor 

 success, largely owing to the bad methods of the settlers, but he sent 

 back the most glowing accounts and several expeditions were fitted out. 

 In James I's reign the project was taken up again and a chartered com- 

 pany founded to exploit the colony. The establishment of the tobacco 

 growing industry made a firm basis for its prosperity, although its progress 

 was not so striking as that of some of the other States. 



Hudson the Navigator. 



Owing to his being principally remembered for the voyage which 

 he undertook under the Dutch flag this navigator is generally known as 

 Hendrik Hudson but as a matter of fact he was an Englishman whose 

 Christian name was certainly Henry but about whose early life we know 

 nothing. His first voyage was under the protection of the Muscovy 

 Company, and in a little ship with ten men and a boy he sailed in 1607 



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