360 TiMEHRI. 



On Whit Sunday, in June 1576, he set out from Plymouth 

 with two Barkes. One of these was the Ragged Staffe, 

 of which Barker was Captain. The other was the 

 Bear, with WiLLlAM COXE, of Limehouse, as Cap- 

 tain. After touching at the Cape Verde Islands, the 

 freebooters shaped their course ' over the maine ocean,' 

 for the West Indies, and arrived ' happily' at Trini- 

 dad. They had ' conference with certaine Indian in- 



* habitants thereof, who gave them very friendly and 



* courteous entertainment.' During the six days that 

 Barker's expedition spent at Trinidad, a pinnace was 

 set up that had been brought out in the Ragged Staffe, 

 and traffic for viftuals was held with the Indians. From 

 Trinidad Barker's vessels went on to Margarita, where 

 they began the serious business of their voyage by 

 taking a Spanish ship, which had in her 'certaine pitch 

 *and 30 tuns of Canarie Wines.' Of the wine, they 

 ' reserved 4 or 5 tunnes to themselves, dismissing them 

 ' without any further damage.' The voyage was fatal to 

 Barker, who was killed by the Spaniards in the Bay of 

 Honduras. His men did not return to England until they 

 had done much injury to some of the Spanish settle- 

 ments. 



8. In 1593, or 1594, Captain JACOB Whiddon was 

 sent out by Sir Walter Raleigh to gather informa- 

 tion about Guiana. Whiddon, who was esteemed by 

 his master as 'a man most honesi and valiant,' visited 

 Trinidad. He was observed by Berreo, with whom he 

 'had speech,' to be inquisitive as to Berreo'S proceed- 

 ings, and as to the country of Guiana. During WhiD- 

 DON'S stay at the island, a ship called ih^ Edward Bona- 

 veninre, commanded by Captain Lancaster, and on her 



