TRAFFIC WITH THE MOORS, 



271 



an expedition, at his own cost and with the help of friends and 

 partners in the enterprise, consisting of five ships, — the largest, 

 the Pelican, his flag-ship, of one hundred tons, and the smallest 

 of fifteen. These vessels were manned by one hundred and 

 fifty-four men. They carried out the frames of four pinnaces, 

 to be put together as occasion required, and, after the example 

 of the Portuguese in their first Eastern voyages, took with 

 them specimens of the arts and civilization of their country, 

 with which to operate upon the minds of the people with whom 

 they, should come in contact. They sailed in November, 1577, 

 but were driven back by a tempest. The expedition finally 

 got to sea on the 13th of December. 



At the island of Mogador, off the coast of Barbary, Drake 

 attempted to traffic with the Moors, and in an exchange of 

 hostages lost a man, who was taken by the natives : they then 

 refused to trade, and Drake, after a vain effort to recover the 

 sailor, left the island, and followed the African coast to the 

 southward. Between Mogador and Cape Blanco he took several 

 Spanish barks called canters, — one of which, measuring forty 

 tons, he admitted into his fleet, sending his prisoners off in the 

 Christopher, the pinnace of fifteen tons and one of the original 

 five vessels. He landed on the island of Mayo, where the inhabit- 

 ants salted their wells, forsook their houses, and drove away 

 their goats. Off the island of Santiago he took a Portuguese 

 vessel bound for Brazil, carrying numerous passengers and 

 laden with wine. He kept the pilot, Nuno da Sylva, gave the 

 passengers and crew a pinnace, and transferred the wine to the 

 Pelican. The prize he made one of the fleet, having given her 

 a crew of twenty-eight men. 



At Cape Verd Drake left the African shore, and, steering 

 steadily to the southwest, was nine weeks without seeing land. 

 When near the equator, he prepared his men for the change of 

 climate by bleeding them all himself. He made the coast of 

 Brazil on the 4th of April, 1578, — -the savage inhabitants 



