A voyage of Master William Parker of Plimmouth gentleman, to Margarita, Jamaica
, Truxillo, Puerto de
Cavallos situate within the bay of Honduras
, and taken
by sir Anthony Sherley and him, as likewise up Rio
dolce: with his returne from thence, and his valiant
and happie enterprize upon Campeche
the chiefe towne
of Yucatan
, which he tooke and sacked with sixe and
fifty men, and brought out of the harbour a Frigat
laden with the kings tribute, and surprized also the
towne of Sebo.
IN the yeere 1596, Master William Parker of Plimmouth
gentleman being furnished with a tall shippe and a barke
at his owne charges, the ship called the Prudence of one
hundreth and twenty tunnes, wherein himselfe went captaine, and the barke called the Adventure of five and
twentie tunnes, whereof was captain one Richard Hen,
departed from the foresayd haven of Plimmouth in the
moneth of November, having one hundreth men in his
company.
The first place where wee touched in the West Indies
was the
Isle of Margarita on the coast of Tierra firma,
where we tooke a Spanish gentleman and others, who for
his ransome set at libertie Master James Willis, and five
other Englishmen which were prisoners in Cumana, who
otherwise were never like to have come from thence.
Thus passing from thence, wee sayled over to the
Isle of
Jamaica, where the second of March we met with sir
Anthony Sherley, who before our comming had taken the
chiefe towne in the Island, and was now almost in a
readines to depart. And here consorting our selves with
him, we departed from Jamaica
the sixt of March, and
resolved to set upon the strong towne of Truxillo neere
the mouth of the bay of the Honduras
. And having
sayled to
Cape de Corrientes upon Cuba
, to seeke a barke
of mine for our better strength; but not finding her, we
went for the cape of Honduras
, where wee purposed to
intrap the watch, and so to have sacked the towne of
Truxillo. But the watch discovering us, made great fires,
and the towne presently shot off a great piece, and
answered with fires. Notwithstanding, the next day
being the one and thirtieth of March, wee brought our
ships under the fort, and landed our men: but it was a
vaine purpose, for the towne is invincible by nature, and
standeth upon the top of a very steepe hill joyning close
to the sea, environed with woods of such exceeding thicknes, that there is no passage through the trees: there is
also but one very narrow and steepe lane to goe into the
towne, at the end whereof is a gate very strongly fortified: so that it is not to be approched unto, unlesse it
be upon the sudden, and with surprize of the watch:
wherefore with the losse of some few men wee retired
from this enterprize.
From hence we passed up farther into the gulfe the
second of April, with intention to invade the towne of
Puerto de Cavallos, where wee arrived the seventh of
April, and tooke the same, finding it well fortified, but
nothing answering our expectation for wealth. Whereupon Sir Anthony Sherley and I being hitherto frustrate
of our hopes, resolved here to enter up to the bottome
of Rio dolce, and to passe overland unto the
South sea.
Wherefore wee set forward, and entred above thirty
leagues up the sayd Rio dolce, thinking to have passed
overland with two companies of men, and to have caried
a pinnesse in sixe quarters to be set together with
skrewes, and therein to have embarked our selves in the
South sea, and there for a time to have tried our fortune;
and to have returned overland to the bay of Honduras
.
But this our diligence tooke no effect, because of the huge
highnes of the mountaines, and the length of the way,
being more then was given out at the first. Then with
much griefe we returned out to Truxillo, where I departed
from Sir Anthony Sherley.
After my departure from this worthy knight, I set my
course for
Cape de Cotoche which lieth on the East part
of Yucatan
from whence I ranged al the North coast of
the said promontory of Yucatan
, untill I came unto
Cape
Desconoscido, where I put 56 of my men into a Periago,
or long Indian Canoa; and leaving my ship sixe leagues
from the towne of Campeche
at three of the clocke in
the morning I landed hard by the monasterie of San
Francisco, and tooke the sayd towne of Campeche
, with
the captaine and Alcalde, finding therein five hundreth
Spaniards, and in two townes close adjoyning to the same
eight thousand Indians. The multitude of the Spaniards
which fled upon my first assault by ten of the clocke in
the morning assembling together renued their strength,
and set furiously upon me and my small company. In
which assault I lost some sixe of my men, and my selfe
was shot under the left brest with a bullet, which bullet
lieth still in the chine of my backe. Being thus put unto
our shifts wee devised on the sudden a newe stratagem:
for having divers of the townesmen prisoners, we tied
them arme in arme together, and placed them in stead of
a baricado to defend us from the fury of the enemies shot.
And so with ensigne displayed, taking with us our sixe
dead men, wee retired with more safetie to the haven,
where we tooke a frigat which rode ready fraught with
the kings tribute in silver and other good commodities,
which were presently to bee transported to S. Juan de
Ullua, and brought the same and our Periago or Canoa
to my ship, which lay in two fadome water sixe leagues
from the town, being not able to come any neerer for the
sholds upon that coast. Over against the place where
our ship rode, stoode a towne of 300 or 400 Indians called
Sebo, which we likewise tooke, where wee found Champechewood good to dye withall, with waxe, and hony.
This done we left this coast, and turned up to
Cape de
Cotoche againe, and ankored every day at noone, because
of the brizes, and in turning up I lost my barke called
the Adventure, which was taken by 2 frigats of warre,
which were manned out from Campeche
: wherein Captaine Hen and thirteen of my men were taken, and
afterward executed, as since we understand by some
Spanish prisoners that were taken in those parts. After
we had stayed five weekes on this coast, wee shaped our
course for Havana
, where finding nothing, we disemboqued, and came along by the
Isle of Bermuda, and
crossed over to The banke neere
Cape Race in 22 fadomes :
and from thence sayling for England
, we fel with Sillie
about the first of July, and within two dayes after arrived
at
Plimmouth, where we found the Right honorable the
Erle of Essex setting forth with a great fleet for the
Isles
of the Azores.
