THe Almighty Creator, (who onely worketh wonders) confounding strong things by weake meanes, as Dauids Sling, Samgars Goad, Sampsons Iaw-bone, Gedeons Pitchers, the great Cap­taine Sisera and Holofernes kil'd by two seely weake Woemen. All these and innumera­ble examples more there are both in diuine and humane Histories, which demonstrates that victory doth not consist in the Arme of flesh, but in the omnipotent Lord of Hosts, and God of Battles.

[Page]The Consideration of which makes vs with thankefulnesse to commemorate this our great Deliuerance, from so imminent dangers, and sharpe Assaults, as few, or none hath more cause to be thankfull for the like, and not to attribute any thing to my selfe being the Maister of the Ship, or with osten­tation to puffe vp any of my Company, but giuing the glory to whom glory belongs, I proceed.

About the end of this last yeare, our af­faires beeing accomplisht at Zant, our Ship called the Dolphin of London, of the bur­then of 220. Tunne, hauing in her 19. cast Pieces, and 5. Murtherers 36. Men and two Boyes, the Maisters name Edward Nichols, a man whose courage, industry, knowledge, and integrity, are manifested by his actions in former times, but now more particularly in this last and perilous aduenture, we being laden weyed our Anchor, and set saile from Zant the first of Ianuary 1616. with a faire gale of winde at North and by East the 8. of Ianuary, we had sight of the Iland of Sar­daine, [Page]then the wind beeing come Wester­ly, wee on the ninth day stood for Callery, we came close by two litle watch Towers, who shot two shot neere vs to giue warning to vs, that they would speak with vs, which night would not permit, for if wee could haue sent a shore to them, their intent was to haue informed vs of the Turkes men of war, which after we met withall to our cost and perrill and theirs to, for these townes were not aboue two Leagues off from the place where wee made our fight. At night (being calme) we sailed towards Cape Pola, which small gale brought vs neere to the Cape the 11. day About 2. of the Clock af­ter noone. Three Leagues Eastward of the aforesaid Cape, we descryed a Satty, which is a small coasting Vessell, sent at that time for a scout or spye, belonging to the Turks men of Warr: who kept [...]ight of vs in the euening neere the Ile of Serdine, which be­longs to the King of Spaine: The said Satty putting forth a light aloft, to giue a signe to the rest of his associates that hee had espied [Page]vs, and the more to delude vs, they let th [...] light sodainly fall, that we might immagine it to be the shooting of a Starre.

The 12. of Ianuary in the morning about 4. of the clocke we had better sight of the Sattie, and we perceiued that she stood in to get betwixt the shore and vs, which made vs doubt she had more fellowes not far off, as not long after wee found: the M ^r. presently sent one to the top mast head who presently discouered 5. Ships more making towards vs before the wind being then at west South west, which the Maister with a prospectiue glasse perceiu'd to be the Turks men of war. The first of them booming by himselfe be­fore the wind with al his sailes abroad, with­out colours or Flag, yet at present boording he put his flag out as we immagined: After him came 2. ships more of greater burthen then the first, and next one more which put his Flag in the main top as we perceiued af­terward: then came the 5. and last much greater in bignes and force then any of the rest, all strongly prepared to offend and de­fend [Page]in any Godles desperate assault; our M. perceiuing their readines, made speedy pre­paration for the incounter with our Ordi­nance and small shot, and other defensiue munition, first perswading his men with most Christian and manly Resolution by prayer first to recommend their soules, their bodies, and their actions to their God and Sauiour, which being done they went to dinner, after which the M ^r. againe exhor­ted them in this manner. Contrymen and fellowes, you see into what an exigent it hath pleased God to suffer vs to fall into, let vs remember that we are but men, and must die of necessity, when, where and how, is on­ly in Gods knowledge & appointment, but if it be his pleasure, that this must be the last of our dayes, his will be done, and let vs for his glory, our soules welfare, our Countries honor & the credit of our selues, fight it va­liantly to the last gaspe: let vs prefer a noble death before a slauish life, & if we die let vs die to gaine a better life, for mine own part qd. he, I will see that if we escape this dan­ger, that if any be hurt & maimd in the fight [Page]they shall bee carefully prouided for their health and maintenance whilst they liue af­terward, therefore bee resolute stand to it, heere is no shrinking, but force perforce we must be men or slaues, die with me, or if you will not, I by Gods grace will dye with you.

These cheerfull words had been sufficient to put courage into faint hartles Cowards: but much more it emboldened vs that were feareles before, for wee all expected greedi­ly to make proofe of the successe: at which the Maister caused his Trumpets twice to haile them, but they not regarding vs, scornd to answer vs, then the M. went vp the poop and waued his sword 3. or 4. times ouer his head, brandishing it with such dreadles resolution, as if the day had beene ours already: then the Trumpets sounded a charge, which warlik noyse inspird vs with new courage, & beeing within shot of them our M ^r. commanded his Gunner to make his leuell & to shoot, went close by his quar­ter that was neerest vs, shot on purpose to misse him, as a warning what kind welcome [Page]they were to haue at our hands at which the formost ship came vp to vs apace, being al­most becalmed, or with very little winde, returning vs worse then wee sent for their first shot kild vs a man, so betwixt vs for a good space was a most furious encounter, they hauing aduantage of vs by reason of the winde, presently layde vs a boord with one of their shippes, this was neere about eleauen of the clocke, then they sounded their Trumpets, and gaue sueh a showt as if they had won the victory already. But God, that neuer leaues those that put their confidence in him, cheared our Maister and Company with such manly fortitude, that presently our Trumpets sounded and answered them with a charge. (Which Trumpeter was presently slaine, as shalbe after related,) and the Boatswaine winding his whistle, that pell-mell we fell to it, in such feirce manner that their great ordi­nance had torne our shippe that wee vsed our Gunes cleare of the ports, for they had left vs no port on the quarters but all open, [Page]but we not failing to pay them as well on their bow, to their great dismaying, for we had not left them one man aliue from their maine-mast forward; besides we dismoun­ted their ordinance, & tore them so neer the water that their cheife Commanders were forced with their Cuttleaxes to beate their owne men, to force them to make more hast to vngrapple from vs then they did to boord vs.

All this time the Maister, Vigillently went to and frow encouraging his men, sometimes in the Gunner roome, some­times at the healme, sometimes on the port as ocasion serued, and where his presence was most needfull. This first fight conti­nued two howers, the ship was in burden, two hundred tunnes, or there abouts, and had in her 25. peices of ordinance, and a­bout 250. men, the Captaine of her, wee imagine was one Walsingham, which should be an English man by that name, and Ad­mirall of himselfe for so it signifide by his Flag in his maine top, they boorded vs on [Page]our Larboord quarter, armd with fauchi­ons, hatchets, and halfe pikes, they staid a­boord vs halfe an hower, tearing vp our naileboords, vpon the poope and the Trap­hatch, but wee hauing a murtherer in the round house kept the larbboord-side cleare, whilest our men with the other ordinance, and muskets, and a murtherer in our Trap­hatch, playd vpon them and their ship, yet for all this they paide our gallery with smal shot that we were much endangered, but at last we shot her through and through, and they vs likewise, that being fearefull to be sunke she bore a head from vs and lay by the lee to mend her leakes, this fight was so neere the shore, that the inhabitants set vp a glasse and found it lasted two howers and a halfe, and this was the first encounter in which was kild fiue men and a little boy, the manner how they were slaine shalbe at the end of the booke.

Now the Second incounter as wee sup­pose was with Captaine Kelleies Ship that [Page]came likewise vp with his flag in the maine top, and another Ship with his Flag in the fore top, which Shippes were at least three hundred tunne apeece or there abouts, and had in each of them twenty eight or thirty peeces of Ordinance, and about two hun­dred & fifty men, so they laid vs aboard on the Starbord quarter, and the other on the Larbor, where entring our ship thicke and threefold, with their semiters, hatchets, halfe pikes and other weapons, put vs in great danger both of the losse of our Ship and our liues, for they performed much man-hood and many dangerous hazards, amongst which there was one of their com­pany, that desperately went vp into our maine top to fetch downe our Flag, which being spied by the Steward of our Ship, pre­sently shot him with his Musquet that hee fell tumbling vpon our decke, and present­ly Cast ouerbord by their owne men, as they did the rest, leauing the Flag hehind him, so these two shippes fought with vs with great resolution, playing vppon vs [Page]with their Ordinance and small shot, for the space of an hower and a halfe, of whom we receiued some hurt, and likewise they of vs, but when they could not preuaile, nor any way make vs to yeeld, they bore vp and passed from vs to lay their ships by the leeto stop their leaks, for wee had grie­uously batterred them with our great Or­dinance, and this was the second attempt they made vpon vs.

Now for the third, there came one more of theirs ships of two hundred tunne that had 30. pieces of Ordinance, and at the least two hundred and 50. men all well pro­uided as might be, which was as we thought too great a number for vs, beeing so few in our ship, but God that was our friend gaue vs such strength and successe that they lit­tle preuailed against vs, for at their first comming vp, notwithstanding all their multitude of men, wee shot her quite thorough and thorough, we entertaind her with two minion and three sacre, on our starboard side, then she fell to our Larboard [Page]side, and then we welcom'd her with a sacre in our bow, two minion and, one demi­culuerin, which made her forsake vs and lye by the lee, as the others did before: but the other ship remaining, greater then the rest, in burden 500. tunnes with 650. men, laid vs aboard on the Starbord side, and in that quarter they entred our ship, with their Semiters, Fauchions, halfe Pikes, and other weapons, running to and fro vpon the deck crying still in the Turkish tongue, and some English, yeeld your selues, promising we should be well vsed, and one third part of our goods deliuered backe, with such like faire promises; at which one of our compa­ny told, the Maister of the large offer of the Turkes, perswading him to yeeld, but the Maister replied, away villaine, I will neuer giue them part or quarter, whilst I haue quarters to my body. Who beeing thus re­solued, some of our men plyed our Ordi­nance against them, some played with the small shot, some with other weapons, as swords and halfe Pikes and such like, in [Page]middest of which skirmish, it so happened by ill chance that they seeing that we would not yeeld to composition firde our ship in three places in the Maisters Cabbin, the gallery, with wild fire balls cast into the hold and so left vs, besides our gunnes and theirs fired the Carpenters cabbin, that wee and the ship was fired, and in great danger to be lost and cast away, had not the Lord in his mercy preserued vs, and sent vs meanes happily to quench it, but now marke the accident, the fier being perceiued by our enemies to burne outragiously, and think­ing that our Shippe would haue therewith beene sodainly burned to the water, they left vs to our fortunes, falling a sterne from vs, and so wee put to the shoare vn­der a Towre, for some succour, where wee let an Anchor fall thinking to ride there all that night, which wee had no sooner done, but we saw the great ship that parted from vs, in our iudgement beare vpon vs, and at that time the ship that neuer boorded vs shot a peece of ordinance, while wee were [Page]preparing for another incounter and so we were forced to wey our Anchor, and set sayle to get better succour, and the enemy being weary of our company hoyst out their boates to mend their leakes, wherevp­on we put into the roade betweene the two little towers, where wee sent our maymed gunner a shore to one of those towers, to make shot at the enemy if need were, where we lay fiue daies, mending the bruises and leakes of our ship: the losses we receiued in the aforesaide fight, were sixe Men and one Boy, which were killed outright, and there were hurt eyght men and one Boy more: but the Lord doth know what damage we put them to, and what number wee slew in their ships.

There is one thing more worthy of re­mēberance of our Chirurgion whose name was Robert Groue, who as hee was dressing one of our men in the hold of our Ship, a Ball of Wildfire fell into his Bason which he thinking to cast ouer boord it fell vpon the decke, which had greatly indangered [Page]vs but that hee resolutly fell vpon it and rouling in it smothered it out with his body. The Turkes trumpeters were aboard and sounded their Trumpets, yet notwith­standing, our men assaulted them so fierce­ly, that they forced them off, and the Bo­swaine (seeing them flye) most vndanted­ly with a whistle blourd them to the skir­mish, if so they durst. The Captaines of three of their Ships were Englishmen, as we thinke, who tooke part with the Turks thus to rob and spoyle vpon the Ocean, their names were Walsingham, Kelley, and Sampson.

Vpon the 13. of Ianuary there came a­board certaine Spaniards in the morning betimes to witnes what hurts wee had re­ceiued, who seing our men dead, went a shore with vs, and showed vs where wee might bury them, but as wee wore busie in making their graues, and couering the bo­dies with earth, there came sayling by a Fle­mish Ship of tweluescore tunne, which the enemy in the darke thought had beene vs, [Page]and so let her passe, which had in her fiue or sixe thousand pounds, which had beene chased with those men of warre that had fought with vs before, all which mony they brought in a long boate to this shore, and left in the ship onely three men, which were two Saylers and one Soldier, that after­wards within two daies brought the said ship into the Road of Callery, not any thing at all indangered, God be praised.

Vpon the 15. of the same Month when we came from the burying of our men, & had rested our selues in our Shippe some two or 3. houres, as God would haue it, the wind began to blow a strong gale, and by little & little grew to be a terrible tempest, through which from Sunday night till Friday in the euening. wee lay in such extremity of wea­ther, as raine, winde, lightening and thun­der, that we thought we should neuer haue got cleere from the Road where we lay: du­ring which storme and tempest there dyed one of our men, that had beene hurt in the fight, whose body wecast ouerbord, into the [Page]Sea, without any other buriall, and so when the winde and sea a little calmed, wee set vp saile and came forward: but within three dayes af­ter we buried 3. men more in the sea, and the same afternoone we arriued in the Road of Cal­lery, and lay at anchor, where againe searching our Ship, we found it rent and torne in many se­ueral places, so in Callery we mended our Ship, and hired certaine men there to help vs to stop her leakes, and fish her Masts, and hauing all thinges fitting for our Voyage homewards, vpon the 30. day of Ianuary we committed our selues againe vnto the Sea, so leauing Cal­lery wee came foreward with a Frenchman, who was bound to a place Orestone, some thir­ty Leagues from Callery, where after two daies we left his company being the first day of Fe­bruary, and after that putting forewards still towards England, we are now by Gods assist­ance safely ariued at London, to the contentati­on of our Owners, and the comfort of our selues that (by the Almighties protection) haue escaped so many dangers. God be praised.