one M. Norton was captaine) which hauing in like sort
kenned the carak, pursued her by that course which
they saw her to runne towards the Ilands. But
on no side was there any way made by reason of a great
calme which yeelded no breath to spread a saile.
Insomuch that fitly to discouer her what she was, of
what burthen, force, and countenance sir Iohn Burrough
tooke his boat, and rowed the space of three miles,
to make her exactly: and being returned, he consulted
with the better sort of the company then present,
vpon the boording her in the morning. [Sidenote:
A carak called The Santa Cruz set on fire.] But a very
mighty storme arising in the night, the extremity thereof
forced them all to wey ankers, yet their care was
such in wrestling with the weather not to lose the
carak, that in the morning the tempest being qualified,
and our men bearing againe with the shore, they might
perceiue the carak very neere the land, and the Portugals
confusedly carrying on shore such things as they could
any maner of way conuey out of her; and seeing the
haste our men made to come vpon them, forsook her;
but first, that nothing might be left commodious to
our men, set fire to that which they could not cary
with them, intending by that meanes wholly to consume
her; that neither glory of victory nor benefit of
shippe might remaine to ours. And least the approch
and industry of the English should bring meanes to
extinguish the flame, thereby to preserue the residue
of that which the fire had not destroyed; being foure
hundred of them in number and well armed, they entrenched
themselues on land so neere to the carak, that she
being by their forces protected, and our men kept
aloofe off, the fire might continue to the consumption
of the whole. This being noted by sir Iohn Burrough
he soone prouided a present remedy for this mischiefe.
[Sidenote: An hundred of our men land.] For landing
one hundred of his men, whereof many did swim and
wade more then brest high to shore, and easily scattering
those that presented themselues to guard the coast,
he no sooner drew toward their new trenches, but they
fled immediatly, leauing as much as the fire had spared
to be the reward of our mens paines. Here was
taken among others one Vincent Fonseca a Portugall,
Purser of the carak, with two others, one an Almaine
and the second a Low-dutchman, canoniers: who
refusing to make any voluntary report of those things,
which were demanded of them, had the torture threatened,
the feare whereof at the last wrested from them this
intelligence, that within fifteene dayes three other
greater caraks then that lately fired would arriue
at the same Iland: and that being fiue caraks
in the fleet at their departure from Goa, to wit, the
Buen Iesus admirall, the Madre de Dios, the S. Bernardo,
the S. Christophoro, and the S. Cruz, (whose fortune
you haue already heard) they had receiued speciall
commandement from the king not to touch in any case
at the Iland of S. Helena, where the Portugall caraks