When Sir Thomas Candish returned on board the Desire, from talking with the company, Captain Davis requested he would consider the extremity of our estate and condition, the slenderness of his provision, and the weakness of his men, being in no case for undertaking that new enterprise; as, if the other ships were as ill appointed as the Desire, it would be impossible to perform his new design, having no more sails then were then bent, no victuals, no ground tackle, no cordage save what was already in use; and, of seventy-five persons in the Desire, the master only had knowledge enough for managing the ship, and there were only fourteen sailors besides, all the rest being gentlemen, serving-men, or tradesmen.  Captain Davis laid these persuasions before both the general and Mr Cocke; and in fine, in consequence of a petition, delivered in writing by all the chief persons of the whole company, the general determined to depart from the Straits of Magellan, and to return again for Santos in Brazil.

Accordingly, we set sail on the 15th of May, the general being now on board the galleon, his own ship.  The 18th we were free of the straits; but on passing Cape Froward, we had the misfortune to have our boat sunk at our stern in the night, by which she was split and sore injured, and lost all her oars.  The 20th of May, being athwart Port Desire, the general altered his course during the night, as we suppose, by which we lost him.  In the evening he stood close by the wind to leewards, having the wind at N.N.E. and we stood the same course, the wind not altering during the night, and next day we could not see him.  We were then persuaded that the general was gone for Port Desire in quest of relief or that he had sustained some mischance at sea, and was gone there to seek a remedy.  Our captain then called all hands together, the general’s men among the rest, asking their opinion what was to be done, when every one said he thought the general was gone to Port Desire.

Our master, who was the general’s man, and careful for his master’s service, and also a person of good judgment in sea affairs, represented to the company how dangerous it was for us to go to Port Desire, especially if we should there miss the general; as we had now no boat wherewith to land, neither any anchors or cables which he could trust to in such rapid streams.  Yet as we all concluded that it was most probable the general had gone there, we shaped our course for Port Desire, and on our way met the Black pinnace by chance, which had also parted company from the general, being in a miserable plight.  So we both proceeded for Port Desire, where we arrived on the 26th of May.

Sec. 2. Disastrous result of the Voyage to Sir Thomas Candish.[64]

Various accounts of the disappointments and misfortunes of Sir Thomas Candish, in this disastrous voyage, are still preserved, but the most copious is contained in his own narrative, addressed to Sir Tristram Gorges, whom he constituted sole executor of his will.  In this, Sir Thomas attributes his miscarriage to the cowardice and defection of one of his officers, in the following terms:—­“The running away of the villain Davis was the death of me, and the decay of the whole action, and his treachery in deserting me the ruin of all.”