Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
the Philippines richly laden with oriental merchandise. He sailed to
southern California and there patrolled impatiently back and forth
waiting for the argosy. She was sighted, at last, on 4 November and,
after some fierce hand-to-hand fighting she surrendered. The
700-ton
Santa Ana
was a formidable opponent. But for the fact that
her cannon were stowed below decks because no enemy was anti-
cipated on that coast Cavendish's challenge might have had a very
different outcome.
This great ship 'was one of the richest vessels that ever sailed
on the seas; and was able to have made many hundreds wealthy if
22,000 gold pesos and 6oo tons of silk, pearls, satin, civet and other
goods. She was not as rich a prize as the
Cacafuego
but her capture
had 'made' Cavendish's voyage even though he could ship only a frac-
tion of the merchandise. Cavendish spent two weeks sorting through
the cargo. Fifty tons of it was transferred to his own vessels. The rest
was burned with the ship. The commander's problem was a man-
power shortage. We have no details but it is clear that scurvy, ship's
fever and battle had all taken their toll. The
George
had already been
scuttled because there were not enough sailors to man her. Caven-
dish had enough crewmen for two ships and, since the mariners had
to be fed, victuals accounted for much of the space in the holds. It
must have been galling to watch the richly-laden
Santa Ana
slip be-
neath the waters of San Lucas Bay in a cloud of steam and smoke, but
Cavendish and his men were in good heart as they set sail for Cathay
on 19 November.
With the aid of a Spanish pilot, Alonso of Valladolid, removed
from the
Santa Ana,
and favoured by wind and weather, Cavendish
made the crossing to Guam in forty-five days. This was about three
weeks shorter than Drake's time for an almost identical voyage. The
sailing went well but Cavendish had other anxieties. Soon after leav-
ing the American coast the
Content
was lost to view. Nothing more
