The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1898-06-23
DRAKE IN CADIz HARBoR.


Burghley and Walsingham you can
see from their letters, believed now that
Elizabeth had ruined herself at last.
Happily, her moods were variable as
the weather. She was forced to see the
condition to which she had reduced her
affairs in the Low Countries by the APP
pearance of a number of starving
wretches who had deserted from the
garrisons there and had come across to
clamor for their pay at her own palace
gates. If she had no troops in the field
but mutinous and starving rabble,
she might get no terms at all. 1t might
be we'll to show Philip that on one ele-
ment at least she could still be danger
GUS. She had lost nothing by the bold
actions of Drake and the privateers,
With half heart she allowed Drake to
fit them out again, take the Buonaven-
tura, a ship of her own, to carry his
flag, and go down to the coast of Spain
and see what was going on. He was
not to do too much. She sent a vice
admiral with him, in the Lion, to be
check on over-audacity. Drake knew
how to deal with embarrassing vice
admirals. His own adventurers would
SAIL if he ordered, to the Mountains of
the Moon and be quite certain that it
was the right place to go to- Once UNI
der way and on the blue water, he
would go his own course and run his
own risks.
Cadiz harbor was thronged with
transports, provision ships, powder
vessels--a hundred sail of them-rnany
of thousand tons and over, loading
the stores for the Armada. There were
| thirty sail of adventures, the smartest
| af1oat on the ocean, and sailed by the
| smartest seaman that ever handled
rope or tiller. Something might be
! done at Cadiz if he did not say too
much about it. The leave had been
| given him to go, but he knew by expe-
! rence, and Burghley again warned
him, that it might, and probably would,
| be revoked if he waited too long. The
moment was his own, and he used 1t.
He was but just in time. Before his
| sails were under the horizon a courier
galloped into Plymouth with orders
| that under no condition was he to en-
| ter port or haven of the king of Spain,
or injure Spanish subjects. What else
was he going out for? He had guessed
how it would be. Comedy or earnest he
/
order would be sent after him, and he
had not an instant to lose.
He sailed on the morning of April II.
| Off Ushant he fell in with g northwest
gale, and he few on, spreading every
stitch of canvas which his spars would
bear. In five days he was at Cape st.
/ Vincent. On the 18th he had the white
houses of Cadiz right in front of him,
and could see for himself the forests of
masts from the ships and transports
with which the harbor was choked.
Here was chance for piece of service
If there was courage for the venture.
He signalled for his officers to come on
board the Buonaventura. There before
their eyes was, if not the Armada it
self, the materials which were to fit the
Armada for the seas. Did they dare to
go in with him and destroy them?
There were batteries at the harbor
mouth, but brakes marines had faced
Spanish batteries at st. Domingo and
Carthagena, and had not found them
very formidable. Go in? OF course
they would. Where Drake would lead
the corsairs Of Plymouth were never
afraid to follow.
The vice-admiral pleaded danger to
Her Majesty's ships. 1t was not the
business of an English fleet to be par
ticular about danger, Straight in they
went with fair wind and flood tide,
ran past the batteries and under g.
storm of shot, to which they did not
trouble themselves to wait to reply.
The poor vice-admiral followed reluc-
family in the Lion. A single shot hit
the Lion, and he edged away out Of
range, anchored and drifted to sea
again with the ebb. But Drake and all
the rest dashed on, sank the guardship
Ia large galleon-and sent flying a fleet
of galleys which ventured too near
them and were never seen again.
Further resistance there was none
absolutely none. The crews of the
/ ships escaped in their boats to land.
The governor of Cadiz, the same Duke
Of Mendina Sidonia VINO the next year
was to gain a disastrous immortality,
fled t1ike tall gentleman to raise
troops and prevent Drake from landing.
Drake had no intention of landing. At
his extreme leisure he took possession
of the Spanish shipping, searched every
vessel, and carried off everything that
he could USE He detained as prisoners
the rev men IndC ne IOunu Oh Dodru,
} and then, after doing his WORK delibe-
rately and completely, he set the hulls
J on fire, cut the cables and left them to
drive on the rising tide under the walls
of the town-a confused mass of blaz-
ing ruin. On April IL he hal sailed
J from Plymouth; on the goth he entered
Cadiz Harbor; on May he passed out
again without the loss IF a boat or a
man. He said in jest that he had
singed the beard of the king of Spain
for him. In sober prose he had done
: the king of Spain an amount of damage
: which a million ducats and years Ia
: Dor would imperfectly replace. The
; daring rapidity of the enterprise aston
: ished Spain, and astonished Europe
more than the storm of the West Indi-
Z an towns The English had long teeth
, as Santa Cruz had told Philips council
| and the teeth would need drawing te-
. fore mass would be heard again ST
t Westminster. The Spaniards were q
gallant race, and a dashing exploit