Reflections on Drake's big voyage 3
March 16th 2007 21:16
Whenever he could, Drake would land and clean his boats. He would also top up his food supply at every opportunity. At the bottom of South America, Terra del Fuega, he discovered an island so crowded with flightless birds that he called geese (because that is what they tasted like) but the Welshman in his company called them in their own tongue white heads or Pen Gwuins. Thousands of these birds were slaughtered and salted down for the voyage. I have in my repertoire of recipes some very good recipes for penguin, both fairy and giant. Of course I can’t release them until it is decided that they are Kosher to eat.
Again Drake lost men to the local natives. Living on the edge of the stone age the inhabitants of this land, so far south that only recently had white man been able to survive here, the locals were quick to catch up with the wicked ways of the soon to be conquerors and filled them full of arrows at every opportunity.
Inside Magelan’s Straight, during a break in sailing and while waiting for favourable winds, Drake killed his best friend. This man was a courtier, linguist, astronomer, psychic and pretended to the crew to be a warlock in league with the devil or God, whichever he chose. It was Drake’s opinion that his friend was trying to undermine his authority and wrest control from him. In a kangaroo court he tried him and had him beheaded. Drake was some tough cookie as this was the first killing that had been done on purpose in this rollicking great adventure.
Still his captains and crew did not know his plans. Where were they headed and why? They headed out into the great Pacific, so named by Magellan. They found storm after storm which only receded to gales. At this stage he had cut his fleet to only three ships as he could not keep wasting time looking for laggards. His crew heard, during a particularly bad storm the cry of drowning crew from the little Magnolia. 24 men gone without a trace. Although neither Drake or any of his men actually saw the ship break up and sink it was almost certain that was what happened. Drake held out hope still for this ship and the accompanying Elizabeth, right up to the time he left the American coast somewhere near present San Francisco.
Again Drake lost men to the local natives. Living on the edge of the stone age the inhabitants of this land, so far south that only recently had white man been able to survive here, the locals were quick to catch up with the wicked ways of the soon to be conquerors and filled them full of arrows at every opportunity.
Inside Magelan’s Straight, during a break in sailing and while waiting for favourable winds, Drake killed his best friend. This man was a courtier, linguist, astronomer, psychic and pretended to the crew to be a warlock in league with the devil or God, whichever he chose. It was Drake’s opinion that his friend was trying to undermine his authority and wrest control from him. In a kangaroo court he tried him and had him beheaded. Drake was some tough cookie as this was the first killing that had been done on purpose in this rollicking great adventure.
Still his captains and crew did not know his plans. Where were they headed and why? They headed out into the great Pacific, so named by Magellan. They found storm after storm which only receded to gales. At this stage he had cut his fleet to only three ships as he could not keep wasting time looking for laggards. His crew heard, during a particularly bad storm the cry of drowning crew from the little Magnolia. 24 men gone without a trace. Although neither Drake or any of his men actually saw the ship break up and sink it was almost certain that was what happened. Drake held out hope still for this ship and the accompanying Elizabeth, right up to the time he left the American coast somewhere near present San Francisco.
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