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 in their returne from the East India
were alwayes till now woont to arriue to refresh themselues with water and
victuals. And the kings reason was; because of the English men of warre,
who (as he was informed) lay there in wait to intercept them.