as Bay, hotly pursued by the Dutch, and immediately organized a
defensive. But they were outnumbered in the combat which ensued and laid
down their arms. The Dutch General and his staff offered thanks to the
Almighty for this great victory. The next day the ships were all secured
fast by chains, and the third day the booty was unloaded from the
Spanish and transferred to the Dutch ships. There were bars of silver,
crosses, chalices, other vessels and art objects fashioned out of
silver, in all weighing eighteen thousand four hundred pounds.

The Dutch started on their home voyage on the seventeenth of September
and took with them four Spanish galleons, two laden with skins and two
with iron and other ore. On the twenty-sixth they reached Bermuda and
sent two couriers to Holland to report to the directors of the West
India Company. The first reached Rotterdam on the fifteenth of November
and received from the Prince of Orange as reward for the good news a
jewelled gold chain. To the story of the expedition is added a detailed
account of the goods carried by the individual ships, which shows that
they also brought dye-stuffs, oil, wine, silks, furniture and other
merchandise which with the silver, other ore and skins brought the total
value up to thirty millions, presumably of Dutch gulden.

In the meantime there sailed from Cadiz an imposing squadron under the
command of the Marquis de Valdueza and carrying as second in command the
celebrated mariner D. Antonio de Oquendo. The object of the expedition
was to clear the coasts of the islands of all the pirates which had
begun to infest the Antilles. Off Nelson's Island, or Nevis, so called
by Columbus in 1493 because the cloud-veiled summit of its highest peak
reminded him of snow, they captured four Dutch corsairs in a violent
combat from which the island suffered seriously. In September the
Spanish fleet sailed for the island of San Cristobal, and obtained
possession of the fortifications of Charles and Richelieu, compelling
the French filibusters who were garrisoned there to surrender. These
brilliant exploits had within the brief space of eight weeks placed the
Spaniards in possession of two thousand three hundred prisoners, one
hundred and seventy-three pieces of artillery, seven vessels and a great
quantity of arms, powder and tobacco. Besides losing the islands the
pirates suffered a loss of property to the amount of fifty million
pesos. For a time the Antilles and