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Next day the English captain went ashore to certain houses, where he found 3000 pezos of silver, each being equal to a rial of eight, or Spanish dollar; getting also seven Indian sheep, some hens, and other articles, all of which he brought on board, and resumed his voyage.
Then setting all the prisoners on shore, except one named John Griego, born in Greece, who was detained as a pilot, the admiral directed his course for Lima, the capital of Peru, under the guidance of this new pilot. Being now at sea, they examined the booty in their prize, in which they found 25,000 pezos of pure gold of Baldivia, amounting to above 37,000 Spanish ducats.
Francis Pizarro as their generall, according to his decree and calling proportionally, had more then any of the rest, ouer and besides the massie table of gold which Atabalipa had in his Letter, which waighed 25000. pezos of gold: neuer were there before that day souldiers so rich in so small a time, and with so little danger And in this iourney for want of yron, they did shoe their horses, some with gold, and some with siluer.
"Give you good-day, gentlemen," I cried. "Is it your captain that you bury or one of your crew, or is it only pezos and pieces of eight?" "Put up, gentlemen, put up! Cannot one rover attend the funeral of another without all this crowding and display of cutlery? If you will take the trouble to look around you, you will see that I have brought to the obsequies only myself."
Some of them at first were loath to do it, and I and others advised that we should leave the plate behind, and take the gold only, for it would have cost us three or four journeys at the least. But Mr. Oxenham promised every man 100 pezos of silver over and above his wages, which made them content enough, and we were all to start the morrow morning.
And comming to make perfect Inuentorie of the same, as well for the Emperour then king of Spaine, his fift part, as otherwise, there was found to be already brought in into the sayd hall, the number of 132425. pound weight of siluer, and in golde the number of 1828125. pezos, which was a riches neuer before that nor since seene of any man together, of which there did appertaine to the Emperour for his fift part of golde 365625. pezos, and for his fift part of, siluer 26485. pound waight, and to euery horseman eight thousand pezos of gold, and 67. pound waight of siluer.
Stay a moment, senor, that is only the beginning of my demands," as the alcalde half rose to his feet, protestingly. "Secondly: I will put down the number of Englishmen slain on that occasion at, let us say, three hundred and fifty. For the benefit of those who were dependent upon those men I demand one thousand gold pezos each, or three hundred and fifty thousand in all.
The two vessels in question were "greate shipps arrived out of New Spaine, bound, as they said, for the Philippines, but driven into that place per contrary wynd, both shipps being full of souldiers, with great store of treasure, as it is said, above five millions of pezos."
The taking of which bark, I verily believe, was the ruin of every mother's son of us." And being asked why, he answered, "First, because of the discontent which was bred thereby; for on board was found no gold, but only 100,000 pezos of silver." Sir Richard Grenville. Thou greedy fellow; and was not that enough to stay your stomachs?
Here, as George quite expected, they found, in a locked desk, a large number of documents, including bills of lading, official instructions, and so on; and among the latter a paper authorising Don Pasquale to deliver over to Don Martin Enriquez, the Viceroy of Mexico, at San Juan de Ulua, the sum of one hundred thousand gold pezos, to be used for payment of the troops and the expenses connected with the government of the country.
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