Page:Notes and Queries - Series 11 - Volume 7.djvu/293

 11 8. VII. April 12,1913.] NOTES AND QUERIES. 285 An English Whaler's Fight with Spaniards.—The following narrative of a fight between a British whaler and Spaniards off the coast of Chili in February, 1805. may perhaps be worthy a place in ' N. & Q.' The narrative appears in ' The Voyages and Travels of Amasa Delano,' who was born in the year 1763 at Duxbury in New England, the book being printed in Boston in 1817. The author, who made three voyages round the world, arrived at the port of Talcahuano, about 9 miles from the city of Conception, bringing with him another ship besides his own. He says :— " On our landing we found all in confusion, Hie Spaniards having taken us for two English ships coming to revenge the injury which an English ship had sustained at that place about a week previous to our arrival. The circumstances were these : two English ships came into this place for refreshments and to repair some damages, not knowing of the difficulties which existed at that time between the two countries in con- sequence of the English having attacked four Spanish frigates that were going to Spain from the River of Plate with money on board, taking three of them and sinking the other. This had occasioned the Spaniards to stop all English ships. These two were English whale ships—the Betsy commanded by Captain Richards, and the Thomas commanded by Captain Moody, who had his wife with him. They came in and an- chored within a quarter-mile of the forts. The Spaniards sent a guard boat on board with the captain of the port to offer any assistance they might stand in need of and to invite them on shore. The two captains accepted their invita- tion, and ordered their officers not to let any Spaniards come on board in their absence (having some suspicion that they were not sincere). They went on shore with the captain of the port, and were very politely received on the beach by a number of officers, who after escorting them to the captain of the port's house, and placing sentinels at each door, informed them of the existing difficulty and that they should take possession of their ships. The English captains told them the slups would not be given up in their absence. Three or four large boats filled with troops attempted to go on board, and being refused, the Spaniards fired on them. The ships returned the fire. The two batteries then opened their fire upon them, and the Thomas soon gave up. The chief officer of the Betsy, whose name was Hudson, a man of extraordinary bravery, cut his cable and swung his ship the wrong way with her head in shore, passing within several Spanish ships, which with every vessel in the harbour that could bring a gun to bear, together with 300 soldiers in boats and on snips' decks, and the two batteries, all kept up a constant fire upon him. The wind was light, nearly a calm. The shot flew so thick that it was difficult for him to make sail, some part of the rigging being cut away every minute. He kept men at the guns, and when the ship swung her broadside so as to bear upon any of the Spanish ships, he kept up a fire at them. In this situation this brave fellow continued to lie for three quarters of an hour before he got his topsails sheeted home. The action continued in this manner for an hour and a half. He succeeded in getting the ship to sea, however, in defiance of all the force that could be brought to bear against him. The ship was very much cut to pieces in saiLs, rigging, and hull, and a considerable number of men were killed and wounded on board. Hudson kept flying from one part, of the deck to the other during the whole time of action, threatening and encouraging the men as occasion required. Some of the men begged him to give up the ship, and said they would do nothing more towards getting the ship out of harbour. His reply was, 'Then you are sure to die, for if they do not kill you I will, if you persist in such a resolution' ; saying at the same time, ' It is out she goes, or down she goes,' meaning that the ship should sink if she did not go out of harbour. By this means he kept the men to their duty, and succeeded in accomplishing one of the most daring enterprises perhaps ever attempted. " I had the above particulars from the two English captains, with whom I became acquainted after I arrived, and from many different persons who were at the place at the time, and also from some of the men of the Betsy whom I saw after I left this port. A Spanish officer who commanded one of the batteries told me that they fired 130- thirty-two-pound shot from their battery at the Betsy, and the other battery as many or more, besides what the ships and soldiers had done." M. N. Dublin Street-Names.—It may be worth recording the following changes in Dublin street nomenclature :— Botanic Avenue, formerly Cody's Lane. Parnell Street, formerly Great Britain Street. Dorset Avenue, formerly Dispensary Lane. Railway Street, formerly Lower Tyrone Street. Waterford Street, formerly Upper Tyrone Street. Foley Street, formerly Montgomery Street. Corporation Street, formerly Mabbot Street. St. Alphonsus' Place, formerly Nerney's Court. J. Ardagh. 40, Richmond Road, Drumcondra. Dublin. Nicolaas van Rctiven. (See 10 S. vi. 388, 452.)—Not to leave a story incomplete, I have to report that an official of the town of Naarden has kindly obtained from Haarlem the information I desired :— " The knight Cleas van Ruyven (in old spelling) was ' schout ' (Burgomaster) of Haarlem, and was murdered in the town house 1492 by ' het Kaas en Broodvolk,' a hostile party." This was when the city was captured by the insurgent peasants of N. Holland. I beg to thank Mr. W. J. Wright for his reply, which sent me to Naarden, where the tragedy he relates occurred in 1572.