Page:Notes and Queries - Series 11 - Volume 8.djvu/289

 ii s. vii. APRIL 12, 1913.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

285

AN ENGLISH WHALER'S FIGHT WITH IPANIABDS. The following narrative of a ight between a British whaler and Spaniards ff the coast of Chili in February, 1805. nay perhaps be Worthy a place in ' N. & Q.' 'he narrative appears in ' The Voyages and "ravels of Amasa Delano,' who was born in he year 1763 at Duxbury in New England, he book being printed in Boston in 1817. ^he author, who made three voyages round he world, arrived at the port of Talcahuano, ,bout 9 miles from the city of Conception, ringing with him another ship besides his wn. He says :

" On our landing we found all in confusion, he Spaniards having taken vis for two English hips coming to revenge the injury which an English ship had sustained at that place about a ,-eek previous to our arrival. The circumstances ,ere these : two F.nglish ships came into this >lace for refreshments and to repair some damages, .ot knowing of the difficulties which existed at hat time between the two countries in con- equence of the English having attacked four 'panish frigates that were going to Spain from he River of Plate with money on board, taking hree of them and sinking the other. This had ccasioned the Spaniards to stop all English hips. These two were English whale ships the ietsy commanded by Captain Richards, and the Thomas commanded by Captain Moody, who ia<l his wife with him. They came in and an- hored within a quarter-mile of the forts. The Spaniards sent a guard boat on board with the aptain of the port to offer any assistance they Bight stand in need of and to invite them on hore. The two captains accepted their invita- ion, and ordered their officers not to let any Spaniards come on board in their absence (having ome suspicion that they were not sincere), 'hey went on shore with the captain of the port, nd were very politely received on the beach by

number of officers, who after escorting them o the captain of the port's house, and placing entinels at each door, informed them of the xisting difficulty and that they should take ossession of their ships. The English captains old them the ships would not be given up in heir absence. Three or four large boats filled nth troops attempted to go on board, and being efused, the Spaniards fired on them. The ships eturned the fire. The two batteries then opened heir fire upon them, and the Thomas soon lame was Hudson, a man of extraordinary M.ivriy, cut his cable and swung his ship the iTong way with her head in shore, passing within everal Spanish ships, which with every vessel in he harbour that could bring a gun to bear, ogether with 300 soldiers in boats and on ships' leeks, and the two batteries, all kept up a constant ire upon him. The wind was light, nearly a
 * ave up. The chief officer of the Betsy, whose
 * alm. The shot flew so thick that it was difficult

or him to make sail, some part of the rigging >eing cut away every minute. He kept men at the funs, and when the ship swung her broadside o as to bear upon any of the Spanish ships, he
 * ept up a fire at them. In this situation this

>rave 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 lime 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. ABDAGH.

40, Richmond Road, Drumcondra, Dublin.

NICOLAAS VAN RyiVEN. (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 ' net Kaas en Broodvolk,' a hostile party." This Was when the city was captured by the insurgent peasants of N. Holland.

I beg to thank MB. W. J. WBIGHT for his reply, which sent me to Naarden, where the tragedy he relates occurred in 1572.