advance of his age. The fearful ravages of scurvy in those days were of course mainly due to ignorance, partly also to overcrowding; and this seems to have been suspected; for commanders sometimes thought that they would escape sickness by having their vessels under-manned. Still, much saving of life might doubtless have heen effected by close personal attention on the part of the commander to the comforts of the men; and in this respect Drake was distinguished above all the seamen of his time.
At length the terraced shores of Patagonia came in sight, and the little fleet anchored in Port St. Julian. Fifty-seven years before, Magellan had suppressed a mutiny at this very place with violence, treachery, and bloodshed. Knowing that the captain of one of his ships was disaffected, he sent an officer to him with a letter and with orders to stab him while he was reading it. This was done; and he ordered another captain to be strangled. The two bodies were quartered, while a third captain and a priest were turned adrift on the shore to die of starvation. Francis Drake, unfortunately, had to deal with a similar matter, but he did so in a different spirit. One of the gentlemen volunteers, named Thomas Doughty, was accused of insubordination and mutiny. He was an accomplished gentleman and a scholar, but he was also a "sea lawyer," striving to stir up discontent; and the success of his machinations would, at the very least, have led to the failure of the enterprise. He received a fair trial, and was found guilty of mutiny by a jury. He was executed with all proper formality, after receiving the sacrament with Drake from Mr. Fletcher, the chaplain. Drake's own feeling towards Doughty was friendly, but, in the isolated and somewhat hazardous position of the fleet, he came to the conclusion, undoubtedly with reluctance, that the execution of a just sentence was necessary for the safety of the people entrusted to his charge, and for the success of the enterprise. He afterwards spoke kindly, and even in praise, of the deceased. Doughty's young brother, who was in the general's own ship, continued to mess at Drake's table and to be treated in all respects as the other gentlemen volunteers. It was a melancholy business, but the emergency was met by Drake with coolness, firmness, and moderation. It was unfortunate, also, that a skirmish with the natives resulted in the death of Robert Wynter, a brother of the captain of the Elizabeth, and of the master gunner.
The fleet left Port St. Julian and, steering south along the
