Note XXIII‑18 — Chapter XXIII · DRAKE AND OXENHAM'S EXPEDITIONS. 1572-1596.

There is some confusion in the narrative of the old chroniclers at this point. In Clark's Life of Drake, 20, it is related that a 'frigot' which sailed with the expedition to the rio Francisco, was ordered to lie off the mouth of the river, while on account of shoal water the men ascended the stream in pinnaces; but for what purpose the voyage on the raft, if this were the case, and why leave the vessel in so exposed a position? In Burton's English Heroe, 66, it is stated that the ship was left at (sent back to) the Cabezas, and, page 71, that when Drake fell in with his pinnaces his men 'sayled back to their Frigot and from thence directly to their Ships;' but according to this authority both ships and 'frigot' were already at the Cabezas, where they lay secure from the Spanish cruisers.