she was entirely out of sight next morning. Considering
their consort to be certainly lost, and believing themselves in imminent
hazard, the whole company betook themselves to prayers, and cast lots
which of them should go on pilgrimage for the whole crew to the shrine of
our Lady of Guadaloupe, which fell upon the admiral. They afterwards drew
for another to go to Loretto, and the lot fell upon Peter de Villa, a
seaman of Port St Mary; and they cast lots for a third to watch all night
at the shrine of St Olave of Moguer. The storm still increasing, they all
made a vow to go barefooted, and in their shirts, to some church of our
Lady at the first land they might come to. Besides these general vows,
several others were made by individuals. The tempest was now very violent,
and the admirals ship could hardly withstand its fury for want of ballast,
which was fallen very short in consequence of the provisions and water
being mostly expended. To supply this want, they filled all the empty
casks in the ship with sea water, which was some help and made the ship to
bear more upright, and be in less danger of oversetting. Of this violent
storm the admiral wrote thus to their Catholic majesties:

"I had been less concerned at the tempest had I alone been in danger, for
I know that I owe my life to my Creator, and I have often been so near
death that only the slightest circumstance was wanting to its completion.
But, since it had pleased God to give me faith and assurance to go upon
this my undertaking in which I have been completely successful, I was
exceedingly distressed lest the fruits of my discoveries might be lost to
your highnesses by my death; whereas if I survived, those who opposed my
proposal would be convinced, and your highnesses served by me with honour
and increase of your royal state. I was therefore much grieved and
troubled lest the Divine Majesty should please to obstruct all this by my
death, which had yet been more tolerable to contemplate if it were not
attended with the loss of all those men I had carried with me upon promise
of happy success. They, seeing themselves in so great jeopardy, did not
only curse their setting out upon the expedition, but the fear and awe
which I had impressed upon them, to dissuade them from returning when
outward bound, as they had several times resolved upon. Above all, my
sorrow was redoubled by the remembrance of two sons whom I had left at
school in Cordova, destitute of fri