Hey,
Came across an interesting article, which I've copied below,
regarding Sir Francis Drake. I wonder how much of this Bob knew about, and
(1) how much it influenced his creation of Solomon Kane, (2) his choice to
make SK a comtemporary of Drake, and (3) his choice to have SK get involved
with and use devilry, the staff, N'Longo, etc. Later.
Paul H.
October 22, 2000, Sunday, ALL EDITIONS
SECTION: YOUR LIFE, Pg. F2, RANDALL FLOYD COLUMN
LENGTH: 762 words
HEADLINE: CAPTAIN'S EXPLOITS CONFOUNDED HIS ENEMIES
BODY:
As he lay dying aboard his battered little ship off the coast of Panama in
1596, England's legendary sea captain Sir Francis Drake made a startling vow
- to return from the dead to defend his country's honor in time of peril.
"Just beat on my drum, and I will rise from the grave," he reportedly told
his men shortly before succumbing to fever.
Drake's drum supposedly contained magical powers. According to one account,
the little drum, which he had kept by his side during his many years of
exploration and discovery, had been given to him by the devil.
His final request was that the drum be sent to his home at Buckland Abbey in
Devon for safekeeping.
Over the years, Drake's drum has reportedly been heard many times, usually
preceding a great national crisis. Even today, many Englanders believe the
great sea captain remains in eternal slumber, ready to spring to life at the
sound of his drumbeat.
Drake's storied career began when he went to sea as a young boy with his
cousin, Sir John Hawkins. Born into poverty, he would go on to become
England's most revered and accomplished navigator and privateer, the first
Englishman to circumnavigate the globe and the first to sail the Pacific.
After his stunning defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, he became the most
famous man of his time. Wealthy and worshipped for his many daring deeds,
the fiery "little captain general" was knighted by Queen Elizabeth I.
Thanks to Drake's tireless efforts to raid, explore and discover new lands
and treasures in the name of his beloved queen, the world had become a much
smaller place - and England a much wealthier kingdom. Drake's voyages had
led him to the relatively unprotected coastlines of North and South America,
places that he savagely plundered, and to countless islands in the Caribbean
and Pacific.
His crowning achievement was the defeat of the Spanish Armada. In 1588, King
Philip II of Spain had launched a massive fleet of ships carrying 30,000 men
for an invasion of England. When they met the English fleet, of which Drake
was an admiral, the Spanish were battered and eventually forced to retreat
by a series of fierce storms.
As his reputation as a leader and explorer grew, so did the stories about
his rumored pact with the devil and his role as a wizard. The Spanish, for
example, called him El Draque - the devil - believing the hated Englishman
had sold his soul to Satan in exchange for prowess at sea.
Some believed that, before the huge naval battle, Drake had consulted
witches to help him cast spells that raised storms against the Armada.
Drake also reputedly used his magical skill to give Plymouth a new water
supply. This happened after he supposedly commanded a Dartmoor spring to
come forth and follow him to Plymouth.
Another story tells of how Drake sat whittling one day on the cliff of
Plymouth Hoe. Each wood chip that fell into the water sprang into a fully
formed ship. The Spanish believed he also possessed a "magic mirror" that
could show him the exact location of enemy ships at any given time.
Despite his legendary powers, Drake was finally defeated by the Spanish in
the West Indies in 1595. It was on his final voyage that he became sick with
dysentery, caught fever and died in January 1596. The 54-year-old
commander's body was placed inside a lead casket and dropped overboard at an
undisclosed location in Panama's Nombre de Dios Bay.
Drake's death sent shockwaves throughout England. It also raised many
stories about the drum that would summon him from his watery grave should
England ever be threatened.
According to researcher Rosemary Ellen Guiley, the beating drum has been
heard on countless occasions, including at the start of World Wars I and II.
"It was heard in the West Country in 1914 at the start of World War I, and
it was said to have beaten again when the German fleet officially
surrendered in 1919," Ms. Guiley writes in The Encyclopedia of Ghosts and
Spirits. "In the latter instance, a single drum beat was heard aboard
British ships as they closed around the German ships. A search was made, but
no unauthorized drummer was found."
Drake also appears in folklore as the leader of the "wild hunt," a spectral
night train in pursuit of lost souls. Some believe Sir Francis Drake
reincarnated in other British leaders, including Viscount Horatio Nelson and
Winston Churchill.
