Part 1

Transcriber’s Notes.

Hyphenation has been standardised.

The Contents list has been created by the Transcriber and is placed in the public domain.

Changes made are noted at the end of the book.

CONTENTS

CHAP. I.— When to provide tools and how to make them. CHAP. II.— Divers sorts of angling; first, of the fly. CHAP. III.— Of the Artificial Fly. CHAP. IV.— Of angling at the ground. CHAP. V.— Of all sorts of baits for each kind of fish. CHAP. VI.— To keep your baits.

THE EXPERIENCED ANGLER; OR ANGLING IMPROVED.

J. Johnson, Printer, Brook Street, Holborn, London.

THE

EXPERIENCED ANGLER;

OR

Angling Improved.

IMPARTING MANY

OF THE

APTEST WAYS AND CHOICEST EXPERIMENTS

FOR THE

TAKING MOST SORTS OF FISH

IN

POND OR RIVER.

BY COL. ROBERT VENABLES.

“I have read and practised by many books of this kind, formerly made public; from which, although I received much advantage, yet without prejudice to their worthy Authors, I could never find in them that height of judgment and reason, manifested in this, as I may call it, Epitome of Angling.” _Isaac Walton._

LONDON:

SEPTIMUS PROWETT, OLD BOND STREET,

AND

THOMAS GOSDEN, BEDFORD STREET,

COVENT GARDEN.

1825.

TO HIS INGENIOUS FRIEND THE AUTHOR, ON HIS ANGLING IMPROVED.

HONOURED SIR,

_Though I never, to my knowledge, had the happiness to see your face, yet accidentally coming to a view of this discourse before it went to the press; I held myself obliged in point of gratitude for the great advantage I received thereby, to tender you my particular acknowledgment, especially having been for thirty years past, not only a lover but a practiser of that innocent recreation, wherein by your judicious precepts I find myself fitted for a_ higher form; _which expression I take the boldness to use, because I have read and practised by many books of this kind, formerly made public; from which, although I received much advantage in the practice, yet, without prejudice to their worthy Authors, I could never find in them that height of_ judgment _and_ reason, _which you have manifested in this, as I may call it_, epitome of Angling; _since my reading whereof I cannot look upon some notes of my own gathering, but methinks I do_ puerilia tractare. _But lest I should be thought to go about to magnify my own judgment, in giving yours so small a portion of its due, I humbly take leave with no more ambition than to kiss your hand, and to be accounted_

YOUR HUMBLE AND THANKFUL SERVANT, ISAAC WALTON.

MEMOIR OF COL. ROBERT VENABLES.

Of the author, Colonel Robert Venables, but little is known, and that little not very satisfactory. Among the Manuscripts in the Harleian Collection, are several Pedigrees of the Families of Venables: particularly in that marked ‘1393, f. 39,’ where the great ancestor of Venables is stated to have been Gabriel Venables, who came over with William the Conqueror, and afterwards received the Earldom of Kinderton, in Cheshire, from Hugh Lupus. Another Manuscript, No. 2059, recites a deed from one of the family, residing at Northwich, as early as anno 1260.

But reverting more immediately to the subject of this notice, the Harleian Manuscript ‘1993, f. 52.’ contains a paper, partly in the hand writing of Colonel Venables, which furnishes a detailed account of the time he served in the Parliament Army in Cheshire, and of the pay due to him from 1643 to 1646. From this authority it appears, that in 1644 he was made Governor of Chester; and from other sources we learn, that in 1645, he was Governor of Tarvin. In 1649, he was Commander in Chief of the Forces in Ulster, in Ireland, and had the towns of Lisnegarvy, Antrim, and Belfast delivered to him. His actions in the sister kingdom, are recited in an excessively rare book, entitled ‘A History, or Briefe Chronicle of the Chief Matters of the Irish Warres,’ printed at London, in 1650, 4to.

From this period no trace of him is discoverable, and it is probable that he was unemployed, until Cromwell, at the instigation of Cardinal Mazarine, fitted out a fleet for the conquest of Hispaniola, in 1654, when Colonel Venables, and Admiral Penn, were invested with the command of that armament. It appears however, to have been undertaken in an evil hour, and a contemporary manuscript in the Editor’s possession, and which has not been printed till now, furnishes the most valuable information respecting the disasters which they underwent. The manuscript is evidently addressed to some one, and it commences:—

Sir,

The opinion I was of, in that discourse we had at----, touching the Western Voyage of the English in 1654. I have been since abundantly confirmed in, by the perusal of some Papers and Memoirs of a Person of no mean character throughout that action, whose employment gave him opportunity to know all, at least the most considerable of its transactions, and I have reason to believe, by the account I have had of him, he was sufficiently able to take his measures of them aright. The substance of what I gathered from his notes, and from orders of the Councils of War, as well of the Commissioners, and from declarations of the Army, and letters from persons who held posts in that Army, all which I had the favour to inspect, I will here faithfully present you with. For indeed I am very desirous to beget in you the same sentiments of that affair, which I have, I think, with good reason entertained. And the rather, because the course you design to steer will give you opportunity of converse with those persons, who are most inquisitive after, as most concerned to know, matters of this nature; and yet, perhaps, under greater mistakes in this particular, than any others.

It was doubtless, none of the least ends which that fox, Oliver, had in that design; to rid himself of some persons whom he could neither securely employ, nor safely discard: which end seemed chiefly to influence the managery of the whole business, as you will perceive by the story.

It was pretended at first it should be carried on with great secrecy; but the delay was so great, and thereby the notice of it so public, as alarmed the Spaniards to provide for their reception. Venables moved to have had soldiers for this service drawn out of the Irish Army, which he had been well acquainted with; but it was peremptorily denied, and they were appointed to be drawn out of the army in England, whose officers generally gave out of their several companies the rawest and worst armed they had. And these being hastily shipped off at Portsmouth, the chief of the land officers, who were to go with them, were never suffered to rendezvous, or see together till they came to Barbadoes, where they arrived January 29, 1654-5. Here they found them to want 500 of the number promised, being but 2500 men in all, and not above half of those well armed. And though they had been assured they should find 1500 arms at Barbadoes, yet they could not there make up 200 arms; and all the help they had was to make half-pikes, wherein, and in fixing those arms they had, they met with some difficulty, their smith’s tools being on board their store ships, which were not yet come to them. For those ships took in their provisions at London, and they were promised should meet them at Portsmouth, and there they were told that they should reach them at Barbadoes; which yet they did not, nor till at least six months after. So that much of the provision, which was defective at first taking in, was by that time grown very corrupt.

While they staid at Barbadoes it was plainly discovered that not only the inhabitants there were against the general design, but that the seamen bandied against the land-men, and gave them not that assistance and furtherance which was in their power. Notwithstanding the land-soldiers great want of arms, Penn and the sea-officers would not be prevailed with to furnish them with any, nor so much as to lend them a pike or a lance; though he had above 1200 of the former to spare, and great numbers of the latter were put aboard on purpose for the army to kill cows with. At their leaving that place, the seamen had their full allowance of victuals and brandy on their fish-days; when the land-men had for four days in the week, but half their proportions, the other three fish-days, only bread and water.

In this condition they left Barbadoes, March the last, 1655. By the way they touched at St. Christopher’s, whence they took aboard a regiment of soldiers, who had been raised in that island; among whom they were pleased to find two Englishmen, Cox and Bounty, who had then lately come from Hispaniola, where the former had lived twelve years, and served as a gunner in the castle of St. Domingo.

Now when they were far out at sea, a dormant commission, not before discovered, was broken up, whereby two others, Winslow and Butler, were joined in commission, and equally empowered, with the two generals Venables and Penn; and nothing was to be done without their joint advice and orders: yea, when on shore, Venables, (though he had by his own commission a command of all the land forces in chief,) yet he was by this commission restrained from acting any thing without the concurrence of the commissioners, or such one, or more, of them as was present with him. A great debate now arose between these Commissioners about dividing the lion’s skin, before he was caught, which occasioned much heat among them, and gave great dissatisfaction to the soldiers. There was a clause in this joint commission, that all prizes and booties got by sea or land should be at the disposal of the commissioners, for the advance of the present service and design. This the greater part of the Commissioners judged was to be extended to all sorts of pillage. Venables thought it was meet to interpret it only of ships and their lading, and large quantities of treasure and goods in towns and forts: and that to extend it to all booty, by whomsoever got, would be both impossible to put in execution, and hugely disgustful to the soldier to attempt. When he could not prevail to have his sense of this hard clause pass, he propounded a middle way: that none should conceal or retain any arms, money, plate, jewels, or goods, to his private use, on pain of forfeiting his share in the whole, &c. but that all should be brought in unto officers, chosen by mutual consent, and sworn to be faithful therein; and then distribution to be made to each man according to his quality and desert. And agreeably thereto he framed both an order for the Commissioners to sign, and a declaration for the officers of the army to subscribe, testifying their submission to the order, and that they would endeavour that all under their respective commands should observe it; and further, that when their several pays should be discharged, they would acquiesce in the disposal of the surplus by the Commissioners, either in rewards to the deserving, or in necessaries for the public service, &c. This the Commissioners so far approved as to appoint it to be writ fair, and copies made, for each regiment one. The officers and soldiers were also content, and satisfied therewith; but when it came to the point, only Venables and Penn signed the order, and so the declaration fell too. Which surely was a great oversight in the Commissioners who refused, for by this means they would have soothed and pleased the army with a fair flourish, but in reality had by common consent obtained the whole to be at their own disposal.

Then the Commissioners propounding a fortnight’s pay to the soldiery instead of the pillage of St. Domingo, the chief city of Hispaniola, Venables prevailed with them to be content with six weeks pay. But when that would not be yielded to by the Commissioners, he requested the officers and soldiers, without standing on any terms, to venture their lives with him, and trust to Providence for the issue and reward; which they agreed unto for that time, but withal many of them declared they would never strike stroke more, where there should be commissioners thus to controul the general and soldiers, but would forthwith return for England.

By this time they drew near to Hispaniola; the land general and officers were for running the fleet into the harbour of St. Domingo, but they of the fleet opposed it, Penn assured them there was a bomb which would hinder their advance; though Cox, being called in, said he believed there was none, yea, declared among the soldiers, that he conceived the harbour was incapable of any thing of that kind. During the debate about this matter, Captain Crispin, who commanded a frigate, offered to venture the running in of his vessel into the harbour, and bore up so near as to fire on the castle of St. Domingo, and discovered nothing of any bomb, or other obstruction, as he after declared; yet was he commanded off by Penn. Then they of the army resolved at a council of war, among other things, that one regiment staying to land to the east of the city, which fell by lot to Col. Butler; the rest of the army should land some miles distant at the river Hine, the place where Drake landed, and force the fort which stood at the mouth of it: yet they of the fleet carried the army westward to Point Nizas, whence they had to march above thirty miles north to the city, through a strange, woody, and very hot country, where no water could be found, and many of them had but two days victuals delivered them from the fleet, none above three. The mean while Cox, who was designed to be guide to the land forces, had been sent by Penn a fishing, and was not returned, nor could be heard of at the landing; in the want of him, Venables desired to have had Bounty, or Fernes, who also was acquainted with the Island, but Penn would not part with either of them.

So soon as they were landed, the Commissioners appointed the publishing of an order against plundering, and that all pillage should be brought in unto a common store; but therein gave Venables liberty to promise the soldiers, in case the city should be taken by storm, six weeks pay, or a moiety of the pillage, excepting arms, ammunition, and such like: or in case it should be surrendered, three weeks pay, or a third of the pillage. This was signed by Penn, Winslow, and Butler.

The soldiers, who were before disgusted, were by this exasperated into mutiny. A sea regiment, which came ashore, was the first that laid down arms; and by their example all the rest. And much ado Venables had in any sort to pacify them; at last they were persuaded to march, though with much discontent: and in that unsatisfied, mutinying humour, they marched four days without any guide, tormented with heat, hunger and thirst, when they might have landed at the place best fitted for attack, fresh on the first day.

The mean while Col. Buller had, according to his order, essayed to land eastward of the city; but finding no place for it, was afterwards appointed by the Commissioners to land at Hine river, but with express order not to stir thence till the army came up. Accordingly he landed on Monday, April 17, and with him Col. Houldip, and 500 of his regiment, having Cox in their company. At their approaching, the Spaniards abandoned the fort near the river mouth, leaving two great guns dismounted, and the walls, as much as their haste would allow, dismantled. This encouraged Buller to pursue them towards the city; but in the narrow passes of the woods, he missed his way, and came to some plantations vacant and waterless, purposing there to expect the army: yet next morning sent out a party to descry the fort St. Hieronimo, who exposed themselves too much to view, and alarmed the Spaniards.

Soon after Buller had marched from the fort where he landed, the army came to the other side of the river Hine, but could not pass it, wanting a guide to shew them the ford, which induced them to march five miles up the river, seeking one; and at last, the day being spent, they were forced to quarter that night without either food or good fresh water. Next day, after three miles march more, a ford was found, and the river passed, and they had not gone far, when a farm with water chancing in their way, gave them great refreshment. Where making a halt, and consulting what was meet for them to do, they resolved to go to the fleet at the harbour for provision for their hungry men; to which an Irishman, then brought in by some stratagem, offered to guide them the shortest way. And though Venables was jealous of him, and would not have heeded him, yet Commissioner Butler would have him followed, and charged them by virtue of their instructions so to do; and follow him they did, till a fruitless march three or four miles the contrary way, proved him a liar. At last, hearing Buller’s drums, they made towards him, and met with him near the strong fort, St. Hieronimo, a regular and well fortified pier, in the road to the city. Venables being at this time in the van, which he had led all their long march, went himself with the guide, for the officers being all very weary, were willing to be excused; to search the woods before the army, and discovered the Spaniards in ambush, before they stirred; who presently, thereupon advancing, the English forlorn immediately fired upon them too hastily and at too much distance, which gave the Spaniards advantage to fall in with them with their lances, before they could charge again, and so gave them some disorder, and killed some officers; among whom, to their great loss, Captain Cox perished; but the English quickly recovering themselves, beat the enemy back, and pursued them within cannon shot of the city.

These weary spent men, drawn on by their eagerness to this skirmish, forgot that thirst, which, so soon as the pursuit was over, they fainted under; many, both men and horse, dying on the place for very thirst. Venables, being much endangered at this action in the route of the forlorn, was earnestly entreated and pressed by the officers not to hazard himself so again, but to march with the body. This over, they called a council of war, where, considering their want of match, which was spent to three or four inches, and of provision, which all had been without two days, and some longer, and had no other sustenance but what fruits the woods afforded; they once again resolved to return to their ships, which the Irishman’s relation, and Commissioner Butler’s peremptory charge had diverted them from, and caused them to lose many men and horses with thirst and hunger in marching back that way, which otherwise had been saved.

Some four or five days were spent at the harbour in refreshing the tired, fainting soldiery, and taking new resolutions for a second march and charge. Wherein, they could not well be more speedy, for Penn and Winslow, two of the Commissioners, keeping at sea with the fleet, (which rode some leagues off from the fort by Hine river,) and refusing to come ashore, Venables, though then ill with the flux, was forced to make many dangerous passages to and from them in small Brigantines for their concurring counsel, which often differing, caused much delay, and gave the Spaniards time to gather heart and strength for better defence. The common soldiers this mean while, were but ill treated from the fleet. Those that by sickness or wounds in the last action, were disabled for further service, (they having no tents or carriages ashore to dispose of them in) were sent a ship board, and there they were kept forty-eight hours on the bare decks, without either meat, drink, or dressing; that worms bred in their wounds, which would soon be in that hot country, and some of them by that very usage perished, particularly one Captain Leverington, a brave man. The others ashore being furnished with the worst, and most mouldy of the biscuits; no beef, altogether unwatered, and no brandy to cheer their spirits; had their thirst greatly enraged, which that river, even where it was fresh, yet coming from copper, rather augmented than assuaged. And this usage and diet, together with the extraordinary rains that fell on their unsheltered bodies, cast them all into violent fluxes; sorry encouragements and preparatives for a second attempt, which yet was at last resolved on.

Tuesday, April 25. They had with them one mortar-piece, and two drakes, in the drawing whereof, and carrying of mattocks, spades, and calabashes of fresh water, the strongest men were employed till all were reduced to almost a like weakness; and the cruel sea-officers offered them no more brandy with them, than would be about a good spoonful to a man. One night they lodged in the woods; the next day they advanced toward the fort of St. Hieronimo, which they resolved to attack, being in their way, about a mile from the town, and not fit to leave at their backs.

April 26. Adjutant-General Jackson had this day the command of the forlorn, consisting of four hundred men; in the van whereof, he put Captain Butler, and himself brought up the rear. Also he marched without any wings on either hand to search the woods, and discover ambushes, which was expressly contrary both to order, and their daily practice throughout their whole march from Point Nizas. With the forlorn thus managed, and all ready to faint with thirst, having marched eight miles without water, in a narrow pass in the thick woods, where but six could well march abreast, they fell into an ambuscado of the Spaniards, who suffered the forlorn all to march within them, and then charged them both in van and flank. Captain Butler with the van undauntedly received the charge, and in order, fired again, and all of them stood till he fell; but the rear ran away without abiding a charge, Jackson himself being the first man that turned his back. Venables, his regiment, with Ferguson his Lieutenant Colonel in the head of them, being next, charged their pikes on Jackson and his flying men; but they being too well resolved to be stopt, first routed that regiment, and then most of Heanes’s regiment. These all came violently upon the sea regiment, which was led by Venables and Goodson, then Vice-Admiral, who with their swords forced the runaways into the woods, choosing rather to kill, than be routed by them. At the same time, which much advantaged them, the rear part of Heanes’s regiment having opened and drawn themselves on either side into the woods, counterflanked the Spaniards, and charged their ambuscadoes, which the Spaniards perceiving, and that the sea regiment advanced unrouted, retreated. The English then charged them afresh, pursued them, and beat them back beyond the fort, and so regained the bodies of the slain, and the place of fight, which ground they kept the rest of that day, and the night following, though the guns from the fort all that time, as well as during the skirmish, played hotly upon them, and killed sometimes eight or nine at a shot.

In this action, the valiant Heanes, major general, and Ferguson before mentioned, and such other officers of those regiments as knew not what it was to fly, fell by the swords and lances of the Spaniards; and many common soldiers with them.