Susie Hofherr, aged 11, of Wauwatosa, Md: for her question:

Who was Francis Drake?

The Spanish called him El Draque, the Dragon. And well they might. For in his day, Spain.s power on the seas and in the New World were broken. And he, Francis Drake, did more than anyone to break it. Yet one Spanish captain was fair enough to write an honest opinion of this small man with the red beard. Drake, wrote the Spaniard, is one of the greatest sailors that exist. History records him as one of the greatest sailors that ever existed.

Drake was born in 1545, near the sea, in England. His monarch was the great Queen Bess. He lived in a day of exciting events. The New World was opening up and the nations of Europe vied for power. Drake went early to sea. Two ambitions guided his life. Because he was a doer as well as a dreamer, he achieved them both.

At 20, Drake was in a party of seaman defeated by the Spanish off Vera Cruz. He saw the way the Spanish treated their prisoners. From that time he never swerved from his ambition to break the power of Spain. He got together men and ships and became a buccaneer. He raided, looted and plundered Spanish ships wherever he went. Philip of Spain felt the loss of his treasure ships and complained to Queen Elizabeth.

But Elizabeth upheld her bold buccaneer. She secretly gave him money to follow his second ambition. In 1572, Drake had crossed the Isthmus of Panama and seen the Pacific Ocean. He longed to sail there. And in 1577 he set forth with five ships to accomplish this dream.

Only Drake's ship, the Golden Hind, survived the long journey. Once in the: Pacific, there was no turning back. For the lion‑hearted Drake had left a trail of plunder behind him. The Spaniards were waiting and in no mood for mercy. So Drake sailed on up the western coast. He claimed California for his queen. He crossed the Pacific as Magellan had done before him. He crossed the Indian Ocean and returned home by rounding South Africa, There he was greeted as the first Englishman to sail around the world.

Elizabeth dubbed him a knight and dined with him on a ship weighed down with Spanish treasure.

Philip of Spain was angry when he heard of this. He planned an Armada of ships to wipe England from the seas. The bold Sir Francis stole into Cadiz harbor and set fire to those ships. Philip rebuilt and a year later, in 1588, his ships were ready again. '

Philip's Invincible Armada was defeated by England's fleet of smaller ships. Drake was Vice Admiral of the victorious fleet. The famous naval. battle lasted a week. When it was over, Spain's maritime power was broken.

Drake died some eight years after his great victory, He died at sea, where a great sailor would wish to die. He had lived‑through 51 of history's most exciting years. Nowadays, of course, piracy on the high seas is frowned upon as a crime. In the days of E1 Draque, a bold buccaneer was as respectable as almost anybody.