A GENERAL HISTORY AND COLLECTION of VOYAGES AND TRAVELS, ARRANGED IN SYSTEMATIC ORDER: FORMING A COMPLETE HISTORY OF THE ORIGIN AND PROGRESS OF NAVIGATION, DISCOVERY, AND COMMERCE, BY SEA AND LAND, FROM THE EARLIEST AGES TO THEPRESENT TIME. * * * * * BY ROBERT KERR, F. R. S. & F. A. S. EDIN. * * * * * ILLUSTRATED BY MAPS AND CHARTS. VOL. X. MDCCCXXIV. CONTENTS OF VOL. X. * * * * * PART II. BOOK IV. CONTINUED. CHAP. I--Early Circumnavigations, or Voyages round the World, Introduction, CHAP. I. --Voyage of Ferdinand Magellan round the World, in 1519-1522, SECT. I. Some Account of Magellan, previous to the Commencement of theVoyage, II. Proceedings of the Voyage from Seville to Patagonia, and winteringthere, III. Prosecution of the Voyage, till the Death of Magellan, IV. Continuation of the Voyage to its Conclusion, CHAP. II. Voyage by Sir Francis Drake round the World, in 1517-1580, SECT. I. Introduction, and Preparation for the Voyage, II. Narrative of the Voyage from England to the Straits of Magellan, III. Incidents of the Voyage, from the Straits of Magellan to NewAlbion, IV. Continuation of the Voyage, from New Albion to England. V. Reception of Sir Francis Drake in England, and some Notices of hisremaining Actions, SECT. VI First Supplement to the Voyage of Sir Francis Drake; being anAccount of Part of the foregoing Navigation, by Nuno da Silva, VII Second Supplement, being the Voyage of Mr John Winter, after partingfrom Sir Francis Drake, CHAP. III--Voyage of Sir Thomas Candish round the World, in 1586-1588, Introduction, SECT. I. Narrative of the Voyage from England to the Pacific, II. Transactions on the Western Coast of America, III. Voyage Home to England, IV. Second Voyage of Sir Thomas Candish, intended for the South Sea, in1591 § 1. Incidents in the Voyage, till the Separation of the Ships, § 2. Disastrous Result of the Voyage to Sir Thomas Candish, § 3. Continuation of the Voyage of the Desire, Captain Davis, afterparting from Sir Thomas Candish, CHAP. IV. Voyage of Oliver Van Noort round the World, in 1538-1601, Introduction, SECT. I. Narrative of the Voyage. II. Voyage of Sebald de Weert, to the South Sea and Straits of Magellan, in 1598, § 1. Incidents of the Voyage from Holland to the Straits of Magellan, § 2. The Fleet passes through the Straits of Magellan into the SouthSea, and is forced to return, § 3. Incidents daring their second Residence in the Straits of Magellan, § 4. Voyage from the Straits to Holland, CHAP. V--Voyage of George Spilbergen round the World, in 1614-1617, SECT. I. Narrative of the Voyage, from Holland to the South Sea, II. Transactions in the South Sea, along the Western Coast of America, III. Voyage Home from America, by the East Indies and Cape of Good Hope, CHAP. VI--Voyage round the World, in 1615-1617, by William CornelisonSchouten and Jacques Le Maire, going round Cape Horn, Introduction, SECT. I. Journal of the Voyage from the Texel to Cape Horn, II. Continuation of the Voyage, from Cape Horn to the Island of Java, CHAP. VII--Voyage of the Nassau Fleet round the World, in 1623-1626, under the Command of Jaques Le Hermite, Introduction, SECT. I. Incidents of the Voyage from Holland to the South Sea, II. Transactions of the Fleet on the Western Coast of America, III. Voyage Home from the Western Coast of America, CHAP. VIII--Voyage round the World, in 1683-1691, by Captain John Cooke, accompanied by Captain Cowley, and Captain William Dampier, Introduction, SECT. I. Narrative of the Voyage by Captain Cowley, till he quitted theRevenge on the Western Coast of America, II. Continuation of the Narrative of Captain Cowley, from leaving theRevenge, to his Return to England, III. Sequel of the Voyage, as far as Dampier is concerned, after theSeparation of the Nicholas from the Revenge, CHAP. IX--Voyage round the World, by William Funnell, in 1703-1706, Introduction, SECT. I. Narrative of the Voyage, till the Separation of Funnell fromDampier, II. Sequel of the Voyage of William Funnell, after his Separation fromCaptain Dampier, III. Brief Account of Stradling, Clipperton, and Dampier, after theirrespective Separations, till their Returns to England, CHAP. X--Voyage round the World, by Captain Woods Rogers, and StephenCourtney, in 1708-1711, Introduction, SECT. I. Narrative of the Voyage, from England to the Island of JuanFernandez, II. Proceedings of the Expedition on the Western Coast of America, III. Sequel of the Voyage, from California, by Way of the East Indies, to England, CHAP. XI--Voyage round the World, by Captain John Clipperton, in1719-1722, Introduction, SECT. I. Narrative of the Voyage, from England to Juan Fernandez, II. Proceedings of the Success in the South Seas, III. Voyage of the Success from the Coast of Mexico to China, IV. Residence of Captain Clipperton at Macao, and Returns from thence toEngland, CHAP. XII--Voyage round the World, by Captain George Shelvocke, in1719-1722, Introduction, SECT. I. Narrative of the Voyage from England to the South Sea, II. Proceedings in the South Sea, till Shipwrecked on the Island of JuanFernandez, III. Residence on the Island of Juan Fernandez, IV. Farther Proceedings in the South Sea, after leaving Juan Fernandez, A GENERAL HISTORY AND COLLECTION OF VOYAGES AND TRAVELS. * * * * * PART II. (CONTINUED. ) BOOK IV. * * * * * CHAPTER I. EARLY CIRCUMNAVIGATIONS, OR VOYAGES ROUND THE WORLD. INTRODUCTION. In this _fourth_ book of the _second_ part of our arrangement, it isproposed to give a history of the principal Circumnavigations, orVoyages Round the World, previous to the reign of our present venerablesovereign. This book, therefore, comprises a period of 226 years, fromthe year 1519, when Magellan sailed from Spain on the firstcircumnavigation of the globe, till the year 1744, when Commodore Ansonreturned to England from a similar expedition. The more recentcircumnavigations, which have taken place since the year 1760, chieflyunder the munificent and enlightened patronage of GEORGE III. Or inimitation of these, and which have largely contributed to extend, andalmost to render perfect, the geography and hydrography of theterraqueous globe, are intended to form a separate division, in asubsequent part of our arrangement. The accurate knowledge which we now possess of the form and dimensionsof this globe of earth and water which we inhabit, has been entirelyowing to the superior skill of the moderns in the mathematical sciences, as applicable to the practice of navigation, and to the observation andcalculation of the motions of the heavenly bodies, for the ascertainmentof latitudes and longitudes. It would require more space than can beconveniently devoted on the present occasion, to give any clear view ofthe geographical knowledge possessed by the ancients, together with ahistory of the progress of that science, from the earliest times, neither do the nature and objects of the present Collection of Voyagesand Travels call for any such deduction, of which an excellent epitomewill be found in the History of Geography, prefixed to Playfair's Systemof Geography. The ancients laboured under almost absolute incapacities for makingextensive voyages or discoveries by sea, proceeding from ignorance ofthe form and dimensions of the earth, and other causes. They were butindifferently versed in the practical part of astronomy, without which, and those instruments which have been invented almost exclusively by themoderns, for measuring the paths, distances, and relative positions ofthe heavenly bodies, it is impossible to launch out with any tolerablesuccess or safety on the trackless ocean. They were ignorant also ofthat wonderful property of the magnet or loadstone, which, pointinginvariably towards the north, enables the modern mariner to know hisprecise course, at all times of the day of night, though clouds andthick mists may hide the luminaries of heaven from his observation, which were the only means of direction known to the ancients. Various systems and theories appear to have prevailed among the ancientsrespecting the figure and motion of the earth; some justly enoughsupposing it to be a ball or sphere, suspended in infinite space, whileothers conceived it to be a flat surface, floating upon and surroundedby an interminable ocean. The just conceptions of some ancientphilosophers, respecting the spherical figure of the earth, and itsdiurnal motion around its own axis, were superseded by others of a morepopular nature, and forgotten for many ages. Lactantius and Augustine, two fathers of the catholic church, unfortunately adopted the idea ofthe earth being a flat surface, infinitely extending downwards;grounding this false notion upon a mistaken interpretation of the holyscriptures, or rather seeking assistance from them in support of theirown unphilosophical conceptions. So strongly had this false opiniontaken possession of the minds of men, in our European world, even afterthe revival of learning in the west, that Galileo was imprisoned by theholy inquisitors at Rome for asserting the sphericity of the earth, andthe doctrine of _antipodes_, and had to redeem his liberty and life, bywriting a refutation of that heretical doctrine, which satisfied theinquisitors, yet convinced the world of its truth. Columbus assuredly grounded his grand discovery of America upon theknowledge of the earth being a sphere; and had not the new western worldintervened, his voyage had probably been the first circumnavigation. Inmodern times, an idea has been advanced that Columbus only retraced thesteps of some former navigator, having seen certain parts of the granddivision of the world which he discovered, already delineated on aglobe. It were improper to enter upon a refutation of this idle calumnyon the present occasion; yet it is easy to conceive, that the possessorof that globe, may have rudely added the reported discoveries ofColumbus, to the more ancient delineations. At all events, Columbus wasthe first person who conceived the bold idea that it was practicable tosail round the globe. From the spherical figure of the earth, thenuniversally believed by astronomers and cosmographers, in spite of thechurch, he inferred that the ancient hemisphere or continent then known, must of necessity be balanced by an equiponderant and oppositecontinent. And, as the Portuguese had discovered an extensive track bysailing to the eastwards, he concluded that the opposite or mosteasterly coast of that country might certainly be attained, and by anearer path, by crossing the Atlantic to the westwards. The result ofthis profound conception, by the discovery of America, has been alreadydetailed in the _Second_ Book of this collection; and we now proceed inthis _Fourth_ Book to detail the various steps of other navigators, inprosecution of this grand design of surrounding the globe, in which manycurious and interesting discoveries have been made, and by whichgeographical knowledge and practical navigation have been brought togreat degrees of perfection. Before commencing the narrative appropriated for this division of ourarrangement, it is proper to give the following complete table of allthe circumnavigators, within the period assigned to the present portionof this collection; with the names of the ports from which they sailed, and the dates of their respective voyages, and returns. --Ed. |_Sailed from_| |_Returned_. 1. Ferdinand, | Seville, | Aug. 10, 1519. | Sept. 8, 1522. Magellan, | in Spain, | | 2. Sir Francis | Plymouth Sound, | Dec. 30, 1577. | Sept. 16, 1580. Drake, | | | 3. Sir Thomas | Plymouth, | July 25, 1586. | Sept. 9, 1588. Candish, | | | 4. Oliver van | Goeree, | Sept. 13, 1598. | Aug. 26, 1601. Noord, | | | 5. George | Texel, | Aug. 8, 1614. | July 1, 1617. Spilbergeny, | | | 6. Shouten and | Texel, | June 24, 1615. | July 1, 1617. LeMair, | | | 7. Nassau | Goeree, | April 29, 1623. | Jan. 21, 1626. Fleet, | | | 8. Cowley, [A] | Achamack, in | Aug. 23, 1683. | Oct. 12, 1686. | Virginia, | | 9. William | Achamack, | Aug. 28, 1683. | Sept. 16, 1691. Dampier, [A] | | | 10. Dampier and | the Downs, | Aug. 9, 1703. | Aug. 1706. Funnel, | | | ll. Wood Rogers, | Bristol, | June 15, 1708. | Oct. 1, 1711. And Courtney, | | | 12. John | Plymouth, | Feb. 15, 1719. | June, 1722. Clapperton, | | | 13. George | Plymouth, | Feb. 15, 1719. | Aug. 1, 1722. Shelvocke | | | 14. Roggewein, | Texel, | July 17, 1721. | July 11, 1723. 15. George | St Helens, | Sept. 18, 1740. | June 15, 1744. Anson, | | | [Footnote A: These two are conjoined in Chap. VIII. Of this book, forreasons which will appear there sufficiently obvious. --E. ] * * * * * CHAPTER I. VOYAGE OF FERDINAND MAGELLAN ROUND THE WORLD, IN 1519--1522. [1] SECTION I. _Some Account of Magellan, precious to the Commencement of his Voyage. _ Owing to the discoveries made under the authority of the sovereign ofCastile, the Portuguese were excessively jealous of the safety of theirpossessions in the East Indies. At length, after various negociations, the authority of the pope was interposed, then considered as supremeamong the princes of Europe who were in communion with the church ofRome. By a bull or papal decree, all countries discovered, or to bediscovered, in the East, were declared to belong to the crown ofPortugal, and all that were found in the west were to be the property ofSpain. Yet this measure rather smothered than extinguished the flames ofcontention; as both courts readily listened to any proposals that tendedto aggrandise the one at the expence of the other. This spirit ofcontention between the courts of Spain and Portugal, gave occasion toseveral men of enterprise, who happened to be dissatisfied by the delaysor refusal of either of these courts, in countenancing their projects, to apply themselves for employment to the other. Among those who tookthis method of advancing their fortunes, was Ferdinand Magalhaens, nowgenerally known by the name of Magellan. He was a gentleman of goodfamily in Portugal, who had addicted himself from his youth to maritimeaffairs, and had acquired great skill both in the theory and practice ofnavigation. He seemed formed by nature for the achievement of greatexploits, having all the qualities requisite to compose the character ofa truly great man. With a courage which no danger could appal, hepossessed the utmost calmness of temper and sweetness of disposition, bywhich all who conversed with him were engaged to love and esteem hischaracter. He was naturally eloquent, both in illustrating and provingthe reasonableness of his own opinions, and in converting others fromtheir erroneous preconceived notions. Above all, he possessed thatsteady and persevering resolution, which not only enabled him tovanquish the greatest difficulties, but gave such appearance of successto every thing be promised or undertook, as secured the confidence ofall who were under his command. As these extraordinary qualities wouldhave distinguished him in any station of life, so they were remarkablyuseful in the present enterprise, by which he gained immortalreputation, although he lost his life before its completion. [Footnote 1: Harris' Collection, I. 6. The utmost pains have been takento narrate this expedition in the clearest manner, by comparing all thedifferent relations of the Spanish and Portuguese writers. We regretmuch, however, the loss of a large history of this voyage, by P. Martyr, which was burnt in the sack of Rome, when taken by the Constable deBourbon. --_Harris_. ] Don Ferdinand Magellan had served with much credit in India, under thefamous Albuquerque, and thought that he merited some recompence for hisservices; but all his applications were treated with coldness andcontempt by the great, which was intolerable to a person of his spirit. He associated, therefore, with men of like fortunes, whose merits hadbeen similarly neglected, and particularly with one Ray Falero, a greatastronomer, whom the Portuguese represented as a conjuror, retiringalong with him to the Spanish court, where be made propositions for newdiscoveries to Cardinal Ximenes, who was then prime minister of Spain. The Portuguese ambassador used all imaginable pains to counteract thesedesigns, and solicited the court to deliver up Magellan and hiscompanion as deserters, even representing Magellan as a bold talkativeperson, ready to undertake any thing, yet wanting capacity and couragefor the performance of his projects. He even made secret proposals toMagellan, offering him pardon and great rewards to desist from hispresent purpose, and to return to the service of his own sovereign. Allthese arts were unavailing, as the Spanish ministry, now competentjudges of these matters, were satisfied of the probability of thediscoveries proposed by Magellan and his coadjutor Falero, who were bothreceived into favour, made knights of the order of St Jago, and hadtheir own terms granted to them. The grounds on which this expedition was founded were as follow. Theopinion advanced by Columbus, of the possibility of reaching the EastIndies by sailing to the west, was assumed as certainly well founded, though he had not been able to accomplish it; and it was asserted, thatit could not be attended with any insuperable difficulty to sail fromthe South Sea, then recently discovered, to the Molucca Islands. Thegrand desideratum was to find a passage westwards, from the AtlanticOcean into the new-found South Sea, which they expected might be metwith through the Rio de la Plata, or by some other opening on thateastern coast of South America. Should this succeed, Spain might thenreap the benefit of both the Indies; since, if this discovery were madeby way of the _west_, it would then fall expressly within the grant ofthe papal bull to Spain. In consequence of these proposals, it was agreed that Magellan and theother adventurers were to be furnished by the crown of Spain with fiveships, manned by 234 men, with provisions for two years; and that theadventurers should reap a twentieth part of the clear profit, thegovernment of any islands they might discover to be vested in them andtheir heirs for ever, with the title of Adelantado. The agreed, fleet offive ships was accordingly fitted out for the expedition at Seville, consisting of the Trinidada, in which Magellan sailed as admiral, andhaving a Portuguese pilot named Stephen Gomez; the Santa Vittoria, commanded by Don Luis de Mendoza; the St Antonio, Don Juan deCarthagena; the St Jago, Don Juan Serrano; and the Conception, DonGaspar de Quixada. According to some authors, the number of men in thesefive ships amounted to 237, though by most they are said to have been250, among whom were thirty Portuguese, upon whom Magellan chieflydepended for naval skill; as he likewise did greatly upon Serrano, whohad left the service of Portugal in like manner with himself, afterhaving served for many years in India, and some time in the Moluccas, ofwhich islands they were now going in search. SECTION II. _Proceedings of the Voyage from Seville to Patagonia, and winteringthere_. Great hopes of success were entertained from this voyage, from the knownexperience of the commanders, although its real object was carefullyconcealed by Magellan, who merely gave out to the other adventurers thatit was intended for the discovery of new countries, by which theybelieved themselves bound to the certain acquisition of gold. They setsail from Seville, in high expectations of acquiring riches, on the 10thof August, 1519. The 3d October, the fleet arrived between Cape Verd andthe islands of that name. After being detained by tedious calms on thecoast of Guinea for seventy days, they at last got to the south of theline, and held on their course to the coast of Brazil, of which theycame in sight in about the latitude of 23° S. They here procuredabundant refreshments of fruits, sugar-canes, and several kinds ofanimals. Proceeding about 2 1/2 degrees farther south, they came into a countryinhabited by a wild sort of people, of prodigious stature, fierce andbarbarous, and making a strange roaring noise, more like the bellowingof bulls, than human speech. Notwithstanding their prodigious bulk, these people were so nimble that none of the Spaniards or Portuguesewere swift enough to overtake them. At this place there was a fine riverof fresh water, the mouth of which was fully seventeen leagues wide, inwhich there were seven islands, the largest of which they named theisland of St Mary, where they procured some _jewels_. [2] Proceedingalong this coast towards the south, they fell in with two islands soabounding in seals and penguins, that they might have laden all theirfive ships with them in a short time. The penguins are a black, heavy, unwieldy fowl, extremely fat, covered with a sort of down instead offeathers, and having a bill like that of a raven; drawing their entiresubsistence from the sea, as fish is their only food. [Footnote 2: These jewels may possibly have been a few pearls. Theindications in the text are too vague to afford even a guess at thesituation of the river and its seven islands; only it may be mentioned, that the most northern part of the coast of Patagonia is in lat. 38° S. And that no river answering the description in the test is to be foundon all that coast--E. ] They next advanced to about the latitude of 49° 30' S. Where they wereforced to remain for five months, owing to the severity of the weather, it being now winter in these southern parts. They here passed their timevery unpleasantly, and for a long time believed the country to beuninhabited, but at length a savage came to visit them. He was a briskjolly fellow, very merrily disposed, and came towards them singing anddancing. On coming to the shore of the haven in which the ships hadtaken refuge, he stood there for some time, throwing dust upon his head. This being observed, some persons were sent ashore to him in a boat, andmaking similar signs of peace; and he came along with them on board, without any appearance of fear or hesitation. The size and stature ofthis person was such as in some measure entitled him to be deemed agiant, the head of one of the ordinary-sized Spaniards only reaching tohis waist, and he was proportionally large made. His body was paintedall over, having a stag's horn delineated on each cheek, and largecircles round the eyes. The natural colour of his skin was yellow, andhis hair was white. His apparel consisted of the skin of a beast, clumsily sewed together, covering his whole body and limbs from head tofoot. The beast of which this was the skin, was as strange as thewearer, being neither mule, horse, nor camel, but partaking of allthree, having the ears of a mule, the tail of a horse, and the bodyshaped like a camel. The arms of this savage consisted of a stout bow, having for a string the gut or sinew of that strange beast; and thearrows were tipped with sharp stones, instead of iron heads. The admiral made this man be presented with meat and drink, of which hereadily partook, and seemed to enjoy himself very comfortably, tillhappening to see himself in a mirror which was given him among othertoys, he was so frightened that he started back and overturned two ofthe men, and did not easily recover his composure. This giant fared sowell, that several others came to visit the ships, and one of thembehaved with so much familiarity and good humour, that the Europeanswere much pleased with him. This person shewed them one of the beasts inthe skins of which they were cloathed, from which the foregoingdescription must have been taken. [3] Being desirous to make prisoners ofsome of these giants, Magellan gave orders for this purpose to some ofhis crew. Accordingly, while amusing them with toys, they put ironshackles on their legs, which at first they conceived had been fineornaments like the rest, and seemed pleased with their jingling sound, till they found themselves hampered and betrayed. They then fell abellowing like bulls, and imploring the aid of _Setebos_ in thisextremity, whom they must therefore have conceived some good andcompassionate being, as it is not to be conceived they would craverelief from an evil spirit. Yet the voyagers reported strange things, ofhorrible forms and appearances frequently seen among these people, suchas horned demons with long shaggy hair, throwing out fire before andbehind: But these seem mere dreams or fables. [Footnote 3: This must have been a Lama, Paca, or Chilihueque, of thecamel genus, vulgarly called Peruvian sheep. --E. ] Most of the natives of this country were dressed in the skins of beasts, similarly to the one who first visited them. Their hair was short, yettied up by a cotton lace or string. They had no fixed dwellings, butused certain moveable huts or tents, constructed of skins similar tothose in which they were cloathed, which they carry with them from placeto place, as they roam about the country. What flesh they are able toprocure, they devour quite raw without any kind of cookery, besideswhich their chief article of food is a sweet root, which they name_capar. _ The voyagers report that these savages were very jealous oftheir women; yet do not mention having seen any. Their practice ofphysic consists in bleeding and vomiting: The former being performed bygiving a good chop with some edge tool to the part affected; and thelatter is excited by thrusting an arrow half a yard down the throat ofthe patient. These people, to whom Magellan gave the name of _Patagons_, are so strong, that when one only was attempted to be made prisoner ofby nine Spaniards, he tired them all; and, though they got him down, and even bound his hands, he freed himself from his bonds, and got away, in spite of every endeavour to detain him. Besides _capar_, the name ofa root already mentioned, and which likewise they applied to the breador ship's biscuit given them by the Spaniards, the only words reportedof their language are _ali_ water, _amel_ black, _cheiche_ red, _cherecai_ red cloth; and _Setebos_ and _Cheleule_ are the names of twobeings to whom they pay religious respect, _Setebos_ being the supreme, and _Cheleule_ an inferior deity. The haven in which they remained there five months, was named byMagellan, Port St Julian, of which and the surrounding country they tooksolemn possession for the crown of Spain, erecting a cross as a signalof sovereignty. But the principal reason of this long stay was inconsequence of a mutiny which broke out, not only among the common men, but was even joined or fomented rather by some of the captains, particularly by Don Luis de Mendoza, on whom Magellan had placed greatreliance. On this occasion Magellan acted with much spirit; for, havingreduced the mutineers to obedience, he brought their ringleaders totrial for plotting against his life; hanged Don Luis de Mendoza and afew others of the most culpable; leaving Don Juan de Carthagena andothers, who were not so deeply implicated, among the Patagons. Theweather growing fine, and the people being reduced to obedience, Magellan set sail from Port St Julian, and pursued his course to thelatitude of 51° 40' S. Where finding a convenient port, with abundanceof fuel, water, and fish, he remained for two months longer. SECTION III. _Prosecution of the Voyage, till the Death of Magellan_. Again resuming the voyage, they proceeded along the eastern shore ofPatagonia to the latitude of 52° S. When the entrance into the famousstraits still known under the name of Magellan were discovered, throughwhich the squadron continued its voyage, finding these straits about 110leagues in length, from east to west, with varying breadths, in someplaces very wide, and in others not more than half a league across; theland on both sides being high, rugged, and uneven, and the mountainscovered with snow. On reaching the western end of these straits, an openpassage was found into the great South Sea, which sight gave Magellanthe most unbounded joy, as having discovered that for which he had gonein quest, and that he was now able practicably to demonstrate what hehad advanced, that it was possible to sail to the East Indies by way ofthe West. To the point of land from which he first saw thisso-long-desired prospect, he gave the name of _Cape Desiderato. _ Thisprospect was not, however, so desirable to some of his followers; forhere one of his ships stole away, and sailed homewards alone. Magellan entered the great South Sea on the 28th November, 1620, andproceeded through that vast expanse, to which he gave the name of thePacific Ocean, for three months and twenty days, without once havingsight of land. During a considerable part of this period they sufferedextreme misery from want of provisions, such as have been seldom heardof. All their bread and other provisions were consumed, and they werereduced to the necessity of subsisting upon dry skins and leather thatcovered some of the rigging of the ships, which they had to steep forsome days in salt water, to render it soft enough to be chewed. Whatwater remained in the ships was become putrid, and so nauseous thatnecessity alone compelled them to use it. Owing to these impure andscanty means of subsistence, their numbers daily diminished, and thosewho remained alive became exceedingly weak, low-spirited, and sickly. Insome, the gums grew quite over their teeth on both sides; so that theywere unable to chew the tough leathern viands which formed their onlyfood, and they were miserably starved to death. Their only comfort underthis dreadful state of famine was, that the winds blew them steadily andgently along, while the sea remained calm and almost unruffled, whenceit got the name of Pacific, which it has ever since retained. In all this length of time, they only saw two uninhabited islands, whichshewed no signs of affording them any relief Sometimes the needle variedextremely, and at other times was so irregular in its motions, as torequire frequent touches of the loadstone to revive its energy. Noremarkable star was found near the south pole, by which to ascertain thesouthern ordinal point, or to estimate the latitude. Instead of anantarctic polar star, two clusters of small stars were observed, havinga small space between them, in which were two stars of inconsiderablesize and lustre, which seemed to be at no great distance from the pole, by the smallness of the circle they described in their diurnal course. When at the distance of 20° from the south pole, they saw a high islandto which they gave the name of _Cipangue_; and at 15° another equallyhigh, which they named _Sinnodit_. [4] They sailed in one gulf; orstretch of sea, at least 4000 leagues, and made their longitude, byestimation or reckoning, 120° W. From the place of their originaldeparture. By this time they drew near the equinoctial line, and havinggot beyond that into 13° N. Latitude, they made for the cape called_Cottigare_ by old geographers; but missing it in that old account ofits latitude, they understood afterwards that it is in the latitude of12° N. [5] [Footnote 4: The text is evidently here erroneous, as Magellan enteredthe Pacific Ocean in lat. 47° S. And there is not the smallest reason tosuspect he had been forced into the latitudes of 70° and 75° S. Insteadtherefore of the south pole, we ought probably to understand theequator. As these two islands were uninhabited, the names given themmust have been imposed by Magellan or his associates. Cipangue is thename given to Japan by Marco Polo, and is of course a singular blunder. The other is unintelligible, and the voyage is so vaguely expressed, aseven to defy conjecture. --E. ] [Footnote 5: This cape Cottigare in the South Sea, in lat. 12° or 13° N. Is utterly unintelligible, unless it refer to the southern part of Guam, Guaham, or Goad, one of the Ladronea, which they soon discovered, andwhich is actually in 13° N. --E. ] On the 6th March, 1521, they fell in with a cluster of islands, beingthen in lat. 12° N. And 146° of west longitude from the place of theirfirst setting out. [6] These islands were called by Magellan _Islas delos Ladrones_, or the islands of robbers, and are called in moderngeography the Ladrones or Marian islands. They here went on shore torefresh themselves, after all the fatigues and privations of theirtedious voyage through the Pacific Ocean; but the thievish dispositionof the islanders would not allow them any quiet repose, as they werecontinually stealing things from the ships, while the sick and worn-outmariners were endeavouring to refresh themselves on shore. Resolvingtherefore to deliver themselves from the disturbance of these pilferers, they marched a small party of armed men into the interior of one ofthese islands, where they burnt some houses, and slew some of thenatives. But, though this correction awed them a little for the present, it did not mend their thievish disposition; for which reason theyresolved to seek out some other place, where they might enjoy somerepose in safety. [Footnote 6: By the reckoning in the text, the longitude of the Ladroneislands, which they now discovered, would be 151° 25' W. FromGreenwich. But their true longitude is 216° 30' W. Their latitude isbetween 13° and 20° 50' N. --E. ] No order or form of government was observed to subsist among thesenatives of the Ladrones, but every one seemed to live according to hisown humour or inclination. The men were entirely naked, the hair both oftheir heads and beards being black, that on their heads so long as toreach down to their waists. Their natural complexion is olive, and theyanoint themselves all over with cocoa-nut oil. Their teeth seemedcoloured artificially black or red, and some of them wore a kind ofbonnet made of palm leaves. The women are better favoured and moremodest than the men, and all of them wore some decent coverings made ofpalm leaves. Their hair was black, thick, and so very long as nearly totrail on the ground. They seemed careful industrious housewives, spending their time at home in fabricating mats and nets of palm leaves, while the men were occupied abroad in stealing. Their houses are oftimber, covered with boards and great leaves, and divided within intoseveral apartments. Their beds are of mats laid above each other, andthey use palm leaves by way of sheets. Their only weapons are clubs, andlong poles headed with bone. Their food consists of cocoa-nuts, bananas, figs, sugar-canes, fowls, and flying-fishes. Their canoes are oddlycontrived and patched up, yet sail with wonderful rapidity, the sailsbeing made of broad leaves sewed together. Instead of a rudder they usea large board, with a staff or pole at one end, and in sailing, eitherend of their canoes is indifferently used as head or stern. They painttheir canoes all over, either red, white, or black, as hits their fancy. These people are so taken with any thing that is new, that when theSpaniards wounded several of them with their arrows, and even piercedsome quite through, they would pluck out the arrows from their wounds, and stare at them till they died. Yet would they still continue tofollow after the ships, to gaze upon them as they were going away, sothat at one time they were closely surrounded by at least two hundredcanoes filled with natives, admiring those wonderful contrivances. The 10th of March, the Spaniards landed on the island of _Zamul_, about30 leagues from the Ladrones. [7] Next day they landed on _Humuna_, anisland not inhabited, yet well deserving of being so, where they foundsprings of excellent water, with abundance of fruit-trees, gold, andwhite coral. Magellan named this _the island of good signs_. The nativesfrom some of the neighbouring islands, a people of much humanity, camehere to them shortly after, very fair and of friendly dispositions, whoseemed well pleased at the arrival of the Spaniards among them, and cameloaded with presents of fish, and wine made from the cocoa-tree, promising speedily to bring other provisions. This tree somewhatresembles the date palm, and supplies the natives with bread, oil, wine, vinegar, and even physic. The wine being drawn from the tree itself, andall the rest from the fruit or nut. To procure the wine, they eat offpart of a branch, and fasten to the remaining part a large reed orhollow cane, into which the liquor drops, being like white-wine incolour, and of a grateful tartish taste. When a good quantity of this isdrawn off, it is put into a vessel, and is their cocoa-wine withoutfarther preparation. [Footnote 7: In this voyage the term Ladrones seems confined to the mostsouthern islands of this group, as there are no other islands for a veryconsiderable distance in any direction. The entire group stretches about6° 10' nearly N. And S. Or 125 leagues. In modern geography, Guaham andTinian are the largest islands of the group. Urac, Agrigan, Analajam, and Saypan, are the names of some others of the Ladrones. The names inthe text do not occur in modern maps. Thirty leagues from Guaham, thesouthernmost island, would bring them to Tinian. --E. ] The fruit, which is as large as a man's head, has two rinds or coats. The outermost is green, and two fingers thick, entirely composed ofstrings and threads, of which they make all the ropes that are used intheir canoes. Under this there is another rind, or shell rather, ofconsiderable thickness, and very hard. This they burn and pulverize, anduse it in this state as a remedy for several distempers. The kerneladheres all round the inside of this shell, being white, and about thethickness of a finger, having a pleasant taste, almost like an almond:this, when dried, serves the islanders instead of bread. In the insideof this kernel there is a considerable hollow space, containing aquantity of pure limpid liquor, of a very cordial and refreshing nature, which sometimes congeals into a solid, and then lies like an egg withinthe hollow kernel. When they would make oil, they steep the fruit inwater till it putrifies, and then boil it over the fire to separate theoil, the remaining water becoming vinegar, when exposed some time to thesun. Lastly, by mixing the kernel with the liquor lodged within itscavity, and straining it through a cloth, they make a very good milk. The cocoa-nut tree resembles the date palm, except in not being sorugged and knotty. They will continue to thrive for an hundred years, ormore, and two of them will maintain a family of ten persons in wineplentifully, if used by turns, each tree being drawn for seven or eightdays, and then allowed to rest as long. According to their promise, the islanders returned with a farther supplyof provisions, and entered into much familiar cordiality with theSpaniards. A number of them having been invited on board the admiral'sship, a gun was discharged by way of entertaining them, but put them insuch terror, that they were ready to leap over board, yet were soonreconciled by good usage and presents. The name of their island was_Zulvan_, of no great compass; yet considerable for its productions. They had in their barks various kinds of spices, as cinnamon, cloves, nutmegs, ginger, and mace, with several ornaments made of gold, whichthey carried up and down to sell as merchandise. Although withoutapparel, these people were dressed, or ornamented rather, in a morecostly manner than Europeans; for they had gold earrings in each ear, and various jewels fastened by means of gold to their arms; besideswhich, their daggers, knives, and lances were richly ornamented with thesame metal. [8] Their only cloathing consisted of a kind of apron, of aspecies of cloth made very ingeniously from the rind of a tree. The mostconsiderable men among them were distinguished from the common people bya piece of silk ornamented with needle-work, wrapped round their heads. These islanders were gross, broad; and well set on their limbs, of anolive complexion, having their bodies constantly rubbed over withcocoa-nut oil. [Footnote 8: It is highly probable that the valuable spiceries, gold, and jewels, of the text, are mere fables, invented by Pigafetta, toenhance the value of his voyage, as such productions are now unknown tothe Ladrone islands. --E. ] Departing from this place on the 21st March, 1521, and steering betweenwest and south-west, they passed among the islands named _Cenalo, Huinanghan, Hibussan, _ and _Abarian. _[9] The 28th, they came to the isleof _Buthuan, _ where they were kindly received by the king and prince, who gave them considerable quantities of gold and spices; in return forwhich, Magellan presented the king with two cloth vests, giving knives, mirrors, and glass beads to the courtiers. Along with the king and hisnobles, Magellan sent two persons on shore, one of whom was AntonioPigafetta, the historian of the voyage. On landing, the king and hisattendants all raised their hands to heaven, and then the twoChristians, who imitated this ceremony, which was afterwards observed indrinking. The king's palace was like a great hay-loft, mounted so highupon great posts of timber, that they had to go up by means of ladders, and was thatched with palm-leaves. Though not Christians, theseislanders always made the sign of the cross at their meals, at whichthey sat cross-legged like tailors. At night, instead of candles, theyburnt a certain gum of a tree, wrapped up in palm-leaves. Afterentertaining them in their respective palaces, the king and prince of_Buthuan_ dismissed Pigafetta and his companion with noble presents, filled with admiration of their guests, whom they believed to be menabove the rank of common mortals, being especially astonished atPigafetta's writing, and reading what he had written, which was toomysterious for their comprehension. [Footnote 9: Not one of these islands is known to modern geography; andthe whole of this voyage is related so loosely and unsatisfactorily, that it is impossible to trace its course, except at well-knownplaces. --E. ] In this island, by sifting the earth of a certain mine, they procuredgreat lumps of gold, some as large as walnuts, and some even as big aseggs; all the vessels used by the king at table being made of thisprecious metal. [10] The king of this island was a very comely personage, of an olive complexion, with long black hair, his body being perfumedwith the odoriferous oils of storax and benzoin, and painted withvarious colours. He had gold-rings in his ears, and three rings of thatmetal on each of his fingers. His head was wrapped round by a silkenveil or turban, and his body was cloathed to the knees in a cottonwrapper, wrought with silk and gold. He wore at his side a sword ordagger, with a haft of gold, and a scabbard of carved wood. This countryis so rich, that one of the natives offered a crown of massy gold inexchange for six strings of glass beads; but Magellan would not allowsuch bargains, lest the Spaniards might appear too greedy of gold. [Footnote 10: These stories of gold in such wonderful abundance, areobvious falsehoods contrived by Pigafetta, either to excite wonderment, or to procure the command of an expedition of discovery; a practice wehave formerly had occasion to notice in the early Spanish conquests andsettlements in America. --E. ] The natives were active and sprightly, the common men being quitenaked, except painting their bodies; but the women are cloathed from thewaist downwards, and both sexes wore gold ear-rings. They allcontinually chewed _areka_, a fruit like a pear, which they cut inquarters, rolling it up in a leaf called _betel_, resembling a bay-leaf, alleging that they could not live without this practice. The onlyreligious rite observed among them, was looking up to heaven, to whichthey raised their joined hands, and calling on their god _Abba_. Magellan caused a banner of the cross, with the crown of thorns and thenails, to be exposed and publicly reverenced by all his men in theking's presence; desiring the king to have it erected on the top of ahigh mountain in the island, as a token that Christians might expectgood entertainment in that country, and also as a security for thenation; since, if they prayed to it devoutly, it would infalliblyprotect them against lightning and tempests, and other evils. This theking promised should be done, knowing no better, and glad to be soeasily defended from thunderbolts. Leaving this island, and conducted by the king's pilots, the Spaniardscame to the isles of _Zeilon, Zubut, Messana, _ and _Caleghan_, of which_Zubut_ was the best, and enjoyed the best trade. In _Massana_, theyfound dogs, cats, hogs, poultry, goats, rice, ginger, cocoa-nuts, millet, panic, barley, figs, oranges, wax, and plenty of gold. Thisisland lies in lat. 9° 40' N. And in long. 162° from their firstmeridian. [11] After remaining here eight days, they sailed to the N. W. Passing the islands of _Zeilon, Bohol, Canghu, Barbai_, and _Caleghan_;in which last islands there are bats as large as eagles, which theyfound to eat, when dressed, like poultry. In this island, among variousother birds, there was one kind resembling our hens, but having smallhorns, which bury their eggs in the sand, where they are hatched by theheat of the sun. _Caleghan_ is about twenty miles W. From _Messana_; and_Zubut_, to which they now directed their course, fifty leagues W. From_Caleghan_. In this part of the voyage they were accompanied by the kingof _Messana_, whom Magellan had greatly attached to him by manyservices. [Footnote 11: This is 16° of longitude beyond the Ladrones, which are in216° 30' W. And would consequently give the longitude of Zubut as 232°30' W. Or 107° 30' E. From Greenwich. Yet from what appears afterwards, they seem to have been now among the Philippine islands, the mosteasterly of which are in long. 126° E. From Greenwich. --E. ] They entered the port of _Zubut_ on the 7th April, and on coming nearthe city all the great guns were fired, which put the inhabitants intogreat consternation. This, however, was soon quieted, by the arrival ofa messenger at the city from the ships, who assured the king of _Zubut_that this was an ordinary piece of respect to his dignity, whom they hadcome to visit on their way to the Moluccas, hearing of his fame from theking of _Messana_. The messenger also desired that the Spaniards mightbe furnished with provisions, in exchange for their commodities. Theking then observed, that it was customary for all ships that came to hisport to pay tribute, which custom he expected they would comply with aswell as others. To this the messenger replied, that the Spanish admiralwas the servant of so powerful a sovereign, that he could make no suchacknowledgment to any prince whatever. That the admiral was willing tobe at peace with him, if he thought proper to accept his friendship: butif otherwise, he should soon have his fill of war. A certain Moor, whohappened to be present, told the king that these people were certainlythe Portuguese, who had conquered Calicut and Malacca, and advised himtherefore to beware of provoking them to hostilities; whereupon the kingreferred the matter to his council, promising to give an answer nextday, and in the meantime sent victuals and wine aboard the ships. The king of Messana, who was a potent prince, went ashore to confer withthe king of Zubut, who in the end became almost ready to pay tributeinstead of demanding it; but Magellan only asked liberty to trade, whichwas readily granted. Magellan persuaded the king and his principalpeople to become Christians, which they did after some religiousconferences, and were all afterwards baptised. This example spread overthe whole island, so that in eight days the whole inhabitants becameChristians, except those of one village of idolaters, who absolutelyrefused. The Spaniards therefore burnt this village, and erected a crosson its ruins. [12] [Footnote 12: This incredible story has been considerably abridged onthe present occasion, and is too absurd to merit any commentary. --E. ] The people of this island deal justly with each other, having the use ofweights and measures. Their houses are of timber, raised high in the airon posts, so that they ascend to them by ladders. They told us of acertain sea-fowl in this country, called _Lughan_, about the size of acrow, which the whales sometimes swallow alive, in consequence of whichtheir hearts are eaten by this bird; and many whales are killed in thismanner, the bird being afterwards found alive in the carcase of thewhale. The Spaniards drove a most advantageous trade at this place, receiving from the natives ten pesos of gold, of a ducat and a halfeach, in exchange for fourteen pounds of iron; and procured abundance ofprovisions for mere trifles. Not far from Zabut is the isle of _Mathan_, the inhabitants of which goquite naked, except a slight covering in front, all the males wearinggold-rings hanging to the preputium. This island was governed by twokings, one of whom refused to pay tribute to the king of Spain, on whichMagellan determined to reduce him by force of arms. The Indian had anarmy of between six and seven thousand men, armed with bows and arrows, darts and javelins, which Magellan attacked with sixty men, armed withcoats of mail and helmets. The battle was for a long time doubtful, whenat last Magellan advanced too far among the barbarians, by whom he wasat first wounded by a poisoned arrow, and afterwards thrust into thehead by a lance; which at once closed the life and actions of this noblecommander. About eight or nine of the Christians were slain in thisengagement, besides many wounded. After this disaster the Spaniardsineffectually attempted to redeem the body of their unfortunate admiral;and the other king, who had embraced the Christian religion withoutunderstanding its tenets, abandoned it upon this reverse of fortune tothe Spaniards, and made peace with his rival, engaging to put all theChristians to death. With this view, he invited the Spaniards to abanquet, when he made them all be cruelly murdered, only reserving DonJuan Serrano alive, in order to procure a supply of artillery andammunition for his ransom. With these conditions the Spaniards wouldhave willingly complied, but found so much prevarication and treacheryin the conduct of the natives, and were so intimidated by the miserablefate of their companions, that they put to sea, leaving the unfortunateSerrano to his miserable fate. SECTION IV. _Continuation of the Voyage to its Conclusion_. A little before the death of Magellan, news were received of theMoluccas, the great object of this voyage. Leaving Mathan, they sailedfor the island of _Bohol_, where they burnt the Conception, one of theirships, transferring its men, ammunition, and provisions into the othertwo. Directing their course from thence to the S. W. They came to theisland of _Paviloghon_, inhabited by negroes. From thence they came to alarge island named _Chippit_, in lat. 8° N. About 50 leagues W. FromZabut, and about 170° of longitude from their first departure. [13] Thisisland abounds in rice, ginger, goats, hogs, hens, &c. And the Spaniardswere kindly received by the king, who, in token of peace, marked hisbody, face, and the tip of his tongue, with blood which he drew from hisleft arm; in which ceremony he was imitated by the Spaniards. Sailingabout 40 leagues from thence between the W. And S. W. Or W. S. W. They cameto a very large island, named _Caghaian_, thinly inhabited. Theinhabitants were Mahometans, exiles from Borneo, rich in gold, and usingpoisoned arrows; a common practice in most of these islands. SailingW. N. W. From this island 25 leagues, they came to _Puloan_, a fruitfulisland in lat. 9° 20' N. And 179° 20' of longitude W. From their firstdeparture. [14] This island yields much the same productions as Chippit, together with large figs, battatos, cocoa-nuts, and sugar-canes; andthey make a kind of wine of rice, which is very intoxicating, yet betterthan palm-wine. The natives go entirely naked, use poisoned arrows, andare greatly addicted to cock-fighting. [Footnote 13: Bohal is one of the Philippine islands, in lat. 10° N. Andlong. 123° 50' E. From Greenwich. Paviloghon and Chippit mustaccordingly refer to some islands of the same group farther west. --E. ] [Footnote 14: Pulcan, Pulowan, or Paragua, the westermost of thePhilippines, an island of considerable extent, in lat. 10° N. And long. 119° E. From Greenwich. From the direction of the voyage, the greatisland of Chaghaian of the text, was probably that now calledMagindano. --E. ] They came next to the great and rich island of Borneo, in lat. 5° 5' N. The chief city containing not less than 25, 000 houses. The king was aMahometan of great power, keeping a magnificent court; and was alwaysattended by a numerous guard. He sent several presents to the Spanishcaptains, and made two elephants be led out with rich silk trappings, tobring the Spanish messengers and presents to his palace. He has tensecretaries of state, who write every thing concerning his affairs onthe bark of trees. His household is managed by women, who are thedaughters of his principal courtiers. This country affords camphor, which is the gum of a tree called _Capar_; as also cinnamon, ginger, myrabolans, oranges, lemons, sugar, cucumbers, melons, and otherfruits, with abundance of beasts and birds, and all other products ofthe equinoctial climate. The natives continually chew betel and areka, and drink arrack. Leaving Borneo, they went to the island of _Cimbubon_, in, lat. 8° 7'N. [15] where they remained forty days, caulking and repairing theirships, and taking in a supply of fresh water. In the woods of this islethey found a tree, the leaves of which, when they fall to the ground, move from place to place as if alive. They resemble the leaves of themulberry, having certain fibres produced from their sides resemblinglegs, and suddenly spring away when touched. Pigafetta, the author ofthis relation, kept one of these leaf-animals in a dish for eightdays. [16] This isle produces ostriches, wild hogs, and crocodiles. Theycaught here a fish having a head like a sow, with two horns, its bodyconsisting of one entire bone, and having a substance on its backresembling a saddle. [Footnote 15: Perhaps Balambangan, in 8° 20' N. ] [Footnote 16: Harris observes, that this account is quite incredible:Yet it is certainly true that an insect of this description exists, though not the leaf of a tree, as erroneously supposed byPigafetta. --E. ] From hence they sailed to certain islands named _Salo Taghima_, whichproduce fine pearls, and from whence the king of Borneo once procuredtwo large round pearls, nearly as big as eggs. They came next to aharbour in the island of _Sarangani_, reported to yield both pearls andgold. At this place they pressed two pilots to conduct them to theMoluccas; and passing the islands named _Ceana, Canida, Cabiaia, Camuca, Cabalu, Chiari, Lipan_, and _Nuza_, they came to a fair isle in lat 3°20' N. Named _Sangir_. [17] Passing five other islands, they at lastespied a cluster of five islands, which they were informed by the pilotswere the Moluccas. This was on the 6th November, 1521, twenty-sevenmonths after their departure from Spain. Trying the depth of the sea inthe neighbourhood of these islands, they found it no less than fifty-onefathoms; though the Portuguese report that this sea is too shallow forbeing navigated, and is besides rendered extremely dangerous by numerousrocks and shelves, and by continual darkness; doubtless to deter anyother nation from attempting to go there. [Footnote 17: Sangir is in lat. 8° 35' N. And long. 125° 25 E. FromGreenwich. The other islands enumerated in the text do not occur inmodern maps. --E. ] They came to anchor in the port of _Tiridore_ [Tidore] on the 8thNovember, this being one of the chief of the Molucca islands. Althougha Mahometan, the king of this island was so fond of the Spaniards, thathe invited them to come on shore as into their own country, and to usethe houses as their own, calling them his brethren and children; evenchanging the name of his island from Tidore to Castile. These Moluccaislands are five in number, _Ternate, Tidore, Mortir, Makian_, and_Batchian_. Ternate is the chief of these islands, and its king onceruled over them all; but at this time Mortir and Makian werecommonwealths, but Batchian was a separate monarchy. The clove-tree isvery tall, and as big about as the body of a man, having large boughs, with leaves resembling those of the bay-tree, and the bark is of anolive colour. The cloves grow in large clusters at the extremities ofthe boughs; being at first white, but growing red when they come tomaturity, and grow black when dried. While green, the flavour of thewood, bark, and leaves, is almost as strong as that of the cloves. Theseare gathered twice each year, in June and December, and if not taken intime, become very hard. Every man has his own particular trees, on whichthey bestow very little care. They have also in this isle a peculiarsort of tree, the bark of which, being steeped in water, may be drawnout in small fibres as fine as silk; of which the women make themselvesa sort of aprons, which are their only cloathing. Near Tidore is the large island of _Gilolo_, which is divided betweenthe Mahometans and idolaters. The two Mahometan kings have themselvescontributed liberally to the population of the island; one of themhaving 600 children, and the other 650. The pagans are more moderate intheir conduct in this respect than the Mahometans, and are even lesssuperstitious; yet it is said that they worship, for the rest of theday, whatever they first see every morning. In this island there grows apeculiar sort of reed, as big as a man's leg, which is full of limpidwholesome water. On the 12th November, a public warehouse was opened bythe Spaniards in the town of Tidore, for the sale of their merchandise, which were exchanged at the following rates. For ten yards of good redcloth, they had one bahar of cloves, containing four cantars or quintalsand six pounds; the cantar being 100 pounds. For fifteen yards ofinferior cloth, they had one bahar. Likewise a bahar for 35 drinkingglasses, or for 17 _cathyls_ of quicksilver. The islanders also broughtall sorts of provisions daily to the ships, together with excellentwater from certain hot springs in the mountains where the cloves grow. They here received a singular present for the king of Spain, being twodead birds about the size of turtle-doves, with small legs and headsand long bills, having two or three long party-coloured, feathers ateach side, instead of wings, all the rest of their plumage being of auniform tawny colour. These birds never fly except when favoured by thewind. The Mahometans allege that these birds come from Paradise, andtherefore call them the birds of God. Besides cloves, the Molucca islands produce ginger, rice, sago, goats, sheep, poultry, popinjays, white and red figs, almonds, pomegranates, oranges and lemons, and a kind of honey which is produced by a speciesof fly less than ants. Likewise sugar-canes, cocoa-nuts, melons, gourds, and a species of fruit, called _camulical_, which is extremely cold. Theisle of Tidore is in lat. 0° 45' N. And long. 127° 10' E. [18] and about9° 30' W. From the Ladrones, [19] in a direction nearly S. W. Formerly thenatives of these islands were all heathens, the Moors or Mahometanshaving only had footing there for about fifty years before the arrivalof the Spaniards. Ternate is the most northerly of these islands, andBatchian is almost under the line, being the largest of them all. [20] [Footnote 18: This is the true position, reckoning the longitude fromGreenwich. In the original the longitude is said to be 170° W. From thefirst meridian of the voyagers, being Seville in Spain, which would give174° E. From Greenwich; no great error, considering the imperfect way inwhich the longitude was then reckoned at sea. --E. ] [Footnote 19: This is a gross error, perhaps of the press, as thedifference of longitude is 16° 30'. --E. ] [Footnote 20: The northern end of Batchian is in lat. 0° 28', and itssouthern extremity in 0° 40', both south. --E. ] Departing from Tidore, the Spaniards were attended by several kings intheir canoes to the isle of _Mare_, [21] where this royal company tookleave of them with much apparent regret. In this isle they left one oftheir ships which was leaky, giving orders to have it repaired, for itsreturn to Spain. Being now reduced to forty-six Spaniards and thirteenIndians, they directed their course from Mare towards the S. W. Passingthe isles named _Chacotian, Lagoma, Sico, Gioghi, Caphi, Sulacho, Lumatola, Tenetum, Bura_ [Bouro?] _Arubon_ [perhaps Amboina?] _Budia, Celaruri, Benaia, Ambalao, Bandon_ [perhaps Banda?] _Zorobua, Zolot, Moceuamor, Galian_, and _Mullua_, besides many others possessed byMahometans, heathens, and canibals. They stopped fifteen days at_Mallua_ to repair their ship, being in 8° N. Lat. And 169° long. According to their reckoning. This island produces much pepper, bothlong and of the ordinary round kind. The tree on which it grows climbslike ivy, and its leaf resembles that of the mulberry. The natives arecanibals; the men wearing their hair and beards; and their only weaponsare bows and arrows. [Footnote 21: Marhee Foul, a small isle between Tidore and Motir. --E. ] Leaving _Mallua_ [Moa?] on the 25th January, 1522, they arrived at_Tima_ [Timor?] five leagues to the S. S. W. This island is in lat. 10° S. And long. 125° E. Where they found ginger, white sanders, various kindsof fruits, and plenty of gold and provisions of all kinds. The people ofthe Moluccas, Java, and _Lozen_ [Luzon, or the principal island of thePhilippines], procure their sanders-wood from hence. The natives areidolaters, and have the _lues venerea_ among them, which is a commondistemper in all the islands of this great archipelago. Leaving Timor on the 11th February, they got into the great sea called_Lantchidol_, steering W. S. W. And leaving the coast of a long string ofislands on the right hand, and taking care not to sail too near theshore, lest the Portuguese of Malacca should chance to discover them;wherefore they kept on the outside of Java and Sumatra. That they mightpass the Cape of Good Hope the more securely, they continued theircourse W. S. W. Till they got into the latitude of 42° S. Though so sorepinched by hunger and sickness, that some were for putting in atMosambique for refreshments; but the majority concluded that thePortuguese would prove bad physicians for their distempers, anddetermined therefore to continue the voyage homewards. In this coursethey lost twenty-one of their men, and were at length constrained to putin at the island of St Jago, one of the Cape Verds, to throw themselveson the mercy of the Portuguese. So, venturing ashore, they opened theirmiserable case to the Portuguese, who at first relieved theirnecessities; but the next time they went on shore, detained all who cameas prisoners. Those who still remained in the ship, now reduced to thirteen, having nomind to join their companions in captivity, made all the haste theycould away, and being favoured by the winds, they arrived in the harbourof San Lucar, near Seville, on the 7th September, 1522. He who commandedthis vessel, which had the good fortune to return from this remarkablevoyage, was Juan Sebastian Cano, a native of Guetaria in Biscay, aperson of much merit and resolution, who was nobly rewarded by theemperor Charles V. To perpetuate the memory of this first voyage roundthe world, the emperor gave him for his coat of arms the terrestrialglobe, with this motto, _Prima me circumdedisti_. The newly-discoveredstraits at the southern extremity of South America, were at first namedthe _Straits of Vittori_, after the ship which returned; but they soonlost that name, to assume another which becomes them much better, inhonour of their discoverer, and have ever since been denominated the_Straits of Magellan_. This most celebrated voyage took up three years and twenty-seven days, having commenced on the 10th August, 1519, and concluded on the 7thSeptember, 1522. By its success, the skill and penetration of the greatColumbus, who, only twenty-seven years before, had first asserted thepossibility of its performance, were fully established. One circumstancewas discovered in this voyage, which, although reason have taught us toexplain, could hardly have been expected _a priori_. On the return ofthe Spaniards to their own country, they found they had lost a day intheir reckoning, owing to the course they had sailed; whereas had theygone by the east, and returned by the west, they would have gained a dayin their course. Another circumstance, which served to heighten the reputation ofMagellan, who deserves the sole honour of this voyage, was thedifficulty experienced by other able commanders, who endeavoured tofellow the course he had pointed out. The first who made the attemptwere two Genoese ships in 1526, but unsuccessfully. In 1528, Cortes, theconqueror of Mexico, sent two ships with 400 men, to endeavour to findtheir way through the straits of Magellan to the Moluccas, but withouteffect. Sebastian Cabot tried the same thing, by order of Emanuel kingof Portugal, but was unable to succeed. CHAPTER II. VOYAGE BY SIR FRANCIS DRAKE ROUND THE WORLD, IN 1577-1580. [22] * * * * * SECTION I. _Introduction, and Preparation for the Voyage_. In his Annals of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, the learned Cambdeninforms us, that the father of the celebrated Sir Francis Drake was theRev. Edmund Drake, vicar of Upnore on the river Medway, and says he hadthis information from Sir Francis himself. Yet the industrious JohnStowe says, that he was the eldest of twelve brethren, the sons ofEdmund Drake, mariner, at Tavistock in Devonshire, and was born in 1540. Perhaps both accounts may be true; and Mr Edmund Drake, though a marineroriginally, may have had a competent share of learning, and may havebeen admitted to orders on the final establishment of the Reformation. [Footnote 22: Hakluyt, IV. 232. Harris, I. P. 14. Oxford Coll. II. Sect. Xvi. Callender's Voy. I. 288. The original account of this voyage waspublished at London, in 4to, in 1600, and reprinted in 1618. --E. ] This celebrated naval hero received the Christian name of Francis fromhis godfather the earl of Bedford, but does not appear to have derivedany great patronage from that nobleman. He was sent young to sea, as anapprentice to the master of a small bark, who traded with France andZealand; and his master, a bachelor, taking a great affection for him, left him his bark at his death. At eighteen years of age, he was purserof a ship on a voyage to the Bay of Biscay, and at twenty made a voyageto the coast of Guinea. In all these voyages he distinguished himself byextraordinary courage, and by a sagacity beyond his years. In 1565, hislaudable desire of glory induced him to venture his all in a voyage tothe West Indies, which had no success. In 1567, he served under hiskinsman Sir John Hawkins in the bay of Mexico, but was againunfortunate, returning from the voyage rich in character and fame, butwith almost ruined circumstances. These disappointments served only toincrease his desire of bettering his fortunes at the expence of thegrand enemy of his country, against whom he made two other voyages intothese parts; the first in 1570 with two ships, the Dragon and Swan andthe second in 1571, in the Swan alone, chiefly for information, that hemight qualify himself for undertaking some enterprize of greaterimportance; which he at length carried into execution with great courageand perseverance. His character for bravery and seamanship being now established, he soonfound a sufficient number of persons willing to adventure a part oftheir fortunes in a privateering voyage which he proposed. Heaccordingly sailed from Plymouth on the 24th May, 1572, in the Pasco, aship only of seventy tons, having for his consort the Swan of 250 tons, commanded by his brother John Drake, with seventy-three men and boys, and provisions for a year. Such were the mighty preparations he had madefor attacking the power of Spain in the West Indies, in which heconsidered himself justified, in order to make reprisals for the losseshe had formerly sustained from the Spaniards. In this voyage hesurprised and plundered the famous town of Nombre de Dios; and soonafterwards had a distant view of the South Sea from the top of a hightree, which inflamed him with the desire of conducting an English shipthither, which attempt he had perhaps never thought of but for thatcircumstance. In this expedition he acquired immense riches for his owners, andconsiderable wealth for himself; and being of an honourable and generousdisposition, he scorned to avail himself of advantages, which most othermen would have considered as their right. Of this we have the followingremarkable instance. Having presented a cutlass to a captain or caçiqueof the free Indians inhabiting the isthmus of Darien, the caçique gavehim in return four large ingots of gold, which he immediately threw intothe common stock, saying, "My owners gave me that cutlass, and it isjust they should receive their share of its produce. " His return toEngland from this successful expedition was equally fortunate, as hesailed in twenty-three days from Cape Florida to the Scilly islands. Arriving at Plymouth on Sunday, the 9th August, 1573, during divineservice, the news of his return was carried to church, on which fewpersons remained with the preacher, all the congregation running out towelcome the adventurous Drake, who had been absent fourteen months andsixteen days in this voyage. The wealth he gained in this expedition he generously expended in theservice of his country, equipping no less than three frigates at his ownexpence, which he commanded in person, and with which he contributedmaterially to the reduction of the rebellion in Ireland, under thesupreme command of the earl of Essex. After the death of that nobleman, he chose Sir Christopher Hatton for his patron, then vice-chamberlain tothe queen, and afterwards lord high-chancellor of England. By hisinterest, not without great opposition, captain Drake obtained acommission from queen Elizabeth for the voyage of which it is nowproposed to give an account, and which he had long meditated. Being thusprovided with the royal authority, his friends contributed largelytowards the intended expedition, while he applied himself with alldiligence to get every thing in readiness for the important undertaking;having in view to attack the powerful monarchy of Spain, in its richestyet most vulnerable possessions on the western coasts of America, withwhat would now be considered a trifling squadron of five small barks. The ships, as they were then called, fitted out for this boldenterprize, were, the Pelican, afterwards named the Hind, of 100 tons, admiral-ship of the squadron, under his own immediate command ascaptain-general; the Elizabeth, vice-admiral, of 80 tons, commanded byCaptain John Winter, who was lieutenant-general of the expedition; theMarigold, a bark of 30 tons, Captain John Thomas; the Swan, a fly-boatof 50 tons, Captain John Chester; and the Christopher, a pinnace of 15tons, Captain Thomas Moon. These ships were manned with 164 able-bodiedmen, including officers, and were provided with an ample supply ofprovisions, ammunition and stores, for so long and dangerous a voyage. Captain Drake likewise provided the frames of four pinnaces, which werestowed on board in pieces, ready to be set up as occasion might require. He is also said to have made provision for ornament and delight, carrying with him a band of musicians, together with rich furniture andmuch silverplate, all the vessels for his table, and many of thosebelonging to the cook-room, being of that metal. This magnificence isstated by his biographers, to have been intended as a display for thehonour of his country among foreign nations. SECTION II. _Narrative of the Voyage from England to the Straits of Magellan_. All things being duly prepared. Captain Drake sailed with his squadronfrom Plymouth Sound, about five in the afternoon of the 15th November, 1577, giving out that he was bound for Alexandria in Egypt, which hadbeen made the pretended object of the voyage, to prevent the court ofSpain from taking measures for its obstruction. In consequence of aviolent storm, in which some of the ships sustained damage, he wasforced to put into Falmouth haven, whence he returned to Plymouth. Having repaired all defects, he once more set sail on the 13th Decemberof the same year. Avoiding as much as possible to come near the land tooearly, he fell in with Cape Cantin, on the Barbary coast, on the 25th, and came to the island of Mogadore on the 27th. In the channel of onemile broad, between that island and the main, he found a convenientharbour, where he caused one of his pinnaces to be built. While thus engaged, some of the inhabitants came to the shore with aflag of truce, on which the admiral sent a boat to enquire what theywanted. One of his men remained as a pledge with the natives, two ofwhom came off to the ship. These informed the admiral by signs, thatthey would next day supply the ships with good provisions; in return forwhich proffered civility, the admiral rewarded them with shoes, somelinen, and two javelins, and sent them again on shore. Next day, theycame again to the shore, according to promise; on which occasion, anEnglishman, named Fry, leapt on shore among them from the boat, considering them as friends; but they perfidiously made him a prisoner, threatening to stab him if he made any resistance. They then mounted himon horseback, and carried him into the interior; but he was afterwardssent back in safety to England. The pinnace being finished, they sailed from Mogadore on the 30thDecember, and arrived at Cape Blanco on the 17th January, 1578. On thevoyage from Mogadore to Cape Blanco, they took three _Canters_, orSpanish fishing-boats, and three caravels. Here they found a Portuguesecaravel at anchor, bound to the Cape Verd islands for salt, in whichthere were only two mariners. They took possession of this ship, andcarried her into the harbour of Cape Blanco, where they remained fourdays, during which time the admiral trained his men on shore, to preparethem for land service on occasion. At this place they took suchnecessaries as they wanted from the fishermen, as also one of theirbarks or canters of 40 tons, leaving behind a small bark of their own, called the Benedict. Leaving this place on the 22d January, they weretold by the master of the Portuguese caravel, which they carried alongwith them, that abundance of dried _cabritos_ or goats might be procuredat Mayo, one of the Cape Verd islands, which were yearly prepared therefor the ships belonging to the king of Spain. They arrived at Mayo on the 27th January, but the inhabitants refused totrade with them, being expressly forbidden to have any intercourse withforeigners, by orders from their sovereign. Next day, however, theadmiral sent a company of 72 armed men on shore under the command of MrWinter and Mr Doughty, to take a view of the island, and to see if anyrefreshments could be procured. They marched accordingly to the chiefplace of the island; and, after travelling three days through themountains, they arrived there before day-break on the fourth day. Theinhabitants were all fled, but this part of the island seemed morefertile and better cultivated than any of the rest. They rested heresome time, banqueting on delicious grapes, which they found inperfection at that season of the year, though the depth of winter inEngland. Mayo abounds with goats, wild poultry, and salt; this lastbeing formed in great quantities among the rocks, by the heat of thesun; so that the natives have only the trouble of gathering it intoheaps, and sell it to their neighbours, from which they derive greatprofit. They found here cocoa-nut trees, which have no branches orleaves but at the top of the tree, where the fruit grows in clusters. They then marched farther into the island, where they saw great numbersof goats, but could not get any. They might have furnished themselveswith some dried carcasses of old goats, which the natives laid purposelyin their way; but not caring for the refuse of the island, they returnedto the ships. Leaving Mayo on the 31st of January, they sailed past the island of StJago, whence three pieces of cannon were fired at them, but withoutdoing any injury. This is a large fine island, inhabited by thePortuguese; but the mountains are said to be still occupied by Moors, who fled thither to deliver themselves from slavery, and have fortifiedthemselves in places of difficult access. Near this island they saw twoships under sail, one of which they took, and it turned out a valuableprize, being laden with wine. The admiral detained this ship, which hecommitted to the charge of Mr Doughty, and took the Portuguese pilot, named Nuno da Silva into his service, sending the rest away in hispinnace, giving them some provisions, a butt of wine, and their apparel. That same night they came to the island of _Fuego_, or the burningisland. It is inhabited by Portuguese, having a volcano on its northernside, which is continually throwing out smoke and flames; yet seems tobe reasonably commodious. On the south of Fuego there is a very sweetand pleasant island, called by the Portuguese _Ilha Brava_, the brave orfine island. This is cloathed with evergreen trees, and has many streamsof fresh water which run into the sea, and are easily accessible; but ithas no convenient road for ships, the sea being every where too deep foranchorage. It is alledged that the summit of Fuego is not higher in theair, than are the roots of Brava low in the sea. Leaving these islands, and approaching the line, they were sometimesbecalmed for a long time together, and at other times vexed withtempests. At all times, when the weather would permit, they had plentyof dolphins, bonitos and flying-fish; several of the last dropping intheir flight on the decks, unable to rise again, because their finnywings wanted moisture. Taking their departure from the Cape de Verdislands, they sailed 54 days without seeing land; and at length, on the5th April, 1578, got sight of the coast of Brazil, in lat. 33° S. Thebarbarous people on shore, discovering the ships, began to practicetheir accustomed ceremonies to raise a storm for destroying their ships, making great fires, and offering sacrifices to the devil. [23] The 7thApril they had thunder, lightning, and rain, during which storm theylost sight of the Christopher, but found her again on the 11th; and theplace where all the ships met together, which had been dispersed insearch of her, was named Cape _Joy_, at which place the ships took in asupply of fresh water. The country here was pleasant and fertile, with asweet and temperate climate; but the only inhabitants seen were someherds of deer, though some footsteps of men, apparently of greatstature, were noticed on the ground. Having weighed anchor, and sailed alittle farther along the coast, they came to a small and safe harbour, formed between a rock and the main, the rock breaking the force of thesea. On this rock they killed some sea-wolves, a species of seals, whichthey found wholesome food, though not pleasant. [Footnote 23: This idea is uncharitable and absurd, as the navigatorscould not know any thing of the motives of these fires, and much lessabout the alleged sacrifices. The fires might have been friendlysignals, inviting them on shore. --E. ] Going next to lat. 36° S. They sailed up the Rio Plata, and came into 53and 54 fathoms, fresh water, with which they filled their water casks;but finding no convenient harbour, went again to sea on the 27th ofApril. Sailing still onwards, they came to a good bay, having severalislands, one of which was well stocked with seals and the others withsea fowl, so that they had no want of provisions, together with plentyof water. The admiral being ashore on one of these islands, the nativescame about him, dancing and skipping in a friendly manner, and willinglybartered any thing they had for toys; but they had the strange custom ofrefusing to accept of any thing, unless first thrown down on the ground. They were a comely strong-bodied people, swift of foot, and of livelydispositions. The Marigold and Christopher were dispatched in search ofa convenient harbour, and soon returned with news of having found one, into which all the ships removed. Here the seals were so numerous, thatabove 200 were killed in about an hour. The natives came boldly aboutthem, while working ashore, having their faces painted, their onlyapparel being a covering of skin with the fur on, wrapped about theirwaists, and a kind of wreaths round their heads. Each man had a bow, about an ell long, and only two arrows. They even seemed to have somenotion of military discipline, as they ranged their men in an orderlymanner; and they gave sufficient proof of their agility, by stealing theadmiral's hat from his head, which could not be recovered. [24] While inthis bay, the admiral took every thing out of the fly-boat that could beof any use; she was then laid on shore and burnt, and all her iron worksaved for future use. [Footnote 24: Harris observes, that these were of the nation namedPatagons by Magellan. But no notice is taken of their stature beingabove the ordinary height. --E. ] Sailing from this place, the fleet came to anchor in Port St Julian onthe 20th June, where they saw the gibbet still standing, on whichMagellan had formerly executed some of his mutinous company. Here alsoAdmiral Drake executed one Captain Doughty, the most suspected action ofhis life. Mr Doughty had been guilty of certain actions, tending towardscontention or mutiny, and was found guilty partly on his own confession, and partly by proof, taken in good order and as near as might beaccording to the forms of the law of England. Having received thecommunion from Mr Fletcher, chaplain of the admiral's ship, in whichCaptain Drake participated along with him; and after embracing Drake, and taking leave of all the company, Mr Doughty prayed fervently for thewelfare of the queen and whole realm, then quietly laid his head on theblock. The general then made a speech to the whole company assembled, exhorting them to unity and obedience, sacredly protesting that he hadgreat private affection for Mr Doughty, and had been solely actuated incondemning him to an ignominious death, by his care for the welfare ofthe voyage, the satisfaction of her majesty, and the honour of hiscountry. Leaving this place on the 17th August, they fell in with the easternentrance of the Straits of Magellan on the 20th of that month. The 21stthey entered the straits, which they found very intricate, with variouscrooked turnings; owing to which, having often to shift their course, the wind was frequently adverse, making their passage troublesome anddangerous, especially in sudden blasts of wind; for, although there wereseveral good harbours, the sea was too deep for anchorage, except insome narrow creeks or inlets, or between rocks. On both sides of thestraits, there are vast mountains covered with snow, their tops reachingin many places to great heights, having often two or three ranges ofclouds below their summits. The air in the straits was extremely cold, with almost continual frost and snow; yet the trees and plants retaineda constant verdure, growing and flourishing in spite of the severity ofthe climate. At the south and east parts of the straits there arevarious islands, through between which the sea breaks in, as at the mainentrance. The breadth of the straits in some places was only a league, which was the narrowest, but in most places two, and in some threeleagues across. The 24th August, they came to an island in the straits, where they found vast quantities of penguins, a sort of water fowl, aslarge as a goose, but which does not fly, and of which they killed 3000in less than a day. SECTION III. _Incidents of the Voyage, from the Straits of Magellan to New Albion. _ The 6th September, they reached the western extremity of the straits, and entered into the great South Sea or Pacific Ocean. On the 7th, thefleet encountered a storm, by which they were driven one degree to thesouthwards of the straits, and more than 200 leagues in longitude backfrom that entrance. [25] They were driven even so far as the lat. Of 57°20' S. Where they anchored among the islands, finding good fresh waterand excellent herbs. [26] Not far from thence, they entered another bay, where they found naked people, ranging about the islands in canoes, insearch of provisions, with whom they had some intercourse by way ofbarter. Continuing their course towards the north, they discoveredthree islands on the 3d October, in one of which there was an incrediblenumber of birds. On the 8th October, they lost company of the Elizabeth, the vice admiral, commanded by Captain Winter. At his return home, theyfound that Mr Winter had been forced to take refuge from the storm inthe straits, whence he returned to England, though many of us feared heand his people had perished. [Footnote 25: This is a gross error, probably a misprint for 20 leaguesof longitude, as the quantity in the text would have driven them far tothe eastwards of the straits, into the Atlantic, which is impossible, the whole of Tierra del Fuego being interposed. --E. ] [Footnote 26: This too is erroneous, as Cape Horn, not then known, isonly in lat. 55° 58' 30' S. ] Having now got back to the western entrance of the straits, they madesail for the coast of Chili, which the general maps represented astrending N. W. But which they found to the east of N. So that thesecoasts had not been fully discovered, or very inaccurately represented, for the space of 12 degrees at least, either for the purpose to deceive, or through ignorance. Proceeding northwards along the coast of Chili, they came to the island of Mocha, in 38° 30' S. Latitude, on the 29thNovember, where they cast anchor. The admiral went here ashore with tenmen, and found the island inhabited by a people who had fled from theextreme cruelty of the Spaniards, leaving their original habitations onthe continent, to enjoy their lives and liberties in security. Thesepeople at first behaved civilly to the admiral and his men, bringingthem potatoes and two fat sheep, promising also to bring them water, andthey received some presents in return. Next day, however, when two menwent ashore with barrels for water, the natives suddenly assailed andkilled them. The reason of this outrage was, that they mistook theEnglish for Spaniards, whom they never spare when they fall into theirhands. Continuing their course along the coast of Chili, they met an Indian ina canoe, who mistook them for Spaniards, and told them of a greatSpanish ship at St Jago, laden for Peru. Rewarding him for thisintelligence, the Indian conducted them to where the ship lay at anchor, in the port of Valparaiso, in lat. 33° 40' S. [27] All the men on boardwere only eight Spaniards and three negroes, who, supposing the Englishto have been friends, welcomed them with beat of drum, and invited themon board to drink Chili wine. The English immediately boarded and tookpossession; when one of the Spaniards leapt overboard, and swam ashoreto give notice of the coming of the English. On this intelligence, allthe inhabitants of the town, being only about nine families, escapedinto the country. The admiral and his men landed, and rifled the townand its chapel, from which they took a silver chalice, two cruets, andan altar cloth. They found also in the town a considerable store ofChili wine, with many boards of cedar wood, all of which they carried onboard their ships. Then setting all the prisoners on shore, exceptone named John Griego, born in Greece, who was detained as a pilot, theadmiral directed his course for Lima, the capital of Peru, under theguidance of this new pilot. [Footnote 27: More correctly, 33° 00' 30" S. And long. 71° 38' 30" W. From Greenwich. --E. ] Being now at sea, they examined the booty in their prize, in which theyfound 25, 000 pezos of pure gold of Baldivia, amounting to above 37, 000Spanish ducats. Continuing their course for Lima, they put into theharbour of Coquimbo, in lat. 29° 54' S. Where the admiral sent fourteenmen on shore for water. This small company being espied by theSpaniards, they collected 300 horse and 200 foot, and slew one of theEnglishmen, the rest getting back to the ship. From thence they went toa port named _Taropaca_ in Peru, in lat 20° 15' S. Where landing, aSpaniard was found asleep on the shore, having eighteen bars of silverlying beside him, worth about 4000 Spanish ducats, which they carriedaway, leaving him to his repose. Going again on shore, not far fromthence, in search of water, they met a Spaniard and an Indian, drivingeight Peruvian sheep, laden with fine silver, each sheep having twoleather bags on his back, in each of which were about fifty poundsweight. These they carried on board, finding in the whole of these bags800 pounds weight of silver. From thence they went to _Arica_, in lat. 18° 40' S. In which port they plundered three small barks of fifty-sevenbars of silver, each bar being in shape and size like a brick-bat, andweighing about twenty pounds. Not having sufficient strength, they didnot assault the town, but put again to sea, where they met another smallbark, laden with linen, part of which was taken out, and the barkdismissed. They came to Calao, the port of Lima, in lat. 12° 10' S. On the 13thFebruary, 1579, where they found twelve ships at anchor, with all theirsails down, without watch or guard, all their masters and merchantsbeing on shore. On examining the contents of these ships, they found achest full of dollars, with great store of silks and linen, and carriedaway all the silver, and part of the other goods to their own ships. Here the admiral got notice of a very rich ship, called the Cacafuego, which had sailed for Paita, in lat. 5° 10' S. Pursuing her thither, theylearnt, before arriving at Paita, that she had sailed for Panama. Incontinuing the pursuit to Panama, they took another, which paid themwell for their trouble; as, besides her ropes and other tackle, sheyielded eighty pounds weight of gold, together with a large goldencrucifix, richly adorned with emeralds. Continuing to pursue the Cacafuego, the admiral promised to give hisgold chain to the first person who descried the chase, which fell to theshare of Mr John Drake, who first discovered her, one morning aboutthree o'clock. They came up with her about six, gave her three shots, which struck down her mizen-mast, and then boarded. They found this shipfully as rich as she was reported, having thirteen chests full ofdollars, eighty pounds weight of gold, a good quantity of jewels, andtwenty-six tons of silver in bars. [28] Among other rich pieces of platefound in this ship, there were two very large gilt silver bowls, whichbelonged to her pilot. On seeing these, the admiral said to the pilot, that these were fine bowls, and he must needs have one of them; to whichthe pilot yielded, not knowing how to help himself; but, to make thisappear less like compulsion, he gave the other to the admiral's steward. The place where this rich prize was taken was off Cape San Francisco, about 150 leagues from Panama, and in lat. 1° N. [00° 45'. ] When thepeople of the prize were allowed to depart, the pilot's boy told theadmiral, that the English ship ought now to be called the _Cacafuego_, not theirs, as it had got all their rich loading, and that theirunfortunate ship ought now to be called the _Cacaplata_, which jestexcited much mirth. [29] [Footnote 28: Without calculating on the jewels, for which there are nodata, the silver and gold of this prize could hardly fall short of250, 000_l_--worth more than a million, in effective value, of the presentday. --E. ] [Footnote 29: This forecastle joke turns on the meaning of the words, Cacafuego and Cacaplata, meaning Fartfire and Fartsilver. --_Harris_. ] Having ransacked the Cacafuego of every thing worth taking, she wasallowed to depart; and continuing their course westwards, they next meta ship laden with cotton goods, China dishes, and China silks. Takingfrom the Spanish owner a falcon of massy gold, having a large emeraldset in his breast, and chasing such other wares as he liked, the admiralallowed this ship to continue her voyage, only detaining her pilot forhis own use. This pilot brought them to the harbour of Guatalca, in thetown adjacent to which, he said, there were only seventeen Spaniards. Going there on shore, they marched directly to the town-house, wherethey found a judge sitting, and ready to pass sentence on a parcel ofnegroes, who were accused of plotting to set the town on fire. But thearrival of the admiral changed affairs, for he made both the judge andthe criminals prisoners, and carried them all aboard the ships. He thenmade the judge write to the citizens, to keep at a distance, and make noresistance; after which the town was plundered, but the only thingvaluable was about a bushel of Spanish dollars, or rials of plate. Oneof the people took a rich Spaniard fleeing out of town, who ransomedhimself by giving up a gold chain and some jewels. At this place theadmiral set some of his Spanish prisoners ashore, together with the oldPortuguese pilot he took at the Cape Verd islands, and departed fromthence for the island of Cano. While there, he captured a Spanish shipbound for the Philippine islands, which he lightened of part of hermerchandise, and allowed her to proceed. At this place the admirallanded every thing out of his own ship, and then laid her on shore, where she was repaired and graved; after which they laid in a supply ofwood and water. Thinking he had in some measure revenged the public injuries of hiscountry upon the Spaniards, as well as his own private losses, theadmiral began to deliberate about returning home; but was in somehesitation as to the course he ought to steer. To return by the Straitsof Magellan, the only passage yet discovered, he concluded would throwhimself into the hands of the Spaniards, who would probably there waylayhim with a greatly superior force, having now only one ship left, whichwas by no means strong, though very rich. [30] He therefore, on maturelyweighing all circumstances, determined to proceed by way of theMoluccas, and following the course of the Portuguese, to get home by theCape of Good Hope. Endeavouring to put this design in execution, butbeing becalmed, he found it necessary to steer more northwardly alongthe coast of America, in order to get a wind; in which view he sailed atleast 600 leagues, which was all the way he was able to make between the16th of April and the 3d June. [Footnote 30: We have no account of the loss of any of the squadron, except that the Elizabeth was lost sight of after passing the Straits ofMagellan. Perhaps the other vessels had been destroyed, to reinforce thecrew of the Hind, weakened by the diseases incident to longvoyages. --E. ] On the 5th June, being in lat. 43° N. They found the air excessivelycold, and the severity of the weather almost intolerable; for whichreason they returned along the coast to the southward, till in lat. 38°N. Where they found a very good bay, which they entered with afavourable wind. [31] The English had here a good deal of intercoursewith the natives, whose huts were scattered along the shores of thisbay. These people brought presents of leathers and net-work to theadmiral, who entertained them with so much kindness, that they wereinfinitely pleased. Though the country is very cold, the nativescontrive to erect their houses in a very ingenious manner to defendthemselves from the severity of the weather. Surrounding them by a deeptrench, they raise great pieces of timber on its outer edge, which closeall in a point at the top, like the spire of a steeple. Their fire is inthe middle of this conical hut, and they sleep on the ground strewedwith rushes, around the fire. The men go naked, but the women wear akind of petticoat of bull-rushes, dressed in the manner of hemp, whichis fastened round their waists, and reaches down to their hips; havinglikewise a deer-skin on their shoulders. The good qualities of thesewomen make amends for their ordinary dress and figure, as they are verydutiful to their husbands. [Footnote 31: This bay of Sir Francis Drake, on the western coast ofNorth America, is nearly in lat 58° N. As stated in the text, and long. 122° 15' W. From Greenwich. It is now named by the Spaniards, the Bay ofSan Francisco in California, on the southern side of which they have amission of the same name--E. ] Soon after his arrival, the admiral received a present from the nativesof feathers and bags of tobacco, which was given in much form by anumerous concourse of the Indians. These convened on the top of a hillor rising ground, whence one of their number harangued the admiral, whose tent was pitched at the bottom of the hill. When this speech wasended, they all laid down their weapons on the summit of the hill, whence they descended and offered their presents, at the same timecivilly returning those which the admiral had before given them. Allthis time the native women remained on the top of the hill, where theyseemed as if possessed, tearing their hair, and howling in a most savagemanner. This is the ordinary music of their sacrifices, something ofthat nature being then solemnizing. While the women above were thusserving the devil, the men below were better employed, in listeningattentively to divine service, then performing in the admiral's tentThese circumstances, though trivial in themselves, are important inascertaining the first discovery of California by the English. News of the arrival of the English having spread about the country, twoambassadors came to the admiral, to inform him that the king was comingto wait upon him, and desired to have a token of peace, and assurance ofsafe conduct. This being given to their satisfaction, the whole trainbegan to move towards the admiral, in good order, and with a gracefuldeportment. In front came a very comely person, bearing the sceptrebefore the king, on which hung two crowns, and two chains of greatlength. The crowns were made of net-work, ingeniously interwoven withfeathers of many colours, and the chains were made of bones. Next to thesceptre-bearer came the king, a very comely personage, shewing an air ofmajesty in all. This deportment, surrounded by a guard of tallmartial-looking men, all clad in skins. Then followed the common people, who, to make the finer appearance, had painted their faces, some black, and some of other colours. All of them had their arms full of presents, even the children not excepted. The admiral drew up all his men in line of battle, and stood ready toreceive them within his fortifications. At some distance from him, thewhole train of natives made a halt, all preserving the most profoundsilence, except the sceptre-bearer, who made a speech of half an hour. He then, from an orator, became a dancing-master, and struck up a song, being joined in both by the king, lords, and common people, who came allsinging and dancing up to the fences which the admiral had thrown up. The natives then all sat down; and, after some preliminary compliments, the king made a solemn offer of his whole kingdom and its dependenciesto the admiral, desiring him to assume the sovereignty, and professinghimself his most loyal subject; and, that this might not seem mere emptycompliment, he took off his illustrious crown of feathers from his ownhead, with the consent and approbation of all his nobles there present, and placing it on the head of the admiral, invested him with all theother ensigns of royalty, constituting the admiral, as far as in himlay, king of the whole country. The admiral, as her majesty'srepresentative, accepted of this new-offered dignity in her name andbehalf; as from this donation, whether made in jest or earnest, it wasprobable that some real advantage might redound hereafter to the Englishnation in these parts. After this ceremony, the common people dispersedthemselves about the English encampment, expressing their admiration andrespect for the English in a most violent and even profane manner, evenoffering sacrifices to them, as in the most profound devotion, till theywere repressed by force, with strong expressions of abhorrence, anddirected to pay their adorations to the supreme Creator and Preserver ofall things, whom only they ought to honour with religious worship. [32] [Footnote 32: The whole of this story, of a king and his nobles, and theinvestiture of Drake in the sovereignty of California, which he namedNew Albion, is so completely absurd as not to merit seriousobservation. --E. ] After this ceremony, the admiral and some of his people penetrated tosome distance into the interior country, which they found to beextremely full of large fat deer, often seeing about a thousand in oneherd. There were also such immense numbers of rabbits, that the wholecountry seemed one vast warren. These rabbits were of the size of thoseof Barbary, having heads like our own rabbits in England, with feet likethose of a mole, and long tails like rats. Under the chin on each side, they have a bag or pouch in the skin, into which they store up any foodthey get abroad, which they there preserve for future use. Their fleshis much valued by the natives, and their skins are made into robes forthe king and nobles. This country seemed to promise rich veins of goldand silver; as wherever they had occasion to dig, they threw up some ofthe ores of these metals. [33] Partly in honour of England, and partlyowing to the prospect of white cliffs which this country presented fromthe sea, the admiral named this region New Albion. Before his departure, he erected a monument, on which was a large plate, engraven with thename, picture, and arms of queen Elizabeth, the title of her majesty tothe sovereignty of the country, the time of its discovery, and Drake'sown name. In this country the Spaniards had never had the smallestfooting, neither had they discovered this coast of America, even forseveral degrees to the southwards of New Albion. [Footnote 33: This surely is a gross falsehood, as even the Spaniards, so much experienced in mines of the precious metals, have found none inCalifornia, though possessing missions among its rude and scantypopulation in every corner, even in this very spot. --E. ] SECTION IV. _Continuation of the Voyage, from New Albion to England. _ Sailing from this port of New Albion, [now called by the Spaniards theBay of San Francisco, ] they had no sight of land till the 13th October, 1579, when, in the morning of that day, they fell in with certainislands in lat. 8° N. [34] They here met many canoes, laden withcocoa-nuts and other fruits. These canoes were very artificiallyhollowed, and were smooth and shining, like polished horn. Their prowsand sterns were all turned circularly inwards; and on each side therelay out two pieces of timber, or out-riggers, a yard and a half long, more or less, according the size of the canoes. They were ofconsiderable height in the gunwales; and their insides were ornamentedwith white shells. The islanders in these canoes had large holes in thelower parts of their ears, which reached down a considerable way, by theweight of certain ornaments. Their teeth were as black as jet, occasioned by chewing a certain herb with a sort of powder, which theyalways carry with them for that purpose. [35] [Footnote 34: These probably were some of the Caralines, being in thedirect route from Port Sir Francis Drake to the Moluccas. --E. ] [Footnote 35: Areka nut and betel leaf, with pounded shell-lime. --E. ] The 18th October they came to other islands, some of which appeared tobe very populous, and continued their course past the islands of_Tagulada, Zelon, _ and _Zewarra. _ The first of these produces greatstore of cinnamon; and the inhabitants are in friendship with thePortuguese. Without making any stop at these islands, the admiralcontinued his course, and fell in with the Moluccas on the 14thNovember. Intending to steer for Tidore, and coasting along the islandof Motir, which belongs to the king of Ternate, they met the viceroy ofthat king, who came fearlessly on board the admiral's ship. He advisedthe admiral by no means to prosecute his voyage to Tidore, but to saildirectly for Ternate, as the king, his master, was a great enemy to thePortuguese, and would have no intercourse with him, if at all connectedwith Tidore or the Portuguese. Upon this, the admiral resolved on goingto Tidore, and came to anchor before the town early next morning. He immediately sent a messenger to the king, with a present of a velvetcloak, and to assure him that his only purpose in coming to his islandwas to trade in a friendly manner. By this time the viceroy had been tothe king, whom he had disposed to entertain a favourable opinion of theEnglish, so that the king returned a very civil and obliging answer, assuring the admiral that a friendly intercourse with the English washighly pleasing to him, his whole kingdom, and all that it contained, being at his service; and that he was ready to lay himself and hisdominions at the feet of the glorious queen of England, and toacknowledge her as his sovereign. In token of all this, he sent hissignet to the admiral, delivering it with much respect to the messenger, who was treated with great pomp and ceremony at court. Having a mind to visit the admiral on board ship, the king sent beforehand four large canoes, filled with his most dignified attendants, allin white dresses, and having large awnings of perfumed mats borne overtheir heads on a frame of canes or bamboos. They were surrounded byservants, all in white; outside of whom were ranks of soldiers, andbeyond them were many rowers in well-contrived galleries, three of theseon each side all along the canoes, raised one above the other, eachgallery containing eighty rowers. [36] These canoes were well furnishedwith warlike implements and all kind of weapons, both offensive anddefensive, and were filled with soldiers well appointed for war. Bowingnear the ship in great order, they paid their reverence to the admiral, saying that their king had sent them to conduct his ship into a saferroad than that it now occupied. [Footnote 36: This surely is a great exaggeration, employing 480 rowersto each canoe. --E. ] The king himself came soon afterwards, attended upon by six grave andancient persons. He seemed much delighted with English music, and stillmore with English generosity, which the admiral expressed in largepresents to him and his attendants. The king promised to come aboardagain next day, and that same night sent off great store of provisions, as rice, poultry, sugar, cloves, a sort of fruit called _Frigo_, and_Sago_, which is a meal made out of the tops of trees, melting in themouth like sugar, and tasting like sour curds, but when made into cakeswill keep fit for eating at the end of ten years. The king did not comeon board next day, according to promise, but sent his brother to excusehim, and: to invite the admiral on shore, while he remained as a pledgefor his safe return. The admiral declined going ashore himself, but sentsome gentlemen of his retinue along with the king's brother, detainingthe viceroy till their return. They were received on shore by another of the king's brothers withseveral nobles, and conducted in great state to the castle, where therewas a court of at least a thousand persons, the principal of whom weresixty grave counsellors, and four Turkish envoys dressed in scarletrobes and turbans, who were there to negociate trade between the Turkishempire and Ternate. The king came in under a glorious canopy, embroidered with gold, and guarded by twelve men armed with lances. Hewas dressed in a loose robe of cloth of gold, having his legs bare, butwith leather shoes or slippers on his feet. Several circular ornamentsof gold were braided among his hair, a large chain of gold hung from hisneck, and his fingers were adorned with rich jewels. A page stood at theright-hand side of his chair of state, blowing cool air upon him with afan, two feet long and a foot broad, curiously embroidered, and enrichedwith sapphires. The English gentlemen were kindly received; and, havingheard their message, he sent one of his counsellors to conduct them backto the ships. The king of Ternate is a prince of great power, havingseventy islands under his authority, besides Ternate, which is the bestof the Molucca islands. His religion, and that of all his subjects, isMahometism, in obedience to which they keep the new moons and manyfasts, during which they mortify the flesh all the day, but make up fortheir abstemiousness by feasting in the night. Having dispatched all his affairs at Ternate, the admiral left theplace, and sailed to a small island to the southwards of Celebes, wherehe remained twenty-six days. This island is all covered with wood, thetrees being of large size, tall, straight, and without boughs, except atthe top, the leaves resembling our English broom. There were here vastnumbers of shining flies, no bigger than our common flies in England, which, skimming at night among the trees and bushes, made them appear asif all on fire. The bats in this island were as large as our ordinarypoultry, and there was a sort of land cray-fish, which burrowed in theground like rabbits, being so large that one of them was a sufficientmeal for four persons. Setting sail from thence, and being unable to proceed westwards onaccount of the wind, the course was altered to the southwards, yet withmuch danger, by reason of the shoals which lie thick among theseislands. Of this they had most dangerous and almost fatal experience onthe 9th January, 1580, by running upon a rock, on which they stuck fastfrom eight at night till four in the afternoon of next day. In thisdistress, the ship was lightened by landing three tons of cloves, eightpieces of ordnance, and some provisions on the rock; soon after which, by the wind chopping round, they happily got off. On the 18th of February, they fell in with the fruitful island of_Baratene_, [37] having in the mean time suffered much from cross windsand dangerous shoals. They met with a friendly reception from the peopleof this island, who were handsomely proportioned, and just in all theirdealings. The men wore no cloathing, except a slight covering roundtheir middles, but the women were covered from the waist to the feet, having likewise many large heavy bracelets of bone, horn, or brass, ontheir arms, the smallest weighing two ounces, and having eight or ten ofthese on at once. This island affords gold, silver, copper, sulphur, nutmegs, ginger, long-pepper, lemons, cocoas, frigo, sago, and othercommodities, and linen was found to be in much request by the natives, as of it they make girdles and rolls for wearing on their heads. Amongthe productions of this island, there was a particular sort of fruit, resembling barberries in size, form, and husk, very hard, yet of apleasant taste, and becoming soft and easy of digestion when boiled. Inshort, they met with no place in the whole voyage that yielded greaterabundance of every comfort than this island, excepting Ternate. [Footnote 37: No circumstance in the text serves to indicate what islandis here meant, except that it appears to have been to the eastward ofJava. --E. ] Leaving Baratene, they sailed to Java Major, where also they werecourteously and honourably entertained. This island was ruled over bysix kings, who lived in entire peace and amity with each other, and theyonce had four of them on board at one time, and very often two or threetogether. [38] [Footnote 38: The names of the kings or princes of Java, when SirFrancis Drake was there, were Rajah Donaw, R. Rabacapala, R. Bacabatra, R. Tymbanton, R. Mawgbange, and R, Patemara. --_Hakluyt_. ] The Javans are a stout and warlike people, well armed with swords, targets, and daggers, all of their own manufacture, and are very curiousand ingenious, both in the fashion of their weapons, and in giving theman excellent temper. They wear turbans on their heads, the upper partsof their bodies being naked; but, from the waist downwards, they have apintado, or a silken wrapper, trailing on the ground. They manage theirwomen quite differently from the Moluccans; for, while these will hardlylet them be seen by a stranger, the Javans will very civilly offer afemale bedfellow to a traveller. Besides being thus civil and hospitableto strangers, they are good humoured and sociable among themselves; forin every village they have a public-house, where the inhabitants meettogether, each bringing their shares of provisions, and joining thewhole in one social feast for the keeping up of good fellowship. The Javans have a peculiar mode of boiling rice. It is put into anearthen pot of a conical form, open at the large end, and perforated allover with small holes, which is placed within a larger earthen pot fullof boiling water. The rice swells and fills the holes of the inner pot, so that very little water gets in, and by this mode of boiling the riceis brought to a firm consistency, and cakes into a sort of bread, ofwhich, with butter or oil, sugar, and spices, they make several verypleasant dishes. The lues venerea prevails among the inhabitants of thisisland; but, instead of expelling the poison by salivation, they driveit out by perspiration, sitting for this purpose in the sun for somehours, by which the pores are opened, giving free vent to the noxiousparticles of the disease. While in Java, the following words in the native language were takennotice of, and are recorded by Hukluyt. Sabuck, silk. Gula, black sugar. Sagu, bread. Tadon, a woman. Larnike, drink. Bebeck, a duck. Paree, rice in the husk. Aniange, a deer. Braas, boiled rice. Popran, ointment. Calapa, cocoa nuts. Coar, the head. Cricke, a dagger. Endam, rain. Catcha, a mirror. Jonge, a ship. Arbo, an ox. Chay, the sea. Vados, a goat. Sapelo, ten. Gardunge, a plantain. Dopolo, twenty. Hiam, a hen. Treda no. Seuit, linen. Lau, understand you? Doduck, blue cloth. Bayer, go! Totoppo, a cap. Adadizano, I will fetch it. Cabo, gold. Suda, enough. Having news of some great ships being at no great distance, and notknowing whether they might prove friends or enemies, the admiral setsail from Java, sailing directly for the Cape of Good Hope, which wasthe first land he fell in with; neither did he touch at any, till hearrived at Sierra Leona on the coast of Guinea. He passed the cape onthe 18th June, 1580, and by the facility of the navigation round thatsouthern promontory of Africa, found how much the Portuguese had imposedupon the world by false representations of its horrors and dangers. Hearrived at Sierra Leona on the 22d July, where were elephants, andabundance of oysters fastened on the twigs of trees, hanging down intothe water, where they grow and multiply. With these, and lemons, withwhich they were abundantly supplied, his people were much refreshed. After two days stay at that place, taking in a supply of wood and water, and procuring refreshments, they sailed from thence on the 24th July. Next day, they were in lat. 25° 30' N. Under the tropic of Cancer, fiftyleagues from land. Being completely supplied with all necessaries, theycontinued their voyage, without stopping any where, and arrived atPlymouth on Monday the 26th of September, 1580, having been absent twoyears, nine months, and thirteen days. By their reckoning, the day oftheir arrival was only Sunday the 25th, as in going completely round theworld in the same course with the sun, that luminary had risen onceseldomer to them than to those who remained stationary, so that they hadlost a day in their computation. SECTION V. _Reception of Sir Francis Drake in England, and same Notices of hisremaining Actions_. The fame of his return from this wonderful voyage round the world soonspread over England, and all strove to express their sense of theworthiness of Captain Drake, by praises and other testimonies of regard. Several collections were made of poems, epigrams, and songs, celebratinghim and his ship in the highest strains. Yet, in the midst of almostuniversal applause, some endeavoured to censure his conduct, and toplace this great exploit in a wrong light. These persons alleged, thathis circumnavigation of the globe served only to amuse the minds of thevulgar, while the main purpose of the voyage had been plunder, of whichthey pretended he had acquired sufficient to exempt the nation fromtaxes for seven years. They also set forth, as war had not beenproclaimed against Spain, that it was dangerous to own such anadventurer, lest the nation might be made to pay dearly for his prizes:For, as the merchants had great effects in Spain, their goods mightpossibly be seized to make good his depredations. The Spanish ambassador also assailed him with very warm memorials, styling him the Master Thief of the Unknown World. The friends andpatrons of Drake, finding themselves wounded through his sides, took allmanner of pains to vindicate his conduct, alleging that he had thequeen's commission and authority to justify him in making reprisals;that by so much wealth as he had brought home the nation would beenriched; that the Spaniards had already done us much injury; and, ifthe king of Spain were disposed to seize the effects of our merchants, the public ought to receive this treasure as an equivalent; which, wereit returned, would break the spirit of our brave tars, who otherwisewere more likely to humble the pride of the Spaniards. In the mean time, matters remained long in suspense, during which Drakemust have suffered considerable anxiety, lest, after all his toilsabroad, he might be deemed a pirate at home. The queen long delayed todeclare her sentiments, perhaps wishing to see what effects her conductmight have with the court of Spain, which was probably withheld fromprecipitating hostilities, by the hope of being able to recover thisgreat treasure. To keep up this hope, she artfully consented to partwith some small sums to Mendoza, the Spanish ambassador. At length, matters coming to a crisis, she threw off the veil, and giving notice toCaptain Drake of her intentions, she visited him on the 4th April, 1581, on board his ship, then at Deptford, where she was magnificentlyentertained; and, after dinner, she was graciously pleased to confer thehonour of knighthood on Captain Drake, telling him that his actions didhim more honour than the title she had conferred. A prodigious crowdattended the queen on this occasion, so that the bridge laid from theship to the shore broke down with their weight, and more than 200persons fell into the Thames, yet no one was drowned, or even materiallyhurt. After this public approbation from the sovereign, all ranks ofpeople redoubled their congratulations, and henceforward the reputationof Sir Francis Drake continually increased, so that he became a kind oforacle in maritime affairs, both to the nation and the court. --Here, strictly speaking, we ought to conclude our account of this illustriousnavigator; yet it may not be amiss to give a short sketch of hissucceeding actions. The war with Spain still continuing, he went out in 1585, general by seaand land, of an expedition to the West Indies, where he took the citiesof St Jago, St Domingo, and Carthagena, and the fort and town of StAugustine; returning from this expedition with great glory andadvantage, the profits amounting to £60, 000, after defraying allcharges, of which £20, 000 were divided among the seamen, and £40, 000came clear to the undertakers or adventurers. In 1587, he had thecommand of another fleet, with which he sailed to the bay of Cadiz, andthence to the Tagus, where he destroyed 10, 000 tons of shipping, whichthe king of Spain had collected for the purpose of invading England. Helikewise brought home the St Philip, a very rich prize, said by thewriters of these times to have been the first carack ever taken andbrought home to England. In the glorious year 1588, by commission from the queen, Sir FrancisDrake was appointed vice-admiral of the fleet of England, then fittedout for opposing the _invincible_ Spanish Armada. In this arduousservice, on which the independence and existence of England depended, heperformed even more than his former actions gave reason to expect. Inthe very beginning of the fight, he captured two very large ships ofwar, one commanded by the Spanish vice-admiral Oquendas, and the otherby Don Pedro de Valdez. This latter officer defended his ship with greatgallantry for a long time; and at length, on surrendering, anddelivering his sword to Sir Francis, he addressed him to the followingeffect: "That they had all resolved to have died fighting, if they hadnot fallen into his hands, whose valour and fortune were so great, thatMars and Neptune seemed to aid him in all his enterprises. " To requitethese Spanish compliments with solid English kindness, Sir Francislodged Don Valdez in his own cabin, and entertained him at his table. Drake's crew were recompensed by the plunder of the Spanish ship, inwhich were found 55, 000 ducats in gold, which they joyfully shared. SirFrancis performed many other signal services on this memorable occasionagainst the Armada, and particularly distinguished himself by advisingthe employment of fire-ships, which some have alleged he then invented. He was next year admiral of a great fleet, sent to Portugal for thepurpose of restoring Don Antonio to the throne of that kingdom. Thisexpedition, though it did not succeed in its grand object, occasionedconsiderable damage to Spain, on which it retorted the compliment of aninvasion, and by which it was rendered unable to repeat another attemptof the same nature. On the whole, therefore, Sir Francis spoiled no lessthan three Spanish invasions. In 1595, he went upon another conjunctexpedition against the Spanish West Indies, in which he performed signalservices; but aiming at still greater, and being unsuccessful, he diedin the harbour of Porto Bello, on the 28th of January, 1596, as is said, of a broken heart, occasioned by his disappointment. His body, being putinto a leaden coffin, was committed to the deep, under a generaldischarge of all the artillery of the fleet. In his person, though oflow stature, Sir Francis Drake was well made, with a fresh and faircomplexion, having large lively eyes, light-brown hair, and an opencheerful countenance. He was naturally eloquent, gracefully expressingwhat he clearly conceived. He was thoroughly versant, not only in thepractical part of his profession, but in all the sciences connected withit, being able to discharge all the offices necessary in a ship asoccasion required, even that of the surgeon. In his conduct as a navalcommander he was skilful and valiant, just to his owners, kind to hisseamen, loyal to his sovereign, and merciful to his enemies aftervictory. His many glorious exploits justly entitle him to high fame; andhe died, at fifty-five, in the ardent pursuit of glory, in the cause ofhis queen and country. * * * * * The fame of this Voyage round the World, with the wealth brought home bySir Francis Drake, and the desire of rivalling him in riches andreputation, inspired numbers of young men of all ranks with theinclination of trying their fortunes at sea. Men of rank and fortunefitted out ships at their own expence, manning them with theirdependants. Others, in lower situations, hazarded their persons assubaltern officers in these ships, or in men-of-war belonging to thequeen. This spirit grew to such a height, that honest John Stowe informsus that there were many youths, from eighteen to twenty years of age, towards the close of Queen Elizabeth's reign, who were capable of takingcharge of any ship, and navigating to most parts of the world. So alarmed were the Spaniards by the courage and conduct of Sir Francis, and his maritime skill, that they ordered that no draughts or discoursesshould be published of their discoveries in America, lest they mightfall into his hands. What most surprised them was, that he should findhis way so easily through the Straits of Magellan, which they hadhitherto been unable to perform. They therefore resolved immediately tohave these straits completely explored and discovered, by means of shipsfitted out in Peru. For this purpose, Don Pedro Sarmiento, who wasthought the best seaman in the Spanish service, was sent from Lima, andactually passed from the South Sea into the Atlantic, and thence toSpain. He there proposed to plant a colony in the straits, and tofortify them in such a manner as might prevent all other nations frompassing through them. This project was so well relished by Philip IIthat a fleet of twenty-three ships was fitted out, with 3, 500 men, underthe command of Don Diego Floris de Valdez; and Sarmiento, with 500veterans, was appointed to form a settlement in the straits. This fleet was extremely unfortunate, insomuch that it was between twoand three years before Sarmiento arrived with his people in the straitsof Magellan. On the north side, and near the eastern entrance, he builta town and fort, which he named Nombre de Jesus, and in which he left agarrison of 150 men. Fifteen leagues farther on, at the narrowest partof the straits, and in lat. 53° 18' S. [39] he established his principalsettlement, which he named _Ciudad del Rey Felippe_, or the City of KingPhilip. This was a regularly fortified square fortress, having fourbastions; and is said to have been in all respects one of thebest-contrived settlements ever made by the Spaniards in America. Atthis place Sarmiento left a garrison of 400 men and thirty women, withprovisions for eight months, and then returned into the Atlantic. Thesetransactions took place in the years 1584, 5, and 6. Sarmiento, afterseveral fruitless attempts to succour and relieve his colony, was takenby an English vessel, and sent prisoner to London. [Footnote 39: The Narrows of the Hope are eighteen leagues of Castile, or about forty-eight English miles from Cape Virgin, the northern capeat the eastern mouth of the straits, in lat. 52° 5' S. Long. 69° W. FromGreenwich. --E. ] The Spanish garrison, having consumed all their provisions, died mostlyof hunger, perhaps aided by the scurvy, in their new city. Twenty-threemen quitted it, endeavouring to find their way by land to the Spanishsettlements, but are supposed to have all perished by the way, as theywere never more heard of. Sarmiento fell into discredit with the king ofSpain, for deceiving him as to the breadth of the straits, which heasserted did not exceed a mile over; whereas the king was certainlyinformed that they were a league broad, and therefore incapable of beingshut up by any fortifications. However this may be, even supposing thereport of Sarmiento true, and that his fortress could have commanded thestraits, even this could have proved of little or no service to Spain, as another passage into the South Sea was discovered soon afterwards, without the necessity of going near these straits. SECTION VI. _First Supplement to the Voyage of Sir Francis Drake; being on Accountof Part of the foregoing Navigation, by Nuno da Silva_. [40] Nuna da Silva, born in Oporto, a citizen and inhabitant of Guaia, saith, that on the 19th January, 1578, while at anchor with his ship in theharbour of St Jago, one of the Cape de Verd islands, he was madeprisoner by the admiral of six English ships, and detained becausediscovered to be a pilot for the coast of Brazil. Setting sail, therefore, with the said admiral from Brava, they held their course forthe land of Brazil, which they descried on the first April, being in thelatitude of 30° S. Whence they held on their course for the Rio Plata, where they provided themselves with fresh water. [Footnote 40: Hakluyt, IV. 246. --This narrative was written by Nuno daSilva, the Portuguese pilot who accompanied Sir Francis Drake from theCape Verd islands to Guatalco on the western coast of New Spain, and wassent from the city of Mexico to the viceroy of Portuguese India, in1579. --E. ] From thence they proceeded to the latitude of 39° S. Where theyanchored. They here left two of their ships behind them, and continuedon with four only, that which had formerly belonged to Nuno being one ofthese. They next came into a bay, in lat. 49° S. Called _Bahia de lasIlhas_, or the Bay of Islands, where Magellan is said to have winteredwith his ships, when he went to discover the straits which now bear hisname. They entered this bay on the 20th June, and anchored withinmusket-shot of the shore. They here found Indians cloathed in skins, their legs downwards from the knees, and their arms below the elbows, being naked. These Indians were a subtle, great, and well-formed race, strong, and tall in stature, being armed with bows and arrows. Six ofthe English going here on shore to fetch water, four of the Indians cameinto their boat before they landed, to whom the Englishmen gave breadand wine; after eating and drinking of which heartily they went onshore, and when at some distance, one of them cried to them, and said, _Magallanes! este he minha terra_; that is, Magellan, this is mycountry. Being followed by the sailors, they slew two of them with theirarrows; one of whom was an Englishman, and the other a Hollander; onwhich the others made their escape to the boat, and put off from theshore. Leaving this place on the 17th of August, they came to the mouth of thestraits on the 21st or 22d, but did not enter them till the 24th, owingto the wind being contrary. The entry into the straits is about a leaguein breadth, both sides being naked flat land. Some Indians were seen onthe north side, making great fires; but none appeared on the south sideof the straits. This strait is about 110 leagues long, and a league inbreadth; and for about half-way through, is straight and withoutturnings; from thence, to about eight or ten leagues from the fartherend, it has some capes and turnings, at one of which there is a greatcape or head-land, which seems as if it went down to join the southernland; and here the passage is less than a league across, after which itagain runs straight. Although there are thus some crooks and turnings, none of them are of any importance, or any dangerous obstacle. Thewestern issue of these straits, about eight or ten leagues before comingout, begins to grow broader, and is then all high-land on both sides tothe end; as likewise all the way, after getting eight leagues in fromthe eastern entrance, the shores along these first eight leagues beinglow. In the entry to the straits, we found the stream to run from theSouth Sea to the North Sea, or Atlantic. After beginning to sail into the straits, with the wind at E. N. E. Theypassed along without let or hindrance either of wind or weather, andbecause the land on both sides was high, and covered with snow, thewhole navigation being fair and clear of shoals or rocks, they heldtheir course the whole way within musket-shot of the north-side, havingalways nine or ten fathoms water on good ground; so that everywherethere was anchorage if need were. The hills on both sides were coveredwith trees, which in some places reached to the edge of the sea, wherethere were plains and flat lands. They saw not any large rivers, butsome small brooks or streams that issued from rifts or clefts of theland. In the country beside the great cape and bending of the strait, some Indians were seen on the south side, fishing in their skiffs orcanoes, being similar to those formerly seen on the north side at theentrance into the straits; and these were the only natives seen on thesouth side during the whole passage. Being out of the straits on the eastern side on the 6th of September, they held their course N. W. For three days, and on the third day theyhad a storm at N. E. Which drove them W. S. W. For ten or twelve days withfew sails up; after which, the storm increasing, they took in all theirsails, and drove under bare poles till the 30th September. Having lostsight of one of their ships, of about 100 tons, and the wind growingmore moderate, they hoisted sail, holding their course N. E. For sevendays, at the end of which they came in sight of certain islands, forwhich they steered, meaning to have anchored among them, but the weatherwould not permit; and the wind coming N. W. They made sail to the W. S. W. Next day they lost sight of another ship, in very foul weather; so thatthe admiral was now left alone, as my ship had been left in the baywhere they remained some time before entering the straits. With this newstorm of adverse wind, they had to proceed southwards, till they cameinto the latitude of 57° S. Where they entered a bay in an island, andanchored in twenty fathoms, about a cannon-shot from the shore. Afterremaining here three or four days, the wind changed to the south, andthey again made sail to the northwards for two days, when a smalluninhabited island was descried, where they procured many birds andseals. Next day they again proceeded, holding their course N. And N. N. E. Andcame to the island of Mocha, in 38° 30 S. Five or six leagues from themain, where they anchored in twelve fathoms, a quarter of a league fromthe shore. This island is small and low land, all full of Indians. Herethe admiral and twelve Englishmen landed, on purpose to seek fresh waterand provisions, and bought two sheep in exchange of other things fromthe Indians, together with a little maize, and some roots of which theIndians make bread; and being now late, went on board ship for thenight. Next day the admiral again landed with twelve men armed withmuskets, and sent two men with vessels to fetch water. Some Indians layin ambush at the watering-place, who suddenly fell upon the twoEnglishmen, and made them prisoners; which being perceived by theadmiral and those with him, they advanced to rescue their companions, but were so sore assailed by stones and arrows, that all or most of themwere hurt, the admiral receiving two wounds from arrows, one in his faceand the other on his head; so that they were compelled to retreat totheir boat, without hurting any of the Indians, who were so bold as evento carry away four of their oars. They sailed from hence along the coast to the northwards, with asouthern wind, for six days, passing the harbour of St Jago, and putinto another haven, where they took an Indian, who was fishing in acanoe, giving him some linen, knives, and other trifles. Not long afterthere came another Indian to the ship, whose name was Felippe, and whospoke Spanish. He gave notice to the English admiral of a certain shipbeing in the harbour of St Jago, which they had overpassed six leagues. So, taking this Indian as their guide, they went back to St Jago, wherethey took the said ship, in which were 1770 _botijas_, or Spanish pots, full of wine, besides other commodities. They then landed, and took aquantity of sacks of meal, and whatever else they could find, takingalso the ornaments and relics from the church. They departed then fromthence, taking with them the captured ship, with two of her men, runningalong the coast till they came to the latitude of between 30° and 31° S. Where they had appointed to meet, in case of separation. They hereanchored right over against a river, whence they filled six butts offresh water, having twelve armed men on land to defend those who filledthe casks. While busied in this work, they saw a company of armed mencoming towards them, half Spaniards and half Indians, being about 250horse and as many foot, on which they made all haste to get into theirboat, escaping with the loss of one man. They set sail again that same night, going about ten leagues fartheralong the coast, where they took in some more fresh water, but were soonobliged to quit this place also, by the appearance of some horsemen. Proceeding thirty leagues farther along the coast, still to thenorthwards, they went into a bay or haven, in a desert or uninhabitedplace, but seeing some persons daily on the shore, they did not ventureto land. At this place, the English put together the pieces of a smallpinnace, which they had brought ready framed with them from England. Having launched this pinnace, the English captain went into her withfifteen men, accompanied by John the Greek, who was chief boatswain, being master of the ship formerly taken in the harbour of St Jago. Atthis time they went to look for the two vessels they had parted fromformerly in a storm, and also in hopes of being able to procure freshwater; but seeing always persons on shore, they durst not land, andreturned again to the ship without hearing of their other ships. Theynow took all the ordnance out of their ship, and new dressed and riggedher; after which, arming the pinnace with a small piece of ordnance, they resumed their course to the northwards. Having sailed thirteen days, they came to an island about the shot of aculverin from the main, where four fishermen told them of fresh water onthe main; but understanding it was but scanty, and somewhat distant fromthe shore, they continued their course. Next day they espied somefishers houses on shore, when the English captain landed and took threeof the fishers, taking away half of the fish that lay packed on theshore. The day following they took a bark laden with fish belonging tothe Spaniards, in which were four Indians, and bound it by a rope to thestem of their ships; but the Indians in the night cut her loose, andwent away. Next day the English captain went ashore to certain houses, where he found 3000 pezos of silver, each being equal to a rial ofeight, or Spanish dollar; getting also seven Indian sheep, some hens, and other articles, all of which he brought on board, and resumed hisvoyage. Two days after, going to the harbour of Arica, they found twoships, one of which was laden with goods and Spanish wares, out of whichthey only took 200 botijas, or pots of wine, and from the otherthirty-seven bars of silver, each weighing ten or twelve pounds. Theymeant also to have landed at this place; but seeing some horsemen comingtowards them, they desisted. Next morning they burnt the ship which was laden with Spanish wares, andtook the other along with them, continuing their course, the captainsailing along shore in the pinnace, while the ship kept about a leaguefarther out to sea, going in search of a ship of which they hadintelligence. After sailing in this manner about forty-five leagues, they found the ship of which they were in search, at anchor in a haven;but having intelligence a few hours before, of an English pirate orsea-rover, she had landed 800 bars of silver belonging to the king ofSpain; but the English durst not go on shore to search for it, as manySpaniards and Indians stood there as a well-armed guard. They foundnothing, therefore, in this ship except three pipes of water. Takingthis ship out to sea about a league, they hoisted all her sails and lether drive, doing the like with the ship they took at Arica, and thatalso they had taken at St Jago, continuing their course with their ownship and pinnace. When about seven leagues from Calao de Lima, they spied three ships, oneof which they boarded, and took three men out of her, and then continuedtheir course for Calao, which haven they entered about two or threehours after night-fall, sailing in among the middle of seventeen shipswhich lay there at anchor. Being among these ships, they enquired forthe ship which had the silver on board; but learning that all the silverhad been carried on shore, they cut the cables of all the ships and themasts of the two largest, and so left them. At this time, there arriveda ship from Panama, laden with Spanish wares and merchandise, whichanchored close by the English ship, while the English captain wassearching among the other ships for the silver. When the ship of Panamawas anchored, a boat came off from the shore to examine her, but comingin the dark to the English ship, was told by one of the Spanishprisoners she was the ship of Michael Angelo from Chili; on which one ofthe Spaniards from the boat came up the side, but coming upon one of hercannon, he was afraid and they made off, as the ships in these seascarry no guns. The Panama ship hearing of this, cut her cables and putto sea; which being perceived by the English, who were close by, theyfollowed in their pinnace. On getting up with her, the English calledout for them to surrender, but the Spaniards killed one of their men bya musket-shot, on which the pinnace returned. The English ship then setsail and overtook the Spanish ship, when the crew took to their boat andescaped on shore, leaving their ship to the English, who took her, andcontinued her course to the northwards. Next day the English saw a boat under sail making towards them, whichthey suspected to be a spy, and soon afterwards perceived two greatships coming to meet them, which they supposed had been sent on purposeto fight them. On this they cast loose the Panama ship, in which theyleft John the Greek and two men they had taken the night before in Calaoharbour; and then made all sail, not once setting eye again upon the twogreat ships, which made direct for the Panama ship. The Englishcontinued their course to the northwards along the coast; and some daysafterwards met a frigate or small vessel bound for Lima, laden withwares and merchandise of the country, whence the English took a lampand fountain of silver. They enquired of the people in this ship ifthey had met a ship, which they understood was laden with silver; onwhich one pilot said he had not seen any such, while another said he hadmet her about three days before. This frigate was taken by the pinnace, in which the English captain sailed close by the shore, the English shipkeeping about a league and a half from land. On receiving thisinformation, the English let the frigate go, and continued their courseto the northwards. Two days afterwards, they came to the harbour of Payta, where they founda ship laden with Spanish wares, which was boarded and taken by thepinnace, without resistance, most of the crew escaping on shore. Fromthis ship, the English took the pilot, with all the bread and otherprovisions. About two days after, they boarded a ship belonging toPanama, from which they only took a negro. Next day, being the 1stFebruary, they met another ship of Panama, laden with fish and othervictuals, having also forty bars of silver and some gold, but I know nothow much, which they took, sending the passengers in a boat to the land, among whom were two friars. Next day, the English captain hanged a manof the Panama ship, for secreting two plates of gold, which were foundabout him, after which that ship was turned adrift. Towards noon of the 1st March, they descried the ship laden with silver, being then about four leagues to seawards of them: and, as the Englishship sailed somewhat heavily, being too much by the head, they hung aquantity of botijas, or Spanish earthen pots which had contained oil, and now filled with water, over the stern of their ship, to give her abetter trim and to improve her sailing. The treasure ship, thinking theEnglish vessel had been one of those which usually sail upon that coast, made towards her, and when near, the English captain hailed her tosurrender: As the Spanish captain refused, the English fired somecannons, by one of which the Spanish ship's mast was shot over board, and her master being wounded by an arrow, she presently yielded. Thereupon the English took possession of her, and sailed with herdirectly out to sea all that night, and the next day and night. Beingentirely out of sight of land, they began to search their prize on thethird day, removing her cargo into their own ship, being 1300 bars orwedges of silver, and fourteen chests of rials of eight, besides somegold, but how much of that I know not, only that the passengers saidthere was great store. They told me also, that 300 of the silver barsbelonged to the king, and all the rest to the merchants. That done, theyallowed the ship to go away with all her men, putting into her the threepilots they had hitherto carried with them. From thence they sailed onwards for Nicaragua, and descried land aboutthe 13th March, being an island named Canno, not very high, about twoleagues from the main land, where they found a small bay, in which theyanchored in five fathoms close to the shore, remaining there till the20th. On that day a bark passed close to the land, which was captured bythe English pinnace, being laden with sarsaparilla, and botijas or potsof butter and honey, with other things. Throwing all the sarsaparillaoverboard, the English removed all their cannon into this bark, and thenlaid their own ship on shore to new caulk and trim her bottom. Thisbeing done, and taking in a supply of wood and water, they held theircourse along shore to the westwards, taking the Spanish bark along withthem. After two days, they removed the men from her, giving them thepinnace. Among these were four sailors, bound for Panama, meaning to gothence for China, one of whom had many letters and patents, among whichwere letters from the king of Spain to the governor of the Philippines, as also the charts which are used in that voyage. Continuing their course, the English descried, on the 6th of April, aship about two leagues out to sea, which they took early next morning, in which was Don Francisco Xarate. Continuing their course, they came tothe haven of Guatalco on Monday the 13th April, where they remained atanchor till the 26th of that month, on which day they sailed to thewestwards, putting me, Nuno da Silva, on board a ship then in the saidharbour of Guatalco. SECTION VII. _Second Supplement, being the Voyage of Mr John Winter, after partingfrom Sir Francis Drake_. [41] We passed Cape Deseado into the South Sea on the 6th September, 1578, and run to the N. W. About 70 leagues, when the wind turned directlyagainst us, with extremely foul weather, as rain, hail, snow, and thickfogs, and so continued for more than three weeks, during which time wecould bear no sail, and were driven into the latitude of 57° S. On the15th September, the moon was eclipsed, beginning to be darkenedimmediately after sun-set, about six in the evening, being then thevernal equinox in this southern hemisphere. This eclipse happened inEngland on the 16th before one in the morning, which is about six hoursdifference, agreeing to one quarter of the circumference of the globe, from the meridian of England to the west. [Footnote 41: Hakluyt, IV. 253. --This narrative is said to have beenwritten by Edward Cliffe, mariner. Only so much of the narrative isgiven here as relates to the voyage of Winter, after parting from SirFrancis Drake. One circumstance only may be mentioned, respecting thePatagons. --"These men be of no such stature as the Spaniards report, being but of the height of Englishmen; for I have seen men in Englandtaller than I could see any of them. Peradventure the Spaniards did notthink that any Englishmen would have come hither so soon, to havedisproved them in this and divers others of their notorious lies;wherefore they presumed more boldly to abuse the world. "--Yet evenrecent voyagers have presumed to _abuse the world_, with reporting thatthe Patagons are of gigantic stature. --E. ] The last of September, being a very foul night, we lost the Marigold, abark of about thirty tons, the Pelican, which was our general's ship, and our ship the Elizabeth running to the eastwards, to get to the land. Of this we got sight on the 7th October, falling into a very dangerousbay, full of rocks; and that same night we lost company of Mr Drake. Next day, very difficultly escaping from the dangerous rocks among whichwe were embayed, we got again into the Straits of Magellan, where weanchored in an open bay for two days, making great fires on the shore, that Mr Drake might find us, if he also came into the straits. We then went into a sound, where we remained about three weeks, namingit _The Port of Health_, as most of our men, having been sick with longwatching, wet, cold, and bad diet, did wonderfully recover their healthhere in a short space, for which praised be God. We found here musclesof very great size, some being twenty inches long, yielding verypleasant meat, and many of them full of seed pearls. We came out of thisharbour on the 1st November, abandoning our voyage by compulsion of Mr. Winter, sore against the will of the mariners. Mr. Winter alleged thathe despaired of having winds to carry him to the coast of Peru, and wasalso in fear that Mr. Drake had perished. So we went back again to theeastwards through the straits, to St. George's island, where we laid ina quantity of a certain kind of fowl, very plentiful in that island, themeat of which is not much unlike that of a fat English goose. They haveno wings, but only short pinions, which serve them in swimming, being ofa black colour, mixed with white spots on their bellies and round theirnecks. They walk so upright, that they seem afar like little children;and when approached they conceal themselves in holes under ground, notvery deep, of which the island is full. To take them, we used stickshaving hooks fastened at one end, with which we pulled them out, whileother men stood by with cudgels to knock them on the head; for they bitso cruelly with their hooked bills, that we could not handle them whenalive. [42] [Footnote 42: It is almost unnecessary to remark that these werepenguins. --E. ] Departing from St. George's island, we passed Cape Virgin[43] on the11th November, going out of the straits into the southern Atlanticocean, and directed our course to the N. E. Till the last day of thatmonth, when we arrived at an island in the mouth of the _Rio de laPlata_, or River of Silver. On this island there is an incredible numberof seals, some of which are sixteen feet long, not fearing the approachof men. Most of our men were ashore in this island for fifteen days, setting up a pinnace; during which time the seals would often come andsleep beside our men, rather resisting them than giving place, unlesswhen mortal blows forced them to yield. Having finished our pinnace, wewent to another island, where we watered, and afterwards departed on the1st January, 1579. We went to the northwards till the 20th of thatmonth, when we came to an island on the coast of Brazil, near a towncalled St Vincent, inhabited by the Portuguese, which is in lat. 24° S. Here we lost our pinnace in foul weather, together with her crew ofeight men. And here also our ship was in great danger, in consequence ofa strong current, which almost forced her on shore before we were aware, so that we had to drop anchor in the open sea, broke our cable and lostour anchor, and had to let fell another, in weighing which afterwardsour men were sore distressed; for, owing to the heaving of the ship withthe sea, the capstan ran round with so much violence as to throw the menfrom the bars, dashed out the brains of one man, broke the leg ofanother, and severely hurt several more. At length we hove up ouranchor, and ran to a place called Tanay. Where we rode under the lee ofan island, whence we had a supply of wood and water. [Footnote 43: Called Cape Victory by Mr Cliffe. --E. ] While at this place, three Portuguese came aboard in a canoe, desiringto know who we were and what we wanted. Our captain made answer, that wewere Englishmen, and had brought commodities with us for their country, if they would trade with us, at which they seemed much surprised, asthey said they had never before heard of any English ship being in thatcountry. So they went ashore, taking one of our men with them to speakwith the governor of the town, while we detained one of the Portugueseas a pledge. Soon after there came another canoe on board, in which wasone Portuguese, all the rest being naked natives of the country. Fromthis man we had two small oxen, a young hog, and several fowls, withpome-citrons, lemons, oranges, and other fruits, for which our captaingave them linen cloth, combs, knives, and other articles of small value. In the mean time, the governor of the town sent word that we should havenothing, unless the ship was brought into the harbour, to which ourcaptain would not consent, lest they might betray us. Receiving back our man, and returning the Portuguese pledge, we wentafterwards to the island of St. Sebastian, where we took fish. At thisplace the Portuguese would have betrayed us, had not a Brasilian slaveinformed us by signs, that they were coming in canoes to take us, as itactually fell out: For, next morning, they came on in twelve or fourteencanoes, some of these having forty men; but being on our guard theyretired. That same night, two of our men carried away our boat, deserting to the Portuguese. Leaving this place, we had sight of Cape StAugustine in lat. 8° S. We afterwards had sight of the isle of FernandoNoronha, within three degrees of the equator. We crossed the line on the13th of April, and got sight of the north star on the 19th of thatmonth. From the 1st to the 5th of May, we sailed about 100 leagues through the_Sea of Weeds_, under the tropic of Cancer. Holding our course fromthence to the N. E. Till we were in lat. 47° N. We changed our course onthe 22nd May to E. N. E. The 29th of May we had soundings in seventyfathoms on white ooze, being then in lat. 51° N. The 30th of May we gotsight of St Ives on the north coast of Cornwall, and arrived on the 2ndof June at Ilfracomb, in Devonshire. CHAPTER III. VOYAGE OF SIR THOMAS CANDISH ROUND THE WORLD, IN 1586--1588. [44] INTRODUCTION. It was the constant policy, during the reign of queen Elizabeth, toencourage, as much as possible, the flame of public spirit in privateindividuals, by shewing the utmost readiness on all occasions to honourall who performed any remarkable service to their country, thoughsparing of such marks of favour on other occasions. By this wiseconduct, and by her frequent public discourses on the glory resultingfrom an active life, she excited many of the young nobility, andgentlemen of easy fortunes, to hazard their persons and estates in thepublic service, exciting a desire of fame even among the wealthy, and bythis means uniting the rich, who desired to purchase honour, and theindigent, who sought to procure the means of living, in the samepursuits. It thus happened in her reign, that such men were of most useto their country, as are scarcely of any utility in other reigns; for, merit being then the only recommendation at court, those were mostforward to expose themselves in generous undertakings, who would at anyother time have thought themselves excused from such dangers andfatigues. [Footnote 44: Hakluyt, IV. 816. Harris, Col. I. 23. Callender, Voy. I. 424. The earliest account of this voyage, according to the BibliothequeUniverselle des Voyages, I. 113, appears to have been published in Dutchat Amsterdam, in folio, in 1598. But must assuredly have been atranslation from the English. --E. ] Thus the earls of Cumberland and Essex, Sir Richard Greenvile, SirWalter Raleigh, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, Sir Robert Dudley, and, many otherpersons of rank and fortune, employed great sums of money, and exposedthemselves to the greatest dangers, in expeditions against theSpaniards, making discoveries in distant parts of the world, andplanting colonies, which were the glory of those times. Among these, noone distinguished himself more than the gentleman whose voyage forms thesubject of this chapter: whether we consider the expence he incurred, the difficulties he encountered, or the success of his enterprise; allof which proceeded from that greatness of mind and ardent desire offame, which taught him to despise danger and to encounter fatigue, at anage when most men of fortune think the season of youth a sufficientexcuse for the indulgence of luxury and ease. Thomas Candish, or Cavendish, of Trimley, in the county of Suffolk, Esquire, was a gentleman of an honourable family and large estate, whichlay in the neighbourhood of Ipswich, then a place of very considerabletrade. This circumstance gave him an early inclination for the sea, which he gratified as soon as he came of age, by selling part of hisestate, and employing the money in equipping a stout bark of 120 tons, called the Tiger, in which he accompanied Sir Richard Greenvile in hisvoyage to Virginia in 1585. In this expedition he underwent many dangersand difficulties, without any profit, but returned safe to Falmouth onthe 6th October of the same year. This want of success did notdiscourage him from undertaking still greater and more hazardousexpeditions. Having, in his voyage to Virginia, seen a considerable partof the Spanish West Indies, and conversed with some persons who hadsailed with Sir Francis Drake in, his circumnavigation, he becamedesirous of undertaking a similar voyage, as well for repairing the losshe had sustained in this first expedition, as to emulate that great andfortunate commander, who was now raised to the highest honours in hisprofession. Returning home, therefore, he immediately applied himself to make suchpreparations as were necessary for the accomplishment of his new design;and either sold or mortgaged his estate, to procure a sufficient sum forbuilding and equipping two such ships as he deemed requisite for thevoyage; using such diligence, that his carpenters were at work upon hislargest ship within a month, and in six months more his little squadronwas entirely finished, and completely supplied with every necessary forthe voyage. The narrative of this voyage is chiefly taken from that given by Harris, compared and corrected from that in the collection of Hakluyt, which issaid to have been written by Mr. Francis Pretty of Eye, in Suffolk, agentleman who sailed, in the expedition. In Hakluyt, thiscircumnavigation is thus styled:--"The admirable and prosperous voyageof the worshipful Mr. Thomas Candish of Trimley, in the county ofSuffolk, Esquire, into the South Sea, and from thence round about thecircumference of the whole earth, began in the year of our Lord 1586, and finished 1588. " SECTION I. _Narrative of the Voyage from England to the Pacific_. The larger ship of this little squadron was named the Desire, of 140tons burden, and the lesser the Content of 60 tons, to which was added abark of 40 tons, called the Hugh Gallant, all supplied at his ownexpence with two years provisions, and manned with 123 officers and men, most of them men of experience, and some of whom had served under SirFrancis Drake. For their better encouragement, he entered into a fairagreement with them, with respect to the proportions in which all prizesshould be shared among them. He was likewise careful in providing maps, sea charts, and draughts, and all such accounts as could be procured ofvoyages already made into those parts which he intended to visit. Likewise, by means of his patron, Lord Hansdon, the lord-chamberlain, heprocured a commission from Queen Elizabeth. Having thus completed his preparations, he set out from London on the10th July, 1586, for Harwich, where he embarked in the Desire, andsailed thence for Plymouth, where he arrived on the 18th, and waitedthere for some of his company till the 21st of that month, when hehoisted sail on his intended voyage. On the 25th of that month, one Mr. Hope died, of a wound received in a duel, during their stay at Plymouth. Next day, they fell in with five ships of Biscay, well manned, coming, as they supposed, from the great bank of Newfoundland, which attackedthe Desire; but Mr. Candish gave them so warm a reception, that theywere glad to sheer off, and continued their course without giving himany farther disturbance. As it grew dark, and he feared losing sight ofhis consorts, Mr. Candish did not continue the chase. They fell in with the island of Fuertaventura, on the 1st August, whencethey sailed for Rio del Oro and Cape Blanco, and thence along the coastof Guinea, with which navigation Mr Brewer, who sailed in the Desire, was well acquainted. The men now began to complain much of the scurvy, wherefore it was resolved to put them on shore for their recovery on thefirst opportunity. They made Sierra Leona on the 23d of August, andreached its southern side on the 25th, where they had five fathoms atthe lowest ebb; having had for about fourteen leagues, while runninginto this harbour, from eight to sixteen fathoms. At this place theydestroyed a negro town, because the inhabitants had killed one of theirmen with a poisoned arrow. Some of the men went four miles up theharbour in a boat, on the 3d September, where they caught plenty offish; and going on shore, procured some lemons. They saw also somebuffaloes, on their return to the ship. The 6th they went out of theharbour of Sierra Leona, and staid one tide three leagues from the pointat its mouth, the tide there flowing S. W. The 7th they departed for one of the islands which lie about ten leaguesfrom the point of Sierra Leona, called the Banana isles, [45] andanchored that same day off the principal isle, on which they only founda few plantains. At the east end of this island they found a town, butno inhabitants, and concluded that the negroes sometimes resort thither, by seeing the remains of their provisions. There is no fresh water onthe south side of this island that they could find; but there is inthree or four places on its north side. The whole island was one entirewood, except a few small cleared spots where some huts stood, and thesewere encompassed by plantain-trees, the fruit of which is an excellentfood. This place is subject to severe thunder-storms, with much rain, inSeptember. [Footnote 45: Harris erroneously names these the islands of Cape Verd, which are at a vast distance from Sierra Leona. The Banana isles are inlat. 8° N. And long. 12° 30' W. From Greenwich. In Hakluyt these arecalled the isles of Madrabumba, and are said to be ten leagues from thepoint of Sierra Leona. --E. ] Leaving these islands and the African coast on the 10th September, andholding their course W. S. W. Obliquely across the Atlantic, they fell inwith a great mountain in Brazil, on the 31st of October, twenty-fourleagues from Cape _Frio_. This mountain has a high round top, shewingfrom afar like a little town. On the 1st November, they stood in betweenthe island of St Sebastian and the main; where they carried their thingson shore, and erected a forge, and built a pinnace, repairing also everything that was out of order, in which work they were detained till the23d of November. Sailing from this place on the 26th, they fell in withthe coast of South America again in lat. 47° 20' S. Whence theyproceeded along shore till they came to lat. 48° S. Finding a steepbeach all along. On the 27th of November they came to a harbour, intowhich Candish first entered, giving it the name of Port Desire, fromthat of his ship. [46] Near this harbour they found an island or two wellstocked with seals, and another in which there were vast numbers of greygulls. [47] [Footnote 46: As laid down in modern maps, the latitude of Port Desireis only 47° 15' S. ] [Footnote 47: Probably penguins. --E. ] This haven of Port Desire was found very favourable for careening andgraving of ships, as the tide there ebbed and flowed considerably. Atthis place the savages wounded two of the Englishmen with their arrows, which were made of canes or reeds, tipt with sharpened flints. Thesesavage natives of the country round Port Desire were exceedingly wildand rude, and as it would seem of a gigantic race, as the measure of oneof their foot marks was eighteen inches long. [48] This agrees well withthe assertion of Magellan, though some pains have been taken torepresent that as fabulous. Magellan called this country Patagonia, andits inhabitants Patagons, meaning to signify that they were five cubits, or _seven feet and a half high_. Hence, as the Portuguese are notcommonly very tall, we need not wonder if they styled them giants. If wetake the usual proportion of the human foot, as between a fifth and asixth part of the height of the whole body, the account given byMagellan agrees very exactly with this fact afforded us by Mr Candish;and it will be seen in the sequel, that this is not falsified by any ofour subsequent navigators. When any of these savages die, he is buriedin a grave constructed of stones near the sea-side, all his darts beingfastened about his tomb, and his treasure, consisting of shells, laidunder his head. [Footnote 48: Without meaning to impugn the received opinion, that thePatagons are beyond the ordinary size of man, it may be permitted tosay, that the evidence, in the text, the only one here adduced, isaltogether inconclusive; and the subsequent reflections are evidentlythose of Harris, not of Candish. --E. ] They left Port Desire on the 28th December, and anchored near an islandthree leagues to the southward. The 30th they came to a rock, much likethe Eddystone at Plymouth, about five leagues off the land, in lat 48°30' S. And within a mile of it had soundings in eight fathoms, on rockyground. Continuing their course along shore S. S. W. They found vastnumbers of seals every where on the coast. January 2d, 1587, they fellin with a great white cape in lat. 52° S. And had seven fathoms within aleague of the cape. Next day they came to another cape, in lat. 52° 45'S. Whence runs a long beach about a league to the southwards, reachingto the opening into the Straits of Magellan. [49] January 6th, theyentered the straits, which they found in some places five or six leagueswide, but in others considerably narrower. The 7th, between the mouth ofthe straits and its narrowest part, they took a Spaniard, who had beenleft there with twenty-three others of that nation, being all thatremained alive of four hundred, who had been landed three years beforein these straits. This Spaniard shewed them the hull of a small bark, supposed to have been left by Sir Francis Drake. [Footnote 49: The cape at the north side of the eastern entrance intothe Straits of Magellan, is named Cape Virgin, and is in lat 52° 28' S. The great white cape in lat. 52° S. Is not so easily ascertained. CapeBlanco, on this coast, is in lat. 47° S. Which cannot have any referenceto the white cape of the text. --E. ] The eastern mouth of the straits is in lat. 52° S. From thence to thenarrowest part is fourteen leagues W. By N. From thence to PenguinIsland is ten leagues W. S. W. By S. They anchored at Penguin Island onthe 8th January, where they killed and salted a great store of seals, toserve as sea provisions in case of need. Leaving this place on the 9th, they sailed S. S. W. The fortress built in these straits by the Spaniards, called _Ciudad del Rey Felippe_, had four bulwarks or bastions, in eachof which was one large cannon, all of which had been buried, and theircarriages left standing. The English dug them all up, and carried themaway. Tins city seemed to have been well contrived, especially in itssituation in regard to wood and water; but miserable was the life thisforlorn remnant of Spaniards had endured for the last two years, duringwhich they had hardly been able to procure any other food than a scantysupply of shell-fish, except when they had the good fortune to surprisea deer, coming down from the mountains in search of water. The object of the Spaniards, in erecting this fortress, was to havefortified the straits, so as to have excluded all other nations from anypassage into the South Sea: but, besides the barrenness of the soil, andexcessive severity of the climate their most implacable enemies, theIndians, frequently assailed them, so that they were reduced to the lastextremity of distress. All the stores they had brought from Spain wereexpended, and none could be procured in the country, which producednothing but deer, and when hunting these for the preservation of theirlives, they were sure to be fallen upon by the Indians. At length almostall the Spaniards died in their houses, and the stench of the putrefyingcarcasses became so intolerable to the few survivors, that they wereforced to quit the fortress, and to range along the seacoast living uponroots, leaves, and sea weeds, or any animals they could occasionallyfall in with. In this miserable extremity they had determined to attemptexploring their way to the Rio Plata, and were already on their way, when this Spaniard was taken by the English. Mr Candish named the haven where the fortress stood _Port Famine_, owingto the utter want of all necessaries. It is in lat. 53° S. Leaving thisplace on the 14th, they ran five leagues S. W. To Cape Froward, in thesouthernmost part of the straits, in lat. 54° S. Sailing five leagues W. By N. From this cape, they put into a bay, called Muscle Cove, from thegreat quantities of muscles found there. Leaving that place on the 21st, and sailing N. By W. Ten leagues, they came to a fair bay, which Candishnamed Elizabeth Bay. Leaving that place on the 22d, they found a goodriver two leagues farther on, up which a boat was towed for three miles. The country about this river was pleasant and level, but all the otherland on both sides of the straits was rugged, mountainous, and rocky, inhabited by a strong and well-made, but very brutish kind of savages, who are said to have eaten many of the Spaniards, and seemed muchdisposed to have feasted also on English flesh; but they failed in theirattempts to circumvent them. Discovering a plot laid by these savages toentrap him and his men, Candish gave them a volley of musquetry, whichslew several of them, and the rest ran away. Leaving this river, they sailed two leagues farther, to an inlet namedSt Jerome's channel; whence, proceeding three or four leagues W. Theycame to a cape to the northward, whence the course to the westernentrance of the straits is N. W. And N. W. By W. For about thirty-fourleagues; so that the entire length of these straits is ninety leagues. This western entrance is in lat. 52° 40' S. Nearly under the sameparallel with the eastern mouth. In consequence of storms and excessiverains, they were forced to remain in a harbour near this western mouthof the straits till the 23d of February. By the excessive rains, pouringdown with extreme fury in torrents from the mountains, they were broughtinto extreme danger; and were also much distressed for want of food, asthe excessive severity of the weather hardly permitted their landing, to range the country in search of a supply In their passage throughthese straits, it was observed that there were harbours on both shores, at every mile or two, tolerably safe and convenient for small ships. SECTION II. _Transactions on the Western Coast of America_. The weather moderating, they entered into the great South Sea, orPacific Ocean, on the 24th February, 1587, observing on the south sideof the entrance a very high cape, with an adjoining low point; while, atthe northern side of the entrance there were four or five islands, sixleagues from the main land, having much broken and sunken ground amongand around them. In the night of the 1st March, there arose a greatstorm, in which they lost sight of the Hugh Gallant, being then in lat. 49° S. And forty-five leagues from the land. This storm lasted three orfour days, in which time the Hugh sprung a leak, and was tossed about inthis unknown sea, devoid of all help, being every moment ready to sink. By great exertions, however, she was kept afloat; and on the 15th, inthe morning, she got in between the island of St Mary and the main, where she again met the admiral and the Content, which two ships hadsecured themselves during two days of the storm, at the island of Mocha, in lat. 38° S'. [50] [Footnote 50: Mocha is in lat. 38° 20', and the isles of St Mary in 37°, both S. ] At this place some of the company went ashore well armed, and were metby the Indians, who gave them a warm reception with their bows andarrows. These Indians were of the district in Chili called Araucania, acountry rich in gold, and consequently very tempting to the avariciousSpaniards, which accordingly they had repeatedly invaded, but to nopurpose, as the natives always defended themselves so valiantly, thattheir enemies could never subdue them. On the present occasion, mistaking the English for Spaniards, these brave and desperate Araucansgave Candish a hostile welcome. After this skirmish, Candish went withhis ships under the lee of the west side of St Mary's island, where hefound good anchorage in six fathoms. This island, in lat. 37° S. Aboundsin hogs, poultry, and various kinds of fruit; but the inhabitants areheld under such absolute slavery by the Spaniards, that they dare notkill a hog, or even a hen, for their own use; and although the Spaniardshave made them converts to Christianity, they use them more like dogsthan men or Christians. The admiral went ashore on the 16th March, with seventy or eighty menwell armed, and was met by two Indian chiefs, who conducted him to achapel, round which were several store-houses, well filled with wheatand barley, as clean and fair as any in England. He accordingly providedhis ships with a sufficient store of grain from this place, and laid inbesides an ample supply of hogs, hens, potatoes, dried dog-fish, andmaize or Guinea wheat. The admiral invited the two principal Indians toan entertainment on board; and the wine having sharpened their wit, toperceive that the admiral and his men were not Spaniards, as they hadhitherto supposed them, they began to talk very freely about the goldmines, saying that the English might procure gold to their full content, by going into the country of the Araucans. But not fully understandingthem, as the information was mostly given by signs, the admiral did notprosecute this proposed adventure, but proceeded on his voyage. Leaving the island of St Mary on the 18th in the morning, they sailedall that day N. N. E. Ten leagues. The 19th they steered in with the land, E. N. E. And anchored under an island in the Bay of Conception, in lat. 36° 36' S. The 30th they came into the Bay of Quintero, in lat. 32° 45'S. And next day a party of fifty or sixty men, well armed, marched sevenor eight miles into the country. In their march, they saw vast herds ofwild cattle, with horses, dogs, hares, rabbits, partridges, and otherbirds, with many fine rivers, well stocked with wild fowl. Havingtravelled as far as they conveniently could for the mountains, andhaving rested and refreshed on the banks of a pleasant river, theyreturned in good order to the ships at night, without meeting anyremarkable adventure; although a party of 200 horse had been abroad allthat day in search of them, upon information of some Spaniards who hadseen them the preceding day, but durst not venture to attack them, keeping always at a distance on the hills. They had at this time a shortconference with three Spanish horsemen, through the medium of the poorhalf-starved Spaniard they took on board in the Straits of Magellan;but, in spite of his many oaths and protestations never to forsakeCandish, he took the opportunity to mount on horseback behind one of hiscountrymen, and got off. Next day, the 1st April, some of the English being on shore fillingtheir water-casks, the Spaniards became bolder, and watching anopportunity when the sailors were hard at work, poured down with their200 horse from the hills, slew some of them, and made a few prisoners. But this glorious victory was soon snatched from their hands by thearrival of a reinforcement of fifteen English, who rescued theprisoners, killed twenty-four of the Spaniards, and drove the rest backto the mountains. After this, they continued in the road till the 5th, and watered there in spite of the Spaniards. On the 5th they weighedanchor, and went to a small island about a league from the bay, which isfull of penguins and other sea fowl, of which they provided themselveswith what store they wanted; after which they sailed N. And N. By W. Inorder to prosecute their voyage. The 15th April they came to _Moro Moreno_, in lat. 23° 30' S. Under thetropic of Capricorn, where there is an excellent harbour, made by meansof an island, having an entrance for ships at either end. The admiralwent ashore here with thirty men, and was met by the Indians, whobrought them water and wood on their backs. These are a simple sort ofpeople, living in a wild and savage manner, in great dread of theSpaniards. They brought the admiral and his company to their houses, about two miles from the harbour. These were only constructed of a fewrafters laid across upon forked sticks stuck in the ground, having a fewboughs laid over them by way of a roof. Their beds were the skins ofwild beasts laid on the ground; and their food little else than rawstinking fish. When any of them dies, he is buried with all his arms andgoods, as bows and arrows, and even his canoe is laid in the earth alongwith him. Their canoes, if such they may be called, consist of two skinbags, like large bladders, blown up with quills at one end, and fastenedtogether by the sinews of some wild beast; yet in these they thinknothing of venturing to sea, loading them even with great quantities offish, part of which they have to give in tribute to the Spaniards, therest being kept to stink for their own eating. On the 3d May, they came into a bay on which were three small towns, Paracca, Chincha, and Pisco, which latter is in lat. 13° 20' S. [51] Theylanded here, and took some provisions, as wine, bread, poultry and figs, from the houses, but could not get ashore at the best of these towns, owing to the sea running too high. By this time; they had made twovaluable prizes, laden with sugar, melasses, maiz, cordovan leather, _montego de porco_, packs of painted calicoes, Indian coats, marmalade, hens, and other articles, which would have yielded £20, 000, if there hadbeen any opportunity for selling their cargoes. That not being the case, they took out as much as could be conveniently stowed in their ownships, burning their two prizes with the rest of their contents. [Footnote 51: Pisco, the principal of these towns, is in lat. 16° 43'S. ] The 26th May, they came into the road Payta, in lat. 5° 4' S. The townbeing very neat and clean, and containing about 200 houses. Landing herewith sixty or seventy men, Candish had a skirmish with the inhabitants, whom he beat out of the town, forcing them to take refuge in the hills, whence they continued to fire at the English, but would not venture afair battle on the plain ground. Having possessed themselves of thetown, the English marched after the enemy on the hill, and put themcompletely to the rout, seizing all their baggage, which they broughtback with them to the town. They here found all sort of household stuff, together with warehouses well filled with various kinds of goods, andtwenty-five pound weight of silver in pieces of eight. After taking awaywhat plunder they found convenient, they set fire to the town, which wasburnt to the ground, and destroyed likewise a bark at anchor in theroads; after which they set sail for Puna. They arrived at Puna, in lat. 3° 10' S. On the 25th of May, when theyfound a ship of 250 tons at anchor in the harbour. After sinking her, they went ashore. The lord of this island, styled the Caçique of Puna, was an Indian by birth, but having married a Spanish woman, he became aChristian, and made all his subjects follow his example. He had asumptuous and well-contrived palace near the shore, with curious gardensadjoining, and fair prospects, both to the water and up the country. Allthe inhabitants of this island were kept continually employed infabricating cables, such abundance of which are made here by the Indiansubjects of this caçique; that most of the ships navigating the SouthSea are supplied from hence. This island is nearly as large as the isleof Wight in England, being about forty English miles from S. W. To N. E. And sixteen in the opposite direction. It enjoys a great share in theblessings of nature; for, although it has no mines of gold or silver, itaffords every thing in abundance that is necessary to the comforts oflife. The pastures are excellent, and are well stored with horses, oxen, sheep, and goats, yielding abundance of milk; it has also plenty ofpoultry, turkeys, ducks of a large size, and pigeons. The caçique hasseveral orchards, yielding a great variety of fine fruits, as oranges, lemons, figs, pomegranates, pumpkins, melons, and many others; with avariety of odoriferous plants, as rosemary, thyme, and the like. One ofthese gardens or orchards was planted with the bombast cotton tree, which grows in pods, in each of which there are seven or eight seeds. The 29th of May, Candish went to an island near Puna, into which thecaçique had conveyed all the valuable furniture of his palace, withother things of value. These stores were all discovered, and plunderedof every thing thought worth carrying on board the ships, and the restdestroyed. The church also of Puna, which stood near the palace, wasburnt down, and its five bells carried to the ships. On the 2d June, theEnglish were attacked by 100 Spaniards, who killed or took prisonerstwelve of their men, losing forty-six of their own in the encounter. Candish landed again that same day with seventy English, and had anotherbattle with the Spaniards, who were joined by 200 Indians armed withbows and arrows. The English were victorious, after which they madegreat havock of the fields and orchards, burnt four ships on the stocks, and left the town of 300 houses a heap of rubbish. Besides thisprincipal town, there were two others on the island of 200 houses each, so that Puna was the best settled island on all this coast. Setting sail from Puna on the 5th June, they sailed to Rio Dolce, wherethey watered. They passed the equinoctial on the 12th, continuing theircourse northwards all the rest of that month. The 1st July, they hadsight of New Spain, being four leagues from the land in 10° N. The 9ththey took a new ship of 120 tons, in which was one Michael Sancius, anative of Provence, a very skilful coasting pilot for these seas, whomCandish retained as his pilot, and from whom he got the first hint ofthe great ship Anna Maria, which he afterwards took on her voyage fromthe Philippine islands. Taking all the men, and every thing of any valuefrom the ship of Sancius, they set her on fire. The 26th they came toanchor in the mouth of the river Capalico, and the same night went inthe pinnace with thirty men to Guatalco, two leagues from that river, in15° 70' N. And burnt both the town and custom-house, which was a largehandsome building, in which there were laid up 600 bags of indigo, and400 bags of cacao, every bag of the former being worth forty crowns, andeach of the latter worth ten. These cacaos serve among the people ofthese parts both as food and money, being somewhat like almonds, yet notquite so pleasant, and pass in trade by way of small change, 150 of thembeing equal in value to a rial of plate. They set sail from Capalico on the 28th, the sea running so high thatthey could not fill their water casks, and came to Guatalco that samenight. Next day Candish went ashore with thirty men, marching two milesinto the woods, where he took a _mestizo_ belonging to the custom-houseof that town, having with him a considerable quantity of goods, bothwhich and their master were carried to the ships. The 24th August, Candish went with thirty men in the pinnace to the haven of _Puerto deNavidad_ in lat. 19° 24' N. Where Sancius had informed him there wouldbe a prize; but, before their arrival, she had gone twelve leaguesfarther to fish for pearls. They here made prisoner of a mulatto, whohad been sent to give notice of the English, all along the coast of NewGallicia, and got possession of all his letters. They likewise burnt thetown, and two ships of 200 tons here building, after which they returnedto the ships. They came on the 26th into the bay of St Jago, where they watered at agood river, which yielded them plenty of fish, and where they found somepearls. This bay is in lat. 19° 18' N. Leaving this bay on the 2dSeptember, they came next day into the bay of Malacca, a league westwardfrom port Navidad, and a good place for ships to ride in. That day, Candish went ashore with about thirty men, to an Indian town namedAcatlan, about two leagues from the road. [52] This town or villageconsisted of twenty or thirty houses and a church, which theydemolished, and then returned at night to the ships. Leaving this bay onthe 4th, they came on the 8th to the road of Chacalla, eighteen leaguesfrom Cape Corientes. On the 9th, Candish sent a party of forty men, guided by Sancius, which, after marching through woods and deserts, lighted upon a few families, some of which were Indians, and othersSpanish and Portuguese, all of whom were brought to the ships. The womenwere ordered to fetch plantains, lemons, oranges, and other fruits, inreward for which all their husbands were set free, except a Spaniardnamed Sembrano, and Diego, a Portuguese. [Footnote 52: Guatlan is the name of a bay on this coast, and which isprobably corrupted in the text to Acatlan. --E. ] On the 12th they arrived at the island of St Andrew, which is very fullof wood, and where they found plenty of fowls and seals, together with asort of serpents, or lizards rather, called _Iguanos_, having four feetand a long sharp tail, which they found good eating. Leaving this isle, they came to the road of Mazatlan on the 24th, lying under the tropic ofCancer. The river here is large within, but much obstructed by a bar atits mouth. The bay abounds with fish, and there are abundance of goodfruits up the country. Departing from this bay on the 27th, they came toan island, a league north from Mazatlan, [53] where they heeled theirships, and rebuilt their pinnace. On this isle, they found fresh water, by digging two or three feet into the sand, otherwise they must havegone back twenty or thirty leagues for water, being advised by oneFlores, a Spanish prisoner, to dig in the sands, where no water or signof any could be perceived. Having amply supplied the ships with water, they remained at this island till the 9th October, and then sailed fromCape San Lucar, the S. W. Point of California, in lat. 22° 50' N. Whichthey fell in with on the 14th, observing that it much resembled theNeedles at the Isle of Wight, which had been before noticed by SirFrancis Drake. Within this cape, there is a large bay, called by theSpaniards _Aguada Segura_, [54] into which falls a fine fresh-waterriver, the banks of which are usually inhabited by many Indians in thesummer. They went into this bay, where they again watered, and remainedwaiting for the Accapulco ship till the 4th November, the windcontinuing all that time to hang westerly. [Footnote 53: In our best modern maps no such island is to be found; butabout the same distance to the S. Is a cluster of small isles. --E. ] [Footnote 54: Probably that now called the bay of St Barnaby, abouttwenty miles E. N. E. From Cape San Lucar. --E. ] The 4th November, putting to sea, the Desire and Content beat to and froto windward off the head land of California; and that very morning oneof the men in the admiral, going aloft to the topmast, espied a shipbearing in from seaward for the cape. Putting every thing in readinessfor action, Candish gave chase, and coming up with her in the afternoon, gave her a broadside and a volley of small arms. This ship was the SantaAnna of 700 tons burden, belonging to the king of Spain, and commandedby the admiral of the South Sea. Candish instantly boarded, finding theSpaniards in a good posture of defence, and was repulsed with the lossof two men slain and four or five wounded. He then renewed the actionwith his cannon and musquetry, raking the St Ann, and killing orwounding great numbers, as she was full of men. The Spaniards longdefended themselves manfully; but the ship being sore wounded, so thatthe water poured in a-main, they at last hung out a flag of truce, praying for quarter, and offering to surrender. This was immediatelyagreed to by Candish, who ordered them to lower their sails, and to sendtheir chief officers to his ship. They accordingly hoisted out theirboat, in which came the captain, the pilot, and one of the chiefmerchants, who surrendered themselves, and gave an account of the valueof their ship, in which were 122, 000 pezos in gold, with prodigiousquantities of rich silks, satins, damasks, and divers kinds ofmerchandise, such as musk, and all manner of provisions, almost asacceptable to the English as riches, having been long at sea. The prize thus gloriously obtained, Candish returned to _Aguada_, or_Puerto Seguro_, on the 6th November, where he landed all the Spaniards, to the number of 150 persons, men and women, giving them plenty of wineand victuals, with the sails of their ship and some planks, to buildhuts or tents for them to dwell in. The owners of the prize being thusdisposed of, the next thing was to share the booty; which ungraciouswork of distribution soon involved Candish in all the troubles of amutiny, every one being eager for gold, yet no one satisfied with hisshare. This disturbance was most violent in the Content; but all wassoon appeased and compromised by the candid and generous behaviour ofCandish. The 17th of November, being the coronation day of queenElizabeth, was celebrated by discharges of ordnance, and vollies ofsmall shot, and at night by fireworks. Of the prisoners taken in theSpanish ship, Candish reserved two Japanese boys, three natives of theisland of Luzon or Manilla, a Portuguese who had been in China andJapan, and a Spanish pilot, who was thoroughly versant in the navigationbetween New Spain and the Philippine islands. Accapulco is the havenwhence they fit out for the Philippines, and the Ladrones are theirstated places of refreshment on this voyage. Having dismissed the Spanish captain with a noble present, andsufficient provision for his defence against the Indians, and removedeverything from the prize which his ships could contain, Candish set theSanta Anna on fire on the 19th November, having still 500 tons of hergoods remaining, and saw her burnt to the water's edge. SECTION III. _Voyage Home to England_. This great business, for which they had so long waited, being nowaccomplished, they set sail cheerfully on their return for England. TheContent staid some short time behind the Desire, which went on before, expecting she would soon follow, but she never rejoined company. Pursuing the voyage, therefore, in the Desire, Candish directed hiscourse for the Ladrones across the Pacific Ocean, these islands beingnearly 1800 leagues distant from this harbour of _Aguada Segura_ inCalifornia. This passage took forty-five days, from the 19th November, 1587, to the 3d January, 1588. On this day, early in the morning, theyhad sight of Guam, one of the Ladrones, in lat. 13° 40' N. And long. 143° 30' E. Sailing with a gentle gale before the wind, they came withintwo leagues of the island, where they saw sixty or seventy canoes fullof savages, who brought cocoas, plantains, potatoes, and fresh fish, toexchange for some of their commodities. They gave them in return somepieces of old iron, which they hung upon small cords and fishing lines, and so lowered down to the canoes, getting back, in the same manner, what the savages offered in exchange. In the course of this traffic thesavages crowded so much about the ship, that two of their canoes werebroken; yet none of the savages were drowned, as they were almost asfamiliar with the water as if they had been fishes. The savagescontinued following the ship, and would not quit her company tillseveral shots were fired at them; though 'tis ten to one if any of themwere killed, as they are so very nimble, throwing themselves immediatelyinto the water, and diving beyond the reach of danger on the slightestwarning. These islanders were large handsome men, extraordinarily fat, and of atawny colour, mostly having very long hair, some wearing it tied up inlarge knots on the crown of their heads, like certain wooden images atthe heads of their canoes. Their canoes were very artificially made, considering that they use no edge-tools in their construction; and areabout seven or eight yards in length, by half a yard only in breadth, their heads and stems being both alike, and having rafts made of canesor reeds on their starboard sides, being also supplied both with mastsand sails. These latter are made of sedges, and are either square ortriangular. These canoes have this property, that they will sail almostas well against the wind as before it. On the 19th January, at day-break, Candish fell in with a head-land ofthe Philippine islands, called _Cabo del Espiritu Santo_. The islanditself [Samar] is of considerable size, consisting of high land in themiddle, and depressed in its east and west extremities; the latter ofwhich runs a great way out to sea. It is in lat. 30° N. Being distant110 leagues from Guam and about 60 leagues from Manilla, the chief ofthe Philippines. [55] Samar is a woody island, and its inhabitants aremostly heathens. Candish spent eleven days in sailing from Guam to thisplace, having had some foul weather, and scarcely carrying any sail fortwo or three nights. Manilla, at this time, was an unwalled town of nogreat strength, yet containing vast riches in gold and valuablecommodities, and inhabited by six or seven hundred Spaniards. It has aconstant annual correspondence with Accapulco in New Spain; besideswhich twenty or thirty vessels come thither yearly from China, forconducting its trade with the _Sangueloes_: These are Chinese merchants, very sharp and sensible men in every thing relating to trade, extremelyingenious in all kinds of mechanical contrivances, and the most expertembroiderers on silk and satin of any in the world. They will executeany form of beast, fowl, or fish, in gold, silver, or silk, having allthe just proportions and colours in every part, and giving all the lifeand beauty to their work, as if done by the best painter, or even asnature has bestowed on the originals. The trade of these men withManilla must be very profitable, as they bring great quantities of goldthere, and exchange it against silver, weight for weight. [56] [Footnote 55: The latitude of Cape Espiritu Santo, as given in the test, is grossly erroneous, being only 12° 35' N. And its long. 125° 30' E. From Greenwich. The difference of longitude from Guam, Guaham, orGuaci, the most southerly of the Ladrones, is 17° 45' nearly east, andconsequently 355 marine leagues. This island is divided from Luzon, orLuçonia, the principal island of the Philippines, by the narrow straitsof San Bernardino; and Cape Espiritu Santo is about 100 leagues, in astraight line, from the city of Manilla, which lies to the N. W. CapeEspiritu Santo is at the N. W. Extremity of the island of Samar. --E. ] [Footnote 56: This surely is an egregious error, as such acute merchantsas the Chinese are here represented, and actually are, could never be sofoolish as to give gold for silver, weight for weight. Before thepresent scarcity of bullion, the ordinary European price of exchange, was fourteen for one; and perhaps the then price in China might belower, as twelve, eleven, or ten; but equality is quiteinconceivable. --E. ] The same day on which he fell in with Cape Espiritu Santo, 14th ofJanuary, 1588, Candish entered in the evening into the straits of SanBernardino, between Samar or Cambaia, and the island of Luzon. The 15thhe fell in with the island of _Capul_, passing a very narrow straitbetween that island and another, in which the current of the tide wasconsiderable. In this passage, a ledge of rocks lay off the point ofCapul, but was passed without danger. Within the point was a fair bay, with a good harbour, having anchorage in four fathoms, within a cable'slength of the shore. Coming to anchor here about ten in the morning, theDesire was immediately boarded by a canoe, in which was one of the sevenchiefs of the island. Passing themselves for Spaniards, the Englishtraded with these people for cocoa-nuts and potatoes, giving a yard oflinen for four cocoa-nuts, and as much for about a quart of potatoes, which they found sweet and excellent food, either boiled or roasted. The caçique or chief who came on board had his skin curiously streakedor painted [tatooed], full of strange devices all over his body. Candishkept him on board, desiring him to send his servants, who paddled hiscanoe, to bring the other six chiefs to the ship. They came accordingly, attended by a great train of the natives, bringing vast quantities ofhogs and hens, and a full market of cocoa-nuts and potatoes; so that theEnglish were occupied the whole day in purchasing, giving eight rials ofplate for a hog, and one for a hen. At this place, a justly-meritedpunishment was inflicted on a Spanish pilot, taken in the Santa Anna, who had plotted to betray them to the Spaniards, and for which he washanged. Candish remained here for nine days, all the time receivingample supplies of fresh victuals, good water, and wood for fuel. Theislanders are all pagans, who are said to worship the devil, and toconverse with him. They are of a tawny complexion, and go almost naked;the men wearing a small square piece of cloth in front, woven fromplantain-leaves, and another behind, which is brought up between theirlegs, both being fastened to a girdle round their waists. They are allcircumcised, and have also a strange custom, hardly practised any whereelse but in Pegu, having a nail of tin in a perforation through theglans, which nail is split at one end and rivetted; but which can betaken out as they have occasion, and put in again. This is said to havebeen contrived, on the humble petition of the women, to preventperpetrating an unnatural crime, to which they were much addicted. On the 23d of January, Candish summoned all the caçiques of this island, and an hundred more, who had paid him tribute, and then revealed to themall, when assembled, that he and his men were Englishmen, and thegreatest enemies the Spaniards had in the world. At the same time hegenerously restored them, in money, the value of all the tribute theyhad paid to him, in hogs, cocoa-nuts, potatoes, and the like. Thisunexpected generosity astonished the whole assembly, who applauded hisbounty, and offered to join him with all the forces of their respectivedistricts, if he would go to war with the Spaniards. They seemed muchpleased with finding that Candish and his people were English, andthankful for the kindness with which they had been treated. On takingleave, they rowed round the ship awhile in their canoes, as if incompliment to the English; and Candish caused a gun to be fired at theirdeparture. Setting sail on the 24th, Candish ran along the coast of Luzon, steeringN. W. Between that island and _Masbate_. In the islands thereabout, theSpaniards were observed to keep a strict watch, making great fires, anddischarging their pieces all night, having been much alarmed by thearrival of the English. The island of _Panama_ is in many places plainand level, affording many large, tall, and straight trees, fit formasts, and has several mines of very fine gold, which are possessed bythe natives. To the south of this is the island of the Negroes, which isvery large, almost as big as England, and is in lat. 9° N. [57] Itappeared to consist mostly of low land, and to be very fertile. [Footnote 57: Negro island reaches from lat. 9° 15' to 11° 45' N. And isconsequently two and a half degrees from N. To S. About 174 Englishmiles, but does not any where exceed thirty miles from E. To W. --E. ] At six in the morning of the 29th of January, they began to pass throughthe straits between Panama and Negro islands, and, after proceedingsixteen leagues, they found a fair opening in these straits, trendingS. W. By S. About this time, being rejoined by their boat, which had beensent before them in the morning, Candish sent a Spanish prisoner onshore, with a message to his captain, who commanded a ship which lay atPanama the night before, desiring him to provide an abundant supply ofgold against the return of the Desire, as he meant to pay him a visit atManilla, and as that was a long voyage, it merited good entertainment. He said farther, that he would have come now, to weigh some of hisSpanish gold in English scales, if he had possessed a larger boat forlanding his men on the island. Proceeding on the voyage, they saw Batochina on the 8th of February, anisland near Gilolo, in the lat. Of 1° N. The 14th of that month theyfell in with eleven or twelve small flat low islands, almost level withthe sea, in lat. 3° 10' S. Near the Moluccas. March 1st, having passedthe straits between Java Major and Java Minor, they anchored under theS. W. Part of Java Major, where they saw some people fishing in a bayunder the island. The admiral sent a boat to them, in which was a negrowho could speak the _Moresco_[58] language, which is much used in Java. But, being frightened at the approach of the boat, they all got on shoreand ran away into the woods. One of them, however, came back to theshore, on being called to by the negro, and directed where to find freshwater; besides which, he undertook to carry a message to the king ofthat part of the island from the admiral, certifying that he had come topurchase victuals, or any commodities the country afforded. Inconsequence of this message, nine or ten canoes belonging to the kingcame off, on the 12th March, loaded with all sorts of provisions as deepas they could swim; bringing oxen, hogs, hens, geese, eggs, sugar, cocoa-nuts, plantains, oranges, lemons, wine, and arrack. [Footnote 58: Probably the Malay is here meant, and called Moresco orMoors, an ordinary term for Mahometans. --E. ] At the same time two Portuguese came off to visit Candish, and toenquire about their king, Don Antonio, then residing in England. Thesepersons gave him a full account of the manners and customs of the peopleof this island. The king of this part was held in prodigious awe by hissubjects, over whom he exercised absolute power, insomuch that no manwas permitted to make a bargain without his leave, on pain of death. Hehad an hundred wives, and his son fifty; who may possibly be happyenough while he lives; but when he dies, and his body is burnt, and theashes collected into an urn, the tragedy of his wives begins five daysafterwards. They are then all conducted to an appointed place, where thefavourite wife throws a ball from her hand, and where it stops marks theplace of their deaths. Being come there, and turning their faces to theeast, they all draw their daggers and stab themselves to the heart;after which they smear themselves with their own blood, and thus die. The men of this island are excellent soldiers, being hardy, valiant, anddesperate to the last degree, sticking at nothing commanded by theirking, however dangerous; and, should he even command them to plunge adagger into their own breast, or to leap from a precipice, or into a denof wild beasts, they instantly obey: For the displeasure of theirsovereign is as certain death as the point of a sword, or the fangs of abeast of prey. Their complexion is tawny, like the other natives ofIndia, and they go entirely naked; but their women are of a fairer hue, and are more modestly cloathed than the men. After this relation of the Portuguese, having satisfied the Javans forthe provisions they had supplied, and received a promise of goodentertainment to the English when they might return to their island, Candish took leave of them, making a present to their king of threelarge cannon. Next day, being the 16th of March, he made sail for theCape of Good Hope, spending all the rest of that month, all April, and apart of May, in traversing the vast ocean between the island of Java andthe southern extremity of Africa, making many observations on theappearances of the stars, the weather, winds, tides, currents, soundings, and bearings and positions of lands. On the 11th of May, land was espied bearing N. And N. By W. And towardsnoon more land was seen bearing W. Which was believed to be the Cape ofGood Hope, being then about forty or fifty leagues from that southernpromontory of Africa. [59] The wind being scanty, they stood off to thesouthwards till midnight; and, the wind being then fair, stood theircourse directly west. On the 12th and 13th they were becalmed, with athick and hazy atmosphere. The weather cleared upon the 14th, when theyagain saw land, which proved to be Cape _Falso_, forty or fifty leaguesshort, or to the eastwards of the Cape of Good Hope. [60] This CapeFalso is easily known, having three hills directly over it, the highestin the middle, and only a little distance from each other; the groundbeing much lower by the sea-side. Besides which, the Cape of Good Hopebears W. By S. From this cape. They discovered the Cape of Good Hope onthe 16th of May, observing the head-land to be considerably high, havingtwo hummocks at the westerly point, a little off the main, and threeothers a little farther into the sea, yet low-land still between theseand the sea. By the Portuguese the Cape of Good Hope is said to be 2000leagues from Java; but by their reckoning they made it only 1850leagues, which took them just nine weeks in the run. [Footnote 59: Either this is a gross error, or it means that theirreckoning still made that distance from the Cape, as nothing nearlyapproaching to such a distance can possibly be seen. --E. ] [Footnote 60: Captain Falso is only ten leagues E. From the Cape of GoodHope; but perhaps Cape Aguillas may be meant in the text, which is aboutthirty-five leagues E. S. E. From the Cape. --E. ] By break of day on the 8th June, they were within seven or eight leaguesof St Helena, of which island they had merely a glimpse that day, as, having little or no wind, they had to stand off and on all night. Nextday, having a tolerably good wind, they stood in with the shore, sendingthe boat before, and came to anchor in a good bay, under the N. W. Sideof the island, in twelve fathoms, only two or three cables length fromthe shore. This island lies in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, almostat equal distances from the main land of Africa and that of Brazil, inLat. 15° 43' S. Between five and six hundred leagues from the Cape ofGood Hope. Candish went here on shore, and entered the church, to which there was afair causeway; having a _frame between two bowls_, and a cross offreestone adjoining. Within it was hung with painted cloth, on whichwere represented the Blessed Virgin, the story of the Crucifixion, andother holy legends, hung round the altar. The valley in which thischurch stands is extremely pleasant, and so full of fruit-trees andexcellent plants, that it seemed like a very fair and well-cultivatedgarden, having long rows of lemon, orange, citron, pomegranate, date, and fig-trees, delighting the eye with blossoms, green fruit, and ripe, all at once. These trees seemed nicely trimmed, and there were manydelightful walks under the shelter of their boughs, which werepleasant, cool, and shady. At some distance there rises a fine clearspring, which diffuses itself in many fine rivulets, all through thisvalley, watering all its parts, and refreshing every plant and tree. Inthe whole of this great garden there is hardly any unoccupied space; as, where nature may have left any part empty, there art has supplied thedeficiency, so as to fill the whole space to advantage. This island alsoaffords great abundance of partridges and pheasants, both being largerthan ours in England. There are also turkeys, both black and white, withred heads, about as large as those in England, and their eggs much thesame, only altogether white. There is also plenty of _cabritos_, or wildgoats, as big as asses, and having manes like horses, and their beardsreaching down to the ground. These are so numerous, that their herds orflocks are sometimes a whole mile in length. It contains also vast herdsof wild-swine, which keep chiefly in the mountains, as do likewise thewild-goats. These swine are very fat, but so excessively wild that theyare never to be got at by a man, unless when asleep, or rollingthemselves in the mire. Having taken in all necessaries that this place produced, Candish setsail for England on the 20th of June, standing N. W. By W. It isobservable, that the wind at St Helena is generally off the shore. OnFriday, the 23d of August, he steered E. And E. By S. For thenorthernmost of the Azores; and on the 29th, after midnight, he gotsight of the islands of Flores and Corvo, in lat. 39° 30' N. Whence heshaped his course N. E. He met a Flemish vessel on the 3d September, bound from Lisbon, from which he had the joyful news of the total defeatof the Spanish Armada. On the 9th September, after receiving a farewellfrom the wind in a violent storm, which carried away most of his sails, Candish arrived at the long-desired haven of Plymouth. There had not hitherto been any voyage of so much consequence, orattended by such uninterrupted success as this: As plainly appears fromthe length of time occupied by that of Magellan, which extended to threeyears and a month; that of Sir Francis Drake extending to upwards of twoyears and ten months; while this voyage by Candish was less than twoyears and two months. We need not wonder, therefore, that a younggentleman like Mr Candish, who was entirely devoted to a desire ofacquiring glory and renown, should contrive some extraordinary manner ofdisplaying his good fortune. Some accounts accordingly inform us, thathe brought his ship into Plymouth harbour under a suit of silken sails, which, if true, may be thus explained. We have already mentioned, fromhis own narrative, that he encountered a violent storm, just before hisarrival, which tore all his sails to pieces. In this distress, he wouldprobably use those he had taken in the South Sea, made of what is calledsilk-grass, having a strong gloss and beautiful colour, which mighteasily deceive the eyes of the vulgar, and pass upon them for sails madeof silk. This much is certain, however, that though he might be vain andexpensive in such matters, yet all came fairly out of his own pocket;and those who had sailed with him, from the prospect of raising theirfortunes, had not the least reason to complain, as he made a fair andfull distribution of the prizes, by which he gained universal credit andesteem. To shew his duty and diligence, as well as to discharge respectfully theobligations he owed his patron, Lord Hunsdon, the near relation of QueenElizabeth, and then lord-chamberlain, he wrote the following letter tohim on the very day of his arrival at Plymouth. _To the Right Honourable the Lord Hunsdon, &c. _ _Right Honourable_, As your favour heretofore hath been most greatly extended towards me, soI humbly desire a continuance thereof; and though there be no means inme to deserve the same, yet the uttermost of my services shall not bewanting, whensoever it shall please your honour to dispose thereof. I amhumbly to desire your honour to make known unto her majesty the desire Ihave had to do her majesty service in the performance of this voyage;and, as it hath pleased God to give her the victory over part of herenemies, so I trust, ere long, to see her overthrow them all. For theplaces of their wealth, whereby they have maintained and made theirwars, are now perfectly discovered; and, if it please her majesty, witha small power she may take and spoil them all. It hath pleased the Almighty to suffer me to circumcompass all the wholeglobe of the world, entering in at the Straits of Magellan, andreturning by the Cape of Buena Esperança. In which voyage I have eitherdiscovered, or brought certain intelligence of, all the rich places ofthe world that ever were known or discovered by any Christian. Inavigated along the coasts of Chili, Peru, and Nueva Espanna, where Imade great spoils. I burnt and sunk nineteen sail of ships, great andsmall. All the villages and towns that ever I landed at, I burnt andspoiled; and, had I not been discovered upon the coast, I had taken agreat quantity of treasure. The matter of most profit unto me was agreat ship of the king's, which I took at California, which ship camefrom the Philippines, being one of the richest for merchandize that everpassed these seas, as the royal register, accounts, and merchants didshew; for it amounted in value to ***** in Mexico to be sold: whichgoods, for that my ships were not able to contain the least part ofthem, I was enforced to set on fire. From the Cape of California, being the uppermost part of all New Spain, I navigated to the Philippine islands, hard upon the coast of China, ofwhich country I have brought such intelligence as hath not been heard inthese parts; the stateliness and riches of which country I fear to makereport of; lest I should not be credited: for, if I had not knownsufficiently the incomparable wealth of that country, I should have beenas incredulous thereof as others will be that have not had the likeexperience. I sailed along the islands of the Moluccas, where among some of theheathen people I was well intreated, and where our people may have tradeas freely as the Portuguese, if they will themselves. From thence, Ipassed by the Cape of Buena Esperança; and found out, by the wayhomeward, the island of St Helena, where the Portuguese used to refreshthemselves; and, from that island, God hath suffered me to return intoEngland. All which services, together with myself, I humbly prostrate ather majesty's feet, desiring the Almighty long to continue her reignamong us; for at this day she is the most famous and most victoriousprince that liveth in the world. Thus, humbly desiring pardon for my tediousness, I leave your lordshipto the tuition of the Almighty. _Your honour's most humble to command, Thomas Candish_. Plymouth, this 9th of September, 1588. * * * * * There are many circumstances in this voyage, besides the wonderfulfacility with which it was accomplished, that deserve to be considered. As, for instance, the adventuring to pass a second time into the SouthSea, after it was not only known that the Spaniards were excessivelyalarmed by the passage of Sir Francis Drake, but also that they hadreceived succours from Spain, and had actually fortified themselvesstrongly in the South Sea. Also the nice search made by Candish, and theexact description he has given us of the Straits of Magellan, are verynoble proofs of his skill and industry, and of his desire that posteritymight reap the fruits of his labours. The attack of the Accapulco ship, likewise, considering the small force he had along with him, was a nobleinstance of true English bravery, which was justly rewarded by the queenwith the honour of knighthood. His account of the Philippines, and his description of several islandsin the East Indies, are very clear and curious, and must at that timehave been very useful; but particularly his map and description ofChina, which gave great lights in those days. We may add to all this, the great care he took in the instruction of his seamen, many of whomafterwards distinguished themselves by navigating vessels in the samestupendous course, and thereby filling all the known world with the fameand reputation of English seamen. It is not therefore surprising that wefind the best judges, both of our own and other nations, bestowing veryhigh praise on this worthy gentleman, who, in the whole conduct of hisvoyage, shewed the courage and discretion of a great commander, with allthe skill and diligence of an able seaman; of both which eminentcharacters he has left the strongest testimonies in his accurate accountof this circumnavigation. The wealth brought home by Sir Thomas Candish from this successfulvoyage must have been considerable; an old writer says it was sufficientto have purchased _a fair earldom_, a general and vague expression, having no determinate meaning. Whatever may have been the amount of thesum, which he acquired with so much hazard and so great honour, hecertainly did not make such prudent use of his good fortune as mighthave been expected; for in the space of three years the best part of itwas spent, and he determined to lay out the remainder upon a secondexpedition. We need the less wonder at this, if we consider what thewriters of those days tell us, of his great generosity, and theprodigious expence he was at in procuring and maintaining such personsas he thought might be useful to him in his future naval expeditions, onwhich subject his mind was continually bent. Such things require therevenues of a prince; and as he looked upon this voyage round the worldas an introduction only to his future undertakings, we may easilyconceive that, what the world considered extravagance, might appear tohim mere necessary disbursements, which, instead of lessening, heproposed should have laid the foundations of a more extensive fortune. All circumstances duly considered, this was neither a rash norimprobable supposition; since there were many examples in the gloriousreign of Queen Elizabeth, of very large fortunes acquired by the samemethod in which he proposed to have increased his estate. Besides, itclearly appears, by his will, that he not only did not die in debt, butleft very considerable effects behind him, notwithstanding his heavyexpences, and the many misfortunes of his second expedition, of which itis proper to subjoin a brief account. --_Harris_. In the Collection of Hakluyt, vol. IV. P. 341-355, is a long enumerationof nautical remarks, of the latitudes, soundings, distances of places, bearings of lands, variations of the compass, time spent in sailingbetween the several places enumerated, time of remaining at any ofthese, observations of winds, &c. &c. &c. Written by Mr Thomas Fuller ofIpswich, who was master of the Desire in this voyage round the world;but which are too tedious and uninteresting for insertion. --E. SECTION IV. _Second Voyage of Sir Thomas Candish, intended for the South Sea, in1591_. [61] Though not a circumnavigation, owing to various misfortunes, it appearsproper to insert this narrative, giving an account of the unfortunateend of the renowned Candish, by way of appendix to his circumnavigation. From the happy success of his former voyage, and the superior strengthwith which he undertook the second, in which, after ranging the Spanishcoast of the South Sea, he proposed to have visited the Philippineislands and China, he certainly had every reason to have expected, thatthe profits of this new enterprise would have fully compensated for itsexpences, and have enabled him to spend the remainder of his days inhonourable ease and affluence. [Footnote 61: Hakluyt, IV. 361. --This narrative, as we learn fromHakluyt, was written by Mr John Lane, or Jane, a person of goodobservation, who was employed in this and many other voyages. --E. ] * * * * * The ships fitted out on this occasion, entirely at his own expence, werethe galleon named the Leicester, in which Sir Thomas Candish embarkedhimself as admiral, or general of the expedition; the Roebuckvice-admiral, commanded by Mr Cocke; the Desire rear-admiral, of whichMr John Davis was captain;[62] the Dainty, a bark belonging to Mr AdrianGilbert, of which Mr Randolph Cotton had the command; and a pinnacenamed the Black. [Footnote 62: The author of this narrative informs us that he sailed onthis voyage along with Mr Davis. --E. ] § 1. _Incidents in the Voyage, till the Separation of the Ships_. With this squadron we sailed from Plymouth on the 26th of August, 1591. The 29th November, we fell in with the bay of St Salvador on the coastof Brazil, twelve leagues to the N. Of Cabo Frio, where we were becalmedtill the 2d December, when we captured a small bark, bound for the RioPlata, laden with sugar, haberdashery wares, and negroes. The master ofthis bark brought us to an isle, called Placencia or _Ilha Grande_, thirty Portuguese leagues W. From Cabo Frio, where we arrived on the 5thDecember, and rifled six or seven houses inhabited by Portuguese. The11th we departed from this place, and arrived on the 14th at the islandof St Sebastian; whence Mr Cocke and Mr Davis immediately departed, withthe Desire and the Black pinnace, on purpose to attack the town ofSantos. We anchored at the bar of Santos in the evening of the 15th, and wentimmediately in our boats to the town. Next morning about nine o'clock, we reached Santos, and being discovered, we immediately landed, beingonly twenty-four of us, our long-boat being still far astern. By thispromptitude, we took all the people of the town prisoners in the church, being at mass, and detained them there all day. The great object of SirThomas Candish in assaulting this town was to supply our wants, expecting to have got every thing of which we stood in need, when oncein possession: But such was the negligence of Mr Cocke, who commanded onthis occasion, that the Indians were allowed to carry every thing outof the town in open view, and no one hindered them; and next day, ourprisoners were all set free, only four poor old men being kept aspledges to supply our wants. By this mismanagement, the town of Santos, which could easily have supplied a fleet the double of ours with allkinds of necessaries, was in three days left to us entirely naked, without people, and without provisions. Sir Thomas Candish came up eightor ten days afterwards, and remained till the 22d January, 1592, endeavouring by treaty to procure what we were once possessed of, but tolittle purpose; and we were then forced to depart, through want ofprovisions, glad to procure a few baskets of cassavi meal, going awayworse provided than we had come there. We accordingly left Santos on the22d January, and burnt the town of St Vincent to the ground. We set sail on the 24th, shaping our course for the Straits of Magellan. On the 7th February we had a violent storm, and on the 8th, our fleetwas separated by the fury of the tempest. Consulting with the master ofour ship, our captain concluded to go for Port Desire, in the latitudeof 48° S. Hoping that Sir Thomas would go there likewise, as he hadfound great relief there in his former voyage. Our captain had not beenable to get directions, what course to take in such a contingency as hadnow occurred, though he had earnestly proposed such a measure. In ourway, we fortunately fell in with the Roebuck, which had been in extremedanger, and had lost her boat. We arrived together at Port Desire on the6th March. The Black pinnace came in there also on the 16th; but theDainty came not, having gone back for England, leaving their captain, MrRandolph Cotton, aboard the Roebuck, with nothing but the clothes hewore. He now came aboard our ship, being in great habits of friendshipwith Captain Davis. On the 18th Sir Thomas brought the galleon into the roads, and camehimself into the harbour in a boat he had got built at sea, for hislong-boat and light-horseman were both lost during the storm, togetherwith a pinnace he had set up at Santos. Being on board our ship, theDesire, Sir Thomas informed our captain of all his extremities, andcomplained severely of his company, and particularly of severalgentlemen in his ship, proposing to go no more on board his own ship, but to proceed for the rest of the voyage in the Desire. We were allgrieved to hear such hard speeches of our good friends; but havingspoken with the gentlemen in the Leicester, we found them faithful, honest, and resolute in their proceedings, although it pleased ourgeneral to conceive of them otherwise. The 20th March we departed from Port Desire, Sir Thomas being in theDesire with us. The 8th of April we fell in with the Straits ofMagellan, having sustained many furious storms between Port Desire andthe straits. The 14th we passed the first straits, and got through thesecond, ten leagues beyond the first, on the 16th. We doubled CapeFroward on the 18th, which cape is in 53° 30' S. The 21st we were forcedby a furious storm to take shelter in a small cove with our ships, fourleagues beyond the cape, and on the southern shore of the straits, wherewe remained till the 15th of May; in which time we endured muchdistress, by excessive storms, with perpetual snow, and many of our mendied of cold and famine, not having wherewithal to cover their bodiesnor to fill their bellies, but living on muscles, sea-weeds, and water, with an occasional supply of meal from the ships stores. [63] All thesick men in the galleon were most uncharitably put on shore into thewoods, exposed to the snow, the air, and the cold, which men in healthcould hardly have endured, where they ended their days in the utmostmisery, Sir Thomas remaining all this time in the Desire. [Footnote 63: It would appear that this expedition had been veryimprovidently undertaken, with a very inadequate supply of provisions, and, as will afterwards appear, of naval stores, trusting perhaps toobtain supplies from the enemy, as had been attempted in vain at Santos. Either delayed by these views, or from ignorance, the passage throughthe straits was attempted at a very improper season, three months afterthe antarctic mid-summer and during the autumnal equinoctial gales. November, December, and January are the summer months, and best fittedfor these high southern latitudes. --E. ] Seeing these great extremities of cold and snow, and doubting adisastrous end to the enterprize, Sir Thomas asked our captain'sopinion, being a person of great experience in the utmost parts of thenorth, to which he had made three voyages of discovery in the employ ofthe London merchants. Captain Davis said, that he did not expect thesnow to be of long continuance, for which he gave sufficient reasonsfrom his former experience, and hoped therefore that this might notgreatly prejudice or hinder the completion of the enterprize. Yet SirThomas called all the company together, telling them that he proposed todepart from the straits upon some other voyage, either proceeding forthe Cape of Good Hope, or back again to Brazil. The company answered, that they desired rather to wait God's favour for a wind, if he sopleased, and to submit to any hardships, rather than abandon theintended voyage, considering that they had been here only for a shorttime, and were now only forty leagues from the South Sea; yet, thoughgrieved to return, they were ready to perform whatever he pleased tocommand. So he concluded to leave the straits, and make sail for theCape of Good Hope. When Sir Thomas Candish returned on board the Desire, from talking withthe company, Captain Davis requested he would consider the extremity ofour estate and condition, the slenderness of his provision, and theweakness of his men, being in no case for undertaking that newenterprise; as, if the other ships were as ill appointed as the Desire, it would be impossible to perform his new design, having no more sailsthen were then bent, no victuals, no ground tackle, no cordage save whatwas already in use; and, of seventy-five persons in the Desire, themaster only had knowledge enough for managing the ship, and there wereonly fourteen sailors besides, all the rest being gentlemen, serving-men, or tradesmen. Captain Davis laid these persuasions beforeboth the general and Mr Cocke; and in fine, in consequence of apetition, delivered in writing by all the chief persons of the wholecompany, the general determined to depart from the Straits of Magellan, and to return again for Santos in Brazil. Accordingly, we set sail on the 15th of May, the general being now onboard the galleon, his own ship. The 18th we were free of the straits;but on passing Cape Froward, we had the misfortune to have our boat sunkat our stern in the night, by which she was split and sore injured, andlost all her oars. The 20th of May, being athwart Port Desire, thegeneral altered his course during the night, as we suppose, by which welost him. In the evening he stood close by the wind to leewards, havingthe wind at N. N. E. And we stood the same course, the wind not alteringduring the night, and next day we could not see him. We were thenpersuaded that the general was gone for Port Desire in quest of reliefor that he had sustained some mischance at sea, and was gone there toseek a remedy. Our captain then called all hands together, the general'smen among the rest, asking their opinion what was to be done, when everyone said he thought the general was gone to Port Desire. Our master, who was the general's man, and careful for his master'sservice, and also a person of good judgment in sea affairs, representedto the company how dangerous it was for us to go to Port Desire, especially if we should there miss the general; as we had now no boatwherewith to land, neither any anchors or cables which he could trust toin such rapid streams. Yet as we all concluded that it was most probablethe general had gone there, we shaped our course for Port Desire, and onour way met the Black pinnace by chance, which had also parted companyfrom the general, being in a miserable plight. So we both proceeded forPort Desire, where we arrived on the 26th of May. § 2. _Disastrous result of the Voyage to Sir Thomas Candish_. [64] Various accounts of the disappointments and misfortunes of Sir ThomasCandish, in this disastrous voyage, are still preserved, but the mostcopious is contained in his own narrative, addressed to Sir TristramGorges, whom he constituted sole executor of his will. In this, SirThomas attributes his miscarriage to the cowardice and defection of oneof his officers, in the following terms:--"The running away of thevillain Davis was the death of me, and the decay of the whole action, and his treachery in deserting me the ruin of all. " [Footnote 64: This portion of the voyage is taken from the supplement inthe Collection of Harris, to the circumnavigation of Sir ThomasCandish. --E. ] In this letter he complained also of mutinies, and that, by adversewinds at S W. And W. S. W. He had been driven 400 leagues from the shore, and from the latitude of 50° to that of 40° both S. He says also, thathe was surprised by winter in the straits, and sore vexed by storms, having such frosts and snows in May as he had never beforewitnessed, [65] so that forty of his men died, and seventy more of themsickened, in the course of seven or eight days. Davis, as he says, deserted him in the Desire, in lat. 47° S. The Roebuck continued alongwith him to lat. 36° S. In consequence of transgressing his directions, Captain Barker was slain on land with twenty-five men, and the boatlost; and soon afterwards other twenty-five men met with a similar fate. Ten others were forsaken at Spiritu Santo, by the cowardice of themaster of the Roebuck, who stole away, having six months provisions onboard for 120 men, and only forty-seven men in his ship. Another mutinyhappened at St Sebastians by the treachery of an Irishman, when MrKnivet and other six persons were left on shore. [Footnote 65: Sir Thomas Candish seems not to have been aware, that themonth of May, in these high antarctic or southern latitudes, wasprecisely analogous with November in the high latitudes of the north, and therefore utterly unfit for navigation. --E. ] Intending again to have attempted passing through the straits, he wastossed up and down in the tempestuous seas of the Southern Atlantic, andcame even at one time within two leagues of St Helena, but was unable toreach that island. In his last letter, he declares that, rather thanreturn to England after so many disasters, he would willingly have goneashore in an island placed in lat. 8° in the charts. In this letter, hestates himself to be then scarcely able to hold a pen; and we learn thathe soon afterwards died of grief. The Leicester, in which Candishsailed, came home, as did the Desire. The Black pinnace was lost; butthe fates of the Roebuck and the Dainty are no where mentioned. The miscarriage of this voyage was certainly prejudicial to the risingtrade and spirit of naval adventure in England. The ruin of Sir ThomasCandish threw a damp on such undertakings among the English gentlemen;and, on the return of these ships, several able and experienced seamenwere turned adrift, to gain their livings as they best might. Thesethorough-bred seamen went to other countries; and, as knowledge is aportable commodity, they made the best market they could of theirnautical experience in Holland and elsewhere. Among these was one MrMellish, who had been a favourite of Sir Thomas Candish, and thecompanion of all his voyages. This person offered his services to theEast India Company of Holland, then in its infancy; and, his proposalsbeing accepted, he was employed as pilot in the circumnavigation ofOliver van Noort, which falls next in order to be related. § 3. _Continuation of the Voyage of the Desire, Captain Davis, afterparting from Sir Thomas Candish_. Not finding our general at Port Desire, as we had expected, and beingvery slenderly provided, without sails, boat, oars, nails, cordage, andother necessary stores, and very short of victuals, we were reduced to avery unpleasant situation, not knowing how to proceed. Leavingourselves, however, to the providence of the Almighty, we entered theharbour, and, by the good favour of God, we found a quiet and safe road, which we knew not of before. Having moored our ship, by the help of theboat belonging to the Black pinnace, we landed on the southern shore ofthe bay, where we found a standing pool, which might contain some tentons of fresh water, by which we were greatly relieved and comforted. From this pool we took more than forty tons of water, yet left it asfull as at first. At our former visit to this harbour, we were at thisvery place and found no water, wherefore we persuaded ourselves that theAlmighty had sent this pool for our relief. We found here suchremarkably low ebbs as we had never before seen, by means of which weprocured muscles in great plenty. Providence also sent such greatabundance of smelts about our ship, that all the people were able totake as many as they could eat, with hooks made of crooked pins. Bythese means we husbanded the ship's provisions, and did not spend any ofthem during our abode at this place. Considering what was best to be done in our present circumstances, thatwe might find our general, and as it was obvious we could not refit ourship for sea in less than a month, our captain and master concluded totake the pinnace and go in search of the general, leaving the ship and aconsiderable part of the men till the return of the general, who hadvowed he would return again to the straits. Hearing of thisdetermination, two pestilent fellows, named Charles Parker and EdwardSmith, secretly represented to the men, that the captain and mastermeant to leave them to be devoured by cannibals, and had no intention tocome back; on which the whole company secretly agreed to murder thecaptain, master, and all those who were thought their friends, amongwhom I was included. This conspiracy was fortunately known to ourboatswain, who revealed it to the master, and he to the captain. Toappease this mutiny the captain found it necessary to desist from hisintentions, and it was concluded not to depart, but to wait at PortDesire for the return of the general. After this the whole company, withone consent, made a written testimonial of the circumstances by which wehad lost company of the general, and the indispensable necessity ofreturning home. In this testimony or protest, dated Port Desire, 2d June, 1592, it isrepresented, that the shrouds of the ship are all rotten, the ropes allso decayed that they could not be trusted; the sails reduced to oneshift all worn, of which the topsails were utterly unable to abide anystress of weather; the ship unprovided with pitch, tar, or nails forrepairs of any kind, and no means of supplying these wants; theprovisions reduced to five hogsheads of salt pork, and such quantity ofmeal as admitted only an allowance of three ounces for a man each day, and no drink remaining except water. This instrument is signed by JohnDavis and Randolph Cotton, the captains of the Desire and Black pinnace, and thirty-eight more, but the name John Jane, or Lane, does not appearamong them. After this, they proceeded to refit the ship with all expedition, forwhich purpose they built a smith's forge, making charcoal for itssupply, and made nails, bolts, and spikes. Others of the crew wereemployed in making ropes from a piece of cable; and others again in allthe necessary repairs of the ship, sails, and rigging; while those notfit for such offices, gathered muscles and caught smelts for the wholecompany. Three leagues from Port Desire there is an island, having foursmall isles about it, on which there are great abundance of seals, andwhere likewise penguins resort in vast numbers at the breeding season. To this island it was resolved to dispatch the Black pinnaceoccasionally, to fetch seals for us to eat, when smelts and musclesfailed, for we could get no muscles at neap-tides, and only when the ebbwas very low. In this miserable and forlorn condition we remained till the 6th ofAugust, 1592, still keeping watch on the hills to look out for ourgeneral, suffering extreme anguish and vexation. Our hope of thegeneral's return becoming very cold, our captain and master werepersuaded that he might have gone directly for the straits; wherefore itwas concluded to go there and wait his coming, as there we could notpossibly miss seeing him if he came. This being agreed to by the wholecompany, we set sail from Port Desire on the 6th August, and went toPenguin island, where we salted twenty hogsheads of seals, which was asmuch as our salt could do. We departed from Penguin island towards nightof the 7th August, intending for the straits. The 14th we were drivenamong certain islands, never before discovered, fifty leagues or betterfrom the shore, east-northerly from the straits. [66] Fortunately thewind shifted to the east, or we must have inevitably perished amongthese islands, and we were enabled to shape our course for the straits. [Footnote 66: These are doubtless the Falkland Islands, or Malouines, but to which no name seems to have been affixed on this occasion. --E. ] We fell in with the cape [Virgin] on the 18th of August, in a very thickfog, and that same night came to anchor ten leagues within the straits'mouth. The 19th we passed the first and second narrows, doubled CapeFroward on the 21st, and anchored on the 22d in a cove, or small bay, which we named _Savage Cove_, because we here found savages. Notwithstanding the excessive coldness of this place, yet do thesepeople go entirely naked, living in the woods like satyrs, painted anddisguised in a strange manner, and fled from us like so many wild deer. They were very strong and agile, and threw stones at us, of three orfour pounds weight, from an incredible distance. We departed from thiscove on the 24th in the morning, and came that same day into the N. W. Reach of the straits, which is its last or most western reach. On the25th we anchored in a good cove, within fourteen leagues of the SouthSea, where we proposed to await the return of our general, as the straitat this place is only three miles broad, and he could not possibly passunseen. After we had remained here a fortnight, in the depth of winter, ourvictuals fast consuming, and our salted seals stinking most vilely, ourmen fell sick and died pitifully, through famine and cold, as most ofthem had not clothes sufficient to defend them from the extreme rigourof winter. In this heavy distress, our captain and master thought itbest to depart from the straits into the South Sea, and to proceed forthe island of Santa Maria in lat. 37° S. On the coast of Chili, which issituated in a temperate climate, where we might find relief, and couldwait for our general, who must necessarily pass by that island. Weaccordingly set sail on the 13th September, and came in sight of theSouth Sea. The 14th we were driven back into the straits, and got into acove three leagues from the South Sea. We again stood out, and beingeight or ten leagues free of the land, the wind rose furiously at W. N. W. And we were again forced to return into the straits, not daring to trustto our sails in any stress of weather. We again got into the cove, three leagues from the eastern mouth of the straits, where we had suchviolent weather that one of our two remaining cables broke, and we werealmost in despair of saving our lives. Yet it pleased God to allay thefury of the storm, and we unreeved our sheets, tacks, halyards, andother ropes, and made fast our ship to the trees on shore, close by therocks. We laboured hard to recover our anchor again, which we could notpossibly effect, being, as we supposed, entirely covered over in theooze. We were now reduced to one anchor, which had only one whole fluke; andhad only one old cable, already spliced in two places, and a piece ofanother old cable. In this extremity of trouble it pleased God that thewind came fair on the 1st October, on which we loosed our land fastningswith all expedition, weighed our anchor, and towed off into the channel;for we had repaired our boat when in Port Desire, and got five oars fromthe Black pinnace. On weighing our anchor we found the cable sorebroken, holding only by one strand, which was a most mercifulpreservation. We now reeved our ropes and rigged our ship the best wecould, every man working as if to save our lives in the utmostextremity. Our company was now much divided in opinion as to how weshould proceed for the best; some desiring to return to Port Desire, tobe there set on shore, and endeavour to travel by land to some of theSpanish settlements, while others adhered to the captain and master: Butat length, by the persuasion of the master, who promised that they wouldfind wheat, pork, and roots in abundance at the island of St Mary, besides the chance of intercepting some ships on the coasts of Chili andPeru, while nothing but a cruel death by famine could be looked for inattempting to return by the Atlantic, they were prevailed upon toproceed. So, on the 2d of October, 1592, we again made sail into the South Sea, and got free from the land. This night the wind again began to blow verystrong at west, and increased with such violence that we were in greatdoubt what measures to pursue. We durst not put into the straits forlack of ground tackle, neither durst we carry sail, the tempest beingvery furious, and our sails very bad. In this extremity the pinnace boreup to us, informing she had received many heavy seas, and that her ropeswere continually failing, so that they knew not what to do; but, unableto afford her any relief; we stood on our course in view of a lee shore, continually dreading a ruinous end of us all. The 4th October the stormincreased to an extreme violence; when the pinnace, being to windward, suddenly _struck a hull_, when we thought she had sustained some violentshock of a sea, or had sprung a leak, or that her sails had failed, because she did not follow us. But we durst not _hull_ in thisunmerciful storm, sometimes _trying_ under our main-course, sometimeswith a _haddock_ of our sail; for our ship was very _leeward_, andlaboured hard in the sea. This night we lost sight of the pinnace, andnever saw her again. The 5th October, our foresail split, on which our master brought themizen-sail to the foremast to make the ship work, and we mended ourforesail with our spritsail. The storm still continued to rage with themost extreme fury, with hail, snow, rain, and wind, such and so mightythat it could not possibly in nature be worse; the seas running solofty, and with a continual breach, that we many times were in doubtwhether our ship did sink or swim. The 10th, the weather dark, the stormas furious as ever, most of the men having given over labour fromfatigue and in despair, and being near the lee-shore by the reckoningboth of the captain and master, we gave ourselves up for lost, past allremedy. While in this extremity of distress, the sun suddenly shone outclear, by which the captain and master were enabled to ascertain thelatitude, and thereby knew what course to steer, so as to recover thestraits. Next day, the 11th October, we saw Cape Deseado, being thesouthern point of the entrance into the straits, for the northern pointis a dangerous assemblage of rocks, shoals, and islands. The cape wasnow two leagues to leeward, and the master was even in doubt whether wemight be able to steer clear of it; but there was no remedy, as we musteither succeed or be irretrievably lost. Our master, being a man of spirit, made quick dispatch, and steered forthe straits. Our sails had not been half an hour abroad for this purposewhen the foot-rope of the fore-sail broke, so nothing held save theoilet-holes. The sea continually broke over our poop, and dashed withsuch violence against our sails, that we every moment looked to havethem torn to pieces, or that the ship would overset. To our utterdiscomfort also, we perceived that she fell still more and more toleeward, so that we could not clear the cape. We were now within half amile of the cape, and so near shore that the counter surge of the sea sorebounded against the side of our ship, that the horrors of oursituation were undescribably awful. While in this utmost extremity, thewind and the sea raging beyond measure, and momentarily expecting to bedriven upon the rocks, our master veered away some of the main-sheet:Whether owing to this, or by some counter current, or by the wonderfulinterposition of God, our ship quickened her way and shot past the rock, where we all thought she must have perished. Between this and the capethere was a small bay, so that we were now somewhat farther from theshore; but on coming to the cape, we again looked for nothing butinstant death; yet God, the father of mercy, delivered us, and wedoubled the cape little more than the length of our ship. When past thecape, we took in all our sails, and, being between the high lands, thewind _blowing trade_, or steadily in the direction of the straits, wespooned before the sea under bare poles, three men being unable tomanage the helm, and in six hours we were driven twenty-five leagueswithin the straits. In this time we freed our ship from water, and when we had rested awhile, our men became unable to move, their sinews being stiff, andtheir flesh as if dead. Many of them were so covered and eaten withlice, that there lay clusters of them in their flesh as large as peas, yea, some as big as beans. In this state of misery we were constrainedto put into a cove to refresh our men, where we moored to the trees aswe had done before, our only anchor being to seaward. We here continuedtill the 20th of October; and being unable to continue longer, throughthe extremity of famine, we again put off into the channel on the 22d, the weather being then reasonably calm. Before night the wind blew hardat W. N. W. The storm waxed so violent that our men could scarcely standto their labour; and the straits being full of turnings and windings, wehad to trust entirely to the discretion of the captain and master toguide the ship during the darkness of the night, when we could see noshore, and the straits were in some places scarcely three miles broad. When we first passed these straits, our captain made so excellent adraught of them, as I am confident cannot in any sort be made morecorrect. Which draught he and the master so carefully considered, thatthey had every turning, creek, and head-land so perfectly in theirmemory, as enabled them, even in the deepest darkness of the night, undoubtingly to convey the ship through that crooked channel. The 25th October we came to an island in the straits, named PenguineIsle, where the boat was sent ashore to seek relief, as it aboundedwith birds, and the weather was calm; so we came to anchor near theisland, in seven fathoms. While the boat was ashore, where we gotabundance of penguins, there rose a sudden storm, by which our ship wasdriven over a breach, and our boat sunk at the shore. Captain Cotton andthe lieutenant, who were both on shore, leapt into the boat, and freedit of water, throwing away the birds, and with great difficulty got backto the ship. All this time the ship was driving upon the lee-shore; andwhen we got on board, we helped to weigh the anchor and make sail. Thus, in a severe storm, we got clear of the straits on the 27th October; andon the 30th we got to that Penguin Island which is three leagues fromPort Desire, where we purposed to seek relief. Immediately on coming tothis isle, our boat was sent ashore, and returned laden with birds andeggs, the men reporting that the penguins were so thick on the isle, that even ships might be laden with them, as they could not step withouttreading on these birds; at which news we greatly rejoiced. Then the captain appointed Charles Parker and Edmund Smith, with twentyothers, to go on shore, and remain on the island, on purpose to kill anddry these penguins: promising to send others when the ship was safe inharbour, not only for expedition, but to save the small store ofvictuals that remained in the ship. But Parker and Smith, with the restof their faction, remembering that this was the place where theyintended formerly to have slain the captain and master, thought it wasmeant here to leave them on shore out of revenge, and refused to land. After some altercation, these men were allowed to proceed in the ship, and ten others were left in the island. The last day of October weentered the harbour of Port Desire. The master, having at our beingthere before taken notice of every creek in the river, ran our shipaground in a very convenient place on the sandy ooze, laying our anchorout to seawards, and mooring her with the running ropes to stakes onshore, in which situation the ship remained till our departure. The 3d November our boat was sent off for Penguin Island, with wood andwater, and as many men as she could carry; but, being deep laden, shedurst not proceed, and returned again the same night. Then Parker, Smith, Townsend, Purpet, and five others, desired that they might go byland, and that the boat might fetch them from the shore opposite theisle, being scarcely a mile across. The captain bid them do as theythought best, only advised them to carry weapons, as they might meetwith savages; so they accordingly carried calivers, swords, and targets, departing by land on the 6th November, while the boat went by sea. Butthese nine men were never more heard of. On the 11th, when most of ourmen were at the island, only the captain, master, and five moreremaining in the ship, there came a great multitude of savages to theshore beside the ship, throwing dust into the air, leaping and runningabout like so many beasts, having vizards on their faces like dogs, orelse their faces actually resembled dogs. We greatly feared they wouldhave set the ship on fire, for they would suddenly make fire, at whichwe were greatly astonished. They came to windward of the ship, and setthe bushes on fire, so that we were enveloped in a very stinking smoke;but coming within shot of us, we fired at them, and hitting one on thethigh, they all fled instantly away, and we never heard or saw themmore. Hence we judged that these savages had slain our nine men, whowere the ringleaders of those who would formerly have murdered ourcaptain and master, with the rest of their friends; so that Godevidently drew just judgment upon them, and we supplicated his divineMajesty to be merciful to us. While we lay in this harbour, our captain and master went one day in theboat to see how far the river could be penetrated, that if need enforcedus, it might be known how far we might proceed by water. They found thatthis river was only navigable by the boat for twenty miles. On theirreturn, the boat was sent to Penguin Island, by which we learnt that thepenguins dried to our entire satisfaction, and were in infinite numbers. This penguin is shaped like a bird, having stumps only in place ofwings, by which it swims under water as swiftly as any fish. They liveupon smelts, which are found in vast abundance on this coast. In eating, these penguins seem neither fish nor flesh. They lay large eggs; and thebird is about as large as two ducks. All the time we remained at PortDesire, we fared well on penguins and their eggs, young seals, younggulls, and other birds of which I know not the names, all of which wehad in vast abundance. In this place also we found plenty of an herbcalled scurvy-grass, which we eat fried in seal-oil along with eggs, which so purified the blood, that it entirely removed all kind ofswellings, of which many had died, and restored us all to as perfecthealth as when we first left England. We remained in this harbour till the 22d of December, 1592, in whichtime we had dried 20, 000 penguins. In this time also the captain, withthe master and I, made some salt, by filling some holes in the rockswith sea-water, which in six days was changed to salt by evaporation, itbeing now Midsummer in this southern hemisphere. Thus did God feed us inthe desert, even as with manna from heaven. The 22d December we departedfrom Port Desire for Penguin island, where, with great difficulty, wegot 14, 000 of the dried birds on board, during which we had nearly lostour captain; and had not our master been very expert in the set of thetides, which ran in many cross directions, we had lost our ship. We now shaped our course for Brazil, under a regulated allowance ofprovisions, so that our victuals might last six months, in which time wehoped we might get back to England, though our sails were very bad. Thisallowance was, two ounces and a half of meal for each man, two days onlyin the week, or five ounces for a week; three days a week, threespoonfulls of oil were allowed to each man; two days a week, a pint ofpeas among four men; and every day five dried penguins among four men, with six quarts of water each day to four men. With this allowance, praised be God, we lived, though weak and feeble. The 30th January, 1593, we arrived at the isle of Placencia, or IlhaGrande, in Brazil, the first place at which we touched when outwardsbound. The ship laying off at sea, the captain went aland in the boatwith twenty-four men, being the whole night before he could reach theshore. He landed next day at sun-rise, hoping to catch the Portuguese intheir houses, and by that means to procure a supply of casava meal; buton coming to the houses, we found them all burnt to the ground, so thatwe thought no one had remained on the island. The captain then went tothe gardens, whence he brought a quantity of fruits and roots for thecompany, and returned on board. He then brought the ship into a finecreek, where she was moored to the trees on each side, at a place wherewe had plenty of fresh water. Our case being very desperate, wepresently set to work to trim and repair our water-casks, the coopersmaking new hoops; while others laboured to repair the sails, keepingalways a guard on shore, and every man having always his weapons readyat hand. The 3d February, thirty men well armed went to the gardens, three miles from where the ship lay, to dig cassavi-roots, to serve ourcompany instead of bread. This was again repeated on the 5th. Theylaboured in quietness all the morning; and about ten o'clock, the heatbeing extreme, they came to a rock near the side of the wood, where theyboiled cassavi-roots for dinner. After dinner, some went to sleep, andothers to bathe in the sea, no one keeping watch, not a match lighted, nor even a piece charged. While in this unprovided state, and out ofsight from the ship, there came suddenly upon them a multitude ofPortuguese and Indians, who slew them all to the number of thirteen, twoonly escaping, one of these very sore hurt, and the other not touched, from whom we learnt the circumstances of this sad massacre. We manned the boat with all speed, and went ashore, if happily we mightsuccour our men; but we found them all slain, and laid naked in a row, with their faces upwards, and a cross set up beside them. We saw alsotwo large pinnaces coming from Rio de Janeiro, full of men, who, as wesupposed, were intended to take us. We were now much reduced, as ofseventy-six persons we had on board when we left England, there were nowonly twenty-seven of us remaining, thirty-two having died formerly, andthirteen being slain in this place. Between those formerly slain by thesavages at Port Desire, and those now in the island of Placencia by thePortuguese, all those who had conspired to murder our captain and masterwere now cut off, the gunner only excepted. Our casks were so greatlydecayed, that we could not take in a sufficient supply of water, andwhat we had was exceedingly bad. Having lost several muskets on shore, which had belonged to our slain men, with good store of powder and shot, we expected to be beaten from our decks by means of our own weapons, bythe Portuguese on the island, joined by those coming from Janeiro: andas we were moored to the trees, for want of cables and anchors, we werein dread of having our mooring ropes cut. In this miserable state weknew not what measures to pursue. To depart with only eight tons of badwater, and in bad casks, were to run the risk of starving at sea, and toremain seemed inevitable ruin. These were severe alternatives; but inour perplexity we preferred trusting to the hand of God than to themercy of our enemies, and concluded to depart. Wherefore, on the 6thFebruary, we unmoored and removed our ship into the channel, putting allour ordnance and small arms in readiness in case of an assault, andhaving a small gale of wind, we put to sea in deep distress. Thus bemoaning our sad estate, and recounting our past misfortunes, wecame to Cape Frio; being much crossed for three weeks by contrary winds, and our water running short, we were reduced to the utmost distress andperplexity. Some of the people were desirous of going into Bahia, andsubmitting to the Portuguese, rather than die of thirst; but our captainpersuaded them against this measure. In this extremity, it pleased Godto send us such abundant rain, that we were enabled to supply ourselveswith water. On getting into the hot climate near the line, our driedpenguins began to corrupt, and there bred in them many loathsome worms, an inch in length. These worms increased with astonishing rapidity, devouring our victuals so fast that we now seemed doomed to die offamine, as before of thirst We were even in danger of being eaten up bythese worms, which devoured every thing except iron. They so gnawed thetimbers of our ship, that we feared they would eat holes through hersides. We used every possible contrivance to destroy these noisomevermin, but they seemed only to increase so much the more, so that atlast they would eat our flesh, and bite us like mosquitoes when we wereasleep. In this woeful plight, after we had passed the equator towards thenorth, our men began to fall sick of a most terrible disease, such as, Ibelieve, was never before heard of. It began with a swelling in theirankles, which in two days rose up as high as their breasts, so that theycould not breathe. It then fell into the scrotum, which, with the penis, swelled in a most grievous manner, so that they could neither stand, walk, nor lie; and many of them became frantic with grief and distress. Our captain, with extreme distress of mind, was in so miserable acondition, that he wished to die; yet, while scarcely able to speak forsorrow, he continued to exhort us all to patience and reliance on God, desiring us to accept our chastisement like dutiful and thankfulchildren. In this state of misery and wretchedness, several died ravingmad, and others in a most loathsome state, or in dreadful pain andagony. None in the ship remained in perfect health, except the captainand one boy; the master also, though oppressed with extreme labour andanxiety, bore up with spirit, so that his disease did not overcome him. At length all our men died except sixteen, five only of whom were ableto move. These were, the captain, who was in good health, the masterindifferent, Captain Cotton and myself swollen and short-winded, yetbetter than the other sick men, and the boy in good health. Upon us fivethe whole labour of the ship rested. The captain and master, as happenedto be necessary, took in and left out the topsails. The master byhimself attended to the sprit-sail, and all of us the capstan, beingutterly unable to work sheets and tacks. Our misery and weakness were soextreme, that we were utterly unable to take in or set a sail; so thatour top-sails and sprit-sail were at length torn in pieces by theweather. The captain and master had to take their turns at the helm, where they were inexpressibly grieved and distressed by the continualand sad lamentations of our few remaining sick men. Thus lost wanderers on the ocean, unable to help ourselves, it pleasedGod, on the 11th of June, 1593, that we arrived at Beerhaven in Ireland, and ran the ship there on shore. The Irish helped us to take in oursails, and to moor the ship so as to float her off next tide; for whichslender aid it cost the captain ten pounds, before he could get the shipinto a state of safety. Thus, without men, sails, victuals, or othermeans, God alone guided us into Ireland. Here the captain left themaster and three or four more of the company to keep the ship; andwithin five days after our arrival, he and some others got a passage ina fishing-boat to Padstow in Cornwall. For the merciful preservation ofthis our small remnant, and our restoration to our country, be allhonour and glory to God, now and for ever. --_Amen_. CHAPTER IV. VOYAGE OF OLIVER VAN NOORT ROUND THE WORLD IN 1598--1601. [67] * * * * * INTRODUCTION. The inhabitants of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, after theirseparation from the Spanish monarchy, found themselves extremely at aloss for means to supply the expences of the long and vigorous war inwhich they were engaged for the defence of their liberties. This gavethem the more uneasiness, as their great enemy, Philip II. Carried onthe war against them, more by the length of his purse than the force ofhis arms, and because the riches, of the Spanish monarchy were derivedfrom sources of commerce and colonization that were prohibited to them, even if they had submitted themselves to the yoke of Spain. The sense, therefore, of these difficulties, joined to the vast advantages theywere likely to reap by overcoming them, induced the government andpeople of Holland to prosecute the advancement of trade in general withthe greatest vigour, and particularly to establish a commercialintercourse with the East and West Indies, the great sources of wealthto their tyrannical oppressor and enemy, from whom they had revolted. [Footnote 67: Harris, I. 31. --Two editions of this voyage were publishedin Dutch, both in folio; one at Rotterdam without date; and the other atAmsterdam in 1602. _Bib, Univer. Des Voyages_, I. 115. ] Among other inducements to this course of proceeding, they were not alittle encouraged by the progress made by their neighbours, the English;seeing that even private persons, and with a small force, had been ableto disquiet the Spaniards exceedingly; and had at the same time acquiredgreat riches to themselves. Another cause of attempting expeditions likethe present, was their having failed in their first scheme of finding anew passage to the East Indies, than that with which the Spaniards andPortuguese were acquainted, which they had often and unsuccessfullyendeavoured to explore by the north-east, with great hazard and expence. Their first voyages to the East Indies proving more fortunate even thanthey themselves had expected, they were tempted to proceed farther, andto distress their enemies likewise in the South Sea, which hitherto hadonly been done by the English. The distressed states of Holland, however, were not hitherto sopowerful at sea as to attempt acting offensively against the king ofSpain on that element; but contented themselves with giving power andauthority to any of their subjects who were inclined to venture uponexpeditions of this nature, at their own risk and expence, so as at thesame time to join their own private advantage with the public good, byfitting out squadrons for these distant and hazardous voyages. Thispolicy, though arising in some measure from necessity, was conductedwith such wisdom and address, that the king of Spain soon found himselfmore distressed by the armaments of the Dutch merchants, than by all theforces of the United States. This is a plain proof; that the surest wayto render any government powerful, is to interest the people in generalin its support: For this raises such spirit among them, and is followedby such unexpected consequences, as no art or force can withstand. In the beginning of the year 1598, some eminent merchants in the unitedprovinces, among whom were Peter van Bueren, Hugo Gerritz, and JohnBennick, formed a design of sending some stout ships through the Straitsof Magellan into the South Sea, to cruise against the Spaniards; towhich design they were chiefly instigated by the reports of many Englishseamen, who had served in these parts, under Drake, Candish, andHawkins, and other experienced officers. The purpose of the presentexpedition, was to cruise upon the coasts belonging to the Spaniards, and to force the enemy of peace to bear the expences of those wars inwhich he obliged other people unwillingly to engage. They also proposedby it to gain nautical experience, if it should be found practicable tocontinue the voyage by the Philippines, and so round by the Cape of GoodHope, circumnavigating the globe. As the success of this important enterprise greatly depended upon thechoice of a _general_, for so in those days the Dutch, and most othernations, denominated the commander in chief, whether by sea or land, theadventurers took great care to provide themselves with a person ofestablished character, both in regard to conduct and courage. The personchosen on this occasion was Oliver van Noort, a native of Utrecht, inthe flower of his age, and who had a strong passion to acquire glory. Tohim they communicated their scheme, which he readily embraced; and theirterms being speedily adjusted, they proceeded to fit out two stoutvessels one named the Maurice, and the other the Henry Frederick, together with two yachts, railed the Concord and the Hope, the wholebeing manned by 248 persons of all ranks and conditions. Of this small fleet, Oliver van Noort was appointed admiral, and sailedin the Maurice; James Claas van Ulpenda was captain of the HenryFrederick, with the title of vice-admiral, Captain Peter van Lintcommanded the Concord, and John Huidecoope was captain of the Hope. These were all men of experience in sea affairs, and capable ofmaintaining their authority on all occasions, and were all interested inthe success of the voyage, by means of shares in the outfit; a properprecaution then, and ever since usual among the Dutch in all such cases, to prevent their expeditions from suffering by private views, or want ofhearty concurrence in their officers: which, among other nations, isoften the cause of failure, and for which this method is, perhaps, theonly cure. All things being in readiness, and crews provided for all the vessels, the proprietors presented a petition to the Board of Admiralty ofRotterdam, upon which all who were concerned were summoned to compeer:and, on the 28th June, 1598, the rules and regulations for thegovernment of all concerned in this expedition, having been previouslydrawn up by the company of adventurers, revised by the admiralty andapproved of by the Stadtholder, Prince Maurice, were publicly read overto them, and every man sworn to obey them. These sailing orders arecalled Artykelbreefs by the Dutch, and are never suffered to be put inforce, till they have received this kind of sanction from the state, when they become the law of the voyage, to which all concerned aresubject, and must undergo the penalties contained in them, for breach ofany of the articles. This circumstance is worthy of remark and imitationby other nations, and is a strong proof of the care paid by thatrepublic to the commercial welfare of its citizens. SECTION I. _Narrative of the Voyage_. On the 13th of September, 1598, the Maurice and Concord sailed from theport of Gocree; and, being joined by the Henry Frederick and Hope, fromAmsterdam, the whole fleet proceeded for Plymouth, where their Englishpilot, Mr Mellish, who had been the companion of Sir Thomas Candish inhis navigations, was to take in his apparel and other necessaries. Theysailed from Plymouth on the 21th September, the wind then blowing afresh gale at N. E. Next morning, being out of the channel, theyperceived that the boat belonging to the vice-admiral was missing, inwhich were six men, which gave them considerable uneasiness, insomuchthat they had some intention of returning to Plymouth in search of them. They met, however, with an English privateer, which soon made them altertheir intentions; by assuring them that their men had run away with theboat, and could not be recovered, on which they resolved to proceed ontheir voyage. At this time considerable jealousies sprung up, respectingthe capacity and conduct of the vice-admiral, which were soon increasedby his losing his other boat and one man, and which could not berecovered by all their care. This carelessness occasioned much murmuringand discontent among the seamen, which the vice-admiral daily increasedby his haughty behaviour, and by his contempt for advice, which no manneeded more than he. The 4th October, they met a small fleet of English, Dutch, and Frenchships, returning from Barbary, from whom they had accounts of a terriblepestilence then raging in that country, which had swept away 250, 000persons in a very short space of time. The 6th, they came between theislands of Teneriff and Grand Canary, and on the 3d November, they camein sight of the coast of Guinea. December 4th they were off Cape Palma, in lat. 3° 30' N. [68] and on the 10th came in sight of Princes Island, in lat. 1° N. [69] Sending their boats ashore to this island, carrying aflag of truce, they were met on the shore by a negro, bearing a similarflag, from whom they demanded a supply of provisions, which was accordedon fair and friendly terms; but, while settling the terms, they weresuddenly surprised by a party from an ambush, which cut off several ofthem, one of whom was Mr Mellish, their English pilot. The Portuguesepursued them to their boats, which they briskly attached, killing theadmiral's brother, and had nearly captured the whole party. In revengeof this outrage, it was determined in a council of war to attack thecastle; but finding this enterprize too hazardous, they contentedthemselves with burning all the sugar ingenios. After this exploit, having provided themselves with fresh water, they set sail on the 17th. [Footnote 68: Cape Formosa is probably here meant, which is in 4° 18'N. --E. ] [Footnote 69: The latitude of Princes Island is 1° 40' N. --E. ] They reached Cape Gonçalves on the 25th, where the wind usually blowsfrom the land all night, and from the sea all day. Here they found twoDutch ships, which informed them of the loss of Captain Sleerhagen andmost of his company at Princes Island; as also of the voyage of PeterVerhagen, who had entered the river of Congo, and had afterwards buriedthirty-eight of his company at Cape Gonçalves, whence he had gone sometime before their arrival to Annobon. January 1st, 1589, they passed the island of Annobon, in lat. 2° S. [1°30' S. ] and on the 28th of that month had the sun in their zenith. The5th of March they reached Cape St Thomas on the coast of Brazil, in lat. 22° S. [21° 15']. The 6th they passed Cape Fair, and came that eveningto Cape Frio, and on the 9th reached Rio de Janeiro. After some loss oftime, and having several of their men cut off by their grand enemy thePortuguese, they went to the island of St Sebastian, in lat. 24° S. Where the comforts of a good harbour, plenty of fresh water, and anabundant supply of wood gave them much satisfaction; but no fruits wereto be had at that season. They encountered a heavy storm on the 14th of March, by which thevice-admiral and the Hope were separated from the admiral, but they metagain on the 17th. The scurvy now began to make rapid progress among thecompany; which, together with the approach of the antarctic winter, determined them to put in at St Helena. Missing that island, they nextendeavoured to fall in with the island of Ascension, or some otherisland where they might procure refreshments; but their hard fortunebrought them to a very barren and desolate island in the lat. Of 20° 30'S. [70] where they could procure no refreshments, except a few fowlscalled _Malle Mewen, _[71] which they knocked down with clubs. [Footnote 70: The island of Trinidad is nearly in the indicatedlatitude. --E. ] [Footnote 71: These were probably young unfledged sea-gulls, called inprovincial English _Malls, Maws_, and _Mews, _ not unlike the Dutch namesin the text; where perhaps we ought to read Malle _or_ Mewen. --E. ] Soon leaving this inhospitable place, they put to sea again, and on the1st of June, while endeavouring to reach Ascension, they got back to thecoast of Brazil. Not being suffered to land any where on the continent, they sailed to the isle of Santa Clara, an island of about a mile round, and as much from the continent, in lat. 21° 15' S. This island affordedlittle else beyond herbs, but they found here a sour fruit resemblingplums, which cured all their sick men in fifteen days. They sailed fromthence for Port Desire, in lat 47° 40' S. On the 16th June, and reachedthat place on the 20th September, after enduring much bad weather. Theyprocured abundance of penguins and fish, at an island three miles southfrom Port Desire; killing to the number of 50, 000 penguins, which arenearly as large as geese, and procured a vast quantity of their eggs, bywhich their people were greatly refreshed, and the sick restored. Goingup the river on the 5th October, and landing in the country, they foundanimals resembling stags, together with buffaloes, and ostriches ingreat numbers, and even found some of the nests of these birds, in whichwere as far as nineteen eggs. The 20th, the admiral went ashore to viewthe country, leaving orders with those who were left in charge of theboats, not to leave them a moment on any account: But they, having amind also to see the country, ventured upon a short ramble, when theyfell into an ambush of the savages, who slew three of their number, andwounded the fourth. These savages were very tall portly men, painted, and armed with short bows, and arrows headed with stone. Leaving Port Desire on the 29th September, they reached Cape Virgin atthe entrance into the Straits of Magellan on the 24th November. The landhere is low and plain, and from the whiteness of the coast somewhatresembles the chalk cliffs of England in the channel. In many attemptsto enter the straits, they were beaten back by tempests of wind, accompanied by rain, hail, and snow. They lost their anchors, and broketheir cables, and sickness, together with contention, which is worsethan any disease, were added to their other calamities. All these soretarded the progress of the voyage, that it was near fifteen monthsafter leaving Holland before they could make their way into the straits. They observed the land to trend from Cape Virgin to the S. W. And themouth of the straits to be fourteen miles distant from that cape, andhalf a mile wide. [72] On the 25th November, they saw some men on twoislands near Cape Nassau, who shook their weapons at the Hollanders, asin defiance. The Dutch landed, and pursued the savages into a cave, which they bravely defended to the last man, and were all slain on thespot. Going now into this dark cave, the Dutch found the women andchildren of the slain savages, when the mothers, expecting present deathto themselves and their infants, covered their little ones with theirown bodies, as if determined to receive the first stab. But the Dutchdid them no other injury, except taking away four boys and two girls, whom they carried on ship board. [Footnote 72: These must necessarily be Dutch miles, 15 to the degree, each equal to nearly 4. 66 English miles. By the mouth of the straits inthe text, must be understood what is called the Narrows of theHope. --E. ] From one of these boys, after he had learnt the Dutch language, they hadthe following intelligence. The larger of the two islands was named_Castemme_ by the natives, and the tribe inhabiting it _Enoo_. Thesmaller island was called _Talche_. Both were frequented by greatnumbers of penguins, the flesh of which served the natives as food, andtheir skins for cloathing. Their only habitations were caves. Theneighbouring continent abounded in ostriches, which they also used asfood. The natives of these dreary regions were distinguished intotribes, each having their respective residences. The _Kemenetes_ dweltin _Kaesay;_ the _Kennekin_ in _Karamay_; the _Karaiks_ in _Morina_: Allthese are of the ordinary size, but broad-breasted, and painted allover; the men tying up their pudenda in a string, and the women coveringtheir parts of shame with the skins of a penguin; the men wearing theirhair long, while that of the women was kept very short; and both sexesgoing naked, except cloaks made of penguin skins, reaching only to thewaist. There was also a fourth tribe, called _Tirimenen_, dwelling in_Coin_, who were of a gigantic stature, being ten or twelve feethigh, [73] and continually at war with the other tribes. [Footnote 73: This absurdity might be pardoned in the ignorant savageboy, who knew neither numerals nor measures; but in the grave reportersit is truly ridiculous, and yet the lie has been renewed almost down tothe close of the eighteenth century. --E. ] The 28th November, the navigators went over to the continent, or northside of the straits, seeing some whales at a distance, and observed apleasant river, about which were some beautiful trees with many parrots. Owing to this fine prospect, they called the mouth of this river _SummerBay_. The 29th they made sail for _Port Famine_, where the land trendsso far to the south, that the main land of Patagonia and the islands ofTerra del Fuego seemed, when seen afar off, to join together. They foundhere no remains of the late city of King Philip, except a heap ofstones. The straits are here four miles wide, having hills of vastheight on both sides, perpetually covered with snow. At Port Famine theycut down wood to build a boat, and found the bark of the trees to be hotand biting like pepper. [74] Not finding good water at this place, andindeed doubting if it were Port Famine, they proceeded onwards, andfound a good river two miles farther west on the 1st December. Next daythey doubled Cape Froward, with some danger, on account of bad anchorageand contrary winds. [Footnote 74: The Wintera aromatica, the bark of which is calledWinter's bark, said to have been first discovered by Captain Winter in1567, on the coast of Terra Magellanica. The sailors employed this barkas a spice, and found it salutary in the scurvy. --E. ] Passing four miles beyond this cape, they anchored in a large bay, wherewas a plant resembling sneezwort, which they found serviceable in thescurvy; also another plant, which rendered those who eat of itdistracted for a time. They here fell in with two ships belonging to thefleet under Verhagen, which had been driven back out of the South Sea, one of which was commanded by Sebaldt de Weert, who told them he hadbeen five months in the straits, and had only thirty-eight remainingout of 110 men, and not being able to bear up against the storms in theSouth Sea, had been forced to put in here, while the rest of the fleetunder Verhagen held on their course. [75] These ships wished to havejoined the expedition under Van Noort, but were forced to remain in thestraits for want of provisions, which the others could not spare. Theyafterwards got back to Holland on the 13th July, 1600. [Footnote 75: The voyage of Verhagen, or so much of it rather as relatesto the adventures of Sebaldt de Weert, follows the present voyage of VanNoort in the Collection by Harris, vol. I. Pp. 37-44; and is, therefore, retained in the same situation on the present occasion. --E. ] Van Noort and his ships left this bay on the 2d January, 1600, directingtheir course for Maurice bay, which they found to extend far to theeastwards, and to receive several rivers, the mouths of which werefilled with vast quantities of ice, which seemed never to melt. It wasnow near midsummer of this southern clime, and the ice was so thick thatthey could not find its bottom with a line of ten fathoms. The land hereseemed a congeries of broken islands, yet appearing like one continuedmass, owing to the height of the mountains. They were here muchdistressed by hunger and continual rains, and two of their men wereslain by the savages, while gathering muscles, which formed their chiefsubsistence. After weathering many storms in _Meniste_ bay, and havingseveral encounters with the savages, they set sail on the 17th, and weredriven into Penguin bay, or Goose bay, three miles from Meniste bay, andreceiving its name from the vast multitude of penguins found there. Atthis place, James Claas van Ulpenda, the vice-admiral, was arraignedbefore a council of war, for various breaches of the articles sworn tobefore proceeding on the voyage. Having a fair trial, and sufficienttime allowed him for his defence, he was condemned to be turned ashorein the straits, with a small supply of provisions, and allowed to shiftfor himself among the wild beasts and more savage inhabitants, whichsentence was accordingly executed, so that he doubtless soon fell a preyeither to hunger or the natives, who are implacable enemies to allstrangers. They entered another bay on the 1st February, which they called Popishbay, probably owing to some cross erected on its shore, and in whichthey were exposed to much danger. On the 27th, they saw at a distance ahuge mountain of ice in Penguin bay. The 28th they passed Cape Deseado, or Desire, into the South Sea, bidding adieu to the many dismalprospects of the Straits of Magellan. Their company, originally 248 men, was now reduced to 147, but was soon still farther lessened by losingcompany of the Henry Frederick, which never rejoined. Waiting for thatship in vain till the 12th March, they sailed to the island of Mocha onthe coast of Chili, in lat. 38° 22' S. And six miles [twenty English]from the continent. This island is remarkable by a high mountain in themiddle, which is cloven at the top, and whence a water-course descendsinto the vale land at its foot. They here bartered knives and hatchetswith the natives for sheep, poultry, maize, _bartulas_, [76] and otherfruits. The town consisted of about fifty straw huts, where the Dutchwere regaled with a sour kind of drink, called _cici_, made of maizsteeped in water, which is the favourite drink of the Chilese at theirfeasts. Polygamy is much practised among these people, who buy as manywives as they can afford to maintain; so that a man who has manydaughters, especially if they be handsome, is accounted rich. If one mankill another, he is judged by the relations of the deceased, as theyhave no laws or magistrates among them, so that the murderer maysometimes buy off his punishment by giving a drinking-bout of _cici_. Their cloathing is manufactured from the wool of a large kind of sheep, which animal they also employ to carry burdens. They would not sell anyof these, but parted freely with another kind, not very different. [Footnote 76: This probably means battatas or potatoes, a nativeproduction of Chili. --E. ] From thence they went to the island of St Mary, in lat. 37° S. Eighteenmiles [ninety-five English] from Mocha, where they fell in with aSpanish ship carrying lard and meal from Conception to Valdivia inAraucania, which they chased and took. The pilot of this ship informedthem that they would not be able to return to the island of St Mary, owing to the south wind, and that two Spanish ships of war were waitingfor them at Arica. Upon this information they resolved to sail forValparaiso, and by that means quite lost all chance of being rejoined bythe Henry Frederick, which might otherwise have got up with them. Besides, they concluded that the missing ship had failed to find StMary's isle, owing to its being wrong placed in the map of Plancius, inlat. 38° S. Which error they themselves had fallen into, had they notbeen set right by the observations of Mr Mellish. They were fartherconfirmed in the resolution of not returning to the island of St Mary, by hearing of the misfortune which had there befallen Simon de Cordes, who was there butchered with twenty-three of his men, after beinginvited on shore in a friendly manner by the Indians, owing to thetreachery of the Spaniards endeavouring to get possession of his twoships, and sending intelligence to Lima and all about the country of thearrival of the Dutch in these seas, with a list of their ships, and thenames of all their commanders. For these reasons they proceeded toValparaiso, where they took two ships and killed some Indians, but allthe Spaniards escaped on shore. Valparaiso is in lat. 35° 5' S. Andabout eighteen miles inland, [100 English miles] is the town of St Jago, abounding in red wine and sheep. They kill these animals merely for thesake of their tallow, with which alone they load many vessels. Here theyreceived letters from the captain of the Flying Hart, one of thesquadron under Verhagen, who had been treacherously captured by theSpaniards; owing, as he alleged, to the wrong placement of the island ofSt Mary in the map, by which he had been misled. At Valparaiso they intercepted some letters giving an account of thewars in Chili between the Spaniards and the Indians, who it seems werein rebellion, had sacked the town of Valdivia, putting vast numbers ofSpaniards to the sword, and carrying off many captives. They burnt thehouses and churches, knocking off the heads of the popish images, crying, "Down go the gods of the Spaniards. " They then crammed themouths of these images with gold, bidding them satisfy themselves withthat, for the sake of which their votaries had committed so manybarbarous massacres of their nation. They afterwards laid close siege tothe city of Imperial, and had almost starved the Spanish garrison into asurrender. The valiant Indians who undertook this enterprise were about5000, of whom 5000 were cavalry, 100 were armed with muskets, and 70 hadcorslets, all of which were plunder they had taken from the Spaniards. They so mortally hate the Spaniards, that they rip up the breasts of allthey overcome, tearing out their hearts with their teeth, and theydelight to drink their favourite liquor from a cup made of a Spaniard'sskull. These Indians [the Araucans] are for the most part very stout, andskilful soldiers, and commit the management of all their militaryaffairs to the direction of one supreme general, whose orders areimplicitly obeyed. Their method of election to this high dignity is verysingular; for he who carries a certain log of wood on his shoulders thelongest, and with the smallest appearance of weariness, is salutedgeneral by the army. In this trial several carried the log four, five, and six hours; but at length one carried it twenty-four hours on end, and this person was now general. The whole of Chili, from St Jago toValdivia, is one of the most fertile and most delightful countries inthe world. It abounds in all kinds of cattle and fruit, has many richgold mines, and its climate is so sweet and salubrious as to exclude theuse of medicine, being health and life in itself. They entered the bay of Guasco[77] on the 1st April, where they remainedtill the 7th. The 11th they came into a large bay, named _Moro Gorch_, in lat. 18° 30' S. Ten miles from which is _Moro Moreno_, from which theshore runs to Arica, and all this coast, up to the hill of St Francis, is very much subject to south winds, though the adjoining seas have thewinds variable and uncertain. On the 20th the whole air was darkened byan _Arenal_ which is a cloud of dust, and so thick that one cannot see astone's throw. These are raised by the wind from the adjoining shore, and are very common in these parts. The 25th they were within view ofthe famous city of Lima in Peru. At this time they learnt the value ofthe treasure of which the Spaniards had deprived them, in the ships theytook on the coast of Chili. Nicholas Peterson, the captain of one ofthese prizes, acquainted Van Noort that he had been informed by a negroof a great quantity of gold having been on board the ship, as hebelieved to the amount of three tons, having helped to carry a greatpart of it on board. On this information the admiral closely examinedthe Spanish pilot, who at first denied all knowledge of any gold; butanother negro having corroborated the information, with some farthercircumstances, the pilot at last owned that they had on board fifty-twochests, each containing four arobas of gold, and besides these 500 barsof the same metal, weighing from eight to ten and twelve pounds each;all of which, together with what private stock belonged to any of thecompany, the captain had ordered to be thrown overboard in the night, when first chased, amounting in the whole to about 10, 200 pounds weightof gold; and, from its fineness, worth about two million pieces ofeight, or Spanish silver dollars. Upon this the admiral ordered the shipand all the prisoners to be searched, but there was only found a singlepound of gold dust, tied up in a rag, in the breeches pocket of theSpanish pilot. The prisoners owned that all this gold was brought fromthe island of St Mary, from mines discovered only three years before;and that there were not more than three or four Spaniards on thatisland, and about 200 Indians, only armed with bows and arrows. [Footnote 77: Perhaps Huasco in lat. 28° 27' S. Or it may possibly havebeen Guacho, in 25° 50' S. --E. ] The 5th September they came in sight of the Ladrones, and came on the16th to Guam, one of these an island of about twenty Dutch miles inextent, and yielding fish, cocoa-nuts, bananas, and sugar canes, all ofwhich the natives brought to the ships in a great number of canoes. Sometimes they met 200 of these canoes at one time, with four or fivemen in each, bawling out _hiero, hiero, _ meaning iron; and often intheir eagerness they run their canoes against the ships, overturningthem and losing all their commodities. These islanders were a sly subtlepeople, and honest with good looking after; for otherwise, they wouldsell a basket of cocoa-nut shells covered over with a small quantity ofrice, as if full of rice. They would also snatch a sword from itsscabbard, and plunge instantly into the water, where they dived like somany ducks; and the women were as roguish as the men, stealing asimpudently, and diving as expertly to carry off their prizes. The 17th of September they sailed for the Philippines; and on the 20ththey met with ice, though then only in the latitude of 3° N. [78] On the16th October they came to Bayla bay, in a very fertile land, at whichplace they procured abundance of all kinds of necessaries for theirships, by pretending to be Spaniards. The Spaniards, who are lords here, make the Indians pay an annual capitation tax, to the value of tensingle rials for every one above twenty years of age. The natives ofthese islands are mostly naked, having their skins marked with figuresso deeply impressed, [_tatooed_] that they never wear out. Beingdiscovered to be Dutch, but not till they had gained their ends, theysailed for the Straits of Manilla, all the coasts near which appearedwaste, barren, and rocky. Here a sudden squall of wind from the S. E. Carried away some of their masts and sails, being more furious than anythey had hitherto experienced during the voyage. The 23d some of thepeople went ashore, where they eat palmitoes and drank water sogreedily, that they were afterwards seized with the dysentery. The 24ththey entered the straits, sailing past an island in the middle, and camein the evening past the island of Capul, seven miles within the straits, near which they found whirlpools, where the sea was of an unfathomabledepth, so far as they could discover. [Footnote 78: This surely is an error for 18°, Guam being in lat. 18°20' N. Yet even here, the fact of meeting ice so far within the tropicis sufficiently singular. --E. ] They now crowded sail for Manilla, which is eighty miles from Capul, butwanted both a good wind to carry them, and good maps and a skilful pilotto direct them to that place. The 7th November they took a junk fromChina, laden with provisions for Manilla. The master of this junk toldthem there were then at Manilla two great ships, that come every yearfrom New Spain, and a Dutch ship also which had been brought fromMalacca. He said also that the town of Manilla was walled round, havingtwo forts for protecting the ships, as there was a vast trade to thatplace from China, not less than 400 junks coming every year fromChincheo, with silk and other valuable commodities, between Easter andDecember. There were also two ships expected shortly from Japan, ladenwith iron and other metals, and provisions. The 15th they took twobarks, laden with hens and hogs, being part of the tribute to theSpaniards, but became food to the Dutch, who gave them a few bolts oflinen in return. They passed the islands of _Bankingle_ and _Mindoro_, right over againstwhich is the island of _Lou-bou_. At the distance of two miles, andbetween both is another small island, beside which there is a safepassage for ships. The island of Luzon is larger than England andScotland, [79] and has a numerous cluster of small islands round aboutit; yet is more beholden to trade for its riches, than to the goodnessof its soil. While at anchor, in 15° N. Waiting for the ships said to becoming from Japan, Van Noort took one of them on the 1st December, beinga vessel of fifty tons, which had been twenty-five days on her voyage. Her form was very strange, her forepart being like a chimney, and herfurniture corresponding to her shape; as her sails were made of reeds, her anchors of wood, and her cables of straw. Her Japanese mariners hadtheir heads all close shaven, except one tuft left long behind, which isthe general custom of that country. The 9th, they took two barks, oneladen with cocoa wine and arrack, and the other with hens and rice. [Footnote 79: Luzon is certainly a large island, but by no means such asrepresented in the text. --E. ] The 14th of December they met the two Spanish ships returning fromManilla to New Spain, on which a very sharp engagement took place. Overpowered by numbers, the Dutch in the ship of Van Noort were reducedto the utmost extremity, being at one time boarded by the Spaniards, andalmost utterly conquered; when Van Noort, seeing all was lost without amost resolute exertion, threatened to blow up his ship, unless his menfought better and beat off the Spaniards. On this, the Dutch crew foughtwith such desperate resolution, that they cleared their own ship, andboarded the Spanish admiral, which at last they sunk outright. In thisaction the Dutch admiral had five men slain, and twenty-six wounded, thewhole company being now reduced to thirty-five men. But several hundredsof the Spaniards perished, partly slain in the fight, and partly drownedor knocked in the head after the battle was over. But the Dutch losttheir pinnace, which was taken by the Spanish vice-admiral; and this wasnot wonderful, considering that she had only twenty-five men to fightagainst five hundred Spaniards and Indians. After this action, Van Noort made sail for the island of Borneo, thechief town of which island is in lat. 5° N. While Manilla, the capitalof Luçon, is in lat. 15° N. On the way to Borneo, they passed the islandof _Bolutam_, [Palawan or Paragua, ] which is 180 miles in length fromN. E. To S. W. They came to Borneo on the 26th December, putting into agreat bay, three miles in compass, where there was good anchorage, andabundance of fish in a neighbouring river, and the fishermen alwaysready to barter their fish for linen. Van Noort sent a message to theking, desiring leave to trade; but suspecting them to be Spaniards, hewould come to no terms till his officers had examined them with theutmost attention, after which they had trade for pepper with a peoplecalled _Pattannees_, of Chinese origin. Both these and the nativeBorneans were fond of Chinese cotton cloth, but the linen from Hollandwas a mere drug, and quite unsaleable. In the mean time, the Borneanslaid a plot to surprise the ship; for which purpose, on the 1st January, 1601, they came with at least an hundred praws full of men, pretendingto have brought presents from the king, and would have come on board theship; but the Dutch, suspecting their treachery, commanded them to keepat a distance from the ship, or they would be obliged to make them do sowith their shot, on which the Borneans desisted. Borneo is the largest of all the islands in the East-Indies; and itscapital, of the same name, contains about 300 houses, but is built in adirty marshy soil, or rather in the water, so that the inhabitants haveto go from one house to another in their praws. The inhabitants all goconstantly armed, from the noble down to the fisherman; and even thewomen are of so martial a disposition, that on receiving an affront, they instantly revenge it, either with a dagger or a javelin. This aDutchman had nearly proved to his cost; for having offended one of theseviragoes, she set upon him with a javelin, and had surely dispatchedhim, if she had not been prevented by main force. They are Mahometans, and so very superstitious, that they would rather die than eat ofswine's flesh, nor will they keep any of these animals about them. Thebetter sort have a cotton garment from the waist down, with a turban ontheir heads; but the common people go entirely naked. They continuallychew betel and areka, which is also a common practice in many otherparts of India. On the 4th January, four Borneans came to the ship, intending to havecut the cables, that she might drive on shore and become their prey; butthe Dutch fortunately discovered them, and drove them away with shot, when they left their praw behind, which the Dutch took, to serve insteadof their own boat, which they had lost at the Philippines. Seeing nohope of any profitable trade at this place, they now left it, intendingfor Bantam, not much pleased either with the country or the people. Theday after leaving Borneo, they met a junk from Japan bound for Manilla, which informed them of a great Dutch ship being forced by tempests intoJapan, all her company having died by sickness and famine exceptfourteen. They came first to _Bongo_, in lat. 34° 40' N. [Bungo in aboutlat. 33° N. ] whence the emperor of Japan ordered them to remove to_Atonza_, in lat. 36° 30' N. [Osaka in lat. 34' 55' N. ] They allegedthat they were allowed to trade, and to build a new ship, with libertyto dispose of themselves afterwards as they pleased. From this account, it was not doubted that this was the admiral of Verhagen's fleet;[80]and dismissing the Japanese vessel, they passed the line a third time, and proceeded for Bantam, in no little fear and danger, for want of anexperienced pilot and good charts. [Footnote 80: This was the ship in which William Adams sailed as pilot, as related on a former occasion, being the Hope, commanded by JamesMahu, one of five ships from Rotterdam. We have already had occasion tomeet with two of these in the Straits of Magellan. --E. ] The 16th they took a junk belonging to Jor or Johor, in which theyprocured an experienced and skilful pilot, who came in good time tosave them from shipwreck, which they had otherwise most probablysuffered in these dangerous seas, so thick set with shoals and islandson every side, with which they were entirely unacquainted; and besides, they were now reduced to one anchor, and one solitary cable almost wornout. The 28th they came to Jortan in the island of Java, where they hadnews of several Dutch ships being at Bantam. The city of Jortan consistsof about 1000 houses built of timber, and its king commands over aconsiderable portion of that end of the island, and had lately conquered_Balambuan_, a small island S. E. From Jortan. The people in these partsare said to be Mahometans; yet, as pagods are still in use, they seem toretain some mixture of the old Indian superstitions, or at least someremnant of paganism is tolerated among the common people. Their chiefpriest at this time was an old man, said to be an hundred and twentyyears of age, who had a large household of wives, who fed the old manwith their milk. Sailing past Jortan, they saw a large Portuguese ship of 600 tons, sticking fast among the shoals. She was bound for Amboina, on purpose tohave engrossed all the trade of that place; at least such was the reportof the Portuguese; but Van Noort strongly suspected she had been sentout to cruize for the purpose of intercepting him. He was, therefore, the less concerned for her misfortune, and the less careful in assistingher crew, originally of between six and seven hundred men, many of whomwere still on board, and in great danger of perishing. The 5th ofFebruary, they passed the straits between _Balambuan_ and _Bally_, leaving Java on the N. E. [81] On the 11th, finding themselves in lat 13°S. They directed their course for the Cape of Good Hope. On the 18th, having the sun vertical at noon, their latitude was 11° 20' S. And herea calm began which lasted eleven days. The 11th March they were in lat. 24° 45' S. And in 28° 10' S. On the 24th. [Footnote 81: This is an obvious error, as the Straits of Bally are atthe _east_ end of Java, which they must consequently have left on theN. W. Of their course. --E. ] The 19th of April, having been considerably retarded by cross winds andcalms, they were under the necessity to lessen their allowance of water. At night of the 24th they observed light, as of a fire, on land, aboutfour miles to the N. W. Although they reckoned themselves 200 miles fromthe cape, and were not aware of having approached any other land. The25th, being calm weather, they were enabled to mend their sails, and atnight another fire was observed; and in the morning of the 26th they sawland. The 3d May they saw land between the east and north, about sixmiles off, resembling the end of an island, by which they reckonedthemselves near the cape, and now shaped their course for the island ofSt Helena, where they arrived on the 26th. They here refreshedthemselves with fish and some flesh, and laid in a supply of wood andwater; but found goats and fowls hard to be got, and could not procureany oranges. Leaving St Helena on the 30th May, they crossed the line for the fourthtime on the 14th of June; and on the 16th met a fleet of six Dutchships, under Admiral Heemskirk, bound for India. These had fought withthirteen Spanish ships near the island of Sal, and had lost theirpinnace and vice-admiral; the former having been taken by the Spaniards, and the latter having parted company. The 8th July they were in lat. 27°N. When they fell in with considerable quantities of the sea-weed called_saragossa_. By the 13th they were in lat. 32° 30' N. After which theyhad a calm of fifteen days, the sea being all covered with weeds. The22d they had to go upon short allowance of bread, and that too much wormeaten. August 1st, being in lat. 40° N. They passed the island ofFlores, forty-five miles to the westward, by their estimation. They metthree ships belonging to Embden on the 18th, from whom they procuredbread and flesh, in exchange for rice and pepper; and from whom theylearnt that they were so near England, that they might expect to see theLizard next day. About noon of the 26th August, 1601, they arrived insafety before the city of Rotterdam, where they were received with theutmost joy, on their return from so long and perilous a voyage, whichhad occupied three years, bating eighteen days. SECTION II. _Voyage of Sebald de Weert, to the South Sea and Straits of Magellan, in1598_. [82] "Though not a circumnavigation, it seems necessary to give an account ofthis voyage of Sebald de Weert, by way of supplement to that of Oliverde Noort; because De Weert was fitted out with the intention of sailingby the Straits of Magellan to India, and because it is difficult to findso good a description of these famous straits as he has given. De Weertwas one of the best seamen in Holland, and lived to distinguish himselfafterwards by many more successful enterprises; and I persuade myselfthe reader will be pleased to see the firmness of an able commander, struggling against a long series of misfortunes. This has always beenesteemed one of the best written, and most curious of all the Dutchvoyages, and is therefore given at large. "[83]--_Harris_. [Footnote 82: Harris, I. 36. ] [Footnote 83: So far Harris; but on the present occasion several trivialand minute circumstances are omitted or abbreviated. --E. ] § 1. _Incidents of the Voyage from Holland to the Straits of Magellan_. The fleet fitted out for this expedition consisted of the Hope of 500tons, with 130 men, commanded by James Mahu, admiral; the Love orCharity of 300 tons, and 110 men, commanded by Simon de Cordes, vice-admiral; the Faith of 320 tons, and 100 men, of which Gerard vanBeuningen was captain; the Fidelity of 220 tons, with 86 men, captainJurian Buckholt; and a yacht of 150 tons and 112 men, called the MerryMessenger, captain Sebald de Weert. These five ships were well providedwith all manner of provisions, cannon, small arms, ammunition, money, merchandise, and stores necessary for a long voyage; and the pilot onwhose knowledge and experience they chiefly depended, was an Englishmannamed William Adams, [84] besides whom there were three other Englishmenon board the admiral. [Footnote 84: Of the adventures of this person in Japan, we haveformerly had occasion to give an account in vol. VIII. P. 64, of thisCollection, preceded by a brief abstract of the voyages of Schald deWeert. --E. ] The fleet sailed from the road of Goeree in the Maese on the 27th June, 1598; but, owing to contrary winds, had to remain at anchor in the Downson the coast of England, till the 15th July. The wind being then fair, they set sail on that day, and on the 19th were on the coast of Barbary. Towards the end of August, they arrived in the harbour of St Jago, oneof the Cape de Verd islands, where they remained till the 10thSeptember, although the climate was very unhealthy, and the pilots, particularly Mr Adams, remonstrated against continuing there; by whichthe officers were so much offended, that they resolved never more tocall the pilots to council, which seems to have been the source of alltheir subsequent misfortunes, and of that restless spirit of mutiny anddiscontent, which possessed the seamen in this fleet. In the afternoon of the 11th September, they were off the desert islandof Brava, and the bottom being rocky, so that they could not anchor, they stood off and on all night, and coasting along next morning theyfound some fresh water, which was hard to be got, as the ships could notcome to anchor, on account of a bad bottom. The boats, however, ofCaptains Beuniugen and Buckholt, went ashore with empty casks, whichthey filled and brought on board, though then night and the ships underway. Captain de Ween went ashore in a small sandy bay, and looking aboutfor fresh water, he saw some Portuguese and negroes coming towards him, who told him the French and English ships used to get fresh water nearthat place, but remained always under sail. They said also, that norefreshments were to be had at this island, but these might be had inthe island of Fuego. After the departure of the islanders, de Weertdiscovered four or five ruinous small huts, the door of one being walledup, which he found full of maize. On this discovery, he remained therewith three men, lest the Portuguese might carry off the maize in thenight, and sent some others in the boat to give notice to the admiral ofthis discovery. Fortunately a small vessel belonging to the bishop of StThomas, taken by the Dutch at Praya, arrived in the bay, to which deWeert removed all the maize. He also took two female sea tortoises, inwhich were above 600 eggs, of which they made many good meals. ThePortuguese and negroes, finding the Dutch busied in carrying away theirmaize, came down the mountain, making a great noise; but de Weert, having two fusils, fired at them and made them retire. On the return of de Weert, he found the admiral very sick, and a councilassembled in the Hope. He in the first place advised them to remain nolonger at the Cape Verd islands, and then resigned his command to thevice-admiral, de Cordes. On advising with the other captains, andlearning the quantity of water in each ship, de Cordes gave orders thatsuch as had most should give part to the others, and that the allowanceof provisions and water should be diminished, and as fresh water was notto be expected for three or four months, they were directed to gatherrain-water when that could be had. The greatest part of the men in theadmiral's ship being sick, two or three of them were removed into eachof the other ships, in exchange for sound men. The fleet sailed fromBrava on the 15th September, and on the 22d a signal was made from theadmiral for the other captains. They found the admiral, James Mahu, beyond hope of recovery; and that night he and his supercargo, DanielRestan, both died. He was of a mild and gentle disposition, honest, careful, diligent, and very kind to the seamen, and was much lamented bythe whole fleet. Opening the letters of the directors of the expedition, which were directed to be opened in such a case, de Cordes was appointedadmiral, and Benningen vice-admiral; Sebald de Weert being promoted tothe command of the Faith, and Dirke Gernitsz China to that of the yacht. These alterations did not please the seamen, who were attached to theirformer commanders. By the 4th October, the scurvy raged much among the seamen, especiallyin the Hope, on which de Cordes ordered a day of prayer to be observedin the fleet, to implore the mercy of God and a happy voyage. They werethen in the lat. Of 1° 45' S. At length the scurvy increased so much inthe Hope, that the admiral had not men enough to work his ship, and itwas resolved to steer for some island where fresh provisions might beprocured. They steered accordingly for Annobon, where they hoped to getfresh meat and oranges. Towards night, the admiral, who sailed in thevan, fired a gun as a signal of seeing land, though all the pilots thenthought the land at the distance of 100 leagues. They accordinglyapproached the land, and anchored on the coast of _Manicongo_, in lat. 3° S. [85] They here lost company of the small ship belonging to StThomas, in which were eleven sound men, and some thought she haddeserted, while others thought she had run aground: But they afterwardsfound she had gone to Cape Lope Gonzalves, where the men quitted her, going aboard the ship of Baltazar Musheron, which was bound to America. [Footnote 85: The latitude in the text falls near Point Palmas, on thecoast of Yumba, in what is called the Kingdom of Congo. Mayumba bay, perhaps the Manicongo of the text, is in lat. 4° 30' S. ] After several ineffectual attempts to procure refreshments for theirmen on the coast of Africa and the island of Annobon, they put to sea onthe 3d January, 1599, from that island, with the intention of sailingdirect for the Straits of Magellan. The 22d they passed the shelves androcks on the coast of Brazil, called the _Abrolhos_. The 9th March, oneof the seamen in the vice-admiral's ship was hanged, for repeatedlybreaking open the cupboard belonging to the cook, and stealing bread. About this time, the sick beginning to recover, got such good appetitesthat their allowance was not sufficient. The 12th, being near the RioPlata, the sea appeared as red as blood, and some of the water beingdrawn up was found full of small red worms, that leaped out of it likefleas. § 2. _The Fleet passes through the Straits of Magellan into the SouthSea, and is forced to return_. The 6th of April, the fleet got into the Straits of Magellan, andtowards evening cast anchor under the smaller of the two Penguin isles, fourteen leagues within the mouth of the straits. They here saw vastnumbers of those birds called _plongeons_ or divers, because they diveinto the water to catch fish. They killed there ten or fourteen of themwith sticks, and might have killed as many as would have served thewhole fleet, but would not lose the opportunity of a fair wind. The 9ththey proceeded through the straits; and next day the admiral sent fiftymen on shore, to look for inhabitants or cattle, but after travellingthree leagues along shore, they found nothing. They arrived in a finebay on the 15th, twenty-one leagues from the mouth of the straits, called _Muscle bay_ by the English, because of the great quantities ofmuscles found there, and here they provided themselves abundantly withfresh water and wood. The 17th they sailed between two rocky shores, soclose and so high that they hardly thought to have got through. Themountains on both sides were covered with snow. On the 18th, they castanchor in a bay on the north side of the straits, in lat. 54° S. Called_Great bay_, having good anchorage on fine sand. In this bay there arethree small islands, the least of which is farthest east. In these parts, there grow great quantities of trees, resembling baytrees, but somewhat higher, the bark of which is very bitter, and has ahot taste like pepper. [86] They here found abundance of muscles, some ofwhich were a span long, and when boiled, the fish of three of themweighed a pound. The wind being contrary, they lay here at anchor tillthe 23d of August, [87] without taking the sails from the yards, to beready to sail on a change of wind. In the mean while they suffered muchfrom cold, in so much that they lost above an hundred men, among whomwas Captain Buckholt, who was succeeded by Baltazar de Cordes. Stormswere so frequent and violent during this time, that the ships could notride quietly at anchor, and the seamen were forced to be continually atwork to keep them right. They were also forced to go often on shore, inrain, snow, and hail, to get in fresh water, wood, muscles, and suchother food as they could find, by which they were greatly fatigued. Thescarcity of victuals was so great, and the climate so severe, that theywere almost starved with hunger and cold, and their appetites soinsatiable, that they devoured roots or any thing else they could find, raw and uncooked. Most of the seamen had no watch-coats or other warmcloathing, to enable them to support the fatigue of watching and theirdaily labour, having made no provision of such things, as they believedthemselves bound to warm climes. To remedy this evil, the generalordered cloth to be distributed among them. [Footnote 86: In Harris these are erroneously called _Pimento_, but theymust have been the _Wintera aromatica_. The Pimento, or _MyrtusPimenta_, is a native of the warm regions of America and the West Indiaislands, producing Pimento, All-spice, or Jamaica pepper. --E. ] [Footnote 87: This date, here anticipated, refers to the day when theyafterwards set sail. --E. ] It was found that many of the seamen, when at their meals, were in useto sell their victuals to others at high prices, and afterwardssatisfied their hunger with raw muscles and green herbs, whichoccasioned them to fall into dropsies and other lingering sickness, ofwhich several died: For this reason, the captains and other officerswere ordered to be present at all their meals, to see and oblige them toeat their allowances. The 7th May the vice-admiral was sent, with two boats, to an islandopposite Great bay, to catch sea-dogs. [88] He found there seven smallboats or canoes, with savages on board, who were of a reddish colourwith long hair, and, as well as he could observe, seemed _ten or elevenfeet high_. On seeing the Dutch boats, the savages went on shore andthrew many stones at the Dutch, so that they did not venture to land. The savages then took courage, and came towards them in their canoes;and coming within musket-shot, the vice-admiral made his men give them ageneral discharge, by which four or five of the savages were slain, andthe rest so frightened that they escaped again on shore. They thenpulled up some trees, which appeared afar off to be a span thick; butthe vice-admiral chose to let them alone, and returned to the ships. The26th of May, as some seamen were on shore, looking for muscles, roots, and herbs, and were dispersed, expecting no danger, a number of savagesfell upon them suddenly, killed three of them, whom they tore in pieces, and wounded two, who were rescued by the admiral. All these savages werenaked, except one, who had the skin of a sea-dog or seal about hisshoulders. They were armed with wooden javelins, which they threw withgreat strength and dexterity. The points of these javelins were likecramp-irons, tied to the shafts with the guts of sea-dogs, and would runso deep into the flesh, that it was almost impossible to get them out. [Footnote 88: Seals are probably here meant. --E. ] While the fleet lay in this bay, the admiral ordered his long-boat to beput upon the stocks, to be enlarged and altered into a pinnace, whichwas named the Postillion, and the command of her was given to the secondpilot of the Hope. Having no provisions for making broth, Captain deWeert landed on the 27th July, in order to catch seals; and while he wasashore, so great a storm arose that he was obliged to remain two daysand two nights, before he could get back to his ship, and caughtnothing. After enduring great hardships in this _Green bay_, [89] andwhich the Dutch named the Bay of de Cordes, they set sail on the 23d ofAugust, having the wind at N. E. But next day the weather became so calm, that they were obliged to put into a great bay on the south side of thestraits. Here, to perpetuate the memory of so dangerous andextraordinary a voyage into these straits, to which no nation hadhitherto sent so many or such large ships, the general instituted a neworder of knighthood, of which he made his six principal officersknights. They bound themselves by oath, never to do or consent to anything contrary to their honour or reputation, whatever might be thedangers or extremities to which they were exposed, even death itself;nor to do or suffer to be done any thing prejudicial to the interests oftheir country, or of the voyage in which they were now engaged. Theyalso solemnly promised, freely to expose their lives against all theenemies of their nation, and to use their utmost endeavours to conquerthose dominions whence the king of Spain procured so much gold andsilver, by which he was enabled to carry on the war against theircountry. This ceremony was performed ashore on the eastern coast of thestraits, in as orderly a manner as the place and occasion would permit, and the order was named of _The Lion set free_, in allusion to theBelgic lion, the cognizance of their country, which they professed touse all their endeavours to free from the Spanish yoke. After thisceremony, a tablet was erected on the top of a high pillar, on which thenames of the new-made knights were inscribed, and the bay was named the_Bay of Knights_. [Footnote 89: This seems the same formerly named Great bay. --E. ] Leaving this bay on the 28th of August, they put into another bay aleague farther on, where they were again becalmed. The admiral at thistime gave orders to Captain de Weert to go back in his boat to the Bayof Knights, to remove the tablet to a more convenient situation. Whenabout to double the point of the bay on this errand, de Weert saw eightysavages sitting on the shore, having eight or nine canoes beside them;and, as soon as the savages saw the boat, they set up a dismal noise, inviting the Dutch to land, by means of signs. But, having only a smallnumber of men, de Weert turned back towards the ships; on which thesavages ran across the woods along shore, always hallowing, and makingsigns for the Dutch to land. When the general was informed of thisadventure, he dispatched three boats well armed on shore, but thesavages were not to be seen, though they had left their marks behindthem, having dug up the interred body of a Dutchman, and left his bodyon the ground, barbarously disfigured. On going to the knights tablet, the Dutch also found it had been broken by the savages. Early in the night of the 3d September, they got out from the Straits ofMagellan into the South Sea, with a fair wind, and continued theirvoyage to the W. N. W. With the wind at N. E. Till the 7th, having all thattime fine weather. This day, however, the sea began to swell and rise sohigh, that the vice-admiral had to lie to and hoist his boat on board, which was likewise done by the Fidelity. While de Weert was sailingdirectly in the wake of the admiral, who led the fleet, an accidenthappened on board the yacht, which had the wind of the Fidelity, whichobliged both the Faith and the Fidelity, the former being de Weert'sship, to furl their sails, and lie to for assisting the yacht. Theadmiral continued his course, thinking that the other ships continued tofollow him, and that the fog prevented them from being seen by thewatch. The vice-admiral also was obliged to furl his sails shortlyafter, the fog being so thick as to prevent them from seeing each other, though very near. On the 8th the two yachts lost sight of the ships, but these three keptcompany all that day; and next day the whole fleet rejoined to theirgreat joy. After joining, Derick Geritz sent the Postillion to theadmiral, to request the assistance of his carpenters; but they weresick, and those from the Faith and Fidelity went on board the yacht. This proved afterwards a serious loss to these ships, as they never gottheir carpenters back. The wind shifted all of a sudden, and the seabecame so rough and stormy that the yacht had to furl her sails, as wasdone by the vice-admiral, who was ahead of the Faith, and by theFidelity. In the ensuing night the yacht and vice-admiral made sailagain, without advertising the other two ships by signal, so that theycontinued to lie to. When day broke next morning, Captains Baltazar deCordes and Sebalt de Weert, of the Fidelity and Faith, were extremelytroubled at not seeing any of the other ships. De Weert, who was now thesenior captain, was also much troubled by the unprovided state of hisship, having no master, only two old pilots, and a very small number ofseamen, mostly sick and weak through the cold and damp weather, thoughthey kept a fire burning night and day. The N. E. Wind became so violent on the 16th September, that the twoships were every moment in danger of sinking. The gallery of the Faithwas rent open above an inch, and the sea broke so violently over theFidelity, that her men were almost constantly up to their knees inwater. She likewise sprung a leak, owing to which they were forced tokeep her pumps constantly going day and night, yet could hardly keep herafloat. At last, after much search, the leak was found and stopt. Inthis deplorable situation these two ships remained for twenty-fourhours, _spooning_ under bare poles. The seamen also became muchdissatisfied, though allowed two ounces of dried fish a day to each man, with a reasonable quantity of biscuit. But they were much discontentedwith this scanty allowance, having been used in the straits to fillthemselves with muscles, of which they could not now brook the want, sothat the captains had much ado to pacify them. In the night of the 26th September they fell in with the land to thenorth of the straits by mistake, thinking themselves to have been twentyleagues from the land; and in the morning the Faith was in great danger, as the wind drifted her towards the coast, on which were two rocks, which they avoided with the utmost difficulty. The Fidelity, which was aconsiderable way in front, had discovered the rocks in time, and hadeasily given them a wide birth. They were only three leagues from thestraits when they fell in with the land; and as the westerly wind nowblew so hard that they were unable to bear up against it, the twocaptains now resolved to regain the straits, and to wait there in somesafe road or bay for a fair wind, when they did not doubt of rejoiningthe other ships, as it had been agreed to wait at the island of St. Maryon the coast of Chili for two months, in case of separation. Aboutevening, therefore, of the 27th September, they arrived at the southernpoint of the straits' mouth, and were drifted by the current six orseven leagues within the straits, where they anchored in a very goodroad. § 3. _Incidents during their second Residence in the Straits ofMagellan_. From the 27th to the 30th of September they had tolerably good weather, but the wind then began to blow so furiously from the S. W. That theywere forced to drop three anchors a-piece to keep them from being drivenon shore. As the summer of these antarctic regions was now approaching, they were in hopes of fair weather; yet during two months that theyremained in the straits, they scarcely had a fair day in which to drytheir sails. For twenty days that they remained in this bay, to whichthey gave the name of the _Bay of Trouble_, they endured incrediblehardships, being forced to go on shore daily in search of a few birds, which, with muscles and snails found upon the rocks, formed their sorrysubsistence. Being unable to subsist any longer in that bay, they setsail on the 18th October, and found a better bay about a league fartherwithin the straits. The 22d they were nearly destroyed by a violentstorm, but the weather became calm next day. The constant employment ofthe seamen was to go on shore in search of muscles for their sustenanceat low water, and when the tide was in to fetch wood and fresh water, sothat they had no time to dry themselves, though they kept up a good firecontinually. In short, during the whole nine months spent in thesestraits, now and formerly, they scarcely had an opportunity once to drytheir sails, so frequent were the returns of rain and storms. The menalso were exposed to wet, cold, and high winds, which kept themcontinually uncomfortable, and always at work. The seamen now began tomurmur, alleging there would not be enough of biscuit for their returnto Holland, if they remained here any longer. Having notice of this, deWeert went into the bread-room, as if to examine their store; and, oncoming out, he declared, with a cheerful countenance, there was enoughof biscuit and other provisions for eight months, though in fact therewas not more than sufficient for four. At length, on the 2d December, the wind changed to the N. E. And theyimmediately weighed anchor, but could not get out into the South Sea, owing to whirlwinds rising from between the high hills and the bottom ofthe bay. The Faith was driven at one time so near the shore that aperson might have stepped ashore from her gallery, and had certainlybeen lost if the wind had not abated. Next day, the storm being over, the two ships got out of Close bay, as they called it, with the ebb, butthey never afterwards anchored together, and that day they cast anchorat the distance of a league from each other. The 8th of December theyhad a more violent storm than ever, which lasted two days, and duringwhich the waves rose sometimes higher than the masts. The storm abatingon the 10th, de Weert went in his boat, intending to go aboard theFidelity; but on doubling the point which lay between them, wasoverwhelmed with grief to see no ship, nor any signs of shipwreck, sothat he thought she had foundered. Going next day farther towards agulf, he was rejoiced to see a mast behind a low point, where he foundthe Fidelity, with which ship he had to leave his small boat to assistin fishing for her anchors and cables, which she had lost in the latestorm. He then took his leave, returning to his own ship, littledreaming he had taken his last farewell of Captain de Cordes. The 10th, going ashore in the boat for victuals as usual, and havingdoubled a point, they saw three canoes with savages, who wentimmediately on shore, and scrambled up the mountains like monkeys. TheDutch examined the canoes, in which were only a few young divers, somewooden grapnels, skins of beasts, and other things of no value. Going onshore to see if the savages had left any thing, they found a woman andtwo children, who endeavoured to run away, but was taken and carried onboard, shewing few signs of fear or concern. She was of a middle sizeand reddish colour, with a big belly, a fierce countenance, and herhair close cut as if shaven, whereas the men wear their hair long. Shehad a string of snail-shells about her neck by way of ornament, and aseal's skin on her shoulders, tied round her neck with a string of gut. The rest of her body was quite naked, and her breasts hung down like theudders of a cow. Her mouth was very wide, her legs crooked, and herheels very long. This female savage would not eat any of their boiled or roasted meats, so they gave her one of the birds they had found in the canoes. Havingpluckt off the long feathers, she opened it with a muscle shell, cuttingin the first place behind the right wing, and then above the stomach. After that, drawing out the guts, she laid the liver a short time on thefire, and eat it almost raw. She then cleaned the gizzard, which she eatquite raw, as she did the body of the bird. Her children eat in the samemanner, one being a girl of four years of age, and the other a boy, who, though only six months old, had most of his teeth, and could walkalone. [90] The woman looked grave and serious at her meal, though theseamen laughed heartily at her strange figure, and unusual mode offeeding. She afterwards sat down on her heels like an ape; and she sleptall gathered up in a heap, with her infant between her arms, having herbreast in his mouth. After keeping her two days on board, de Weert sether on shore, giving her a gown and cap, with necklace and bracelets ofglass beads. He gave her also a small mirror, a knife, a nail, an awl, and a few other toys of small value, with which she seemed much pleased. He cloathed the boy also, and decorated him with glass beads of allcolours; but carried the girl to Holland, where she died. The motherseemed much concerned at parting with her daughter, yet went into theboat without resistance or noise. She was carried to the shore, a leaguewest from the ship, to a place which she pointed out, where the seamenfound a fire and some utensils, which made the seamen believe that thesavages had run away on seeing the boat. [Footnote 90: They had no means to ascertain his age, and must haveconcluded him only six months old from his small size; but from histeeth and walking alone, he was more likely to have been two years old, and his diminutive size was probably occasioned by the miseries of theclimate, and wretchedness of every kind to which these outcasts ofnature are subjected. --E. ] When the boat returned, a new storm arose, during which the waves oftenovertopped the masts, and tossed the ship so violently that theymomentarily expected she would have been overset or split in pieces;but, by the blessing of God, she got out of this bay, to which they gavethe name of _Unfortunate Bay_. Next day they cast anchor towards eveningin the channel of the straits, but finding the anchor had no buoyattached, and the weather being too violent to allow of supplying one, they had again to weigh, and put before the wind, and at length got intothe bay of Cordes, fourteen or fifteen leagues farther eastwards, nearthe middle of the straits. In this passage they kept as near as possibleto the south side of the channel, that they might be seen by theFidelity, and even fired a gun off the mouth of a bay in which theysupposed she lay, as a signal, to which they imagined that they heardanother gun in answer from their consort, and continued their course inthe full belief of being followed by the Fidelity. In this passage thestrength of the wind drove them so fast, that they had to fasten theirboat astern with two strong hawsers to preserve her, and to diminish thevelocity of their course; but the heavy rolling waves broke bothhawsers, and they lost their boat, by which they were reduced to greatdifficulty, having now no means of getting on shore in search ofprovisions. Next day, being the 16th December, they saw a boat making towards themfrom the westwards, which occasioned various conjectures; but at lengthturned out to belong to the fleet of Van Noort. This unexpected meetinggave great joy to the seamen, and the men in this boat were receivedwith much respect by de Weert. They were all in perfect health andvigour; and, among other things respecting their voyage, told of havingcaught above 2000 birds at the great Penguin Island. This intelligencemade the sailors in the Faith extremely anxious to get there, andseveral of them were bold enough to tell Captain de Weert, that it wasnecessary they should go there, where they might as well wait for a fairwind as in any other place, and besides, that it was only a league outof their way. But de Weert declared he would on no account part companyfrom Van Noort. This general came in person next day to visit de Weert;and the day following, being the 18th December, the whole fleet joinedhim. The wind changing to S. W. On the 22d, they all set sail; and afterproceeding two or three hours, de Weert requested the loan of a boatfrom general Van Noort, with three or four men, that he might go beforeto direct Captain de Cordes to get ready to sail with the fleet; but hecould not find the Fidelity. The Faith was now grown very foul, and unable consequently to keep upwith the fleet; for which reason, being off the Bay of Knights, whereshe met the ebb current, she was forced to go in there. The 23d she wasagain opposed by adverse currents in a narrow channel, and unable tofollow the other ships. The 24th they tried again, but were unable toget round a point, behind which the fleet of Van Noort lay at anchor;and finding it impossible to double that point with the present wind, deWeert resolved to wait till it changed, that he might not fatigue hismen by persisting in vain attempts. But, although the wind was contrary, Van Noort proceeded farther on, in search of a more secure anchorage, bywhich de Weert lost sight of the fleet, though not far off, inconsequence of an intervening high point of land. Despairing of being able to rejoin the fleet of Van Noort, and findingit impossible to subsist his men without a boat, de Weert ordered thepieces of one which were in the hold to be taken out, that they might beput together. This was on the 25th December; but having the wind atnorth next day, he attempted to get next day into a small bay, a leaguefarther on than the Bay of Knights, in which the boat might be moreconveniently built: but the violence of the wind forced him back intothe Bay of Cordes, five leagues farther to the east. Here, on the 26thand 27th, they endured so great a storm, that the seamen began to murmuragain, as having been a whole fortnight without procuring any muscles, having nothing to subsist upon in all that time but a scanty allowanceof biscuit and oil. Seeing their insolence, de Weert called them intothe cabin, giving them good words, and even desired their advice as towhat was best to be done in this difficult conjuncture. Some were ofopinion, that they should proceed to Rio de la Plata in the boat, abandoning their ship, and give themselves up to the Spaniards. Otherswere for going to St Helena in quest of provisions. The pilot, JohnOutgetz, was for going to Guinea or the Gold Coast of Africa, where hewas known, having made five voyages there. None of these opinionspleased de Weert, who told them, that he could not come to anydetermination without the consent of Captain de Cordes. In the mean time, the boat being now ready, de Weert went ashore in heron the 1st January, 1600, to get her properly caulked. In the afternoon, having doubled the southerly point, two boats were seen, which belongedto Van Noort, who had put back to the Bay of Knights in search of theFaith. Next day, Van Noort returned back, promising to make search forthe Fidelity. De Weert also sent his boat, with his ensign and one ofhis pilots, on the same search, and gave them a letter for Van Noort, requesting a supply of biscuit sufficient for two months. The boat cameback on the 5th with the general's answer, saying, That he was not sureof having enough of biscuit for his own men, neither knew he how long hemight be at sea, and therefore could not spare any. This answerafflicted de Weert; and having now no hopes of being again rejoined byde Cordes, he resolved to proceed for Penguin Island, to lay in a largestore of these birds, and then to follow the fleet of Van Noort, if thewind proved fair. Before sailing, he wrote a letter for de Cordes, whichhe left buried at the foot of a tree, and nailed a board to the tree, onwhich was painted, _Look at the bottom of this tree_. On the 11th January, 1600, de Weert made sail for Penguin Islands, andnext day came to anchor under the smaller of these islands, where heimmediately landed with thirty-eight men in tolerable health, leavingthe pilots and other seamen on board. Leaving three men to keep theboat, the rest fell to killing birds, of which there were a prodigiousquantity in the island. In the mean time the wind grew nigh and the seavery stormy, by which the boat was thrown so high upon the rocks, and sofilled with water, that the boat-keepers were unable to get her off, orto heave out the water, and so much tossed by the surges that theyexpected every minute to have her stove to pieces. In this extremity theseamen were almost in despair. Without the boat it was impossible forthem to return on board. They had no carpenters, no tools, and no wood, with which to repair their boat, as there was no wood whatever on theisland. They were all wet, as they had waded into the water as high astheir shoulders to draw the boat from the rocks, and they were starvingwith cold. Fortunately, at low water, the boat being aground, theyrecovered an axe and some tools, with a few nails, which revived theirhopes of being able to get back to the ship. But as it was impossible toget the boat drawn ashore before night for repairs, they were obliged topass the night on shore in the open air, where they made a fire of somebroken planks from the boat, and eat some birds half-roasted, withoutbread, and with so little water that they could not quench their thirst. As soon as day appeared on the 13th, every one went cheerfully to work, in repairing that side of the boat which was most injured, which wasquite refitted before night. Next day the other side was repaired; andhaving loaded her with 450 penguins, they went aboard on the evening ofthe 14th, having been three days on shore. While they were catchingpenguins on the 12th, they found a savage woman, who had hid herself inone of the holes. At the time when Van Noort landed here, there was aband of savages on the island, by whom two of his men were slain; inrevenge of which Van Noort had destroyed them all but this woman, whowas then wounded, and who now shewed her wounds to the seamen. She wastall and well-made; her hair cut quite close to her head, and her facepainted, having a kind of cloak on her body, made of the skins of beastsand birds, neatly sewed together, and reaching down to her knees, besides which she had a skin apron; so that the savages on the northside of these straits appear to be more modest in their apparel thanthose on the south side. By the dead body of one of these savages, whohad been slain by Van Noort, it appeared that the men wore their hairvery long; besides which his head was ornamented with fine feathers, andhe had others round his body. They use bows and arrows, the arrows beingvery neatly pointed with hard flints. De Weert gave this woman a knife, who informed him by signs, that he would find a greater plenty of birdsin the larger island. They left her where she was, though she requested, by signs, to be transported to the continent. They now went to thelarger island, in order to get a larger supply of birds. The old penguins weigh from twelve to sixteen pounds, and the young onesfrom eight to twelve. They are black on the back, with white bellies, and some have a white ring round their necks, so that they are almosthalf white half black. Their skin is much like that of a seal, and asthick as the skin of a wild boar. The bill is as long as that of araven, but not so crooked; the neck short and thick, and the body aslong as that of a goose, but not so thick. Instead of wings, they haveonly two fins or pinions, covered with feathers, which hang down as theywalk upright, and by means of which they swim with great strength. Theyhave black feet, like those of a goose, and they walk upright, withtheir fins or pinions hanging down like the arms of a man, so that whenseen at a distance they look like so many pigmies. They seldom comeashore except in the breeding season, and then they nestle together, three or four in one hole, which they dig in the downs as deep as thoseof rabbits, and the ground is so full of them, that one is liable almostat every step to sink into them up to the knees. They feed entirely onfish, yet their flesh has not that rank fishy taste which is so commonin sea-fowl, but is extraordinarily well tasted. _Penguin_, the name ofthis bird, is not derived from the Latin _pinguedo_, fatness, as theDutch author of this voyage would have it, and therefore spells the word_pinguin_. Neither is the conjecture of the French editor of this voyagebetter founded, who supposes they were so called by the English from aWelsh word signifying _white-head_; and from which it has been arguedthat these savages are descended from a colony of Britons, supposed tohave settled in America, about the year 1170, under Madoc, prince ofNorth Wales. The truth is, the name of penguin was given to these birdsby the savages. The ship reached the greater Penguin Island on the 15th January, thatisland being a league from the small one; and here they found suchabundance of these birds, that many ships might have been amply suppliedby them instead of one, for they procured above 900 of them in less thantwo hours. Next day, while busy in salting the penguins, a heavy stormcame on from the N. W. By which the ship was driven out of sight of theisland, and to so great a distance that de Weert lost hopes of gettingback to it again; on which he reduced the men to an allowance of fourounces of biscuit daily. They got back however on the 17th; but, whengoing to land, a fresh storm came on with such violence, that theyresolved to weigh anchor and get out of the straits: but the sea was sorough that they durst not attempt this, lest the capstan should flyround. At last the anchor lost its hold; and to save the ship from beingcast away, they had to cut the cable and make sail, being in greatsorrow for the loss of their anchor, as they now had one only remaining. § 4. _Voyage from the Straits to Holland_. This sad accident constrained de Weert to quit the straits, which he didon the 21st January, having a S. W. Wind, chopping sometimes round toE. N. E. Having now spent nine months in those seas, in a dangerous anddismal condition. In the afternoon of that day, having got into the mainsea, they allowed their boat to go adrift, being rendered quiteunserviceable by the late storms. The 24th in the morning, they foundthree small islands to windward, not marked in any maps, which theynamed the _Sebaldine Islands_. These are in lat. 50° 40' S. Sixtyleagues from the continent, [91] and contained abundance of penguins; butthey could not catch any, having no boat. On the 1st February, a seamanwas condemned to be hanged, for having stolen a bottle of wine and a bagof rice from the hold; and, when just about to be turned off, he waspardoned at the intercession of the crew, on condition that they shouldnot again beg the life of any one found guilty of stealing provisions. In the evening of the 3d the same person was found drunk, andconsequently must have again stolen wine, and was convicted of havingstolen both wine and victuals, for which he was now hanged, and his bodythrown into the sea. [Footnote 91: In vol. VIII. P. 68, note 3, these Sebaldines have beenalready noticed as the north-westermost of the Falklands. --E. ] They passed the line on the 15th March; and their wine being now reducedto one pipe, that was reserved for the use of the sick, and no more wasallowed to the crew. The 28th they saw Cape Monte on the coast ofGuinea, when the captain was much displeased with the pilots, for havingsteered a different course from what he had directed. The seamen alsowere discontented with the captain, who would not land, because he hadno boat, and only one anchor: but, being satisfied that he had biscuitenough for four months, at a quarter of a pound daily to each man, andtwo ounces of rice, he made the ship's head be turned to seawards. Inthe night of the 1st April, they discovered some fire at a distance, thinking it were a ship; but when day broke, it was known to have beenon the shore, towards which they had been insensibly driven by thecurrent. By this time their whole stock of penguins was expended, andthey must have been reduced to a very small allowance of biscuit andrice for their whole sustenance, but during five weeks that theysteered along the coast of Africa, making very little progress inconsequence of calms, they caught abundance of many kinds of fish, bothlarge and small. Being uncertain how long they might remain on thecoast, and fearing the want of provisions, de Weert ordered a small boatto be built by the pilot, who had been bred a ship-carpenter. This boatwas finished in twelve days; but they had no need of her, for the windbecame fair on the 24th April, and they made sail in the direction ofthe Açores. The 3d May was held as a day of thanksgiving and prayer; and on the 21stthey passed the tropic of Cancer, catching every where such abundance offish, that, besides supplying their immediate wants, they salted anddried a considerable store. On getting near the Açores, they found nomore fish, and had to use those they had dried and salted; and by thisfood many distempers were produced among them, particularly the scurvy. The men became as it were parched within, and so thirsty that they couldnot be satisfied with drink; and their bodies were covered all over withred spots, like a leprosy. The 7th, the captain was informed that someof the men had stolen biscuit; but he durst not punish the guilty, asthey were the only vigorous and healthy men in the ship, and nothingcould be done without them. The ship got into the English Channel on the 6th July, when the captainlanded at Dover to purchase an anchor and cable; but not being able toprocure any, he sailed again that night. On the 13th, while off themouth of the Maese, waiting the tide, and having a pilot on board, thewind came suddenly contrary, and forced him into the channel of Goeree, where a seaman died, being the sixty-ninth who died during the voyage. The thirty-six who remained alive gave thanks to God, who had preservedthem through so many dangers, and had vouchsafed to bring them home. CHAPTER V. VOYAGE OF GEORGE SPILBERGEN ROUND THE WORLD, IN 1614--1617. [92] SECTION I. _Narrative of the Voyage, from Holland to the South Sea_. As the directors of the Dutch East-India Company were still anxious tomake trial of the route to India by the Straits of Magellan, theyappointed George Spilberg, or Spilbergen, to make this attempt in 1614, as admiral of six ships, the Great Sun, the Full Moon, the Huntsman, anda yacht called the Sea-mew, all belonging to Amsterdam, with the Eolusof Zealand, and the Morning-star belonging to Rotterdam. Spilbergen wasa person of established reputation for knowledge and experience, and wasallowed to chuse most of his officers. The ships were all equipped inthe best possible manner, and were ready a little after Midsummer; butas the admiral was of opinion that they would arrive in the Straits ofMagellan at an improper season, if they sailed so early, the directorsthought proper to postpone the commencement of the voyage till the monthof August. [Footnote 92: Harris, I. 44. Callender, II. 191. ] The fleet sailed accordingly from the Texel on the 8th of August, 1614, with a strong gale at S. E. Without any remarkable accident, exceptseveral severe storms, they reached the latitude of Madeira on the 3dOctober. Proceeding thence by the Canaries, they lost sight of theseislands on the 10th, and came in view of Brava and Fogo, two of the Capede Verd islands, on the 23d. Having happily passed the _Abrolhos_, dangerous shoals running far out to sea, on the 9th December, theydiscovered the coast of Brazil on the 12th of that month. On the 19ththey were off the bay of Rio de Janeiro; and on the morning of the 20ththey anchored in the road of _Ilas Grandes_, between two large fineislands covered with trees, in thirteen fathoms water. Next day theyanchored at another island, about half a league distant, where theycaught good store of fish, besides many crocodiles or alligators, eachabout the length of a man. They anchored behind another island on the23d, where they found two small huts, and a heap of human bones on arock. Here they set up tents on shore for their sick, which were alllanded that night, under the protection of three distinct guards ofsoldiers, lest they might be attacked by the Portuguese, who were at nogreat distance. The 28th, the boats were sent for wood and fresh water to a river abouttwo leagues from where the ships lay, and about noon next day broughtoff as much as they could carry. They went back for a farther supply, and were obliged to remain on shore all night, as their boats gotaground with the ebb-tide. On getting to the ships on the 29th, theyreported, that they had heard a confused sound of voices, as of manypeople, in the woods. The 30th, three boats were sent again to thewatering-place, with nine or ten soldiers to protect the seamen when onshore. Shortly after, being out of sight of the fleet, severalcannon-shot were heard from the Huntsman, which had been stationed tocommand the watering-place, on which the admiral sent three armed boatsto see what was the matter. On coming to the Huntsman, they were toldthat five canoes, full of well-armed Portuguese and Mestees, hadattacked the three boats, and slain all their men. The Dutch armed boatspursued the canoes, of which they soon came in sight; but on followingthem round a point, saw two stout frigates or armed barks riding atanchor, to which the canoes retired for protection, and the boats had toreturn to the admiral with the dismal news of the fate of theircompanions. A conspiracy was discovered on the 1st January, 1615, of certain personswho proposed to have run away with one of the ships, and for which twomen were executed, several others being put in irons, and distributedamong the other ships of the fleet. Before leaving this place, orderswere given, if any ship lost company of the rest, that her commander wasto set up a conspicuous mark in the haven of de Cordes, or some otherusual landing place in the straits; and, after waiting a certain fixedtime, was to proceed for the isle of Mocha on the coast of Chili, as theplace of rendezvous. Having no fit provisions for the sick, theyresolved also to remove from the Islas Grandes to the isle of StVincent. Here they were delayed by the Portuguese, who appear to havecaptured some of their men; for, having taken a bark with eighteenPortuguese on the 26th January, the Portuguese of St Vincent refused togive a smaller number of Hollanders in exchange for these, though alsooffered many fair manuscripts, pictures, plate, and other thingsbelonging to the jesuits, which had been taken in the prize. They departed from St Vincent in the beginning of February, having firstburnt their prize and some buildings on shore, and furnished themselvesamply with oranges and pomecitrons. In lat. 52° 6' S. They weredistressed by a severe storm on the 7th March, which continued severaldays, and separated the ships. On the 21st a mutiny broke out, for whichseveral of the most notoriously guilty were capitally punished. Theyentered the straits on the 28th, but were forced out again, by adversewinds and currents. They entered again on the 2d of April, and saw a manof gigantic stature climbing a high hill on the southern shore of thestraits, called _Terra del Fuego_, or the land of fire. They went ashoreon the 7th, when they saw two ostriches, and found a large river offresh water, beside which grew many shrubs producing sweetblack-berries. Being in lat. 54° S. The mountains were all covered withsnow, yet they found pleasant woods, in which were many parrots. To oneinlet or bay they gave the name of _Pepper haven_, because the bark of atree found there had a biting taste like pepper. On the 16th of April they had some friendly intercourse with a party ofsavages, to whom they gave various trifling articles in exchange forpearls. But on the 1st May, some of the people were surprised by thenatives while on shore, and two of them slain. On the 6th of May theygot into the South Sea, not without terror, having no anchorage thatday, and being in much danger from many shoals and islands at the mouthof the straits, between the northern and sourthern shore. SECTION II. _Transactions in the South Sea, along the Western Coast of America_. They were welcomed into the great South Sea by a terrible storm, andwere fearful of being cast away on certain islands a little without thestraits, which, from their likeness to the islands of Scilly, they namedthe _Sorlings_. On the 21st they had sight of the coast of Chili and theisle of Mocha. This island is low and broad on the north, and is full ofrocks on the south. The 26th endeavours were made to enter into trafficwith the natives of this island. The chief and his son dined on boardthe admiral, seemingly rejoiced to see such large and well-armed shipssent against the Spaniards, and all the native Chilese were delighted tosee the soldiers mustered and exercised. The Dutch here procured greatplenty of sheep, in exchange for hatchets and ornaments of coral andsuch like toys, getting two sheep for one hatchet. But the nativesbrought every thing to the boats, and would not suffer any of the Dutchto go near their houses, being very jealous of their wives, even more sothan Spaniards. These sheep resembled camels, having long legs andnecks, hare lips, hunches on their backs, and are used as beasts ofdraught and burden. They left Mocha on the 27th of May, and next day came to the coast notfar from the island of St Mary, where the land was much broken and veryrocky. The 29th they cast anchor at the island of St Mary, whence aSpaniard came on board, having a pledge left for him ashore. This maninvited the admiral and others to dine on shore; but one of the boatsobserved a body of soldiers marching to the place at which they were tohave dined; on which appearance of treachery, the Spanish messenger wasmade prisoner. The Dutch landed next day in force, on which theSpaniards set their church on fire and fled; having four of their menslain, while two of the Dutch were wounded. They here found muchpoultry, and took 500 sheep, with other spoil. Learning at this place ofthree Spanish ships fitted out in April expressly against them, theadmiral of which carried forty brass guns, and the whole manned by 1000Spaniards, Spilbergen resolved to go in search of them at Conception andValparaiso, and afterwards on the coast of Arica. A farther squadron, ofsimilar force, was also said to be in preparation at _Calao de Lima_. Inconsequence of this intelligence, the Dutch gunners were ordered to haveevery thing in readiness for battle, rules of military discipline wereestablished, and each ship and every person received distinct orders forconducting the expected battle, in which it was resolved to conquer ordie. Sailing from the island of St Mary on the 1st June, 1615, they passednot far from the town of _Aurora_, [93] where the Spaniards kept agarrison of 500 men, which were continually disquieted by theunconquered natives of Chili. On the 3d they came to the island of_Quinquirina_, within which is the town of Conception, inhabited by manyIndians and about 200 Spaniards. The 12th they entered the safe andcommodious road of Valparaiso, in which was a Spanish ship, but whichwas set on fire by its own mariners, who escaped on shore. The 13th atnoon, they were in lat. 32° 15' S. [94] and in the afternoon came intothe fair and secure harbour of Quintero. Here they took in wood andwater, and caught abundance of fish. But they found the inhabitantsevery where aware of them, and prepared to receive them, so that nothingof any importance could be effected. They came next to _Arica_ in lat. 12° 40' S. [95] to which place the silver is brought from the mines ofPotosi, whence it is shipped for Panama. Finding no ships there, theyproceeded along the coast, and took a small ship on the 16th, in whichwas some treasure, but it was mostly embezzled by the sailors. [Footnote 93: Arauco, a fortress on the northern frontier of theindependent country of Araucania, but somewhat inland, not far to theN. E. Of the island of St Mary. --E. ] [Footnote 94: Quintero is in lat. 32° 44' S. ] [Footnote 95: This is a great error, as Arica is in lat 18° 28' S. ] They soon after had sight of eight ships, which the master of the prizesaid were the royal fleet sent out in search of the Hollanders, contraryto the opinion of the council of Peru; but Dou Rodrigo de Mendoza, theSpanish admiral, a kinsman to the viceroy, insisted on putting to sea, alleging that two even of his ships could take all England, and muchmore those _hens_ of Holland, who must be spent and wasted by so long avoyage, and would assuredly yield at first sight. On this, the viceroygave him leave to depart, with orders to bring all the Hollanders inchains. Mendoza then swore that he would never return till theHollanders were all taken or slain, and set sail from Calao, the havenof Lima, on the 11th July. The flag ship was the Jesu Maria, oftwenty-four brass guns and 460 men, which was said to have cost the king158, 000 ducats. The vice-admiral was the Santa Anna, of 300 men, commanded by Captain Alvarez de Piger, who had before taken an Englishship in the South Sea, and this ship cost 150, 000 ducats, being thehandsomest that had ever been seen in Peru. The other ships were theCarmelite and St Jago of eight brass cannon and 200 men each; the Rosaryof four guns and 150 men; the St Francis having seventy musketeers, andtwenty sailors, but no ordnance; the St Andrew of eighty musketeers, twenty-five sailors, and no cannon; and an eighth, the name and strengthof which is not mentioned. The adverse fleets drew near on the evening of the 17th July, when theSpanish vice-admiral sent a message to his admiral, advising to postponebattle till next morning. Mendoza was, however, too impatient to followthis advice, and set upon the Great Sun, in which was AdmiralSpilbergen, about ten that night, when they exchanged broadsides. The StFrancis being next to the Jesu Maria, attacked the Dutch admiral; butbeing beaten off, fell upon the yacht, and by her was sent to thebottom. At this instant, the yacht was attacked by the Spanish admiral, and had soon shared the fate of her former antagonist, but was succouredby two boats full of men, one from the Dutch admiral, and the other fromthe vice-admiral; on this occasion, the Dutch admiral's boat wasunfortunately mistaken by the Huntsman, and sent to the bottom by acannon-shot, and all her men drowned except one. Next morning, five of the Spanish ships sent word to their admiral thatthey meant to do their best to escape: But the Dutch admiral andvice-admiral set upon the Spanish admiral and vice-admiral, and anobstinate engagement ensued, in which the Eolus, another of the Dutchships, also partook. The two Spanish ships were lashed together, formutual support. At length, all the men forsook the vice-admiral, goingon board the admiral's ship, in which they afterwards confessed theyfound only fifty men alive. Being reduced to great distress, the Spanishseamen several times hung out a white flag, in token of surrender, whichwas as often hauled down by the officers and other gentlemen, who choserather to die than yield. After some time, being sore pressed by the Hollanders, the men belongingto the Spanish vice-admiral returned to their own ship, and renewed thefight; on which occasion the Dutch vice-admiral was in imminent dangerof being taken, as the Spaniards boarded her, but were all repelled orslain. Being no longer able to continue the fight, the Spanish admiralfled under cover of the night, and escaped the pursuit of Spilbergen;but her leaks were so many and great that she went to the bottom, as didlikewise another of the Spanish ships called the Santa Maria. [96] TheDutch vice-admiral and the Eolus bestirred themselves so briskly, thatthe Spanish vice-admiral hung out a white flag, on which the Dutchvice-admiral sent two boats to bring the Spanish commander on board, buthe refused going that night, unless the Dutch vice-admiral came to fetchhim, or sent a captain to remain in pledge for him. At this time ten ortwelve of the men belonging to the Eolus remained on board, contrary toorders, wishing to have a first hand in the plunder. These men assistedthe Spaniards in their efforts to prevent the ship from sinking: But alltheir labour being in vain, they shewed many lights, and cried out aloudfor help, which was too late of being sent, and they went to the bottom. Next morning the Dutch sent out four boats, which found thirty Spaniardsfloating on pieces of the wreck, and crying out for mercy; which wasshewn by the Dutch to some of the chiefs, but the rest were left to themercy of the sea, several of them being even knocked on the head by theDutch, contrary to orders from their officers. Before this ship wentdown her commander expired of his wounds. In this engagement fortyDutchmen were wounded and sixteen slain, on board the admiral, vice-admiral, and Eolus; and in the rest eighteen were wounded and fourslain. [Footnote 96: There is no such name in the list of the Spanish fleet, sothat we may suppose this to have been the one formerly mentioned withouta name. --E. ] The Dutch now made sail for Calao de Lima, but were becalmed. The 20ththey passed by the island [St Lorenzo], and saw fourteen ships in thehaven, but could not get near for shoals. They went, therefore, to theroad of Calao in search of the Spanish admiral, but learned afterwardsat Payta that his ship had sunk. The Spaniards fired upon them from theshore, and a ball of thirty-six pounds weight had nearly sunk theHuntsman. They saw also on shore a considerable army, commanded by theviceroy in person, consisting of eight troops of horse and 4000 foot. Going beyond reach of shot from the shore, the Dutch cast anchor off themouth of the haven, where they remained till the 25th of July, expectingto capture some Spanish ships, but all that appeared made their escapeby superior sailing, except one bark laden with salt and eighty jars ofmolasses. In regard that they were now on an enemy's coast, where they had noopportunity of repairing their losses, orders were issued by Spilbergento act with great caution, in case of falling in with the fleet ofPanama, and especially to take care not to separate from each other, which had much endangered them in the late fight. It was also ordered, if any Spanish ship should yield, that the Dutch captains and chiefofficers should on no account leave their own ships, but should orderthe enemy to come aboard them in their own boats. They sailed from Calaoon the 27th of July, and came to the road of _Huarmey_ in lat. 10° S. Onthe 28th. This is a pleasant place, with a large port, near which is alake. The Dutch landed here, but the inhabitants fled, leaving littleplunder, except poultry, hogs, oranges, and meal, which they brought onboard. They dismissed some of their Spanish prisoners on the 3d August, on which day they passed between the main and the island of _Lobos_, socalled from being frequented by seals, or sea wolves. [97] The 8th theycast anchor near Payta, in about the latitude of 5° S. The 9th theylanded 300 men, but re-embarked after some skirmishing, as they foundthe city too strongly defended. On this occasion they took a Peruvianbark, strangely rigged, having six stout natives on board, who had beenout fishing for two months, and had a cargo of excellent dried fish, which was distributed through the fleet. [Footnote 97: There are three islands or groups of that name off thecoast of Peru. The southern Lobos is in lat. 7° S. Near fifty miles fromthe nearest land; the middle, or inner Lobos, in lat. 6° 22' S. Is onlyabout nine miles from the coast of Peru; and the northern Lobos is inlat. 5° 8' S. Almost close to the shore. It is probably the middle orinner Lobos that is meant in the text. --E. ] The 10th of August three of the Dutch ships battered the town of Payta, and afterwards sent a party of armed men on shore, who found theinhabitants had fled to the mountains with all their valuables. TheDutch sent five of the Peruvian captives on shore to endeavour toprocure fruit, and to learn with more certainty what had become of theSpanish admiral. On their return they brought word that the Spanishadmiral had gone to the bottom, six only of her crew escaping. Theybrought letters also from the lady of Don Gasper Calderon, thecommandant of Payta, who had fled to the town of St Michael, thirtymiles from Payta; who, in commiseration of the captives, sent manycitrons and other provisions to the Dutch ships. Towards the sea thetown of Payta is strongly fortified, and almost impregnable. It is aplace of some importance, having two churches, a monastery, and manygood buildings; and has an excellent harbour, to which many ships resortfrom Panama, whence their cargoes are transmitted by land to Lima, toavoid the dangers of the wind and the seas at that place. While at theisland of Lobos, the Dutch took two birds of enormous size, not unlikean eagle in beak, wings, and talons; their necks being covered with downresembling wool, and their heads having combs like those of a cock. Theywere two ells in height, and their wings, when displayed, measured threeells in breadth. [98] [Footnote 98: Probably the Condour, or Vultur Gryphus of naturalists, which is of vast size, sometimes measuring sixteen feet between the tipsof the wings when extended. At this place we have omitted a vague rambling account of the kingdomsof Peru and Chili, as in 1616, which could have conveyed no usefulinformation, farther than that Don Juan de Mendoza, Marquis des MontesClaros, was then viceroy of Peru. --E. ] The Dutch set sail from Payta on the 21st of August, and anchored on the23d in the road off the mouth of the Rio Tumbez, in lat. 3° 20' S. Theyhere agreed to return to the isle of Coques, in lat. 5° S. [99] that theymight endeavour to procure refreshments. But they were so distressed bystorms of wind, with rain and excessive thunder, that they in vainendeavoured to get to that island till the 13th September, and in the meantime became very sickly. Proceeding therefore towards the north they camein sight of New Spain on the 20th September, in lat. 13° 30' N. When theweather became again very tempestuous. After much bad weather they came insight of a pleasant land on the 1st October, but were unable to land. Beating off and on till the 11th of that month, they then entered theharbour of Accapulco, within shot of the castle, and hung out a flag oftruce. Two Spaniards came on board, with whom they agreed to exchangetheir prisoners for sheep, fruits, and other provisions, which wasaccordingly performed. On the 15th Melchior Hernando, nephew to theviceroy of New Spain, came on board, to take a view of the fleet whichhad vanquished that of his king, and was kindly entertained by theDutch admiral. The castle of Accapulco was found to be well fortified, and had seventy pieces of brass cannon mounted on its ramparts; and theDutch were here informed that their intended arrival had been known eightmonths before. [Footnote 99: This is probably the northern Lobos, in lat 5° 8' S. Formerly mentioned in a note. --E. ] They set sail from Accapulco on the 18th of October, and soon afterwardstook a bark bound for the pearl fishery, which they manned and took intotheir service as a tender. On the 1st November they anchored before theport of _Selagua_, in lat. 19° 8' N. At this place they were informed ofa river abounding in a variety of excellent fish, and having extensivemeadows on its banks well stocked with cattle, together with citrons andother fruits in great plenty, all of which they much wanted; but thecompany they sent to endeavour to procure these conveniences returnedempty handed, after a smart engagement with the Spaniards. They sailedthence on the 11th November for the port of Nativity, in lat. 20° 40' N. Where they furnished themselves with necessaries, and from whence theyset sail on the 20th. SECTION III. _Voyage Home from America, by the East Indies and Cape of Good Hope_. The 26th November, 1615, being in lat. 20° 26' N. They determined onshaping their course for the Ladrones across the great Pacific Ocean. Onthe 3d December, to their great astonishment, they saw two islands at agreat distance, and next day a vast rock in lat. 19° N. Fifty leaguesfrom the continent of America. [100] The 5th they saw another new island, having five hills, that at first appeared like so many distinct islands. The new year 1616 was ushered in with distempers that proved fatal tomany of the sailors. On the 3d of January they came in sight of theLadrones, where they landed and procured refreshments. Setting sail fromthence on the 26th January, they arrived at the Philippine islands onthe 9th February, but the Indians refused to trade with them, becauseenemies of the Spaniards, though some among them, for that very reason, would willingly have transferred all the trade and riches of the countryto them. In _Capul_, where they arrived on the 11th, the people gavethem fat hogs and poultry in exchange for mere trifles. Having thusprocured abundant refreshments, they set sail on the 16th, passingthrough the straits towards the bay of Manilla. [Footnote 100: The three Marias are nearly in the indicated latitude, but are only about thirty leagues from the western coast of N. America. --E. ] They anchored in these straits on the 19th, where they saw a curiousfabric erected on the top of trees, looking at a distance like a palace, but they could not imagine what it was. The 24th they passed the highand flaming hill of _Albaca_, and came in sight of the other end of thestraits [of St Bernardino] on the 28th, when they anchored before theisland, of _Mirabelles_, remarkable for two rocks which tower to a vastheight in the air. Behind this island is the city of Manilla, and herethe pilots wait for the ships from China, to pilot them safe to thecity, as the passage is very dangerous. On the 5th of March they tookseveral barks, which were going to collect the tribute paid by theadjacent places to the city of Manilla. They had now intelligence of afleet of twelve ships and four gallies, manned by 2000 Spaniards besidesIndians, Chinese, and Japanese, sent from Manilla to drive the Dutchfrom the Moluccas, and to reduce these islands under the dominion ofSpain. On this news they discharged all their prisoners, and resolved togo in pursuit of the Manilla fleet. The 11th March they got into a labyrinth of islands, whence they knewnot how to get out, but their Spanish pilot carried them safe throughnext day. The 14th they anchored all night before the island of _Paney_, by reason of the shoals; and on the 18th they sailed close past theisland of Mindanao. The 19th they came again close to the shore, andbrought provisions from the islanders at a cheap rate. They reached Cape_Cudera_ on the 20th, where the Spaniards usually water on their voyagesto the Moluccas. Till the 23d, having a perfect calm, they made noprogress except with the tide; and when between _Mindanao_ and _Tagano_they were stopt by an adverse current. The people here professed greatenmity against the Spaniards, and offered to assist the Dutch with fiftyof their vessels against that nation. The 27th they passed the island of_Sanguin_, and came on the 29th to Ternate, in which island the Dutchpossessed the town of _Macia_, where they were made most welcome bytheir countrymen. They observed that the straits of _Booton_ was full ofshoals, without which the water was deep. On the east there is goodfresh water, and two leagues to the west lies a very rocky shoal. On the8th of April, Cornelius de Vicaneze went for Banda, where the soldierswere landed, after being long on board ship. Being detained in the Moluccas and at Bantam in the service of the DutchEast India Company till the 14th December, 1616, admiral Spilbergen thensailed from Bantam for Holland, in the Amsterdam of 1400 tons, havingalso under his command the Zealand of 1200 tons, leaving the ships withwhich he had hitherto sailed in India. On the 1st January, 1617, theZealand parted company, and on the 24th of that month the Amsterdamanchored at the island of Mauritius. They doubled the Cape of Good Hopeon the 6th March, and arrived at St Helena on 30th of that month, wherethey found the Zealand. Leaving that island on the 6th April, theypassed the line on the 24th of that month, and arrived safe in Hollandon the 1st July, 1617, having been absent two years, ten months, andtwenty-four days; nearly nine months of which time were spent in India, without prosecuting the direct purpose of their circumnavigation. The directors of the Dutch East India company bestowed the highestcommendations on Spilbergen for his prudence and good conduct in thisvoyage, which contributed both to the advantage of the company, his ownreputation, and the glory of his country. The Dutch company may be saidto have dated their grandeur from the day of his return, both in respectto reputation, power, and riches; the former resulting from hissuccessful circumnavigation of the globe, and the others from theirconquests in the Moluccas, in which he not only assisted, but likewisebrought home the first intelligence. On his return to Holland, Spilbergen confirmed the report of Magellan respecting a gigantic peopleinhabiting the straits, named _Patagons_. He said that he had goneseveral times on shore, and had examined several graves of the natives, and saw several savages at different times in their canoes, all of whomwere of the ordinary size; or rather under. But one day he observed aman on shore, who first climbed one hill and then another, to look atthe ships, and at last came to the sea-side for that purpose, and thisman was allowed by all who saw him to be even taller than those spokenof by Magellan. This is likewise confirmed by the accounts given to VanNoort and De Weert, by a boy they took from the savages; who said therewere only two tribes of these giants, all the other savages being of theordinary size. [101] [Footnote 101: Without pretending to give any opinion on this subject, it may be remarked, that the account from the savage boy is worthy oflittle credit, as a kind of nursery tale, and given by one who certainlycould hardly have sufficient language to express himself. The solitarygiant seen looking at the ships from a distance, may have been of theordinary size, magnified to the eye in looking through a hazyatmosphere. --E. ] CHAPTER VI. VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD, IN 1615-1617, BY WILLIAM CORNELISON SCHOUTEN ANDJACQUES LE MAIRE, GOING ROUND CAPE HORN. [102] INTRODUCTION. The States General of the United Provinces having granted an exclusiveprivilege to the Dutch East India Company, prohibiting all theirsubjects, except that company, from trading to the eastwards beyond theCape of Good Hope, or westwards through the Straits of Magellan, in anyof the countries within these limits, whether known or unknown, andunder very heavy penalties; this prohibition gave great dissatisfactionto many rich merchants, who were desirous of fitting out ships andmaking discoveries at their own cost, and thought it hard that theirgovernment should thus, contrary to the laws of Nature, shut up thosepassages which Providence had left free. Among the number of thesediscontented merchants was one Isaac Le Maire, a rich merchant ofAmsterdam, then residing at Egmont, who was well acquainted withbusiness, and had an earnest desire to employ a portion of the wealth hehad acquired in trade in acquiring fame as a discoverer. With this viewhe applied to William Cornelison Schouten of Horn, a man in easycircumstances, deservedly famous for his great skill in maritimeaffairs, and his extensive knowledge of trade in the Indies, having beenthrice there in the different characters of supercargo, pilot, andmaster. [Footnote 102: Harris, I. 51. Callender, II. 217. It is proper to remark, that in this and several of the subsequentcircumnavigations, considerable freedom has been taken in abbreviatingnumerous trivial circumstances already noticed by former voyagers: Butwhereever the navigators treat on new topics of discovery, or othersubjects of any importance, the narratives are given at full length. Hadnot this liberty of lopping redundancies been taken, this division ofour collection must have extended to a very inconvenient length, withoutany corresponding advantage. --E. ] The main question proposed to him by Le Maire was, Whether he thought itpossible to find a passage into the South Sea, otherwise than by theStraits of Magellan; and if so, whether it were not likely that thecountries to the south of that passage might afford as rich commoditiesas either the East or the West Indies? Schouten was of opinion that sucha passage might be found, and gave several reasons as to the probableriches of these countries. [103] After many conferences, they came to thedetermination of attempting this discovery, under a persuasion that theStates did not intend, by their exclusive charter to the East IndiaCompany, to preclude their subjects from discovering countries in thesouth by a new route, different from either of those described in thecharter. [Footnote 103: The idea of rich countries is here surely wrong stated, as none such could possibly be conceived to the south of the Straits ofMagellan. The expected rich countries must have been to the westwards ofthese straits, and in the tropical regions far to the north, in the hopeof not trenching upon the exclusive trade to the East Indies. --E. ] In consequence of this determination, it was agreed that Le Maireshould advance half of the necessary funds for the expence of theproposed voyage, while Schouten and his friends were to advance theother moiety. Accordingly Le Maire advanced his part of the funds; andSchouten, with the assistance of Peter Clementson, burgomaster of Horn, Jan Janson Molenwert, one of the schepens or aldermen of that city, JanClementson Keis, a senator of that city, and Cornelius Segetson, amerchant, produced the rest. These matters being adjusted, in spring1615, the company proposed to equip two vessels, a larger and a less, tosail from Horn at the proper season. That all parties might besatisfied, it was agreed that William Cornelison Schouten, inconsideration of his age and experience, should command the larger ship, with the entire direction of the navigation during the voyage; and thatJaques le Maire, the eldest son of Isaac, should be supercargo. Everything was got ready in two months for the prosecution of the enterprise, and a sufficient number of men engaged as mariners: but, as secrecy wasindispensable, they were articled to go wherever the masters andsupercargoes should require; and, in consideration of such unusualconditions, their wages were considerably advanced beyond the ordinaryterms. SECTION I. _Journal of the Voyage from the Texel to Cape Horn_. The larger of the two vessels prepared for this voyage was the Unity, of360 tons, carrying nineteen cannon and twelve swivels; having on boardtwo pinnaces, one for sailing and another for rowing, a launch forlanding men, and a small boat, with all other necessaries for so long avoyage. Of this vessel William Cornelison Schouten was master and pilot, and Jaques le Maire supercargo. The lesser vessel was named the Horn, of110 tons, carrying eight cannons and four swivels, of which JanCornelison Schouten was master, and Aris Clawson supercargo. The crew ofthe Unity consisted of sixty-five men, and that of the Horn oftwenty-two only. The Unity sailed on the 25th of May for the Texel, where the Horn also arrived on the 3d June. The proper season being now arrived, in their judgment, they sailed fromthe Texel on the 14th of June, and anchored in the Downs on the 17th, when William Schouten went ashore at Dover to hire an experiencedEnglish gunner. This being effected, they again set sail the sameevening; and meeting a severe storm in the night between the 21st and22d, they took shelter under the Isle of Wight. Sailing thence on the25th, they arrived at Plymouth on the 27th, where they hired a carpenternamed Muydenblick. Sailing finally from Plymouth on the 28th June, withthe wind at N. E. And fair weather, they proceeded on their voyage. Distinct rules were now established in regard to the allowance ofprovisions at sea, so that the men might have no reason to complain, andthe officers might be satisfied of having enough for the voyage. Therate fixed upon was, a cann of beer for each man daily; four pounds ofbiscuit, with half a pound of butter and half a pound of suet weekly;and five large Dutch cheeses for each man, to serve during the wholevoyage. All this was besides the ordinary allowance of salt meat andstock-fish. Due orders were likewise issued for regulating the conductof the men and officers. Particularly on all occasions of landing men ina warlike posture, one of the masters was always to command: and in suchports as they might touch at for trade, the supercargo was to go onshore, and to have the exclusive management of all commercial dealings. It was also enjoined, that every officer should be exceedingly strict inthe execution of his duty, but without subjecting the men to anyunnecessary hardships, or interfering with each other in their severaldepartments. The officers were also warned against holding anyconversation with the men, in regard to the objects of the voyage, allconjectures respecting which were declared fruitless, the secret beingsolely known to the first captain and supercargo. It was also declared, that every embezzlement of stores, merchandises, or provisions, shouldbe severely punished; and, in case of being reduced upon shortallowance, any such offence was to be punished with death. The twosupercargoes were appointed to keep distinct journals of allproceedings, for the information of the company of adventurers, that itmight appear how far every man had done his duty, and in what manner thepurposes of the voyage had been answered. On the 11th July they had sight of Madeira, and on the 13th they passedthrough between Teneriff and Grand Canary, with a stiff breeze at N. N. E. And a swift current. The 15th they passed the tropic of Cancer; and the20th in the morning fell in with the north side of Cape de Verd. Procuring here a supply of water, by leave of the Moorish alcaide orgovernor, for which they had to pay _eight states_ of iron, they leftthe cape on the 1st August, and came in sight of the high land of SierraLeona on the 21st of that month, as also of the island of _Madre bomba_, which lies off the south point of Sierra Leona, and north from theshallows of the island of St Ann. This land of Sierra Leona is thehighest of all that lie between Cape Verd and the coast of Guinea, andis therefore easily known. On the 30th of August, they cast anchor in eight fathoms water on a finesandy bottom, near the shore, and opposite a village or town of thenegroes, in the road of Sierra Leona. This village consisted only ofeight or nine poor thatched huts. The Moorish inhabitants were willingto come on board to trade, only demanding a pledge to be left on shorefor their security, because a French ship had recently carried off twoof the natives perfidiously. Aris Clawson, the junior merchant orsupercargo, went accordingly on shore, where he drove a small trade forlemons and bananas, in exchange for glass beads. In the mean time someof the natives came off to the ships, bringing with them an interpreterwho spoke many languages. They here very conveniently furnishedthemselves with fresh water, which poured down in great abundance from avery high hill, so that they had only to place their casks under thewaterfall. There were here whole woods of lemon-trees, and lemons wereso cheap that they might have had a thousand for a few beads, and tenthousand for a few common knives; so that they easily procured as manyas they wished, and each man had 150 for sea store. The 3d Septemberthey found a vast shoal of fish, resembling a shoemaker's knife. They left Sierra Leona on the 4th September; and on the 5th October, being in lat 4° 27' S. They were astonished by receiving a violentstroke on the bottom of one of the ships, though no rock appeared to bein the way. While forming conjectures on the occasion of this shock, thesea all about the ship began to change colour, appearing as if somegreat fountain of blood had opened into it. This sudden alteration ofthe water seemed not less wonderful than the striking of the ship; butthe cause of both was not discovered till after their arrival in PortDesire, when the ship was laid on shore to clean her bottom, when theyfound a large horn, of a substance resembling ivory, sticking fast inthe bottom. It was entirely firm and solid, without any internal cavity, and had pierced through three very stout planks, grazing one of the ribsof the ship, and stuck at least a foot deep in the wood, leaving aboutas much on the outside, up to the place where it broke off. [104] [Footnote 104: This must have been a Narvai, or Narwhal, the MonodonMonoceros, Licorne, or Unicornu Marinum, of naturalists, called likewisethe Unicorn Fish, or Sea Unicorn. --E. ] On the 25th of October, when no person knew whereabouts they were exceptSchouten, the company was informed that the design of the voyage was toendeavour to discover a new southern passage into the South Sea; and thepeople appeared well pleased, expecting to discover some new goldencountry to make amends for all their trouble and danger. The 26th theywere in lat. 6° 25' S. And continued their course mostly to the southall the rest of that month, till they were in lat 10° 30' S. The 1stSeptember they had the sun at noon to the north; and in the afternoonof the 3d they had sight of the isle of Ascension, in 20° S. Otherwisecalled the island of Martin Vaz, where the compass was observed to vary12° to the east of north. The 21st, in lat. 38° S. The compass varied17° in the same eastern direction. The 6th December, they got sight ofthe mainland of South America, appearing rather flat, and of a whitecolour, and quickly after fell in with the north head-land of PortDesire, anchoring that night in ten fathoms water with the ebb-tide, within a league and a half of the shore. Next day, resuming their coursesouthwards, they came into Port Desire at noon, in lat. 47° 40' S. Theyhad very deep water at the entrance, where they did not observe any ofthe cliffs which were described by Van Noort, as left by him to thenorthward on sailing into this haven, all the cliffs they saw being onthe south side of the entrance, which therefore might be those mentionedby Van Noort, and misplaced in his narrative by mistake. In consequence of this error, they overpassed Port Desire to the south, so as to miss the right channel, and came into a crooked channel, wherethey had four and a half fathoms water at full sea, and only fourteenfeet at low water. By this means the Unity got fast aground by thestern, and had infallibly been lost, if a brisk gale had blown from theN. E. But as the wind blew west from the land, she got off again withoutdamage. Here they found vast quantities of eggs upon the cliffs; and thebay afforded them great abundance of muscles, and smelts sixteen incheslong, for which reason they called it _Smelt Bay_. From this place theysent a pinnace to the Penguin Islands, which brought back 150 of thesebirds, and two sea lions. Leaving Smelt Bay on the 8th December, they made sail for Port Desire, aboat going before to sound the depth of the channel, which was twelveand thirteen fathoms, so that they sailed in boldly, having a fair windat N. E. After going in little more than a league, the wind began to veerabout, and they cast anchor in twenty fathoms; but the ground, consisting entirely of slippery stones, and the wind now blowing strongat N. W. They drifted to the south shore, where both ships had nearlybeen wrecked. The Unity lay with her side to the cliffs, yet still keptafloat, and gradually slid down towards the deep water as the tide fell. But the Horn stuck fast aground, so that at last her keel was above afathom out of the water, and a man might have walked under it at lowwater. For some time, the N. W. Wind blowing hard on one side, kept herfrom falling over; but, that dying away, she at length fell over on herbends, when she was given over for lost; but next flood, coming on withcalm weather, righted her again. Having escaped this imminent danger, both ships went farther up the river on the 9th, and came to King'sIsland, which they found full of black sea-mews, and almost entirelycovered with their eggs; so that a man without moving from one spotmight reach fifty or sixty nests with his hands, having three or foureggs in each. They here accordingly were amply provided with eggs, andlaid in several thousands of them for sea store. The 11th the boats were sent down the river in search of fresh water, onthe south side, but found it all brackish and unpleasant. They sawostriches here, and a sort of beasts like harts, having wonderfully longnecks, and extremely wild. Upon the high hills, they found great heapsof stones, under which some monstrous carcass had been buried, some ofthe bones being ten or eleven feet long, which, if having belonged torational creatures, must have been the bones of giants. [105] They herehad plenty of good fish and fowls, but no water could be found for somedays. [Footnote 105: Giants indeed; for thigh bones of ten or eleven feetlong, and these are the longest in the human body, would argue men of_thirty-one feet high_!--E. ] On the 17th December, the Unity was laid ashore on King's island, inorder to clean her bottom, and next day the Horn was hauled on shore forthe same purpose, but providentially at the distance of about 200 yardsfrom her consort: For, on the 19th, while burning a fire of dry reedsunder the Horn, which was necessary for the object in view, the flamecaught hold of the ship, and they were forced to see her burn withoutbeing able to do any thing to extinguish the fire, as they were at leastfifty feet from the water side. They launched the Unity at high water onthe 20th, and next day carried on board all the iron-work, anchors, cannon, and whatever else they had been able to save belonging to theHorn. On the 25th some holes full of fresh water were found, which was whiteand muddy, yet well tasted, and of which a great quantity was carriedon board, in small casks on the men's shoulders. At this place, theyfound great numbers of sea lions, the young of which are good to eat. This creature is nearly as big as a small horse, their heads resemblinglions, and the males having long manes on their necks of tough coarsehair; but the females have no manes, and are only half as large as themales. They are a bold and fierce animal, and only to be destroyed bymusket shot. January 18th, 1616, they departed from Port Desire: and on the 18th, being in lat. 51° S they saw the Sebaldine [or Faulkland] islands, aslaid down by de Weert. The 20th, being in lat. 53° S. And by estimationtwenty leagues to the South of the Straits of Magellan, they observed astrong current running to the S. W. The 22d the wind was uncertain, andshifting, and the water had a white appearance, as if they had beenwithin the land; and holding on their course, S. By W. They saw landthat same day, bearing from them W. And W. S. W. And quickly afterwardssaw other land to the south. Then attempting, by an E. S. E. Course, toget beyond the land, they were constrained to take in their topsails, bythe wind blowing hard at north. In the forenoon of the 24th they sawland to starboard, at the distance of a league, stretching out to theeast and south, having very high hills all covered with snow. They thensaw other land bearing east from the former, which likewise was high andrugged. According to estimation, these two lands lay about eight leaguesasunder, and they guessed there might be a good passage between them, because of a brisk current which ran to the southward in the directionof that opening. At noon they made their latitude 54° 46', [106] andstood towards the before-mentioned opening, but were delayed by a calm. At this place they saw a prodigious multitude of penguins, and suchnumbers of whales that they had to proceed with much caution, beingafraid they might injure their ship by running against them. [Footnote 106: They were here obviously approaching the Straits of LeMaire, discovered on the present occasion, the northern opening of whichis in lat. 54° 40' S. The southern in 55° S. And the longitude 65° 15'W. From Greenwich. --E. ] In the forenoon of the 25th they got close in with the eastern land, andupon its north side, which stretched E. S. E. As far as the eye couldcarry. This they named _States Land_, and to that which lay westward ofthe opening they gave the name of _Maurice Land_. [107] The land on bothsides seemed entirely bare of trees and shrubs, but had abundance ofgood roads and sandy bays, with great store of fish, porpoises, penguins and other birds. Having a north wind at their entrance intothis passage, they directed their course S. S. W. And going at a briskrate, they were at noon in lat. 55° 36' S. And then held a S. W. Coursewith a brisk gale. The land on the south side of the passage or Straitsof _Le Maire_, and west side, to which they gave the name of _MauriceLand_, [being the east side of the Terra del Fuego] appeared to runW. S. W. And S. W. As far as they could see, and was all a very rugged, uneven, and rocky coast. In the evening, having the wind at S. W. Theysteered S. Meeting with prodigious large waves, rolling along before thewind; and, from the depth of the water to leeward, which appeared byvery evident signs, they were fully convinced that they had the greatSouth Sea open before them, into which they had now almost made theirway by a new passage of their own discovering. [Footnote 107: The former of these names is still retained, but not thelatter; the land on the west of the Straits of Le Maire being Terra delFuego; and the cape at the N. W. Of the straits mouths is now called CapeSt Vincent, while the S. W. Point is named Cape St Diego. --E. ] At this place the _sea-mews_ were larger than swans, their wings whenextended measuring six feet from tip to tip. These often alighted on theship, and were so tame as to allow themselves to be taken by hand, without even attempting to escape. The 26th at noon they made theirlatitude 57° S. Where they were assailed by a brisk storm at W. S. W. Thesea running very high, and of a blue colour. They still held theircourse to the southwards, but changed at night to the N. W. In whichdirection they saw very high land. At noon of the 27th they were in 56°51' S. The weather being very cold, with hail and rain, and the wind atW. And W. By S. The 28th they had great billows rolling from the west, and were at noon in 56° 48' S. The 29th having the wind at N. E. Theysteered S. W. And came in sight of two islands W. S. W. Of their course, beset all round with cliffs. They got to these islands at noon, givingthe name of _Barnevelt's Islands_, and found their latitude to be 57°S. [108] "Being unable to sail _above_ them, they held their course tothe north; and taking a N. W. Course in the evening from Barnevelt'sislands, they saw land N. W. And N. N. W. From them, being the loftymountainous land covered with snow, which lies to the south of thestraits of Magellan, [called Terra del Fuego, ] and which ends in a sharppoint, to which they gave the name of _Cape Horn_, which is in lat. 57°48' S. "[109] [Footnote 108: Only 56°, so that by some inaccuracy of instruments orcalculation, the observations of the latitude, in this voyage, seem allconsiderably too high. --E. ] [Footnote 109: The course in the text within inverted commas, fromBarnevelt's islands to Cape Horn, is evidently erroneously stated. Itought to have run thus. "Being unable to pass to the north of theseislands, they held their course S. W. Seeing land on the N. W. And N. N. W. Of their course, which ended in a sharp point, which they named _CapeHorn_. "--Cape Horn is in lat. 56° 15' S. And long. 67° 45' W. FromGreenwich. --E. ] They now held their course westwards, being assisted by a strong currentin that direction; yet had the wind from the north, and had heavybillows meeting them from the west. The 30th, the current and billows asbefore, they were fully assured of having the way open into the SouthSea, and this day at noon they made their latitude 57° 34' S. The 31stsailing west, with the wind at north, their latitude at noon was 58° S. But the wind changing to W. And W. S. W. They passed Cape Horn, losingsight of land altogether, still meeting huge billows rolling from thewest with a blue sea, which made them believe they were in the mainSouth Sea. February 1st, they had a storm at S. W. And sailed N. W. AndW. N. W. The 2d, having the wind at W. They sailed southwards, and cameinto the lat. Of 57° 58' S. The 3d they made their latitude 59° 25' S. With a strong wind at W. But saw no signs of any land to the South. SECTION II. _Continuation of the Voyage, from Cape Horn to the Island of Java. _ Altering their course to the northwards, they plainly discerned thewestern mouth of the Straits of Magellan, bearing east from them, on the12th February; and being now quite sure of their new and happydiscovery, they returned thanks to the Almighty for their good fortuneover a cup of wine, which was handed three times round the company. Tothis new-found passage or straits, leading from the Atlantic into thePacific, they gave the name of the _Straits of Le Maire_, though thathonour ought justly to have been given to _Schouten, _ by whose excellentconduct these straits were discovered. By the 27th of February they were in lat. 40° S. With fair weather, continuing their course to the north; but on the 28th, they determinedto sail for the island of Juan Fernandez, to give some rest andrefreshment to their sickly and wearied company. That day their latitudeat noon was 35° 53' S. In the evening they shortened sail, fearing tofall in with the land in the night. Next day, being the 1st of March, they saw the islands of Juan Fernandez to the N. N. E. And got up to themat noon, being in the lat. Of 35° 53' S. [110] The smaller of theseislands is that to the westwards, [Masafuero, ] which is very barren androcky. The greater [Juan Fernandez, ] to the eastwards, though also veryhigh and mountainous, is yet fruitful and well shaded with trees. Thisisland affords plenty of hogs and goats; and there is such excellentfishing all round, that the Spaniards come hither for that purpose, andtransport vast quantities of fish from hence to Peru. [Footnote 110: The latitude of Juan Fernandez is only 33° 42' S. The twoislands mentioned in the text under this name, are Juan Fernandez andMasafuero; the former in long. 77° 80', the latter in 79° 40', both W. From Greenwich. Or perhaps, the second island may be the Small Goat's orRabbit Island, off its S. W. End, called _Isola de Cabras_, or _deConejos_. --E. ] The road or haven of Juan Fernandez, [named la Baia, or CumberlandHarbour, ] is at the east end of the island; but they shaped their courseto the west end, where they could find no place in which to anchor. Theboat being sent in search of an anchorage, brought an account of abeautiful valley, full of trees and thickets, and refreshed by streamsof water running down from the hills, with a variety of animals feedingin this pleasant spot. The boat brought also great store of fish onboard, being mostly lobsters and crabs, and reported having seen manysea wolves. Finding the island inaccessible, they took a considerablequantity of fish, and procured a supply of fresh water, after which theydetermined to pursue their voyage. The 11th March they passed the tropic of Capricorn to the north, thewind in general being E. S. E. And they held their course N. N. W. Till the15th, when being in lat. 18° S. They changed their course to W. The 3dApril they were in 15° 12' S. Being then much afflicted with the flux, and that day they saw a small low island which they got up to at noon. Finding no bottom, they could not come to anchor, but sent some menashore in the boat. They found nothing here fit for refreshment, exceptsome herbs which tasted like scurvy grass, and saw some dogs whichcould neither bark nor snarl, and for which reason they named it DogIsland. It is in lat. 15° 12', and they judged it to be 925 leagues westfrom the coast of Peru. [111] The interior of this island is so low, thatit seemed mostly overflowed at high water, its outskirt being a sort ofdike or mound, overgrown with trees, between which the salt waterpenetrates in several places. [Footnote 111: Dog Island is in lat. 15° 18' S. And long. 137° W. About1200 marine leagues west from the coast of Peru under the same parallel. By the description in the text it seems one of those which are usuallytermed _lagoon_ islands--E. ] The 14th, sailing W. And W. By N. They saw a large low island in theafternoon, reaching a considerable way N. E. And S. W. At sun-set, beingabout a league from this island, a canoe came to meet them, in whichwere some naked Indians of a reddish colour, having long black hair. They made signs to the Dutch to go on shore, and spoke to them in alanguage which was not understood; neither did the Indians understandthem, though spoken to in Spanish, Moluccan, and Javan. Getting near thecoast, no bottom could be found, though only a musket-shot from land. They now sailed S. S. W. Along the island, making ten leagues during thenight, and continued along the shore on the 15th, many naked peoplecontinually inviting them to land. At length a canoe came off, but thenatives would not venture into the ship, yet came to the boat, where theDutch gave them beads, knives, and other trifles; but they found themthievishly disposed, much like the natives of the Ladrones, and were sofond of iron, that they stole the nails from the cabin windows, and thebolts from the doors. Their skins were all pictured over with snakes, dragons, and such like reptiles, and they were entirely naked, except apiece of mat before them. A boat was sent ashore well armed, andimmediately on landing, about thirty of the natives rushed from a wood, armed with clubs, slings, and long staves or spears, and would haveseized the boat and taken away the arms from the soldiers; but onreceiving a discharge of musquetry they run off. Not being able toanchor here, they called this the _Island without ground_. It is low, and mostly composed of white sandy ground, on which are many trees, which were supposed to be cocoas and palmitos. It is not broad, but ofconsiderable length, being in lat. 15° S. And about 100 leagues from DogIsland. [112] [Footnote 112: Sondre-ground, or Without-ground, is in lat. 15° 12' S. And 143° 25' W. Long. --E. ] Finding nothing could be done here, they held on their course to thewest, and on the 16th came to another island, about fifteen leaguesnorth from the former. This seemed all drowned land, yet its skirts werewell clothed with trees. Here also they found no ground, and it yieldednothing but a few herbs, with some crabs and other shell-fish, whichthey found good eating. It afforded them also good fresh water, whichthey found in a pit not far from the shore. The pottage or soup, whichthey made of certain herbs gathered here, proved serviceable to thosewho were afflicted with the flux. They called this _Water Island_, [113]because it supplied them with fresh water. [Footnote 113: Water-land is in lat. 15° S. And 146° W. Long. --E. ] Sailing from this island westwards, they came on the 18th to anotherisland 20 leagues distant from the last, and extending a considerableway N. W. And S. E. Dispatching the boat in search of anchorage, a bottomwas found near a point of land, in 25 and 40 fathoms, about amusket-shot from the shore, where also was a gentle stream of freshwater. This news induced them to send back the boat with some casks forwater: But after using much pains to get on shore, and searching in thewood to find a spring, they were frightened away by seeing a savage. Ongetting back to their boat, five or six more of the savages came to theshore, but on seeing the Dutch put off they soon retired into the woods. Although they thus got rid of the savages, they encountered otheradversaries of a formidable nature; for they were followed from thewoods by innumerable myriads of black flies, so that they came on boardabsolutely covered with them from head to foot, and the plague of fliesbegan to rage in the ship in a most intolerable manner. This persecutionlasted three or four days, on which account they called this _FlyIsland_, [114] and by the help of a good breeze of wind, they left it asfast as they could. [Footnote 114: The next island W. Or rather S. W. From Water-land, andnearly at the distance in the text, is now called Palliser'sisland. --E. ] Continuing their course westwards from the 19th of April to the 9th ofMay, when they were in lat. 15° 20' S. And estimated their distance fromPeru 1510 leagues to the west, they perceived a bark coming towardsthem, on which they fired a gun or two to make them strike. But thosewho were in her, either not understanding the language of cannon, orunwilling to obey, made off as fast as they could; on which the Dutchsent their boat with ten musqueteers to intercept them. Some of thesavages in the bark leapt overboard, and the rest surrendered withoutresistance, on which the Dutch used them kindly, dressing those thatwere wounded, and saving the lives of some who had leapt into the sea. Besides the men, there were eight women and several children, being inall twenty-three, remaining in the bark. They were a cleanly neat kindof people, of a reddish colour, and entirely naked except the parts ofshame. The men wore their long black curled hair, but that of the womenwas cut short. The bark was of a singular figure and construction, consisting of twocanoes fastened together, in the midst of each of which were two planksof red wood to keep out the water, and several others went across fromone canoe to the other, being made fast and close above, and projectedover a good way on each side. At the end of one of the canoes, on thestarboard side, there stood a mast, having a fork at its upper end, where the yard lay; the sail being of mats, and the ropes of that kindof stuff of which fig-frails are made in Spain. Their only furnitureconsisted of a few fishing-hooks, the upper part of which was of stone, and the other of bone, tortoise-shell, or mother-of-pearl. They had nowater on board, instead of which they satisfied themselves with theliquor of a few cocoa-nuts; in default of which they drank sea-water, which even the children did heartily. The Dutch sent them all again onboard their vessel, where the women welcomed their husbands with joyfulembraces, after which they made away to the south-east. [115] [Footnote 115: This double canoe seems to have belonged to the Societyislands, and was perhaps bound towards Otaheite, by the course which itfollowed on getting rid of the Dutch. --E. ] The 10th of May, Schouten continued his course W. S. W. And that day sawsome very high land to larboard, S. E. By S. About eight leagues off. The11th they came to a very high island, and about two leagues south fromthis to one much lower; and the same day sailed over a bank where theyhad fourteen fathoms on a stoney bottom, about two leagues from theland, and being past this bank could find no bottom. At this timeanother bark, or double canoe like the former, came up to them, having asmall loose single canoe in her, to put out upon occasion. She sailed sofast that few Dutch ships could have outstripped her. She was steeredbehind by two oars, one in each canoe, and when they have a mind totack they use oars forwards. Sending their boat to sound at one of theseislands, ground was found a cannon-shot from the shore, in twelve, fourteen, and fifteen fathoms, but shelvy. The savages in the bark madesigns as if directing them to the other island, but they anchored at theformer in twenty-five fathoms on a sandy bottom, a cannon-shot fromshore. This island, in lat. 16° 10' S. Is one entire mountain, looking like oneof the Molucca islands, and all covered with cocoa-nut trees, for whichreason they named it Cocoa island. [116] The other island is much lowerthan this, but longer, and stretches east and west. While at anchor offCocoa island there came three _ships_, [117] and nine or ten canoes aboutthem, having three or four men in each. Some of these holding out whiteflags in token of peace, the Dutch did so likewise. The canoes were flatbefore and sharp behind, hewed each out of one piece of a red kind ofwood, and sailed very swiftly. On coming near the Unity, some of thesavages leapt into the sea and swam to the ship, having their hands fullof cocoa-nuts and _ubes-roots, _[118] which they bartered for nails andbeads, giving four or five cocoa-nuts for a nail or a small string ofbeads, so that the Dutch that day procured 180 cocoa-nuts. This trafficbrought so many of the natives on board, that the Dutch could hardlystir about the ship. [Footnote 116: Cocas, or Boscawen island, is in 16° 32' S. And long. 169° 35' W. The other island mentioned in the text, Traitors, or Keppelisland, is a few leagues S. S. W. From Cocos. --E. ] [Footnote 117: These ships must have been large double canoes. --E. ] [Footnote 118: These _ubes_-roots were perhaps the same that are called_eddoes_ by modern navigators among the South Sea islands. --E. ] The boat was now sent to the other island to see for a more convenientplace in which to anchor; but she was presently beset by a vast numberof canoes filled with a mad sort of people, armed with clubs, whoboarded the boat and attacked the Dutchmen. On firing their muskets, thesavages laughed at them for making so much noise and doing so littlehurt; but, on the next discharge, one of them being shot through thebreast, they learnt to pay more respect to the muskets, and to keeptheir due distance for the future. The savages were lusty, well-proportioned men, and most expert swimmers, but naked and thievish, and very fantastical in the fashion of their hair, some having itshort, others long, some curled, and others plaited or folded up invarious forms. On the 12th the savages came again in their canoes, laden with cocoas, bananas, _ubes-roots_, hogs, and fresh water, contending violently whoshould get first on board. Those who were behind, being unable to getover the throng of canoes and men before them, leapt into the sea, anddiving under the canoes, swam to the ship with bunches of cocoas intheir mouths, and climbed up the side like so many rats, and in suchswarms that the Dutch had to keep them off with cudgels. The Dutchbartered with them that day for so many cocoas, as to produce twelve foreach of their men, being eighty-five in number. The natives wonderedmuch at the size and strength of the Dutch ship; and some of them evendived under her bottom, knocking it with stones, as if to try how strongit was. The king of these savages sent a black hog on board as apresent, charging the messenger to take no reward. Shortly after he camein person, in a large ship of their fashion, attended by thirty-fivesingle canoes; and when at a small distance from the ship, he and allhis people began to bawl out as loud as they could, being their mannerof welcoming strangers. The Dutch received him with drums and trumpets, which pleased him much; and he and his attendants shewed their sense ofthis honourable reception by bowing and clapping their hands. The kinggave them a present after his fashion, which they requited with an oldhatchet, some rusty nails and glass beads, and a piece of linen, withall which he seemed much pleased. This king was not distinguished fromhis subjects by any external mark of dignity, but merely by thereverence they shewed him, as he was equally naked with all the rest;but he could not be prevailed on to come on board the Unity. At noon on the 13th, the Dutch ship was surrounded by twenty-three largedouble canoes, or ships of their fashion, and forty-five single canoes, in all of which there could not be less than seven or eight hundred men. At first they pretended to come for the purpose of trade, making signsof friendship, and endeavouring to prevail upon the Dutch to removetheir ship to the other island, where they would be better accommodated. Yet, in spite of all these fair pretences, the Dutch suspected that somemischief was intended by the savages, who now began to environ the shipall around, and then, with a great outcry, made a sudden attack. Theking's ship was the foremost in the action, and rushed with suchviolence against the Unity, that the heads of the two canoes composingit were both dashed to pieces. The rest came on as well as they could, throwing repeated showers of great stones on board; but the Dutch, having been on their guard, so galled them with musquetry, and withthree great guns loaded with musket-balls and nails, that all thesavages were fain to quit their canoes, and seek for safety in thewater. Being thus put to the rout, they dispersed as quickly aspossible. These treacherous savages were inhabitants of the lower, ormore southerly, of the two islands, which therefore the Dutch named_Traitor's Island_. Schouten sailed from Cocoa Island that same day, holding a course to theW. And W. By S. And came on the 14th to another island, about thirtyleagues from Cocoa Island, to which he gave the name of _HopeIsland_, [119] because expecting there to meet with refreshments. Findingno ground for anchorage, the boat was sent to sound along shore, andfound a stony bottom about a musket-shot from the shore, in some placeshaving forty, and in others twenty and thirty fathoms, and then nobottom at all next throw of the lead. Some ten or twelve canoes came offto the ship, bartering a small quantity of flying fishes for beads, thearticles being reciprocally exchanged by means of a rope let down fromthe stern of the ship. From this peddling traffic the Indians soon afterwithdrew, and endeavoured to board and carry away the boat which wasemployed in sounding; but met with such a reception from guns, pikes, and cutlasses, that after two of them were slain, they were glad tohurry away as fast as they could. This island was mostly composed ofblack cliffs, which were green on the top, and seemed well stocked withcocoa-trees. There were several houses seen along the sea side; and inone place was a large village close beside a strand, or landing-place. As there was no convenient anchorage at this place, the ground beingextremely rough, Schouten proceeded on his voyage to the S. W. Meaning topursue the originally intended discovery of a southern continent. [Footnote 119: Hope Island is in lat. 16° 32' S. And in 177° 25' W. Longitude. --E. ] The 18th May, being in lat. 16° 5' S. And the west wind becoming veryunsteady, they began to consult as to the farther prosecution of theirvoyage. Schouten represented that they were now at least 1600 leagueswestward from the coast of Peru, without having made the expecteddiscovery of a southern land, of which there was now no greatprobability of success, having already sailed much farther west thanthey at first intended. He said also, if they persisted in followingtheir present course, they would assuredly come to the southern side ofNew Guinea; and if they were unable to find a passage through thatcountry, to the west or north, they would inevitably be lost, since itwould be impossible for them to get back again, by reason of the eastwinds which continually reign in these seas. For these reasons, andothers which he urged, he proposed, that they should now alter theircourse to the northwards, so as to fall in with the north side of NewGuinea. [120] This proposal was embraced by all the company, and it wasimmediately determined to change the course to N. N. W. Accordingly, holding their course in that new direction, they saw two islands at noonof the 19th, about eight leagues from them, N. E. By E. And seeming to bea cannon-shot distant from each other. [121] Upon this they steered N. E. With fair weather and a scanty wind, meaning to approach this island, but could only get within a league of it on the 21st, when they werevisited by two canoes, the people in which began immediately to threatenthem with loud cries, and at the same time seemed preparing to darttheir _assagays_ or spears: but, on a discharge from the ship, they madeoff in haste, leaving two of their companions behind them who wereslain, and a shirt they had stolen from the ship. Next day other nativescame to the ship on friendly and peaceable terms, bringing cocoa-nuts, ubes-roots, and roasted hogs, which they bartered for knives, beads, andnails. [Footnote 120: It is almost needless to mention, that if Schouten hadcontinued his course in the former parallel of between 15° and 16° S. Hemust have fallen in with the group of islands now called the NewHebrides, and afterward with the northern part of New South Wales. --E. ] [Footnote 121: This was only one island, in lat. 15° S. And long. 180°10' W. Which they named Horn Island. --E. ] The natives of this island were all as expert swimmers and divers asthose in Traitor's Island, and as well versed in cheating and stealing, which they never failed to do when an opportunity offered. Their housesstood all along the shore, being thatched with leaves, and having each akind of penthouse to shed off the rain. They were mostly ten or twelvefeet high, and twenty-five feet in compass, their only furniture withinbeing a bed of dry leaves, a fishing-rod or two, and a great club, eventhe house of their king being no better provided than the rest. At thisisland the Dutch found good convenience for watering; and on the 26ththey sent three of their principal people on shore as hostages, orpledges, of friendship with the islanders, retaining six of them aboardin the same capacity. The Dutch pledges were treated on shore with greatrespect by the king, who presented them with four hogs; and gave strictorders that none of his people should give the smallest disturbance tothe boat while watering. The natives stood in great awe of their king, and were very fearful of having any of their crimes made known to him. One of them having stolen a cutlass, and complaint being made to one ofthe king's officers, the thief was pursued and soundly drubbed, besidesbeing forced to make restitution; on which occasion the officersignified, that it was well for the culprit that the king knew not ofhis crime, otherwise his life would certainly have been forfeited. These islanders were extremely frightened at the report of a gun, whichwould set them all running like so many madmen. Yet on one occasion theking desired to hear one of the great guns let off, and being set forthat purpose under a canopy, with all his courtiers about him, in greatstate, the gun was no sooner fired than he ran off into the woods asfast as possible, followed by his attendants, and no persuasions of theDutch could stop them. The 25th and 26th the Dutch went ashore toendeavour to procure hogs, but were unable to get any, as the islandershad now only a few left, and would only part with cocoas, bananas, andubes-roots; yet the king continued his wonted kindness and respect, andhe and his lieutenant took the crowns from their own heads, and set themon the heads of two of the company. These crowns were composed of thewhite, red, and green feathers of parrots and doves. The doves of thisisland are white on the back, and black every where else except thebreast; and each of the king's counsellors has one of these birdssitting beside him on a stick. The ship being completely supplied with fresh water on the 28th, Schouten and Le Maire went ashore with the trumpets, with which musicthe king was highly gratified. He told them of his wars with theinhabitants of the other island, and shewed several caves and thicketswhere they were in use to place ambuscades. It plainly appeared that hewas fearful of the Dutch having some design of seizing his country, ashe would fain have engaged them to go to war with the other island, andeven offered to give them ten hogs and a good quantity of cocoas, ifthey would be gone from his island in two days. Yet he made them a visitaboard, praying when he entered the ship, and praying also at everycabin he entered. He used always to pray likewise every time the Dutchcame ashore to visit him. His subjects also shewed great submission tothe Dutch, kissing their feet, and laying them on their own necks, withall the marks of awe and fear they could express. The 30th of May was a day of great ceremony, in consequence of the kingof the _other island_[122] coming to visit the king of this. This kingwas accompanied by a train of 300 naked Indians, having bunches of greenherbs stuck about their waists, of which herb they make their drink. Tomake sure of a welcome, this king brought with him a present of sixteenhogs. When the two kings came in sight of each other, they began to bowand to mutter certain prayers; on meeting they both fell prostrate onthe ground, and after several strange gestures, they got up and walkedto two seats provided for them, where they uttered a few more prayers, bowing reverently to each other, and at length sat down under the samecanopy. After this, by way of doing honour to the stranger king, amessenger was sent aboard, requesting to send the drums and trumpetsashore, which was done accordingly, and they played a march to the greatentertainment of the two kings. After this a solemn banquet wasprepared, for which they began to make ready their liquor, and in thefollowing strange and abominable manner. A number of Indians came intothe presence of the two kings and their attendants, bringing a goodquantity of _cana_, the herb of which they make their drink, each ofwhom took a large mouthful thereof, and having chewed it a while, put itfrom their mouths into a large wooden trough, and poured water on thechewed herb. After stirring it some time, they squeezed out all theliquor, which they presented in cups to the two kings. [123] They alsooffered of it to the Dutch, who were ready to vomit at the nastiness ofits preparation. [Footnote 122: No _other island_ is to be found in modern maps near HornIsland, the nearest being the Feejee Islands, a numerous group, aboutthirty leagues S. S. W. It is therefore probable that Horn Island may haveconsisted of two peninsulas, united by a low narrow neck, appearing toSchouten as two distinct islands. --E. ] [Footnote 123: In the Society Islands, as related by modern navigators, an intoxicating liquor is prepared nearly in a similar manner, bychewing the _ava_, or pepper-root. --E. ] The eating part of this entertainment consisted of ubes-roots roasted, and hogs nicely dressed in the following manner: Having ripped opentheir bellies and taken out the entrails, they singed off the hair, andput hot stones into their bellies, by which, without farther cleaning ordressing, they were made fit for the royal feast. [124] They presentedtwo hogs dressed in this manner to the Dutch, with all the form andceremony used to their kings, laying them first on their heads, thenkneeling with much humility, they left them at their feet. They gave theDutch also eleven living hogs; for which they got in return a present ofknives, old nails, and glass beads, with which they were well pleased. The natives of this island were of a dark yellow colour, so tall, large, strong, and well-proportioned, that the tallest of the Dutch could onlybe compared with the smallest among them. Some wore their hair curled, frizzled, or tied up in knots, while others had it standing bolt uprighton their heads, like hog's-bristles, a quarter of an ell high. The kingand some of his chief men had long locks of hair, hanging down belowtheir hips, bound with a few knots. The women were all very uglyfigures, short and ill-shaped, their breasts hanging down to theirbellies like empty satchels, and their hair close cropped. Both sexeswere entirely naked, except a slight covering in front. They seemedaltogether void of any devotion, and free from care, living on what theearth spontaneously produces, without any art, industry, or cultivation. They neither sow nor reap, neither buy nor sell, neither do any thingfor a living, but leave all to nature, and must starve if that fail themat any time. They seem also to have as little regard for the dictates ofdecency and modesty, as for those of civil policy and prudence; for theywill use their women openly in the largest assembly, even in presence oftheir king, whom, in other respects, they so greatly reverence. To thisisland the Dutch gave the name of Horn Island, from the town in Hollandwhence they fitted out; and named the haven in which they anchored_Unity Bay_, after their ship. This bay, resembling a natural dock, ison the south side of the island, in the latitude of 14° 16' S. [125] [Footnote 124: Modern voyagers describe this mode of dressing moreminutely. A pit is dug in the earth, which is lined with heated stones, on which the hog is placed, having hot stones in its belly, and iscovered with other hot stones, when the pit is covered up like a grave. After remaining a sufficient time in this situation, the _barbacued hog_is said to be nicely dressed. --E. ] [Footnote 125: The latitude and longitude of Horn Island have been givenin a former note, but its most extreme south point may reach to 15° 16'S. --E. ] Leaving Horn Island on the 1st of June, they saw no other land till the21st, when they made towards a very low island bearing S. S. W. By W. Fromthem, in lat. 4° 47' S. Near which were several sands stretching N. W. From the land, as also three or four small islands very full of trees. Here a canoe came to the Unity, of the same odd fashion with thoseformerly described. The people also were much like those formerly seen, only blacker, and armed with bows and arrows, being the first they hadseen among the Indians of the South Sea. These people told them, bysigns, that there was more land to the westwards, where their kingdwelt, and where there were good refreshments to be had. On thisinformation, they sailed on the 22d W. And W. By N. In the lat. Of 4°45' S. And saw that day at least twelve or thirteen islands closetogether, lying W. S. W. From them, and reaching S. E. And N. W. About halfa league, but they left these to larboard. The 24th, the wind being S. They saw three low islands to larboard, S. W. Of their course, one ofthem very small, the other two being each two miles long, all very fullof trees, to which they gave the name of _Green Islands_. [126] Theshores of these islands were rugged and full of cliffs, presenting noplace for anchoring, wherefore they proceeded on their voyage. [Footnote 126: These Green Islands of Schouten are laid down in our bestmodern maps in lat. 4° S. And long. 205° 20' W. The other two groupsmentioned at this place in the text and without names, seem to have beenthe _Four Islands_ and the _Nine Islands_ of Carteret, to the S. E. OfGreen Islands. --E. ] On the 25th, being St John the Baptist's day, they sailed past anotherisland, on which were seven or eight hovels, which they named St John'sIsland. [Lat. 3° 40' S. Long. 206° 20' W. ] At this time they saw somevery high land to the S. W. Which they thought to be the western point ofNew Guinea. [127] They reached this coast by noon, and sailed along, sending their boat in search of an anchorage, but no bottom could thenbe found. Two or three canoes filled with a barbarous people attackedthe boat with slings, but were soon driven away by the muskets. Thesepeople were very black, entirely naked, and spoke a quite differentlanguage from that of the islanders they had seen hitherto. They keptfires burning on the coast all night, and some of them came lurkingabout the ship in their canoes; but though the Dutch, on discoveringthem, did every thing they could to conciliate, they would notunderstand any signs made for procuring provisions, but answered allwith horrible noises and outcries. [Footnote 127: This land was discovered afterwards to be separate fromNew Guinea, and is now named New Ireland, having another large islandinterposed, called New Britain. --E. ] At night, they anchored in a bay in 40 fathoms on uneven ground. Aboutthis place the country was high and verdant, and afforded a pleasantprospect, being, as they guessed, 1840 leagues west from the coast ofPeru. In the morning of the 26th, three canoes came to the ship, quitefull of these barbarians, being well armed after their manner, withclubs, wooden swords, and slings. The Dutch treated them kindly, givingthem several toys to procure their favour; but they were not to be wonby kindness, neither could they be taught good manners except by thelanguage of the great guns: For they presently assaulted the ship withall their force, and continued till ten or twelve of them were slain bycannon-shot. They then threw themselves into the water, endeavouring toescape by swimming and diving; but they were pursued in the water by theboat, when several were knocked in the head, and three prisoners taken, besides four of their canoes, which were cut up as fuel for the use ofthe ship. Though these savages would not formerly understand any signs, they were now more apt, and understood that hogs and bananas weredemanded in ransom for the prisoners. One wounded man was set atliberty, but the Dutch exacted ten hogs for the others. This islandafforded a sort of birds that are all over bright red. North of it layanother island, of which they made no other discovery, except itsposition in regard to this. The Dutch concluded that these people wereof the _Papuas_ nation, because of their short hair, and because theychewed betel mixed with chalk. In the evening of the 28th, they sailed from hence, and next day held acourse to the N. W. And N. W. By N. With a shifting wind till noon, andthen a calm. They had the point of the island in view till evening, though they sailed along the coast, which was full of bays and turnings, and trended N. W. And N. W. By W. This day they saw other three highislands, which lay northwards five or six miles from the greater one, being then in the latitude of 3° 20' S. The 30th in the morning, severalcanoes of these black Papuas came off to the ship, and being allowed tocome aboard, broke certain staves over the Dutch, in sign of peace. Their canoes were more artificially made and ornamented than the others, and the people seemed more civilized and more modest, as they had thepudenda covered, which the others had not. Their hair was rubbed overwith chalk, their black frizly locks appearing as if powdered. Theyaffected to be poor, and came to beg, not bringing any thing to theship, yet the four islands whence they came appeared, to be well storedwith cocoas. On the 1st June, the Dutch came to anchor between the coast of NewGuinea and an island two miles long. They were soon after surrounded bytwenty-five canoes, full of the same people who had broken staves theday before in token of peace, and who came now fully armed in guise ofwar. They were not long of entering on the work they came about. Two ofthem laid hold of two anchors which hung from the bows of the ship, andendeavoured with their girdles to tug the ship on shore. The rest layclose to the ship's sides, and gave a brisk onset with slings and otherweapons; but the great guns soon forced them to retire, with twelve orthirteen killed, and many more wounded. After this, the Dutch sailedpeaceably along the coast, with a good gale of wind, continuing theircourse W. N. W. And N. W. By W. The 2d they were in lat. 3° 12' S. And sawa low land to larboard, and right before them a low island. ContinuingW. N. W. With a slight current at E. N. E. They sailed gently along. The 3dthey saw high land, bearing W. About 14 leagues from the other island, and in lat. 2° 41' S. The 4th, while passing these four island, theysuddenly came in view of twenty-three other islands, some great, somesmall, some high, and others low, most of which they left to starboard, and only two or three to larboard. Some of these were a league distantfrom the others, and some only a cannon-shot. Their latitude was in 2°30' S. A little more or less. On the 6th in the morning, the weather being variable and even sometimesstormy, they had in the morning a very high hill before them, bearingS. W. Which they thought to have been _Geeminassi_ in Banda; but, on anearer approach, they discovered three other hills more like it in thenorth, some six or seven leagues distant, which they were convinced werethat hill of Banda. [128] Behind these hills lay a large tract of land, stretching east and west, of very great extent, and very uneven. In themorning of the 7th, they sailed towards these mighty hills, some ofwhich they found were volcanoes, for which reason they named this_Vulcan's Island_. It was well inhabited and fall of cocoa-nut trees, but had no convenient place for anchorage. The inhabitants were naked, and extremely fearful of the Dutch, and their language so different fromthat of all the neighbouring people, that none of the blacks couldunderstand them. More islands appeared to the N. And N. W. But theyproceeded to a very low island, bearing N. W. By W. Which they reached inthe evening. The water here was observed to be of several colours, green, white, and yellow, perhaps occasioned by the mixture of someriver, as it was far sweeter than ordinary sea water, and was full ofleaves and boughs of trees, on some of which were birds, and even somecrabs. [Footnote 128: They still had the north-western end of Papua or NewGuinea between them and Banda, from which they were distant at leasttwelve degrees of longitude. --E. ] On the 8th, continuing their course W. N. W. Having a high island on thestarboard, and another somewhat lower to larboard, they anchored in theafternoon in 70 fathoms on a good sandy bottom, about a cannon-shot fromthe land, at an island in 3° 40' S. Which seemed an unhealthy place, yielding nothing of any value except a little ginger. It was inhabitedby Papuas or blacks, whose ridiculous mode of dress, and their ownnatural deformity, made them appear little short of a kind of monsters. Hardly any of them but had something odd and strange, either in thebigness or position of their limbs. They had strings of hog's teeth hungabout their necks; their noses were perforated, in which rings werefastened; their hair was frizled, and their faces very ugly. Theirhouses also were extremely singular, being mounted on stakes, eight ornine feet above the ground. Before noon of the 9th, they anchored in amore convenient bay, in 26 fathoms, on a bottom of sand mixed with clay. There were two villages near the shore, whence some canoes brought offhogs and cocoas, but the Indians held them at so dear a rate that theDutch would not buy any of them. Though they had now sailed so long upon this new land, yet were theyunable to determine with any certainty if it actually were the coast ofNew Guinea, as their charts neither agreed with each other, nor with thecoast in view. This coast for the most part ran N. W. By W. Sometimesmore westerly, and at other times more northerly. Yet they held on theircourse W. N. W. Along the coast, having quiet weather though dull winds, but assisted by a stream or current setting along the coast to thewestwards. Proceeding in this manner, they came into the lat. Of 2° 58'S. At noon of the 12th. Continuing their course on the 13th and 14th, the coast in sight was sometimes high and at other times low. The 15th, still pursuing the same course, they reached two low islands about halfa league from the main, about the latitude of 2° 54' S. Where they hadgood anchorage in 45 and 46 fathoms. Seeing the country well stored withcocoas, two boats well armed were sent with orders to land and procuresome cocoa-nuts. But they were forced to retire by the Indians, in spiteof their muskets, at least sixteen of the Dutch, being wounded by arrowsand stones thrown from slings. In the morning of the 16th, they sailed in between the two low islands, and anchored in a safe place in nine fathoms. They landed that day onthe smaller island, where they burnt some huts of the natives, andbrought away as many cocoa-nuts as gave three to each man of thecompany. The barbarous natives became now more tractable; as on the 17ththey came to make their peace-offerings of cocoas, bananas, ginger, andcertain yellow roots [turmeric] used instead of saffron. They eventrusted the Dutch so far as to come on board, when peace was entirelyrestored, and their hearts won by a few nails and beads. They continuedbartering on the 18th, for cocoas and bananas, procuring fifty nuts andtwo bunches of bananas for each man of the company, with a smallerquantity of cassava and _papade_. These cassavas and papades are EastIndia commodities, the former being also to be had particularly good inthe West Indies, and far preferable to what they got here. The peoplemake all their bread of this substance, baking it in large round cakes. This smaller island, which is the more easterly, the natives named_Mosa_; the other over against it they call _Jusan_, and the farthestoff _Arimea_, which, is very high, and about five or six leagues fromthe coast of New Guinea. [129] These places had probably been visitedbefore by Europeans, as they had among them some Spanish pots and jars. They were not nearly so much surprised at the report of the great gunsas the others had been, neither were they so curious in looking at theship. [Footnote 129: These names are not to be found in our modern generalmaps, though certainly infinitely better for all the uses of geographythan the absurd appellations so much in use among voyagers. --E. ] On the 21st at noon, sailing along the land as before N. W. They were inlat. 1° 13' S. The current drove them to a cluster of islands, wherethey anchored in thirteen fathoms, and were detained all day of the 22dby storms of thunder and rain. Setting sail in the morning of the 23d, six large canoes overtook them, bringing dried fish, cocoas, bananas, tobacco, and a small sort of fruit resembling plums. Some Indians alsofrom another island brought provisions to barter, and some vessels ofChina porcelain. Like other Savages, they were excessively fond of beadsand iron; but they were remarkably distinguished from the natives in thelast islands, by their larger size, and more orange-colouredcomplexions. Their arms were bows and arrows, and they wore glassearrings of several colours, by which latter circumstance it appearedthat they had been previously visited by other Europeans, andconsequently that this was not to be considered as a discovery. The 24th, steering N. W. And W. N. W. And being in lat. 0° 30' S. Theysailed along a very pleasant island, which they named Schouten's Island, after their master, [130] and called its western point Cape of Good Hope. The 25th they passed an extensive tract of uneven land on their larboardhand, stretching from E. S. E. To W. N. W. The 26th they saw three otherislands, the coast stretching N. W. By W. The 27th they were in lat. 0°29' S. Still seeing much land to the south, some of which were very highand some low, which they passed, continuing their course to the north ofwest. The 29th they felt the shock of an earthquake, which shook theship to that degree that the men ran terrified out of their births, believing the ship had run a-ground, or had bilged against some rock. Onheaving the lead they found the sea unfathomable, and their ship clearfrom all danger of rocks or shoals. The 30th they put into a great bay, out of which they could find no opening to the west, and resumedtherefore a northern course. Here the ship trembled again with loudclaps of thunder, and was almost set on fire by the lightning, had itnot been prevented by prodigious rain. [Footnote 130: The centre of Schouten Island is in lat. 0° 30' S. Andlong. 223° W. It is nearly 24 leagues long from E. To W. And about eightleagues from N. To S. In some maps this island is named _Mysory_, probably the native appellation, and it lies off the mouth of a greatbay, having within it another island of considerable size, called_Jobie_, or Traitor's Island. --E. ] The 31st, continuing a northern course, they passed to the north of theequator, and being encompassed almost all round by land, they anchoredin twelve fathoms on good ground, near a desolate island which lay closeby the main land. The 1st of August they were in lat. 0° 15' N. The 2dand 3d being calm, they were carried by the current W. And W. By N. Thisday at noon their latitude was 0° 35' N. When they saw several whalesand sea-tortoises, with two islands to the westwards. They now reckonedthemselves at the western extremity of the land of New Guinea, alongwhich they had sailed 280 leagues. Several canoes came off to them inthe morning of the 5th, bringing Indian beans, rice, tobacco, and twobeautiful birds of paradise, all white and yellow. These Indians spokethe language of Ternate, and some of them could speak a little Spanishand Malayan, in which last language Clawson the merchant was wellskilled. All the people in these canoes were finely clothed from thewaist downwards, some with loose silken robes, and others with breeches, and several had silken turbans on their head, being Mahometans. All ofthem had jet black hair, and wore many gold and silver rings on theirfingers. They bartered their provisions with the Dutch for beads andother toys, but seemed more desirous of having linen. They appeared sofearful and suspicious of the Dutch, that they would not tell the nameof their country, which however was suspected to be one of the threeeastern points of Gilolo, and that the people were natives of Tidore, which was afterwards found to be the case. In the morning of the 6th they set sail, holding a northern, course, intending to go round the north point of Gilolo. The 7th they saw thenorth point of Morty, or Moraty, N. E. Of Gilolo. Contending withvariable winds and adverse currents it was the 19th before they couldget into the bay of _Soppy_ in Gilolo, where they anchored in tenfathoms on sandy ground, about a cannon-shot from shore. Here theyprocured poultry, tortoises, sago, and rice, which was a great relieffor the company, still consisting of eighty-five men in health andvigour. Leaving Soppy on the 25th August they came to the desert islandof Moro on the 1st September, and, on closer examination, found itcomposed of several islands close together. They saw here a worm, orserpent, as thick as a man's leg and of great length. On the 5th theyanchored off the coast of Gilolo. At this place some of the seamen wentashore unarmed to catch fish, when four Ternatese soldiers rushedsuddenly out of the wood sword-in-hand while the Dutchmen were drawingtheir net, intending to have slain them; but the surgeon called out tothem _Oran Hollanda_, that is, _Holland men_, on which the soldiersinstantly stopped, throwing water on their heads in token of peace, andapproaching in a friendly manner, said they had mistaken the Dutchmenfor Spaniards. At the request of the seamen they went on board, where, being well treated, they promised to bring provisions and refreshment tothe ship, which they afterwards did. Sailing thence on the 14th they got sight of Ternate and Tidore on the16th, and anchored on the 17th in the evening before Malaya in Ternate, in eleven fathoms sandy ground. Here captain Schouten and Jaques LeMaire went ashore, and were kindly entertained by the general LaurenceReal, admiral Stephen Verhagen, and Jasper Janson, governor of Amboina. On the 18th they sold two of their pinnaces, with most of what had beensaved out of the unfortunate Horn, receiving for the same 1350 reals, with part of which they purchased two lasts of rice, a ton of vinegar, aton of Spanish wine, and three tons of biscuit. On the 27th they sailedfor Bantam, and on the 28th of October anchored at Jacatra, now Batavia. John Peterson Koen, president for the Dutch East India Company atBantam, arrived there on the 31st of October, and next day sequesteredthe Unity and her cargo, as forfeited to the India company for illegallysailing within the boundaries of their charter. * * * * * In consequence of the seizure of the Unity, captain Schouten and JaquesLe Maire, with others of their people, embarked at Bantam in theAmsterdam and Zealand on the 14th December, 1616, on which they set sailfor Holland. On the 31st of that month Jaques Le Maire died, chiefly ofgrief and vexation on account of the disastrous end of an enterprisewhich had been so successful till the arrest of the ship and cargo. Hewas, however, exceedingly solicitous about his journal, which he hadkept with the utmost care during the voyage, and left a recommendationthat it should be published, that the world might know and judge of theusage they had received. The Amsterdam arrived in Zealand on the 1stJuly, 1617, where her consort had arrived the day before. Thus was thiscircumnavigation of the globe completed in two years and eighteen days;which, considering the difficulties of the course, and othercircumstances of the voyage, was a wonderfully short period. [131] [Footnote 131: In the Collection of Harris this voyage is succeeded by adissertation on the high probability of a southern continent existing, and that this supposed continent must be another _Indies_. Both of thesefancies being now sufficiently overthrown by the investigations of ourimmortal Cook, and other modern navigators, it were useless to encumberour pages with such irrelevant reveries. --E. ] CHAPTER VII. VOYAGE OF THE NASSAU FLEET ROUND THE WORLD, IN 1623-1626, UNDER THECOMMAND OF JAQUES LE HERMITE. [132] [Footnote 132: Harris I. 66. Callend. II. 286. ] INTRODUCTION. The government of the United Netherlands, considering it proper todistress their arch enemy the king of Spain by every means in theirpower, determined upon sending a powerful squadron into the South Sea, to capture the ships of his subjects, to plunder the coasts of hisdominions, and to demolish his fortifications. Accordingly, in autumn1622, a final resolution for this purpose was entered into by the StatesGeneral, with the concurrence of their stadtholder, Prince Maurice ofOrange, who even advanced a considerable sum of money towards it fromhis own funds; and a fleet of no less than eleven ships of war, besidessmaller vessels, were ordered to be fitted out for the expedition, bythe several admiralties of the Union and the East India Company. Thisfleet was in condition for putting to sea in spring 1623, when thecommand was intrusted to Jaques Le Hermite, an able and accomplishedseaman of great experience, who had been long in the service of the EastIndia Company, and was now appointed admiral of the fleet; HugoSchapenham being vice-admiral. The ships fitted out on this occasion bythe admiralty of Amsterdam were, -- 1. The Amsterdam of 800 tons, admiral, carrying twenty brass cannon andtwenty-two iron, with 237 men, commanded by Leenders Jacobson Stolk, ascaptain, Peter Wely being supercargo, Engelbert Schutte commander of thesoldiers on board, Frederick van Reneygom fiscal or judge-advocate, Johnvan Walbeck, engineer, and Justin van Vogelair engineer extraordinary. 2. The Delft of 800 tons, vice-admiral, having twenty brass and twentyiron cannon, with 242 men, commanded by captain Cornelius de Witte. 3. The Eagle of 400 tons, captain Meydert Egbertson, of twelve brass andsixteen iron cannon, with 144 men. 4. A yacht called the Greyhound, of sixty tons, captain SolomonWillelmson, carrying four brass cannons and twenty men. The admiralty of Zealand fitted out only one ship for this expedition. 5. The Orange of 700 tons, captain Laurence John Quirynen, and carryinglikewise the rear-admiral, John William Verschoor. Her complement of menwas 216. [133] [Footnote 133: Her number of guns is not mentioned, but she could hardlyhave less than thirty-six from her size--E. ] The admiralty of the Maes furnished the following ships: 6. The Holland of 600 tons and 152 men, carrying ten pieces of brass andtwenty of iron ordnance. In this ship was Cornelius Jacobson, who wascounsellor to admiral Le Hermite, but the ship was immediately commandedby captain Adrian Troll. 7. The Maurice of 360 tons and 169 men, having twelve brass and twentyiron cannon, commanded by captain James Adrianson. 8. The Hope of 260 tons and eighty men, with fourteen iron cannon, captain Peter Hermanson Slobbe. The admiralty of North Holland also provided the following ships: 9. The Concord of 600 tons and 170 men, with eighteen brass and fourteeniron cannon, captain John Ysbrandtz. 10. The King David of 360 tons and seventy-nine men, with sixteen piecesof brass cannon, captain John Thomason. 11. The Griffin of 320 tons, and seventy-eight men, with fourteen ironcannon, captain Peter Cornelison Hurdloop. The whole of this fleet of eleven sail, carrying 294 pieces of cannon, had 1637 men, of whom 600 were regular soldiers, divided into fivecompanies of 120 men in each. The East India Company contributed largelyto the expence, but does not appear to have equipped any ships on thisoccasion. SECTION I. _Incidents of the Voyage from Holland to the South Sea_. This armament, usually called the Nassau fleet, was by far the mostconsiderable that had hitherto been sent against the Spaniards in thenew world, and none so powerful has since navigated along the westerncoast of America in an hostile manner. It sailed on the 29th April, 1622, from Goeree roads, all but the Orange, which joined next day. On the 7th June, while chasing a Barbary corsair, a Christian slave, whohappened to be at the helm, ran the corsair on board the Dutchvice-admiral, and immediately he and other slaves took the opportunityof leaping on board to escape from slavery. The captain of the corsair, who happened to be a Dutch renegado, followed them, and demandedrestitution of his slaves; but the vice-admiral expostulated so stronglywith him on the folly and infamy of deserting his country and religion, that he sent for every thing belonging to him out of the corsair, andagreed to go along with the fleet, to the regret of the Turks, who thuslost their captain and seventeen good men. On the 5th July the fleet anchored in the road of St Vincent, which isextremely safe and commodious, where they procured refreshments ofsea-tortoises, fish, goats, and oranges. The islands of St Vincent andSt Antonio are the most westerly of the Cape Verds, being in from 16°30' to 18° N. Latitude, and about two leagues from each other. The bayof St Vincent, in which they anchored, is in lat. 16° 56' N. And has agood firm sandy bottom, with eighteen, twenty, and twenty-five fathomswater. The island of St Vincent is rocky, barren, and uncultivated, having very little fresh water, though they found a small spring whichmight have served two or three ships. By digging wells they procuredplenty of water, but somewhat brackish, to which they attributed thebloody flux, which soon after began to prevail in the fleet. The goatsthere, of which they caught fifteen or sixteen every day, were very fatand excellent eating. The sea-tortoises which they took there were fromtwo to three feet long. They come on shore to lay their eggs, which theycover with sand, leaving them to be hatched by the heat of the sun. Their season of laying eggs is from August to February, remaining allthe rest of the year in the sea. They caught every night great numbersof these animals while ashore to lay their eggs, and the sailors foundthem wholesome and pleasant food, eating more like flesh than fish. This island is altogether uninhabited, but the people of St Lucia comehere once a year to catch tortoises, for the sake of an oil they preparefrom them; and to hunt goats, the skins of which are sent to Portugal, and their flesh, after being salted and dried at St Jago, is exported toBrazil. There are no fruit-trees in this island, except a few wild figsin the interior; besides which, it produces colocinth, or bitter applewhich is a very strong purge. [134] This island has a very dry climate, except during the rainy season, which begins in August and ends inFebruary, but is not very regular. [Footnote 134: Cucumis Colocynthis, a plant of the cucumber family, producing a fruit about the size of an orange, the medullary part ofwhich, when ripe, dried, and freed from the seeds, is a very light, white, spongy substance, composed of membranous leaves, excessivelybitter, nauseous, and acrid. ] The island of St Antonio is inhabited by about 500 negroes, includingmen, women, and children, who subsist chiefly on goats, and alsocultivate a small quantity of cotton. On the sea-side they haveextensive plantations of lemons and oranges, whence they gather greatquantities every year. These were very readily supplied to the Dutch bythe negroes in exchange for mercery goods, but they saw neither hogs, sheep, nor poultry in the island. Sailing from St Vincent's on the 25th July, they anchored in the road ofSierra Leona on the 11th August. Here on the 15th some of the crew beingon shore, eat freely of certain nuts resembling nutmegs, which had afine taste, but had scarcely got on board when one of them dropt downdead, and before he was thoroughly cold he was all over purple spots. The rest recovered by taking proper medicines. Sierra Leona is amountain on the continent of Africa, standing on the south side of themouth of the river Mitomba, which discharges itself into a great bay ofthe sea. The road in which ships usually anchor is in the lat. Of 8° 20'N. This mountain is very high, and thickly covered with trees, by whichit may be easily known, as there is no mountain of such height any whereupon the coast. There grow here a prodigious number of trees, producinga small kind of lemons called _limasses_, (limes?) resembling those ofSpain in shape and taste, and which are very agreeable and wholesome, ifnot eaten to excess. The Dutch fleet arrived here at the season whenthis fruit was in perfection, and having full leave from the natives, the people eat them intemperately; by which, and the bad air, the bloodyflux increased much among them, so that they lost forty men between the11th of August and the 5th September. Sierra Leona abounds inpalm-trees, and has some ananas, or pine-apples, with plenty of wood ofall sorts, besides having an exceedingly convenient watering-placeopposite to the anchorage. They sailed from Sierra Leona on the 4th September, on which day theadmiral fell sick. On the 29th they were off the island of St Thomas, just on the north side of the line, and anchored on the 1st of Octoberat Cape Lopo Gonzalves, in lat. 0° 50' S. At this place the surgeon ofthe Maurice was convicted on his own confession of having poisoned sevensick men, because they had given him much trouble, for which he wasbeheaded. On the 30th of October they anchored in the road of Annobon, where they obtained hogs and fowls, and were allowed to take in water, and to gather as many oranges as they thought proper. The east end ofthis island, where are the road and village, is in lat. 1° 30' S. Andlong. 6° E. From Greenwich. The island is about six leagues in circuit, consisting of high and tolerably good land, and is inhabited by about150 families of negroes, who are governed by two or three Portuguese, towhom they are very submissive. If any of them happen to be refractory, they are immediately sent away to the island of St Thomas, a punishmentwhich they greatly dread. The island abounds in ananas, bananas, cocoa-nuts, tamarinds, and sugar-canes; but the principal inducement forships touching here is the great plenty of oranges, of which the Dutchgathered upwards of 200, 000, besides what the seamen eat while on shore. These oranges were of great size and full of juice, some weighing threequarters of a pound, and of an excellent taste and flavour, as ifperfumed. They are to be had ripe all the year round, but there is oneseason in which they are best and fittest for keeping, which was pastbefore the Dutch arrived, and the oranges were then mostly over ripe andbeginning to rot. The island also produces lemons, and has plenty ofoxen, cows, goats, and hogs, which the negroes bartered for salt. On theS. E. Part of the island there is a good watering-place, but difficult tofind, which is commanded by a stone breast-work, whence the negroesmight greatly annoy any who attempted to water by force. They grow heresome cotton, which is sent to Portugal. The natives are treacherous, andrequire to be cautiously dealt with. The fleet left Annobon on the 4th November, and on the 6th January, 1624, they were in lat. 44° 40' S. Where they saw many sea-gulls, andmuch herbage floating on the water, whence they supposed themselves nearthe continent of South America. On the 19th the sea appeared as red asblood, proceeding from an infinite quantity of a small species ofshrimps. On the 28th they lost sight of their bark, in which wereeighteen men, three of them Portuguese. These people, as they afterwardslearnt, having in vain endeavoured to rejoin the fleet, determined toreturn to Holland. Being in want of water, they sailed up the Rio de laPlata till they came into fresh water, after which they continued theirvoyage, suffering incredible hardships, and the utmost extremity ofwant, till they arrived on the coast of England, where they ran theirvessel on shore to escape a privateer belonging to Dunkirk, andafterward got back to Holland. The 1st February the fleet came in sight of land, being Cape dePennas. [135] Next day they found themselves at the mouth of the straits. This is easily distinguished, as the country on the east, called _SatenLand_, is mountainous, but broken and very uneven; while that on thewest, called _Maurice Land_ by the Dutch, or Terra del Fuego, hasseveral small round hills close to the shore. The 6th they had sight ofCape Horn; and on the 11th, being in lat. 58° 30' S. They hadexcessively cold weather, which the people were ill able to bear, beingon short allowance. On the 16th they were in lat. 56° 10' S. Cape Hornbeing then to the east of them, and anchored on the 17th in a large bay, which they named _Nassau bay_. [136] Another bay was discovered on the18th, in which there was good anchorage, with great convenience forwooding and watering, and which they called Schapenham's bay, after thename of their vice-admiral. [Footnote 135: This seems to be what is now called Cape St Vincent, atthe W. Side of the entrance into the Straits of Le Maire. --E. ] [Footnote 136: The centre of Nassau bay is in lat. 55° 30' N. Long. 68°20' W. This bay is formed between Terra del Fuego on the north, andHermite's island south by east, the south-eastern extreme point of whichis Cape Horn. This island appears to have been named after admiral LeHermite. --E. ] On the 23d a storm arose with such violence that nineteen men belongingto the Eagle were compelled to remain on shore; and next day, when theboats were able to go for them, only two of these men were left alive, the savages having come upon them in the dark, and knocked seventeen ofthem on the head with their slings and wooden clubs, the poor Dutchmenbeing all unarmed, and not having offered the least injury or insult tothe savages. Only five of the dead bodies were found on the shore, whichwere strangely mangled, all the rest having been carried away by thesavages, as it was supposed, to eat them. After this, every boat thatwent ashore carried eight or ten soldiers for their security; but noneof the savages ever appeared again. The vice-admiral went on the 25th in the Greyhound to visit the coast. On his return he reported to the admiral, that he found the Terra delFuego divided into several islands, and that it was by no meansnecessary to double Cape Horn in order to get into the South Sea, asthey might pass out from Nassau bay to the west into the open sea, leaving Cape Horn on the south. He apprehended also, that there wereseveral passages from Nassau bay leading into the Straits of Magellan. The greatest part of the _Terra del Fuego_ is mountainous, butinterspersed with many fine vallies and meadows, and watered by numerousstreams or rivulets, descending from the hills. Between the islandsthere are many good roads, where large fleets may anchor in safety, andwhere there is every desirable convenience for taking in wood, water, and ballast. The winds, which rage here more than in any other country, and with inexpressible violence, blow constantly from the west, forwhich reason such ships as are bound westerly ought to avoid this coastas much as possible, keeping as far south as they can, where they arelikely to meet with southerly winds to facilitate their westerly course. The inhabitants of the Terra del Fuego are as fair as any Europeans, aswas concluded by seeing a young child; but the grown-up people disguisethemselves strangely, painting themselves with a red earth after manyfanciful devices, some having their heads, others their arms, their legsand thighs red, and other parts of their bodies white. Many of them haveone half of their bodies red, from the forehead to the feet, and theother side white. They are all strong made and well-proportioned, andgenerally about the same stature with Europeans. Their hair is black, which they wear long, thick, and bushy, to make them the more frightful. They have good teeth, but very thin, and as sharp as the edge of aknife. The men go entirely naked, and the women have only a piece ofskin about their waists, which is very surprising, considering theseverity of the climate. Their huts are made of trees, in the form of around tent, having a hole at the top to let out the smoke. Within theyare sunk two or three feet under the surface of the ground, and theearth taken from this hollow is thrown upon the outside. Theirfishing-tackle is very curious, and is furnished with hooks made ofstone, nearly of the same shape with ours. They are variously armed, some having bows and arrows artificially headed with stone; others longjavelins or spears, headed with bone; some have great wooden clubs, somehave slings, and most have stone knives, or daggers, which are verysharp. They are never seen without their arms, as they are always at waramong themselves; and it would appear that the several tribes paintdifferently, that they may distinguish each other; for the people aboutthe island of _Torhaltens_, and about _Schapenham bay_, were all paintedblack, while those about _Greyhound bay_ were painted red. Their canoes are very singular, being formed of bark, fortified both onthe inside and outside with several pieces of small wood, and thencovered over by bark, so as to be both tight and strong. These canoesare from ten to fourteen, and even sixteen feet long, and two feetbroad, and will contain seven or eight men, who navigate them as swiftlyas our boats. In manners, these people resemble beasts more than men, for they tear human bodies in pieces, and eat the raw and bloody flesh. They have not the smallest spark of religion, neither any appearance ofpolity or civilization, being in all respects utterly brutal, insomuchthat if they have occasion to make water, they let fly upon whoever isnearest them. They have no knowledge of our arms, and would even laytheir hands on the edges of the Dutchmen's swords; yet are exceedinglycunning, faithless, and cruel; shewing every appearance of friendship atone time, and instantly afterwards murdering those with whom they havebeen familiar. The Dutch found it impossible to procure any kind ofrefreshments from them, though such surely were among them, forquantities of cow-dung were seen; and their bow-strings were made of oxsinews: besides, a soldier who went ashore from the Greyhound yacht, while she lay at anchor, reported to the vice-admiral, that he had seena large herd of cattle feeding in a meadow. [137] [Footnote 137: This is not at all likely to have been true. The cattle, the dung, and the sinews mentioned in the text, are more likely to havebeen of some species of the seal tribe--E. ] On the 27th of February, 1624, the admiral made a signal for sailing, the wind being then N. So that hopes were entertained of getting fromthe bay of Nassau to the west; but a storm came on in the evening at W. And blew hard all night. March 3d, they had an observation at noon, whenthey were in lat, 59° 45' S. With the wind at N. W. Hitherto it had beenthe opinion of nautical men, that it was easy to get from the Straits ofLe Maire to Chili, but hardly possible to pass from Chili by that straitinto the Atlantic, as they imagined that the south wind blew constantlyin these seas: but they now found the case quite otherwise, as thefrequent tempests they encountered from W. And N. W. Rendered it beyondcomparison easier to have passed through the Straits of Le Maire fromthe South Sea than from the Atlantic. The wind still continuing strong from the west on the 6th, the admiralheld a council to consider of a proper rendezvous for the fleet, in caseof separation, or of being forced to winter, if these west winds shouldstill continue to oppose their entry into the South Sea. Some proposedthe Terra del Fuego, and others the Straits of Magellan. But themajority were of opinion, that it was best to wait two months for a fairwind, and to use their utmost endeavours to get into the South Sea. Onthe 8th they were in 61° S. On the 14th in 58°, and on the 18th, 19thand 20th they had a fair wind at S. E. With warm weather, so that theywere now in hopes of having accomplished their purpose. On the 24th theylost sight of the Maurice and David, the fleet being now reduced toseven sail; and the same evening they were in lat. 47° S. The 25th, having still a fair wind and good weather, they reached 45° S. And werethen in great hopes of overcoming all difficulties. The 28th they gotsight of the coast of Chili, bearing E. S. E. And in the evening werewithin a league of the shore, which appeared high and mountainous. SECTION II: _Transactions of the Fleet on the Western Coast of America_. The admiral was at this time confined to bed, and wished to have putinto the port of Chiloe; but his instructions did not allow of thismeasure, requiring the performance of some action of importance againstthe Spaniards in Peru. It was therefore resolved to proceed for theisland of Juan Fernandez, to make the best preparations in their powerfor attacking the Spanish galleons in the port of Arica, if found there, and to gain possession of that place, after which it was proposed toextend their conquests by the aid of the Indians. On the 1st April, being then in lat. 38° 10' S. The vice-admiral took to his bed, quiteworn out with fatigue, so that they expected to lose both the admiraland him. On the 4th they had sight of Juan Fernandez, in lat. 33° 50' S. And next day came to anchor in sixty fathoms in a fine bay. The 6thorders were issued to provide all the ships with as manycheveaux-de-frize and pallisades as they could. The Griffin joined thefleet in the evening, not having been seen since the 2d February. Shehad been in the lat. Of 60° S. And had got into the South Sea withoutseeing Cape Horn. The Orange arrived on the 7th, having twice seen thesouthern continent on her passage, once in lat. 50°, and the other timein lat. 41° S. [138] The David came in on the 7th, bringing advice of theMaurice, both vessels having been five or six days beating about theisland, but hindered from getting in by contrary winds. [Footnote 138: No land whatever could be seen in these latitudes in theeastern Pacific, so that they must have been deceived by fog, banks, orislands of ice. --E. ] The larger and more easterly of the two islands of Juan Fernandez is inthe latitude of 30° 40' S. Five degrees west from the coast of Chili;this island being called by the Spaniards _Isla de Tierra_, and thesmaller or more westerly island _Isla de Fuera_, which is a degree anda half farther east. [139] [Footnote 139: Isola de Tierra, the eastermost of these islands of JuanFernandez, in lat. 33° 42' S. And long. 79° 5' E. Is about 15 Englishmiles from E. To W. By 5-1/2 miles in its greatest breadth from N. To S. Besides this and Isola de Fuera, mentioned in the text, there is still athird, or smallest island, a mile and a half south from the S. W. End ofthe Isola de Tierra, called Isola de Cabras or Conejos, Goat or Rabbitisland, three English miles from N. W. To S. E. And a mile inbreadth. --E. ] The more easterly and larger island, at which the Nassau fleet anchored, is about six leagues in circuit, and is about two leagues and a halflong, from east to west. The road is on the N. E. Part of the island, from whence there is a beautiful prospect of valleys covered withclover. The ground of this bay is in some places rocky, and in others afine black sand, and it affords good anchorage in thirty to thirty-fivefathoms. The island produces excellent water, and fish are to be had inabundance in the bay, and of various kinds. Many thousand seals andsea-lions come daily on shore to bask in the sun, of which the seamenkilled great numbers, both for food and amusement. Some of the Dutchfancied that the flesh of these animals tasted as if twice cooked, whileothers thought, after the grease and tallow were carefully taken out, that it was as good as mutton. There were many goats in the island, butdifficult to be taken, and neither so fat nor so well tasted as those ofSt Vincents. There were plenty of palm-trees in the interior, and threelarge quince-trees near the bay, the fruit of which was very refreshing. They found also plenty of timber for all kinds of uses, but none fit formasts. Formerly, ten or twelve Indians used to reside here, for the sakeof fishing and making oil from the seals and sea-lions, but it was nowquite uninhabited. Three gunners and three soldiers belonging to thevice-admiral, were so sick of the voyage, that they asked and obtainedleave to remain here. Every thing being in readiness, the fleet departed from _Isla de Tierra_on the 13th April. On the 8th May, being near the coast of Peru, theytook a Spanish bark, in which, besides the captain, there were fourSpaniards, and six or seven Indians and Negroes. From these, they learntthat the Plate fleet had sailed on the 3d of the month from Calao deLima for Panama, consisting of five treasure ships, three richmerchantmen, and two men of war. They were also informed that theSpanish admiral was still at Calao, his ship being of 800 tons burden, and mounting 40 brass cannon; besides which, there were two _pataches_of 14 guns each, and forty or fifty unarmed merchant vessels. All thesevessels were said to have been hauled on shore, and secured by threestrong batteries and other works, furnished with upwards of fifty piecesof cannon, all ready prepared for the reception of the Dutch, of whosemotions the Spaniards had received early and certain intelligence. Theviceroy had likewise formed four companies of foot, of eighty men each, but the two best companies had gone with the ships to Panama; and, having just learnt the approach of the Dutch fleet, the viceroy hadsummoned the whole military force of Peru, so that many thousand menmust soon be expected at Lima for its defence. After several consultations, the vice-admiral made an attempt to land atCalao with the soldiers on the morning of the 10th May, but finding itimpossible with any chance of success, was obliged to return to thefleet. On the 12th about midnight, three of the Dutch captains, withtwelve armed boats, each provided with a small cannon and a considerablequantity of fire-works, made an attack on the port, while a false attackwas made at the same time in another part, to draw off the attention ofthe Spaniards. The twelve boats entered the port, and distributed theirfire-works plentifully among the Spanish merchant ships, by which thirtyor forty of them were set on fire and consumed, some of them very large. In this hardy enterprise, the Dutch had seven men killed, and fifteenwounded, mostly in the vice-admiral's boat, which had attempted to boardone of the _pataches_ and was beaten off. About the dawn of day, nine ofthe flaming ships drifted towards the Dutch fleet, which was thereforeobliged to weigh and take shelter behind the island of Lima. On the 13ththis island was taken possession of, and a strong intrenchment thrown upfor its defence, under cover of which the Dutch laid their shallops onshore to careen them. On the 14th Cornelius Jacobson sailed with a division of the fleet, tocruize off La Nasca, Pisco, and other towns to the south of Lima. A richprize was taken on the 23d, coming from Guayaquil; and that same day, the rear-admiral was detached with two ships and two companies ofsoldiers to attempt taking Guayaquil, but they found it too stronglydefended. On the 27th an attempt was made to destroy the Spanishadmiral's ship in the port of Calao, by means of a fire-ship containing2000 pounds of gun-powder, besides fire-works and shells, confined by abrick arch six feet thick; but after navigating her very near thegalleon, a bank was found on the outside of her which they could notpass, and they were therefore obliged to retire. Admiral Jaques Le Hermite, who had been in a declining state of healthfrom the time they left Sierra Leona, died on the 2d June, and wasburied next day in the island of Lima. The Spanish viceroy havingrefused to ransom the prisoners made by the Dutch, and the ships beingstraitened for provisions especially water, twenty-one Spaniards werehung up at the mizen yard-arm of the Dutch admiral's ship on the 15thJune. That same evening, Cornelius Jacobson returned with hisdetachment, having made an ineffectual attempt on Pisco, which he foundstrongly fortified, and defended by 2000 men, besides a body of 200horse which scoured the country. In this attempt he had five men killedand sixteen wounded, and thirteen deserted to the enemy. At this timethe scurvy prevailed to a great height in the fleet, so that some of theships had not sufficient men in a sound state to man their boats; butone day a Swiss, who was very ill of the scurvy, scrambled up to the topof the highest hill in the island of Lima, [140] where he found plenty ofa kind of herb with which he had been well acquainted in his owncountry, and by eating which he soon recovered his health. This becomingpublic, his example was universally followed, by which the best part ofthe men were saved from death, and in a short time recovered theirhealth and spirits. On the 5th August, the vice-admiral was installed asadmiral, the rear-admiral succeeding him as vice-admiral, and CorneliusJacobson was advanced to be rear-admiral. [Footnote 140: The island of San Lorenzo, a little to the south ofCalao, is evidently here meant. --E. ] The new vice-admiral soon after returned from his expedition to the roadof Puna and Guayaquil, where he had burnt two ships and captured athird. He had also taken Guayaquil after considerable loss, and findingit untenable, and not having boats to carry away the booty, he had setit on fire, burning a great quantity of rich goods in the warehouses, after which he reimbarked his men. The Dutch fleet sailed from theisland of Lima on the 14th of August, and anchored that same evening ina bay behind the Piscadores islands, about twenty-three miles north, where they watered. Continuing their course on the 16th, they came insight of the island of Santa Clara, or Amortajado, on the 24th, intending once more to visit Guayaquil. The fleet anchored on the 25thin the road of the island of Puna, whence all the people had fled, bothSpanish and Indians, so that no intelligence could be procured of thestrength and dispositions of the enemy. On the 27th, the guns, ballast, and stores of all kinds were removed from three of the largest ships, which were laid ashore to be careened. On the 28th, news came of thesecond attempt upon Guayaquil having miscarried, through the fault ofsome of the officers, the troops being defeated and obliged to reimbark, with the loss of twenty-eight men. On the 1st September, the threelargest ships being careened, they began to careen the rest. It was resolved in a council of war not to prosecute the originallyintended expedition to Chili at this time, but to proceed for Acapulco, in order to cruize for the Manilla ship; and afterwards, if thecondition of the fleet permitted, to return to the coast of Chili. Accordingly, having set fire to the town of Puna, they sailed fromthence on the 12th September, and on the 20th October had sight of thecoast of New Spain. On the 28th at day-break they were within half aleague of an island which lies before the port of Acapulco and anchoredin the evening within sight of the fort, which had been rebuilt the yearbefore, on a point running out to sea, in order to protect the Manillaships, which might ride safely at anchor under the cannon of thatfortress. On the 1st November, a strong detachment of the fleet was sentto anchor twenty leagues west from Acapulco, to look out for thegalleon, the admiral and the Orange remaining before the port, and theother ships spread along the coast, that they might be sure ofintercepting the galleon. On the 29th, water becoming scarce, and noappearance of the galleon, it was resolved to proceed with all diligencefor the East Indies. SECTION III. _Voyage Home from the Western Coast of America_. Proceeding therefore across the Great Pacific Ocean, they saw some verylow land towards the west on the 15th January, 1625, over which the seabroke with great violence, and which they conjectured to be the islandof Galperico. [141] On the 23d the scurvy had made much progress, thatthere were hardly men enough to work the ships. In the evening of the25th, they were off the coast of Guam, one of the Ladrones or Marianeislands, the inhabitants coming two leagues out to sea to meet them, with all sorts of refreshments, which they exchanged for old iron, andnext morning 150 canoes came off with fruits and garden stuffs. On the27th a good watering-place was found, where fifty soldiers were landedto protect the seamen. In the beginning of February, the natives broughtthem considerable quantities of rice, giving 70 or 80 pounds weight inexchange for an old hatchet. On the 5th, by a general muster, 1260 menwere found to remain in the fleet, including 32 Spanish and Negroprisoners, so that they had lost 409 since leaving Holland. [Footnote 141: The relation of the voyage is too vague even toconjecture what island is here meant, but from the direction of thecourse towards Guam or Guaham it may possibly have been that now calledDawson's island, about 600 leagues nearly east from Guam. --E. ] The island of Guam, Guaham, or Guaci, one of the group named by theSpaniards _Islas de las Velas, Ladrones_, or _Mariane_ Islands, is inlat 13° 40' N. [142] The soil is tolerably fertile producing vastquantities of cocoas, and the natives grow rice in several places. TheDutch procured here about 2000 fowls, but the natives would not partwith their cattle for any price. The people of this island are largerthan other Indians' strong and well-proportioned, and are mostly paintedred, the men going entirely naked, and the women having a leaf to covertheir nakedness. Their arms are _assagaies_, or javelins and slings, both of which they use with great dexterity. Their canoes are veryconvenient, and go before the wind at a great rate; neither are theseislanders afraid of putting to sea even in a storm; as, in case of theirvessels being overset, they turn them up again immediately, and bale outthe water. They were also very expert in cheating; for when the Dutchcame to examine the bags of rice they had bought so cheap, they foundthe insides full of stones and dirt; besides which, they stole everything they could lay hold of. Such persons also as land on this islandought to be very cautious, as the Dutch had several of their peopleslain here, through their own folly. [Footnote 142: Lat. 13° 20' N. Long. 143° 20' E. From Greenwich. ] Proceeding on the voyage, they saw an island on the 14th of February, inthe latitude of 10° 30' N. Which they took to be the island ofSaavedra. [143] Next day, about nine in the morning, they saw anotherisland, not laid down in the charts, in lat. 9° 45' N. [144] the nativesof which came out to them in canoes with fruits and other refreshments, but as the ships were sailing at a great rate, they were not able to geton board. The people seemed much like those of Guam, and the islandseemed very populous and highly cultivated. It was now resolved tocontinue their course to the island of Gilolo, and thence to Ternate. The 2d March, they had sight of the high mountain of [illegible], on thecoast of Moco, at the west end of the great island of [illegible] or_Gilolo_, on the west side of which the Molucca islands are situated. They arrived at _Malaya_, the principal place in Ternate, on the 4th inthe evening. The 5th, or, according to the computation of theinhabitants, the 6th, Jacob Le Feare, governor of the Moluccas, came tovisit the admiral, from _Taluco_, where he then resided. The fleetproceeded on the 4th of April to Amboina, and on the 28th sailed forBatavia, where they arrived on the 29th of August. Here the fleet wasseparated, part being sent on an expedition against Malacca, and othersto other places, so that here the voyage of the Nassau fleet may be saidto end, without having completed the circumnavigation, at least in anunbroken series. [Footnote 143: The island of Saavedra is in 10° 30'N. Not far from thisis the isle of [illegible] in Lat. 10° 10' N. And Long. [illegible] E. From Greenwich. --E. ] [Footnote 144: This probably was the isle of [illegible], mentioned inthe previous note. --E. ] * * * * * After this expedition, there occurs a wide chasm in the history ofcircumnavigations, all that was attempted in this way, for many yearsafterwards, being more the effect of chance than of design. --_Harris_. CHAPTER VIII. VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD, IN 1683-1691, BY CAPTAIN JOHN COOKE, ACCOMPANIEDBY CAPTAIN COWLEY, AND CAPTAIN WILLIAM DAMPIER. [145] INTRODUCTION. In the Collection of Voyages and Travels by Harris, this voyage is madetwo separate articles, as if two distinct voyages, one under the name ofCaptain Cowley, and the other under that of Dampier; though both areavowedly only separate relations of the same voyage, which was commandedby Captain Cooke, and ought to have gone under his name. On the presentoccasion both relations are retained, for reasons which will appearsufficiently obvious in the sequel; but we have placed both in onechapter, because only a single circumnavigation, though somewhatbranched out by the separation of the original adventures. This chapteris divided into three sections: the _first_ of which contains thenarrative of the principal voyage, so far as related by Captain Cowley;along with which the observations of Dampier upon many of the places, visited during the voyage, are introduced. The _second_ continues theadventures of Cowley on his return from India to Europe, afterseparating from his first companions. The _third_ resumes the relationof the voyage, as written by Dampier, and gives a continuation of theenterprise, after the separation of Cowley. [Footnote 145: Dampier's Voyage round the World, and Cowley's do. Bothin a Coll. Of Voyages in four vols. 8vo, published at London in 1729. Also Harris, I. 77. And Callender, II. 528. ] In the remainder of this introduction, taken from the Collection byHarris, an account is given of the origin of this voyage, together witha sketch of the previous adventures of Dampier, before engaging in thisenterprise, in both of which are contained some notices of the lawless, yet famous Buccaneers, respecting whom a more detailed account isproposed to be inserted in a subsequent division of this work. Dampierpublished an account of this voyage, to be found in a Collection ofVoyages, in four volumes 8vo, printed at London in 1729, for James andJohn Knapton, and which have been used in preparing the present relationof this voyage for the press. --E. * * * * * The adventures of the _Buccaneers of America_, however blameable, willrender these men ever famous by their wonderful exploits. They usuallyfitted out small vessels in some of our colonies of America, and cruisedin these till they were able to make prize of some larger ships. Astheir designs required the utmost secrecy, they very often took mastersand pilots on board under false pretences, and did not explain to themthe true nature of their expeditions till out to sea, when they wereabsolute masters. This was the case with Captain Cowley on the presentoccasion, a very intelligent man and able navigator, who happened to bein Virginia in 1683, and was prevailed upon to go as master of aprivateer, said to be bound for _Petit Goave_, a French port in theisland of St Domingo, where these people used to take commissions. Inreality, however, their purpose was to take what prizes they could, without the formality of a commission. It is proper to state, that this voyage, at least in part, is the samewith the _first_ voyage of Captain Dampier round the world. Beforeproceeding to the incidents of the voyage, we shall give a conciseaccount of the grounds on which it was undertaken, and the commanderswho were engaged in it; and this the rather, that the original journalof Captain Cowley, published by Captain Hacke, gives very littleinformation on these subjects, probably because Cowley was ashamed ofhaving engaged in such an expedition. Among the Buccaneers who did so much mischief in the Spanish WestIndies, was one John Cooke, a native of the island of St Christophers, abrisk bold man, who so distinguished himself as to be promoted to therank of quarter-master in the ship commanded by Captain Yankey. Ontaking a Spanish prize, which was converted into a privateer, Cookeclaimed the command of her, according to the custom, of the Buccaneers;and being extremely popular, soon engaged a sufficient number of men toserve under him. The great majority of the Buccaneers at this time beingFrench, and dissatisfied to see an Englishman invested with such acommand, merely by the choice of the crew, without any commission, theyplundered the English of their ships, goods, and arms, and turned themashore on the island of _Avache_, on the coast of St Domingo, usuallycalled _Ash_ by English seamen. On this occasion, an old Buccaneer, named Captain _Tristian_, having more humanity than the rest, carriedCaptain Davis, Captain Cooke, and eight other Englishmen to Petit Goave;where, while Captain Tristian and many of his men were ashore, theseEnglishmen made themselves masters of the ship, sending all the Frenchin their turn ashore, and sailed to Avache, where, by using CaptainTristian's name to the governor, they procured all the rest of theircountrymen to be sent on board. Being now sufficiently strong to set up for themselves, they resolved tomake prize of whatever came in their way, and accordingly took twoFrench ships, one laden with wine, and the other of considerable force, in which they embarked, carrying her and their prize goods to Virginia, where they arrived in April 1683. After selling their wines and othergoods, they purchased provisions, naval stores, and every thing elsethat might be wanted during a long voyage, and fitted out their prizeship as a privateer, naming her the Revenge. According to the narrativeof Cowley, she carried eight guns and 52 men, while Dampier gives her 18guns and 70 men. [146] [Footnote 146: This difference, at least in regard to the size and forceof the ship, will be found explained in the sequel, as they took alarger ship on the coast of Africa, which they used during the voyage, and named the Revenge after their own ship. The additional number of menmentioned by Dampier is not accounted for. --E. ] Before proceeding to the narratives of this voyage, it is proper to givea concise account of Captain William Dampier, extracted from his ownworks, being an extraordinary character and an eminent navigator, whosemany discoveries ought to recommend his memory to posterity, as a man ofinfinite industry, and of a most laudable public spirit. Captain WilliamDampier was descended of a very respectable family in the county ofSomerset, where he was born in 1652. During the life of his father andmother, he had such education as was thought requisite to fit him fortrade; but losing his parents while very young, and being of a rovingdisposition, which strongly incited him to the sea, those who now hadthe care of him resolved to comply with his humour, and bound him about1669 to the master of a ship who lived at Weymouth, in Dorsetshire. Withthis master he made a voyage to France that year, and in the next wentto Newfoundland; but was so pinched by the severity of that climate, that on his return he went home to his friends, almost tired of the sea. Soon after his return, however, hearing of a ship bound for the EastIndies from London, he went there in 1670, and entered before the mastin the John and Martha, in which he made a voyage to Bantam. He returned to England in January, 1672, and retired to the house of hisbrother in Somersetshire, where he remained all the ensuing summer. In1673, he entered on board the Prince Royal, commanded by the famous SirEdward Spragge, and was in two engagements that summer against theDutch. He afterwards returned to his brother's house, where he met withone Colonel Hellier, who had a large estate in Jamaica, and whopersuaded him to go over to that island, where he was some time employedin the management of that gentleman's plantation. Not liking the life ofa planter, which he continued somewhat more than a year, he engagedamong the logwood cutters, and embarked from Jamaica for Campeachy, inAugust 1675, but returned to Jamaica in the end of that year. InFebruary 1676, he went again to Campeachy, where he acquainted himselfthoroughly with the business of logwood cutting, in which he proposed toadvance his fortune; for which purpose he returned to England in 1678. While in Campeachy, he became acquainted with some Buccaneers, who gavehim an inclination for that kind of life, in which he was afterwardsengaged, but of which in the sequel he became much ashamed. He returned from England to Jamaica in April 1679, intending to become acomplete logwood cutter and trader at the bay of Campeachy; but changedhis mind, and laid out most part of what he was worth in purchasing asmall estate in Dorsetshire. He then agreed with one Hobby to make atrip to the continent, before returning to England. Soon aftercommencing this voyage, coming to anchor in Negril bay at the west endof Jamaica, they found there Captains Coxon, Sawkins, Sharpe, and otherprivateers, with whom all Mr Hobby's men entered, leaving only MrDampier, who also at length consented to go with them. This was aboutthe end of 1679, and their first expedition was against Portobello. Thisbeing accomplished, they resolved to cross the isthmus of Darien, and topursue their predatory courses against the Spaniards in the South Sea. On the 5th April, 1680, they landed near _Golden Island_, between threeand four hundred strong; and carrying with them sufficient provisions, and some toys to gratify the Indians, through whose country they had topass, they arrived in nine days march at _Santa Maria_, which theyeasily took, but found neither gold nor provisions, as they expected. After staying three days at Santa Maria, they embarked in canoes andother small craft for the South Sea. They came in sight of Panama on the23d April, and in vain attempted to take _Puebla Nova_, where theircommander Captain Sawkins was slain. They then withdrew to the isles of_Quibo_, whence they sailed on the 6th June for the coast of Peru; andtouching at the islands of _Gorgonia_ and _Plata_, they came in themonth of October to _Ylo_, which they took. About Christmas of that yearthey arrived at the island of Juan Fernandez, where they deposed CaptainSharpe, who had the chief command after the death of Sawkins, andelected Captain Watling in his stead. Under his command they made anattempt upon Arica, but were repulsed with the loss of twenty-eight men, among whom was their new commander Watling. After this they sailed forsome time without any commander; and, arriving at the island of _Plata_, they split into two factions about the choice of a new commander. Beforeproceeding to the election, it was agreed that the majority, togetherwith the new commander, should keep the ship, and the minority shouldcontent themselves with the canoes and other small craft. On the poll, Captain Sharpe was restored, and Mr Dampier, who had voted against him, prepared, together with his associates, to return over land to the Gulfof Mexico. Accordingly, on the 17th April, 1681, they quitted Captain Sharpe, without electing any commander, and resolved to repass the Isthmus ofDarien, though only forty-seven men. This was one of the boldestenterprises ever ventured upon by so small a number of men, yet theysucceeded without any considerable loss. Landing on the continent on the1st of May, they repassed the isthmus in twenty-three days; and on the24th embarked in a French privateer, commanded by Captain Tristian, withwhom they joined a fleet of nine buccaneers, on board of which werenearly 600 men. With this great force they were in hopes of doing greatthings against the Spaniards; but, owing to various accidents, andespecially to disagreement among the commanders, they had very littlesuccess. Dampier and his companions, who had returned over land from theSouth Sea, made themselves masters of a _tartan_, and, electing CaptainWright to the command, they cruised along the Spanish coast with somesuccess, and went to the Dutch settlement of Curaçoa, where theyendeavoured to sell a good quantity of sugar they had taken in a Spanishship. Not being able to effect this purpose, they continued their voyageto the Tortugas islands, and thence to the Caraccas, where they capturedthree barks, one laden with hides, another with European commodities, and the third with earthenware and brandy. With these prizes they sailed to the island of _Roca_, where they sharedthem, and then resolved to separate, though only consisting of sixtymen. Twenty of these, among whom was Dampier, proceeded with their shareof the goods in one of these barks to Virginia, where they arrived inJuly, 1682. After continuing there some time, a considerable part ofthem made a voyage to Carolina, whence they returned to Virginia. Havingspent the best part of their wealth, they were now ready to proceed uponany plan that might offer for procuring more. Soon after Captain Cooke, of whom some account has been already given, came to Virginia with hisprize, and published his intention of going into the South Sea to cruiseagainst the Spaniards. Dampier, who was his old acquaintance, and knewhim to be an able commander, readily agreed to go with him, and inducedmost of his companions to do the same, which was of much consequence toCooke, as it furnished him with a full third of his crew. SECTION I. _Narrative of the Voyage by Captain Cowley, till he quitted the Revengeon the Western Coast of America_. [147] They sailed from Achamack in Virginia on the 23d August, 1683, takingtheir departure from Cape Charles in the Revenge of eight guns andfifty-two men, John Cooke commander, and bound for the South Sea; butCaptain Cowley, who had charge of the navigation of the Revenge asmaster, not being then let into the secret object of the enterprise, steered a course for Petit Goave in St Domingo, in which he was indulgedfor the first day, but was then told that they were bound in the firstplace for the coast of Guinea. He then steered E. S. E. For the Cape deVerd islands, and arrived at _Isola de Sal_, or the Salt island, in themonth of September. They here found neither fruits nor water, but greatplenty of fish, and some goats, but the last were very small. At thistime the island, which is in the latitude of 16° 50' N. And longitude23° W. From Greenwich, was very oddly inhabited, and as strangelygoverned. Its whole inhabitants consisted of four men and a boy, and allthe men were dignified with titles. One, a mulatto, was governor, twowere captains, and the fourth lieutenant, the boy being their onlysubject, servant, and soldier. They procured here about twenty bushelsof salt, the only commodity of the island, which they paid for in oldclothes, and a small quantity of powder and shot; and in return forthree or four goats, gave the governor a coat, of which he was in greatwant, and an old hat. The salt in which this island abounds, and fromwhich it derives its name, is formed naturally by the heat of the sunfrom the sea-water, which is let into great ponds about two Englishmiles in extent. [Footnote 147: The original narrative of this voyage, written by CaptainCowley, is contained in the fourth volume of the Collection of Voyagespublished in 1729 by James and John Knapton, usually denominatedDampier's Voyages, and has been used on the present occasion. --E] This island is about nine leagues from N. To S. And about two leaguesfrom E. To W. And has abundance of salt ponds, whence it derives itsname, but produces no trees, and hardly even any grass, some few poorgoats feeding scantily upon shrubs near the sea. It is frequented bywild fowl, especially a reddish bird named _Flamingo_, shaped like aheron, but much larger, which lives in ponds and muddy places, buildingtheir nests of mud in shallow pools of standing waters. Their nests areraised like conical hillocks, two feet above the water, having holes onthe top, in which they lay their eggs, and hatch them while standing ontheir long legs in the water, covering the nest and eggs only with theirrumps. The young ones do not acquire their true colour, neither can theyfly till ten or eleven months old, but run very fast. A dozen or more ofthese birds were killed, though very shy, and their flesh was found leanand black, though not ill tasted. Their tongues are large, and have nearthe root a piece of fat, which is esteemed a dainty. From hence they sailed to the island of St Nicholas, twenty-two leaguesW. S. W. From the island of Salt, and anchored on the S. W. Side of theisland, which is of a triangular form, the longest side measuring thirtyleagues, and the two others twenty leagues each. They here found thegovernor a white man, having three or four people about him, who weredecently cloathed, and armed with swords and pistols, but the rest ofhis attendants were in a very pitiful condition. They dug some wells onshore, and traded for goats, fruits, and wine, which last was none ofthe best. The country near the coast is very indifferent, but there aresome fine valleys in the interior, pretty well inhabited, and aboundingin all the necessaries of life. The principal town of this island is in a valley, fourteen miles fromthe bay in which the Revenge came to anchor, and contains about 100families, the inhabitants being of a swarthy complexion. The country onthe sea is rocky and barren, but in the interior there are severalvallies, having plenty of grass, and in which vines are cultivated. Thewine is of a pale colour, and tastes somewhat like Madeira, but israther thick. From thence they went to Mayo, another of the Cape de Verd islands, forty miles E. S. E. From St Nicholas, and anchored on its north side. They wished to have procured some beef and goats at this island, butwere not permitted to land, because one Captain Bond of Bristol had notlong before, under the same pretence, carried away some of the principalinhabitants. This island is small, and its shores are beset with shoals, yet it has a considerable trade in salt and cattle. In May, June, July, and August, a species of sea-tortoises lay their eggs here, but are notnearly so good as those of the West Indies. The inhabitants cultivatesome potatoes, plantains, and corn, but live very poorly, like all theothers in the Cape de Verd islands. After continuing here five or six days, they resolved to go to theisland of St Jago, in hopes of meeting some ship in the road, intendingto cut her cable and run away with her. They accordingly stood for theeast part of that island, where they saw from the top-mast head, over apoint of land, a ship at anchor in the road, which seemed fit for theirpurpose: but, by the time they had got near her, her company clapped aspring upon her cable, struck her ports, and run out her lower tier ofguns, on which Cooke bore away as fast as he could. This was a narrowescape, as they afterwards learnt that this ship was a Dutch EastIndiaman of 50 guns and 400 men. This is by far the best of the Cape de Verd islands, four or fiveleagues west from Mayo; and, though mountainous, is the best peopled, having a very good harbour on its east side, much frequented by shipsbound from Europe for the East Indies and the coast of Guinea, as alsoby Portuguese ships bound to Brazil, which come here to providethemselves with beef, pork, goats, fowls, eggs, plantains, andcocoa-nuts, in exchange for shirts, drawers, handkerchiefs, hats, waistcoats, breeches, and all sorts of linen, which are in great requestamong the natives, who are much addicted to theft. There is here a forton the top of a hill, which commands the harbour. This island has twotowns of some size, and produces the same sort of wine with St Nicholas. There are two other islands, Fogo and Brava, both small, and to the westof St Jago. Fogo is remarkable, as being an entire burning mountain, from the top of which issues a fire which may be seen a great way off atsea in the night. This island has a few inhabitants, who live on thesea-coast at the foot of the mountain, and subsist on goats, fowls, plantains, and cocoa-nuts. The other islands of this group are StAntonio, St Lucia, St Vincent, and Bona Vista. They sailed thence for the coast of Guinea, and, being near Cape SierraLeona, they fell in with a new-built ship of forty guns, well furnishedwith water, all kinds of provisions, and brandy, which they boarded andcarried away. [148] [Footnote 148: They appear to have named this ship the Revenge, and tohave destroyed their original vessel. --E. ] From thence they went to Sherbro river, also on the coast of Guinea, where they trimmed all their empty casks and filled them with water, notintending to stop any where again for water till their arrival at JuanFernandez in the South Sea. There was at this time an English factory inthe Sherbro river, having a considerable trade in _Cam-wood_, which isused in dying red; but the adventurers do not appear to have had anyintercourse with their countrymen at this place. They were wellreceived, however, by the negro inhabitants of a considerable villageon the sea-shore, near the mouth of this river, who entertained Cowleyand his companions with palm-wine, in a large hut in the middle of thetown, all the rest of the habitations being small low huts. Thesenegroes also brought off considerable supplies to the ship, of rice, fowls, honey, and sugar canes, which they sold to the buccaneers forgoods found in the vessel they had seized at Sierra Leona. Going from thence in the month of December, along the coast of Guinea, to the latitude of 12° S. They crossed the Atlantic to the oppositecoast of Brazil, where they came to soundings on a sandy bottom ateighty fathoms deep. Sailing down the coast of Brazil, when in lat. 4°S. They observed the sea to be as red as blood, occasioned by aprodigious shoal of red shrimps, which lay upon the water in greatpatches for many leagues together. They likewise saw vast numbers ofseals, and a great many whales. Holding on their course to lat. 47° S. They discovered an island not known before, which Cowley named _Pepy'sIsland_, [149] in honour of Samuel Pepys, secretary to the Duke of Yorkwhen Lord High Admiral of England, a great patron of seamen. This islandhas a very good harbour, in which 1000 ships might ride at anchor, andis a very commodious place for procuring both wood and water. Itabounded in sea-fowl, and the shore, being either rocks or sand, promised fair for fish. [Footnote 149: An island in the southern Atlantic, in lat. 46° 34' S. Called _Isle Grande_, is supposed to be the discovery of Cowley. According to Dalrymple, it is in long. 46° 40' W. While the mappublished along with Cook's Voyages places it in long. 35° 40' W. FromGreenwich. --E. ] In January 1684 they bore away for the Straits of Magellan, and on the28th of that month fell in with the _Sebaldine_ or Falkland islands, inlat. 51° 25' S. Then steering S. W. By W. To the lat. Of 53° S. They madethe Terra del Fuego. Finding great ripplings near the Straits of LeMaire, they resolved to go round the east end of States Land, as hadbeen done by Captain Sharp in 1681, who first discovered it to be anisland, naming it _Albemarle_ island. A prodigious storm came on uponthe 14th February, which lasted between a fortnight and three weeks, anddrove them into lat. 63° 30' S. This storm was attended by such torrentsof rain, that they saved twenty-three barrels of water, besides dressingtheir victuals all that time in rain water. [150] The weather also was soexcessively cold, that they could bear to drink three quarts of burntbrandy a man in twenty-four hours, without being intoxicated. [Footnote 150: It was discovered by the great navigator Captain Cook, who at one time penetrated to lat. 71° 10' S. That the solid ice foundat sea in high southern latitudes affords perfectly fresh water, whenthe first meltings are thrown away. --E. ] When the storm abated, they steered N. E. Being then considerably to thewest of Cape Horn, and got again into warm weather. In lat. 40° S. Theyfell in with an English ship, the Nicholas of London, of 26 guns, commanded by Captain John Eaton, with whom they joined company. Theysailed together to the island of Juan Fernandez, where they arrived onthe 23d March, and anchored in a bay at the south end of the island intwenty-five fathoms. Captain Watling, who succeeded Captain Sharp, wasthere in 1680, and named it _Queen Catharine's_ island. At hisdeparture, he accidentally left a Moskito Indian, who still remained, having a gun, a knife, a small flask of powder, and some shot. In thisdesolate condition, he found it equally hard to provide for hissubsistence, and to conceal himself from the Spaniards, who had noticeof his being left there, and came several times to take him. He hadchosen a pleasant valley for his residence, about half a mile from thecoast, where he had erected a very convenient hut, well lined withseal-skins, and had a bed of the same, raised about two feet above theground. By the help of a flint, he had converted his knife into a saw, with which he had cut the barrel of his gun to pieces, which hefashioned into harpoons, lances, fishing-hooks, and a long knife, byheating them in a fire. All this cost him much labour, but enabled himto live in sufficient comfort. On seeing the ships at sea, he guessedthem to be English, and immediately dressed two goats, and a largequantity of cabbage, to entertain them on landing. He was also muchpleased, when they landed on the island, to see two of his oldacquaintances, Captains Cooke and Dampier, who had belonged to the shipby which he was left on the island. The island of Juan Fernandez is in lat. 34° 15' S. [33° 42'] about 420English miles from the coast of Chili. The whole island is a pleasantmixture of hills and vallies, the sides of the hills partly covered withwood, and partly savannas, or places naturally clear of wood, bearingfine grass. Among the woods are what are called cabbage-trees, but notso large as in other parts of the world. The goats which feed on thewest end of the island are much fatter and better than those at the eastend, though the latter has better and greater plenty of grass, withabundance of excellent water in the vallies, while the west end is a dryplain, the grass scanty and parched, and has hardly any wood or freshwater. Though fertile, this island has no inhabitants, who might livehere in plenty, as the plain is able to maintain a great number ofcattle, and the sea affords vast quantities of seals, sea-lions, snappers, and rock-fish. The sea-lions are not much unlike seals, butmuch larger, being twelve or fourteen feet long, and as thick as a largeox. They have no hair, and are of a dun colour, with large eyes, theirteeth being three inches long. One of these animals will yield aconsiderable quantity of oil, which is sweet and answers well forfrying. They feed on fish, yet their flesh is tolerably good. Thesnapper is a fish having a large head, mouth, and gills, the back red, the belly ash-coloured, and its general appearance resembling a roach, but much larger, its scales being as broad as a shilling. The rock-fish, called _baccalao_ by the Spaniards, because resembling the cod, isrounder than the former, and of a dark-brown colour, with small scales, and is very good food, being found in vast abundance on the coasts ofPeru and Chili. This island has only two bays fit for anchorage, with arivulet of fresh water in each, and both at the east end, and soconveniently situated that they might easily be fortified, and defendedby a slender force against a powerful army, being inaccessible from thewest, by reason of the high mountains. Five Englishmen, left by CaptainDavies, secured themselves here against a great number of Spaniards. After remaining fourteen days at this island, they left it on the 8thApril, 1684, steering N. N. E. Till off the bay of Arica, whence theysailed to Cape Blanco, in hopes of meeting the Spanish Plate fleet fromPanama; but if they had gone into the bay of Arica, they must have takena Spanish ship which lay there, having 300 tons of silver on board. Inlat. 10° S. On the 3d May, they were forced to capture a ship laden withtimber, much against their inclination, lest they should be knownthrough her means to be on the coast. They then sailed to the southernisland of _Lobos_, in lat. 70° S. About forty-three English miles fromthe coast of Peru, where they landed their sick for refreshment, heeledtheir ships, and scraped their bottoms, to render them fitter foraction. This island is named _Lobos del Mar_, to distinguish it from anotherwhich is nearer the continent, and called therefore _Lobos de la Tierra. Lobos del Mar_ is properly a double island, each a mile in circuit, separated by a small channel which will not admit ships of burden. Alittle way from shore, on the north side, there are several scatteredrocks in the sea, and at the west end of the eastermost isle is a smallsandy creek, in which ships are secure from the winds, all the rest ofthe shore being rocky cliffs. The whole of both islands is rocky andsandy, having neither wood, water, nor land animals; but it has manyfowls, such as boobies, and above all penguins, about the size of aduck, and with similar feet; but their bills are pointed, their wingsare mere stumps, which serve them as fins when in the water, and theirbodies are covered with down instead of feathers. As they feed on fish, they are but indifferent eating, but their eggs are very good. Penguinsare found all over the South Sea, and at the Cape of Good Hope. The roadfor ships is between the before-mentioned rock and the eastmost island. They were now very eager to make some capture, as their provisions, especially water, were very scanty, so that the subsistence of theirprisoners, as well as themselves, gave them much anxiety. By informationof their prisoners, they were also convinced that their being in theseseas was known to the Spaniards, who consequently would keep all theirrichest ships in port. After much consultation, therefore, it wasresolved to make an attempt on Truxillo, in lat. 8° 4' S. A populouscity about six miles from the port of _Guanehagno_, though thelanding-place was of difficult access, as at that place there was astrong probability of making a considerable booty. They sailed thereforewith this design on the 18th May, their whole number of men fit for dutybeing one hundred and eight. Soon after weighing anchor, three shipswere descried under sail, which they chased and captured, being ladenwith flour from Guanehagno to Panama. In one of them was found a letterfrom the viceroy of Peru to the president of Panama, intimating thatthere were enemies on the coast, and that he had sent these three shipsto supply their wants. It was also learnt from the prisoners, that theSpaniards were erecting a fort near their harbour of Guanehagno, inconsequence of which the design on Traxillo was abandoned. Besides alarge loading of flour, the three captured ships had a good quantity offruits and sweetmeats, which made them agreeable prizes to the English, who were now very short of provisions; but they had landed no less than800, 000 dollars, on hearing that there were enemies in these seas. It was now resolved to carry their prizes to some secure place, wherethe best part of the provisions they had now procured might be laid upin safety, for which purpose they steered for the _Gallapagos_ or_Enchanted Islands_, [151] which they got sight of on the 31st May, andanchored at night on the east side of one of the easternmost of theseislands, a mile from shore, in sixteen fathoms, on clear white hardsand. To this Cowley gave the name of _King Charles's Island_. Helikewise named more of them, as the Duke of Norfolk's Island immediatelyunder the line, Dessington's, Eares, Bindley's, Earl of Abington's, KingJames's, Duke of Albemarles, and others. They afterwards anchored in avery good bay being named York Bay. Here they found abundance ofexcellent provisions, particularly guanoes and sea and land tortoises, some of the latter weighing two hundred pounds, which is much beyondtheir usual weight. There were also great numbers of birds, especiallyturtle-doves, with plenty of wood and excellent water; but none ofeither of these was in any of the other islands. [152] [Footnote 151: These islands, so named by the Spaniards from being theresort of tortoises, are on both sides of the line, from about the Lat. Of 2° N. To 1° 50' S, . And from about 88° 40' to 95° 20' both W. FromGreenwich. --E. ] [Footnote 152: Cowley mentions having found here a [illegible] thing ofits nature of quantity. --E. ] These Gallapagos are a considerable number of large islands, situatedunder and on both sides of the line, and destitute of inhabitants. TheSpaniards, who first discovered them, describe them as extending fromthe equator N. W. As high as 5° N. The adventurers in this voyage sawfourteen or fifteen, some of which were seven or eight leagues inlength, and three or four leagues broad, pretty high yet flat. Four orfive of the most easterly were barren and rocky, without either trees, herbs, or grass, except very near the shore. They produced also a sortof shrub, called dildo-tree, about the bigness of a man's leg, and tenor twelve feet high, without either fruit or leaves, but covered withprickles from top to bottom. The only water in these barren isles, wasin ponds and holes in the rocks. Some of the isles are low and morefertile, producing some of the trees that are known in Europe. A few ofthe westermost isles are larger than the rest, being nine or ten leagueslong, and six or seven broad, producing many trees, especially Mammeefigs, and they have also some pretty large fresh-water streams, and manyrivulets. The air is continually refreshed, by the sea-breeze by day andthe land-winds at night, so that they are not troubled with suchexcessive heats, neither are they so unwholesome as most places so nearthe equator. During the rainy season, in November, December, andJanuary, they are infested with violent tempests of thunder andlightning; but before and after these months have only refreshingshowers, and in their summer, which is in May, June, July, and August, they are without any rains. They anchored near several of these islands, and frequently found seatortoises basking in the sun at noon. On a former occasion, CaptainDavies came to anchor on the west side of these islands, where he andhis men subsisted on land-tortoises for three months, and saved fromthem sixty jars of oil. He also found several good channels on thatside, with anchorage between the isles, and several rivulets of freshwater, with plenty of trees for fuel. The sea also round these islandsis well stored with good fish of a large size, and abounds in sharks. These islands are better stored with guanoes and land-tortoises than anyother part of the world. The guanoes are very tame, of extraordinarysize, and very fat. The land-tortoises are likewise very fat, and sonumerous that several hundred men might subsist upon them for aconsiderable time. They are as pleasant food as a pullet, and so largethat some of them weighed 150 and even 200 pounds, being two feet to twofeet and a half across the belly; whereas in other places they areseldom met with above 30 pounds weight. There are several kinds ofland-tortoises in the West Indies, one of which, called _Hackatee_ bythe Spaniards, keeps mostly in fresh-water ponds, having long necks, small legs, and flat feet, and is usually between ten and fifteen poundsweight. A second, and much smaller kind, which they call _Tenopen_, [153]is somewhat rounder, but not unlike in other respects, except that theirback shells are naturally covered with curious carved work. Thetortoises in the Gallapagos isles resembles the _Hackatee_, having longnecks and small heads, but are much larger. [Footnote 153: This word in the text is probably a misprint for_Terrapin_, a trivial name for a species of land or fresh-watertortoise, found also in the warmer parts of North America--E. ] In these islands there are also some green snakes, and great numbers ofremarkably tame turtle-doves, very fat, and excellent eating. There arelarge channels between some of these islands, capable of receiving shipsof moderate burden. On the shoals there grows great abundance ofsea-weed, called _turtle-grass_, owing to which these channels abound in_green turtles_ or sea-tortoises. There are several kinds of turtles orsea-tortoises, as the _Trunk, Loggerhead, Hawksbill_, and _Green_turtles. The first is larger than the rest, and has a rounder and higherback shell, but is neither so wholesome nor so well tasted; and the samemay be said of the Loggerhead, which feeds on moss from the rocks, andhas its name from its large head. The Hawksbill, so named from having along small mouth, like the beak of a hawk, is the smallest species, andis that which produces the so-much-admired tortoise-shell, of whichcabinets, boxes, combs, and other things are made in Europe, and of thisshell each has from three to four pounds, though some have less. Theflesh of this kind is but indifferent, yet better than that of theLoggerheads; though these, which are taken between the _Sambellos_ and_Portobello_, make those who eat the flesh purge and vomit excessively, and the same is observed of some other fish in the West Indies. The laying time of the sea-tortoises is about May, June, and July, alittle sooner or later, and they lay three times each season, eighty orninety eggs each time, which are round and as large as an hen's egg, butcovered only with a thin white skin, having no shell. When a tortoisegoes on shore to lay, she is usually an hour before she returns, as shealways chuses her place above high-water mark, where she makes a largehole with her fins in the sand, in which she lays her eggs, and thencovers them two feet deep with the sand she had raked out. Sometimesthey go on shore the day before, to take a look of the place, and aresure to return to the same spot next day. People take the tortoises onthis occasion, while on shore in the night, turning them over on theirbacks, above high-water mark, and then return to fetch them off nextmorning; but a large Green tortoise will give work enough to two stoutmen to turn her over. The Green tortoise gets its name from the colourof the shell, having a small round head, and weighs from 200 to 300pounds. Its flesh is accounted the best of any, but there are none ofthis kind in the South Sea. The sea-tortoises found at the Gallapagosbeing a bastard kind of Green tortoises, having thicker shells thanthose of the West Indies, and their flesh not so good. They are alsomuch larger, being frequently two or three feet thick, and their belliesfive feet broad. They remained twelve or fourteen days at the Gallapagos, during whichtime Captain Cooke lived on shore in a very poor state of health. Theyalso landed 1500 bags of flour, with a large quantity of sweetmeats andother provisions, on York Island, which they might have recourse to onany emergency. From one of their prisoners, an Indian of _Realejo_, theyhad a flattering account of the riches of that place, which he allegedmight be easily taken, and for which enterprise he offered to serve themas a guide. Setting sail therefore from the Gallapagos on the 12th June, they shaped their course in lat 4° 40' N. With the intention of touchingat the _Island of Cocos_, [in lat. 5° 27' N. And long. 87° 27' W. FromGreenwich. ] This island is seven or eight leagues in circuit, butuninhabited, and produces a pleasant herb near the sea coast, called_Geamadael_ by the Spaniards. It is so environed with steep rocks as tobe inaccessible, except on the N. E. Where ships may safely ride in asmall bay. Missing this island, they continued their course towards the continentof America, and reached Cape _Blanco_, or _Trespuntas_, on the coast ofMexico, in lat. 9° 56' N. In the beginning of July. This cape gets thename of _Blanco_, or the White Cape, from two high steep taper whiterocks, like high towers, about half a mile distant. The cape itself isabout the same height with Beachy-head, on the coast of Sussex, being afull broad point jutting out to sea, and terminated with steep rocks, while both sides have easy descents to the sea from the flat top, whichis covered with tall trees, and affords a pleasant prospect. On the N. W. Side of the cape the land runs in to the N. E. For four leagues, making asmall bay, called _Caldera Bay_, at the entrance to which, at the N. W. Side of the cape, a rivulet of fresh water discharges itself into thesea through very rich low lands abounding in lofty trees. This richwooded vale extends a mile N. E. Beyond the rivulet, when a savannabegins, running several leagues into the country, here and therebeautifully interspersed with groves of trees, and covered withexcellent long grass. Deeper into the bay, the low lands are cloathedwith mangroves; but farther into the country the land is higher, partlycovered with woods, and partly consisting of hilly savannas, not so goodas the former, and here the woods consist of short small trees. From thebottom of this bay one may travel to the lake of Nicaragua over hillysavannas, a distance of fourteen, or fifteen leagues. [154] [Footnote 154: The bay of Caldera in the text is evidently the gulf ofNicoya, from the bottom of which the lake of Nicaragua is distant aboutfifty English miles due north. The latitude of Cape Blanco in the text, 9° 56' N. Is considerably erroneous, its true latitude being only 9° 27'N. ] Captain Cooke had been very ill ever since their departure from JuanFernandez, and died as soon as they came within two or three leagues ofCape Blanco, which indeed is a frequent incident at sea, as people whohave been long ill often die on coming in sight of land. Coming toanchor a few hours after a league within the cape, near the mouth of thebefore-mentioned rivulet, in 14 fathoms on clear hard sand, his body wasimmediately carried on shore for interment, under a guard of twelvearmed men. While the people were digging his grave, they were joined bythree Spanish Indians, who asked many questions, and were at lengthseized, though one of them afterwards escaped. The other two werecarried aboard, and confessed that they were sent as spies from Nicoya, a small Mulatto town twelve or fourteen leagues from the cape, andseated on the banks of a river of the same name, [155] being a convenientplace for building and refitting ships. The president of Panama had sentintelligence to this place of the English being in these seas, inconsequence of which the inhabitants, who mostly subsist by cultivatingcorn, and by slaughtering great numbers of cattle which feed on theirextensive savannas, had sent their ox hides to the North Sea by way ofthe lake of Nicaragua, as also a certain red wood, called in Jamaica_Blood wood_, or Nicaragua wood, which is used in dying. Thesecommodities are exchanged for linen and woollen manufactures, and otherEuropean goods. [Footnote 155: There is no river at Niceya, but it is seated on a bay orharbour within the gulf of the same name. --E. ] Learning from their prisoners that there was a large cattle pen at nogreat distance, where cows and bulls could be had in abundance, andbeing very desirous of having some fresh beef which had long been veryrare among them, twenty-four of the English went ashore in two boats, under the guidance of one of the Indians, and landed about a league fromthe ships, hauling their boats upon the dry sand. Their guide conductedthem to the pen, in a large savanna two miles from the boats, where theyfound abundance of bulls and cows feeding. Some of the English were forkilling three or four immediately, but the rest insisted to wait tillmorning, and then to kill as many as they needed. On this difference ofopinion, Dampier and eleven more thought proper to return aboard thatnight, expecting to be followed by the rest next day. Hearing nothing ofthem next day at four p. M. Ten men were sent in a canoe to look forthem; when they found their comrades on a small rock half a mile fromthe shore, up to their middles in water, having fled there to escapefrom forty or fifty Spaniards, well armed with guns and lances, who hadburnt their boat. They had taken shelter on this rock at low water, andmust have perished in an hour, as it was then flowing tide, if they hadnot been relieved by the canoe, which brought them safe on board. On the 19th July, Edward Davis, quarter-master of the Revenge, waselected captain, in the room of Captain Cooke. They sailed next day fromCape Blanco towards Realejo, with a moderate breeze at N. Which broughtthem in three days over against that port, in lat. 12° 26' N. This placeis easily discovered from sea, by means of a high-peaked burningmountain about ten miles inland, called by the Spaniards _Volcano vejo_, or the old volcano, which is so high that it may be seen twenty leaguesout at sea, besides which there is no other similar mountain on all thatcoast. To make this harbour, the mountain must bear N. E. And keeping thiscoarse will bring a ship directly into the harbour, the entrance ofwhich may be seen at three leagues off. This harbour is inclosed by alow isle, a mile in length, a quarter of a mile broad, and a mile and ahalf from the main land. It has a channel or entrance at each end of theisland, that on the east, being narrow and having a strong tide, isseldom used, but that on the west is much larger and more commodious. Intaking this entry, however, ships must beware of a certain sandy shoalon the N. W. Point of the isle, and when past this must keep close to theisle, as a sand-bank runs half way over from the continental shore. Thisport is able to contain 200 ships. About two leagues from the port, the town of Realejo stands in a fennycountry, full of red mangrove trees, between two arms of the sea, thewestermost of which reaches up to the town, and the eastermost comesnear it, but no shipping can get so far up. [156] On entering the bay intheir canoes, they found the country apprized of their approach, andfully prepared for their reception, wherefore the enterprise againstRealejo was laid aside. Pursuant to a consultation between the twocommanders, Eaton and Davis, they sailed on the 27th July for the gulfof Amapalla or Fonseca. [Footnote 156: The account in the text appears applicable to what is nowcalled _El Viejo_, or the old town, nearly 12 miles from the port, butmodern Realejo stands almost close to the entrance of the bay orharbour. --E. ] This is a large gulf or branch of the sea, running eight or ten leaguesinto the country, and nearly of the same breadth. The S. E. Extreme pointis called Cape _Casurina_, or _Casiquina_, in lat. 12° 53' N. And long. 87° 36' W. And the N. W. Point is Cape Candadillo, in lat. 18° 6' N. Andlong. 87° 57' W. Within this bay are several islands, the principal ofthese being named _Mangeru_ and _Amapaila_. Mangera is a high roundisland, two leagues in circuit, inclosed on all sides by rocks, excepton its N. E. Side, where there is a small sandy creek. The soil is blackand shallow, full of stones, and produces very lofty trees. It has asmall town or village in the middle inhabited by Indians, and a handsomeSpanish church. The inhabitants cultivate a small quantity of maize andplantains, having also a few cocks and hens, but no beasts except dogsand cats. From the creek to the town there is a steep rocky path. _Amapalla_ resembles the other isle in soil, but is much larger, and hastwo towns about two miles asunder, one on its northern end, and theother on the east. The latter is on a plain on the summit of a hill, andhas a handsome church. The other town is smaller, but has also a finechurch. In most of the Indian towns under the Spanish dominion, theimages of the saints in their churches are represented of the Indiancomplexion, and dressed like Indians; while in the towns inhabited bySpaniards, the images have the European complexion and dress. There aremany other islands in the bay, but uninhabited. Captain Davis went into the gulf with two canoes to procure someprisoners for intelligence, and coming to Mangera, the inhabitants allran away into the woods, so that only the priest and two boys weretaken. Captain Davis went thence to the isle of Amapalla, where theinhabitants were prevented from retiring into the woods by thesecretary, who was an enemy to the Spaniards, and persuaded them theEnglish were friends; but by the misconduct of one of the Buccaneers, all the Indians run away, on which Davis made his men fire at them, andthe secretary was slain. After this the casique of the island wasreconciled to the English, and afterwards guided them wherever they hadoccasion to go, especially to places on the continent where they couldprocure beef. A company of English and French Buccaneers landed some time afterwardson this island, whence they went over to the continent, and marched byland to the _Cape River_, otherwise called _Yare_, or _Vanquez_ river, which falls into the gulf of Mexico, near _Cape Gracias a Dios_, on theMosquito shore. On reaching that river near its source, they constructedbark canoes, in which they descended the stream into the gulf of Mexico. They were not, however, the first discoverers of this passage, as aboutthirty years before, some English went up that same river to near itssource, from the gulf of Mexico, and marched thence inland to a towncalled New Segovia, near the head of Bluefield's river. While in this bay of Amapalla, some difference arose between the twocaptains, Davis who had succeeded to Cooke in command of the Revenge, and Eaton of the Nicholas, when they resolved to separate: But theyfirst deemed it proper to careen their ships, for which this placeafforded every convenience, and to take in a supply of fresh water. Bothships being in condition for sea, Captain Eaton took 400 sacks of flouron board his ship, and agreed with Captain Cowley to take the charge ofthe Nicholas as master. From this period therefore, which was in the endof September, the voyages of Cowley and Dampier cease to be the same, and require to be separately narrated. SECTION II. _Continuation of the Narrative of Cowley, from leaving the Revenge, tohis Return to England_. On leaving the gulf of Amapalla, the Nicholas steered for CapeFrancisco, in lat. 0° 50' N. Near which they encountered dreadfulstorms, attended by prodigious thunder and lightning. From thence theyproceeded to the latitude of 7° S. But found the country every wherealarmed. They went next to Payta, in lat. 4° 55' S. Where they took twoships at anchor, which they set on fire, because the Spaniards refusedto ransom them. Leaving the coast, they went to the island of _Gorgona_, in lat. 2° 50' N. About four leagues from the main, which the privateersusually called _Sharp's Island_. This is about two leagues long by oneleague broad, having a good harbour on its west side, and affordingplenty of wood and water. It is a common saying in Spanish SouthAmerica, that it rains often in Chili, seldom in Peru, and always atGorgona, where they allege there never was a day fair to an end. Thoughthis be not strictly true, it is certain that this island has rain moreor less at all seasons, on which account, perhaps, it has alwaysremained uninhabited. They sailed from Gorgona W. N. W. Till in lat. 30°N. When they steered W. By N. To lat. 15° N. Till they consideredthemselves beyond danger from the rocks of _St Bartholomew_; after whichthey returned into the lat. Of 13° N. In which parallel they continuedtheir voyage for the East Indies. They had a regular trade-wind, and a reasonably quick passage across thePacific Ocean, except that their men were mostly ill of the scurvy; andon the 14th of March, 1685, being in lat. 13° 2' N. They came in sightof the island of Guam. By Captain Cowley's calculation, this run acrossthe Pacific Ocean extended to 7646 miles, from the island of Gorgona toGuam. [157] They came next day to anchor in a bay on the west side of theisland, and sent their boat on shore with a flag of truce. Theinhabitants of a village at that place set fire to their houses, and ranaway into the interior, on which the boat's crew cut down some cocoatrees to gather the fruit, and on going again on board were threatenedby a party of the natives, who sallied out from some bushes on purposeto attack them. A friendly intercourse was however established betweenthe English and the natives, and trade took place with them till the17th, when the natives attacked the English suddenly, but were beat offwith heavy loss, while none of the English were hurt. [Footnote 157: Gorgona is in long. 78° 33' Guam in 216° 40', both W. From Greenwich. The difference of longitude is 138° 07', which gives9530 statute miles, or 2762 marine leagues, so that the computation inthe text is considerably too short. --E. ] On the 19th the Spanish governor of the island came to a point of landnot far from the ship, whence he sent his boat on board with threecopies of the same letter, in Spanish, French, and Dutch, desiring toknow who they were, whence they came, and whither they were bound. Captain Eaton answered in French, saying that they had been fitted outby some gentlemen in France to make discoveries, and were come in questof provisions. In reply the governor invited Captain Eaton on shore, wholanded with a guard of twenty men doubly armed, and was politelyreceived. On the 18th the governor sent ten hogs on board, together witha prodigious quantity of potatoes, plantains, oranges, papaws, and redpepper, in return for which Captain Eaton sent a diamond ring to thegovernor worth twenty pounds, and gave swords to several Spanishgentlemen who came off with the provisions. Next day the governor sentto procure some powder, of which he was in want, as the natives were inrebellion, and Captain Eaton gave him two barrels, for which to thevalue of 1400 dollars were offered in gold and silver, but Eaton refusedto accept the money, in consequence of which the governor sent him adiamond ring, worth fifty pounds. Every day after this the governor sentthem some kind of provisions, and about the end of March, when about tosail, the governor sent them thirty hogs for sea store, with a largesupply of rice and potatoes. On one occasion the Indians attacked a party of the English, who were onshore to draw the sein, but were beaten off with much loss; yet theyafterwards endeavoured to prevail on Captain Eaton to join them indriving out the Spaniards, which he positively refused. On the 1stApril, leaving the bay in which they had hitherto remained, the Nicholasanchored before the Spanish fort; and after several civilities on bothsides, set sail in the afternoon of the 3d April with a fair wind. This island of Guam is about fourteen leagues long by six broad, andcontains several very pleasant vallies, interspersed with fine fertilemeadows, watered by many rivulets from the hills. The soil in thesevallies is black and very rich, producing plenty of cocoas, potatoes, yams, papaws, plantains, _monanoes_, sour-sops, oranges, and lemons, together with some honey. The climate is naturally very hot, yet iswholesome, as constantly refreshed by the trade-wind. The Indiannatives are large made, well proportioned, active and vigorous, somebeing seven feet and a half high, and go mostly naked, both men andwomen. They never bury their dead, but lay them in the sun to putrefy. Their only arms are slings and lances, the heads of these being made ofhuman bones; and on the decease of any one his bones make eight lances, four from his legs and thighs, and as many from his arms. These lanceheads are formed like a scoop, and jagged at the edges like a saw oreel-spear; so that a person wounded by them dies, if not cured in sevendays. The great annual ship between Manilla and Acapulco touches here forrefreshments, and the Spaniards said there were sometimes eight ships inone year at this place from the East Indies. They said also, that theyhad built a ship here, in 1684, of 160 tons, to trade with Manilla, andpretended to have a garrison here of 600 men, most of the Indians beingin rebellion. The Nicholas sailed from Guam W. By S. And on computing that they were206 leagues from that island, they changed to due W. The 23d, when theyreckoned themselves 560 leagues west of Guam, they met with a verystrong current, resembling the race of Portland, and fell in with acluster of islands in lat. 20° 30' N. To the north of Luçonia, [the_Bashee Islands_. ] They sent their boat ashore on the northermost ofthese islands, in order to get some fish, and to examine the island, onwhich they found vast quantities of nutmegs growing, but saw no people, and as night was drawing on they did not venture to go any distance fromthe shore. To this island they gave the name of _Nutmeg Island_, andcalled the bay in which they anchored _English Bay_. They observed manyrocks, shoals, and foul ground near the shore, and saw a great manygoats on the island, but brought off very few. On the 26th of April they were off Cape Bojadore, the N. W. Point ofLuçonia, and came soon after to Cipe _Mindato_, where they met the S. W. Monsoon, on which they bore away for Canton in China, where they arrivedin safety and refitted their ship. They had here an opportunity ofmaking themselves as rich as they could desire, but would not embraceit; as there came into the port thirteen sail of Tartar vessels, ladenwith Chinese plunder, consisting of the richest productions of the East. The men, however, would have nothing to do with any thing but gold andsilver, and Captain Eaton could not prevail upon them to fight forsilks, as they alleged that would degrade them into pedlars. The Tartarstherefore quietly pursued their affairs at Canton, unconscious of theirdanger. Having repaired the ship, Captain Easton sailed for Manilla, intendingto wait for a Tartar ship of which they had information, bound from thatport, and half laden with silver. They even got sight of her, and chasedher a whole day to no purpose, as she was quite clean, and the Nicholaswas as foul as could well be. They then stood for a small island, to thenorth of Luçonia, to wait for a fair wind to carry them to Bantam. Instead of one island, they found several, where they procuredrefreshments. [158] Learning from an Indian that in one of these islandsthere were plenty of beeves, they sent a boat thither with thirty men, who took what they wanted by force, though the island was wellinhabited. [Footnote 158: The indications in the text are too vague to point outthe particular islands at which the Nicholas refreshed. Immediatelynorth from Luçonia are the Babuvanes Isles, in lat 19° 30', and stillfarther, the Bashee Islands, in 20° 30', both N. ] Leaving these islands about the middle of September, 1685, they were forthree days in great danger on the banks of _Peragoa_, in lat. 10° N. After which they came to a convenient bay in an island not far from thenorthern coast of Borneo, where they set up a tent on shore and landedevery thing from the ship, fortifying themselves with ten small guns, incase of being attacked by the natives, and hauled their ship on shore toclean her bottom. At first the natives of the island avoided allintercourse with the English; but one day the boat of the Nicholas cameup with a canoe in which was the queen of the country with her retinue, who all leaped into the sea to get away from the English. They took upthese people with much difficulty, and entertained them with so muchkindness that they became good friends during two months which theycontinued afterwards at this island. At this time the Spaniards were atpeace with the sovereign of Borneo, and carried on an advantageous tradethere from Manilla; of which circumstance Captain Eaton and his peoplegot intimation, and passed themselves for Spaniards during theirresidence. This great island is plentifully stored with provisions of all kinds, and many rich commodities, as diamonds, pepper, camphor, &c. And severalkinds of fine woods, as specklewood and ebony. Cloves also were there tobe had at a reasonable price, being brought there from the neighbouringislands by stealth. The animals of Borneo, as reported by Cowley, areelephants, tigers, panthers, leopards, antelopes, and wild swine. Theking of Borneo being in league with the Spanish governor of thePhilippines, the English passed themselves here as Spaniards, and wereamply supplied by the natives during their stay with fish, oranges, lemons, mangoes, plantains, and pine-apples. The Nicholas sailed from this place in December, 1685, proceeding to achain of islands in lat. 4° N. Called the _Naturah_ islands, [159] whencethey went to Timor, where the crew became exceedingly mutinous; on whichCaptain Cowley and others resolved to quit the Nicholas, in order toendeavour to get a passage home from Batavia. Accordingly, Cowley andone Mr Hill, with eighteen more of the men, purchased a large boat, inwhich they meant to have gone to Batavia, but, owing to contrary winds, were obliged to put in at Cheribon, another factory belonging to theDutch in Java, where they found they had lost a day in their reckoningduring their voyage by the west. They here learnt the death of CharlesII. And that the Dutch had driven the English from Bantam, which wasthen the second place of trade we possessed in India. The Dutch wereforming other schemes to the prejudice of our trade, wherefore Cowley, with Hill and another of the Englishmen, resolved to make all the hastethey could to Batavia, to avoid being involved in the subsistingdisputes. They were kindly received by the governor of Batavia, whopromised them a passage to Holland. [Footnote 159: The Natuna Islands, in long. 108° E. From Greenwich. --E. ] Cowley and his remaining companions embarked at Batavia in a Dutch shipin March, 1686. They arrived in Table bay at the Cape of Good Hope onthe 1st June, where they landed next day, and of which settlement, as itthen existed in 1686, Cowley gives the following account:-- "Cape Town does not contain above an hundred houses, which are all builtlow, because exposed to violent gales of wind in the months of December, January, and February. The castle is very strong, having about eightylarge cannon for its defence. There is also a very spacious garden, maintained by the Dutch East India Company, planted with all kinds offruit-trees, and many excellent herbs, and laid out in numerous pleasantwalks. This garden is near a mile in length and a furlong wide, beingthe greatest rarity at the Cape, and far exceeding the public garden atBatavia. This country had abundance of very good sheep, but cattle andfowls are rather scarce. We walked out of town to a village inhabited bythe _Hodmandods_, or Hottentots. Their houses are round, having thefire-places in the middle, almost like the huts of the wild Irish, andthe people lay upon the ashes, having nothing under them butsheep-skins. The men seemed all to be _Monorchides_, and the whole ofthese people were so nasty that we could hardly endure the stench oftheir bodies and habitations. Their women are singularly conformed, having a natural skin apron, and are all so ignorant and brutish thatthey do not hesitate to prostitute themselves publicly for the smallestimaginable recompense, of which I was an eye witness. Their apparel is asheep-skin flung over their shoulders, with a leather cap on theirheads, as full of grease as it can hold. Their legs are wound about, from the ankle to the knees, with the guts of beasts well greased. "These people, called _Hodmandods_ by the Dutch, are born white, butthey make themselves black by smearing their bodies all over with sootand grease, so that by frequent repetition they become as black asnegroes. Their children, when young, are of a comely form, but theirnoses are like those of the negroes. When they marry, the woman cuts offone joint of her finger; and, if her husband die and she remarry again, she cuts off another joint, and so on however often she may marry. "They are a most filthy race, and will feed upon any thing, howeverfoul. When the Hollanders kill a beast, these people get the guts, andhaving squeezed out the excrements, without washing or scraping, theylay them upon the coals, and eat them before they are well heatedthrough. If even a slave of the Hollanders wish to have one of theirwomen, he has only to give her husband a piece of tobacco. Yet will theybeat their wives if unfaithful with one of their own nation, though theycare not how they act with the men of other nations. They are worshipersof the moon, and thousands of them may be seen dancing and singing bythe sea-side, when they expect to see that luminary; but if it happento be dark weather, so that the moon does not appear, they say their godis angry with them. While we were at the Cape, one of the _Hodmandods_drank himself dead in the fort, on which the others came and put oil andmilk into his mouth, but finding he was dead, they began to prepare forhis burial in the following manner:--Having shaved or scraped his body, arms, and legs, with their knives, they dug a great hole, in which theyplaced him on his breech in a sitting posture, heaping stones about himto keep him upright. Then came the women, making a most horrible noiseround the hole which was afterwards filled up with earth. " On the 15th June. 1686, Cowley sailed from the Cape, the homeward-boundDutch fleet consisting of three ships, when at the same time other threesailed for Bolivia. On the 22d of June they passed the line, when Cowleycomputed that he had sailed quite round the globe, having formerlycrossed the line nearly at the same place, when outward-bound fromVirginia in 1683. On the 4th August they judged themselves to be withinthirty leagues of the dangerous shoal called the _Abrolhos_, laid downin lat. 15° N. In the map: but Cowley was very doubtful if any suchshoal exist, having never met with any one who had fallen in with it, and he was assured by a pilot, who had made sixteen voyages to Brazil, that there was no such sand. The 19th September, Cowley saw land whichhe believed to be Shetland. They were off the Maes on the 28thSeptember, and on the 30th Cowley landed at Helvoetsluys. He travelledby land to Rotterdam, whence he sailed in the Ann for England, andarrived safe in London on the 12th October, 1686, after a tedious andtroublesome voyage of three years and nearly two months. SECTION III. _Sequel of the Voyage, so far as Dampier is concerned, after theSeparation of the Nicholas from the Revenge. _[160] This is usually denominated Captain William Dampier's _first_ Voyageround the World, and is given at large by Harris, but on the presentoccasion has been limited, in this section, to the narrative of Dampierafter the separation of Captain Cowley in the Nicholas; the observationsof Dampier in the earlier part of the voyage, having been alreadyinterwoven in the first section of this chapter. [Footnote 160: Dampier's Voyages, Lond. 1729, vol. I. And II. Harris, II. 84. ] This voyage is peculiarly valuable, by its minute and apparentlyaccurate account of the harbours and anchorages on the western coast ofSouth America, and has, therefore, been given here at considerablelength, as it may become of singular utility to our trade, in case thenavigation to the South Sea may be thrown open, which is at presentwithin the exclusive privileges of the East India Company, yet entirelyunused by that chartered body. --E. * * * * * Captain Eaton in the Nicholas having separated from the Revenge, leftthe Gulf of Amapalla on the 2d September, 1684, as formerly mentioned, which place we also left next day, directing our course for the coast ofPeru. Tornadoes, with thunder, lightning, and rain, are very frequent onthese coasts from June to November, mostly from the S. E. Of which we hadour share. The wind afterwards veered to W. And so continued till wecame in sight of Cape St Francisco, where we met with fair weather andthe wind at S. Cape St Francisco, in lat. 0° 50' N. Is a high full point of land, covered with lofty trees. In passing from the N. A low point may beeasily mistaken for the cape, but soon after passing this point the capeis seen with three distinct points. The land in its neighbourhood ishigh, and the mountains appear black. The 20th September we came toanchor in sixteen fathoms near the island of _Plata_, in lat. 1° 15' S. This island is about four miles long and a mile and half broad, being ofsome considerable height, and environed with rocky cliffs, except in oneplace at the east end, where the only fresh-water torrent of the islefalls down from the rocks into the sea. The top of the island is nearlyflat, with a sandy soil, which produces three or four kinds of low smalltrees, not known in Europe, and these trees are much overgrown withmoss. Among these trees the surface is covered with pretty good grass, especially in the beginning of the year, but there are no land animalsto feed upon it, the great number of goats that used to be found hereformerly being all destroyed. Is has, however, a great number of thebirds named Boobies and Man-of-war birds. Some say that this island gotthe name _Isola de Plata_ from the Spaniards, from the circumstance ofSir Francis Drake having carried to this place their ship the Cacafoga, richly laden with silver, which they name _Plata_. The anchorage is on the east side, about the middle of the island, closeto the shore, within two cables length of the sandy bay, in eighteen ortwenty fathoms, fast ooze, and smooth water, the S. E. Point of theisland keeping off the force of the south wind which usually blows here. In this sandy bay there is good landing, and indeed it is the only placewhich leads into the island. A small shoal runs out about a quarter of amile from the east point of the island, on which shoal there is a greatrippling of the sea when the tide flows. The tide here has a strongcurrent, setting to the south with the flood, and to the north when itebbs. At this east point also there are three small high rocks, about acable's length from the shore; and three much larger rocks at the N. E. Point. All round the isle the water is very deep, except at thebefore-mentioned anchorage. Near the shoal there are great numbers ofsmall sea-tortoises, or turtle, formerly mentioned as found at theGallapagos. This island of _Plata_ is four or five leagues W. S. W. FromCape _San Lorenzo_. After remaining one day at this isle, we continued our voyage to Cape_Santa Helena_, in lat. 2° 8' S. This cape appears high and flat, resembling an island, covered on the top with thistles, and surroundedby low grounds, but without any trees. As it jets far out to sea, itforms a good bay on its north side, a mile within which is a wretchedIndian village on the shore, called also Santa Helena; but the ground inits neighbourhood, though low, is sandy and barren, producing neithertrees, grass, corn, nor fruit, except excellent water-melons; and theinhabitants are forced to fetch their fresh water from the river_Calanche_, four leagues distant, at the bottom of the bay. They livechiefly on fish, and are supplied with maize from other parts, inexchange for _Algatrane_, which is a bituminous substance issuing fromthe earth near this village, about five paces above high-water mark. This substance, by means of long boiling, becomes hard like pitch, andis employed as such by the Spaniards. To leeward of the point, directlyopposite the village, there is good anchorage, but on the west side thewater is very deep. Some of our men were sent under night in canoes totake the village, in which they succeeded, and made some prisoners; butthe natives set fire to a small bark in the road, alleging the positiveorders of the viceroy. We returned from thence to the island of Plata, where we anchored on the26th September, and sent some of our men that evening to _Manta_, asmall Indian village on the continent, seven or eight leagues fromPlata, and two or three leagues east from Cape Lorenzo. Its buildingsare mean and scattered, but standing on an easy ascent, it has a fineprospect towards the sea-side. Having formerly been inhabited by theSpaniards, it has a fine church, adorned with carved work; but as theground in the neighbourhood is very dry and sandy, it produces neithercorn nor roots, and only a few shrubs are to be found. The inhabitantsare supplied with provisions by sea, this being the first place at whichships refresh, when bound from Panama to Lima and other parts of Peru. They have an excellent spring of fresh water between the village and thesea. Opposite to this village, and a mile and a half from the shore, there is a very dangerous rock, being always covered by the sea; butabout a mile within this rock there is safe anchorage, in six, eight, and ten fathoms, on hard clear sand; and a mile west from this, a shoalruns a mile out to sea. Behind the town, and directly to the south, agood way inland, there is a very high mountain rising up into theclouds, like a sugar-loaf; which serves as an excellent sea-mark, therebeing no other like it on all this coast. [161] [Footnote 161: The great Chimborazo is probably here meant, about 135English miles inland from Manta, and almost due east, instead of south, as in the test. --E] Our men landed about day-break, a mile and a half from the village, butthe inhabitants took the alarm, and got all away, except two old women, from whom we learnt that the viceroy, on receiving intelligence ofenemies having come across the isthmus of Darien into the South Sea, hadordered all their ships to be set on fire, all the goats in the isle ofPlata to be destroyed, and that the inhabitants on the coast should keepno more provisions than were necessary for their present use. We returned to our ship at Plata, where we remained for some timeunresolved what course to pursue. On the 2d of October, the Cygnet ofLondon, Captain Swan, came to anchor in the same road. This was arichly-loaded ship, designed for trading on this coast, but beingdisappointed in his hopes of trade, his men had forced Captain Swan totake on board a company of buccaneers he fell in with at Nicoya, beingthose we heard of at Manta, who had come by land to the South Sea underthe command of Captain Peter Harris, nephew to the Captain Harris whowas slain before Panama. As the Cygnet was unfit for service, by reasonof her cargo, Captain Swan sold most of his goods on credit, and threwthe rest overboard, reserving only the fine commodities, and some ironfor ballast. Captains Davis and Swan now joined company; and Harris wasplaced in command of a small bark. Our bark, which had been sent tocruise three days before the arrival of the Cygnet, now returned with aprize laden with timber, which they had taken in the Gulf of Guayaquil. The commander of this prize informed us, that it was reported atGuayaquil, that the viceroy was fitting out ten frigates to chase usfrom these seas. This intelligence made us wish for Captain Eaton, andwe resolved to send out a small bark towards Lima, to invite him torejoin us. We also fitted up another small bark for a fire-ship, and setsail for the island of _Lobos_ on the 20th October. Being about six leagues off Payta on the 2d of November, we sent 110 menin several canoes to attack that place. _Payta_ is a small sea-port townbelonging to the Spaniards, in lat. 5° 15' S. Built on a sandy rock nearthe sea-side, under a high hill. Although not containing more thanseventy-five or eighty low mean houses, like most of the other buildingsalong the coast of Peru, it has two churches. The walls of these housesare chiefly built of a kind of bricks, made of earth and straw, onlydried in the sun. These bricks are three feet long, two broad, and afoot and a half thick. In some places, instead of roofs, they only lay afew poles across the tops of the walls, covered with mats, though inother places they have regularly-constructed roofs. The cause of thismean kind of building is partly from the want of stones and timber, andpartly because it never rains on this coast, so that they are onlysolicitious to keep out the sun; and these walls, notwithstanding theslight nature of their materials, continue good a long time, as they arenever injured by rain. The timber used by the better sort of people hasto be brought by sea from other places. The walls of the churches and ofthe best houses are neatly whitened, both within and without, and thebeams, posts, and doors are all adorned with carved work. Within theyare ornamented with good pictures, and rich hangings of tapestry orpainted calico, brought from Spain. The houses of Payta, however, werenot of this description, though their two churches were large andhandsome. Close by the sea there was a small fort, armed only withmuskets, to command the harbour, as also another fort on the top of ahill, which commanded both the harbour and lower fort. The inhabitantsof Payta are obliged to bring their fresh-water from Colon, a town twoleagues to the N. N. E. Where a fresh-water river falls into the sea; andhave also to procure fowls, hogs, plantains, maize, and other provisionsfrom that and other places, owing to the barrenness of the soil in itsown neighbourhood. The dry and barren tract of this western coast ofAmerica begins at Cape Blanco in the north, and reaches to Coquimbo in30° S. In all of which vast extent of coast I never saw or heard of anyrain falling, nor of any thing growing whatever either in the mountainsor vallies, except in such places as are constantly watered, inconsequence of being on the banks of rivers and streams. The inhabitants of Colon are much given to fishing, for which purposethey venture out to sea in _bark-logs_. [162] These are constructed ofseveral round logs of wood, forming a raft, but different according tothe uses they are intended for, or the customs of those that make them. Those meant for fishing consist only of three or five logs of wood abouteight feet long, the middle one longer than the rest, especiallyforewards, and the others gradually shorter, forming a kind of stem orprow to cut the waves. The logs are joined to each other's sides bywooden pegs and _withes_, or twisted branches of trees. Such as areintended for carrying merchandise are made in the same manner and shape, but the raft consists of twenty or thirty great trunks of trees, thirtyor forty feet long, joined together as before. On these another row ofshorter trees are laid across, and fastened down by wooden pegs. From, this double raft or bottom they raise a raft of ten feet high, by meansof upright posts, which support two layers of thick trees laid acrosseach other, like our piles of wood, but not so close as in the bottom ofthe float; these being formed only at the ends and sides, the inner partbeing left hollow. In this hollow, at the height of four feet from thefloor of the raft, they lay a deck or floor of small poles closetogether, serving as the floor or deck of another room; and above this, at the same height, they lay just such another sparred deck. The lowerroom serves for the hold, in which they stow ballast, and water casks orjars. The second room serves for the seamen and what belongs to them. Above all the goods are stowed, as high as they deem fit, but seldomexceeding the height of ten feet. Some space is left vacant behind forthe steersman, and before for the kitchen, especially in long voyages, for in these strange vessels they will venture to make voyages of fiveor six hundred leagues. [Footnote 162: I suspect this to be a mistaken translation of_barco-longo_, long barks, or rafts rather, as the subsequentdescription indicates. --E] In navigating these vessels, they use a very large rudder, with one mastin the middle of the machine, on which they have a large sail, like ourwest country barges on the river Thames. As these machines can only sailbefore the wind, they are only fit for these seas, where the wind blowsconstantly one way, seldom varying above a point or two in the wholevoyage from Lima to Panama. If, when near Panama, they happen to meet anorth-west wind, as sometimes happens, they must drive before it till itchanges, merely using their best endeavours to avoid the shore, for theywill never sink at sea. Such vessels carry sixty or seventy tons ofmerchandise, as wine, oil, flour, sugar, Quito cloth, soap, dressedgoats skins, &c. They are navigated by three or four men only; who, ontheir arrival at Panama, sell both the goods and vessel at that place, as they cannot go back again with them against the trade-wind. Thesmaller fishing barks of this construction are much easier managed. These go out to sea at night with the land-wind, and return to the shorein the day with the sea-breeze; and such small _barco longos_ are usedin many parts of America, and in some places in the East Indies. On thecoast of Coromandel they use only one log, or sometimes two, made oflight wood, managed by one man, without sail or rudder, who steers thelog with a paddle, sitting with his legs in the water. [163] [Footnote 163: On the coast of Coromandel these small rafts are named_Catamarans_, and are employed for carrying letters or messages betweenthe shore and the ships, through the tremendous surf which continuallybreaks on that coast. --E. ] The next town to Payta of any consequence is _Piura_, thirty miles fromPayta, seated in a valley on a river of the same name, which dischargesits waters into the bay of _Chirapee_ [or Sechura. ] in lat. 5° 32' S. This bay is seldom visited by ships of burden, being full of shoals; butthe harbour of Payta is one of the best on the coast of Peru, beingsheltered on the S. W. By a point of land, which renders the bay smoothand the anchorage safe, in from six to twenty fathoms on clear sand. Most ships navigating this coast, whether bound north or south, touch atthis port for fresh water, which is brought to them from _Colon_ at areasonable rate. Early in the morning of the 3d November, our men landed about fourmiles south of Payta, where they took some prisoners who were set thereto watch. Though informed that the governor of Piura had come to thedefence of Payta with a reinforcement of an hundred men, theyimmediately pushed to the fort on the hill, which they took with littleresistance, on which the governor and all the inhabitants evacuatedPayta, but which we found empty of money, goods, and provisions. Thatsame evening we brought our ships to anchor near the town, in tenfathoms a mile from shore, and remained six days in hopes of getting aransom for the town; but seeing we were not likely to have any, we setit on fire, and set sail at night with the land-breeze for the island ofLobos. The 14th we came in sight of _Lobos de Tierra_, the inner ornorthern island of Lobos, which is of moderate height, and appears at adistance like _Lobos del Mare_, the southern island of the same name, atwhich other island we arrived on the 19th. The evening of the 29th weset sail for the bay of Guayaquil, which lies between Cape _Blanco_ inlat. 4° 18', and the point of _Chanday_, or _Carnera_, in 2° 18' both S. In the bottom of this bay is a small isle, called _Santa Clara_, extending E. And W. And having many shoals, which make ships that intendfor Guayaquil to pass on the south side of this island. From the isles of Santa Clara to _Punta arena_, the N. W. Point of theisland of Puna, is seven leagues [thirty statute miles] N. N. E. Hereships bound for Guayaquil take in pilots, who live in a town in Puna ofthe same name, at its N. E. Extremity, seven leagues [twenty-five miles]from Punta arena. The island of Puna is low, stretching fourteen leaguesE. And W. And five leagues from N. To S. [164] It has a strong tiderunning along its shores, which are full of little creeks and harbours. The interior of this island consists of good pasture land, intermixedwith some woodlands, producing various kinds of trees to us unknown. Among these are abundance of _Palmitoes_, a tree about the thickness ofan ordinary ash, and thirty feet high, having a straight trunk withoutbranches or leaf, except at the very top, which spreads out into manysmall branches three or four feet long. At the extremity of each ofthese is a single leaf, which at first resembles a fan plaited together, and then opens out like a large unfolded fan. The houses in the town ofPuna are built on posts ten or twelve feet high, and are thatched withpalmito leaves, the inhabitants having to go up to them by means ofladders. The best place for anchorage is directly opposite the town, infive fathoms, a cable's length from shore. [Footnote 164: Puna is nearly forty English miles from N. E. To S. W. Andabout sixteen miles from N. W. To S. E. ] From Puna to Guayaquil is seven leagues, the entrance into the river ofthat name being two miles across, and it afterwards runs up into thecountry with a pretty straight course, the ground on both sides beingmarshy and full of red mangrove trees. About four miles below the townof Guayaquil, the river is divided into two channels by a small lowisland, that on the west being broadest, though the other is as deep. From the upper end of this island to the town is about a league, and theriver about the same in breadth, in which a ship of large burden mayride safely, especially on the side nearest the town. The town ofGuayaquil stands close to the river, being partly built on an ascent, and partly at the foot of a small hill, having a steep descent to theriver. It is defended by two forts on the low grounds, and a third onthe hill, and is one of the best ports belonging to the Spaniards in theSouth Sea. It is under the command of a governor, and is beautified byseveral fine churches and other good buildings. From this place theyexport cocoas, hides, tallow, sarsaparilla, drugs, and a kind of woollencloth called Quito-cloth. The cocoas grow on both sides of the riverabove the town, having a smaller nut than those of Campeachy. [165]Sarsaparilla delights in watery places, near the side of the river. [Footnote 165: The _cacao_, or chocolate-nut is probably here meant, notthe cocoanut. --E. ] Quito is a populous place in the interior of the country, almost underthe line, being in lat. 0° 12' S. And long. 78° 22' W. From Greenwich. It is inclosed by a ridge of high mountains, abounding in gold, beinginhabited by a few Spaniards, and by many Indians under the Spanishdominion. The rivers or streams which descend from the surroundingmountains carry great abundance of gold dust in their course into thelow grounds, especially after violent rains, and this gold is collectedout of the sand by washing. Quito is reckoned the richest place for goldin all Peru, [166] but it is unwholesome, the inhabitants being subjectto headaches, fevers, diarrhaes, and dysenteries; but Guayaquil isgreatly more healthy. At Quito is made a considerable quantity ofcoarse woollen cloth, worn only by the lower class all over the kingdomof Peru. [Footnote 166: Quito was annexed to the empire of Peru, not long beforethe Spanish conquest, but is now in the viceroyalty of New Granada. --E. ] Leaving our ships at Cape Blanco, we went in a bark and several canoesto make an attempt on Guayaquil, but were discovered, and returnedtherefore to our ships, in which we sailed for the island of Plata, inlat. 1° 15' S. Where we arrived on the 16th December. Having providedourselves with water on the opposite coast of the continent, we set sailon the 23d with a brisk gale at S. S. W. Directing our course for a towncalled _Lovalia_, in the bay of Panama. Next morning we passed in sightof Cape _Passado_, in lat. 0° 28' S. Being a very high round point, divided in the middle, bare towards the sea, but covered on the landside with fruit-trees, the land thereabout being hilly and covered withwood. Between this and Cape San Francisco there are many small points, inclosing as many sandy creeks full of trees of various kinds. Meaningto look out for canoes, we were indifferent what river we came to, so weendeavoured to make for the river of St Jago, by reason of its nearnessto the island of _Gallo_, in which there is much gold, and where wasgood anchorage for our ships. We passed Cape St Francisco, whence to thenorth the land along the sea is full of trees of vast height andthickness. Between this cape and the island of Gallo there are several largerivers, all of which we passed in our way to that of St Jago, a largenavigable river in lat. 2° N. [167] About seven leagues before it reachesthe sea, this river divides into two branches, which inclose an islandfour leagues in circuit. Both branches are very deep, but the S. W. Channel is the broadest, and the other has sand-banks at its mouth, which cannot be passed at low-water. Above the island the river is aleague broad, having a straight channel and swift current, and isnavigable three leagues up, but how much farther I know not. It runsthrough a very rich soil, producing all kinds of the tallest trees thatare usually met with in this country, but especially red and whitecotton-trees, and cabbage-trees of large size. The _white cotton-tree_grows not unlike an oak, but much bigger and taller, having a straighttrunk, without branches to the top, where it sends out strong branches. The bark is very smooth, the leaves of the size of a plum-tree leaf, dark green, oval, smooth, and jagged at the ends. These trees are notalways biggest near the roots, but often swell out to a great size inthe middle of their trunks. They bear _silk-cotton_, which falls to theground in November and December, but is not so substantial as that ofthe cotton-shrub, being rather like the down of thistles. Hence they donot think it worth being gathered in America; but in the East Indies itis used for stuffing pillows. The old leaves of this tree fall off inApril, and are succeeded by fresh leaves in the course of a week. The_red cotton-tree_ is somewhat less in size, but in other respectsresembles the other, except that it produces _no cotton_. The wood ishard, though that of both kinds is somewhat spongy. Both are found infat soils, both in the East and West Indies. [Footnote 167: Nearly in the indicated latitude is the river of Patia, in the province of Barbacoas. The river St Jago of modern maps on thiscoast is in lat. 1° 18' N. In the province of Atacames, orEsmeraldas. --E. ] The _cabbage-tree_ is the tallest that is found in these woods, someexceeding 120 feet in height. It likewise is without boughs or branchesto the top, where its branches are the thickness of a man's arm, andtwelve or fourteen feet long. Two feet from the stem come forth manysmall long leaves of an inch broad, so thick and regular on both sidesthat they cover the whole branch. In the midst of these high branches iswhat is called the cabbage, which, when taken out of the outer leaves, is a foot in length, and as thick as the small of a man's leg, as whiteas milk, and both sweet and wholesome. Between the cabbages and thelarge branches many small twigs sprout out, two feet long and very closetogether, at the extremities of which grow hard round berries, about thesize of cherries, which fall once a year on the ground, and areexcellent food for hogs. The trunk has projecting rings half a footasunder, the bark being thin and brittle, the wood hard and black, andthe pith white. As the tree dies when deprived of its head, which is thecabbage, it is usually cut down before gathering the fruit. As the coast and country of Lima has continual dry weather, so thisnorthern part of Peru is seldom without rain, which is perhaps onereason why this part of the coast is so little known. Besides, in goingfrom Panama to Lima, they seldom pass along the coast, but sail to thewest as far as the Cobaya Islands, to meet the west winds, and thencestand over for Cape St Francisco. In returning to Panama, they keepalong the coast, but being deeply laden, their ships are not fit toenter the rivers, the banks of which, and the seacoast, are covered withtrees and bushes, and are therefore convenient for the natives to lie inambush. The Indians have some plantations of maize and plantains, andalso breed fowls and hogs. On the 27th December, 1684, we entered theriver of St Jago [_Patia_] with four canoes by the lesser branch, andmet with no inhabitants till six leagues from its mouth, where weobserved two small huts thatched with palmito leaves. We saw at the sametime several Indians, with their families and household goods, paddlingup the river much faster than we could row, as they kept near the banks. On the opposite, or west side, we saw many other huts, about a leagueoff but did not venture to cross the river, as the current was veryrapid. In the two huts on the east side we only found a few plantains, some fowls, and one hog, which seemed to be of the European kind, suchas the Spaniards brought formerly to America, and chiefly to Jamaica, Hispaniola, and Cuba, where, being previously marked, they feed in thewoods all day, and are recalled to their pens at night by the sound ofconch shells. We returned next morning to the mouth of the river, intending to proceedto the isle of _Gallo_, where we had directed the ships to meet us. Thissmall uninhabited island, in lat. 3° N. [168] is situated in a spaciousbay, three leagues from the river _Tomaco_, and four and a half from anIndian village of the same name. It is moderately high, and well storedwith timber, having a good sandy bay at its N. E. End, near which is afine stream of fresh water; and over against the bay there is goodanchorage in six or seven fathoms. There is only one channel by which toapproach this island, in which are four fathoms, and into which it isnecessary to enter with the flood, and to come out with the ebb. Theriver _Tomaco_ is supposed to have its origin in the rich mountains ofQuito, and takes its name from that of a village on its banks. [169] Thecountry on this river is well peopled by Indians, among whom are a fewSpaniards, who traffic for gold with the natives. This river is soshallow at the mouth, that it can only be entered by barks. The town of_Tomaco_ is small, and situated near the mouth of the river, beingchiefly occupied by the Spaniards, who trade in this neighbourhood. Fromthis place to that branch of the river St Jago where we were then atanchor is five leagues. [Footnote 168: The lat. Of Gallo is only 1° 57' N. That assigned in thetext would lead to the isle of Gorgona, in 2° 54' N. But the descriptionof our author suits much better with Gallo. --E. ] [Footnote 169: The island and point of Tomaco are placed in modern mapsat the mouth of the Mira, off which are many islands, in lat. 1° 40'N. ] As the land here is low and full of creeks, we left the river on the21st December, and crossed these small bays in our canoes. In our way wesaw an Indian hut, whence we took the master and all his family, androwing forwards, we came to Tomaco at midnight. We here seized all theinhabitants, among whom was one Don Diego de Pinas, a Spanish knight, whose ship was at anchor not far off to load with timber, and in whichwe found thirteen jars of good wine, but no other loading. An Indiancanoe came to us, in which were three natives, who were straight andwell-limbed, but of low stature, having black hair, long visages, smalleyes and noses, and dark complexions. Several of our men, who had goneseven or eight leagues up the river, returned on the 31st, bringing withthem several ounces of gold, which they had found in a Spanish house, whence the inhabitants had fled. On the 1st January, 1685, while going in our canoes from Tomaco toGallo, we took a packet of letters in a Spanish boat bound from Panamato Lima, by which the president of Panama wrote to hasten the Platefleet from Lima, as the armada from Spain had arrived in Porto Bello. This intelligence made us change our intention of proceeding to Lavelia, instead of which we now proposed to make for the _Pearl Islands_, notfar from Panama, past which all ships bound from the south for Panamamust necessarily pass. We accordingly sailed on the 7th, and next daytook a vessel of ninety tons, laden with flour; and continuing ourvoyage with a gentle wind at S. We anchored on the 9th at the island of_Gorgona_, on its west side, in thirty-eight fathoms clean ground, twocables length from shore, in a sandy bay, the land round which is verylow. _Gorgona_ is in lat. 2° 54' N. Twenty-five leagues from Gallo, and isremarkable for two high risings or hills called the Saddles. This islandis two leagues long by one league broad, and is about four from thecontinent, having another small isle at its west end. It is full of talltrees, and is watered by many rivulets, having no animals exceptmonkies, rabbits, and snakes. It is very subject to heavy rains, and theonly observable difference in the seasons here is, that the rains aremore moderate in summer. The sea around is so deep that there is noanchorage except at the west end, where the tide flows eight feet. Muscles and periwinkles are here in great plenty, and the monkies openthe shells at low water. There are also abundance of pearl oysters, fixed to loose rocks by their beards, four, five, and six fathoms underwater. These resemble our oysters, but are somewhat flatter and thinnerin the shell, their flesh being slimy and not eatable, unless driedbeforehand and afterwards boiled. Some shells contain twenty or thirtyseed pearls, and others have one or two pearls of some size, lying atthe head of the oyster, between the fish and the shell; but the insideof the shells have a brighter lustre than even the pearls. The 13th January we pursued our voyage for _Isla del Rey_, being two menof war, two tenders a fire-ship, and a prize vessel. With the trade-windat S. We sailed along the continent, having low land near the sea butseeing high mountains up the country. On the 16th we passed Cape_Corientes_, in lat. 5° 32' N. Being a high point with four smallhillocks on the top, and at this place found a current setting to thenorth. The 21st we came in sight of Point _Garachina_, in lat. 7° 20'N. [170] The land here being high and rocky, and without trees near theshore. Within the point there is plenty of oysters and muscles. Abouttwelve leagues from this point are the islands called _Islas del Rey_, or the Pearl Islands. [171] Between these and the Point of Garachinathere is a small flat barren island, called _Galleria_, near which wecame to anchor. [Footnote 170: Carachina Point is in lat. 8° 10' N. ] [Footnote 171: The Isla del Rey is a considerable island in the bay ofPanama, and the Archipelago de las Perlas are a multitude of [illegible]islets N. By W. From that island. --E. ] The _King's_ or _Pearl_ Islands, are a considerable number of low woodyisles, seven leagues from the nearest continent, and twelve leagues fromPanama, stretching fourteen leagues from N. W. By N. To S. E. By S. Thoughnamed Pearl Islands in the maps, I could never see any pearls aboutthem. The northermost of these isles, called _Pachea_ or _Pacheque_, which is very small, is eleven or twelve leagues from Panama; the mostsoutherly is called St Paul's Island, and the rest, though larger, haveno names. Some of them are planted with bananas, plantains, and rice bynegroes belonging to the inhabitants of Panama. The channel betweenthese islands and the continent is seven or eight leagues broad, of amoderate depth, and has good anchorage all the way. These isles lie veryclose together, yet have channels between them fit for boats. At one end of _St Paul's_ Island, there is a good careening place, in adeep channel inclosed by the land, into which the entrance is on thenorth side, where the tide rises ten feet. We brought our ships in onthe 25th, being spring tide, and having first cleaned our barks, we sentthem on the 27th to cruise towards Panama. The fourth day after, theybrought us in a prize coming from Lavelia, laden with maize or Indiancorn, salted beef and fowls. _Lavelia_ is a large town on the bank of ariver which runs into the north side of the bay of Panama, and is sevenleagues from the sea; and _Nata_ is another town situated in a plain ona branch of the same river. [172] These two places supply Panama withbeef, hogs, fowls, and maize. In the harbour where we careened, we foundabundance of oysters, muscles, limpits, and clams, which last are a kindof oysters, which stick so close to the rocks that they must be openedwhere they grow, by those who would come at their meat. We also foundhere some pigeons and turtle-doves. [Footnote 172: From the circumstances in the text Lavelia seems to bethe town now named San Francisco, near the head of the river Salado, which runs into the gulf Parita, on the _west_ side of the bay ofPanama. --E. ] Having well careened our ships by the 14th February, and provided astock of wood and water, we sailed on the 18th, and came to anchor inthe great channel between the isles and the continent, in fifteenfathoms, on soft ooze, and cruised next day towards Panama, about whichthe shore seemed very beautiful, interspersed with a variety of hillsand many small thickets. About a league from the continent there areseveral small isles, partly ornamented with scattered trees, and the_King's Isles_ on the opposite side of the channel give a delightfulprospect, from their various shapes and situations. The 18th we wenttowards Panama, and anchored directly opposite Old Panama, once a placeof note, but mostly laid in ashes by Sir Henry Morgan, and not sincerebuilt. New Panama is about four leagues from the old town, near theside of a river, being a very handsome city, on a spacious bay of thesame name, into which many long navigable rivers discharge their waters, some of which have gold in their sands. The country about Panama affordsa delightful prospect from the sea, having a great diversity of hills, vallies, groves, and plains. The houses are mostly of brick, and prettylofty, some being handsomely built, especially that inhabited by thepresident; the churches, monasteries, and other public edifices, makingthe finest appearance of any place I have seen in the Spanish WestIndies. It is fortified by a high stone wall, mounted by a considerablenumber of guns, which were formerly only on the land side, but have nowbeen added to the side next the sea. The city has vast trade, being thestaple or emporium for all goods to and from Peru and Chili; besidesthat, every three years, when the Spanish _armada_ comes to Porto Bello, the _Plate fleet_ comes here with the treasure belonging to the king andthe merchants, whence it is carried on mules by land to Porto Bello, atwhich time, from the vast concourse of people, everything here isenormously dear. The Spanish armada, which comes every three years to the West Indies, arrives first at Carthagena, whence an express is dispatched by land tothe viceroy at Lima, and two packets are also sent by sea, one for Lima, and the other for Mexico, which last I suppose goes by way of _VeraCruz_. That for Lima goes first by land to Panama, and thence by sea toLima. After remaining sixty days at Carthagena, the armada sails toPorto Bello, where it only remains thirty days to take in the royaltreasure brought here from Panama, said to amount to twenty-fourmillions of dollars, besides treasure and goods belonging to themerchants. From Porto Bello the armada weighs always on the thirtiethday, but the admiral will sometimes stay a week longer at the mouth ofthe river, to oblige the merchants. It then returns to Carthagena, whereit meets the king's money from that part of the country, as also a largeSpanish galleon or patache, which, on the first arrival of the armada atCarthagena, had been dispatched along the coast to collect the royaltreasure. The armada, after a set stay at Carthagena, sails for theHavannah, where a small squadron called the _flota_ meets it from VeraCruz, bringing the riches of Mexico, and the rich goods brought by theannual ship from Manilla. When all the ships are joined, they sail forSpain through the gulf of Florida. Porto Bello is a very unhealthy place, on which account the merchants ofLima stay there as short time as possible. Panama is seated in a muchbetter air, enjoying the sea-breeze every day from ten or eleven in theforenoon till eight or nine at night, when the land-breeze begins, andblows till next morning. Besides, on the land side Panama has an openchampaign country, and is seldom troubled with fogs; neither is therainy season, which continues from May till November, nearly soexcessive as at Porto Bello, though severe enough in June, July, andAugust, in which season the merchants of Peru, who are accustomed to aconstant serene air, without rains or fogs, are obliged to cut off theirhair, to preserve them from fevers during their stay. The 21st February, near the Perico islands opposite to Panama, we tookanother prize from Lavelia, laden with beeves, hogs, fowls, and salt. The 24th we went to the isle of Taboga, six leagues south of Panama. This island is three miles long and two broad, being very rocky andsteep all round, except on the north side, where the shore has an easydope. In the middle of the isle the soil is black and rich, whereabundance of plantains and bananas are produced, and near the sea thereare cocoa and _mammee_ trees. These are large and straight in theirstems, without knots, boughs, or branches, and sixty or seventy feethigh. At the top there are many small branches set close together, bearing round fruit about the size of a large quince, covered with agrey rind, which is brittle before the fruit is ripe, but grows yellowwhen the fruit comes to maturity, and is then easily peeled off. Theripe fruit is also yellow, resembling a carrot in its flesh, and bothsmells and tastes well, having two rough flat kernels in the middle, about the size of large almonds. The S. W. Side of this isle is coveredwith trees, affording abundant fuel, and the N. Side has a fine streamof good water, which falls from the mountains into the sea. Near thisthere was formerly a pretty town with a handsome church, but it has beenmostly destroyed by the privateers. There is good anchorage oppositethis town a mile from the shore, in sixteen to eighteen fathoms on softooze. At the N. N. W. End is a small town called _Tabogilla_, and on theN. E. Of this another small town or village without a name. While at anchor near _Tabogilla_, we were in great danger from apretended merchant, who brought a bark to us in the night, underpretence of being laden with merchandise to trade with us privately, butwhich was in reality a fire-ship fitted out for our destruction. But onher approach, some of our men hailed her to come to anchor, and evenfired upon her, which so terrified the men that they got into theircanoes, having first set her on fire, on which we cut our cables and gotout of her way. This fire-ship was constructed and managed by one Bond, who formerly deserted from us to the Spaniards. While busied nextmorning in recovering our anchors, we discovered a whole fleet of canoesfull of men, passing between Tabogilla and another isle. These proved tobe French and English buccaneers, lately come from the North Sea acrossthe isthmus of Darien, 200 of them being French and 80 English. Theselast were divides between our two ships, under Captains Davis and Swan;and the Frenchmen were put into our prize, named the Flower, under thecommand of Captain Gronet, their countryman, in return for which heoffered commissions to Captains Davis and Swan, from the governor ofPetite Goave, as it is the custom of the French privateers to carry withthem blank commissions. Captain Davis accepted one, but Captain Swan hadone already from the Duke of York. Learning from these men that Captain Townley was coming across theisthmus of Darien with 180 Englishmen, we set sail on the 2d March forthe gulf of _San Miguel_ to meet Townley. This gulf is on the east sideof the great Bay of Panama, in lat. 8° 15' N. Long. 79° 10' W. Thirtyleagues S. E. From Panama; from whence the passage lies between Isola delRey and the main. In this gulf many rivers discharge their waters. Itssouthern point is Cape _Carachina_, in lat. 8° 6' N. And the northern, named Cape _Gardo_, is in lat. 8° 18' N. The most noted rivers whichdischarge themselves into this gulf, are named _Santa Maria, Sambo_, and_Congo_. This last rises far within the country, and after being joinedby many small streams on both sides of its course, falls into the northside of the gulf a league from Cape Gardo. It is deep and navigable forseveral leagues into the country, but not broad, and is neglected by theSpaniards owing to its nearness to the river of Santa Maria, where theyhave gold mines. _Santa Maria_ is the largest of the rivers in thisgulf, being navigable for eight or nine leagues, as far as the tideflows, above which it divides into several branches fit only for canoes. In this river the tide of flood rises eighteen feet. About the year1665, the Spaniards built the town of Santa Maria, near six leagues upthis river, [173] to be near the gold mines. I have been told, that, besides the gold usually procured out of the ore and sand, theysometimes find lumps wedged between the fissures of rocks as large ashens eggs or larger. One of these was got by Mr Harris, who got here 120pounds weight of gold, and in his lump there were several crevices fullof earth and dust. [Footnote 173: In modern maps the river which seems to agree with thisdescription of the Santa Maria, is called _Tlace_, one of the principalbranches of which is named Chuchunque. The gold mines of Cana and Balsaare placed on some of its branches, on which likewise there are severaltowns, as Nisperal, Fichichi, Pungana, Praya, and Balsa. --E. ] The Spaniards employ their slaves to dig these mines in the dry season;but when the rivers overflow, as the mines cannot be then worked, theIndians wash the gold out of the sands that are forced down from themountains, and which gold they sell to the Spaniards, who gain as muchin that way as they do by their mines. During the wet season, theSpaniards retire with their slaves to Panama. Near the mouth of theSanta Maria, the Spaniards have lately built another town, called_Scuchadores_, [174] in a more airy situation than Santa Maria. The landall about the gulf of San Miguel is low and fertile, and is covered withgreat numbers of large trees. [Footnote 174: This probably is that named Nisperal in modern geography, the appellation in the text being the Spanish name, and the other thename given by the Indians. --E. ] While crossing the isthmus, Gronet had seen Captain Townley and his crewat the town of Santa Maria, busied in making causes in which to embarkon the South Sea, the town being at that time abandoned by theSpaniards; and on the 3d March, when we were steering for the gulf ofSan Miguel, we met Captain Townley and his crew in two barks which theyhad takes, one laden with brandy, wine, and sugar, and the other withflour. As he wanted room for his men, he distributed the jars among ourships, in which the Spaniards transport their brandy, wine, and oil. These jars hold seven or eight gallons each. Being now at anchor amongthe King's islands, but our water growing scarce, we sailed for CapeCarachina, in hopes of providing ourselves with that necessary article, and anchored within that cape, in four fathoms on the 22d. We here foundthe tide to rise nine feet, and the flood to set N. N. E. The ebb runningS. S. W. The natives brought us some refreshments, but as they did not inthe least understand Spanish, we supposed they had no intercourse withthe Spaniards. Finding no water here, we sailed for _Porto Pinas_, about fifty miles tothe S. By W. In lat. 7° 33' N. Which is so named from the vast numbersof pine-trees which grow in its neighbourhood. The country here rises bya gentle ascent from the sea to a considerable height, and is prettywoody near the shore. At the entrance into the harbour there are twosmall rocks, which render the passage narrow, and the harbour within israther small, besides which it is exposed to the S. W. Wind. We sent ourboats into this harbour for water, which they could not procure, owingto a heavy sea near the shore; wherefore we again made sail for CapeCarachina, where we arrived on the 29th March. On our way we took acanoe, in which were four Indians and a Mulatto, and as the last wasfound to have been in the fire-ship sent against us, he was hanged. On the 11th of April we anchored among the King's isles, where we metwith Captain Harris, who had come with some men by way of the river ofSanta Maria. The 19th, 250 men were sent in canoes to the river_Cheapo_, to surprise the town of that name. The 21st we followed themto the island of _Chepillo_, directly opposite the mouth of the riverChepo, or Cheapo, in the bay of Panama, about seven leagues from thecity of Panama, and one league from the continent. This is a pleasantisland, about two miles long, and as much in breadth, low on the northside, but rising by a gentle ascent to the south. The soil is very good, and produces in the low grounds great store of fine fruits, asplantains, mammees, sapotas, sapadillos, avogato pears, star-apples, andothers. Half a mile from shore there is good anchorage, opposite towhich is a very good spring of fresh-water near the sea. The _Sapadillo_-tree is altogether like a pear-tree, and the fruitresembles a bergamot pear, but somewhat longer. When first gathered itis hard and the juice clammy; but after keeping a few days it becomesjuicy and sweet. It has two or three black kernels, resemblingpomegranate seeds. The _Avogato_-tree is higher than our pear-trees, having a black smooth bark, and oval leaves. The fruit is about the sizeof a large lemon, green at first, but becomes yellow when ripe, having ayellowish pulp as soft as butter. After being three or four daysgathered, the rind comes easily off, and as the fruit is insipid it iscommonly eaten with sugar and limejuice, being esteemed a greatprovocative by the Spaniards, who have therefore planted them in most oftheir settlements on the Atlantic. It has a stone within as large as ahorse-plum. The _Sapota_-tree, or _Mammee-sapota_, is neither so largenor so tall as the wild mammae at Taboga, nor is the fruit so large orso round. The rind is smooth, and the pulp, which is pleasant andwholesome, is quite red, with a rough longish stone. There are also heresome wild _mammee_-trees, which grow very tall and straight, and are fitfor masts, but the fruit is not esteemed. The tree producing the_star-apples_ resembles our quince-tree, but is much larger, and hasabundance of broad oval leaves. The fruit is as big as a large apple, and is reckoned very good, but I never tasted it. The river _Chepo_, or _Cheapo_, rises in the mountains near the northside of the isthmus, being inclosed between a northern and southernrange, between which it makes its way to the S. W. After which itdescribes nearly a semicircle, and runs gently into the sea about sevenleagues E. From Panama, in lat. 9° 3' N. Long. 79° 51' W. Its mouth isvery deep, and a quarter of a mile broad, but is so obstructed at theentrance by sands as only to be navigable by barks. About six leaguesfrom the sea stands the city of _Cheapo_, on the _left_ bunk of theriver. [175] This place stands in a champaign country, affording a verypleasant prospect, as it has various hills in the neighbourhood coveredwith wood, though most of the adjacent lands are pasture-grounds to thenorth of the river, but the country south from the river is covered withwood for many miles. [Footnote 175: In modern maps the town of Chepo is placed on the _right_bank of the river, as descending the stream, and only about five milesup the river. --E. ] Our men returned from Cheapo on the 24th, having taken that town withoutopposition, but found nothing there worth mention. The 25th we werejoined by Captain Harris, and arrived at Taboga on the 28th, when, finding ourselves nearly a thousand strong, we meditated an attack onPanama; but, being informed by our prisoners that the Spaniards therehad received considerable reinforcements from Porto Bello, that designwas laid aside. The 25th May we had intelligence from some prisonersthat the Lima fleet was daily expected, whereupon we anchored in anarrow channel, a mile long and not above seven paces wide, formed bytwo or three small islands on the south side of the island of_Pacheque_. Our fleet now consisted of ten sail, only two of which wereships of war, that commanded by Captain Davis having 36 guns and 156, while Captain Swan's carried 16 guns and 140 men. The rest were onlyprovided with small arms, and our whole force amounted to 960 men. Wehad also a fire-ship. Hitherto we had the wind at N. N. E. With fair weather, but on the 28th ofMay the rainy season began. On that day, about 11 a. M. It began to clearup, and we discovered the Spanish fleet three leagues W. N. W. From theisland of Pacheque, standing to the east, we being then at anchor aleague S. E. From that isle, between it and the continent. We set sailabout three p. M. Bearing down upon the Spaniards right before the wind, while they kept close upon a wind to meet us. Night coming on, we onlyexchanged a few shots at that time. As soon as it began to be dark, theSpanish admiral shewed a light at his top, as a signal for his fleet toanchor. In half an hour this was taken down; but soon after a lightappeared as before, which went to leewards, which we followed undersail, supposing it to be still the admiral; but this was a stratagem ofthe Spaniards to deceive as, being at the top-mast head of one of theirbarks, and effectually succeeded, as we found in the morning they hadgained the weather-gage of us. They now bore down upon us under fullsail, so that we were forced to make a running fight all next day, almost quite round the bay of Panama, and came at length to anchor overagainst the island of Pacheque. As Captain Townley was hard pressed bythe Spaniards, he was forced to make a bold run through thebefore-mentioned narrow channel, between Pacheque and the three smallislands; and Captain Harris was obliged to separate from us during thefight. Thus our long-projected design vanished into smoke. According to the report of some prisoners taken afterwards, the Spanishfleet consisted of fourteen sail, besides _periagoes_, or large boats oftwelve or fourteen oars each, and among these there were eight ships ofgood force, mounting from eight to forty-eight guns, with twofire-ships, and computed to contain 3000 men. In the morning of the 30thwe saw the Spanish fleet at anchor, three leagues from us to leeward, and by ten a. M. They were under sail with an easy gale from the S. Making the best of their way to Panama. In this affair we had but oneman slain, but never knew the loss sustained by the Spaniards. CaptainGronet and his Frenchmen never joined us in this fight, laying the faultupon his men, wherefore he was ordered in a consultation to leave us;after which we resolved to sail for the islands of Quibo, or Cobaya, inquest of Captain Harris. We sailed on the 1st June, 1685, with the wind at S. S. W. Passing betweenCape Carachina and _Islas del Rey_. The 10th we came in sight of _Morode Puercos_, a high round hill on the coast of Lavelia, in lat. 7° 12'N. Round which the coast makes a turn northwards to the isles of Quibo. On this part of the coast there are many rivers and creeks, but not nearso large as those on the east side of the bay of Panama. Near the seathis western coast of the bay is partly hilly and partly low land, withmany thick woods, but in the interior there are extensive savannahs orfruitful plains, well stored with cattle. Some of the rivers on thisside produce gold, but not in such abundance as on the other side; andthere are hardly any Spanish settlements on this side, except along therivers leading to Lavelia and Nata, which are the only places I know ofbetween Panama and _Pueblo nova_. From Panama there is good travellingall over Mexico, through savannahs or plains; but towards Peru there isno passage by land beyond the river Chepo, by reason of thick woods andmany rivers and mountains. We arrived at the isle of _Quibo_ on the 15th June, where we foundCaptain Harris. This isle is in lat 7° 26' N. And long. 82° 13' W. It isnear seven leagues long by four broad, being all low land, except at itsN. E. End, on which side, and also to the east, there is excellent water. It abounds in many kinds of trees, among which are great numbers of deerand black monkeys, the flesh of which is reckoned very wholesome; and ithas some guanas and snakes. A sand-bank runs out half a mile into thesea from the S. E. End of this island, and on its east side, a league tothe north of this, there is a rock a mile from the shore, which is seenabove water at last quarter of the ebb. In all other places there issafe anchorage a quarter of a mile from the shore, in six, eight, ten, and twelve fathoms, on clean sand and ooze. The isle of _Quicarra_, tothe south of Quibo, is pretty large; and to the north of it is a smallisle named Ranchina, which produces great plenty of certain trees called_Palma-Maria_. These are straight, tough, and of good length, and areconsequently fit for masts, the grain of the wood having a gradual twistor spiral direction; but, notwithstanding the name, they have noresemblance to palms. To the N. E. Of Quibo are the small islands of_Canales_ and _Cantarras_, in the channels between which there is goodanchorage. These islands have plenty of wood and water, and appear at adistance as if part of the continent; and as the island of Quibo is themost considerable, these isles are generally named collectively theQuibo islands. Having failed in our designs at sea, it was agreed to try our fortune onland, and the city of Leon, near the coast of Nicaragua in Mexico, waspitched upon, as being nearest us. Being in want of canoes for landingour men, we cut down trees to make as many as we had occasion for, andin the mean time 150 men were detached to take _Puebla nova_, a town onthe continent, near the Quibo island, [176] in hopes of getting someprovisions. They easily took that town, but got nothing there except anempty bark, and returned to us on the 26th June. Captain Knight cameback to us on the 5th July, having been farther to the west, but meetingwith no prize, he had gone south to the bay of Guayaquil, where he tooktwo _barco-longas_, with wine, oil, brandy, sugar, soap, and othercommodities. Knight learnt from his prisoners that certain merchantships, designed to have accompanied the Spanish fleet to Panama, remained behind at Payta, which he might easily have taken if he hadbeen provided with a stronger force. [Footnote 176: The only place in modern geography resembling the name, and agreeing with the description in the text, is San Pablo on the S. Coast of Veragua, in lat. 8° 9' N. And long. 83° W. From Greenwich. --E. ] Our canoes being all ready, we sailed from Quibo on the 20th Julytowards Realejo, a port a small way to the N. W. Of Leon, being now 640men, with eight ships, three tenders, and a fire-ship. Coasting along tothe N. W. We passed the gulfs of Dulce and Nicoya, and the _Isla delCano_, the land along the coast being low and covered with wood, butalmost destitute of inhabitants. August 8th, in lat. 11° 20' N. We gotsight of _Volcano viejo_, or Old Volcano, the sea-mark for Realejo, bearing from us N. E. By N. When we made ready to land next day. Accordingly, we sent 520 men on the 9th in thirty-one canoes to attackthe harbour of Realejo. The weather was fair and the wind favourabletill two p. M. When a tempest arose, attended by thunder and lightning, which almost overwhelmed us in the sea. It subsided, however, in half anhoar, as did the agitation of the waves; it being observable in thesehot climates that the waves soon rise and soon fall. It became calmabout seven p. M. But as we could not get ready to land that night beforeday, being then five leagues from shore, we remained nearly in the sameplace till next evening, that we might not be discovered. About three next morning another tornado had nearly put an end to us andour enterprise, but it did not last long, and we entered the creek, onthe S. E. Side of the harbour, leading to Realejo in the night, but durstnot proceed further till day-break. We then rowed deeper into the creek, which is very narrow, the land on both sides being very marshy and fullof mangrove trees, through among which it is impossible to pass, andbeyond these, where the ground is firm, the Spaniards had cast up asmall entrenchment. We rowed as fast as we could and landed 470 men, theremainder, among whom I was, being left to guard the canoes. The city of Leon stands twenty miles up the country in a sandy plain, near a peaked burning mountain, called _El Rico_, or the Volcano ofLeon, the way to that city from where our people landed being through achampaign country covered with long grass. Between the landing place andthe city were several sugar works, and about midway a beautiful river, but fordable. Two miles before coming to the city there was an Indiantown, whence a pleasant sandy road led to the city. The houses in Leonwere large and built of stone, but low and roofed with tiles, havingmany gardens among them, with a cathedral and three other churches. Itstands in an extensive sandy plain or savannah, which absorbs all therain, and being entirely free from wood, it has free access to thebreezes on all sides. These circumstances render it a healthy andpleasant place, but not of much commerce, all the wealth of itsinhabitants consisting in cattle and sugar works. Our people began their march for Leon at eight a. M. The van consistingof eighty of the briskest men, being led by Captain Townly. He wasfollowed by Captain Swan with 100 men, and Captain Davis, assisted byCaptain Knight, brought up the rear with 170 men. [177] Captain Townley, being two miles in advance of the rest, and having repulsed a body ofseventy horse about four miles short of Leon, pushed forwards with hisvanguard, and entered the city without farther resistance at three p. M. He was then opposed by 500 foot and 200 horse, first in a broad street, and afterwards in the great market-place; but the horse soon gallopedoff, and were followed by the foot, leaving the city to the mercy of ourpeople. Captain Swan reached the city at four p. M. Davis about five, andKnight with the remainder at six. The Spaniards only killed one of ourmen, who was very old and had loitered behind, refusing to acceptquarter, and took another named Smith. The governor sent word next day, offering to ransom the town; on which our officers demanded 30, 000pieces of eight, or Spanish dollars, together with provisions for 1000men for four months, which terms being refused, our people set the cityon fire on the 14th of August, and rejoined the canoes next morning. Smith was exchanged for a gentlewoman, and a gentleman who had been madeprisoner was released, on promise to deliver 150 oxen for his ransom atRealejo, the place we intended next to attack. [Footnote 177: Only 350 men are here accounted for, though 470 are saidto have marched on this enterprise, leaving a difference of 120 men:perhaps these made a separate corps under Knight, as he seems to havefallen considerably in the rear of Davis. --E. ] In the afternoon of the 16th we came to the harbour of Realejo in ourcanoes, our ships having come there to anchor. The creek leading toRealejo extends north from the N. W. Part of the harbour, being nearlytwo leagues from the island at the mouth of the harbour to the town. Thefirst two-thirds of this distance the creek is broad, after which itcloses into a deep narrow channel, lined on both sides by manycocoa-trees. A mile from the entrance the creek winds towards the west, and here the Spaniards had thrown up an entrenchment, fronting theentrance of the creek, and defended by 100 soldiers and twenty guns, having a boom of trees thrown across the creek, so that they mighteasily have beaten off 1000 men, but they wanted courage to defend theirexcellent post; for on our firing two guns they all ran away, leaving usat liberty to cut the boom. We then landed and marched to the town ofRealejo, a fine borough about a mile from thence, seated in a plain on asmall river. It had three churches and an hospital, but is seated amongfens and marshes, which send forth a noisome scent, and render it veryunhealthy. The country round has many sugar works and cattle pens, andgreat quantities of pitch, tar, and cordage are made by the people. Italso abounds in melons, pine-apples, guavas, and prickly pears. The shrub which produces the _guava_ has long small boughs, with a whitesmooth bark, and leaves like our hazel. The fruit resembles a pear, witha thin rind, and has many hard seeds. It may be safely eaten whilegreen, which is not the case with most other fruits in the East or WestIndies. Before being ripe it is astringent, but is afterwards loosening. When ripe it is soft, yellow, and well tasted, and may either be bakedlike pears, or coddled like apples. There are several sorts, distinguished by their shape, taste, and colour, some being red andothers yellow in the pulp. The _prickly-pear_ grows on a shrub aboutfive feet high, and is common in many parts of the West Indies, thrivingbest on sandy grounds near the sea. Each branch has two or three roundfleshy leaves, about the breadth of the hand, somewhat like those of thehouse-leek, edged all round with spines or sharp prickles an inch long. At the outer extremity of each leaf the fruit is produced, about thesize of a large plum, small towards the leaf and thicker at the otherend, where it opens like a medlar. The fruit, which is also covered bysmall prickles, is green at first, but becomes red as it ripens, havinga red pulp of the consistence of a thick syrup, with small black seeds, pleasant and cooling to the taste. I have often observed, on eatingtwenty or more of these at a time, that the urine becomes as red asblood, but without producing any evil consequence. We found nothing of value in Realejo, except 500 sacks of flour, withsome pitch, tar, and cordage. We also received here the 150 oxenpromised by the gentleman who was released at Leon; which, together withsugar, and other cattle we procured in the country, were very welcomeand useful to us. We remained in Realejo from the 17th to the 24th ofAugust, when we re-embarked. On the 25th Captains Davis and Swan agreedto separate, the former being inclined to return to the coast of Peru, and the latter to proceed farther to the north-west; and as I wascurious to become better acquainted with the north-western parts ofMexico, I left Captain Davis and joined Captain Swan. Captain Townleyjoined us with his two barks, but Captains Harris and Knight went alongwith Swan. On the 27th Davis went out of the harbour with his ship, butwe staid behind for some time, to provide ourselves with wood and water. By this time our men began to be much afflicted with fevers, which weattributed to the remains of a contagious distemper that lately raged atRealejo, as the men belonging to Captain Davis were similarly infected. We sailed from Realejo on the 3d September, steering to the north-westalong the coast, having tornadoes from the N. W. Accompanied with muchthunder and lightning, which obliged us to keep out to sea, so that wesaw no land till the 14th, when we were in lat. 13° 51' N. We then camein sight of the volcano of Guatimala. This presents a double peak liketwo sugar-loaves, between which fire and smoke sometimes burst forth, especially before bad weather. The city of Guatimala stands near thefoot of this high mountain, eight leagues from the South Sea, and fortyor fifty from the gulf of Amatique, at the bottom of the bay ofHonduras. [178] This city is reputed to be rich, as the country aroundabounds in several commodities peculiar to it, especially four noteddyes, indigo, otta or anotto, cochineal, and silvestre. [179] Having invain endeavoured to land on this part of the coast, we proceeded to thesmall isle of _Tangola_. A league from the continent, where we foundgood anchorage, with plenty of wood and water. [Footnote 178: This description agrees with the situation of St Jago deGuatemala, in lat. 14° 25' N. Long. 31° 18' W. , which is about thirtystatute miles from the South Sea. The modern city of Guatemala, standingnine miles to the S. E. , is only about sixteen miles from the sea at thehead of a bay of the same name. --E] [Footnote 179: This last is an inferior species of cochineal, gatheredfrom the uncultivated opuntia, while the true cochineal is carefullyattended to in regular plantations. Both are the bodies of certaininsects gathered by the Indians and dried for preservation, constitutingthe most valuable scarlet dye. --E] A league from thence is the port of _Guataico_, in lat. 15° 52' N. Long. 36° 20' W. One of the best in Mexico. On the east side of the entrance, and about a mile from it, there is a small isle near the shore, and onthe west side a great hollow rock, open at top, through which the wavesforce a passage with a great noise to a great height even in the calmestweather, which affords an excellent mark for seamen. This port runs intothe land about three miles in a N. W. Direction, and is about one milebroad. The west side affords the securest anchorage, the other beingexposed to S. W. Winds, which are frequent on this coast. We landed hereto the number of 140 men, of whom I was one, on the 8th September, andmarched about fourteen miles to an Indian village, where we foundnothing but _vanillas_ drying in the sun. The _vanilla_ grows on a smallvine, or bindwood shrub, which winds about the stems of trees, producinga yellow flower, which changes to a pod of four or five inches long, about the the size of a tobacco-pipe stem. This is at first green, butbecomes yellow when ripe, having black seeds. When gathered they arelaid in the sun, which makes them soft and of a chesnut colour, whenthey are squeezed flat by the Indians. The Spaniards buy this commodityat a cheap rate from the Indians, and afterwards preserve it in oil. The 10th we sent four of our canoes to wait for us at the port of_Angelos_, about ten miles W. From Guataico, and on the 12th we sailedfrom Guataico. The 23d we landed 100 men at Angelos, where they got saltbeef, maize, salt, hogs, and poultry but could bring little on board, being at a distance from the shore. Hearing of a stout ship latelyarrived at Acapulco from Lima, and as Captain Townley was much in needof a better ship, it was agreed to endeavour to cut that ship out of theharbour. _Acapulco_ is a town and harbour in lat. 16° 50' N. Long. 99°44' W. On the western coast of New Spain, and belonging to the city ofMexico, being the only place of commerce on this coast, and yet thereare only three ships that come to it annually. Two of these go everyyear between this port and Manilla in Luconia, one of the Philippines, and the third goes once a year to and from Lima in Peru. This last comesto Acapulco about Christmas, laden with quicksilver, cacao, and dollars, and waits the arrival of the Manilla ships, from which she takes in acargo of spices, calicos, muslins, and other goods of India and China, and then returns to Lima. This is only a vessel of moderate size; butthe two Manilla ships are each of about 1000 tons burden. These Manilla ships arrange their voyages in such a way that one or theother is always at Manilla. One of them sails from Acapulco about thebeginning of April; and after sixty days passage across the PacificOcean, touches at Guam, one of the Ladrones, to procure refreshments. She remains here only three days, and pursues her voyage for Manilla, where she arrives in the mouth of June. The other ship, being readyladen at Manilla with India commodities, sets sail soon after forAcapulco. From Manilla she steers a course to the latitude of 36° or 40°N. Before she can fall in with a wind to carry her to America, and fallsin first with the coast of California, and then is sure of a wind tocarry her down the coast to Acapulco. After making Cape Lucas, the S. Point of California, she runs over to Cape _Corientes_, in lat. 20° 26'N. Whence she proceeds along the coast to _Selagua_, where thepassengers for Mexico are landed, and then continues along the coast toAcapulco, where she usually arrives about Christmas. This port of Acapulco is very safe and convenient, and of sufficientcapacity to contain some hundred ships without danger. There is a lowisland across the entrance, stretching from E. To W. About a mile and ahalf long by a mile in breadth, having a deep channel at each end, through either of which ships may enter or go out, providing they go inwith the sea-breeze, and out with the land-wind, which regularly blow atstated times of the day and night. The channel at the west end of theisle is narrow, but so deep as to have no anchorage, and through thisthe Manilla ship comes in; but the Lima ship takes the other channel. The harbour runs eight miles into the land to the north, when it closesup and becomes narrow, after which it stretches a mile to the west. Atthe entrance of this channel, and on the N. W. Side, close to the shore, stands the town of Acapulco, near which is a platform or battery with agood number of guns; and on the east side of the channel, opposite thetown, there is a strong castle, having not less than forty pieces oflarge cannon, and the ships usually ride at the bottom of the harbour, under the guns of this castle. Captain Townley went with 140 men in twelve canoes to endeavour to cutout the Lima ship; but finding her at anchor within 100 yards of boththe castle and platform, found it impossible to effect his purpose, sothat he was obliged to return much dissatisfied. We accordingly sailedon the 11th November along the coast to the N. W. Between Acapulco andPetaplan, where we found every where good anchorage two miles fromshore, but the surf beat with such violence on the coast that there wasno safe landing. Near the sea the country was low, and abounding intrees, especially spreading palm-trees, some of which were twenty orthirty feet high in the stem, but of no great size. This part of thecountry was intermixed with many small hills, mostly barren, but thevallies seemed fertile. The hill of Petaplan, or Petatlan, sends out around point into the sea, called Cape _Jequena_, in lat. 17° 27' N. Which appears from sea like an island, and a little farther west thereis a knot of round hills, having an intervening bay, in which weanchored in eleven fathoms. We here landed 170 men, who marched fourteenmiles into the country, when they reached a wretched Indian village, deserted by the inhabitants, so that we only found one mulatto-woman andfour young children. Proceeding on the 18th about two leagues farther to the N. W. We came toa pretty good harbour named _Chequetan_, having the convenience of agood fresh-wafer river and plenty of wood. On the 19th we landedninety-five men, having the mulatto-woman for their guide, at_Estapa_, [180] a league west from Chequetan. The guide now conductedthem through a pathless wood along a river, and coming to a farm-housein a plain, they found a caravan of sixty mules, laden with flour, chocolate, cheese, and earthenware, intended for Acapulco, and of whichthis woman had given them intelligence. All this they carried off, except the earthenware, and brought aboard in their canoes, togetherwith some beeves they killed in the plain. Captain Swan went afterwardson shore, and killed other eighteen beeves, without any opposition. Wefound the country woody but fertile, and watered by many rivers andrivulets. [Footnote 180: Istapha is to the eastward of Petatlan, but Chequetan isnot delineated in modern maps, neither are any rivers noticed for agreat way either N. W. Or S. E. From Petatlan. --E. ] Sailing on the 21st to the N. W. The land appeared full of rugged hills, with frightful intervening vallies. On the 25th we passed a high hillhaving several peaks, in lat. 18° 8' N. Near which there is a town named_Cupan_, [181] but we could not find the way to it. The 26th, 200 menwere sent to find out the way to _Colima_, said to be a rich place, butafter rowing twenty leagues along shore they could not find any placefit for landing, and saw not the least sign of any inhabitants, so thatthey returned to the ships on the 28th. Soon after we got sight of thevolcano of Colima, remarkable for its height, six leagues from the sea, in lat. 19° 5' N. It shewed two peaks or summits, both of which alwaysemit either fire or smoke. The valley at the foot of this mountain issaid to be fertile and delightful, abounding in cacao, corn, andplantains, and is said to be ten or twelve leagues wide towards the sea, and to reach far into the country. It is watered by a deep river namedColima, but which is so obstructed by a sand-bank at its mouth, as noteven to allow admission to canoes; but there is no landing on this partof the coast, owing to the impetuosity of the surf. The town of Colimais the chief place of this part of the country. [Footnote 181: Probably Texupan, in lat. 18° 17' N. Is here meant. --E. ] The 29th, 200 men were sent in canoes to attempt to land, and ifpossible to find a road to the town of _Selagua_, seated, as we weretold by the Spaniards, at the N. W. End of the vale of Colima, but theywere unable to land, owing to the violence of the waves. We came insight of the port of _Selagua_ on the 1st December. This is a bay inlat. 19° 8' N. Parted in the middle by a rocky point, so that it appearslike two havens, in either of which there is safe anchorage in ten ortwelve fathoms, though the western harbour is the best, and has besidesthe advantage of a fresh-water rivulet. We saw a considerable number ofarmed Spaniards on the land, to whom we made a visit next morning with200 men, but they soon fled. In the pursuit our people found a broadroad, leading through a wooded and rocky country, which they followedfor four leagues, but found not the least appearance of anyinhabitants, and therefore turned back. On their return they took twostraggling mulattoes, who said the broad road led to the city of_Oarrah_, [182] four long days journey into the country, and that thesemen came from that city to protect the Manilla ship, which was expectedto set her passengers ashore at this place. The Spanish maps place atown called Selagua hereabouts, but we could not find any appearance ofit. [Footnote 182: Guadalaxara, the latter part of which is pronounced_achara_, is probably here meant. It is 160 miles inland from the portof Selagua. --E. ] We pursued our voyage on the 6th December towards Cape Corientes, inhopes of meeting the Manilla ship. The land on the coast was moderatelyhigh, sprinkled with many rugged points, and full of wood, havingseveral apparently good ports between Selagua and Cape Corientes, but wedid not touch at any of them. Cape Corientes, of which we came in sighton the 11th, in lat. 20° 28' N. Is pretty high, being very steep androcky towards the sea, but flat on the top. I found its longitude fromthe Lizard in England, by our reckoning, 121° 41' W. [183] As the Manillaship is obliged to make this point on her voyage to Acapulco, we took upa station here with our four ships in such a manner that we judged shecould hardly escape us; but as we were in want of provisions, fifty orsixty men were sent in a bark beyond the cape to endeavour to get some. They returned, however, on the 17th, not having been able to double thecape, but left forty-six men in four canoes, who intended to attempt toget beyond by rowing. [Footnote 183: It is only in long. 105° 88' W. From Greenwich; that inthe text, from computation or dead reckoning, being considerablyerroneous in excess. --E. ] The 18th December we sailed to the isles of _Chametly_, eighteen leaguesto the east of Cape Corientes. These are five small low and woodyislands, surrounded with rocks, and lying in form of a half-moon a milefrom the shore, having safe anchorage in the intermediate space. Theseisles are inhabited by fishers, who are servants to some of theinhabitants of _Purification_, a considerable town or city fourteenleagues up the country. [184] We anchored at these isles on the 20th, andhere provided ourselves with wood and water, and caught great abundanceof rock-fish. Next day sixty of our men were sent under Captain Townleyto surprise an Indian village, seven or eight leagues to the N. W. [Footnote 184: Villa de la Purificacion is considerably to the S. E. OfCape Corientes, but the isles of Chametly are omitted in modern maps. Puerto de Navidad, in lat. 19° 20' N. Seems the haven belonging toPurificacion. --E. ] On the 24th the four canoes left by Captain Townley's bark returned tothe ships. They had got beyond the cape by means of rowing to the valleyof _Valderas_, or _Val d' Iris_, the valley of flags, at the bottom of adeep bay, inclosed between Cape Corientes on the S. E. And point_Pontique_ on the N. W. In this delightful valley they landedthirty-seven men, who advanced three miles into the country, and wereattacked by 150 Spaniards, horse and foot. Our men retreated into anadjoining wood, whence they kept up a heavy fire on the Spaniards, killing their leader and fourteen troopers, besides wounding a greatmany, while four of our men were slain and two wounded. Owing to thisloss the Spaniards took to flight, and our people were enabled tore-embark. This valley is about three leagues broad, and is boundedtowards the inland country by an easy ascent, affording a delightfulprospect of extensive pastures well stored with cattle, interspersedwith pleasant groves of guavas, orange-trees, and lime-trees. The sandybay affords a safe landing, and has a fresh-water river, navigable byboats, but becomes brackish in the end of the dry season, which is inFebruary, March, and April. We continued cruizing off Cape Corientes till the 1st January, 1686, when we sailed for the valley of _Valderas_, proposing to provideourselves with some beef, of which we were in great need. At night weanchored in sixty fathoms, a mile from shore. On the 7th we landed 240men, fifty of whom were kept together in a body to watch the motions ofthe Spaniards, while the rest were employed in providing cattle. Wekilled and salted as much beef as would serve us for two months, andmight have procured a great deal more if we had not run out of salt. Bythis time our hopes of meeting the Manilla ship were entirely vanished, as we concluded she had got past us to the S. E. While we were employedin procuring provisions, which we afterwards learnt had been the case, by the information of several prisoners. The loss of this rich prize waschiefly owing to Captain Townley, who insisted on taking the Lima shipin the harbour of Acapulco, when we ought to have provided ourselveswith beef and maize, as we might then have done, instead of being nowforced to procure provisions at the critical time of her coming on thecoast. We were likewise deceived by the hope of falling in with richtowns and mines on this coast, not then knowing that all the wealth ofthis country is in the interior. Seeing that we were now entirelydisappointed in our hopes, we parted company, Captain Townley going backto the S. E. While we in Captain Swan's ship went to the west. The 7th January we passed point Pontique in lat. 20° 38' N. Ten leaguesfrom Cape Corientes, being the N. W. Point of this bay of the valley ofValderas. A league beyond this point to the W. There are two littleisles called the _Pontiques_, and beyond these to the north the shore isrugged for eighteen leagues. The 14th we came to anchor in a channelbetween the continent and a small white rocky isle, in lat. 21° 15'. The20th we anchored a league short of the isles of _Chametly_, differentfrom those formerly mentioned under the same name, being six small islesin lat 28° 11' N. Three leagues from the continent. [185] One or two ofthese isles have some sandy creeks, and they produce a certain fruitcalled _penguins_. These are of two sorts, one red and the other yellow. The plant producing the latter is as thick in the stem as a man's arm, with leaves six inches long and an inch broad, edged with prickles. Thefruit grows in clusters at the top of the stem, being round and as largeas an egg, having a thick rind, inclosing a pulp full of black seeds, ofa delightful taste. The red penguin grows directly out of the ground, without any stalk, sometimes sixty or seventy in a cluster, no biggerthan onions, but the shape of nine-pins, the cluster being surroundedwith prickly leaves eighteen inches or two feet long. [Footnote 185: In modern maps these are called the isles of _Mazatlan_, and are placed in lat. 28° 15' N. The name given in the text appearstaken from a town on this coast called Charmela, in lat 22° 50' N. Butimproperly. --E. ] Captain Swan went with 100 men in canoes to the north, to find out theriver _Culiacan_, supposed to be in lat. 24° N. [186] and said to have afair and rich town of the same name on its banks; but after rowingthirty leagues he could not find the river, neither was there any safelanding place on the coast. Seven leagues N. N. W. From the Chametla orMazatlan isles, our men landed in a small lake or river, having a narrowentrance, called _Rio de Sal_ by the Spaniards, in lat. 23° 30' N. [187]They here procured some maize at an adjacent farm; and learnt at anotherlanding place of an Indian town five leagues distant, to which theymarched. Coming near the place we were encountered by a good number ofSpaniards and Indians, who were soon beat off. On entering the place weonly found two or three wounded Indians, who told us the town was named_Mazatlan_, and that there were two rich gold-mines at the distance offive leagues. [Footnote 186: The mouth of the river of Cullacan is in 24° 45' N. Andthe town of that name is about eighty-five or ninety statute miles upthe river, supposed to have been an ancient seat of the Mexican nation, before their removal to the vale and lake of Mexico. --E. ] [Footnote 187: The Rio Rastla de Panuco, in 23° 45' N. Is certainly heremeant. --E. ] On the 2d February 80 men were landed in the river _Rosario_. [188] Wecame to a pretty little town of the same name, a considerable way upthat river, where we were assured by some prisoners that the gold-mineswere not above two leagues from thence; but as we had present occasionfor provisions, we carried about ninety bushels of maize on board fromthis place, without searching for the mines. As this small supply wasinsufficient for our necessities, we resolved to return to the S. E. Tothe _Rio San Jago_, [189] where we anchored on the 11th. This is one ofthe most considerable rivers on the west coast of New Spain. The countryhaving a good appearance, Captain Swan sent seventy men to look for atown. After rowing up and down for two days, they landed in a cornfield, and, while busy in gathering maize, they seized an Indian, whotold them of a town called _Santa Pecaque_, four leagues farther. [Footnote 188: The mouth of this river is in lat. 28° N. About fiftymiles S. E. From Cape Mazatlan, where Dampier seems to have been then atanchor among the Mazatlan isles. --E. ] [Footnote 189: So called by Dampier from the town of St Jago on itsbanks. Its proper name is the _Rio Grande_, or river of _Tololotlan_. The mouth of this river forms a large bay, in lat 21° 30' N. In which isthe considerable island of St Blas. --E. ] Returning to the ship with this intelligence, Captain Swan went with 140men in eight canoes, and landed five leagues up the river, which wasthere about a pistol shot across with high banks. He marched from thencethrough fertile plains and woods for three or four hours, and onapproaching St Pecaque the Spaniards evacuated the place, so that weentered unopposed. This town is situated in a spacious plain on the sideof a wood, being neatly built, with a market-place in the middle, butnot large, and has two churches. There are silver-mines five or sixleagues from this town, the ore from which is carried on mules toCompostella to be refined. _Compostella_, the capital of this part ofMexico, is twenty-one leagues from _Pecaque_, being inhabited by seventyfamilies of Spaniards, and by five or six hundred mulattoes and Indians. Finding great plenty of maize, sugar, salt, and salt fish at this place, Captain Swan divided his men into two parts, one of which keptpossession of the place, while the other half were employed to carrythese articles to the canoes, which was done turn and turn about, withthe assistance of some horses. We continued this work for two days; buton the 19th Captain Swan learnt from a prisoner that 1000 men hadmarched from St Jago, a rich town three leagues from Pecaque on theriver, for the purpose of attacking us. On this Captain Swan wanted ourpeople to march altogether with what provisions we could carry; but theyrefused to obey him till all the provisions should be carried on board, and he was forced to allow half of them to go on with fifty-four loadedhorses. They had not gone a mile from Pecaque when they were attacked bythe Spaniards from an ambush, and were all slain on the spot. CaptainSwan marched to their relief, but came too late, finding the whole partyslain and stripped naked; yet the Spaniards never once attempted toengage him, having certainly paid dear for their victory. Returning on board with the rest of his men, and what provisions hadbeen carried off, Captain Swan resolved to sail for Cape Lucas inCalifornia, in hopes of trafficking with the Indians there and in the_lake_ or gulf of California. We accordingly sailed on the 21st with thewind at N. W. And W. N. W. And anchored at the islands of _Santa Maria_, ineight fathoms on clean sand. There are three islands, usually called the_Three Marias_, [190] stretching fourteen leagues from S. E. To N. W. Ofmoderate height, stony, barren, and uninhabited, in lat 21° 30' N. [long. 106° 15' W. ] from which Cape St Lucas in California is fortyleagues W. N. W. And Cape Corientes twenty leagues E. S. E. We anchored offthe east end of the middle island, which we called Prince George'sisland. These islands produce some cedars, and we found near the sea agreen prickly plant, with leaves like those of the _penguin_ plant, androots like those of the _sempervivum_, but much longer, the Indians ofCalifornia subsisting mostly on these roots. We baked and eat some ofthese roots, which tasted like boiled burdock roots. I had been longafflicted with dropsy, and was here buried in the sand for half an hour, covered up to the neck, which brought on a profuse sweat, and I believewith good effect, for I began to recover soon after. We careened here;but as there is no fresh water to be had at this place in the dryseason, we had to return to the valley of Valderas, but finding theriver brackish we sailed three leagues nearer Cape Corientes, andanchored beside a small round isle four leagues north of that cape, andhalf a mile from the shore, opposite to a rivulet on the continent, where we filled our water casks. [Footnote 190: In reality _four_, the fourth or most northwesterly, being named St Juanica. --E. ] Being now sufficiently convinced of our mistaken notion of the riches ofthis coast, founded on an erroneous idea that the commerce of thiscountry was carried on by sea, whereas it is entirely conducted by landon mules, we now resolved to try our fortune in the East Indies. Withthis view we sailed from Cape Corientes on the 31st March, and nextnoon, being thirty leagues from the cape, clear of the land-winds, wehad the wind at E. N. E. In which direction it continued till we werewithin forty leagues of Guam. In all this long passage across thePacific, nearly in the lat. Of 13° N. We saw neither fish nor fowlexcept once, when by my reckoning we were 5975 miles west from CapeCorientes in Mexico, and then we saw a vast number of _boobies_, supposed to come from some rocks not far off, which are laid down insome hydrographical charts, but we saw them not. May 20th, at four p. M. Being in lat. 12° 55' N. And steering W. Wediscovered, to our great joy, the island of Guam, eight leagues off, having now only three-days provisions left. _Guam_ is one of theLadrones, in lat. 13° 15' N. And long. 216° 50' W. Consequently itsmeridional distance from Cape Corientes on the coast of Mexico is 111°14', or about 7730 English miles. It is twelve leagues long by fourbroad, extending north and south, and is defended by a small fortmounted by six guns, and a garrison of thirty men with a Spanishgovernor, for the convenience of the Manilla ships, which touch here forrefreshments on their voyage from Acapulco to Manilla. The soil istolerably fertile, producing rice, pine-apples, water and musk melons, oranges, limes, cocoa-nuts, and bread-fruit. This last grows on a treeas big as our apple-trees, with dark green leaves. The fruit is roundand as large as a good penny-loaf, [191] growing on the boughs likeapples. When ripe it turns yellow, with a soft and sweet pulp; but thenatives pull it green, and bake it in an oven till the rind grows black. They scrape off the rind, and the inside is soft and white, like thecrumb of new-baked bread, having neither seed nor stone; but it growsharsh if kept twenty-four hours. As this fruit is in season for eightmonths in the year, the natives use no other bread in all that time, and they told us there was plenty of it in all the other Ladroneislands. [Footnote 191: This vague description may now safely be changed to thesize of a three-penny, or even four-penny loaf--E. ] On the 31st May we came to anchor near the middle of the west side ofthis isle, a mile from shore, as there is no anchoring on its east sideon account of the trade-winds, which force the waves with great violenceagainst that side. The natives are of a copper-colour, strong-limbed, with long black hair, small eyes, high noses, thick lips, white teeth, and stern countenances, yet were very affable to us. They are veryingenious in building a certain kind of boats, called _proas_, used allover the East Indies. These are about twenty-six or twenty-eight feetlong, and five or six feet high from the keel, which is made of thetrunk of a tree like a canoe, sharp at both ends. They manage theseboats with a paddle instead of a rudder, and use a square sail, and theysail with incredible swiftness, twenty or even twenty-four miles in anhoar. One side of these boats is quite flat and upright like a wall fromend to end, but the other side is rounded and full-bellied like othervessels. Along this side, parallel with the boat, at the distance of sixor seven feet, a log of light wood, a foot and a half wide, and sharp atboth ends, is fastened by means of two bamboos eight or ten feet long, projecting from each end of the main boat, and this log prevents theboat from oversetting. The English call this an out-lier, or out-rigger, and the Dutch _Oytlager_. The air of this island is accountedexceedingly healthy, except in the wet season between June and October. The Indians inhabit small villages on the west side of this island nearthe shore, and have priests among them to instruct them in the Christianreligion. By means of a civil letter from Captain Swan to the Spanishgovernor, accompanied by some presents, we obtained a good supply ofhogs, cocoa-nuts, rice, biscuits, and other refreshments, together withfifty pounds of Manilla tobacco. Learning from one of the friars that the island of _Mindanao_, inhabitedby Mahometans, abounded in provisions, we set sail from Guam on the 2dJune with a strong E. Wind, and arrived on the 21st at the Isle of StJohn, one of the _Philippines_. These are a range of large islandsreaching from about the latitude of 5° to about 19° N. And from long. 120° to 126° 30' E. The principal island of the group is _Luzon_, orLuçonia, in which Magellan was slain by a poisoned arrow, and which isnow entirely subject to the Spaniards. Their capital city of Manilla isin this island, being a large town and sea-port, seated at thesouth-west end, opposite to the island of Mindora, and is a place ofgreat strength and much trade, especially occasioned by the Acapulcoships, which procure here vast quantities of India commodities, broughthither by the Chinese and Portuguese, and sometimes also by stealth bythe English from fort St George or Madras; for the Spaniards allow of noregular trade here to the English and Dutch, lest they should discovertheir weakness, and the riches of these islands, which abound in gold. To the south of Luzon there are twelve or fourteen large islands, besides a great number of small isles, all inhabited by, or subject to, the Spaniards. But the two most southerly, Mindanao and St John, are notsubjected by the Spaniards. The Island of St John, or _San Juan_, is about the lat. Of 9° N. On theeast side of Mindanao, and about four leagues from that island, beingabout thirty-eight leagues in length from N. N. W. To S. S. E. And abouttwenty-four leagues broad in the middle, having a very rich and fertilesoil. _Mindanao_, next to Luzon, is the largest of the Philippines, being sixty leagues long by forty or fifty leagues broad. Its southernend is in lat. 5° 30' N. The N. W. Extremity reaching to 9° 40' N. Thesoil is generally fertile, and its stony hills produce many kinds oftrees, most of which are unknown to Europeans. The vallies are suppliedwith brooks and rivulets, and stored with various sorts of ever-greentrees, and with rice, water-melons, plantains, bananas, guavas, nutmegs, cloves, betel-nuts, _durians, jacks_, or _jackas_, cocoa-nuts, oranges, &c. ; but, above all, by a species of tree called _libby_ by the natives, which produces sago, and grows in groves several miles in length. Thepoorer people feed on sago instead of bread for several months of theyear. This tree resembles the cabbage-tree, having a strong bark andhard wood, the heart of which is full of a white pith, like that of theelder. They cut down the tree and split it open, taking out the pith, which they stamp or beat well in a mortar, after which, putting it intoa cloth, and pouring in water, they stir it well, till the water carriesall the farinaceous substance through the cloth into a trough. After thefarinaceous matter has settled to the bottom, the water is poured off, and the sago is baked into cakes, which they use as bread. The sago, which is carried from hence to other parts of the East Indies, is driedinto small grains, and is used with milk of almonds as a remedy againstfluxes, being of an astringent quality. The other fruits of this island, being well known or described byvarious authors, need not be here mentioned. The nutmegs here are verylarge and good, but the natives do not care for propagating them, beingafraid lest the Dutch, who monopolize the spice islands, should beinduced to pay them a hostile visit. This island also produces abundanceof animals, both wild and tame, as horses, cows, buffaloes, goats, wildhogs, deer, monkeys, and others; also guanas, lizards, snakes, scorpions, and centipeds. These last are not thicker than a goose-quill, but five inches long, and they sting fiercer even than scorpions. Oftame fowl, they have only ducks and hens; but have plenty of wild birds, as pigeons, parrots, parrakeets, turtle-doves, bats as large as ourkites, and an infinite number and variety of small birds. Their wildhogs feed in the woods in prodigious herds, and have thick knobs growingover their eyes. There are mountains in the interior of this island, which afford considerable quantities of gold. Their chief fish arebonitos, snooks, cavallies, breams, and mullets; and they have abundanceof sea-tortoises; and the island has many harbours, creeks, and rivers. Considering the situation of this island, so near the Line, its climateis by no means excessively hot, especially near the sea, where thesea-breeze cools the air by day and the land-breeze at night. The windblows from the east between October and May, and then blows from thewest till October. The west wind produces the wet season, which isheaviest in July and August, and, gradually lessening in September, ceases in October, when the east wind brings fair weather, which laststill May. The inhabitants of this island, though all resembling eachother in colour and stature, and all Mahometans, differ considerably inlanguage and government. The mountaineers, or _Hillanoons_, who inhabitthe interior, and are masters of the gold-mines, are also rich inbees-wax, both of which they exchange with the _Mindanayans_ on thecoast for foreign commodities. The _Sologus_ inhabit the N. W. End of theisland, and traffic with the inhabitants of Manilla and some otheradjacent islands, but not with the Mindanayans. The _Alfoores_ wereformerly under the same government with the Mindanayans, but wereseparated from them by falling to the share of the younger children ofthe sultan of Mindanao, who has of late laid claim to their allegiance. The Mindanayans, properly so called, are of low stature, with smalllimbs, little heads, straight bodies, small eyes short noses, widemouths, thin red lips, and sound black teeth, having black lank hair, and tawny complexions, but rather brighter than other Indians. They areingenious and nimble, much addicted to indolence, obliging to strangers, but implacable when once disobliged. They wear turbans on their heads, formed of a cloth tied once round, the ends of which hang down, and areornamented with lace or fringe. They also wear breeches, over whichthey have a kind of frocks, but have neither shoes nor stockings. Thewomen tie their long black hair in a knot, which hangs down behind, being smaller featured than the men, with very small feet. Theirgarments consist of a piece of cloth sewed together at both ends, forming a kind of petticoat, with a frock reaching a little below thewaist. They covet the acquaintance of white men, and are very free withthem, as far as they have liberty. When any strangers arrive at the cityof Mindanao, the men come aboard and invite them to their houses, wherethey immediately ask if any of them wish to have a _pagally_, or femalefriend, which they must accept, and return the favour by some smallpresent, which is repeated from time to time, in return for which theyeat, drink, and sleep, in their friend's house. The capital is named Mindanao, like the island, being on the south-westside, two miles from the sea, on the bank of a small river, in lat. 7°N. The houses are built on posts, fourteen to twenty feet high, consisting only of one floor, but divided in many rooms by partitions. The house or palace of the sultan rests on 150 great posts, being muchhigher than any of the others, and had great broad stairs leading up toit from the ground. In the hall there were twenty pieces of iron cannonupon field carriages, and the general and other great men have also somecannon in their houses. The floors are generally well covered with mats, and they have no chairs, but usually sit cross-legged. Their ordinaryfood is rice, sago, and some small fish; but the better people usebuffaloe beef, and fowl, with a great deal of rice, every one usingtheir fingers, as they have no spoons. The inhabitants of the city ofMindanao speak both the Mindanayan and Malay languages, and theirprayers are in Arabic, in which also they retain some Turkish words. Some of the old people of both sexes can speak Spanish, as the Spaniardshad formerly several forts in the island, and had assuredly reduced thewhole if they had not been afraid of an attack from the Chinese atManilla, on which account they withdrew their troops from Mindanao, whenthe father of the present sultan laid hold of the opportunity to gainpossession of their forts, and to expel them from the island. At presentthey are most in fear of the Dutch, for which reason they have ofteninvited the English to make a settlement among them, believing them notso ready to encroach as either of the other nations. The chief trades in this city are goldsmiths, blacksmiths, carpenters, and shipwrights, for they build good ships both for war and trade. Theirchief commodities for export are gold, bees-wax, and tobacco; the twofirst being purchased from the mountaineers, and the last grows in allparts of the island in great plenty. They exchange these commodities forcalicoes, muslins, and China silks. The Mindanao tobacco is reckoned asgood as that of Manilla, and yet ten or twelve pounds of it may bebought for a rial, or the eighth part of a dollar. The natives aregenerally afflicted with a dry itchy scurf all over their bodies, and byscratching, the skin peels off in small white flakes, like the scales ofsmall fish, leaving broad white spots all over their bodies; but theydid not seem to make any great account of this disease, which is notinfectious. They are also troubled with small-pox; but their most commondiseases are fevers, agues, fluxes, and violent griping pains in theirbowels. They have many wives, but I could not learn their marriageceremonies. They are governed by a sultan, who has no great revenue, yet is soabsolute that he even commands the private purse of every one at hispleasure. The reigning sultan was between fifty and sixty years old, andhad twenty-nine concubines besides his wife or sultana. When he goesabroad he is carried in a couch on the shoulders of four men, and isattended by a guard of eight or ten men. His brother, named Rajah Laut, a shrewd person of good conversation, is both chief minister andgeneral, and both speaks and writes Spanish very readily. In war theyuse swords and lances, and every one, from the highest to the lowest, constantly wears a _criss_ or dagger, much like a bayonet. They neverfight any pitched battles, but construct small wooden forts defended byguns, whence the adverse parties endeavour to surprise each other insmall parties, and never give or take quarter. We came first to anchor on the N. E. Side of the island, but learningfrom the natives that the city of Mindanao was on the W. Side, we againset sail and anchored on the 4th July on the S. W. Side of a very deepbay in fifteen fathoms, the land within the bay on the E. Side beingvery high and woody, but watered by several rivers. On its W. Side, bordering on the sea, there were large plains covered with long grass, on which were vast herds of deer, of which we killed as many as wethought fit. We remained here till the 12th, when we again set sail, andarrived on the 18th at the entrance of the river of Mindanao, in lat. 7°N. And long. 124° 35' E. From Greenwich. [192] We here anchored infifteen fathoms on clean hard sand, two miles from the shore. Soonafterwards Rajah Laut came on board, accompanied by one of the sultan'ssons, and asked in Spanish, Who we were? Being told we were English, heasked if we came to settle among them, of which they had formerly somepromise, and were now in hopes of its being effected, to serve toprotect them against the Dutch, whom they greatly dreaded. Had weproperly considered the matter, it might have been much for ouradvantage, Mindanao being conveniently situated between the Spiceislands and the Philippines, and besides the three islands of_Meangis_, [193] only about twenty leagues from hence, abound with spiceand cloves. We were also well filled for such a settlement, having amongour company all manner of artificers, as carpenters, bricklayers, shoemakers, tailors, and the like, as also abundance of tools, arms, cannon, and sufficient ammunition to begin with; and, notwithstandingthe great distance from England, we might easily have had supplies fromthence, providing ships set out the latter end of August, proceedinground Cape Horn, and so directly across the Pacific for Mindanao, orelse coasting along the western shore of America as far as wasnecessary, and then stretching across to have the advantage of thetrade-wind. By this way the voyage might be accomplished in six or sevenmonths, which would at least require eight or nine by the Cape of GoodHope. [Footnote 192: In Harris, this longitude is made 23° 12' W. From theLizard by some strange error, being 235° 25' W. From Greenwich. --E. ] [Footnote 193: It does not appear what islands these were, unlessperhaps the Silibabo islands, about half way between Mindanao and thenorthern end of Gilolo, but considerably farther distant than is statedin the text. --E. ] Rajah Laut invited Captain Swan ashore, and promised to furnish whatprovisions we wanted, and desired him in the mean time to secure ourship within the river, for fear of the approaching westerly monsoon, which Captain Swan agreed to after some deliberation. The river beingnarrow, and having not above eleven feet water on the bar inspring-tides, we had much ado to get our ship a quarter of a mile aboveits mouth, where we moored head and stern in a hole, so that she layalways afloat. The city of Mindanao is a mile in length, but not verybroad, stretching along the right bank of the river as you go up, thoughthere are some houses also on the opposite side. The inhabitantsfrequently came aboard of our ship, and invited our men to theirhouses, where they were kindly entertained after their manner withtobacco and betel, and such of them as had money, or other articles ofvalue, did not want their _pagalies_, or female friends. Captain Swanwas entertained daily by Rajah Laut, and those of our men who had nomoney had boiled rice, with scraps of fowl and buffalo beef given them. Yet, after all these outward shews of friendship, we soon after began todiscover that Rajah Laut had sinister intentions. The sheathing on ourship's bottom being much eaten by worms, we began in November to removethe old sheathing, to see whether the main plank remained sound; onseeing which, Rajah Laut shook his head, saying he had never seen a shipwith two bottoms. Besides, he did not perform his promise of providingus with beef, pretending he could not get any; and he borrowed aconsiderable sum in gold from Captain Swan, which he never repaid. These circumstances at length induced most of our men to think ofleaving Mindanao, especially those who had not much money; and as ourship was new sheathed and tallowed on the 10th December, they began tourge our commander to depart in continuation of our voyage. Accordingly, Captain Swan appointed the 13th January, 1687, for all our company to beon board and ready to sail; but many being unwilling to depart so soon, having dispersed about the country at the instigation of Rajah Laut, andeven Captain Swan not being very ready to come aboard, by reason of someinsubordination among the men, they deposed him from the command, andchose Captain Teat in his room. After this we weighed in the morning ofthe 13th January, and sailed out of the river, having Captain Swan andforty-four more of the men on shore, besides sixteen others we hadburied there. We coasted along the south side of the island to the west, and passednext day in sight of _Chambungo_, [194] another town in this island, thirty leagues west from the river of Mindanao, and said to have a goodharbour. On the 10th February we coasted along the west side of thePhilippine islands, and while passing Panga, [195] a large islandinhabited by the Spaniards, we saw many fires, which we supposed wereintended to give notice of our approach, it being rare to see a ship onthis coast. The 18th we anchored in ten fathoms at the N. W. End of theisland of _Mindora_. This is a large island, the middle of which is inlat 12° 45' N. Its length from N. W. To S. E. Being forty leagues. Whilehere, a canoe with four Indians came from Manilla, who told as that theharbour of Manilla was seldom without twenty or thirty vessels, Chinese, Portuguese, and Spaniards, and if we had a mind to trade clandestinely, they would deliver letters from us to certain merchants there. [Footnote 194: Probably Sambuang, at the western extremity of Mindanao, in lat. 6° 52' N. Long. 122° 20' E. From Greenwich. --E. ] [Footnote 195: Pany, or Panai. --E. ] We sailed again on the 21st, and came on the 23d to the S. E. End ofLuçonia, where we took two Spanish barks from _Pagassanam_, [196] a smalltown on the N. E. Part of this island, having goods on board for theAcapulco ship. This great island of Luçonia extends in length throughsix degrees of latitude, from 12° 30' to 18° 40' both N. And issurrounded by many small isles, especially at its north end, Mindorabeing the chief of these isles, which communicates its name to thestraits which run between it and the main island of Luçonia. The surfaceof this large island is partly composed of large pasture plains, andpartly of mountains, the latter of which afford some gold; and theplains, or savannahs, are stored with buffaloes, bullocks, horses, sheep, goats, and hogs. The inhabitants are Indians, who live in littletowns, under the Spanish jurisdiction, and are instructed in the Romishreligion by Spanish priests. [Footnote 196: Perhaps the gulf on Pangasian is here meant, on the E. Side of Luzon, in lat. 16° N. ] _Manilla_ is the chief city, or rather the only one, in the island, seated at the foot of a ridge of high hills, fronting the harbour, nearthe S. W. Point of the island, in lat. 14° 38' N: This city is defendedby a strong wall, and is composed of well-built spacious houses, coveredwith pan-tiles, the streets being broad and regular, with a largemarket-place in the middle, and has many fair churches and convents. Theharbour is large; and, besides the two great Acapulco ships, containsabundance of small vessels belonging to the place, besides usuallythirty or forty stout Chinese junks; and the Portuguese also haveliberty to trade to this place. Many Chinese merchants also resideconstantly in this city. A league from the city, nearer the sea, thereis a strong fortress to defend the harbour, where the great ships lie atanchor. Most of this account I received from Mr Coppinger, our surgeon, who had formerly been thither, sailing from the Coromandel coast. The time of the year being now too far spent for our purpose, weresolved to sail for Pulo Condore, a knot of small islands on the coastof Cambodia, and to return in May to lie in wait for the Acapulco ship. We accordingly made sail from the island of Luçonia on the 26th ofFebruary; and coming into the lat. Of 14° N. We steered our course W. For Pulo Condore, [197] and in our way got sight of the south end of the_Pracel_ shoals, being three small isles, or large spots of sand, justabove water, only a mile from us. We came in sight of Pulo Condore onthe 13th March, and anchored next day on the north side of that island, in ten fathoms, on clean hard sand, two miles from the shore. [Footnote 197: This course ought rather to have been called W. S. W. AsPulo Condore is lat. 8° 40' N. ] Pulo Condore is the chief of a group of isles, and the only one of themthat is inhabited, in lat. 8° 44' N. Long. 106° 5' E. Forty leagues S. By E. From the mouth of the river of Cambodia, otherwise called the_Japanese_ river. Two of these isles are tolerably high and large, andthe rest very small. The principal isle, off which we anchored, is fiveleagues long from E. To W. And three leagues broad, but in some placesnot a mile. The other large isle is three miles long from N. To S. Andbetween these, at the west end of the largest, there is a convenientharbour, the entrance being on the north, where the two isles are a mileasunder. On the largest isle there grows a tall tree, three or four feetdiameter, which the inhabitants cut horizontally half through, a footfrom the ground, after which they cut out the upper part in a slope, till it meets the transverse cut, whence a liquor distils into a hollowmade in the semicircular shelf, or stump, which, after being boiled, becomes good tar, and if boiled still more, becomes perfect pitch, bothof these answering well for marine use. Such a tree produces two quartsof this juice daily for a month, after which it dries up, but recoversagain. There are mango trees in this island, the fruit of which theinhabitants pickle with salt, vinegar, and a little garlic, while green. On straight trees of a foot diameter, grapes, both red and white, and ofa pleasant taste, much like those of Europe, grow in clusters about thebody of the tree, like the cocoas. This isle also abounds in wildnutmeg-trees, which resemble our walnut-trees, and the fruit grows amongthe boughs, in the same manner as walnuts. This fruit resembles the truenutmeg, but smaller, and has neither smell nor taste. Besides hogs, guanas, and lizards, these islands have various birds, as parrots, parakeets, turtle-doves, and wild poultry. The sea affords limpits, muscles, and tortoises. These isles have many brooks of fresh waterrunning into the sea for ten months of the year; and they are veryconveniently situated for trade with Japan, China, Manilla, Tonquin, Cochin-china, and other places. The inhabitants are originally from Cochin-china, being of a middlestature and well shaped, but of much darker colour than the natives ofMindanao, having lank black hair, small black eyes, and small noses, yettolerably high, with small mouths, thin lips, and white teeth. They arecivil, but very poor, their only employment being to collect tar, and toprepare a little oil from tortoises, both of which they export toCochin-china. They offer their women to strangers for a small matter; acustom universal in Pegu, Siam, Cochin-China, Cambadia, Tonquin, andIndia, as also on the coast of Guinea. They are pagans, worshippingchiefly the elephant and the horse, besides images of birds and fishes, but I saw none resembling the human shape. Having careened our ship, and laid in a supply of fresh water, we sailedfrom Pulo Condore on the 21st of April, steering W. By S. For the bay ofSiam, and on the 23d came to the isle of _Ubi_, off the S. W. Cape ofCambadia, forty leagues W. Of Condore. This isle is seven or eightleagues in circuit, and is higher land than any of the Condore isles. Ithas good water on the north side, where there is also good anchorage, but the best anchorage is on the W. Side, opposite a small bay. On the24th we entered the bay of Siam, which is very deep, and went among theislands at the bottom of the bay, in one of which we found a smallvillage inhabited by fishermen, but no fish, so we turned back, and didnot return to the isle of _Ubi_ till the 13th, and were detained thereby storms till the 21st, when we sailed for Condore, where we anchoredon the 24th. Here five or six of our men, going on board a Malayvessel, were stabbed by the crew. Having provided our ship with wood andwater, we sailed from Condore on the 4th June, intending to proceed forManilla; but, by contrary winds, were forced to steer for _Pratas_, asmall low island inclosed with rocks, in lat. 21° N. Between Canton andManilla; and the east winds continuing, were obliged to approach thecoast of China, where we anchored on the 25th June, at the east end ofthe island of St John, on the coast of Quan-tong, or Canton, in China, in lat. 22° 30' N. [198] They have here great plenty of rice, with hogs, buffaloes, goats, and some oxen. The inhabitants were Chinese, and wereconsequently, at this time, under the dominion of the Tartars. [Footnote 198: This Island of St John is probably that named Sancianor, or Tchang-te-huen, in lat. 21° 33' N. Long. 112° 25' E. To the S. W. Ofthe bay of Canton. The latitude in the text would lead deep among theislands of that bay, which does not appear to have been the case. --E. ] In this island we found a small town in marshy ground, the houses ofwhich were small, mean, and ill-furnished, but built on posts, theinhabitants principally subsisting by the cultivation of rice. While welay here at anchor, a Chinese junk rode beside us, which was flat bothat the head and stern, having many little huts, three feet high, on herdeck, thatched with palmito leaves. Her cabin was large, having analtar, on which was a lamp continually burning. The hold was dividedinto several compartments, the bulkheads between which were so tight, that if a leak should spring in any of these divisions, the goods in theothers would receive no damage. Every merchant has his own room, ordivision, in the hold, in which he stows his own goods, sometimeslodging along with them. These junks have only two masts, a main andfore, the latter having a square-sail and yard, and the former a sailthat is narrow aloft, like a sloop's main-sail. In fine weather theyhave also a top-sail, which, in foul weather, they lower to the deck, yard and all. The main-mast of one of their largest junks is equal insize to that of our third-rate men of war, but all of one piece, notbuilt. Fearing the approach of a storm, and wanting sea-room, we weighed on the3d June, and stood out to sea; but next day we were assailed by the mostviolent tempest at N. E. I ever saw, which lasted at intervals for threedays, when the weather became quite serene. We then refitted our ship, but our men were so terrified by the last storm, and dreading theapproach of full moon, that we resolved to steer for the _Pescadores_, or _Fisher Isles_, in lat. 23° 40' N. Off the western side of_Tai-ouan_, or Formosa. This is a numerous group of islands in theStraits of Formosa, having a good harbour between the two eastermost;and on the west side of the most easterly there is a large town with afort, in which was a garrison of 300 Tartars. The houses in this townwere low, yet neatly built; and on the other island, on the west side ofthe harbour, there was another small town near the sea, inhabited byChinese. Most of the islands in this group have some Chineseinhabitants. We were very civilly treated by the Tartar governor, whosent us some presents, and among the rest a heifer, the beef of whichwas excellent; but would not allow us to trade, or even to land on theisle. We sailed thence on the 29th July, passing the S. W. End of Formosa, alarge island reaching from lat. 22° to 25° 18' both N. And in long. 121°E. It was formerly well inhabited by the Chinese, and frequented by theEnglish; but the Tartars have since spoiled the harbour, lest theChinese should fortify themselves there. On the 6th August we came toanchor on the east side of the northermost of the _Five Islands_, or_Bashees_, in fifteen fathoms. These islands are from the latitude of20° 26' to 21° 13' both N. And long. 121° 50' E. Contrary to ourexpectations, we found three or four large towns on the island at whichwe anchored. The westmost of these islands, which the Dutch among usnamed _Orange_ isle, is the largest, being seven or eight leagues fromN. To S. And two from E. To W. There are two other large islands to theS. Of this; the northern of which we named _Grafton_ isle, which is fourleagues from N. To S. And a league and a half from E. To W. The other, and most southerly, we named _Monmouth_ isle, being three leagues fromN. To S. And one from E. To W. Two other isles, lying E. And W. BetweenMonmouth isle and the S. End of Orange isle, we called _Bashee_ isle, from a certain liquor we drank there, and _Goat_ isle. _Orange_ isle is the largest, but barren, rocky, and uninhabited, andhas no anchorage on its coasts. _Monmouth_ and _Grafton_ isles are bothhilly, but well inhabited. _Goat_ isle and _Bashee_ isle are flat, theformer having a town. The hills in all these isles are rocky; but theintermediate vallies are fertile in grass, plantains, bananas, pine-apples, pompions, sugar-canes, potatoes, and some cotton, and arewell supplied with brooks of fresh water. They are also well storedwith goats and hogs, but have hardly any fowls, either wild or tame. Thenatives are short and thick, with round faces and thick eye-brows, withhazel-coloured eyes, rather small, yet larger than those of the Chinese. Their noses are short and low; their mouths and lips middle-sized, withwhite teeth; and their hair is thick, black, and lank, which they cutshort. Their complexion is of a dark copper colour, and they go allbare-headed, having for the most part no clothes, except a clout aboutthe middle, though some have jackets of plantain leaves, as rough as abear-skin. The women have a short petticoat of coarse calico, reaching alittle below the knees, and both sexes wear ear-rings of a yellow metaldug from their mountains, having the weight and colour of gold, butsomewhat paler. Whether it be in reality gold or not, I cannot say, butit looked of a fine colour at first, which afterwards faded, which madeus suspect it, and we therefore bought very little. We observed that thenatives smeared it with a red earth, and then made it red-hot in a quickfire, which restored its former colour. The houses of the natives are small, and hardly five feet high, collected into villages on the sides of rocky hills, and built in threeor four rows, one above the other. These rocky precipices are framed bynature into different ledges, or deep steps of stairs as it were, oneach of which they build a row of houses, ascending from one row toanother by means of ladders in the middle of each row, and when theseare removed they are inaccessible. They live mostly by fishing, and arevery expert in building boats, much like our Deal yawls. They have alsolarger vessels, rowed by twelve or fourteen oars, two men to each bank. They never kill any goats themselves, but feed on the guts and skins, which last they broil after singing off the hair. [199] They also make adish of locusts, which come at certain seasons to devour their potatoes;on which occasions they catch these insects in nets, and broil or bakethem in earthen pans, when they are tolerable eating. Their ordinarydrink is water; but they make also a kind of liquor of the juice ofsugar-canes, boiled up with black-berries, allowed afterwards to fermentfour or five days in jars. It then settles and becomes clear, when itaffords a strong and pleasant liquor, which they call _bashee_, resembling our English beer both in taste and colour. I can give noaccount of their language, as it has no affinity either to Chinese orMalay. Their weapons are lances headed with iron, and they wear a kindof armour of buffalo-hide without sleeves, reaching below their knees, where it is three feet wide, and as stiff as a board, but close at theshoulders. [Footnote 199: This is rather inexplicable, as we cannot conceive howthey got the guts and skins without killing the goats. --E. ] I could not perceive that they had any worship, neither saw I any idolsamong them. They seemed to have no government or precedency, except thatthe children were very respectful to their parents. They seem, however, to be regulated by some ancient customs, instead of laws, as we saw ayoung lad buried alive, which we supposed was for being guilty of theft. The men have each only one wife, and she and her children were veryobedient to the head of the family. The boys are brought up to fishingalong with their fathers; and the girls work along with their mothers inthe plantations in the vallies, where each family plants a piece ofground proportional to their numbers. They are a civil quiet people, notonly among themselves, but in their intercourse with strangers; for allthe time we were here, though they came frequently aboard, exchangingtheir yellow metal, goats, and fruits, for iron, we never saw themdiffer either among themselves or with our men, though occasions of thelatter were not wanting. They have no coins, neither any weights orscales, but give their pieces of yellow metal by guess. During our stayhere, we provided ourselves with seventy or eighty fat hogs, and greatplenty of potatoes, for our intended voyage to Manilla. On the 25th September, we were forced out to sea by a violent storm, which lasted till the 29th, when we made the best of our way back to theBashees, which we reached on the 1st October. This last storm sodisheartened our men, that they resolved to give up the design ofcruising before Manilla; and, by the persuasions of Captain Read, whonow commanded, and Captain Teat, our master, it was determined to sailfor Cape Comorin, and thence into the Red Sea. As the eastern monsoonwas at hand, our nearest and best way had been to pass through theStraits of Malacca; but Teat persuaded the men to go round by the eastside of the Philippines, and thence, keeping south of the Spice islands, to pass into the Indian ocean by the south of Timor. We sailed from the Bashees on the 3d October, by the east of thePhilippines, and on the 15th, being to the south of Luçonia, directedour course west for Mindanao. On the 16th we anchored between two smallisles, in lat. 5° 10' N. Four leagues from the island of Mindanao. Whilehere, we learnt from a young prince of one of the isles, that CaptainSwan and some of his men were still at Mindanao, and in great esteem fortheir services against the Alfoores: but I was since informed, that heand his surgeon, when going on board a Dutch ship in the road, wereoverset by the natives and drowned, by order of rajah Laut, as wesupposed, who had seized all his gold. We sailed on the 2d November for Celebes, and anchored at its N. E. Endon the 9th. The 30th, while steering between two shoals, in lat. 3° S. Ten leagues from Celebes, we saw three waterspouts towards evening. Awaterspout is a piece of a cloud hanging down in a sloping direction, sometimes bending like a bow, but never perpendicular. Opposite to itsextremity the sea begins to foam, and the water is then seen gentlymoving round in a circle, increasing to a rapid whirling motion, risingupwards, an hundred paces in circumference at the bottom, but lesseninggradually upwards to the size of a spout, through which the sea-waterappears to be conveyed into the cloud, as is manifest by its blacknessand increase of bulk. After this the cloud, which was before immoveable, drives along for half an hour, accompanied by the spout. When thesucking is over, and breaks off, all the water which was below thespout, or pendulous cloud, falls again into the sea with a terribleclashing noise. These spouts are, however, more frightful thandangerous. We had sight of the Isle of Bouton on the 1st December, and anchoredthere on the 5th, where we staid till the 11th, procuring eggs, fowls, potatoes, and other provisions from the natives, who are Mahometans, andspeak the Malay language. Continuing our voyage, we saw the N. W. Pointof Timor on the 28th, and on the 29th stood S. Towards New Holland, which we fell in with on the 4th January, 1688, in lat. 16° 50' S. _NewHolland_ is a vast tract of land, but whether island or continent ishitherto unknown. [200] We anchored at a point of land, three leagues tothe east of which is a deep bay. The land was low and sandy, the pointsonly excepted, which were rocky, as were some islands in the bay. Wefound here no fresh water, except by digging. There were various trees, and among these the tree producing dragon's-blood. We saw nofruit-trees, nor so much as the track of any animal, except one footstepof a beast, which seemed the size of a large mastiff. There were a fewland-birds, but none bigger than a black-bird, and scarcely anysea-fowl; neither did the sea afford any fish, except tortoises andmanatees, [201] both of which are in vast plenty. [Footnote 200: It is now known to be a vast island, stretching from thelat. Of 11° 40' to 38° 40', both S. And from long. 109° 40' to 154° 50'both E. Being 1870 miles from N. To S. And 2400 miles from E. To W. ] [Footnote 201: The Lamentin, or Trichechus Manatus australis ofnaturalists. --E. ] The inhabitants are the most miserable wretches in the universe, havingno houses or coverings but the heavens, and no garments except a pieceof the bark of a tree tied round the waist. They have no sheep, poultry, or fruits, and subsist wretchedly on a few shell-fish, such as cockles, muscles, and periwinkles, living without any government or order, andcohabit promiscuously like brutes. Their bodies are straight, thin, andstrong-limbed, having great heads and eye-brows, with round foreheads. Their eye-lids are constantly half closed, to keep out flies, which arehere very numerous and troublesome. They have large bottle noses, thicklips, and wide mouth; and both men and women, young and old, wanted thetwo front teeth of the upper jaw. They have no beards, and their hair isshort and curled like the negroes, their complexion being equally blackwith them. Their weapons are a kind of wooden swords or clubs, and longstraight poles sharpened at one end. Of their language I can only saythat they speak much in the throat. We landed several times, and broughtthe natives to some degree of familiarity with us, by giving them someold clothes, but could never prevail on them to assist us in carryingwater or any other thing, as they seemed quite averse from labour. We sailed hence on the 12th March, and on the 7th April got sight ofSumatra, whence we directed our course for the Nicobar islands, which wecame in sight of on the 4th May, and anchored next day in a small bay atthe N. End of the island of Nicobar Proper, in lat. 7° 30' N. Thisisland produces plenty of cocoa-nuts, and _mallories_, a fruit as largeas the bread-fruit of Guam, which the natives boil in covered jars. Mr Hall, Mr Ambrose, and I, being desirous to leave the unruly crewamong whom we had sailed so long, were set ashore at this island, intending to proceed for Acheen. We accordingly left this island on the5th May, accompanied by four Malays and a Portuguese, in a Nicobarcanoe, not much bigger than one of the London wherries used belowbridge. On the 18th we had a violent storm, when we expected everymoment to be swallowed up by the waves; but on the 19th, to our greatjoy, we saw _Pulo Way_, near the N. W. End of Sumatra, as was supposed, but it turned out to be the golden mountain of Sumatra, and at lengtharrived at Acheen in June. In July I went with Captain Weldon toTonquin, and returned to Acheen in April, 1689. In September of thatyear I went to Malacca, and came back about Christmas, 1690. Soon afterI went to Fort St George or Madras, where I remained five months, andcame back to Bencoolen, an English factory on the west coast of Sumatra. Before relating my return to England, it may be proper to give someaccount of _Jeoly_, the painted prince, who afterwards died at Oxford. He was purchased along with his mother at Mindanao by Mr Moody; and whenMr Moody and I went together to Bencoolen, he gave me at parting halfthe property of this painted prince and his mother, leaving them to mycare. They were born in the island of _Meangis_, which abounds in gold, cloves, and nutmegs, as he afterwards told me. He was curiously painted, down the breast, behind, between the shoulders, and most of all on thefore part of his thighs, in the nature of flower-work. By what I couldunderstand, this painting was done by pricking the skin, and rubbing inthe gum of a tree called _damurer_, used instead of pitch in some partsof India. He told me, that the natives of his country wore goldear-rings, and golden bracelets about their arms and legs; their foodbeing potatoes, fowls, and fish. He told me also, that being one day ina canoe with his father and mother, they were taken by some fishersbelonging to Mindanao, who sold them to the interpreter of Rajah Laut, with whom he and his mother lived as slaves for five years, and werethen sold for fifty dollars to Mr Moody. Some time afterwards, Mr Moodygave me the entire property of both, but the mother soon died, and I hadmuch ado to save the son. After my arrival in the Thames, being in wantof money, I first sold part of my property in Prince Jeoly, and bydegrees all the rest. He was afterwards carried about and shewn formoney, and at last died of the small-pox at Oxford. During my stay at Bencoolen I served as gunner of the fort; but when mytime was expired, I embarked with my painted prince in the Defence, Captain Heath, in order to return to England. We sailed on the 25thJanuary, 1691, in company with three other ships, and arrived at theCape of Good Hope in the beginning of April. After a stay of six weeks, we set sail on the 13th May for St Helena, where we arrived on the 20thJune. We left this island on the 2d July, and came to anchor in theDowns on the 16th September, 1691, after an absence of twelve years anda half from my native country. CHAPTER IX. VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD, BY WILLIAM FUNNELL, IN 1703-1706. [202] INTRODUCTION. This voyage has usually passed under the name of Captain WilliamDampier; but as he proceeded only to the South Seas, and thecircumnavigation was entirely completed by Mr William Funnell, whosailed originally as his mate, it seemed proper to place his name in thetitle of the voyage, instead of that of Captain Dampier, with whom, inthis voyage, we have much less to do. It is just however to state, thatit was on the credit of Captain Dampier, and in expectation that hewould be able to do great things against the Spaniards in the South Sea, that this expedition was undertaken. The point aimed at was plunder, rather than discovery, yet there was something remarkable done even inthis way; and the unknown islands met with by Mr Funnell, in his passagebetween the South Sea and India, strongly confirmed the reports offormer navigators, of large, populous, and well-cultivated countries inthose parts. [203] The narrative of Funnell also is well digested, andmay be read with much satisfaction, as giving a fair and agreeableaccount of his adventures. [Footnote 202: Funnel's narrative in Dampier's Voyages, vol. IV. Pp. 1. --208. Harris, I. 131. Callender, III. 66. And III. 145. ] [Footnote 203: All these fancies are now shewn to be imaginary. --E. ] This expedition was undertaken at the beginning of the Succession war, in the reign of Queen Anne; and high expectations were raised from it, of performing great exploits against the Spaniards, who had accepted theDuke of Anjou as their king. The merchants believed that a veryprofitable expedition might be made into these parts, with a reasonableforce, where the buccaneers, with small and ill-provided vessels, hadperformed such extraordinary things; and therefore, having obtained thebest information they could as to the proper manner of accomplishing thedesign, they cheerfully contributed to the expences necessary for thepurpose. With this view, they at first fitted out two ships of 26 gunsand 120 men each, which were designed for the South Seas. One of thesewas named the St George, commanded by Captain William Dampier, in whichMr William Funnell sailed as chief mate. The other was the Fame, commanded by Captain John Pulling. Both ships were amply supplied withwarlike stores, and well victualled for nine months; and had commissionsfrom Prince George, the queen's husband, lord-high-admiral, to proceedagainst the French and Spaniards; and the officers and crews of bothwere hired on the principles of sharing in the expedition, _no purchaseno pay_. While they lay in the Downs, some difference arose between the twocaptains, on which Captain Pulling went away with his ship, the Fame, intending to cruize among the Canary Islands, and never afterwardsjoined. Before sailing on the originally-proposed expedition, Dampierwas joined by a small ship, the Cinque-ports galley, Captain CharlesPickering, of ninety tons, carrying 16 guns and 63 men, well victualledand provided for the voyage. The original plan of the voyage was to gofirst up the Rio Plata, as high as Buenos Ayres, in order to capture twoor three Spanish galleons, which Dampier alledged were usually there. Ifthis part of the expedition succeeded, so as to get to the value ofabout 600, 000_l_. It was to be proceeded in no farther; but if his firstobject failed, they were then to cruize on the coast of Peru, tointercept the ships which bring gold from Baldivia to Lima. Should thisagain fail of success, they were to attempt some rich towns, as Dampiermight direct. After this, they were to go to the coast of Mexico, atthat time of the year when the great galleon usually comes from Manillato Acapulco, which is commonly reported to be worth fourteen millions ofdollars. On their arrival at Madeira, learning that the galleons from BuenosAyres had already arrived in safety at Teneriffe, that part of theexpedition was laid aside. "How well we pursued the latter part of ourinstructions, the subsequent history of our voyage will sufficientlydeclare; in recording which I have used the greatest sincerity, narrating every thing exactly in the manner in which it happened, andsetting down all that appeared worthy of notice, with all truth andplainness: so that I flatter myself the whole will be found useful, andthat the latter part especially will be esteemed new, curious, andinteresting, as it contains many things not before published orknown. "[204] [Footnote 204: This introduction is from the pen of Harris; and the lastparagraph, marked by inverted commas, is given in the words ofFunnell. --E. ] SECTION I. _Narrative of the Voyage, till the Separation of Funnell from Dampier. _ We sailed from the Downs on the 30th April, 1703, and anchored on the18th May at Kinsale, in Ireland. We here refitted and victualled ourship, and were joined by the Cinque-ports, and left Kinsale on the 11thSeptember. We reached Madeira on the 25th, where we did not come toanchor, but plied off and on for our boats, which were sent ashore fornecessaries. By a good observation, I made this island to be in lat 32°20' N. And long. By my account, 18° 5' W. From London. [205] October 6th, we saw Mayo, one of the Cape de Verd islands, in lat. 15° 12' N. Long. 23° 20' W. Off which we plied all night; but the surf ran so high thatwe durst not send our boats ashore for salt. We accordingly bore up nextday for St Jago, and anchored at noon of the 7th in Prior bay [PortPraya] in that island. This is one of the most fruitful of the Cape VerdIslands, abounding in hogs, poultry, guinea fowl, monkeys, maiz, oranges, lemons, dates, water-melons, plantains, bananas, and otherfruits, having good water, but troublesome to get at, and wood is verydear. The inhabitants of this island were formerly Portuguese, banishedthither for murders, thefts, and other crimes; but are now mostly allblack, in consequence of these men having issue by their female slaves, which were Guinea negroes. Yet they still retain the vices of theirprogenitors, thieving being more common here than in any place I evervisited, insomuch that they will take a man's hat from his head at noonday and in the midst of company. In trading with them, it is necessarynot to let them have your goods before theirs are delivered, or you aresure to lose them. We here watered and refreshed ourselves; and here adisagreement took place between Captain Dampier and hisfirst-lieutenant, who was turned ashore at midnight, with his chest andservant. At four next morning, being the 13th October, we sailed from StJago, not fully resolved where next to touch at. [Footnote 205: Lat. 32° 33' N. Long. 17° 5' W. From Greenwich. --E. ] On the 22d October we caught four fish; a shark, a dolphin, ajelly-fish, and an old-wife. The shark and dolphin are well known, andneed not be described in this place. The _Jelly-fish_ was about fourteeninches long and two inches deep, having sharp teeth, a sparkling eye, and long extended mouth. It has a prodigiously high fin on its back, ofa slimy substance, except that its rays, which are thirty-two in number, are firm and stiff. It has also one small fin under the throat, of thesame slimy substance with the large one on its back. The greater part ofthe body is of a silver colour, with numerous small dark spots andcircular bands, all the rest of its substance being a green jelly-likesubstance, whence the name. The _Old-wife_ is about two feet long andnine inches high in the back, having a small mouth, a large eye, and alarge broad fin beginning at the hinder part of the head, and reachingto the tail. It has also a large broad fin on each side near the gills, and a pretty large one under the belly. The body is deep blue, and thefins a very light blue, tipt with yellow. The head has many spots, andthe body is regularly streaked longways. We passed the equator on the 2d November, about forty-five leagues westfrom the meridian of St Jago. On the 8th, in lat. 10° 20' S. We sawthree small islands on the coast of Brazil, called the islands of StAnn, not above a stone's throw from each other, and very full of wood, as is the whole coast of Brazil. These islands are about four miles fromthe main, and are much troubled with southerly winds, which blow ingusts, so that ships ought here to lay their best anchor to the south, and all little enough sometimes for their safety. They produce nothingexcept wood, and are frequented by vast flocks of sea fowl, calledboobies by our sailors. The _booby_ is about the size of a duck, someentirely white and others grey, having feet like a duck, and subsistmostly on flying-fishes, which they catch while in the air. I have mademany a meal on these birds, but it was for want of other victuals, forthey taste very fishy, and are apt to make one sick, if not previouslywell salted. They are so silly, when weary of flying, that they willlight upon your hand, if held out to them. We anchored at the island of _Le Grand_, in lat, 23° 30' S. [206] on the24th of November. This is a very woody island, on which are several goodsprings of water. It is about nine miles in circuit, and three milesfrom the main, the woods being infested with many savage animals, whichmake a most hideous noise in the night. It produces sugar, rum, andseveral kinds of fruits, but all very dear, on account of supplying thetown of St Paul with necessaries. _St Paul_ is 300 miles inland from LeGrand; but by the vast high mountains which are between, it is reckoneda distance of sixty days journey. Near St Paul there is said to be agold mine, which is accounted the richest hitherto known. We herewooded, watered, and refitted our ships; and our new first-lieutenant, falling out with the captain, went ashore, together with eight of ourmen, and left us. Here also Charles Pickering, captain of theCinque-ports, departed this life, and was succeeded in the command byhis first-lieutenant, Mr Thomas Stradling. At this island there are goodfish of various sorts, one of which, called the _Silver-fish_, is abouttwenty inches long, and eight deep, from back to belly, having fivesmall fins immediately behind the head, and one large fin from the lastof these to the tail; one middle-sized fin on each side near the gills, and a large fin from the middle of the belly to the tail, which last ishalf-moon shaped. The eyes are large, the nostrils wide, and the mouthsmall. It is a thin fish, and full of bones, of a fine transparentwhite, like silver. [Footnote 206: Isla Grande is only in lat 30° N. And St Paul's, statedin the text, as 300 miles distant, is hardly 200, and is at withintwenty-five miles of the coast farther south. --E. ] Leaving the isle of Le Grand on the 8th December, we passed the islandsof Sebalt de Weert[207] [_Falklands_] on the 29th. In lat. 57° 50' S. Wehad a terrible storm, in which we lost company of our consort, theCinque-ports, on the 4th January, 1704. When in lat 60° 51' S. On the20th, believing we had sufficiently passed Cape Horn, we tacked to theN. And got sight of the island of _Mocha_ on the 4th February. Thisisland is in lat. 38° 20' S. Twenty miles from the coast of Chili, andis well inhabited by Indians, who are always at war with the Spaniards, and indeed with all white men, because they consider them all asSpaniards. It is a high island, four leagues long, having many shoalson its west side, which extend a league or more out to sea. It is about112 miles to the northward of Baldivia. [Footnote 207: Called Sibbil de Ward Islands in the narrative ofFunnell. --E. ] We saw the island of Juan Fernandez on the 7th February, and on the10th, while passing the great bay, we saw the Cinque-ports, which hadarrived three days before. We accordingly anchored in the great bay, inthirty-five fathoms. At this island we wooded, watered, and refitted ourships, giving them a heel to clean their sides as low as we could, whichtook up much time, and occasioned both companies to be much on shore. Inthis island there are abundance of cabbage-trees, which are excellent, though small. The cabbage-tree, which is a species of palm, has a smallstraight stem, often ninety to one hundred feet long, with many knots orjoints, about four inches asunder, like a bamboo-cane. It has no leavesexcept at the top, in the midst of which the substance called cabbage iscontained, which, when boiled, is as good as any garden cabbage. Thebranches of this tree we commonly twelve or thirteen feet in length, andat about a foot and a half from the tree the leaves begin, which areabout four feet long and an inch and a half broad, the leaves growing soregularly that the whole branch seems one entire leaf. The cabbage, whencut out from among the roots of the branches, is usually a foot long andsix inches diameter, and as white as milk. From the bottom of thecabbage there spring out several large bunches of berries, like grapes, each bunch being five or six pounds weight. The berries are red, andabout the size of cherries, each having a large stone in the middle, andthe pulp tastes like that of haws. The sea-lion is so called, as I suppose, because he roars somewhat likea lion, and his head also has some resemblance to that animal, havingfour large teeth in front, all the rest being short, thick, and stubbed. Instead of feet and legs, he has four fins; the two foremost servinghim, when he goes ashore, to raise the fore part of the body, and hethen draws the hind part after him. The two hinder fins are of no use onland, but only when in the water. This animal is very fat, for whichreason we killed several of them, from which we made a ton of oil forour lamps; and, while at this island, made use of it also for frying ourfish. They have short light-coloured hair while young, becoming sandywhen old. Their food is fish, and they prey altogether in the water, butcome on land to sleep, when five, six, or more of them huddle togetherlike swine, and will often lie still three or four days, if notmolested. They are much afraid of men, and make off as fast as they caninto the water. If hard pressed, they will turn about, raising theirbodies on their fore fins, and face you with their mouths wide open, sothat we used to clap a pistol to their mouth, and fire down theirthroat. Sometimes five or six of us would surround one of thesemonsters, each having a half pike, and so prick him till he died, whichcommonly was the sport of two or three hours. While we were at this island, a difference took place between CaptainStradling and his men, which was at last compromised by Captain Dampier. On the 29th February we descried a sail, on which all hands hurried onboard, and we slipped our cables and stood out to sea. The Frenchman, for so he afterwards proved, immediately tacked and stood from us, whilewe followed the chase with all sail, and got up with him about eleven atnight, but did not deem it convenient to engage till day. During thechase our pinnace towed under water, and was cut adrift. CaptainStradling's boat also got loose, in which were a man and a dog. At sun-rise next morning, 1st March, we began to engage the French ship, which was of about 400 tons burden, and thirty guns, well manned. Wefought her very close, broadside to broadside, for seven hours; and thena small gale springing up, she sheered off. In this action our consortonly fired ten or twelve guns at the commencement, when she droptastern, and never again came up during the whole fight, in which we hadnine men slain and several wounded. We were desirous to have had anothertrial with the Frenchman, knowing it would be of bad consequences to lethim go, as he would discover our being in these seas to the Spaniards;but our captain opposed this, saying, he knew where he could get to thevalue of 500, 000_l_. At any time. So we concluded to return to JuanFernandez, to get our anchors, long boats, and several tons of wateralready casked, together with a ton of sea-lion oil, which we had leftthere. Captain Stradling also had left five of his men, who were gone tothe west part of the island, and knew nothing of our going away afterthe enemy. He had also left all his sails, besides those at the yards, and a great many other stores. We had then the wind at S. Directly off Juan Fernandez, so that it wasdifficult to go there; and while beating up we saw two sail, to whichthe Cinque-ports was very near, and they fired several shots at her, butshe rowed away to us, and reported them to be two French ships of about36 guns each; on which the two captains thought it convenient to bearaway for the coast of Peru, leaving Captain Stradling's five men, withhis other stores, which he could ill spare, and now we had neither of usany boats. We accordingly stood for the coast of Peru on the 6th March, and fell in with it on the 11th, in lat. 24° 53' S. [208] The land herewas very high, having three distinct ranges of hills behind each other, that nearest the water the lowest, and the farthest off the highest. Wecoasted along shore to the northward, and passed the port of _Capaipo_on the 14th, said to be a very good harbour, fenced from almost allwinds. The land is here inhabited by Indians, who make good wines; andit is said to abound in good meat, corn, and other provisions, and fromthis port they export wine, money, and other goods for Coquimbo. Wewould willingly have gone ashore for refreshments, but could not forwant of boats. [Footnote 208: There must be a material error here, as they afterwards, in sailing along the coast _to the northwards_, passed Copaipo, which isin lat. 27° 13' S. And they consequently must have fallen in with thecoast of Chili, improperly named Peru in the text, considerably farthersouth. --E. ] Continuing along the coast, which is the highest and most mountainous Iever saw, we were surprised, on the 19th of March, to see the waveschanged to a red colour for seven or eight leagues, though on soundingwe had no ground at 170 fathoms; but on drawing up some of the water, wefound the colour owing to a vast quantity of fish-spawn, swimming on thesurface. We were now in lat. 16° 11' S. Having passed the three famousports of Arica, Ylo, and Arequipa. The 22d March we were off theharbour of Callao de Lima, when we saw two ships steering for that port, to which we gave chase, and soon came up with the sternmost, whichproved to be the ship we had fought with off the island of JuanFernandez. We were very eager to stop her from going in, to prevent theSpaniards from having intelligence of us, and hindering their merchantships from putting to sea, and did not question our taking her, beingall now in health; whereas on the former occasion, between twenty andthirty of our men were very sick and weak. But Captain Dampier wasaverse to attack her; and while the matter was disputing, both ships gotinto the port of Lima, from whence twenty ships such as ours could nothave forced them out. This proceeding gave great offence to most of thecrew, and might have proved of bad consequence, had we not taken twovery considerable prizes a few days afterwards, one of 150 and the otherof 200 tons. We took out of these every thing that we thought useful, and then dismissed them. The 5th of April, we began to prepare for the great exploit our captainmeditated, of landing on the coast and plundering some rich city; forwhich purpose our carpenters were ordered to fit up the launches or longboats we had taken from our prizes, so as to land our men in safety, andto fit two swivels in each launch. On the 11th we took a bark of fiftytons, laden with plank and cordage, as if sent on purpose for ourpresent service. This was in sight of _Gallo_, under which island weanchored next day with our prize, which we kept to use in the intendedenterprise. The island of _Gallo_ is in lat. 2° 45' N. Long. 76° 38' W. From London, [209] and about five leagues from the main; being twoleagues long and one league broad. When approached from the south, itshews three hummocks which seem at a distance as three separate islands, the land between being very low; but when to the N. W. Of the S. End youwill see a small island, or rock rather, resembling a ship under sail. From this island the main land is in sight, being very low near the sea, but prodigiously high up the country. We anchored off the N. W. Part ofthis island, two cables length from the shore, in thirty-five fathoms onhard sand, the N. Point bearing N. 1/2 W. And the S. Point S. W. Thewatering place goes in with a full gap, over which, on the hill, is aplain spot of red earth, bearing N. W. 1/2 N. But there are several othergood watering places in the island. The best anchorage is on the N. E. Part at _Legnetta_, where a ship may wood and water quite secure fromany enemy. The island is very woody, affording large timber, which isoften shipped hence for Peru. There are here a few wild monkeys, withabundance of lizards; among which is one called the _lion-lizard_, aboutthe size of a man's arm, one that I measured being three feet eleveninches from the head to the end of the tail. It has a kind of large combon its head, standing up like a helmet, as if to defend its head, andwhen attacked it erects this comb, which otherwise lies in a deep grooveon the head, just fitted for its reception, so that it can hardly beseen when down. This animal has very large eyes, and a large mouth, inwhich are a great many small sharp teeth. The skin is rough and of adark colour, full of black, yellow, and bluish spots. It runs veryswift, yet our dog caught many of them. [Footnote 209: Lat. 1° 56' N. Long. 78° 50' W. From Greenwich. --E. ] After remaining here five days, we began to hoist our anchors to setsail, when we discovered a ship standing in for the island, which wetook. She was a small vessel of fifty tons, commanded by a Mestizo, onboard of which we found a Guernsey man, who had been taken by theSpaniards, while cutting logwood in the Bay of Campeachy above two yearsbefore, and must have continued a prisoner during life if we had notreleased him. On sailing from Gallo, our purpose was to attack the townof Santa Maria, not far from this on the continent to the E. Expectingthere to have found a great quantity of gold, brought thither from theadjacent mines of the same name. But this design miscarried, whetherfrom fear, confusion, or the enemy having early intelligence of ourmotions, which enabled them to cut off many of our men. This, however, is certain, that we were quite sick of our fruitless attempts on shoreby the 1st May, and immediately re-embarked. We were now so short ofprovisions, that five boiled green plantains were allotted for six men;but, when almost out both of hope and patience, a vessel came andanchored close beside us at midnight, which we took without resistance. This proved a most valuable prize, being a ship of 150 tons, laden withflour, sugar, brandy, wine, about thirty tons marmalade of quinces, aconsiderable quantity of salt, and several tons of linen and woollencloth; so that we had now a sufficient supply of provisions even forfour or five years. I was put aboard of this prize on behalf of CaptainDampier and his company, and the master of the Cinque-ports, in behalfof Captain Stradling and his crew. We carried our prize into the Bay of Panama, and anchored under theisland of Tobago on the 14th of May. Here Captains Dampier and Stradlingdisagreed, and the quarrel proceeded to such length, that they could notbe reconciled, so that at last it was determined to part company, allthe men being at liberty to go with which captain they pleased, inconsequence of which five of our men went over to Captain Stradling, andfive of his men came to us. We were now informed by the prisoners, thatthere were 80, 000 dollars on board our prize, which had been taken onboard at Lima clandestinely, and were concealed at the bottom of thehold in the run of the ship. But Captain Dampier would not credit this, neither would he wait till we should rummage her to the bottom, lestdelay might mar his great designs. Having, therefore, taken on board aquantity of provisions from the prize, she was dismissed; and we setsail in the St George on the 19th May, leaving the Cinque-ports behind, intending again to proceed for the coast of Peru. We took a vessel of 120 tons on the 7th June, bound from Truxillo forPanama, and laden with flour, sugar, brandy, and other articles, withsome bales of flowered silk. In her we found a packet of letters, andthe first of these we happened to read was from the captain of the shipwe had fought off Juan Fernandez, and fell in with again going intoCallao. It was directed to the president of Panama, and stated, "That hehad fought with two English privateers off Juan Fernandez, the smallerhaving only fired eight or ten guns at him, and then fell astern and didnot come up again during the fight, as he believed for want of wind;while the large ship fought him yard-arm and yard-arm for more than sixhours, killed a great many of his men, and wounded such numbers, that hehad landed thirty-two at Lima, each of whom had lost a leg, an arm, oran eye, and he had been nearly taken, as at parting they had giventhemselves over for lost, not having a sufficient number of men left todefend themselves. " By other letters, we learnt that the two Frenchships we afterwards saw near Juan Fernandez had picked up a boat at sea, in which were an Englishman and a dog; had been in at the island of JuanFernandez, and had taken up our anchors, cables, and long-boats, withall Captain Stradling's stores, as also his five men and our negro whowere left there. We learnt also, that the Spaniards had fitted out twomen of war against us, one of thirty-two, and the other thirty-six brassguns, all twenty-four pounders, each having 350 sailors and 150soldiers, all picked men, and had been cruizing for us in the Bay ofGuayaquil, between point St Helena and Cape Blanco, from the 7th to the12th. We were forced to go under an easy sail, as our prize sailed veryheavily, wherefore we went into _Sardinas_ Bay, in lat. 1° 20' N. Wherewe anchored with our prize in ten fathoms, about four miles from theshore, for the purpose of rummaging her. We durst not go farther in, because of many shoals and sand-banks, which were very imperfectly laiddown in all our charts. The sea-coast is inhabited by Indians, but notin any great numbers, and has several small fresh-water rivers. Fromhence, all the way south, till we came to the Bay of _Atacarnes_, inlat. 0° 54' N. The sea-side is composed of white cliffs; and there aremany shoals as far as _Punta de la Galera_, in lat. 0° 48' N. Sixleagues S. W. Of Sardinas Bay is the great river of St Jago, the mouth ofwhich is about three quarters of a mile wide, but has no good anchoragetill well within. This river is seldom used by ships, being out of theway, yet the country here produces abundant provisions of all sorts. Wecareened our ship and rummaged our prize in the Bay of Sardinas, andwatered at one of the fresh-water rivers, which was as white as milk, and both smelt and tasted very strong of musk, occasioned by manyalligators swimming in it. We shot several of these creatures, one ofwhich measured thirty feet in length, and was bigger about than abullock. The alligator is covered over with great scales from head to tail, having very large sharp teeth, and very long claws. It is amphibious, living both on land and in the water, and when lying on shore is oftenmistaken at a distance for a great tree fallen down. It runs very faston the land, and is of such strength that one of them will take a horseor a cow into the water, and there devour it. They will seize on anything, either on land or in the water, and often make great havock amongcattle near their haunts, which are usually in fresh-water rivers. TheIndians are not greatly afraid of them, either on land or in the water. In the former case, they run in circles, and this unwieldy animal isunable to turn his body quickly, so that they easily get away from them. The Indians also go into the water to seek them, taking in one hand apiece of iron pointed and baited at both ends, with two cross pieces alittle below the points. Holding this iron by the middle, when thealligator rises to bite, which he always does with, the head abovewater, the Indian holds out the iron to him which he snaps at, and itfastens in his mouth, keeping his jaws open like a gag. The female laysabout 100 eggs at a time, as large as goose eggs; but quite spherical, and having shells as thick almost as those of an ostrich. The flesh ofthe alligator is not fit to be eaten, being very strong and musky; andthe very water of the rivers they frequent was so strong of musk that adraught of it was like to suffocate us, yet there are no instances ofits being injurious to health. Being off the Bay of Guayaquil on the 21st June, we saw a ship, and cameup with her next day, being one of the Spanish men of war fitted out totake us, carrying thirty-two guns. We did all we could to gain theweather-gage, but carrying away our fore-top-mast, were obliged to cometo action from the leeward, so that she kept a good distance from us, and we could not use our small arms. Dividing our crew into two equalparts, one managed the guns while the other looked on, and when those atthe guns were weary, the others took their places, alternatelyrefreshing those who were not employed, by which means we fired muchfaster than the enemy, making about 560 discharges, while they only made110 or 115. We thus fought from noon till half past six, though at suchdistance that our shot would hardly reach him, while his flew over us. Growing dusk, both ceased firing, none of our men being either killed orwounded, and only two through carelessness had their hands and facesscorched. We lay-to all night, expecting in the morning to renew thefight; but he had made sail from us in the night. We now returned to the Bay of Atacames in search of provisions, forwhich purpose we sent our boat ashore with twenty men, who soonreturned, saying they had found an Indian village of fifty houses, butthe inhabitants were all fled and had left nothing behind. In the riverwe found a fine bark of about fifty tons, with as much new plank in heras would have built another of equal size; and we took another of aboutten tons, laden with plantains. This we resolved to retain, instead of along-boat. She had two masts and two square-sails, and having fitted herfor our purpose, we called her the Dragon. The country in theneighbourhood of this bay is very pleasant, being well wooded andwatered. About seven leagues to the N. E. Is the Bay of _St Mattheo_, theland about it being very high, and there are many shoals about it, running two leagues out to sea. For three or four leagues the water isonly from four fathoms to six, and this bay has white cliffs both to thenorth and south. In the bottom of the bay there are two rivers runninginto the sea, both of which are what the seamen call _alligator water_, that is, white and musky as before described. On each side of theserivers there are shoals of sand; and near their mouths are fine grovesof tall spreading green trees, which are the marks by which they may befound, as their mouths are narrow, and not discernible at a distance. These rivers are seldom frequented by the Spaniards, except forrefreshments, for which they are well adapted, as all the adjoiningcountry abounds with every kind of provisions that this part of theworld produces. About two leagues up these rivers there are severalIndian villages, who furnish the Spanish ships which come here withcocoa-nuts, plantains, bananas, and other kinds of fruit. The _cocoa-tree_ is generally from fifty to an hundred feet high, andfor the most part straight and slender. The leaves are four fathoms, orfour and a half long, at the very top of the tree, and serve excellentlyfor thatching houses. At the bottom of the leaves the cocoa nuts grow inclusters of ten, fifteen, or twenty, hanging by a small string which isfull of joints. Each nut, with its outer rind, is larger than a man'shead, and within this outer rind is a hard woody shell which will holdnear a quart of liquid. The nut or kernel lines the inside of thisshell, and within this kernel is about a pint and half of pure clearwater, very cool, sweet, and pleasant. The kernel also is very good andpleasant; but when old, we scrape it all down, and soak it in about aquart of fresh water for three or four hours, which is then strained, and has both the colour and taste of milk, and will even throw up athick head not unlike cream. This milk, when boiled with rice, isaccounted very wholesome and nourishing by the doctors, and was given toour sick men. When the nut is very old, the kernel of itself turns tooil, which is often used to fry with, but mostly for burning in lamps. The outer end of the nuts may be applied to the purposes of flax, and ofit the natives make a kind of linen, and it is also manufactured intoropes and cables, which are sold in most parts of America and the WestIndies. The shell of this nut makes very pretty drinking cups, and italso burns well, making a fierce hot fire. Thus the cocoa-tree affordsmeat, drink, oil, clothing, houses, firing, and rigging for ships. The _plantain-tree_ is only about thirteen or fourteen feet high andfour feet round, its leaves being eight or nine feet long and two broad, ending in a round point. The fruit grows at the bottom of the leaves, ona great stalk, in a pod about eight inches long and the size of a blackpudding, being of a fine yellow colour, often speckled with red. Theinside of this is white, but the plantain itself is yellow like butter, and as soft as a pear. There sometimes grow fifty or sixty of these podson one stalk, and five or six stalks on one tree. They are an excellentfruit, and most parts of the East and West Indies abound with them. The_banana_ tree is much the same with the plantain, but the fruit is onlyabout six inches long, fifty or sixty of them growing on one stalk, andis extraordinarily mellow, sweet, and good. We left the bay of Atacames on the 31st July, accompanied by our prizethe Dragon, and passing the Bay of Panama, came to the Bay of Nicoya onthe 16th August, in lat 9° 30'N. In which we anchored near certainislands near the centre of the bay, called Middle Islands, where wecareened. While here, Mr Clippington, the chief mate, having quarrelledwith Captain Dampier, drew over twenty-one men to his party, and makinghimself master of the bark, in which was all our ammunition and the bestpart of our provisions, hoisted anchor, and went without the islands, whence he sent us word that he would put ashore at an Indian house allour powder, shot, and other ammunition, reserving only what wasnecessary for his own use, which he did accordingly, and we sent ourcanoes to fetch it on board. These islands in the Bay of Nicoya are extremely pleasant and fruitful, abounding in all things necessary for life, such as birds of variouskinds, several sorts of fish, and amphibious animals, particularlyturtles and guanas. Among the birds is a very beautiful one called the_Maccaw_, having feathers of all the colours of the rainbow. It is inshape like a large parrot, with a white bill, and black legs and feet. The _carrion crow_ is as big as a small turkey, which it perfectlyresembles in shape and colour; but its flesh smells and tastes so strongof muck that it is not eatable. The _pelican_ is almost as big as aswan, being mostly white with brown tips to the wings, having a longbill with a large cross joining the lower part of the bill, and hangingdown the throat like a bag or satchel of great size, into which itreceives oysters, cockles, conchs, and other shell-fish, which it isunable to break, and retains them there till they open, when it throwsthem out and picks out the meat. They are good food, but taste a littlefishy. Their feet are broad, and webbed like ducks, being water fowl, yet they commonly roost on rocks or trees, and always sit with theirheads to the wind, varying their posture as that changes. They are heavybirds and fly slowly, and always when sitting rest their long billsupon their breasts. The _Guana_ is an amphibious animal, found both onland and in the water. It is about three feet long, some more some less, and is very ugly, having large sharp scales, black and green, from thefore part of the head to the end of the tail. The mouth is furnishedwith numerous large and sharp teeth, and it has four long claws on eachfoot. They commonly breed in holes about the roots of old trees near thewater. When stewed with some spice, their flesh is very white and eatswell, making also good broth; but if not extraordinarily well boiled, itis very dangerous meat, making men very sick and often occasioningfevers. There are several kinds of _turtles_, or sea tortoises, but we accountthe green turtle the best meat. When they want to lay their eggs, theygo on shore in some sandy bay, where they make a hole in the sand withtheir fins, two feet and a half deep, in which one turtle will depositfrom eighty to ninety eggs, which they cover over with the sand, leavingthem to hatch by the heat of the sun. They lay in this manner two orthree times every year, and go immediately off to sea, leaving theiryoung when hatched to shift for themselves; which, as soon as they getout of the eggs and from the sand, retire to the sea. The eggs are roundand white, as large as those of a duck, being covered with a thin toughskin, but no shell. I have seen of the green turtle 200, 350, and even400 pounds weight. The lean of this animal looks like beef, but the fatis as green as grass, yet is very wholesome food. The _pearl-oyster_ ismuch about the size of our common oyster, but thick and broad, and hangsto the rocks by a long string or beard, like that of a muscle. The pearlis found in its thickest part, and some have six or seven pearls. TheSpaniards often make voyages to this gulf of Nicoya and to California inquest of pearls, employing Indian divers, who go down in seven or eightfathoms, and bring up eight, ten, or twelve oysters at a time, which areopened by other men on board. The meat of this oyster is very green andfat, and eats tolerably well, boiled or stewed. The _great-oyster_ growsto the rocks, not hanging from them by a beard. When opened, one part ofthe meat is of a fine red colour like a cherry, and the rest a finewhite. I have often eat of this oyster, for want of better victuals; andthey are so large, that one of them cut in pieces and stewed is asufficient meal for five or six men. The _muscles_ here are so largethat one will suffice for a meal to two men, and they are tolerably goodwhen, stewed with pepper and vinegar. We sailed from the Gulf of Nicoya on the 23d September, and were in lat. 13° 7' N. On the 7th October, when we got sight of two high mountains, commonly called the Volcanoes of Guatimala. That which is to the northof the city is the highest, and affords a fine prospect from the sea;and in the year 1534 threw out a torrent of water, which totallyoverwhelmed the old city of St Jago de Guatimala, and occasioned thebuilding of a new city at the distance of thirty-five miles S. E. Theother mountain is really a volcano, which rages terribly in the rainyseason, from April to November, sometimes throwing out stones as big asa house, and with such prodigious eruptions of flame, that one may seeto read a letter in a dark night at the distance of six miles. This isto the south of Guatimala. The 9th October we took a bark of eighty tons in ballast, but which hada small quantity of provisions, which were very acceptable. This barkwas commanded by a Spaniard named Christian Martin, born in theCanaries, but brought up in London, who had formerly been servant toCaptain Eaton, and came with him to the South Sea in quality of gunner;but, falling out with the men, he ran away from them in the island ofGorgonia, where he lay concealed for six days till the ship departed. Hethen cut down two trees, which he drew to the water side, and boundtogether with withes, fixed a mast, and made a sail of two shirts whichhe had with him. Then filling a bag with oysters, he put off early inthe morning from Gorgonia, and got next day in the afternoon into theriver Bonaventura. He was here ill used by the Spaniards, who sent himto Lima, where he was set at liberty. We were now sixty-four men andboys, all in good health and spirits, and on the 23d November, captureda small bark of sixty tons from California laden with plank, but havingalso several parcels of pearls, that had been fished on that coast. December 4th we came into the Bay of Nativity, or _Puerto Nauidad_, inlat. 19° 22' N. Where we took a new ship of about sixty tons, laden withammunition and military stores for the Acapulco ship, for which we werenow in search, and for the sight of which our people longed as earnestlyas if there had been no difference between seeing and taking her;neither was it long before they had their wish in one respect, but notin the other. We took from our prize what ammunition was left; for, onperceiving our design, the ship's company quitted her, having firstthrown overboard the best part of her cargo, and left the rest scatteredabout in the utmost confusion. Being off the volcano of Colima on the morning of the 6th December, wedescried a sail to which we gave chace, and soon came up with her, whenshe proved to be the great Acapulco ship or Manilla galleon, which wehad so long wished to fall in with. As we were well provided, we gaveher a great many broadsides before she could get any of her guns clearedfor action, as she had not suspected us of being an enemy, and was notat all prepared for us. Martin, who was still a prisoner on board ourship, advised us to lay her aboard immediately, while the Spaniards wereall in confusion, as we might then easily succeed by boarding; but if wegave them time to get out their great guns, they would certainly tear usto pieces, and we should lose the opportunity of acquiring a prize worthsixteen millions of dollars. Thus it accordingly happened; for the timebeing wasted in disputing, between those of us that were for boarding, and those of a different opinion, she got out one tier of guns, and thenproved too hard for us, so that we could not lie along side of her to doher any damage. Our five pound shot, which was the biggest we had, signified little against such a ship; but when any of her eighteen andtwenty-four pound shot struck our ship, which was much decayed, it drovein a piece of plank of three or four feet. Being thus greatly damaged, and having received a shot between wind and water in our powder room, bywhich two feet of plank were driven in on each side of our stern, orderswere given to stand off from the enemy. Our design being thus disappointed, all our men became muchdiscontented, and were for going home, seeing we could do no good inthese parts, either for ourselves or owners; our ship also being readyto fall in pieces of herself, and having provisions only for threemonths at short allowance. Captain Dampier requested that we wouldconsent to prolong our cruize for six weeks longer; after which hepromised to permit us to sail for India to some factory, where we mightall dispose of ourselves as we thought best for our advantage. To thiswe all agreed, and we accordingly cruized along shore to the S. E. Insight of land, passing the noted ports of Acapulco, _Puerto de losAngelos_, Guatalco, and several others; when we proposed to seek out aproper place in which to water our ships and bark, previous to ourintended voyage to the East Indies; and, after some consideration, theGulf of Amapalla or Fonseca was fixed upon for that purpose. On the 5th January, 1705, we met with such vast quantities of fish, thatin half an hour we caught near three score _albicores_, from sixty toninety pounds weight each, besides vast quantities of other fish. The_albicore_ is about four or five feet long, weight from 50 to 100 andeven 150 pounds. It has eleven fins on its back, one pretty large, asecond of middle size, and nine small yellow fins near the tail; onelarge fin on each side near the gills; and one near the middle of thebelly. This is a very fleshy fish, having hardly any bones besides theback bone, and is extraordinary good eating. It has prodigious strength, while in the water, and preys mostly on flying fish, as do dolphins andbonetoes. On the 6th of this month, a new revolution took place in ouraffairs, as thirty of our men agreed to remain along with CaptainDampier in the South Sea; but with what view or on what terms, weothers, who were not in the secret, never knew. Our company, who werenot of Dampier's party, consisted of thirty-three men; and, notwithstanding this new arrangement, we all sailed to the Gulf ofAmapalla, where we anchored on the 26th January. That same day, all the remaining provisions were equally divided betweenthe two companies by the agent for the owners, and we had four pieces ofcannon, with a proper proportion of small arms and ammunition, assignedfor us, for our defence during the voyage to India. Our next care was totake in water, for which purpose we landed on the island of _Conchagua_;and after some search, we found a large bottom behind the hills, inwhich was a large plantain walk, and a large reservoir of rain water, which came from the mountains. This was very inconvenient, as we wereforced to carry all our water over a high hill, which we could hardlyclimb by ourselves; but there was no alternative, and we set to work tocut down the bushes in our way, to make a clear path. After this, as thehill was very steep on the land side towards the bottom whence we had tofetch water, we cut steps in the hill with axes and shovels; and oursail-maker made a hose or canvass pipe of ninety fathoms long, whichcarried the water from the top of the hill down to our water cask at itsfoot towards the sea. We then fell to work, each man having a six gallonkeg, in which the water was carried to the top of the hill, where it wasemptied into the hose. We were thus employed four days, in which timewe filled twenty-six tons, which we carried on board. The 31st January, we all went to the plantain walk, where we cut down as many plantains aswe could carry, with which we returned on board our ship, meaning to setsail next day. This evening, two of the men who had agreed to remain with CaptainDampier, left him and came over to us, so that our number was nowthirty-five, viz. Thirty-four English, and a little negro boy we hadtaken from the Spaniards. While we were employed in watering our bark, the men on board the St George were busied in refitting that ship aswell as they could; the carpenter stopping up the shot-holes in thepowder-room with tallow and charcoal, not daring, as he said, to drive anail, for fear of making it worse. The four great guns, which usuallystood between decks, were put down into the hold, there being sixteenbesides, which was more than they now had men to manage, as there onlyremained twenty-eight men and boys with Captain Dampier, who were mostlylandsmen, a very insignificant force indeed with which to make war on awhole nation. SECTION II. _Sequel of the Voyage of William Funnell, after his Separation fromCaptain Dampier_. We left the Gulf of Amapalla on the 1st February, 1705, where CaptainDampier remained at anchor in the St George, having a fine gale of windat N. E. While in any of the harbours on the coast of Mexico, we wereseldom allowed any thing except flour, only that we used to go on shore, and found on the rocks plenty of concks, oysters, muscles, and othershell-fish, on which we made many a hearty meal. Being now bound, as wehoped, for a land of plenty, we bore hunger and short commons with greatpatience, of which we had much need, as our allowance was no more thanhalf a pound of coarse flour a day to each man, and two ounces of saltmeat every other day. Our vessel was a small bark of about seventy tonswith two masts, which we had taken from the Spaniards, which was soeaten with worms while in the Gulf of Amapalla, that she already beganto grow very leaky. To add to our distress, we had no carpenter, neitherhad we a doctor or any medicines, if any of us happened to fall sick, and we had no boat to aid us if our vessel should fail. The carpenter, doctor, and boat being all left with Captain Dampier. Yet, trusting toGod's providence, who had already delivered us out of so many dangers, we proceeded on our voyage to India; and a bolder attempt was perhapsnever made by such a handful of men in so frail a bark, and nothing butour anxious desire to revisit our native country could have supported usunder all the difficulties and dangers of this extensive voyage. The prospect of our difficulties gave us spirit and resolution toprovide against them; and in a council, which we held on this occasion, we determined on the course we were to pursue, and the allowance ofprovisions during the course. We knew the wind we now had was merely aland breeze, and that by running 100 leagues out to sea we should fallin with the regular trade-wind, which blows always N. E. Or E. N. E. Ourfirst purpose was, therefore, to get into the latitude of 13° N. Whichis that of Guam, and then to bear away before the wind in that parallel. This resolution was formed on the 2d February, all which day and most ofthe ensuing night we had fine calm weather, and caught abundance of_yellow-tails_, which swam about the vessel. This fish is about fourfeet long, having twenty fins on its back; a middling one behind thehead, a large one on the middle of the back, and eighteen small onesbetween that and the tail. It has a large fin on each side near thegills, and thirteen under the belly, viz. A middling one under thegills, a large one near the middle of the belly, which goes in with adent, and eleven small ones between that and the tail, which is yellowand half-mooned. This fish has a very great head, with large eyes, andis good eating, having no bones except the back-bone. It is all white, except the tips of the fins and the tail, which, are yellow. These fishwere very acceptable to us, as we fed upon them for three days, savingour other provisions. On the 3d February, five or six turtles came nearour bark, two of which we caught, which also served to save our scantystore of provisions, which otherwise had not sufficed to keep us fromstarving. On the evening of the 3d February, having a brisk gale from the land atN. E. We took our departure from _Mount St Miguel_ in the Gulf ofAmapalla, steering S. W. And S. S. W. Till we were in the lat. Of 10° N. When falling in with the tradewind, we set our course W. N. W. We thenmade studding-sails to our main and main-top sails, which we hoistedevery morning at day-break, and hauling down at sun-set, as it commonlyblew so fresh in the night that we had usually to furl our top-sail; butthe wind commonly abated at sun-rise. During our whole voyage westeadily adhered to the rule of diet we had laid down, the slendernessof which may be judged of by the following particulars. From the 3d of February to the end of that month, we fed entirely onplantains, making two meals a day, and allowing two plantains to eachman for a meal. We had then recourse to our flour, of which half a poundwas allowed daily to each man, and two ounces every other day of saltbeef or pork; but the meat had been so long in salt, that it shrunk onehalf when boiled, wherefore we concluded it was better to eat it raw, which we did as long as it lasted. By the beginning of April that beganto fail, so that we were reduced to flour alone, which was sore spoiled, being full of maggots, spiders, and other vermin, so that nothing butthe extremity of want could have induced us to eat it. It was surprisingto behold this strange alteration in the flour, which only a few daysbefore was white and fine, and was now in a manner all alive, themaggots tumbling over each other in prodigious numbers. On strictenquiry, these maggots seemed to proceed from the eggs of spidersdeposited among the flour, out of which the maggots were bred, and thenfed voraciously on the flour. Words can only faintly describe themiseries of our situation, which was somewhat alleviated by work, andour spirits were buoyed up by the hopes of accomplishing our long anddifficult voyage. Some occasional assistance we derived by now and thencatching a dolphin. At other times we saw many sea fowl, such asboobies, noddies, and others, which would come and perch on some part ofour rigging, and happy was he that could catch one. In this manner wespent ten weeks, at the end of which we were in a very melancholycondition, and nothing but the hope of seeing land could possibly keepus from despair. The 10th of April, we observed the clouds to gather more than usual inthe horizon, which is a sure indication of land, as it is common betweenthe tropics to be foggy over the land, though perfectly clear at sea;wherefore we kept an anxious look-out all this night, and early in themorning of the 11th, we saw the island of _Magon_ W. Ten leaguesdistant. This is a high woody island, very plain, and green on the top. When within a mile of this island, we lay to, and several fishing boatscame to us, bringing us fish, yams, eggs, potatoes, and otherprovisions, to our great joy. The men in these boats were very tall andlarge-limbed, of tawny complexions, with long black hair reaching totheir middles, and were all utterly stark naked, not even covering theirparts of shame. In exchange for what we had of these people we offeredthem money, which they looked at and returned, making signs to give themtobacco, which we did, and they seemed much pleased. We also gave themsome old shirts, which they tore in pieces and wrapped round theirheads. We would have given each a dram of brandy, but they were afraidof it; only one man accepted a glass, which he drank off, but we thoughthe would never have closed his mouth again, he seemed so astonished atthe heat it left in his mouth and stomach, that I believe he thoughthimself on fire. He lay down and roared like a bull near half an hour, when he fell asleep; and we being in haste, put him into his boat, making signs to his companions to take care of him. These islanders seemed a very civil people, yet we did not venture toallow too many of them to come on board at once. When they first camenear us, they tied two sticks together in form of a cross, which theyheld up, as we supposed, to signify to us that they had some knowledgeof Christianity; whereupon we shewed them a crucifix, we had taken fromthe Spaniards, at the sight of which they all bowed their bodies, andcame on board. This island of Magon, as I reckoned, is in lat. 15° N. And we made its longitude by computation, 120° 9' W. From _St Miguel_, or 7029 English miles, allowing 58-1/2 miles to the degree of longitudein this parallel. [210] [Footnote 210: From the sequel, this island of Magon appears almostcertainly to have been one of the Ladrones, perhaps to the N. E. Of Guam, now named Rota. Point Candadillo, near San Miguel, the N. W. Cape of theGulf of Amapalla, is in long. 87° 58' W. And the Ladrones are in long. 216° W. From Greenwich, so that the difference, or run across thePacific, is 128° 2', which, at 58-1/2 miles, extend to 7590 miles, besides the allowance for difference of latitude. --E. ] On mature deliberation, we resolved to proceed directly from this placeto New Guinea, without putting in at the island of Guam, which was insight. The weather continued fair, and the wind brisk and favourable, till we came into the latitude of 4° N. When we had a calm for sevendays, during which time we had no means of relieving our hunger, exceptby taking large draughts of water, and then lying down to sleep. On the3d May we had a fine gale, which continued till the 5th, and then diedquite away before we got sight of land; but about ten that night we wereall sensible of a very odoriferous smell, whence we concluded that wewere near land, on which we examined our charts, but found none laiddown. Next morning, however, we saw land at no great distance. This dayalso we caught two bonetoes, which were most welcome, as they made ahearty meal to our whole company. This fish is commonly about three feetlong and two in circumference, having a very sharp head, with a smallmouth, full eyes, and a semilunar tail. It is very fleshy, and makesgood broth. About noon we were in sight of three small islands, all lowland, but very green and pleasant, especially to us, who had been solong of seeing any land. We had this day an observation of the sun, bywhich we found our latitude to be 50' N. And as the eastermost of theseislands was four leagues S. E. Of the ship, it must of consequence be inlat. 0° 42' N. [211] [Footnote 211: The only islands in modern maps which agree with theslight notice in the text, are Frevilla, or St David's Isle, , nearly inlat. 1° N. And long. 135° E. From Greenwich: Yet it is singular thatFunnell should have passed through the numerous group of the Carolineswithout seeing any of them. --E. ] As we were fearful of entering upon an unknown coast in the dark, westood off all night, which was well for us, as we found ourselves atday-break next morning, 7th May, within a ship's length of a great reefof rocks, which extended from one island to the other, and thinking tohave gone between the islands, we had nearly run upon this dangerousledge. Having a small breeze from shore we were fortunately able tostand off, and went to the westermost island, because we saw many shoalsoff the others. The rocks we were so near running upon were off thenorthmost isle, which we named the Island of _Deceit_. On getting nearthe westermost island which was the biggest of the three, forty or fiftyof their flying proas came off, in which there might be 450 men, allowing ten to each proa, and we could also see multitudes of people onthe shore looking at us as we passed. The flying proas kept at adistance from us, till we beckoned and made signs for them to come near, and at length one came within a ship's length, in which were ten menentirely naked, in the midst of whom was a grave old man of a pleasantcountenance, entirely naked like the rest, except that he had afour-cornered cap on his head without a crown. By the respect shewn himby all the rest in the boat, we judged this man to be a king or prince. On their approach, they sung a song which continued near a quarter of anhour, and had a very pretty tune. When this was done, they came almostclose to our vessel, and then sung another song, which was begun by theold man, and followed by all the rest in the boat. At the end of which, they put themselves in a posture of prayer, making many bows and cringestowards us; and then one of the men in the boat, who had a very soreleg, held it up to us, as if desiring us to cure it, whence we supposedthey had never seen white men before, and deemed us more than mortals. After some time, we made signs to let them know we wanted victuals anddrink, when they shook their heads as if by way of denial. Seeing usproceeding towards the island, one of the men in the boat blew a horn, on which all the other boats made boldly towards us; and thinking theymeant to board us, we fired a junket over their heads to intimidatethem, at the noise of which they seemed much surprised and drew back, menacing us at a distance with their paddles, and still following. Seeing such multitudes on the shore, and finding we could have nothingfrom them but by force, and besides not having anchors and cables onwhich we could depend, or any boat in which to land, we concluded thatwe could do no good here; and on examining our water, which was foundsufficient for eighteen days, at a quart each man daily, we resolved toquit these islands, and trust to Providence for guiding us to some morefriendly place, where we might supply our wants. So we left theseislands, naming the westermost the Island of _Disappointment_, becausewe made certain of procuring water here, but could not. These three islands were all low, flat, and almost even with the water, yet full of trees of various sorts, all very green and flourishing; anddoubtless, if we had possessed a boat, we must have found somethingbeneficial to ourselves, perhaps useful to our country, as we might alsoat several other islands which we afterwards passed. The inhabitants ofmost of these islands were a very large and strong-boned race of men, having long black lank hair reaching to their middles, and were allentirely naked, not so much as covering their parts of shame; and Icertainly never saw such, a parcel of stout-limbed men together in allmy life. These islands, therefore, are abundantly peopled, though theywere utterly averse from any communication with us, perhaps from anotion that all whites are Spaniards; and yet it is not quite clear thateven the Spaniards have ever attempted to form a settlement at any ofthese islands. We left these islands with a fresh breeze at E. Steering S. W. Andcontinually met with weeds and grass on our way, which made us believewe were not far from land, yet we had no ground with 100 fathoms. Earlyin the morning of the 9th May, we descried the coast of New Guinea, morethan eighteen or nineteen leagues distant. We now saw the necessity ofconstructing a boat, with a few old boards and such other materials aswe had, though not quite suitable for the purpose; and though neitherstrong nor handsome, it proved exceeding useful in the sequel. On the9th we had very bad weather, the wind shifting to every point of thecompass. This part of New Guinea appeared very mountainous, black, androcky, without harbour, bay, or road, in which we might anchor insafety. The mountains seemed so bleak and barren, and the vallies sodeep and narrow, that at first we conceived the country to beuninhabited; neither did we afterwards see any inhabitants or signs ofany. That same day we passed two small islands, each about a league inlength, which were very low, and well clothed with small green trees. Atthe same time we saw part of the great island of Gilolo, at the distanceof eight leagues, and held our course W. S. W. [212] intending to passthrough between that island and New Guinea, into the East Indian Sea. [Footnote 212: The only way of explaining this part of the text, is bysupposing Funnel may have mistaken the island of Waygoo for a part ofNew Guinea, and even the N. W. Point of that island is at least sixtyleagues from the S. W. Leg or peninsula of Gilolo, to which the directionof his course certainly points. --E. ] We had very bad weather till the 11th of May, and the night being verydark, we missed the common passage, and found ourselves among manysmall islands; and as the wind was at E. We resolved to look out forsome passage among these islands to the south. After infinite difficultyand much danger, we at length made our way through a strait, which wenamed _St John's Straits_, after the name of our bark. At this time wewere boarded by a large Indian proa, on board of which was a freeman ofAmboina, whom we acquainted with our great want of victuals, having hadnothing for a great while to support us except a scanty allowance ofspoilt flour and water, and so very little of that as hardly sufficed tokeep us alive. He told us, if we would go to the island of _Manissa_, which was then in sight, he would be our pilot, where he had no doubt wemight have enough of rice for our money to carry us to Batavia. Weaccordingly proceeded for Manissa, passing by the island of _Keylan_, which is small and high, but well inhabited, and clothed with many kindsof trees. Its chief produce is rice, and a few cloves; and on thisisland there is a Dutch corporal with six soldiers, whose only businessis to see all the clove trees cut down and destroyed. From thence weproceeded to Manissa, where we arrived about midnight, and came toanchor in a small bay at the N. W. End of the island, when our Dutchpilot sent two men ashore with a letter to the governor, acquainting himof our urgent wants. Early of the 23d May, a Dutch corporal and two soldiers came on board, and read to us a general order from the Dutch East-India Company, thatif any ships, except their own, came there to anchor, they were not tobe supplied with any thing whatever. We told him that extreme want ofprovisions had constrained us to put in here, and that we should nothave touched any where before reaching Batavia, if we could possiblyhave subsisted; wherefore we requested he would inform the governor ofour urgent wants. This he engaged to do, seeing us in a very weakcondition, and came back about four in the afternoon, saying that wecould have no provisions here, but might be supplied at Amboina. We wereforced therefore to leave this unfriendly place, and to attempt going toAmboina, if the wind would serve. _Manissa_ is about fifteen miles fromS. E. To N. W. And about eight in breadth, in lat. 3° 25' S. And abouttwenty miles west from the island of _Bonou_. It is a remarkably highisland, and pretty well inhabited by Malays, as are all the MoluccaIslands. It is surrounded by shoals almost on every side, and some ofthese stretch a league and a half from the shore, so that it is verydangerous to come near, unless with very good charts, or with anexperienced pilot. It has several good springs of fresh water, and theDutch have a small fort with six guns on its S. W. Side. It is governedby a Dutch serjeant, having under him three corporals, a master gunner, and twenty European soldiers; and produces vast plenty of rice andcloves, both of which are sent to Amboina. The inhabitants are mostlyfishers, and catch such abundance of fish as not only suppliesthemselves, but enables them also to carry a great deal to Amboina. We stood to the S. W. Having the wind at S. S. E. And blowing fresh, sothat we sailed under our courses, and were now much out of heart, notexpecting to reach Amboina, the S E. Monsoon being now set in; which wasright against us. Almost in despair, we continued our course till wewere over against the island of _Bouro_, and then the wind veering tothe S. S. W. We stood away S. E. But finding a strong current setting toleeward, we rather lost ground, and seeing no likelihood of getting toAmboina, we, by general consent, shared among us all that was eatable onboard, each man's share being six pounds and three quarters of flour, and five pounds of bran, every one resolving to use his share assparingly as possible. On the 25th, the wind veered to S. S. E. When wetacked to S. W. And soon weathered the island of _Amblow_. This is asmall island of moderate height, in lat. 4° 5' S. Tolerably furnishedwith trees, but not inhabited. On the 26th, we had a fine fresh gale atS. E. When we tacked and stood away N. E. For the island of Amboina. Continuing the same course all the 27th, we got sight of Amboina earlyin the morning of the 28th, bearing due N. About six leagues distant. Wenow stood directly for the island, and about noon came just off theharbour, a joyful sight to us then, though we soon had cause to think itthe worst thing that had befallen us. As we entered the harbour of Amboina, we met two Dutch ships coming out, laden with cloves and bound for Batavia. The captain of one of thesecame on board our bark, desiring to know whence we came and whither wewere bound, and required to have a journal of our voyage, promising toreturn it when he again met us at Batavia. We gave him the best answerswe could to all his questions, and the agent of our owners gave him asuccinct relation of our voyage, which was of happy consequence to us, as to that we afterwards owed our preservation as will appear in thesequel. We stood into the harbour that night, and next morning, which, according to our account, was Tuesday, but with the Dutch Wednesday, twoDutch _orambies_, as they call the vessels used at that place, came onboard us, each of which was paddled by forty men. In these vessels camethe fiscal and several Dutch gentlemen, with eighty soldiers, whoimmediately took possession of our bark. They also went below and sealedup all our chests, after which the two orambies towed us farther intothe harbour, so that by noon we were up as high as the town of Amboina, where they moored our bark in the ordinary anchorage. We continued on board till the 31st, two days, not knowing how theymeant to dispose of us; in which time they would not supply us with anyvictuals, though we offered a crown a pound for beef, pork, or bread. Inthe evening of this day they took us all on shore, lodging us in tworooms near the Stadt-house, our bark, with all our money and goods, being taken from us, except what we happened to have about our persons, and soon after our vessel and goods were sold by auction. We were fedwith bad meat, which our stomachs could ill digest, being very weak withhaving been so long on short allowance, and if we desired to have betterwe had to buy it with our own money. Several of us had fortunately somemoney about us, and as long as that lasted we purchased provisions fromour keeper. For a Spanish dollar, which was worth five shillings and apenny, he would only give us five Dutch _skellings_, or the value ofabout two and six-pence; and even for this he gave us no more victualsthan we could have bought for five-pence, if we had been at liberty togo into the town; so that, instead of five shillings for the Spanishdollar, we in reality had only five-pence. During my leisure, I had manyopportunities of enquiring into the condition of Amboina, by which I wasenabled to draw up a pretty large account of the island and itsinhabitants, which I flatter myself will be acceptable to the public, asthe Dutch are careful to prevent any accounts of this place from beingpublished. This _island of Amboina_, so famous, or rather infamous, for thecruelties and injustice formerly committed there by the Dutch upon theEnglish, is twelve leagues long from N. To S. Being high andmountainous, with intermediate vallies, which are very fertile, but thehills are in a great measure barren. The soil of the vallies is black, and affords salt-petre. The middle of the island is in lat. 3° 40' S. The original inhabitants of the island are Malays, who are of middlestature and tawny complexions. The women are brighter than the men, andhave long black hair, reaching to the calves of their legs. They haveround faces, with small mouths, noses, and eyes. Their dress is a linenor cotton waistcoat, reaching only below their breasts, and a clothround their waists, four yards long and a yard broad, which serves as apetticoat, as the Dutch women only are permitted to wear petticoats;neither are any of the men allowed to wear hats, except the king orrajah. The natives are numerous, yet the Dutch possess the wholesea-coast, and have here a strong castle, built of stone, mounted bysixty pieces of cannon, besides several small forts in other parts ofthe island. Near the castle is a small town of about 100 houses, ofstone, brick, or timber, inhabited by the Dutch. None of the housesexceed one storey, as the place is subject to earthquakes, which wouldendanger the houses if higher, and even low as they are they often fall. While we were there we had a great earthquake for two days, which didmuch mischief as the ground opened in several places, and swallowed upseveral houses with their inhabitants. Several of their people were dugout of the ruins, but most of them dead, and many others had their legsand arms broken by the fall of the houses. Where we were, the groundswelled up like a wave of the sea, but no damage was done. This island is governed by a council of five, consisting of thegovernor, the senior merchant, or _ober koop-man_, the Malay king, thecaptain of the fort, and the fiscal, which last is the judge. There aresaid to be on the island 350 Dutch soldiers, with 120 or 130 Dutchfreemen and petty officers, and about as many Chinese, who reside herefor the benefit of trade, though not allowed to participate in the spicetrade, which the Dutch reserve entirely to themselves. I thus estimatethat the Dutch are able to muster in this island about 550 fighting men, including themselves and the Chinese; for they can count very little onthe Malays, who would gladly join any other nation against them. TheMalay women are said to be very loose, and not ashamed of havingintercourse with men. They are soon ripe, being often married at nineyears of age, and are said to have children by ten or eleven. All whoreside near the coast must live under the Dutch government, which isvery dissolute and tyrannical, and they are severely punished for evensmall faults, being often reduced to slavery, and condemned to wear aniron on their legs for life. Those dwelling near the coast under thecontroul of the Dutch are a kind of Christians; but those in theinterior, among the hills, are Mahometans, and are always at war withthe Dutch. When these hill Malays take any prisoners, they never givequarter; but, after detaining their prisoners a few days, without meator drink, they are produced in public, and have their breasts rippedopen, and their hearts taken out, all the Malays present making greatrejoicings. The heads of these slaughtered prisoners are then embalmedwith spice, and those who can shew the greatest number of Dutch headsare held in highest honour. In retaliation, when the Dutch take any ofthese hill Malays, they load them with irons, and after keeping themsome days in prison, they cut off their ears and noses, and after beingkept some time longer in prison, they are publicly racked to death. When any of the Malays, living under the Dutch government, are foundguilty of thieving, their ears and noses are cut off, and a great ironchain is fastened to their legs, in which condition they are made slavesfor life. While we were there, about 500 poor wretches were in thiscondition, who were kept constantly employed, in sawing timber, cuttingstones for building, carrying burdens, or other work. They are let outof prison at sunrise, the men being kept in one prison and the women inanother, and are kept hard at work till noon, when they return to prisonfor an hour, being allowed for dinner a pint of coarse boiled rice foreach. They return again to work at one o'clock, and return to prison atsix in the evening, when they have a similar allowance for supper. Soonafterwards they are locked up in their lodgings, where they lie on thebare boards, having only a piece of wood for a pillow. Sometimes thesepoor wretches make shift to escape, but are used with great severity ifagain caught. One of the female slaves having escaped, and beingretaken, cut her own throat to avoid the severe punishment awaiting her, when she was dragged out by the hair all round the town, and then hungon a gibbet by the feet. Such as are in debt, and cannot satisfy theircreditors, are turned over by their creditors to the Dutch company, whosend them to work among their slaves, having the same allowance ofboiled rice with the rest, with two-pence a day towards paying theirdebts; but they seldom get free till carried out dead. Though the poor natives are thus harshly treated, the Dutch wink at thefaults of their countrymen, who are seldom punished for any crime, unless it be for murder, as in any other case they get off for a smallsum of money, even for a great fault. The women slaves belonging to thefree Dutch burgesses have all reasonable indulgence, but are obliged tofind their own clothes and provisions, and pay an acknowledgement ofabout a sixpence daily, in default of which they are severely used. Ifthey bring the daily tribute, they may whore or steal, and have noquestions asked, provided no complaint is made against them. The chiefproducts of this island are cloves, ginger, pepper, rattans, canes, anda few nutmegs. The clove-tree is rather slender, and is from twelve to thirty or evenforty feet high, having small branches, with tapering leaves about fiveinches long and two broad, which smell strong of cloves, when rubbedbetween the fingers. The cloves grow out at the tips of the branches, ten, twelve, or fourteen in a cluster, being white at first, then green, and lastly of a dark copper colour, in which state they are ripe and fitfor gathering. At this period, they spread cloths or sheets on theground round the bottom of the tree to a good distance, and shake thetree, when all the ripe cloves fall down. This is repeated every six orseven days for four or five times, till all the cloves have ripened andare shaken off. The usual time of gathering is October and February, those got in October, which is the end of their winter, being called_winter cloves_, and are not accounted so strong and good as the others. These are commonly preserved in small jars of about a quart each, ofwhich great quantities are sent to various parts of the world. Thosegathered in February are termed summer cloves, being better and strongerthan the others, as ripening in the best part of the summer; whereas theformer have not above a month of fair weather, all the rest of theirwinter season, which is our summer, being rainy and cloudy, so that thecloves want sun to ripen them. It is a common opinion, but extremelyerroneous, that cloves, nutmegs, and mace grow all on one tree. Oneclove-tree commonly produces sixty, seventy, or eighty pounds of clovesin one season; and every sixth year they are sure to have a double crop. There are a vast number of clove-trees on this island, which arecarefully looked after, and a register of them is kept in the books ofthe company, being all numbered once every year, and they are notallowed to increase beyond a certain limited number, for fear oflessening the price, all beyond being cut down. All these trees belongto the Company, or the free burgesses, every burgess having only a fixednumber; and if any one is found to have more than his allowance, he isseverely fined, and all his trees forfeited to the company. Besides, theburgesses are bound to deliver the whole produce of their trees to thecompany at six-pence the pound. If any freeman or other is convicted ofhaving sold or conveyed cloves from the island, to the value of tenpounds, his whole property is forfeited to the company, and he becomes aslave for life. The inhabitants used formerly to cheat the Dutch in thesale of their cloves, in the following manner. They hung up their clovesin a large sheet by the four corners, and set a large tub of waterunderneath, which the cloves, being of a very hot and dry nature, drewup by degrees, and thus made a large addition to their weight. But theDutch are now too cunning for them, as they always try the cloves, bygiving them a small filip on the head with the forefinger: if thoroughlyripe, and no deceit has been used, the head breaks off like a piece ofthin brittle glass; but if watered, the clove is tough, and will soonerbend than break. The _nutmeg-tree_ is much like the peach, and there are a few of thesein this island, but they grow mostly on the island of Banda, whence twoor three ship-loads are exported yearly. The fruit of this tree consistsof four parts. The first and outer rind is like that of a green walnut. The second, which we call _mace_, is dry and thin. The third is a toughthin shell, like that of a chesnut; and the fourth is the _nutmeg_, being the kernel included in that shell. There are said to be some gold-mines in the island of Amboina; and aMalay once shewed me some of the ore, which, he said, came from thesemines: but he said, at the same time, that he would be severely punishedif the Dutch knew of his having any, as they wish, as much as possible, to keep this from the knowledge of all other Europeans. Once every year the Dutch have to send a large force from Amboina on thefollowing business, about the 20th of October. On this occasion thegovernor is attended by about seventy-five _orambies_, or boats of thecountry, some rowed by 100 paddles, some eighty, fifty, or forty paddleseach, and in each of which there are two Dutch soldiers. I reckontherefore in this fleet 150 to 160 Dutch soldiers, and about 5250Malays, allowing seventy to each _oramby_ on the average. Theseseventy-five _orambies_ are divided into three squadrons. Thevan-division of twenty _orambies_, is always commanded by a member ofthe council, who carries a yellow flag. The rear-squadron consists alsoof twenty _orambies_, and is commanded by the fiscal, having a red flag. The rest form the centre-squadron, and attend the governor, who has aserjeant and corporal, with twelve Dutch soldiers, for his body guard, and carries a blue flag. The governor is also attended by the Malay kingand all their princes or chiefs, lest they should rebel in his absence. In this order the fleet proceeds to visit and victual the eastern, orBanda islands, especially those that produce cloves or nutmegs; and atevery island it goes to, it is joined by additional boats. This cruizegenerally lasts for six weeks, during which they cut down and destroyall the clove and nutmeg-trees they can find, except those which arereserved for the use of the company. All or most of these islands wouldproduce cloves, but they will not suffer them, having enough at Amboinaalone to supply all Europe. On all of these islands the Dutch keep a fewsoldiers, three, six, nine, or twelve, according to their size, whoseonly business is to see the trees cut down, or at least to take carethat they do not increase; as they are very jealous lest the English orFrench should serve them as they did the English at Amboina. During thisannual expedition, the governor levies tribute from all the petty kingsand chiefs of these islands, and commonly returns to Amboina at the endof six weeks. The island of Amboina produces beavers, hogs, and deer, besides otheranimals. Among its birds are crocadores, cassawaries, birds of paradise, and others. The _crocadore_, or _cockatoo_, is of various sizes, some aslarge as a hen, and others no bigger than a pigeon, being all overwhite, except a crest of feathers on the top of their head, which isalways either yellow or red. This bunch of feather usually lies flat, ina dent, or hollow, on the crown of the head, unless when the bird isfrightened, when it is erected, and opens like a fan. The flesh and legsof this bird are very black, and they smell very sweet. When they fly upand down the woods, they cry _crocadore, crocadore_, or _cockatoo, cockatoo_, whence their name. The _cassowary_ is as large as a Virginiaturkey, having a head nearly the same with the turkey, with a long stiffbunch of hair on his breast, also like the turkey. His legs are almostas thick as a man's wrist, having five great claws on each foot. Theback is high and round, both it and the pinions being covered with longhair instead of feathers. The female of this bird lays an egg so largethat its shell will hold an English pint of fluid, having a thick shell, spotted with green and white, and exactly like China-ware. I nevertasted the eggs of this bird, but its flesh is good eating, resemblingthat of a turkey, but stronger. The _birds of paradise_ are about the size of pigeons, and are neverseen here alive, neither is it known whence they come. I have seenseveral of them at Amboina preserved in spice, in which state they aresent as rarities to several parts of the world. These birds are said toresort, in February and March, when the nutmegs are ripe, to Banda andAmboina, where they feed on the outer rind of the nutmeg, after whichthey fall to the ground, quite stupified, or as it were dead drunk, wheninnumerable ants gather about them, and eat them up. There are here manykinds of fish, but the most remarkable is the _sea-porcupine_, which isabout three feet long, and two and a half feet round, having large eyes, two fins on the back, and a large fin on each side, near the gills. Itsbody is all beset with sharp spines, or quills, like a porcupine, whenceits name is derived. All round Amboina the bottom is sand, but the water is so deep thatthere is no anchorage near its shores, except to leeward, or on the westside, where a ship may anchor in forty fathoms, close to the shore inthe harbour. This harbour runs so deep into the island as almost todivide it into two, which are joined by so narrow a neck of land thatthe Malays often haul their canoes across. On the east side of the entryinto the harbour there is a small fort of six guns, close to which thedepth is twenty fathoms. About a league farther up is the usualanchorage for ships, close under the guns of the great castle, which hasbeen called _Victoria_ ever since the massacre of the English at thisplace. About two miles farther to the N. E. And within the harbour, isthe place where the English factory formerly stood; and near it is thehole into which the English were said to have been thrown after themassacre. Few of us who were now here but expected the same fate; andsome of the inhabitants did not scruple to say that our only protectionwas our journal, which had been sent to Batavia by the Dutch ship we metwhen going into the harbour; as by this it would soon be known all overIndia that a part of Captain Dampier's crew had arrived at Aniboina, which would cause us to be enquired after. A little to the eastward of Amboina there are several other smallislands, the most noted of which are _Boangbessay_ and _Hinomsa_, only asmall distance east from Amboina. These two islands are moderately high, and not above a third part so large as Amboina. They are both wellfortified, and produce store of cloves. The chief place for nutmegs isthe island of _Banda_, which also belongs to the Dutch, being in lat. 4°20' S. 28 leagues S. S. E. From Amboina. This island is said to have theform of a man's leg and foot, and is well fortified. The governor ofAmboina is supreme over all the spice islands, even to _Ternate_ and_Tidore_, which are also spice islands belonging to the Dutch, and areabout forty miles to the north of the equator. We were so troubled atAmboina by musquitoes, a sort of gnats, that we had every night to putourselves into a bag before we could go to sleep, as otherwise theseinsects bit us so intolerably that we could get no rest. Wherever theybit, there commonly rose a red blister, almost as broad as a silverpenny, which itched so violently that many cannot forbear fromscratching, so as to cause inflammations that sometimes aid in the lossof a limb. During our stay, we were allowed to walk in a paved yardabout sixty yards square; but were not permitted to go into the town, that we might not learn their strength, or make any discoveriesprejudicial to them. We remained at Amboina from the 31st of May to the 14th of September, 1705, when three of their sloops were ready to sail with cloves toBatavia, in which twenty-five of our men were sent away to Batavia, tenof us being left behind, who they said were to be sent in anothervessel, almost ready to sail. On the 27th September, a Malay man wasbrought to the Stadt-house to be tried for his life, being accused byhis own wife of having murdered his slave. The slave had been dead sixmonths, when the wife falling out with her husband, she went to thefiscal in the heat of her rage and revealed the murder, on which thehusband was thrown into prison, but it was generally believed that hewas wrongfully accused by his wife. During his trial the earthquake tookplace, formerly mentioned, which made the court break up, fearful thehouse might fall on their heads. At this time I observed that it is anerror to suppose that it is always calm during an earthquake; for we hada fine fresh gale at S. S. W. Both days on which the earthquake happened. Next day the court sat about eleven o'clock, continuing the trial; andwhile the wife was in her greatest violence in the accusation of herhusband, the earth shook again with much violence, which obliged thecourt again to break up. That same day, the 28th September, I and four more of our men were sentoff for Batavia in a Chinese sloop, the other five men being promised tobe sent after us in a short time, but we never heard of them afterwards. We sailed westwards till we came to the island of Lancas, in lat. 5° 27'S. And by my estimation, 2° 21', or 155 miles W. From Amboina. We thensteered W. By N. Till we made two islands called the _Cabeses_, whencewe procured some hundred cocoa nuts. The eastermost island, to which wesent our boat, is low and uninhabited, but has been planted full ofcocoa-nut trees by the Dutch, for the use of their vessels going betweenthe spice islands and Batavia, as it is a kind of miracle to see anyother ship in these parts except those belonging to the Dutch. Off thisisland we met our own bark which had brought us from America to Amboina, the Dutch having fitted her up with a main-mast and converted her into avery good vessel. This island is in lat. 5° 23' S. And nearly W. By N. From the island of Lancas, about forty-five miles distant, and has ashoal extending about two miles from the shore. To the S. W. Of this isthe other island of _Cabeses_, a pretty high island, on which the Dutchalways keep a corporal and two soldiers, who go two or three times allover the isle to see that no cloves are planted, and if they find any tocut them down and burn them, lest any other nation might be able toprocure that commodity, in which case Amboina would become of littlevalue, as cloves are its only valuable product. We next passed by the S. End of the island of _Bouton_, or _Booton_, which is pretty large, and in the lat. Of 5° 45' S. We steered W. Fromthence, between the islands _Celebes_ and _Zalayer_ or _Salayr_. TheS. W. Leg or peninsula of Celebes is very high land. Celebes is composedof very high land, very well inhabited, being a very large island, extending through seven degrees of latitude. On the west side of itssouthern end the Dutch have a factory named Macasser, where they have afortress of about seventy guns, and a garrison of 600 or 700 Dutchsoldiers. The chief product is rice, with which they supply most oftheir eastern islands from hence. There are said to be gold-mines inthis island, of which the Dutch are not yet masters, as the inhabitantsare often at war with them, and have hitherto been able to keep themfrom those parts of the island. Between the south end of Celebes and theisland of Salayr there are three small low islands, and the best channelis through between the island next to Salayr, and another small isle tothe northward. This is called the _second_ passage, the first, third, and fourth of these passages being very dangerous, so that shipsgenerally avoid them if possible. I would willingly give an account ofevery island I have occasion to mention, but as that is not in my power, I must rest satisfied with what I am able to say consistent with truth. The island of _Zalayer_, or _Salayr_, is of moderate height, inhabitedby Malays, and planted all round with cocoa-trees, the natives beingobliged to send a considerable quantity of nuts and oil to the Dutch atMacasser as tribute. We steered from hence W. By N. Till we had passed adangerous shoal called the Porill, after which we stood to the S. W. Andsaw in the night a small island just in our way, which we were unable toweather, and therefore stood off till daylight, when we were to the S. Of that isle, when we tacked and stood again S. W. And soon after saw twoother small isles bearing from N. To N. W. For about two miles of ourcourse at this time, the sea was so transparent that we could plainlydiscern the bottom, which was never less than five or more than sixfathoms, yet appeared only two to the eye. We passed over this shoalabout a league to the S. Of these two small islands, this being thenarrowest part of the shoal, for it is five or six leagues in breadthfarther to the south; yet is it every where without danger, as it hasvery uniform soundings, seldom over or under five or six fathoms. To thenorth of these islands, however, it is very dangerous, being all overfoul rocky ground, and having in some places not more than four or fivefeet water; it is proper, therefore, always to keep to the south ofthese islands, where the passage is perfectly safe. Yet in the Dutchcharts, these dangers are laid down to the southward, which should havebeen to the northwards, and they lay down the safe shoals to thenorthward, whereas we now went to the southwards, as they always do. The captain of our vessel had a chart on board, which shewed thesethings exactly as I have now described, but which I compared withseveral others, also on board, which I found quite different. I askedour captain the reason of this, when he told me that all these shoalsand dangerous places were well known to the Hollanders, but they did notwish they should be known by others, but rather that strangers mightlose their ships among these rocks and shoals, as we certainly had done, if we had sailed according to these common charts. We entered the harbour of Batavia on the 21st October, and sentimmediately on landing to join the rest of our men, who were stilldetained in custody. We were soon afterwards visited by the first major, who desired us to transmit to the general, through him, an account ofthe losses we had sustained by our being taken prisoners at Amboina, andwe should receive compensation for our effects, loss of time, andimprisonment. We each accordingly drew up accounts of our losses, whichwe sent by the major to the governor, who sent us back word that weshould speedily have our freedom. On the 27th we were sent for to thefort, where most of our money was returned; but we could have nosatisfaction for our goods, imprisonment, and loss of time, thegovernor-general saying that he had given us all that had been sent tohim as ours by the governor of Amboina, and that we were now at libertyto go where we pleased. As our vessel had been taken from us for the useof the Dutch Company, we desired he would be pleased to find us someship for our return home, which he promised; with which arrangement wewere forced to be satisfied, and took lodgings in the city of Batavia, till an opportunity might offer for our return to Europe. In the courseof seven weeks residence here, I made all the observations I could uponthis place and its inhabitants. I found the city in as good a conditionas could be wished, and the people seemed to be as prudent and asindustrious as any I had ever seen: But, as the descriptions alreadypublished of this place are so exact as to render my observationssuperfluous, I shall content myself with a very short description, referring the curious reader to the large accounts that have beenpublished by Dutch, French, and English writers, but especially thefirst. BATAVIA is the chief place belonging to the Hollanders in India, andreceives all the productions of India, Japan, and China. The Malays arethe original natives; but besides these and the Dutch, who are themasters, it is inhabited by Portuguese, Chinese, Persians, and negroes. The town is large and handsome, having seven churches, belonging to theDutch, Portuguese, Malays, and Chinese. [213] The town has many spacioushouses built in the European manner, and is walled and moated all round, the ramparts being well provided with cannon. In the middle of the citythere is a spacious square, in which is the stadt-house, where allpublic matters are transacted. This city is usually governed by a memberof the States-General of the United Netherlands, with the title ofGovernor-General of India, all other governors of the possessionsbelonging to the Dutch Company being subordinate to his authority. Theinhabitants are well pleased in the governor-general being oftenchanged, as all prisoners are released at the installation of a new one, except those charged with murder. He has twelve counsellors to assisthim, who are called the _rads_, or lords of India, and are mostly suchas have formerly been governors in other places, as in Ceylon, Amboina, Malacca, &c. [Footnote 213: This seems to indicate that, of the seven _churches_, some belong to the Dutch Calvinists and Portuguese Roman Catholics, while others are Mahometan places of worship for the Malays, and idoltemples, or _pagodas_, frequented by the Chinese. --E] The city is divided by many canals, over which there are bridges almostat the end of every street, together with booms to lay across, that noboats may go in or out after sunset. The chief product of the adjoiningcountry is pepper, of which the Dutch export great quantities everyyear; and there are also some few diamonds and other precious stones. The chief fruits here are plantains, bananas, oranges, lemons, mangostans, and rumbostans. The _mangostan_ is about the size of agolden rennet, quite round, and resembling a small pomegranate, theouter rind being like that of the pomegranate, but of a darker colour, but the inside of the rind of a fine red. The fruit lies within therind, commonly in four or five cloves, of a fine white, very soft andjuicy, within each clove having a small black stone or pip. The pulp isvery delicious, but the stone is very bitter, and is therefore thrownaway, after sucking the fruit The _rumbostan_ is about the size of awalnut after the green outside peel is off, and is nearly of the shapeof a walnut, having a thick tough outer rind of a deep red colour, fullof red knobs, within which is a white jelly-like pulp, and within thatis a large stone. The pulp is very delicate, and never does any harm, however much of it a man may eat, providing he swallow the stones; butotherwise they are said to produce fevers. This island of Java, on the north side of which Batavia is situated, extends about ten degrees from east to west, or nearly 700 Englishmiles. The weather is here extremely regular, and the inhabitants knowhow to use it to the best advantage. During the eastern monsoon, theland-winds are at S. E. Sometimes more southerly; and the sea-winds blowfrom the N. E. Fine pleasant gales. This easterly monsoon is accountedthe good monsoon, being fine clear and fair weather, and begins inApril, ending in October. The other, or westerly, is called the badmonsoon, consisting of blustering rainy weather, accompanied with muchthunder and lightning, especially in December, January, and February. This bad monsoon begins in November and ends in March or the beginningof April; during which the land-winds are W. S. W. Or S. W. And thesea-winds at N. W. And W. N. W. The anchoring ground all along the north side of Java, from Madura toBatavia, is a fine oozy bottom, free from rocks. The principal places onthis side of the island are Batavia, Bantam, Japara, Samarang, Surabon, Taggal, Quale, and Rambang; all of which are possessed by the Dutch. These settlements afford abundance of rice, with which the Dutch supplyall their out-factories near Java, and also produce excellent plank forship-building. The principal place for ship-building is _Rambang_, wherethe free burgesses of Batavia usually go to build their small vessels, as sloops and brigs. Ships of five, six, and seven hundred tons, oftenload with timber at Rambang, Quale, Japara, and other places; and eachship, after being fully laden, takes a great raft or float of thelargest timber, which she tows along with her to Batavia. Some of theserafts are said to be thirty feet square, and draw twenty feet water. There are commonly six ships employed in this timber trade, and theyusually make four voyages yearly in the good monsoon, for in the badthey cannot do any thing. Ail this timber is for the most part landed onthe island of _Ormrust_, between four and five leagues from Batavia, where there are about 200 ship-carpenters, who are constantly in fullemploy, and here the Dutch careen their ships. This island is wellfortified, being, to use a sea phrase, all round a bed of guns. We had notice on the 2d December, 1705, that all of us who wished toreturn to England should immediately go on board the homeward-boundDutch East India fleet, which we did accordingly, and sailed next day. This fleet consisted of twelve ships, as well provided in all respectsas any I had ever seen, and we made the voyage in good order. We arrivedat the Cape of Good Hope on the 3d February, 1706. The Dutch have here astrong fortress, and about half a mile from this is a fine town of 150houses, with a small church. The country in the neighbourhood is veryhigh, and the mountains are mostly barren, producing only a few shrubs;but the country is full of lions, tigers, elephants, and other wildbeasts, which give great disturbance to the settlers, for which reasonthe government gives a reward of fifty-two guilders for killing a lion, equal to four pounds six and eight-pence, and twenty-four guilders, orforty shillings, for killing a tiger. While we were there, a certainScotsman killed four lions, three tigers, and three wild elephants, forall of which he got the rewards. The Dutch make here a great quantity ofan excellent wine, called Cape wine, which is sold by retail ateight-pence a quart. We sailed from the Cape the 24th of March, excellently provided withevery thing requisite for the voyage. We were now twenty-four sail, having nine English and fifteen Dutch ships. On the 17th April we madethe island of Ascension, but did not touch there even for turtle, although their season of laying, having been so well provided with freshprovisions at the Cape that we had no occasion for more. On the 19ththere happened a great earthquake, when the ship seemed for some time asif she run along the ground, on which we heaved the lead on both sides, but had no ground at 200 fathoms. The whole fleet felt the shock at thesame time; so that for about ten minutes every ship was making signalsand firing guns. On the 14th June we saw four sail of French privateers, which were waiting for us; but after looking at us for some time, andobserving the regular order in which we sailed, they did not think itadviseable to make any attempt against us, and bore away. This shewedthe great advantage of the regular order observed by the Dutch insailing, in which on this occasion they were imitated by the Englishships in company. On the 30th June we were in lat. 62° 40' N. The highest north I was everin, and I could not help noticing the great difference in point of coldhere and in 60° S. There we had continual showers of snow or hail, withbitter cold weather; while here the weather was fair, and the coldmoderate. In the evening of the 3d July we saw the Faro Islands. On the5th we met with eight Dutch men of war, which were cruizing on purposeto convoy us safe home, accompanied by four victuallers and three of theCompany's privateers. On the 15th July we all arrived safely in theTexel, and got on the 17th to Amsterdam. After this, I and the rest ofour company went to see several parts of Holland, and we arrived on the26th August, 1706, in England, after many dangers by sea and land, beingonly 18 of us out of 183. The news of our misfortunes reached homebefore us, and every body was solicitous to have an account of ouradventures, especially while under the power of the Dutch at Amboina. These importunities led me to believe that a faithful relation of ourvoyage would be acceptable to the public, and I hope some of thedescriptions, observations, and discoveries contained in this smallperformance may be found useful, and not altogether destitute ofentertainment. SECTION III. _Brief Account of Stradling, Clipperton, and Dampier, after theirrespective Separations, till their Returns to England. _ The reader may remember that Captain Dampier, in the St George, left_Captain Stradling_ in the Cinque-ports on the 19th of May, 1704, atKing's Island, in the Bay of Panama. The force under Captain Stradlingwas too insignificant to maintain him long in the South Sea, for whichreason he went to the island of Juan Fernandez in search of shelter andrefreshments. They were in so forlorn a condition at this time, thatAlexander Selkirk[214] chose rather to remain by himself in that island, than to run the hazard of returning to the South Sea in theCinque-ports. In this he shewed great judgment, as the Cinque-portsactually foundered on the coast of _Barbacora_ (Barbacoas), and onlyCaptain Stradling, with six or seven of his men, were saved, and sentprisoners to Lima. Captain Stradling was alive there at the time whenWoods Rogers came into the South Sea, but what became of him afterwardsis unknown. [Footnote 214: This person, on whose simple adventures the romance ofRobinson Crusoe was soon afterwards founded, will be more particularlymentioned in a subsequent chapter of this book. --E. ] The next person who left Captain Dampier was his mate, _Mr Clipperton_of whom we shall have occasion to say much in a succeeding voyage roundthe world. Clipperton was certainly a man of parts and resolution, andprobably would not have deserted from Captain Dampier, if he had notthought that his commander was resolved to remain in his old crazy shipin the South Sea till she foundered. Finding many of the crew of thesame opinion, he thought proper to leave him at the middle islands, asalready related, where it was plain to every one that the St George wasno longer fit for going to sea. Mr Clipperton set sail on the 2dSeptember, 1704, having twenty-one men, in a small bark of ten tons, with two masts and two square sails, two swivels, two or three barrelsof powder, and some shot. With this inconsiderable force, he venturedinto Rio Leon, on the coast of Mexico, where he took two Spanish shipsriding at anchor. One of these was very old and worm-eaten, which heimmediately sunk. The other was new, and had goods on board to aconsiderable value, and for her Captain Clipperton demanded a ransom of10, 000 dollars, by two of his prisoners whom he set on shore. Theprisoners spoke so handsomely of Clipperton that the governor resolvedto treat with him, and sent him word that he did not think his offerunreasonable, but the owners were entirely ruined, and the town so poorthat it was impossible to comply with his terms; but if 4000 dollarswould content him, which was all they could raise, that sum should besent aboard, and the governor would rely on the honour of CaptainClipperton for the release of the ship. Clipperton accepted thisproposal, but as his bark was in want of provisions and water, he sentword to the governor, that every kind of provisions and drink were notto be considered as within the capitulation. This was readily agreed to, the money was sent on board, and as soon as the provisions were got outof her, the ship was honourably restored. Clipperton went thence to the Bay of Salinas, where his little vesselwas drawn on shore, and cleaned and effectually refitted, after which heresolved in this cockle-shell to sail for the East Indies, which heactually did, keeping in the latitude of 18° N. And reached thePhilippine Islands in fifty-four days. While among these islands, aSpanish priest came off to his bark in a canoe, and Clipperton detainedhim till furnished with a supply of fresh provisions, and then set himat liberty. His next scheme was to sail for the English settlement ofPulo Condore, in lat 8° 40' N. Off the river of Cambadia, and actuallycame there: But finding that the English had been massacred by theirIndian soldiers on the 3d March, 1705, for which reason no relief orsafety could be expected there, he bore away for Macao, a port belongingto the Portuguese on the coast of China, where he and his peopleseparated, every one shifting for himself as well as they could. Somewent to Benjar, [215] in order to enter into the service of the EnglishEast India Company, while others went to Goa to serve the Portuguese, and some even entered into the service of the Great Mogul, being so bareafter so long a voyage, that any means of providing for themselves weredesirable. Clipperton returned to England in 1706, and afterwards madeanother voyage round the world in the Success, of which an account willbe found in its proper place. [Footnote 215: This is perhaps an error for Bombay; yet it may have beenBenjarmassin, on the southern coast of Borneo. --E. ] It is not easy to conceive a worse situation than that in which CaptainDampier was left at the close of the year 1704, when Mr Funnell and hispeople separated from him, being only able to retain twenty-eight of hismen, and even these were prevailed upon to stay, by representing that itwas easy to surprise some Spanish village, and that the fewer they were, each would have the greater share in the plunder. After someconsultation, they resolved to attack Puna, a hamlet or village ofthirty houses and a small church, the inhabitants of which are well topass, and are under the command of a lieutenant. Dampier landed here ina dark night, and, surprizing the inhabitants in their beds, gotpossession of the place with very little trouble. After plundering this town, they repaired to the island of _Lobos de laMar_, and took a small Spanish bark by the way, well furnished withprovisions. They now resolved to quit their own ship, and to endeavourto sail for the East Indies in this small bark; and accordingly left theSt George at anchor under the island of Lobos, after taking every thingvaluable out of her. They then sailed across the Pacific Ocean to theEast Indies, and arrived at the Dutch settlements, where their bark wasseized, and they were turned adrift to shift for themselves as they bestmight. Dampier returned naked to his owners, with a melancholy relationof his unfortunate expedition, occasioned chiefly by his own strangetemper, being so self-sufficient and overbearing that few or none of hisofficers could bear with him; and when once disputation gets in amongthose who have the command, success is not to be expected. Even in thisdistress, he was received as an eminent man, notwithstanding hisfaillings, and was introduced to Queen Anne, having the honour to kissher hand, and to give her majesty some account of the dangers he hadundergone. The merchants were so sensible of his want of conduct, thatthey resolved never to trust him any more with a command; and this, withthe poverty resulting from his late unlucky voyage, obliged him to makethe tour of the world once more as pilot to the Duke, commanded byCaptain Woods Rogers, the relation of which voyage forms the subject ofnext Section. CHAPTER X. VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD BY CAPTAIN WOODS ROGERS, AND STEPHEN COURTNEY, IN1708-1711. [216] INTRODUCTION. It has been universally allowed by all competent judges, that therenever was a voyage of this nature so excellently adjusted or so wellprovided in all respects, as the present, or in which the accidents thatusually happen in privateers were so effectually guarded against; owingto the abilities of the gentlemen at Bristol, who both chargedthemselves with the expence of fitting out this expedition, and tookcare of every thing relating to its being properly fitted out. Theirfirst care was in the choice of proper officers, in which they were veryfortunate. Captain Woods Rogers, who had the chief command, being abold, active, and indefatigable officer, not too ready to give up hisopinion to others, and not apt to be flattered by other people giving uptheirs to him. He had been a great sufferer by the French; but his mostsingular qualities, and which chiefly recommended him to the command ofthis expedition, were a peculiar felicity in maintaining authority overhis seamen, and a wonderful readiness in devising expedients under themost difficult circumstances. [Footnote 216: A Cruizing Voyage round the World, &c. By Captain WoodsRogers, 8vo. London, 1712. Voyage to the South Sea, and round the World, &c. By Captain Edward Cooke, 2 vol. 8vo. London, 1712. Harris, I. 150. Callender, III. 231. ] Captain Stephen Courtney, the second in command, was a gentleman ofbirth, fortune, and amiable character, who had contributed considerablyto the expence of the voyage, and went in the expedition that he mightsee how it was conducted, and either be able to prevent miscarriages, orat least to make a faithful report of its incidents. Captain ThomasDover, the third in command, was a proprietor also. He was bred aphysician, and afterwards made a noise in the world by recommending theuse of crude mercury. He was a man of rough temper, and could not easilyagree with those about him, yet his morose disposition hindered him frommaking any party to support him in his ill humours. Captain Cooke, fourth in command, was second to Captain Courtney. The pilot in thelarger ship was Captain William Dampier, who was now to proceed for thefourth time into the South Sea, where his name and exploits were wellknown and terrible to the Spaniards. The adventurers were also extremelycareful in the choice of inferior officers, and even as far as possiblein procuring the best private men that could be found. In the next place, the proprietors established rules for the properconduct of the voyage, which were digested in the following articles ofinstruction, and signed by a committee of proprietors at Bristol, on the14th July, 1708. "For the better government and regulating the affairs of the presentvoyage of the ships Duke and Duchess, we do hereby appoint andconstitute Captain Woods Rogers, Captain Thomas Dover, Captain WilliamDampier, Mr Charlton Vanbrugh, Messrs Green, Fry, Charles Pope, Glendall, Bullet, and Wasse, all of these officers on board the Duke, to be the council on board that ship: We also appoint Captain StephenCourtney, Captain Edward Cooke, Messrs William Stratton, Bathe, JohnRogers, White, and the master, officers on board the Duchess, to becouncil on board that ship, in case of the ships being separated fromeach other. But, when in company, the whole officers of both ships abovenamed, are conjunctly to come on board either ship at the summons ofCaptains Rogers, Dover, and Courtney, or any two of them, and to be thecouncil referred to in our general orders, to determine all matters andthings that may arise or be necessary for the general good daring thewhole voyage. In case of the death, sickness, or desertion of any of theabove officers in either ship, the rest who are of the council of thatship shall convene on board their own ship, and chose another fit personinto that office and council. " "We farther require and direct, that all attempts, attacks, and designsupon the enemy, either by sea or land, shall be first consulted anddebated, either in the particular council if separated, or in thegeneral council if together; and as the majority shall conclude how andwhen to act or do, it shall be indispensably and cheerfully put inexecution, and without unnecessary delay. In case of any discontents, differences, or misbehaviours among the officers and men, which may tendto the disturbance of good order and government on board, either the menor persons may appeal to the captain to have a hearing by a council, orthe captain shall call a council to have the matter heard and decided, and may prefer or displace any man according to desert. All decisionsand judgments of the council shall be finally determined by the majorityof voices; and in case of an equality, Captain Dover is to have a doublevoice as president, and we do accordingly order and appoint himpresident of the council. All matters transacted in this council shallbe registered in a book by the clerk appointed for that purpose. " It was agreed between the owners and those employed in this voyage, thatall prizes were to be divided after the following rule. Two-third partsof the clear profits were to belong to the owners, and one-third to theofficers, seamen, and landsmen, which last was to be distributedaccording to the following proportions. _If wholly on Shares_. _If part on Shares, and part on Wages_. [217] A captain, _Shares_ 24 Second captain, 20 _Wages_. _Shares_ First lieutenant, 16 £3 8 Second lieutenant, 10 2 10 5 Third lieutenant, 8 2 4 Master, 10 2 10 5 First mate, 6 2 3 Second mate, 4 1 15 2-1/2 Surgeon, 10 2 10 5 Surgeon's mate, 6 1 10 3 Owner's agent, 10 2 10 5 Pilot, 8 2 10 4 Carpenter, 6 2 3 Carpenter's mate, 4 1 10 2 Boatswain, 6 2 3 Boatswain's mate, 4 1 10 2 Gunner, 6 2 3 Gunner's mate, 3-1/2 1 10 1-3/4 Cooper, 5 1 10 2-1/2 Cooper's mate, 3-1/2 1 5 1-3/4 Midshipman, 4 1 10 2 _Shares_. _Wages_. _Shares_. Quarter-master, 3 1 10 1-1/2 Sailors, 2-1/2 1 8 1-3/4 Land-men, 1-1/2 14 0-3/4 [Footnote 217: The wages were probably monthly, though not soexplained. --E. ] "We have two relations of this voyage, one by Captain Rogers, and theother by Captain Cooke, both in the form of journals. On the presentoccasion I shall chiefly follow that written by Captain Woods Rogers, taking occasionally explanatory circumstances and descriptions fromCaptain Cooke: But as they agree pretty well in their relations, I donot think it necessary to break the thread of the discourse, but shallproceed as near as may be in the words of Captain Rogers. "--_Harris_. Besides using as the ground-work of the present chapter, the narrativedrawn up by Harris from the publications of Captain Woods Rogers andEdward Cooke, we have carefully employed both of these original works onthe present occasion; yet have not deemed it at all necessary oradviseable to retain the minute and tedious nautical remarks, and havechiefly attended to such interesting circumstances as had not beensufficiently illustrated in the preceding chapters of this book. --E. SECTION I. _Narrative of the Voyage, from England to the Island of Juan Fernandez_. Our force on this voyage consisted of the Duke of 300 tons, carryingthirty guns and 170 men, Captain Woods Rogers commander, with CaptainThomas Dover as second captain, and three lieutenants; and the Duchessof 270 tons, with twenty-six guns and 150 men, commanded by CaptainStephen Courtney, having Captain Edward Cooke as second captain, andthree lieutenants. Both ships had commission from George Prince ofDenmark, husband to Queen Anne, and Lord High Admiral of England, tocruize on the coasts of Peru and Mexico in the South Sea, against theFrench and Spaniards, and to act jointly and separately. On the 15th June, 1708, we went down to King-road, to fit our ships forsea and the better to keep our men on board, where we continued till the1st August, when we weighed anchor and towed down about five miles belowthe Holmes. We made sail at one next morning, and got into Cork harbouron the 5th August, where we remained till the 27th adjusting all things, taking on board additional men provided there for us, and dischargingsome we had brought from Bristol, who were found unfit for the voyage. Our complement of men in both ships was now 333, of which above a thirdwere foreigners from most nations, several of her majesty's subjects wehad on board being tinkers, tailors, haymakers, pedlars, fiddlers, andthe like, with one negro and ten boys; yet we hoped to be well mannedwith this motley crew, when they had got their sea-legs and had learntthe use of arms. We had double the number of officers usual inprivateers, which was meant to prevent mutinies, so usual in longvoyages, and to secure a succession in case of deaths. Our holds wereso full of provisions, that our cables, and a great deal of our breadand some water casks were between decks, and having 183 men in the Duke, and 151 in the Duchess, we were obliged to send our sheet, cable, andother new store cordage on shore at Cork, to make room for our men andprovisions, yet were so much crowded and lumbered that we could not haveengaged an enemy, without throwing much provisions and stores overboard. Having agreed upon signals between our two ships, and appointed placesof rendezvous in case of separation, and how long to wait at each forone another, we took sailing orders from the Hastings man of war on the1st September, the better to keep company of her and a fleet bound tothe southward and westward. We sailed that day, and the next we and ourconsort stood out from the fleet to chase a sail we saw to windward, when we had the satisfaction to find that our ship sailed as well as anyin the fleet, not excepting the man of war, so that we hoped we shouldfind our heels, although so deeply laden. We found the chase to be asmall vessel coming from Baltimore to join the fleet. On the 4th, Captain Paul of the Hastings proposed to Captain Courtney and me, afterhe left the fleet, which would be soon, to cruise in company a few daysoff Cape Finister, and obligingly supplied us with some scrubbers, ironscrapers for the ships bottoms, a speaking-trumpet, and some otherthings of which we were in want, and would not accept any thing inreturn, as our voyage was to be so long, saying he hoped our ownerswould restore the same articles for his ship on his return. Thatevening, calling our crews on deck, we informed them whither we werebound, and the objects of our expedition; that if any disputes ormutinies had arisen, we might have sent home the refractory in the manof war. Only one poor fellow was dissatisfied, who was to have beentithing-man that year, and feared his wife might have to pay fortyshillings for his default; but seeing all around him pleased with thehope of plunder, he too became easy, and drank as heartily as any one tothe success of the voyage. We gave chase to a ship on the 10th September, about six in the morning, which we came up with about three in the afternoon, when she shewedSwedish colours. On examining the master, we found he had come roundScotland and Ireland, and suspected he had contraband of war, as some ofthe men, whom we found drunk, told us they had gunpowder and cables onboard; wherefore we resolved to examine her strictly, putting twelve ofour men on board, and taking the Swedish master and twelve of his menaboard our ships. Next morning, having examined the men and searched theship, we found it difficult to prove her a legal prize, and, not willingto lose time in carrying her into a port for farther examination, we lether go without embezzlement. She was a frigate-built ship, of about 270tons, and twenty-two guns, belonging to Stadt, near Hamburgh. The crewof the Duke mutinied, headed by our boatswain and other three inferiorofficers, alleging the Swede was a good prize, and had much contrabandgoods on board, though we could find none: but being supported by myofficers, well armed, I at length pacified the men, after putting ten ofthe mutineers in irons, and soundly whipping a sailor who had excitedthe rest. This mutiny would not have been easily got the better of, butfor the number of our officers, whom we now found very useful inbringing our crews under good discipline, a very difficult matter inprivateers, and without which it is utterly impossible to succeed indistant and important enterprises. We sent home Giles Cash, ourboatswain, in irons, on board the Crown galley, with letters to ourowners, justifying our severity; and next morning I discharged ourprisoners from their irons, on their humble submission, and solemnpromise of dutiful behaviour in future. On the 18th, between Fuertaventura and Grand Canary, we chased and tooka small Spanish ship, bound from Teneriff to Fuertaventura, havingseveral men and women passengers, and laden with a variety of goods. Next day we bore away for Oratavia Roads, where, after much discussion, we sold the vessel for 450 dollars, retaining all her goods. The 30thSeptember we put into the harbour of St Vincent, one of the Cape de Verdislands, coming to anchor in ten fathoms within the rock. Seeing severalmen on shore, though the island is not inhabited, Captain Cook went inthe pinnace, well armed, to see who they were, and found them somePortuguese from St Antonio, come to catch turtles or sea-tortoises, whotold him we could have wood and water at this island, which is in lat. 16° 55' N. Long. 24° 50' W. From Greenwich. It has great plenty ofGuinea fowl, with some hogs and goats; and we caught abundance of fishin the road. In the woods there are great numbers of spiders as large aswalnuts, and their webs are very troublesome to get through, being verynumerous, and as strong as ordinary threads. While here, new disturbances arose among the men, in relation to theeffects taken in the late prize; as we had here an opportunity ofpurchasing various things, and every one wished to have the means ofpurchasing. To put an end to all these heart-burnings, and to fix thepeople in a resolution of doing their duty, we determined to settle thisaffair by framing such articles as might inspire the seamen with courageand constancy, and make them as willing to obey as the officers tocommand, without giving our owners any cause of complaint. It cost ussome trouble to adjust these articles, but they effectually answered ourpurpose, and all our people readily agreed to abide by them. After staying two days here, in which we heeled our ships, and got woodand water on board, our boat returned with limes and tobacco; but ourlinguist, who had been sent ashore to procure refreshments, did not makehis appearance. Soon after there came a boat from that part of theisland where the governor resides, on board of which was thedeputy-governor, a negro, who brought limes, tobacco, oranges, fowls, potatoes, hogs, bananas, musk-melons, watermelons, and brandy, all ofwhich we bought of him, paying in prize goods we had taken out of thebark at the Canaries, and at a cheap rate; for they are a poor people, and are ready to truck for any thing they want at any price, in suchpayments as they can make. Being ready to sail, we called a council toconsider what was to be done in respect to the absence of our linguist, who had promised the deputy-governor to wait for him at the water-side, but had broke his word; and therefore, as his absence seemed to beentirely his own fault, it was unanimously resolved that we ought toleave him behind, rather than our two ships should wait for one man, who had disobeyed orders. We were the more inclined to this, that othersmight learn, by this example, to comply with their instructions whensent ashore, and might come aboard again without delay, after completingtheir business, and not flatter themselves that fair words and fineexcuses were to atone for breach of duty, to humour the fancies ofindividuals, at the expence of delaying the voyage. This was certainlybut an indifferent place for our linguist to be left in; but he knew thepeople and the language, and might easily get a passage home. Wepersisted therefore in our resolution, and gave orders for sailing assoon as possible, that we might not lose the proper season, and beobliged to double Cape Horn at a wrong time of the year. Captain Dampier and others in our ships, who had formerly put in at StJago, another of the Cape Verd islands, said that this island of StVincent, though not so much frequented, is preferable to St Jago foroutward-bound ships, as its road is much better, has better land, and ismore convenient for wood and water. The island is mountainous andbarren, its plainest part being over against the sandy bay where weanchored. The wood growing upon it is short, and only fit for fuel. Wewatered at a little stream that flows from a spring down the hill, andis good fresh-water, the others in that neighbourhood being brackish. Itwas formerly inhabited and had a governor, but is now only frequented bythe inhabitants of the other islands in the season for catching turtle, these islanders being mostly negroes and mulattoes, and very poor. Thestock of wild goats on this island has been mostly destroyed by theinhabitants of St Nicholas and St Antonio. The heat at this place was soexcessive to us, newly from Europe, that several of our men became sick, and were blooded. There are a few wild asses; and some of our officerswounded one, after a long chase, yet he held out, and tired them. These islands are named from Cape Verd, on the coast of Africa, whencethey lie about 170 leagues to the west. [218] They are ten in number, ofwhich St Jago, St Nicholas, Bonavista, St Antonio, Brava, Mayo, andFuego are inhabited. _St Jago_ is much the largest and best, and is theseat of the chief governor. Besides sugar and tobacco, this islandproduces a small quantity of indigo, which, with goat-skins and someother articles, are sent to Lisbon. The capital is named likewise StJago, and is the see of a bishop. There is another town, named _Riberagrande_, said to consist of 500 houses, which has a good harbour. Theair of this island is rather unwholesome, and the soil is very unequal, the vallies producing some corn and wine. The goats are fat and goodeating, the females usually producing three or four kids at a birth, once in four months. _St Nicholas_ is the best peopled next after StJago. _Mayo_ has a great deal of salt, formed by the heat of the sun inpits, or ponds, into which the sea-water is let from time to time, andmight furnish many thousand tons yearly, if there were vent for it. Thefine _Marroquin_ leather is made from the goat-skins brought from theseislands. [Footnote 218: The difference of longitude between the cape and islandsis seven degrees W. Or 140 marine leagues. --E. ] We sailed from St Vincent on the 8th October; and in our passage to thecoast of Brazil some new disputes arose among the men. After variousconsultations, it was determined that one Page, second mate of theDuchess, should be removed into the Duke, whence Mr Ballet was to removeinto the Duchess. Captain Cooke was sent to execute this order, whichPage refused to obey, but was brought away by force. Being accused ofmutiny, he requested leave to go to the head before entering on hisdefence, which was permitted, when he jumped overboard, meaning to swimto the Duchess, while both captains were absent; but he was brought backand punished, which ended this dissension. The 18th November we anchoredbefore Isla Grande, on the coast of Brazil, in eleven fathoms. Whilehere new quarrels arose, and matters had like to have come to a greatheight in the Duchess, when Captain Courtney put eight of theringleaders in irons, which frightened the rest, and probably preventedan attempt to run away with the ship. On the 23d two men deserted fromthe Duchess, but were so frightened in the night by tigers, as theysupposed, though only monkeys and baboons, that they took refuge in thesea, and hallooed with all their might till they were fetched on board:yet, on the 25th, two Irish landmen stole away into the woods; but bothwere taken next day, and put in irons. This island is remarkably high land, having a small cliff and a tipstanding up on one side, in the middle of the highest land, easily seenin clear weather; and there is a small island without _Isla Grande_ tothe southward, rising in three little hummocks, the nearest hummock tothe great island being the smallest. There is also a singularly roundwhite rock on the larboard side, nearest Isla Grande, at the entrancebetween it and the main going in. On the starboard-side of this entrancethere are several islands, and even the main land has much theappearance of islands till well in. The best way is, when you haveopened the coves on the starboard-side going in, which are inhabited, toget a pilot to carry you to the watering-cove on Isla Grande; otherwisesend a boat to the watering-cove, which lies round the inner and westernpoint of the island, and is near a league in the passage between smallislands, but room enough and bold. It is the second cove, under thefirst high mount, round behind the first-seen point, after getting inbetween, the two islands. This is the cove at which we watered; and wesounded all the passage going in, having seldom less than ten fathoms. There are other two very good coves, but we had not time to sound them. The town is N. E. From this cove, about three leagues distant. _Isla Grande_ is about nine leagues long, consisting of high land, as inthe main, and all near the water is thickly covered with wood. Theisland abounds with monkeys and other wild beasts, and has plenty ofgood timber for various uses as well as fuel, with excellent water; andoranges, lemons, and guavas grow wild in the woods. From the town weprocured rum, sugar, and tobacco, and the last is sold very dear, thoughnot good for smoking, being too strong. We got also fowls and hogs, butthe latter were scarce and dear; likewise maize, or Indian corn, bananas, plantains, guavas, lemons, oranges, and pine-apples are ingreat plenty; but they have no bread except _cassada_, which they call_faranada pan_, or bread of wood. Beef and mutton were cheap, but nogreat quantity to be had. We had fine pleasant weather most of the timewe were here, but hot like an oven, as the sun was quite vertical. Thewinds we did not much observe, as they were little and variable, butcommonly between the N. And E. I had Neuhoff's account of Brazil on board, and from all the enquiry andobservation I could make, I found his description of the country, withits animals and productions, to be just. I particularly enquiredrespecting the monster called the _liboya_, or roebuck-serpent, thinkingit fabulous; but the Portuguese governor assured me that they aresometimes found thirty feet long, and as big round as a barrel, beingable to swallow a roebuck at one morsel, whence it has its name; and hetold me that one of these enormous serpents had been killed near thetown, a short time before our arrival. The principal products of Brazilare red wood, bearing the name of the country; sugar, gold, tobacco, snuff, whale oil, and various kinds of drugs; and the Portuguese buildtheir best ships in this country. Brazil has now become very populous, and the people take great delight in arms, especially about the goldmines, to which people of all kinds resort in great numbers, especiallynegroes and mulattoes. Only four years ago [in 1704] these peopleendeavoured to make themselves independent, but have now submitted. Somemen of repute told me that the gold mines increase fast inproductiveness, and that the gold is got much easier in them than in anyother country. The indigenous Brazilian women are very fruitful, and have easy labours, on which occasion they retire into the woods, and bring forth alone, andreturn home after washing themselves and their child; the husbands lyinga-bed for the first twenty-four hours, being treated as if they hadendured the pains of child-birth. The _Tapoyers_, who inhabit the inlandcountry to the west, are the most barbarous of the natives, being tallerand stronger than any of the other tribes, and indeed than mostEuropeans. They wear, by way of ornament, little sticks thrust throughtheir cheeks and underlips, and are said to be cannibals, using poisonedarrows and darts. They live chiefly by hunting and fishing, shiftingtheir habitations according to the seasons. Their kings, or chiefs, aredistinguished by a particular manner of shaving their crowns, and bywearing their nails very long. Their priests are sorcerers, making thepeople believe that the devils appear to them in the form of certaininsects, and they perform their diabolical worship in the night, whenthe women make dismal howlings, in which consists their principaldevotion. They allow polygamy, yet punish adultery with death. When theyoung women are marriageable, but not courted, their mothers carry themto the chiefs, who deflower them, and this is deemed a great honour. Some of these people were considerably civilized by the Dutch, whilethey possessed a part of Brazil, and did them good service under theconduct of their native chiefs. Leaving Isla Grande on the 30th November, we continued our voyage far tothe south, where we endured great cold, owing to which, a third part ofboth ships companies fell sick while passing round Cape Horn, for whichreason we bore away for the island of Juan Fernandez, which we had somedifficulty to find, owing to its being laid down differently in all thecharts. Even Captain Dampier was much at a loss, though he had beenthere so often, and had as it were a map of the island in his head, which exactly agreed with it when we came there. This ought to inducesea-officers to prefer their own proper business to amusement, since, with all this knowledge, we were forced to make the main land of Chili, in order to find this island, and did not strike it at the last withoutconsiderable difficulty. We arrived at the island of _Juan Fernandez_ on the 1st February 1709, and having a good observation the day before, when we found our lat. 34°10' S. [219] In the afternoon we hoisted out our pinnace, in whichCaptain Dover set off to go on shore, though not less than four leaguesfrom the ship. As it grew dark, we observed a light on shore, which somewere of opinion was from our boat, but it was evidently too large forthat, and we hung up a light to direct our boat, firing our quarter-deckgun, and showing lights in our mizen and fore shrouds, that our boatmight find us, as we had fallen to leeward of the island. Our boat cameaboard again about two in the morning, having turned back on seeing thelight ashore when within a league, and we were glad they had got off sowell, as it now began to blow. We were all convinced that the lightwhich we had seen was from the shore, and therefore prepared our shipsfor an engagement, supposing it might proceed from some French ships atanchor, which we must either fight or want water. All this stir andapprehension, as we afterwards found, arose from one poor man, whopassed in our imaginations for a Spanish garrison, a body of Frenchmen, or a crew of pirates, and it is incredible what strange notions some ofour people entertained about this light; yet it served to show theirtempers and spirits, and enabled us to guess how our men would behave, in case there really were enemies on the island. [Footnote 219: Juan Fernandez is in lat 33° 40' S. Long. 79° W. MassaFaera, in the same latitude, is in long. 80° 50' W. From Greenwich. --E. ] While under these apprehensions, we stood to the back of the island inorder to fall in with the southerly wind, till we were past the island. We then stood back for it again, and ran close aboard the land thatbegins to form its N. E. Side. The flaws came heavy off the land, and wewere forced to reef our top-sails when we opened the middle bay, wherewe expected to have found our enemy, but saw all clear, and no shipseither there or in the other bay near the N. E. End. These are the onlybays in which ships can ride that come here for refreshments, the middleone being the best. We now conjectured that there had been ships here, but that they had gone away on seeing us. About noon of the 2d February, we sent our yawl on shore, in which was Captain Dover, Mr Fry, and sixmen, all armed; and in the mean time we and the Duchess kept turning in, and such heavy squalls came off the land that we had to let fly ourtop-sail sheets, keeping all hands to stand by our sails, lest the windsshould blow them away. These flaws proceed from the land, which is veryhigh in the middle of the island; but when they passed by, we had littleor no wind. As our yawl did not return, we sent the pinnace well armed, to see what had occasioned the yawl to stay, being afraid there might bea Spanish garrison on the island, who might have seized her and our men. Even the pinnace delays returning, on which we put up a signal for herto come back, when she soon came off with abundance of cray-fish, bringing also a man cloathed in goat-skins, who seemed wilder than theoriginal owners of his apparel. His name was _Alexander Selkirk_, aScotsman, who had been left here by Captain Stradling in theCinque-ports, and had lived alone on the island for four years and fourmonths. Captain Dampier told me he had been master of the Cinque-ports, and was the best man in that vessel; so I immediately agreed with him toserve as a mate in the Duke. During his stay, he had seen several shipspass by, but only two came to anchor at the island, which he found to beSpaniards, and therefore retired from them, on which they fired at him, but he escaped into the woods. Had they been French, he would havesurrendered to them; but chose rather to run the risk of dying alone onthe island than fall into the hands of the Spaniards, as he suspectedthey would either put him to death, or make him a slave in their mines. The Spaniards had landed before he knew what they were, and came so nearhim that he had much ado to escape; for they not only shot at him, butpursued him into the woods, where he climbed up a tree, at the foot ofwhich some of them made water, and killed several goats just by, yetwent away without discovering him. He told us that he was born in Largo, in the county of Fife in Scotland, and was bred a sailor from his youth. The reason of his being left herewas a difference with Captain Stradling; which, together with the shipbeing leaky, made him at first rather willing to stay here than tocontinue in the ship; and when at last he was inclined to have gone, thecaptain would not receive him. He had been at the island before to woodand water, when two of the men were left upon it for six months, theship being chased away by two French South-Sea ships; but theCinque-ports returned and took them off, at which time he was left. Hehad with him his clothes and bedding, with a firelock and some powderand bullets, some tobacco, a knife, a kettle, a bible, with some otherbooks, and his mathematical instruments. He diverted himself andprovided for his sustenance as well as he could; but had much ado tobear up against melancholy for the first eight months, and was soredistressed at being left alone in such a desolate place. He builthimself two huts of pimento trees, thatched with long grass, and linedwith goat-skins, killing goats as he needed them with his gun, so longas his powder lasted, which was only about a pound at first. When thatwas all spent, he procured fire by rubbing two sticks of pimento woodtogether. He slept in his larger hut, and cooked his victuals in thesmaller, which was at some distance, and employed himself in reading, praying, and singing psalms, so that he said he was a better Christianduring his solitude than he had ever been before, or than, as he wasafraid, he should ever be again. At first he never ate but when constrained by hunger, partly from grief;and partly for want of bread and salt. Neither did he then go to bedtill he could watch no longer, the pimento wood serving him both forfire and candle, as it burned very clear, and refreshed him by itsfragrant smell. He might have had fish enough, but would not eat themfor want of salt, as they occasioned a looseness; except cray-fish, which are as large as our lobsters, and are very good. These hesometimes boiled, and at other times broiled, as he did his goat'sflesh, of which he made good broth, for they are not so rank as ourgoats. Having kept an account, he said he had killed 500 goats while onthe island, besides having caught as many more, which he marked on theear and let them go. When his powder failed, he run down the goats byspeed of foot; for his mode of living, with continual exercise ofwalking and running, cleared him of all gross humours, so that he couldrun with wonderful swiftness through the woods, and up the hills androcks, as we experienced in catching goats for us. We had a bull-dog, which we sent along with several of our nimblest runners to help him incatching goats, but he outstript our dog and men, caught the goats, andbrought them to us on his back. On one occasion, his agility in pursuinga goat had nearly cost him his life: as, while pursuing it with greateagerness, he caught hold of it on the brink of a precipice, of which, he was not aware, being concealed by bushes, so that he fell with thegoat down the precipice to a great depth, and was so bruised and stunnedby the fall, that he lay senseless, as he supposed, for twenty-fourhours, and when he recovered his senses found the goat dead under him. He was then scarcely able to crawl to his hut, about a mile distant, andcould not stir out again for ten days. He came at length to relish his meat well enough without bread and salt. In the proper season he had plenty of good turnips, which had been sowedthere by Captain Dampier's men, and had now spread over several acres ofground. He had also abundance of cabbage, from the cabbage-palms, andseasoned his food with the fruit of the pimento, which is the same withJamaica pepper, and has a fine flavour. He found also a species of blackpepper, called _malageta_, which was good for expelling wind and curinggripes. He soon wore out all his shoes and other clothes, by running inthe woods; and, being forced to shift without, his feet became so hardthat he ran about every where without inconvenience, and it was sometime after he came to us before he could wear shoes, as his feet swelledwhen he first began again to wear them. After he had got the better ofhis melancholy, he sometimes amused himself with carving his name on thetrees, together with the date of his being left there, and the time ofhis solitary residence. At first he was much pestered with cats andrats, which had bred there in great numbers from some of each specieswhich had got on shore from ships that had wooded and watered at theisland. The rats gnawed his feet and clothes when he was asleep, whichobliged him to cherish the cats, by feeding them with goats flesh, sothat many of them became so tame that they used to lie beside him inhundreds, and soon delivered him from the rats. He also tamed some kids, and for his diversion would at times sing and dance with them and hiscats: So that, by the favour of Providence and the vigour of his youth, for he was now only thirty years of age, he came at length to conquerall the inconveniences of his solitude, and to be quite easy in hismind. When his clothes were worn out, he made himself a coat and a cap of goatskins, which he stitched together with thongs of the same, cut out withhis knife, using a nail by way of a needle or awl. When his knife wasworn out, he made others as well as he could of some old hoops that hadbeen left on the shore, which he beat out thin between two stones, andgrinded to an edge on a smooth stone. Having some linen cloth, he sewedhimself some shirts by means of a nail for a needle, stitching them withworsted, which he pulled out on purpose from his old stockings, and hehad the last of his shirts on when we found him. At his first coming onboard, he had so much forgotten his language, for want of use, that wecould scarcely understand him, as he seemed to speak his words only byhalves. We offered him a dram, which he refused, not having drank anything but water all the time he had been on the island, and it was sometime before he could relish our provisions. He could give us no fartheraccount of the productions of the island than has been already, exceptthat there were some very good black plums, but hard to come at, as thetrees which bear them grow on high mountains and steep rocks. There aremany pimento trees, some of them being sixty feet high and two yardsround; and we saw cotton trees still higher, and near four fathoms roundthe stems. The climate is excellent, and the trees and grass are quiteverdant the whole year. The winter lasts no longer than June and July, and is not then severe, there being then only slight frosts and a littlehail, but sometimes very great rains. The heat of summer is equallymoderate, and there is not much thunder or tempestuous weather. He sawno venomous, or savage creature on the island, nor any other beastsbesides goats, bred there from a few brought by Juan Fernandez, aSpaniard, who settled there with a few families, till the continent ofChili began to submit to the Spaniards when they removed to that countryas more profitable. This island, however, might maintain a good manypeople, and is capable of being made so strong that they could not beeasily dislodged. We got our smith's forge ashore on the 3d February, and set our coopersto work to repair our water casks. They made a little tent also for meon shore, to enjoy the benefit of the land air. The two ships also setup tents for their sick, so that we had presently a kind of small town, in which all who were able were busily employed. A few men supplied uswith excellent fish, in such abundance that they could take as many in afew hours as would serve 200 men for a meal. There were some sea-fowl inthe bay, as large as geese, but they eat fishy. The governor, for so wecalled Mr Selkirk, never failed to procure us two or three goats everyday for our sick men, by which, with the help of cabbages and othervegetables, and the wholesome air, our men soon recovered from thescurvy, and we found this island exceedingly agreeable, the weatherbeing neither too hot nor too cold. We spent our time till the 10th inrefitting our ships, taking wood on board, and laying in a stock ofwater, that which we brought from England, St Vincents, and Isla Grande, being spoilt by the badness of our casks. We also boiled up and refinedeighty gallons of oil of sea-lions, which we used in lamps to savecandles, and might have prepared several tons, if we had been providedwith vessels. The sailors sometimes used this oil to fry their fish, forwant of butter, and found it sufficiently agreeable. The men who workedashore in repairing our rigging, eat the young seals, which theypreferred to our ship's provisions, alleging that it was as good asEnglish lamb. We made all the haste we could to get every thing onboard, as we learnt at the Canaries that five stout French privateerswere coming in company into the South Sea. This island of Juan Fernandez is about fifteen English miles in lengthfrom E. To W. And five miles where broadest, but averaging little morethan two miles in breadth, and is mostly composed of high rugged land. Iknow of nothing in its neighbourhood which may endanger a ship, exceptwhat is distinctly visible. We anchored in the great bay, [La Baia orCumberland harbour] on the N. E. Side, about a mile from the bottom ofthe bay, our best bower being dropt in forty fathoms, and the streamanchor carried in with the shore, where it was laid in about thirtyfathoms. We here had plenty of several sorts of fish, as silver-fish, snappers, bonitoes, cavallos, pollocks, old wives, and cray-fish ofgreat size. The wind blows here generally off the shore, sometimes inheavy squalls, but for the most part calm, and where we were moored thewater was very smooth, owing to the winding of the shore. Mr Selkirktold us it had never blown towards the land above four hours, all thetime he had been there. It is all hills and vallies, and would doubtlessproduce most plants usual in such climates, if manured and cultivated, as the soil promises well in most parts, and already grows turnips andsome other roots, which I suppose were formerly sowed. It has plenty ofwood and water, and abundance of wild goats. There are such numbers of great sea-lions and other seals of varioussorts, all having excellent furs, in every bay, that we could hardlywalk about along shore for them, as they lay about in flocks like sheep, their young ones bleating for their dams like so many lambs. Some ofthese sea-lions are as big in the body as an English ox, and they roarlike lions. They are covered with short hair of a light colour, which isstill lighter on the young ones. I suppose they live partly on fish andpartly on grass, for they come on shore by means of their fore paws, dragging their hind parts after them, and bask themselves in the sun ingreat numbers. They cut near a foot deep of fat, and we killed a goodmany of them for the sake of their oil, which is of good quality, butthey are difficult to kill. Both sea-lions and seals were so numerous onthe shore, that we had to drive them away before we could land, and theywere so numerous as is hardly credible, making a most prodigious noise. There are but few birds. One sort, called _pardelas_ by the Spaniards, burrow in the ground like rabbits, and are said to be good eating. Thereare also _humming-birds_, not much larger than bumble bees, their billsno thicker than a pin, their legs proportional to their bodies, andtheir minute feathers of most beautiful colours. These are seldom takenor seen but in the evenings, when they fly about, and they flewsometimes at night into our fire. There is here a sort of cabbage tree, of the nature of a palm, producing small cabbages, but very sweet. Thetree is slender and straight, with circular knobs on the stem fourteeninches above each other, and having no leaves except at the top. Thebranches are about twelve feet long, and at about a foot and a half fromthe body of the tree begin to shoot out leaves, which are four feet longand an inch broad, and so regularly placed that the whole branch seemsone entire leaf. The cabbage, which grows out from the bottom of thebranches, is about a foot long and very white; and at the bottom of thisthere grow clusters of berries, weighing five or six pounds, likebunches of grapes, as red as cherries and larger than our black-heartcherries, each having a large stone in the middle, and the pulp eatslike our haws. These cabbage trees abound about three miles into thewoods, the trunk being often eighty or ninety feet high, and is alwayscut down to get the cabbages, which are good eating; but most of themgrow on the tops of the nearest mountains to the great bay. We found here some Guinea pepper, and some silk cotton trees, besidesseveral others with the names of which I am not acquainted. Pimento isthe best timber, and the most plentiful at this side of the island, butit is very apt to split till it is a little dried. We cut the longestand cleanest to split for fire wood. In the nearest plain, we foundabundance of turnip greens, and water-cresses in the brooks, whichgreatly refreshed our men, and quickly cured them of the scurvy. MrSelkirk said the turnips formed good roots in our summer months, whichare winter at this island; but this being autumn, they were all run upto seed, so that we had no benefit of them excepting their green leavesand shoots. The soil is a loose black earth, and the rocks are veryrotten, so that it is dangerous to climb the hills for cabbages withoutgreat care. There are also many holes dug into the ground by a sort ofbirds called _puffins_, which give way in walking, and endanger thebreaking or wrenching a limb. Mr Selkirk said he had seen snow and icehere in July, the depth of the southern winter; but in September, October, and November, the spring months, the climate is very pleasant, and there are then abundance of excellent herbs, as purslein, parsley, and sithes. We found also an herb, not unlike _feverfew_, which provedvery useful to our surgeons for fomentations. It has a most gratefulsmell like balm, but stronger and more cordial, and grew in plenty nearthe shore. We gathered many large bundles of it, which were dried in theshade, and sent aboard for after-use, besides strewing the tents with itfresh gathered every morning, which tended much to the recovery of oursick, of whom, though numerous when we came here, only two diedbelonging to the Duchess. We found the nights very cold, and the daysnot near so warm as might have been expected in so low a latitude. Ithardly ever rains, instead of which there fall very heavy dews in thenight, which serve the purposes of rain, and the air is almostperpetually serene. The 13th February we held a consultation, in which we framed severalregulations for preserving secrecy, discipline, and strict honesty inboth vessels: and on the 17th we determined that two men from the Dukeshould serve in the Duchess, and two of her men in the Duke, to see thatjustice was reciprocally done by each ship's company to the other. The28th we tried both pinnaces in the water under sail, having a gun fixedin each, and every thing else requisite to render them very useful smallprivateers. SECTION II. _Proceedings of the Expedition on the Western Coast of America_. In the evening of the 13th March[220] we saw a sail, and the Duchessbeing nearest soon took her. She was a small bark of sixteen tons fromPayta, bound to Cheripe for flour, having a small sum of money on boardto make the purchase, being commanded by a _Mestizo_, or one begottenbetween a Spaniard and an Indian, having a crew of eight men, one aSpaniard, another a negro, and all the rest Indians. On asking for news, we were told, that all the French ships, being seven in number, had leftthe South Sea six months before, and no more were to come there; adding, that the Spaniards had such an aversion to them, that they had killedmany Frenchmen at Callao, the port of Lima, and quarrelled with them sofrequently that none of them were suffered to come ashore there for sometime before they sailed. [Footnote 220: It is quite obvious that they had now left JuanFernandez, but this circumstance and its date are omitted byHarris. --E. ] After putting some men aboard the prize, we haled close upon a wind forthe isle of _Lobos_, and had we not been informed by our prisoners, hadendangered our ships by running too far within that isle, as there areshoals between the island and the main, having a passage for boats onlyin that direction to get into the road which is to leeward of theseislands in a sound between them. This sound is a mile long and half amile wide, and has from ten to twelve fathoms on good ground. The onlyentrance for ships is to leeward of the islands. We went in with a smallweather tide, but I could never observe it to flow above three feetwhile we were there. On the eastermost island there is a round hummock, behind which is a small cove, very smooth, deep, and convenient enoughfor careening a ship; we here hauled up and fitted our prize, which wenamed the _Beginning_. The highest part of the island of Lobos, as seenfrom the road, did not seem much higher than the top-mast head of alarge ship. The soil is a hungry white clayish earth, mixed with sandand rocks; and there is no fresh water, nor any green thing to be seenon either of the islands. They are frequented by many vultures orcarrion crows, and looked so like turkeys that one of our officers wasrejoiced at the sight, expecting to fare sumptuously, and would not waittill the boat could put him ashore, but leapt into the water with hisgun, and let fly at a parcel of them; but, when he came to take up hisgame, it stunk most abominably, and made us merry at his expence. Theother birds here are pelicans, penguins, boobies, gulls, and oneresembling teal, which nestle in holes under ground. Our men got greatnumbers of these birds, which they said were good meat after beingskinned. We found abundance of bulrushes and empty jars, which the Spanishfishers had left on shore; for all over this western coast of America, they use earthen jars instead of casks, for containing oil, wine, andall other liquids. There are here abundance of sea-lions and seals, thelatter being much larger than those we saw at Juan Fernandez, but theirfur not so fine. Our people killed several of these, on purpose to eattheir livers; but a Spaniard on board died suddenly after eating them, and I forbade their use, and we learnt also from our prisoners that theold seals are very unwholesome. The wind commonly blows here fresh fromthe south, veering to the east, and coming over the land to where welay, brought with it a most noisome smell from the seals on shore, whichgave me a violent headach, and offended every one else extremely. Wefound nothing so offensive at Juan Fernandez. Our prisoners told as, that the widow of the late viceroy of Peru wassoon expected to embark in a Spanish man of war of thirty-six guns forAcapulco, with her family and riches; on which voyage she would eitherstop at Payta for refreshments, or pass in sight of that place, as iscustomary. They said also that about eight months before, a ship hadpassed Payta for Acapulco, loaded with flour and liquors, and having200, 000 dollars on board. Also, that they had left signior Morel atPayta, in a ship laden with dry goods, who was expected to sail shortlyfor Lima; and that a stout French-built ship richly laden, and having abishop on board, was shortly expected at Payta. This is the common placefor refreshments, and is frequented by most ships from Lima or otherparts to windward, on their way to Panama or other ports on the westerncoast of Mexico. On this information, we determined to spend as muchtime as possible cruising off Payta, so as not to discover that we werein these seas lest we should thereby hinder our other designs. In pursuance of this plan, we took a galleon on the 1st April, of 500tons burden, commanded by two brothers, Joseph and Juan Morel, ladenwith dry goods and negroes; and next day we took another prize. We nowdetermined to make an attack on the town of _Guayaquil_; and on the 11thApril, in a grand consultation, this enterprize was fully resolved upon, and a paper of instructions was drawn up for the guidance of theofficers who were to command, so that each might be taught and kept tohis duty. This enterprize was to be conducted by the three captains, Rogers, Courtney, and Dover. Captain Dover was to command the vandivision, consisting of seventy marines; Rogers the centre company, ofseventy-one men, mostly officers and sailors; and Courtney therear-guard, of seventy-three men; while Captain Dampier, with a reserveof twenty-two men, was to bring up some pieces of cannon, to be employedif necessary. Our force therefore on this occasion consisted of 238men. [221] Captain Cooke was to remain in the Duchess with forty-two men, and Captain Fry in the Duke with forty, our entire force being 320 men, while we had about 266 prisoners in both ships, including Indians andNegroes. [Footnote 221: The enumeration in the text gives only 236 men. --E. ] Every thing being arranged, we bore in for Cape _Blanco_ on the 13th, ofwhich we had sight about noon, bearing E. S. E. Ten leagues off. On the15th in the morning we saw a ship near the shore, and having littlewind, the Duke's boat, commanded by Captain Fry, and that of the Duchessby Captain Cooke, rowed directly for her, going off in such haste thatneither of them had the swivel guns commonly used in the boats, neitherhad they their full complement of men, and only ten muskets and fourpistols, with not much powder and shot, and no water. They rowed veryhard for six leagues to get up with the ship, and on Mr Fry gettingnear, she hoisted Spanish colours. We could plainly see that she wasFrench-built, and therefore concluded that it must be the ship we hadlong looked for, which was to carry the bishop. Our ships being almostout of sight, and the chase near the coast, making the best of her wayto run ashore in a sandy bay, we resolved to lay her on board, one ofour boats on each bow, I[222] being then on her weather quarter, andCaptain Fry on her lee. It was our intention to pretend that we werefriends, till we should get out of the way of her stern-chase guns; butthe Duke's men, conceiving the Spaniards were going to give us avolley, poured in their shot. We then laid in our oars, and fell to withour small arms. We kept up a constant fire for a long time, which wasreturned by the Spaniards, who killed two of Captain Fry's men, andwounded one of his and two of mine. One of the dead men was John Rogers, our second lieutenant, and brother to Captain Woods Rogers, who hadbehaved himself gallantly. Finding the enterprize too difficult, CaptainFry drew off his boat, as I did soon after. Captain Fry then put some ofhis men aboard my boat, giving us some powder and shot, and taking inour wounded men, on which he stood away towards our ships, while Iresolved to keep the chase if possible from running on shore, and ratherthan fail to clap her on board. Seeing our design, the enemy edged offto sea, and we after them. Our ships came up apace, while we kept closeto the Spaniard, sometimes firing at him. At length the Duchess got upand fired a shot or two, on which she struck, and we immediatelyboarded. The men begged for quarter, and we promised them all civility. This ship was of 270 tons, commanded by Don Joseph Arizabella, and hadcome from Panama bound for Lima, where she was to have been fitted outas a man of war, the captain having his commission on board for thatpurpose. She had seventy negroes on board, with many passengers. Theloading was bale goods, with some things belonging to the bishop, and aconsiderable quantity of pearls; but the bishop had been landed at PointSt Helena, whence he was to go by land to Guayaquil. Many of thepassengers were considerable merchants at Lima, and the briskestSpaniards I ever saw. After the capture of this ship, Captain Cookeremained on board, sending her captain and the rest of the prisoners tothe Duke and Duchess. [Footnote 222: This particular action is related by Harris in the wordsof Captain Cooke, who commanded the boat from the Duchess. --E. ] We now proceeded on our intended expedition against Guayaquil, sendingthe _Beginning_ ahead to _Punta arena_, or Sandy Point, on the island ofPuna, to see if there was any force to oppose us; but she only found aSpanish bark, quite empty, riding close under the point. She had beensent to load salt, but her men had abandoned her on seeing us approach. At five in the afternoon, our whole force intended for the attack uponGuayaquil, being embarked in boats, rowed for that place; and at elevenat night we could see a light in the town, on which we rowed as easy aswe could and in silence, for fear of being discovered; till we werewithin a mile of the place. We then heard a sentinel call to another, and after conversing for some time, bid him bring fire. Perceiving wewere now discovered, we rowed to the other side of the river, oppositethe town, whence we saw a fire lighted up at the place where thecentinels had talked, and soon after we could see lights all over thetown and at the water side, heard them ring the alarm bell, fire severalvollies, and saw a fire lighted on the hill where the beacon was kept, all on purpose to give notice to the town and neighbourhood that we werecome into the river. Our boats were now moored with grapplings, and so hot a dispute tookplace among some of our officers, that they were heard on shore; but asthe Spaniards did not understand what they said, an English prisoner wasbrought to the shore to interpret what they heard. By the time he came, the dispute was over; but this Englishman afterwards joined us, and gaveus this account. We held a council in the stern sheets of one of ourboats, to consider whether we should land immediately or wait tillday-light; and, as the barks were not come up, in which were theartillery and half of our men, and as we did not know the groundsufficiently to act in the dark, it was agreed to wait till day, bywhich time it was hoped the barks would join. We accordingly fell downthe river a short way, to meet our barks, hearing several musket shotsby the way. On the 23d April at day-break, we saw one of our barks atanchor within a mile of the town, close under the shore, and the othercoming up the river with the tide of flood. We then rowed up to ourbark, which had fired the shots we heard in the night at some fishermenpassing by, whom they took. All our force being now joined, we proceeded up the river, and sent aflag of truce on shore, accompanied by Don Joseph Arizabella, thegovernor of Puna, and another prisoner; and then towed up our barks overagainst the town, where we came to an anchor. When Captain Arizabellacame with our flag of truce before the corregidor or mayor ofGuayaquill, he enquired our numbers, which the captain magnified, onwhich the corregidore said we were boys, not men. To this the captainanswered, he would find them men, and brave ones too, for they hadfought him gallantly in their open boats, although he had slain thebrother of their commander and others; and therefore advised him toagree for the ransom of the town, as even if he had 3000 men he would beunable to withstand the English. To this the corregidore replied, _Myhorse is ready_. After bringing our barks to anchor, we went up the river after somevessels, six of which we secured and brought to anchor beside our barks. We also took possession of two new ships of about 400 tons burden each. Soon after this, the governor came on board one of the prizes, to treatfor the ransom of the town and ships, but could not then agree, butpromised to meet the captains again at seven in the evening, but did notkeep his sword. This evening our boats took some canoes having silver onboard. On the 24th in the morning, the governor came off again to treat, but no agreement could be made; and at four in the afternoon we landedall our men in good order, when the Spaniards only fired one volley andthen fled. Our men pursued them to where their cannon were placed, whichthey soon gained possession of, only one gunner, an Irishman, remainingby them till he was wounded in four places, of which he soon afterwardsdied. We marched through both towns in a compact body, driving the enemybefore us, and then placed three guards in the three churches, settingfire to five or six houses which stood near to a wood into which theSpaniards had fled, that they might not have the cover of these housesto annoy our guard, which stood within pistol shot. All night they keptfiring at our sentinels from the woods, yet without doing us any harm. Several parties also of horse and foot came out of the wood, as if toattack us, but made no attempt. In the mean time, the pinnace belongingto the Duchess, in which was Lieutenant Connely and twenty-two men, wentup the river, landed at every house near its banks, and brought away allthe plate and other articles of value they could find. In this service, they had some skirmishing with the enemy, in which one of our men waswounded. On the 25th the enemy appeared numerous in the woods, whence theysometimes came out and skirmished with our guards, in which one of ourmen was wounded. We spent the afternoon in sending off provisions fromthe town to our ships, and in disposing all things in readiness in caseof being attacked in the night, as the enemy appeared numerous aboutthe outskirts. For this reason, all the captains concentrated our wholeforce at the main guard, where we had our cannon in readiness. Messengers arrived with a flag of truce in the morning of the 26th, totreat for ransoming the town, but could not agree; but in the afternoonit was at length agreed to pay 30, 000 dollars for its ransom, givingthree hostages, and we were to remain at Puna till they had time toraise the sum, as the inhabitants had carried away their money, andbeing so dispersed that it was impossible to collect the money while wewere there, even the inhabitants of the adjacent country having carriedoff their valuable effects into the interior. In the morning of the 27th, the hostages for the ransom were sent onboard one of our barks, together with a boatload of brandy; and, asagreed upon with the Spaniards, we took down our union jack, hoisted aflag of truce, and fired a signal gun, that the Spaniards might comefreely into the town, and that no hostilities should take place oneither side during the time we had agreed to wait for the money. Thepurpose of admitting the Spanish inhabitants was to prevent the Indiansand Negroes from robbing; and I am apt to believe they had alreadyrobbed as much as we had plundered, for we had taken many of them loadedwith goods, while going our rounds, which they confessed to have stolen;and we were afterwards informed, that the inhabitants, in their hurry, had given much plate and money to Negroes to carry out of town, whichthey could never hear of afterwards. The 29th in the morning we took a small Spanish bark, coming fromCheripe to Guayaquil, on board of which were 330 bags of meal, and 140arobas or hundred-weights of sugar, with some onions, quinces, andpomegranates. This, with the six barks and two great ships ransomed withthe town of Guayaquil, made 14 prizes taken in the South Sea. Theplunder taken in Guayaquil, exclusive of the ransom, was veryconsiderable. We found 230 bags of flour, beans, peas, and rice; 15 jarsof oil, besides 160 jars of other liquor; some cordage, iron ware, andnails; about four half jars of powder; about a ton of pitch and tar; 150bales of dry goods; a few packs of indigo, cacao, and arnotto; about aton of loaf-sugar; a considerable parcel of clothes and othernecessaries, and to the value of about £1200 in plate, ear-rings, andother trinkets; besides four pieces of cannon, and about 200 uselessmuskets. We left abundance of goods in the town, besides liquors of allsorts, and a variety of naval stores, and several warehouses full ofcacao. We left also several ships on the stocks, and two new ships stillunrigged, of above 400 tons each, which cost upwards of 80, 000 crowns;and we also restored four barks, leaving two others to bring down theransom. Thus it appears that the Spaniards had a good bargain; but theagreed ransom, though small, was far better for us than to burn what wecould not carry away. The hostages informed us, that during our treaty80, 000 dollars belonging to the king had been sent out of the town, besides plate, jewels, and other things of the greatest value. Hence itis certain, if we had landed at the first, giving them no time at all, that we had been much greater gainers, and might have made 200, 000dollars, in ready money, plate, and jewels. Yet Guayaquil had not beenso poor for forty years as now, there having been a great fire about ayear and half before we took it, in which the best part of the town wasburnt down, and had occasioned great expence for its rebuilding. As it was, we thought ourselves well off, and great care was taken thatall concerned in the expedition should be satisfied, by which our peoplewere much gratified, and afterwards shewed great alacrity in executingour other enterprizes. This is of the utmost consequence withprivateers; for, if the men have the smallest jealousy of being illtreated in this respect, disputes arise which do infinitely moremischief than the value of what can be got by such sinister practices. Among all the men who landed in this enterprize, the only man who dranka cup too much was one John Gabriel, a Dutchman, who served in thecompany commanded by Captain Rogers. When we were evacuating the town, he was missing, and was supposed to be either taken or slain. But he hadfound some excellent brandy in the house where he was quartered, ofwhich he drank so liberally that he fell fast asleep on the floor, andwas in that condition when we evacuated the town. The master of thehouse returned soon after, and found the Dutchman stretched out at fulllength, and so dead asleep that he could hardly distinguish whether hewere living. Calling in some of his neighbours, and securing theDutchman's weapons, they set him on his feet, and with some difficultybrought him to his senses, when he was not a little alarmed at findinghimself in such company. At length the Spaniard restored his arms, anddesired him to make all the haste he could after his comrades, who werenot yet embarked. On the 2d May, which was the day appointed for payment of the ransom, noboat appeared, and we began to be uneasy for our money; but at lengththe boat arrived, and brought us 22, 000 dollars. We received the money, and sent back a message that we proposed to sail from Puna next morning, and should carry away the hostages, if the rest of the money were notthen sent. We staid however till the 6th, when Captain Courtney wasanxious to depart, lest we should be attacked by the French and Spanishships from Lima. I endeavoured in vain to convince him that we were inno danger, as they could not by this time have received notice at Lima, and have fitted out a force sufficient to attack us. We sailed however, and came to anchor in the afternoon a few leagues from Point Arena. Nextmorning, when we were preparing to sail, Mr Morel, a gentleman from Punarelated to our prisoners, and another gentleman from Guayaquil, broughtus 3500 dollars, in farther payment of our ransom. This put us into suchgood humour, that we discharged all our prisoners except the Morels, thethree hostages, and three or four more. The gentleman from Guayaquil hada gold chain and some other things of value, for which we sold him ourbark, the _Beginning_, having no farther use for her. We also gaveCaptain Arizabella three negro women, and another to Mr Morel, andreturned their wearing apparel to most of our prisoners who were nowliberated, so that we parted good friends. _Guayaquil_ is divided into two parts, called the old and new towns, which together contain about 500 houses, and are joined by a long woodenbridge for foot passengers, near half a mile long. It is situated in lowboggy ground, so dirty in winter that it is difficult to go from houseto house. There is but one regular street along the river side, leadingto the bridge, and from it along the old town. Besides this, there is ahandsome parade or square in front of the church of St Jago, but thatchurch is in ruins. Besides this, there are three other churches, StAugustin, St Francis, and St Dominic; before which last is anotherparade, and a half-moon battery fitted for mounting six guns, but therewere none while we were there. There is also a chapel, and there hadbeen a church dedicated to St Ignatius, belonging to the jesuits, but itwas burnt down in the great fire. These were all decently adorned withaltars, carved work, and pictures, and that dedicated to St Augustin hadan organ, but all their plate had been carried away by the priests andstudents, who fled into the woods. Some of the houses were of brick, particularly about the parades, and the rest of timber or split bamboos, and some of them were decently furnished. Some of the inhabitants hadcalashes, but I know not what use they could be of, all theneighbourhood being so boggy that there was not road for them. The boggy ground about Guayaquil was full of the largest toads I eversaw, some being as big as an English two-penny loaf. The town was saidto contain 2000 inhabitants of all sorts, including Indians, Negroes, and Mulattoes. An Englishman who joined us here, told us that, in thepreceding December, on occasion of a public rejoicing for the birth ofthe prince of the Asturias, which lasted for three weeks, they hadmustered 1100 foot and 500 horse, all armed, which came from thesurrounding country, besides a much greater number unarmed, the greaterpart of whom must have been Indians. Guayaquil is well situated fortrade and ship-building, being fourteen leagues from Point Arena andseven from Puna, up a large river, into which fall several smaller ones, and on which there are many villages and farms. The water of this riveris fresh for four leagues below the city, and all along its banks growgreat quantities of mangroves and _sarsaparillas_, and on account ofthis last the water is thought salutary against the lues. But duringfloods, when it brings down many poisonous plants from the mountains, among which is the _manchinilla_ apple, it is not reckoned wholesome. All birds that eat of this apple are sure to die, and we saw hundreds ofthem dead, floating on the water. The seasons here are very improperly denominated summer and winter. Thewinter is reckoned from the beginning of December to the end of May, inall which season it is sultry, hot, wet, and unhealthy. From the end ofMay to the beginning of December, which they call summer, the weather isserene, dry, and healthy, and not so violently hot as in what theydenominate winter. The cacao is ripe and mostly gathered between Juneand August. Of the other fruits of this country, some are ripe andothers green during the whole course of the year. Guayaquil is the chiefcity of a province of that name in the kingdom of Peru, governed by apresident with five or six orders of judges, forming a royal_audiencia_, or chief court of judicature, and accountable only to theviceroy in military affairs, [223] and every province has a government ofthe same nature. The governors are appointed, or more properly purchasetheir offices, at the court of Old Spain, and are for life or goodbehaviour. If any one die or misbehave, the viceroy may name anotherduring his time, which ought only to be for five years; but he sometimesgets those of his own placing confirmed by an order from Spain, by whichmeans he derives a considerable portion of his unknown profits. The lateviceroy of Peru continued in office fourteen years, several intendedsuccessors having died on the way. Scarcely does the king of Spain livein greater splendour than the viceroy does at Lima, where the chiefcourts of judicature are held, to which appeals are brought from all thecourts and provinces of this extensive kingdom. I was told on goodauthority that the last viceroy, who died about four years ago, left atleast eight millions of dollars to his widow and family, besides vastsums given in charity during his life, and building many churches, friaries, and nunneries. He left a better character than any viceroy haddone for an age past. [Footnote 223: This province is now in the kingdom or viceroyalty of NewGranada, and audiencia of Quito. --E. ] The province of Guayaquil abounds in excellent timber of several kinds, so that it is the chief place in all Peru for building and repairingships, of which there are seldom less than seven or eight on the stockshere at one time. Its chief commodity is cacao, with which it suppliesmost parts on the South Sea, and we were told it never exported lessthan 30, 000 _carguas_ yearly, and sometimes double that quantity, a_cargua_ being eighty-one pounds weight, which only costs here twodollars and a half. They have also a considerable trade in salt andsalt-fish, from Cape St Helena, which is mostly sent to Quito and otherplaces of the inland country. It exports also a vast quantity of timberto Truxilo, Chana, Lima, and other places, where it is scarce. Theyexport also from hence rice and cotton, with some dried or jerked beef. This province has no mines of gold or silver, but abounds in all sortsof cattle, which are very cheap, especially on the island of Puna, wherewe amply supplied ourselves. Their only grain is maiz, so that all theirwheat flour is brought from Truxilo, Cherisse, and other places towindward, or to the south, as the wind blows here always from the south. They procure several kinds of woollen cloth, among which, are verystrong and good bags, from Quito. Their wines, brandy, olives, oil, andsugar, come from Piscola, Nasca, and other places to windward. All kindsof European goods are brought from Panama, being brought there overlandfrom Portobello on the Gulf of Mexico; and the trade of this port is soconsiderable as to employ forty sail every year, besides coasters. Amarket is also held daily on bark logs, or boats, every day, on theriver before the town, containing every thing afforded by the interiorcountry in great plenty. The other towns in the province are governed by lieutenants, ordeputies, appointed by the corregidore. Above half of these towns borderon the same river or its branches, so that their inhabitants can allcome to the capital in two tides, though some are many leagues distant. _Porto Vaco_ was formerly the capital. In the whole province, theSpaniards reckon 10, 000 inhabitants, but I believe there are many more, including all the mixed races between Spaniards, Indians, and negroes, which they divide and subdivide into eleven denominations. Few of theprisoners who fell into our hands were healthy or sound, and nearly halfof the native Spaniards applied to our doctors for remedies against theFrench disease, which is so common here that it is reckoned no scandal. On the 11th May, with a strong gale at S. S. W. We bore away for theGallepagos islands, being in a very sad condition; for we had upwards oftwenty men ill in the Duke, and near fifty in the Duchess, seized with amalignant fever, contracted, as I suppose, at Guayaquil, where acontagious disease had reigned a month or five weeks before we took it;which swept away ten or twelve persons every day, so that all thechurches were filled, being their usual burying places, and they had todig a great deep hole close by the great church, where I kept guard, andthis hole was almost filled with putrefying bodies: and our lying solong in that church, surrounded by such noisome scents, was enough toinfect us all. In twenty-four hours more we had fifty men down and theDuchess upwards of seventy, and in the next twenty-four hours, ten morefell sick in each ship. We discovered land on the 17th, and on the 18th, at day-break, we were within four leagues of two large islands almostjoining each other, having passed that we first saw during the night. Wesent repeatedly ashore here in search of water, but could find none, though the people went three or four miles up into the country, andthey reported that the island was nothing but loose rocks like cinders, very rotten and heavy, and the earth so parched that it broke into holesunder their feet. This made me suppose there had been a volcano here;and though there is much shrubby ground, with some green herbs, therewas not the smallest signs of water, neither was it possible for any tobe contained on such a surface. In short, we found these islandscompletely to disappoint our expectations, and by no means to agree withthe descriptions of former voyagers. We had also the misfortune to losecompany of one of our barks, in which was Mr Hately, with five of ourmen, two Spanish prisoners, and three negroes. [224] [Footnote 224: Mr Hately, being unable to rejoin his companions, wasforced to land at Cape Passado in lat. 0° 25' S. On the coast ofGuayaquil, where he and his people were barbarously used by a mixed racebetween the Indians and negroes; but were rescued by a priest, and sentto Lima, where he was kindly treated. --E. ] In a consultation on the 26th May, we resolved to proceed for the islandof Plata in quest of water, and then to come immediately off the coastagain, having information of two French ships, one of sixty and theother of forty-six guns, together with a Spanish man of war, that wouldsoon be sent in search of us. It was also our intention to refit ourships there, and not to go near the main, our ships being out of order, and our men very weak and sickly, several of them having already died. We accordingly sailed on the 27th, and in another conversation on the30th, it was agreed to go first to _Gorgono_, to see if there were anyEnglish ships there; and afterwards to sail for _Maugla_, Malaga, or_Madulinar_, [225] where there are some Indians at enmity with theSpaniards, who, as the pilots informed us, come seldom there, and werenot likely to procure any intelligence of us from thence. They told usalso, if we could induce the Indians to trade with us, we might havehogs, fowls, plantains, bananas, and other refreshments. [Footnote 225: The island of Gorgona is on the coast of New Granada, inlat. 2° 54' N. And long. 78° 35' W. ] While on our course towards Gorgona, the Duchess took the _San Thoma deVilla nova_ of ninety tons, having about forty people on board, including eleven negro slaves, and but little European goods, exceptsome cloth and iron. Next day we made the island of _Gorgona_, [226] andon the 8th of June our boats brought in another prize, a small bark offifteen tons belonging to a creek on the main. She was bound toGuayaquil, having ten Spaniards and Indians on board, and some negroes, but had very little cargo, except a small quantity of gold dust and alarge gold chain, together of about 500_l_. Value, which were securedaboard the Duchess. In a consultation, held on the 19th June, proceedingupon information procured from our prisoners, it was resolved to proceedto Malaga, at which there was an anchorage, where we proposed to leaveour ships, and to row up the river for the rich gold mines of Barbacore, [_Barbaceas_][227] called also the mines of St Pean, from a village ofthat name about two tides up the river. At that place we proposed toseize canoes, as fitter than our boats for going up against the stream, in which, at this season of the year, according to the information of anold Spanish pilot, there are such strong freshes, that he did not expectwe should reach the mines in less than twelve days. But havingdiscoursed with several of the prisoners, we found the island of Malagaan unsafe place for our ships, and besides, they represented the riveras so narrow, that the Indians would be able to assail us with poisonedarrows, and the Spaniards might easily cut off our retreat, by fellingtrees across from bank to bank. On this information, we held anotherconsultation, in which it was agreed to desist from this enterprize, andwe came accordingly back to Gorgona, in so very weak a condition that wecould hardly have defended ourselves, if attacked. [Footnote 226: It is somewhat difficult to ascertain what island is heremeant. There are some islands at the mouth of the _Rio de Mira_, in lat. 1° 38' N. On one of which is _Punta de Mangles_, or Cape Mangles, resembling one of the names in the text; but from the context, theisland for which they were next bound appears to have been that nowcalled _Del Gallo_, in lat. 1° 55' N. Not above ten miles south from theriver they proposed to enter. --E. ] [Footnote 227: Barbacoas is one of the provinces of New Granada, havinga town of the same name in the _Rio Telemli_, which joins the _RioPatia. --E. ] We arrived at Gorgona on the 13th June, where we anchored in fortyfathoms, and resolved to careen our two ships in succession, beginningwith the Duchess. Our sick men were removed into the galleon, and thesick officers to the French-built ship. We landed tents for thecooper's and armourer's crews, and cleared a place for tents toaccommodate the sick on shore. All this was performed with so muchdiligence, that by the 28th both ships were careened, caulked, rigged, and restored fit for sea. On the 29th, we set up tents ashore for thesick, who were already much recovered, though the Spaniards hadrepresented this island as unhealthy; yet by walking about on shore theysoon gathered strength enough to return to their duty. We here fittedout the French-built ship, with twenty guns, putting Captain Cooke intoher, with a crew taken from the other two ships, resolving to carry herhome with us, and to employ her as a third cruizer while in these seas;and this great work employed us from the 29th June to the 9th July, calling her the _Marquis_. She had thirty-five men from the Duke andtwenty-six from the Duchess, making a crew of sixty-one British, towhich were added twenty negroes. Our next care was to get rid of our prisoners, who were a great burdento us, and we resolved therefore to set them on shore, after tryingevery possible method to engage them in a scheme for trading with us. For this purpose I proposed going to Panama, to remain six days nearthat place, till they should bring the money we could agree for, as theprice of our prize goods; and to this the two Morels and Don Antonioagreed, provided we would take 60, 000 dollars for the whole. I thenproposed to give them up the galleon and all the goods and negroes, ifthey would give us 120, 000 dollars for the whole. They told us thattrading in these seas with strangers, especially the English and Dutch, was so rigidly prohibited, that they would have to give more than theoriginal cost in bribes, to procure licence to deal with us, and couldnot therefore assure us of payment, unless we agreed to take a lowprice. Finding it therefore not worth while to waste time, and knowingwe should run much risk in treating with them, we at length resolved toset them all ashore, hoping the Morels and Don Antonio would get moneyfor us, to prevent us from burning the ships we could not convenientlycarry away. At parting, I made them sensible that we had treated themlike generous enemies, and said we would sell them good bargains forwhat money they might be able to bring us in ten days, after which weshould burn or carry away all that was not then disposed of. Weaccordingly landed seventy-two prisoners on the 10th July. On the 16ththe Morels came off with what money they had been able to procure, andbought some of our goods, behaving with much honour, and putting greatconfidence in us. On the 18th, a negro belonging to the Duchess wasbitten by a small brown speckled snake, and died in twelve hours. Thereare many snakes in this island of Gorgona, and I saw one above threeyards long, and as thick as my leg. The same morning the Mr Morels wentoff a second time in our bark for money; and this day one of the samekind of snakes that killed our negro was found on the forecastle of theDuke, having crawled up the cable, as we supposed, as they were oftenseen in the water. On the 2d of August we were like to have had a mutiny, for the stewardinformed me that he understood many of the men had entered into a secretagreement, and he had heard some ringleaders boasting that sixty men hadalready signed the paper, but knew not the nature of their design. Iimmediately convened the officers in the cabin, where we armedourselves, and soon secured four of the principal mutineers, putting thefellow who wrote the paper in irons. By this time all the people were ondeck, and we had got their paper from those we had in custody; thepurport of it being to refuse accepting the intended distribution ofplunder, and not to move from this place, till they had what they termedjustice done them. Not knowing how far this mutiny might have beenconcerted with the people of the other ships, we agreed to dischargethose in confinement, on asking pardon, and faithfully promising neverto be guilty of the like again. We sailed from Gorgona on the 11th August, and as our ships were nowrather thinly manned, I engaged thirty-two of our negro prisoners tojoin our company, placing Michael Kendall, a free Jamaica negro, who haddeserted to us from the Spaniards, as their leader, and charging him toexercise them in the use of arms. At the same time I supplied them withclothes, desiring them to consider themselves now as Englishmen, and nolonger slaves to the Spaniards. After this we stood over to the bay of_Jecames_, [Atacames, ] where the Indians are free; and with much adoentered into trade with them, by the help of a priest. We sent themthree large wooden saints to adorn their church, which they took as agreat present; and I sent a feathered cap to the wife of the chief whichwas well accepted. We here sold some of our prize goods to good account, so that we had provisions very cheap. We sailed from hence on the 1stSeptember, intending for the Gallapagos, and on the 8th we made one ofthese islands. Next day we came to anchor in about thirty fathoms; and in the eveningour boats brought us off a lading of excellent turtle, having sent ouryawl and several men ashore previously to turn over these creatures inthe night; but to no purpose, as we afterwards found they only cameashore in the day. The island off which we lay was high, rocky, andbarren, with some low land next the sea, but now water was to be found, like those we had seen formerly. On the 12th the Duchess, which lay atanchor a good distance from us, had got about 150 land andsea-tortoises, but not generally so large as ours; while we had 120turtles, but no land-tortoises as yet. The Marquis had the worst luck. On the 13th, I sent our pinnace to the place where the Duchess gotland-tortoises, which returned at night with thirty-seven, and some saltthey had found in a pond; and our yawl brought us twenty sea-turtles, sothat we were now well provided. Some of the largest land-tortoisesweighed 100 pounds; and the largest sea-turtles were upwards of 400pounds weight. The land-tortoises laid eggs on our deck; and our menbrought many of them from the land, pure white, and as large as agoose's egg, with a strong thick shell, exactly round. These are the ugliest creatures that can well be imagined, theback-shell being not unlike the top of an old hackney-coach, as black asjet, and covered with a rough shrivelled skin. The neck and legs arelong, and as big as a man's wrist, and they have club-feet as large as afist, shaped much like those of an elephant, having five knobs, or thicknails, on each fore-foot, and only four on the hind-feet. The head issmall, with a visage like that of a snake; and when first surprised theyshrink up their head, neck, and legs under their shell. Some of our menaffirmed that they saw some of these about four feet high, and of vastsize; and that two men mounted on the back of one of these, whom iteasily carried at its usual slow pace, not appearing to regard theirweight. They supposed this one could not weigh less than 700 pounds. TheSpaniards say that there are no others in these seas, except at theGallapagos, but they are common in Brazil. The 15th, being under sail with a fine breeze, we agreed to lay to tillmidnight. The 16th, seeing many islands and rocks to the westwards, weagreed to bear away, not caring to encumber ourselves among them duringthe night; but by six in the evening, from the mast-head, we could seeso many low rocks, almost joining from island to island, that we seemedland-locked for more than three parts of the compass, and no way openexcept the S. W. Whence we came. We resolved therefore to return thatway, making short trips all night, and continually sounding, for fear ofshoals, having from forty to sixty fathoms. The 18th and 19th we sawseveral more islands, one of them very large, which we supposed to benear the equator. At noon of the 19th we had an observation, making ourlatitude 2° 2' N. We saw in all at least fifty islands, some of which wesearched, and others we viewed from a distance, but none had the leastappearance of fresh water. [228] Signior Morel told me that a Spanishman-of-war had been to an island in lat. 1° 20' or 30' S. 140 Spanishleagues west from the island of _Plata_, and to which they gave the nameof _Santa Maria del Aguada_, a pleasant island with a good road, full ofwood, and having plenty of water, with turtle and sea-tortoises inabundance. This I believe to have been the same island in which Davisthe buccaneer recruited; and all the light he has left by which to findit again, is, that it is to the west of the islands he was at with theother buccaneers, which must be those we were twice at. We had nooccasion to look out for this island on the present trip, though Ibelieve it might easily have been found without farther directions. Inthese islands there are many kinds of sea-fowl, and some land-birds, particularly hawks and turtle-doves, both so very tame that we oftenknocked them down with sticks. I saw no kind of beasts, but there areguanas in abundance, and land-tortoises almost on every island, besidesvast numbers of turtles or sea-tortoises. It is very strange how theland-tortoises have got here, as there are none on the main, and theycould not have come of themselves. Some of these islands are the hauntsof seals, but not in such numbers as at Juan Fernandez, neither is theirfur so good. A very large one made at me three several times, and if Ihad not happened to have a pike-staff headed with iron, he might havekilled me. I was on the level sand when he came open-mouthed at me fromthe water, as fierce and quick as an angry dog let loose. All the threetimes he made at me, I struck the pike into his breast, which at lastforced him to retire into the water, snarling with an ugly noise, andshewing his long teeth. This animal was as big as a large bear. [Footnote 228: In Cowley's voyage, formerly given, one of theseislands, which he calls the Duke of York's Island, is said to haveabundance of wood and water, but none to be had in any of the rest. Perhaps the Duke of York's Island of Cowley, and Santa Maria del Aguadaof Morel, may be the same. --E. ] On the 1st October we made the main-land of Mexico, which CaptainDampier immediately recognized as near the place where he had attackedthe lesser Manilla ship in the St George. Our men began again to fallsick, and two of them dropped down on the deck in a kind of scorbuticappoplexy, but recovered on being let blood. The 2d we made _CapeCorientes_, on the coast of Mexico, in lat. 20° 25' N. Which we knew byour charts. Captain Dampier had been here, but it was a long time ago, and he did not seem to remember much of the matter; yet when he came toland at different places, he very readily recollected them. Our purposenow was to look for the islands called _Tres Marias_, to procure somerefreshments, but found this somewhat difficult, being very uncertain asto their true situation. In the afternoon of the 4th, Cape Corientesbore E. N. E. About ten leagues, and next morning, being fine clearweather, we discovered two islands at the distance of about fourteenleagues, one bearing N. By W. And the other N. By E. At noon we had anobservation, and found our latitude 20° 45' N. The sight of these islands was very satisfactory, for though our men hadtheir fill of land and sea-turtle, which kept them from the scurvy, theywere but weak, as that is but a faint food, except they had enough ofbread or flour to eat with it; whereas they only had a pound and aquarter of bread or flour to five men per day, on purpose to husband ourstock till we came to live entirely on salt-meat, when we should beunder the necessity to allow more. On the 6th I sent a pinnace to theeastern island, to look if there were any good road, or convenience forwooding and watering; but the officer reported that the island had foulground for near half a mile from the shore, with bad anchorage and worselanding; and though there was abundance of wood, no water was to be had. This was bad news for us, as our water began to grow scarce. We now boreup for the middle island, which Captain Dampier believed he had been atwhen he sailed with Captain Swan, and on which occasion they foundwater. On the 8th our boat returned from the middle island, they and theboat of the Duchess having landed at several places on the S. E. Side ofthe island, where was plenty of good water. They saw no signs of anypeople having been there lately, but found a human skull on the ground. This was supposed to have belonged to one of two Indian chiefs, who wereleft there by Captain Swan, about twenty-three years before, as Dampiertold us: for victuals being scarce with these buccaneers, they would notcarry the poor Indians any farther, after they had served their turns, but left them to starve on this desolate island. The Marquis and barkhaving separated from us, we kept a light up all night, and made a fireon the island, that they might see where to find us at anchor; but notseeing them next morning at day-break, I proposed to have gone in searchof them; but Captain Courtney and the rest made light of the matter, believing they might soon come in without assistance, which theyafterwards did. The supply of cattle, hogs, and plantains we procured at Atacames lastedus to the Gallapagos, and we had fed on turtle ever since till the lasttwo days, which was a great refreshment to our men, and husbanded ourstock of European provisions. On the 9th, I sent an officer to view theother side of the island, who told me, on his return, it was much betterthan where we were, having several sandy bays, on which he had seen thetracks of turtle. On this intelligence I sent the boat back in theevening; and it came back next morning with a full load of turtle, leaving another load ready turned; and, what was of much moreconsequence, they found good water; whereas that we had gotten hithertopurged the men excessively. As we wooded, watered, and furnishedourselves with fresh provisions here, and as these islands are littleknown, some account of them may be acceptable. The _Tres Marias_, or Three Marias, off the western coast ofGuadalaxara, in the kingdom of Mexico, are in a range stretching fromS. E. To N. W. Of about forty-five English miles in length. The largestisland is the N. W. Which appeared a high double land, and above fiveleagues in length: the middle island about three leagues; and thesouth-eastermost hardly two leagues. There also are high lands, full oftrees; and near the least island there are two or three small brokenwhite islets, one of which was so like a ship under sail, that we gavethe signal for a chase. The S. E. End of the island is in lat. 21° 10' N. Long. 105° 56' W. And the N. W. Point of the N. Island is in lat. 21° 40'N. Long. 106° 26' W. The distance from each being about two marineleagues. These islands have abundance of parrots of different sorts, with pigeons and other land-birds, of which we killed great numbers. There were also many excellent hares, but much smaller than ours. We sawlikewise abundance of guanas, and some racoons, which barked and snarledat us like dogs, but were easily beaten off with sticks. The water ismore worthy of remark than any other thing we saw here, as we only foundtwo good springs, which ran in large streams; the others being bitterand disagreeable, proceeding, as I suppose, from being impregnated byshrubs or roots growing in the water, or from some mineral. The turtle we found here are of a different sort from any I had everseen, though very good. Though it is ordinarily believed that there areonly three sorts of sea-turtles, yet we have seen six or seven sorts atdifferent times, and our people have eaten of them all, except the verylarge _whooping_ or _loggerhead_ kind, which are found in great plentyin Brazil, some of them above 500 pounds weight. We did not eat ofthese, because at that time our provisions were plentiful. At theGallapagos, both males and females were observed to come on shore onlyin the day time, quite different from what I had heard of them at otherplaces; whereas all we caught here were by turning them over in thenight, when the females come on shore to lay their eggs and bury them inthe dry sand. One of these whom we caught had 800 eggs in her belly, 150of which were skinned over and ready for being extruded at once. Someauthors alledge that these eggs are six weeks in hatching, which I canhardly credit, as the sun makes the sand in which they are depositedexcessively hot, and they are only covered by a very thin film or skin, instead of a shell. In order to ascertain this point, I made some of ourmen ashore watch one carefully, and mark the place and time of layingher eggs. In less than twelve hours they found the eggs addled, and inabout twelve hours more they had young ones completely formed and alive. Had we remained some time longer, I might have thoroughly satisfiedmyself and others, respecting the quick production of tortoises; for Iam apt to credit the report of several of our men, who asserted thathaving found eggs in the sand, and looked for them three days afterwardsin the same place, they then found nothing but films; which shews thatthe young ones are hatched in that time. They assured me also that theyhad seen the young brood run out of the sand every day, making directlyin great numbers for the sea. There were few fish about the shores of this island, these being of theordinary sorts usually met with in these seas; but the abundance ofturtle at this time amply made up for this defect. The chief officersfed here deliciously, being scarcely ever without hares, turtle-doves, pigeons, and parrots of various colours and sizes, many of which hadwhite or red heads, with tufts of feathers on their crowns. We foundgood anchorage at this middle island, and gradual soundings fromtwenty-four to four fathoms close by the shore; and between this and theleast or southern island the depth was about the same as where we were, having no shoal between but what was visible, as a rock lay off the S. W. Point and a shoal off the N. E. Point of the same, with another at agreat distance from that point of the least island, but neither wereabove half a mile from the shore. Sailing from these islands, we saw land on the 1st November, whichproved to be the point of California, or that headland called Cape StDucas. It was now necessary to put in execution the rules we hadformerly laid down for cruizing, as also to settle our regulations aboutplunder. Accordingly, my station was to be the outermost in the Duke, the Duchess in the middle, and the Marquis nearest the shore; thenearest ship to be at the least six leagues, and nine at the most fromshore, and the bark to ply between ship and ship, carrying advice. Bythis means we could spread out fifteen leagues, and might see any thingthat passed in the day within twenty leagues of the shore; and toprevent any ships passing in the night, we were to ply to windward allday, and to drive to leeward all night. On the 5th November, the Duchesswent nearest shore, and the Marquis took the middle station. We weremuch encouraged by considering that in this very place, and about thesame time of the year, Sir Thomas Candish took the Manilla ship. On the 16th we sent our bark to look for fresh water on the main, andnext morning she returned to us, reporting that they had seen wildIndians, who paddled to them on bark-logs. These Indians were fearful ofcoming near our people at first, but were soon prevailed upon to accepta knife or two and some baize, for which they gave in return twobladders of water, two live foxes, and a deer skin. Till now, we thoughtthat the Spaniards had missionaries among these people, but finding themquite naked, with no appearance of any European commodities, nor asingle word of the Spanish language, we concluded that they were quitesavage, and we dispatched the bark and a boat a second time, in hopes ofprocuring some refreshments, with some trifles to distribute among thenatives. On the 19th our men returned, having become very familiar withthe Californians, who were the poorest wretches that could be imagined, and had no manner of refreshments whatever to afford us. They broughtoff some Indian knives made of sharks teeth, and a few othercuriosities, which I preserved to shew what shifts may be made. It wasnow the 9th of December, near a month after the time when the Manillaships generally fall in with this coast, and we were much embarrassed bythe impossibility of procuring any intelligence respecting them. Onexamining our provisions, we found only bread on board for seventy days, even at our present short allowance, and it would require not less thanfifty days for our run across the Pacific to Guam, one of the Ladrones;wherefore we resolved to continue our cruize here no longer than othereight days. Being in want of water also, it was agreed upon that theMarquis should go first into a harbour for that necessary article, whilethe Duke and Duchess continued on the look-out, and then these otherships to do the same in succession. On the 21st December, while bearing up for the port in which was theMarquis, the man at the mast-head, about nine in the morning, gavenotice that he saw a sail besides the Duchess and bark, seeming aboutseven leagues from us. We immediately hoisted our ensign, and bore forthe strange sail, as did the Duchess; and as it fell calm, I sent thepinnace to endeavour to make out what she was. All the rest of the daywe had very little wind, so that we made hardly any way, and as our boatdid not return we remained in much anxiety, not knowing whether the shipin sight were our consort the Marquis, or the Manilla ship. In thisuncertainty, I sent Mr Fry in our yawl to the Duchess, to endeavour tolearn what this ship was, and as soon as the yawl was gone I hoistedFrench colours and fired a gun, which the stranger answered, and in somemeasure cleared our doubts. Mr Fry soon returned, bringing the joyfulnews that the ship in sight really was the Manilla galleon for which wehad waited so long, and of which we were now almost in despair ofmeeting. This revived our courage, and every one actively prepared forthe engagement; all our melancholy reflections on the shortness of ourprovisions for the run to Guam being now dispelled, and nothing nowoccupied our thoughts but of our being masters of the mighty treasuresupposed to be on board this ship, while every moment seemed an hourtill we could get up with her. We gave orders for the two pinnaces tokeep with her all night, shewing false fires from time to time, that wemight know whereabout they and the chase were; and it was agreed, ifthe Duke and Duchess could get up with her together, that we shouldboard her at once. Before night we had made a clear ship, and had everything in readiness for action at day-light; and all night long we kept asharp look-out for the boats false fires, which we frequently saw andanswered. At day-break of the 22d December, 1709, we saw the chase about a leaguefrom us on our weather bow, the Duchess being a-head of her to leewardabout half a league. About six a. M. Our boat came aboard, having keptvery near the chase all night without receiving any damage, and told usthat the Duchess passed the chase in the night, at which time the chasefired two shots at her, which were not returned. Having no wind, we gotout eight sweeps, with which we rowed for near an hour, when theresprung up a small breeze. I ordered a large kettle of chocolate to beprepared for the ship's company, having no spirituous liquor to givethem, and then went to prayers; but were disturbed before these werefinished, by the enemy firing at us. To deter as from attempting toboard, they had barrels hung at their yard arms, which resembled barrelsof powder. About eight a. M. We began to engage by ourselves, for theDuchess being still at leeward, had not been able to get up, as therewas very little wind. At first the enemy fired at us with theirstern-chase guns, which we returned with those on our bows, till atlength we got close on board each other, when we gave her severalbroadsides, plying our small arms very briskly; which last the enemyreturned as thick for a time, but did not fire their great guns half sofast as we. After some time, we shot a little a-head, laying the enemyathwart hawse close aboard, and plied her so warmly that she soonlowered her colours two-thirds down. By this time the Duchess had gotup, and fired about five guns with a volley of small arms; but as theenemy had submitted she made no return. We now sent our pinnace on board the prize, and brought away the captainand other officers; from whom we learnt that a larger ship had come fromManilla along with them, having forty-six brass guns and as manyswivels, but they had parted company with her about three months before, and supposed she had got to Acapulco by this time, as she sailed betterthan this ship. Our prize had the following high-sounding name _NostraSenoria de la Incarnacion Disenganio_, commanded by the Chevalier JeanPichberty, a Frenchman. She had twenty guns and twenty pattereroes, with193 men, of whom nine were killed, ten wounded, and several sorescorched with gun-powder. We engaged her three glasses, in which timeonly I and another were wounded. I was shot through the left cheek, thebullet carrying away great part of my upper jaw and several of my teeth, part of which dropt on the deck, where I fell. The other was WilliamPowell, an Irish landman, who was slightly wounded in the buttock. Aftermy wound, I was forced to write my orders, both to prevent the loss ofblood, and because speaking gave me great pain. We received littledamage in our rigging during the engagement, except that a shot disabledour mizen-mast. On the 23d, after we had put our ship to rights, westood in for the harbour where the Marquis was, distant about fourleagues to the N. E. Sending our surgeons on board the prize to dress herwounded men. We same to anchor in the harbour about four p. M. Where wereceived the compliments of all on board the Marquis on our sudden andalmost unlooked-for success, which gave us all much satisfaction. Wefound that ship in good condition and ready to sail, and all on boardher in high spirits, eager for action. At eight the same evening we helda consultation on two important points: _first_, what we should do withour hostages; and, _secondly_, how we should act in regard to the otherManilla ship, which we still thought there was a strong probability ofour taking, if we could remain here a little longer. As the hostagesfrom Guayaquil, and the Chevalier Pichberty, brother to the famousMonsieur du Cass, appeared to be men of strict honour, we thought it wasbest to make the best terms we possibly could with them, and then setthem at liberty. We had more difficulty in settling the other point indiscussion, as to the mode of attacking the other Manilla ship. I wasdesirous of going out along with the Marquis on that service; but assome reflections had been cast on the Duchess for not engaging our lateprize so soon as it was thought she might have done, Captain Courtneywas absolutely bent on going out with his own ship and the Marquis, andhaving a majority in the committee, my proposal was overruled, and we inthe Duke were reluctantly constrained to remain in harbour. It wasagreed, however, that we should put ten of our best hands on board theDuchess, the better to enable her to engage the great Manilla ship, ifshe were fallen in with; and she and the Marquis sailed onChristmas-day. As soon as they were gone, we put part of the goods fromour bark into the prize, in order to send away our prisoners in thebark; and as there were still due 4000 dollars of the Guayaquil ransom, we agreed to sell them the bark and her remaining cargo for 2000dollars, taking the Chevalier de Pichberty's bill for 6000 dollars, payable in London, which he readily gave us, together with anacknowledgment under his hand that we had given him a good bargain. Thismatter being settled, we had only to look to our own safety while ourconsorts were out on their cruize for the Manilla ship. We posted twocentinels on a hill, whence they had a clear view of the sea, withinstructions to give us notice by a signal whenever they saw three shipsin the offing, that we might have time to secure our prisoners, and toget out to the assistance of our consorts, as we expected they mighthave hot work, this other Manilla ship being much stronger and bettermanned than the one we had taken, and better provided in all respects. On the afternoon of the 26th, our sentries made the appointed signal ofseeing three ships; on which we immediately put all our prisoners intothe bark, from which we removed her sails, and took away all our men, except two lieutenants and twenty-two men, whom we left to look afterour prize and the prisoners. As the prisoners, though 170 in number, were secured in the bark, without sails, arms, rudder, or boat, andmoored near a mile distant from our prize, there were more thansufficient for guarding them and giving them provisions and drink duringour absence. This being arranged, we immediately weighed and stood tosea, in order to assist our consorts in attacking the great ship. Captain Dover thought proper to go on board the prize, instead of one ofour lieutenants, whom he sent to me. I was still in a very weakcondition, my head and throat being very much swelled, so that I spokewith great pain, and not loud enough to be heard at any distance;insomuch that all the chief officers and our surgeons wished me toremain in the prize, but I would not consent. We got under sail aboutseven p. M. And saw lights several times in the night, which we supposedto be false fires in the boats of our consorts. In the morning of the27th at day-break, we saw three sail to windward, but so far distantthat it was nine o'clock before we could make out which were ourconsorts and which the chase. At this time we could see the Duchess andthe chase near together, and the Marquis standing to them with all thesail she could carry. We also made all the sail we could, but beingthree or four leagues to leeward, and having a very scant wind, we madelittle way. At noon they bore S. E. From us, being still three leaguesright to windward. In the afternoon we observed the Marquis get up withthe chase, and engage her pretty briskly; but soon fell to leeward outof cannon shot, where she lay a considerable time, which made usconclude that she was somehow disabled. I sent away my pinnace well manned, with orders to dog the chase allnight, making signals with false fires that she might not escape us; butbefore our boat could get up to them, the Marquis made sail againtowards the chase, and went to it again briskly for more than fourglasses. At this time we saw the Duchess steer ahead to windward, clearof the enemy, as I supposed to stop her leaks or repair her rigging. Meanwhile the Marquis kept the enemy in play, till the Duchess againbore down, when each fired a broadside or two, and left off because itgrew dark. They then bore south of us in the Duke, which was right towindward, distant about two leagues; and about midnight our boat came tous, having made false fires, which we answered. Our people had been onboard both the Duchess and Marquis, the former of which had her foremastmuch disabled, the ring of an anchor shot away, one man killed andseveral wounded, having also received several shots in her upper worksand one in her powder-room, but all stopt. The Duchess had engaged theenemy by herself the night before, which was what we took to be falsefires, being too distant to hear the guns. At that time they couldperceive the enemy to be in great disorder, her guns not being allmounted, and neither her nettings nor close quarters in order; so that, if it had been my good fortune in the Duke to have gone with theDuchess, we all believed we might then have carried this great ship byboarding; or, if the Duchess had taken most of the men out of theMarquis, which did not sail well enough to come up to her assistance intime, she alone might have taken her by boarding at once, before theSpaniards had experienced our strength, and become afterwards so wellprovided as encouraged them to be driving, giving us every opportunityto board them if we pleased. Captain Cooke sent me word that he had nearly fired away all his powderand shot, but had escaped well in masts, rigging, and men; wherefore Isent him three barrels of powder and a proportion of shot; and I alsosent Lieutenant Fry to consult with our consorts how we might bestengage the enemy next morning. All this day and the ensuing night thechase made signals to us in the Duke, thinking us her consort, which wehad already taken; and after dark she edged down towards us, otherwise Ishould not have been up with her next day, having very little wind andthat against us. In the morning of the 28th, as soon as it was day, thewind veered at once, on which we put our ship about, and the chase firedfirst upon the Duchess, which was nearest her in consequence of thechange of wind. The Duchess returned the fire briskly; and we in theDuke stood as near as we possibly could, firing our guns as we couldbring them to bear upon the enemy. At this time the Duchess was athwarther hawse, firing very fast, and such of her shot as missed the enemyflew over us and between our masts, so that we ran the risk of receivingmore harm from the Duchess than the enemy, if we had lain on her quarterand across her stern, which was my intention. We therefore took ourstation close along side, board and board, where we kept plying her withround shot only, using neither barshot nor grape, as her sides were toothick for these, and no men appeared in sight. She lay driving, as we did also close aboard of her, the enemy keepingto their close quarters, so that we never fired our small arms unlesswhen we saw a man appear, or a port open, and then we fired as quick aspossible. We continued thus for four glasses, about which time wereceived a shot in our main-mast which much disabled it. Soon afterthis, the Duchess and we, still both firing, came back close under theenemy, and had like to have fallen on board of her, so that we couldmake little use of our guns. We then fell astern in our birth alongside, and at this time the enemy threw a fire-ball into the Duke from one ofher tops, which blew up a chest of loaded arms and cartouch-boxes on ourquarter-deck, and several cartridges in our steerage, by which MrVanburgh, the agent of our owners, and a Dutchman, were very much burnt;and it might have done us much more damage if it had not been soonextinguished. After getting clear, the Duchess stood in for the shore, where she lay braced to, mending her rigging. The Marquis fired severalshots, but to little purpose, as her guns were small. We continued closeaboard for some time after the Duchess drew off; till at last wereceived a second shot in our main-mast, not far from the other, whichrent it miserably; insomuch that the mast settled towards the wound, andthreatened to come by the board. Our rigging also being much shattered, we sheered off and brought to, making a signal to our consorts for aconsultation; and in the interim got ordinary fishes up to support ourmain-mast as well as we could. Captains Courtney and Cooke, with other officers, came aboard the Duke, in obedience to the signal, when we took the condition of our threeships into consideration. Their masts and rigging were much damaged, andwe had no means of procuring any repairs. If we again engaged the enemy, we could not propose to do any more than we had done already, whichevidently had not done her much harm, as we could perceive that few ofour shots penetrated her sides to any purpose, and our small armsavailed still less, as not one of their men were to be seen above board. Our main-mast was so badly wounded that the least additional injurywould bring it down, and the fore-mast of the Duchess was in as bad astate. The fall of these masts might bring down others, and we shouldthen lie perfect butts for the enemy to batter at, and his heavy gunsmight easily sink us. If we should attempt to carry her by boarding, wemust necessarily run the risk of losing many of our men, with littleprospect of success, as they had above treble our number to oppose us, not having now in all our three ships above 120 men fit for boarding, and these weak, as we had been long short of provisions. If, therefore, we attempted to board and were beaten off, leaving any of our menbehind, the enemy would learn our strength, or weakness rather, andmight go to the harbour and retake our prize, in spite of every thing wecould do to hinder. Our ammunition also was now very short, and we hadonly, enough to engage for a few glasses longer. All these circumstancesbeing duly considered, together with the difficulty of procuring masts, and the time and provisions we must spend before we could get themfitted we resolved to desist from any farther attempt upon the enemy, since our battering her signified little, and we had not sufficientstrength to carry her by boarding. We determined therefore to keep hercompany till night, and then to lose her, after which to make the bestof our way to the harbour where we had left our prize, to secure her. We had engaged this ship first and last about seven glasses, duringwhich we in the Duke had eleven men wounded, three of whom were scorchedwith gun-powder. I was again unfortunately wounded by a splinter in myleft foot, just before the arms chest was blown up on the quarter-deck;and so severely that I had to lie on my back in great pain, being unableto stand. Part of my heel-bone was struck out, and all the foot justunder the ankle cut above half through, my wound bleeding very muchbefore it could be stopped and dressed, by which I was much weakened. Inthe Duchess above twenty men were killed and wounded, one of the slainand three of the wounded belonging to my ship, which had been lent whenI was left in the harbour. The Marquis had none killed or wounded, buttwo of her men were scorched by gun-powder. The enemy was the_Vigoniae_, a brave and lofty new ship, admiral of Manilla, and this herfirst voyage. She was calculated to carry 60 guns, and had above 40mounted, with as many pattereroes, all brass, and, as we were informed, had a complement of 450 men, of whom 150 were Europeans, besidespassengers. We were told also that several of her crew had formerly beenpirates, who had all their wealth on board, and were resolved to defendit to the last extremity. The gunner was said to be a very expert man, and had provided extraordinarily for defence, which enabled them to makea desperate resistance; and they had filled all her sides between theguns with bales of soft goods, to secure the men. During the whole action she kept the Spanish flag flying at hermast-head. We could observe that we had shattered her sails and riggingvery much, and had slain two men in her tops, besides bringing down hermizen-yard; but this was all the visible damage we had done them, thoughwe certainly placed 500 round shot in her hull, which were six-pounders. These large ships are built at Manilla of excellent timber, which doesnot splinter, and their sides are much thicker and stronger than thoseof the ships built in Europe. Thus ended our attempt on the biggestManilla ship, which I have heard related in so many ways at home, that Ihave thought it necessary to give a very particular account of theaction, as I find it set down in my journal. Generally speaking, theships from Manilla are much richer than the prize we had taken; for shehad waited a long time for the Chinese junks to bring silks, which notarriving, she came away with her cargo made out by means of abundance ofcoarse goods. Several of the prisoners assured me that a Manilla shipwas commonly worth ten millions of dollars; so that, if it had not beenfor the accidental non-arrival of the junks from China that season, wehad gotten an extraordinarily rich prize. After my return to Europe, Imet a sailor in Holland who had been in the large ship when we engagedher, and who communicated to me a reason why we could not have taken herat all events. Her gunner kept constantly in the powder-room, anddeclared that he had taken the sacrament to blow up the ship if we hadboarded her, which accordingly made the men exceedingly resolute in herdefence. I the more readily gave credit to what this man told me, as hegave a regular and circumstantial account of the engagement, conformableto what I have given from my journal. It is hardly to be doubted that we might have set this great ship onfire, by converting one of our ships into a fireship for that purpose:But this was objected to by all our officers, because we had goods ofvalue on board all our ships. The enemy on this occasion was the betterprovided for us, having heard at Manilla, through our Britishsettlements in India, that two small ships had been fitted out atBristol for an expedition into the South Sea, and of which CaptainDampier was pilot. On this account it was that they had so manyEuropeans on board the great ship, most of whom had all their wealthalong with them, for which they would fight to the utmost; and it havingbeen agreed to pay no freight on the gun-decks, they had filled up allthe spaces between the guns with bales of goods, to secure the men. Thetwo ships were to have joined at Cape Lucas, expecting to meet us offCape Corientes or Navidad. We returned again into our port on the coast of California on the 1stJanuary, 1710, and being resolved to make as quick dispatch as possiblefor our passage to the East Indies, we immediately parted with ourprisoners, giving them the bark with a sufficiency of water andprovisions to carry them to Acapulco. We then occupied ourselves to the7th in refitting and laying in a stock of wood and water; and had muchsatisfaction in finding as much bread in our prize as might serve forour long run to Guam, with the aid of the scanty remains of our oldstock. After a long disputatious negotiation, it was settled that Mr Fryand Mr Stratton were to take charge of our prize, which we named theBachelor, though under Captain Dover, but they were not to becontradicted by him in the business, as his business was to see thatnothing was done in her contrary to the interest of our owners and shipscompanies, he being in the nature of agent, only with the title of chiefcaptain. At the same time, we put on board of this ship 35 men from theDuke, 25 from the Duchess, and 13 from the Marquis, making in all 73men, which, with 36 Manilla Indians, called _Las-Cars_, and some otherprisoners we still had remaining, made up her complement to 115 men. SECTION III _Sequel of the Voyage, from California, by Way of the East Indies, toEngland_. WE weighed anchor on the 10th January, 1710, from Porta Leguro, on thecoast of California, but were becalmed under the shore till theafternoon of the 12th, when a breeze sprang up which soon carried us outof sight of land. Being very slenderly provided, we were forced to allowonly a pound and a half of flour, and one small piece of beef, to fivemen in a mess, together with three pints of water a man, for twenty-fourhours, to serve both as drink and for dressing their victuals. We alsolowered ten of our guns into the hold, to ease our ship. On the 16th theBachelor made a signal that she could spare us some additional bread, having discovered a considerable store of bread and sweet-meats, thoughvery little flesh meat. Accordingly, we in the Duke had a thousandweight of bread for our share, the Duchess had as much, and the Marquisfive hundred weight; and in return we sent them two casks of flour, oneof English beef; and one of pork, as they had only left forty-five daysprovisions of flesh. We now agreed to proceed in a W. S. W. Course till wereached the latitude of 13° N. And to keep in that parallel till weshould make the island of Guam, being informed by our Spanish pilot thatthe parallel of 14° was dangerous, by reason of certain islands andshoals, on which a Spanish ship had been lost some time ago. On the 11th March we had sight both of _Guam_ and _Serpana, _ the formerbearing W. S. W. Five leagues off, and the latter N. N. W. Seven leagues. The Spaniards say there is a great shoal between these islands, butnearest to Serpana. While running along the shore of Guam there cameseveral flying proas to look at us, but run past with great swiftness, and none of the people would venture on board. The necessity of ourstopping at this island for a supply of provisions was very great, oursea store being almost exhausted, and what remained being in a veryordinary condition, especially our bread and flour, of which we had notenough for fourteen days, even at the shortest allowance. In order toprocure provisions readily, we endeavoured to get some of the natives onboard from the proas, that we might detain them as hostages, in case ofhaving to send any of our men to the governor. While turning into theharbour under Spanish colours, one of the proas came under our stern, inwhich were two Spaniards, who came on board in consequence of beingassured that we were friends. Soon after we sent a respectful letter tothe governor, to which we next day received a civil answer, and agenerous offer of any thing we needed that the island could supply. Several of our officers went ashore to wait upon the governor on the16th, and were well received and elegantly entertained; making thegovernor a present of two negro boys dressed in rich liveries, twentyyards of scarlet cloth, and six pieces of cambric, with which he seemedto be much pleased, and promised in return to give us every assistancein his power. Next day, accordingly, we had a large supply of provisions, our share inthe Duke being about sixty hogs, ninety-nine fowls, twenty-four basketsof maize, fourteen bags of rice, forty-two baskets of yams, and 800cocoa-nuts. We afterwards got some bullocks, fourteen to each ship, being small lean cattle, yet gladly accepted, to which were afterwardsadded two cows and two calves to each ship; and we made a handsomepresent to the deputy governor, who was very active in getting ourprovisions collected. Leaving Guam, we proposed to go for some waydirectly west, to clear some islands that were in the way, and then tosteer for the S. E. Part of Min-danao, and from thence the nearest way toTernate. In the afternoon of the 14th April we made land, which borefrom us W. N. W. Ten leagues, and which we supposed to be the N. E. Part ofCelebes. This day we saw three water-spouts, one of which had like tohave fallen on board the Marquis, but the Duchess broke it before itreached her by firing two guns. On the 18th May, we passed throughbetween the high land of New Guinea and the island of Gilolo, and on the20th we made another high island which we took to be Ceram, yet, notwithstanding the skill and experience of Captain Dampier, we were ata loss to know whether it were Ceram or Bouro. On the 24th, at noon, wemade our latitude 4° 30' S. And estimated our longitude at 237° 29' W. From London, and being in the latitude of the southern part ofBouro, [229] we imputed our not seeing it to the currents setting us tothe westwards. We designed to have touched at Amboina for refreshments, but the S. E. Monsoon was already set in, and we were out of hope ofbeing able to reach that place. In a consultation on the 25th, weresolved not to spend time in searching for Bouro, and also to desistfrom attempting to go to Amboina, and to make the best of our way forthe Straits of Bouton, where we hoped to get sufficient provisions tocarry us to Batavia. We got into a fine large bay in Bouton, where wesent our pinnace on shore, which brought off some cocoa nuts, reportingthere were plenty to be had, and that the Malay inhabitants seemedfriendly. [Footnote 229: The south part of Bouro is only in lat. 3° 50' S. Andabout 283° W. From Greenwich, or London. --E. ] Up this bay we saw several houses and boats, and many of the Malaynatives walking about on the beach. We here sent our boats forprovisions and pilots while the ships turned up the bay nearer to thetown. On sounding frequently we could find no ground, but the nativestold us of a bank opposite the town on which we might anchor. In themeantime abundance of people came off to us, bringing wheat, cocoa-nuts, yams, potatoes, papaws, hens, and several other kinds of birds, to truckfor cloths, knives, scissars, and toys. These people were to appearancevery civil, being Mahometans of middle stature and dark tawnycomplexions, but their women somewhat clearer than the men. The men thatcame off were all naked, except a cloth round their middles, but some ofthe better sort had a sort of loose waistcoat, and a piece of linenrolled round their heads, with a cap of palm leaves to keep off thescorching rays of the sun. Along the shore we saw several weirs forcatching fish. In turning up, the prize lost ground considerably, as thecurrent was strong against us, wherefore the Duchess fired a gun in theevening to recall us and the Marquis, and which we ran out and drove allnight. The names of these two islands forming this bay are _Cambava_ and_Waushut_, being in lat. 5° 13' S. And long 238° W. From London. [230]Being much in want of water and provisions, we made another effort toget back to this bay; and on the 30th, a proa came to us from the kingof Bouton, having a noble on board without either shoes or stockings, and a pilot to carry us up to the town. He brought each commander apiece of striped Bouton cloth, a bottle of arrack, some baskets of rice, and other articles, as presents from the king; yet the first thing hesaid on coming aboard, was to ask us how we durst venture to come hereto anchor, without first having leave from the great king of Bouton? [Footnote 230: Cambaya, a considerable island to the W. Of Bouton, is inlat. 5° 20' S. And long. 237° 40' W. From Greenwich, nearly in thesituation pointed out in the text. --E. ] This proa brought us letters from our officers that had been sent towait upon the king, and to endeavour to procure provisions, which statedthat they had been well received, and that the town in which the kingresided was large and fortified, and had several great guns. We sentback a present to the king by his messenger, and five guns were fired byeach of our ships at his departure, with which he seemed well pleased. We wooded and watered at the island of _Sampo, _ and several proas cameoff to us with fowls, maize, pompions, papaws, lemons, Guinea corn, andother articles, which they trucked for knives, scissars, old clothes, and the like. The people were civil, but sold every thing very dear; andas our officers staid longer at the town than was intended, we began tosuspect they were detained, as the Mahometans are very treacherous. Weheard from them, however, every day; and on the 5th Mr Connely camedown, and told us there were four lasts of rice coming down from theking, for which it had been agreed to pay 600 dollars, and that MrVanburgh had been detained in security of payment. The rice came nextmorning, and was distributed equally among our four ships, some greatmen coming along with it to receive the money. At this time also we inour turn detained a Portuguese who came from the king, till our boatshould be allowed to return; and after this, provisions became moreplentiful and cheaper. The town of _Bouton_ is built on the acclivity of a hill, and on the topof the hill is a fort surrounded by an old stone wall, on which someguns and pattereroes are placed. The king and a considerable number ofpeople dwell in this fort, in which a market is held every day for thesale of provisions. The king has five wives, besides several concubines, being attended by four men carrying great canes with silver heads, whoare called _pury bassas, _ and who seem to manage all his affairs. Hismajesty goes always bare-footed and bare-legged, being for the most partclad like a Dutch skipper, with a sort of green gauze covering strewedwith spangles over his long black hair; but when he appears in state, hewears a long calico gown over his jacket, and sits on a chair coveredwith red cloth. He is always attended by a sergeant and six men armedwith match-locks; besides three others, one of whom wears a head-pieceand carries a large drawn scymitar, another has a shield, and a third alarge fan. Four slaves sit at his feet, one holding his betel box, another a lighted match, the third his box of tobacco for smoking, andthe fourth a spitting bason. The petty kings and other great men sit onhis left hand and before him, every one attended by a slave, and theychew betel or tobacco in his presence, sitting cross-legged, and whenthey speak to him they lift their hands joined to their foreheads. The town of Bouton is very populous, and beside it runs a fine river, said to come from ten miles up the country. The tide ebbs and flows aconsiderable way up this river, which has a bar at its mouth, so thatboats cannot go in or come out at low water. At least 1500 boats belongto this river, fifty of which are war proas, armed with pattereroes, andcarrying forty or fifty men each. Fifty islands are said to be tributaryto this king, who sends his proas once a year to gather their statedtribute, which consists in slaves, every island giving him teninhabitants out of every hundred. There is one mosque, in Boutan, whichis supplied with priests from Mocha, the people being Mahometans. Theyare great admirers of music, their houses are built on posts, and theircurrent money is Dutch coins and Spanish dollars. On the 7th our pinnacereturned with Mr Vanburgh and all our people, having parted from hismajesty on friendly terms, but could not procure a pilot. We resolved, however, not to stay any longer, but to trust to Providence for ourfuture preservation: wherefore we began to unmoor our ships, anddismissed our Portuguese linguist. Next day, the 8th June, we made three islands to the north of_Salayer. _ On the 10th our pinnace came up with a small vessel, thepeople on board of which said they were bound for the Dutch factory ofMacasser on the S. W. Coast of Celebes. The pinnace brought away themaster of this vessel, who engaged to pilot us through the Straits ofSalayer and all the way to Batavia, if we would keep it secret from theDutch, and he sent his vessel to lie in the narrowest part of thepassage between the islands, till such time as our ships came up. On the14th we passed the island of Madura, and on the 17th we made the highland of Cheribon, which bore S. W. From us. This morning we saw a greatship right ahead, to which I sent our pinnace for news. She was a shipof Batavia of 600 tons and fifty guns, plying to some of the Dutchfactories for timber. Her people told us that we were still thirty Dutchleagues from Batavia, but there was no danger by the way, and they evensupplied us with a large chart, which proved of great use to us. Towardsnoon we made the land, which was very low, but had regular soundings, bywhich we knew how to sail in the night by means of the lead; in theafternoon we saw the ships in the road of Batavia, being between thirtyand forty sail great and small; and at six in the evening we came toanchor, in between six and seven fathoms, in the long-desired port ofBatavia, in lat 6° 10' S. And long. 252° 51' W. From London. [231] We hadhere to alter our account of time, having lost almost a day in goinground the world so far in a western course. [Footnote 231: The latitude in the text is sufficiently accurate, butthe longitude is about a degree short. It ought to have been 253° 54' W. From Greenwich--E. ] After coming in sight of Batavia, and more especially after some sloopsor small vessels had been aboard of us, I found that I was quite astranger to the dispositions and humours of our people, though I hadsailed so long with them. A few days before they were perpetuallyquarrelling, and a disputed lump of sugar was quite sufficient to haveoccasioned a dispute. But now, there was-nothing but hugging and shakingof hands, blessing their good stars, and questioning if such a paradiseexisted on earth; and all because they had arrack for eight-pence agallon, and sugar for a penny a pound. Yet next minute they were all bythe ears, disputing about who should put the ingredients together; forthe weather was so hot, and the ingredients so excessively cheap, thata little labour was now a matter of great importance among them. Soon after our arrival at Batavia we proceeded to refit our ships, beginning with the Marquis; but on coming down to her bends, we foundboth these and the stern and stern-port so rotten and worm-eaten, thaton a survey of carpenters she was found incapable of being rendered fitfor proceeding round the Cape of Good Hope, on which we had to hire avessel to take in her loading. We then applied ourselves to refit theother ships, which we did at the island of Horn, not being allowed to doso at _Onrust_, where the Dutch clean and careen all their ships. Wehove down the Duke and Duchess and Bachelor, the sheathing of whichships were very much worm-eaten in several places. In heaving down, theDuchess sprung her fore-mast, which we replaced by a new one. When theships were refitted, we returned to Batavia road, where we rigged threeof them, and sold the Marquis, after taking out all her goods andstores, and distributing her officers and men into the others. Duringour stay at Batavia, the weather was exceedingly hot, and many of ourofficers and men fell sick, among whom I was one, the prevalent diseasebeing the flux, of which the master of the Duke and gunner of theDuchess died, and several of our men. A young man belonging to theDuchess, having ventured into the sea to swim, had both his legs snappedoff by a shark, and while endeavouring to take him on board, the sharkbit off the lower part of his belly. We were allowed free access to thetown and markets, yet found it difficult to procure salt-meat, so thatwe had to kill bullocks for ourselves, and pickled the flesh, taking outall the bones. Arrack, rice, and fowls were very cheap, and we boughtbeef for two _stivers_, or two-pence a pound. There are various descriptions of this famous city, yet, as what I haveto say may serve to exhibit a state of things as they were when we werethere, I flatter myself that the following succinct account may neitherbe found useless nor disagreeable. The city of Batavia is situated onthe N. W. Side of the famous island of Java, in lat. 5° 50' S. [232]During the whole year the east and west monsoons, or trade-winds, blowalong shore; besides which it is refreshed by the ordinary land and seabreezes, which greatly cool the air, otherwise it would be intolerablyhot. The summer begins here in May, and continues till the end ofOctober, or beginning of November, during all which period there is aconstant breeze from the east, with a clear serene sky. The wintercommences in the end of October, or beginning of November, withexcessive rains, which sometimes continue for three or four days withoutintermission. In December the west-wind blows with such violence as tostop all navigation on the coast of Java. In February the weather ischangeable, with frequent sudden thunder-gusts. They begin to sow inMarch; June is the pleasantest month; and in September they gather intheir rice, and cut the sugar-canes. In October they have abundance offruits and flowers, together with plants and herbs in great variety. Around the city there is an extensive fenny plain, which has beengreatly improved and cultivated by the Dutch; but to the east it stillremains encumbered by woods and marshes. The city of Batavia is of asquare form, surrounded by a strong wall, on which are twenty-twobastions, and has a river running through it into the sea. About theyear 1700 there was a great earthquake in Java, which overturned somepart of the mountains in the interior of the island, by which the courseof the river was altered; and since then the canals in Batavia and theneighbourhood have not been nearly so commodious as formerly, nor hasthe entrance of the river been so deep; and for want of a strong currentto keep it open, the Dutch have been obliged to employ a great machineto preserve the navigation of the mouth of the river, so as to admitsmall vessels into the canals which pervade the city. Batavia lies in abay in which there are seventeen or eighteen islands, which soeffectually protect it from the sea, that though large, the road is verysafe. The banks of the canals are raced on both sides with stone quays, as far as the boom, which is shut up every night, and guarded bysoldiers. All the streets are in straight lines, most of them being, above thirty feet broad on both sides, besides the canals, and they areall paved with bricks next the houses. All the streets are well-builtand fully inhabited, fifteen of them having canals for small vessels, communicating with the main river, and shut up by booms, at which theypay certain tolls for admission; and these canals are crossed byfifty-six bridges, mostly of stone. There are numerous country-seatsaround the city, most of them neat and well contrived, with handsomefruit and flower gardens, ornamented with fountains and statues; andvast quantities of cocoa-nut trees planted in numerous groves, everywhere afford delightful shade. Batavia has many fine buildings, particularly the Cross-church, which is handsomely built of stone, andvery neatly fitted up within. There are two or three other churches forthe Dutch presbyterians, and two for the Portuguese catholics, who are amixed race, besides one church for the Malay protestants. In the centreof the city is the town-house, handsomely built of brick in form of asquare, and two stories high. In this all the courts are held, and allmatters respecting the civil government of the city are determined. There are also hospitals, speir-houses, and rasp-houses, as inAmsterdam, with many other public buildings, not inferior to those ofmost European cities. [Footnote 232: The latitude of Batavia is 6° 15' S. And its longitude106° 7' E. From Greenwich. --E. ] The Chinese are very numerous, and carry on the greatest trade here, farming most of the excise and customs, being allowed to live accordingto their own laws, and to exercise their idolatrous worship. They have achief of their own nation, who manages their affairs with the company, by which they are allowed great privileges, having even a representativein the council, who has a vote when any of their nation is tried for hislife. These high privileges are only allowed to such of the Chinese asare domicilled here, all others being only permitted to remain sixmonths in the city, or on the island of Java. The Chinese have also alarge hospital for their sick and aged, and manage its funds so well, that a destitute person of that nation is never to be seen on thestreets. The Dutch women have here much greater privileges than in Holland, orany where else; as on even slight occasions they can procure divorcesfrom their husbands, sharing the estate between them. A lawyer at thisplace told me, that he has known, out of fifty-eight causes depending atone time before the council-chamber, fifty-two of them for divorces. Great numbers of native criminals are chained in pairs, and kept to hardlabour under a guard, in cleaning the canals and ditches of the city, orin other public works. The castle of Batavia is quadrangular, havingfour bastions connected by curtains, all faced with white stone, andprovided with watch-houses. Here the Dutch governor-general of India, and most of the members of the council of the Indies reside, thegovernor's palace being large, and well-built of brick. In this palaceis the council-chamber, with the secretary's office, and chamber ofaccounts. The garrison usually consists of 1000 men; but the soldiersare generally but poorly appointed, except the governor's guards, whohave large privileges, and make a fine appearance. The governor-general lives in as great splendour as if he were a king, being attended by a troop of horse-guards, and a company of halberdeers, in uniforms of yellow sattin, richly adorned with silver-lace andfringes, which attend his coach when he appears abroad. His lady also isattended by guards and a splendid retinue. The governor is chosen onlyfor three years, from the twenty-four counsellors, called the _Radts_ ofIndia, twelve of whom must always reside in Batavia. Their soldiers arewell trained, and a company is always on duty at each of the gates ofthe city and citadel; and there are between seven and eight thousanddisciplined Europeans in and about the city, who can be assembled inreadiness for action on a short warning. Besides Europeans and Chinese, there are many Malays in Batavia, andother strangers from almost every country in, India. The Javanese, orancient natives, are very numerous, and are said to be a proud barbarouspeople. They are of dark complexions, with flat faces, thin, short, black hair, large eyebrows, and prominent cheeks. The men arestrong-limbed, but the women small. The men wear a calico wrapper, threeor four times folded round their bodies; and the women are clothed fromtheir arm-pits to their knees. They usually have two or three wives, besides concubines; and the Dutch say that they are much addicted tolying and stealing. The Javans who inhabit the coast are mostlyMahometans; but those living in the interior are still pagans. The womenare not so tawny as the men, and many of them are handsome; but they aregenerally amorous, and unfaithful to their husbands, and are apt to dealin poisoning, which they manage with much art. Batavia is very populous, but not above a sixth part of the inhabitantsare Dutch. The Chinese here are very numerous; and the Dutch acknowledgethat they are more industrious and acute traders than themselves. Theyare much, encouraged, because of the great trade carried on by them, andthe great rents they pay for their shops, besides large taxes, and fromsixteen to thirty per cent. Interest for money, which they frequentlyborrow from the Dutch. I was told, that there were about 80, 000 Chinesein and about Batavia, who pay a capitation-tax of a dollar each permonth for liberty to wear their hair, which is not permitted in theirown country ever since the Tartar conquest. There generally come hereevery year from China, fourteen or sixteen large flat-bottomed junks, offrom three to five hundred tons burden. The merchants come along withtheir goods, which are lodged in different partitions in the vessels, asin separate warehouses, for each of which they pay a certain price, andnot for the weight or measure of the cargo, as with us, so that eachmerchant fills up his own division as they please. They come here withthe easterly monsoon, usually arriving in November or December, and goaway again for China in the beginning of June. By means of these junksthe Dutch have all kinds of Chinese commodities brought to them, and ata cheaper rate than they could bring them in their own vessels. Batavia is the metropolis of the Dutch trade and settlements in India, and is well situated for the spice trade, which they have entirely intheir own hands. There are seldom less than twenty sail of Dutch shipsat Batavia, carrying from thirty to fifty and sixty guns each. Abrahamvan Ribeck was governor-general when we were there. His predecessor, asI was informed, had war with the natives of the island, who had like tohave ruined the settlement; but, by sowing divisions among the nativeprinces, he at length procured peace upon advantageous conditions. Thisis one of the pleasantest cities I ever saw, being more populous thanBristol, but not so large. They have schools for teaching all necessaryeducation, even for Latin and Greek, and have a printing-house. Thereare many pleasant villas, or country seats, about the city; and theadjacent country abounds in rice, sugar-plantations, gardens, andorchards, with corn and sugar-mills, and mills for making gunpowder. They have also begun to plant coffee, which thrives well, so that theywill shortly be able to load a ship or two; but I was told it is not sogood as what comes from Arabia. We sailed from Batavia on the 11th October, 1710, and on the 19th cameto anchor in a bay about a league W. From Java head, and remained tillthe 28th, laying in wood and water. The 15th December we made the landof southern Africa, in lat 34° 2' S. And on the 18th we anchored inTable Bay in six fathoms, about a mile from shore. We remained heretill the 5th April, waiting to go home with the Dutch fleet, and on thatday fell down to Penguin Island, whence we sailed on the 5th for Europe. On the 14th July we spoke a Dane bound for Ireland, who informed us thata Dutch fleet of ten sail was cruizing for us off Shetland, whichsquadron we joined next day. On the 28d we got sight of the coast ofHolland, and about eight p. M. Came all safe to anchor in the Texel, insix fathoms, about two miles off shore. In the afternoon of the 24th Iwent up to Amsterdam, where I found letters from our owners, directingus how to act as to our passage from thence home. On the 30th we gotsome provisions from Amsterdam. On the 22d August we weighed from theTexel, but the wind being contrary, had to return next morning. Weweighed again on the 30th, and on the 1st October came to anchor in theDowns, and on the 14th of that month got safe to _Eriff_, where we endedour long and fatiguing voyage. * * * * * It appears, by incidental information in Harris, I. 198, That the outfitof this voyage did not exceed £14, 000 or £15, 000, and that its grossprofits amounted to £170, 000, half of which belonged to the owners; sothat they had £85, 000 to divide, or a clear profit of £466 13s. 4d. _percentum, _ besides the value of the ships and stores. --E. CHAPTER XI. VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD, BY CAPTAIN JOHN CLIPPERTON, IN 1719-1722. [233] INTRODUCTION. About the beginning of 1718, some English merchants resolved to fit outtwo ships for a cruizing voyage to the South Sea, in hopes of havingequal success with the expedition under Woods Rogers, and provided twofine ships, the Speedwell and Success, every way fit for the purpose. But as the war which was expected between Great Britain and Spain didnot take place so soon as was expected, they applied for commissionsfrom the Emperor Charles VI. Who was then at war with Philip V. King ofSpain. Captain George Shelvocke, who had served as a lieutenant in theroyal navy, was accordingly sent with the Speedwell to Ostend, there towait for the imperial commissions, and to receive certain Flemishofficers and seamen, together with as much wine and brandy as mightserve both ships during their long voyage, being cheaper there than inEngland. This was in November 1718, and both to shew respect to theimperial court, and to have the appearance of a German expedition, thenames of the ships were changed to the Prince Eugene and the Staremberg. [Footnote 233: Harris, I. 184. ] Having taken on board six Flemish officers and ninety men, CaptainShelvocke sailed from Ostend for the Downs, where the other ship hadwaited for him some time. War having begun between Great Britain andSpain, and finding that the Flemings and Englishmen did not agree, theowners laid aside all thoughts of using the imperial commission, and tosend back all their Flemish officers and men to Flanders, with anallowance of two months wages, and procured a commission from George I. Restoring the original names of their ships. The Speedwell carriedtwenty-four guns and 106 men, and the Success thirty-six guns and 180men; the former commanded by Captain George Shelvocke, who was to havehad the chief command in the expedition, and the other by Captain JohnClipperton, who had formerly sailed with Dampier as mate, and of whoseadventures after his separation from Dampier, an account has beenalready given. In consequence of some change of circumstances, perhaps owing to someimproper conduct when in Flanders, the proprietors now took the chiefcommand from Shelvocke, and conferred it upon Clipperton, a man of ablunt, rough, and free-speaking disposition, but of a strict regard tohis duty and rigid honesty. Though somewhat passionate, he was soonappeased, and ever ready to repair any injury he had done when heatedwith anger, and had much justice and humanity in his nature. UnderCaptain Shelvocke in the Speedwell, Simon Hately was appointed secondcaptain; he who had formerly lost company with Woods Rogers among theGallapagos islands, and had remained a considerable time prisoner amongthe Spaniards. The instructions for this voyage from the owners were, that they were toproceed in the first place for Plymouth, whence they were to sail withthe first fair wind for Cape Horn or the Straits of Magellan, as wasfound most convenient for their passage into the South Sea. They werethen to cruize on the coasts of Chili, Peru, and Mexico, and toendeavour, if possible, to meet and capture the Manilla ship. To preventall disputes and disorders, they were enjoined to be careful above allthings not to separate from each other, and to undertake nothing ofimportance without holding a council of officers, stating the questionto be debated in writing, and drawing up the resolution in writing, withthe reasons on which they were grounded, which were to be signed by allthe officers. All these precautions proved in a great measure useless, as the expedition wore an unfortunate aspect from the very beginning. The ships were forced to remain three months at Plymouth, waiting for awind; in which time every thing fell into confusion, and factions wereformed, in which the crews of both ships were involved, from thecaptains down to the cabin boys. Captain Shelvocke highly resented theaffront offered him in being deprived of the chief command; and CaptainClipperton, knowing the other's resentment, and being a boisterous manof strong passions which he could not conceal, there was nothing butdebates and disputes. Every post carried complaints to the proprietors, and brought down instructions, reproofs, and exhortations to concord. Ithad been fortunate for the proprietors, if they had removed one or bothof the commanders; but every one had too much concern to retain hisfriend in post, so that private views proved the cause of publicruin. --_Harris_. SECTION I. _Narrative of the Voyage, from England to Juan Fernandez_. Having at length a fair wind, the two ships sailed in company fromPlymouth on the 13th February, 1719. It singularly happened that theSpeedwell had still on board the whole stock of wine, brandy, and otherliquors, designed for the supply of both ships. On the 19th at night, there arose a violent storm, and on the 20th the storm abated about twoin the afternoon, when Captain Clipperton in the Success made sail, steering S. By E. While Captain Shelvocke in the Speedwell bore awayN. W. So that they never again saw each other, till they afterwards metby mere accident in the South Sea. Being now at sea without his consort, and very indifferently provided, Captain Clipperton found himself under the necessity of using adiscretionary power of dispensing in some respect from his instructions;but which freedom he rarely exercised, and then with the utmost caution. In all essential points he carefully complied with the instructions, constantly consulting with his officers, and doing his utmost toprosecute his voyage with effect. The first place of rendezvousappointed in case of separation was the Canaries, for which he sailedwith such expedition that he arrived there on the 6th of March. Havingtaken in refreshments there, for which he had much occasion, as all hisliquors were in the Speedwell, Clipperton cruized on that station forten days, as directed by his instructions, but not meeting his consort, he resolved to proceed to the next place appointed for that purpose, theCape de Verd islands. The Canary Islands, or _Islands of Dogs_, so named by the Spaniards whendiscovered by them in 1402, because they found here a great number ofthese animals, were known to the ancients by the name of the FortunateIslands, because of their fertility and the excellent temperature oftheir air. They are seven in number, Lancerota, Fuerteventura, GrandCanary, Teneriffe, Geomero, Hiero or Ferro, and Palma. _Grand Canary_ isfar distant from the others, and contains 9000 inhabitants, being theseat of the bishop, the inquisition, and the royal council which governsall the seven islands. In Teneriffe is the famous mountain called_Terraira, _ or the Peak of Teneriff, supposed to be the highest in theworld, and which may be distinctly seen at the distance of sixtyleagues. There is no reaching the top of this mountain except in Julyand August, because covered at all other times with snow, which is neverto be seen at other places of that island, nor in the other six, at anyseason of the year. It requires three days journey to reach the summitof the peak, whence all the Canary islands may be seen, though some ofthem are sixty leagues distant. _Hiero_ or _Ferro_ is one of the largestislands in this group, but is very barren, and so dry that no freshwater is to be found in it, except in some few places by the sea, verytroublesome and even dangerous to get it from. "But, to remedy thisinconvenience, Providence as supplied a most extraordinary substitute, as there grows almost in every place a sort of tree of considerablesize, incomparably thick of branches and leaves, the latter being longand narrow, always green and lively. This tree is always covered by alittle cloud hanging over it, which wets the leaves as if by a perpetualdew, so that fine clear water continually trickles down from them intolittle pails set below to catch it as it falls, and which is in suchabundant quantity as amply to supply the inhabitants and theircattle. "[234] [Footnote 234: This strange story seems entirely fabulous. --E. ] These islands are generally fertile, and abound with all kinds ofprovisions, as cattle, grain, honey, wax, sugar, cheese, and skins. Thewine of this country is strong and well-flavoured, and is exported tomost parts of the world; and the Spanish ships bound for America usuallystop at these islands to lay in a stock of provisions. About 100 leaguesto the west of these islands, mariners are said to have frequently seenan island named _St Baranura, _ which they allege is all over green andvery pleasant, full of trees, and abounding in provisions, as also thatit is inhabited by Christians; but no person can tell what sect ordenomination they are of, nor what language they speak. The Spanishinhabitants of the Canaries have often attempted to go there, but couldnever find the way; whence some believe that it is only an illusion orenchanted island, seen only at certain times. Others allege a betterreason, saying that it is small and almost always concealed by clouds, and that ships are prevented from coming near it by the strength of thecurrents. It is certain however, that there is such an island, and atthe distance from the Canaries already mentioned. [235] [Footnote 235: This island of St Baranora, or St Brandon, is merelyimaginary. --E. ] Leaving Gomera on the 15th March, Clipperton came in sight of StVincent, one of the Cape de Verd islands, in the evening of the 21st, and came to anchor in the bay next morning. He here found a French ship, and the Diamond belonging to Bristol, taking in a cargo of asses forJamaica. Continuing here for ten days, in hopes of meeting theSpeedwell, but in vain, the crew of the Success became muchdisheartened, so that Clipperton had much difficulty in persuading themto persist in the enterprize. The _Cape de Verd islands, _ called _Saltislands_ by the Dutch, derive their name from Cape de Verd on the coastof Africa. The sea which surrounds them is covered by a green herb, called _Sergalso_ or cresses by the Portuguese, resemblingwater-cresses, and so thickly that hardly can the water be seen, neithercan ships make their way through it but with a stiff gale. This herbproduces berries, resembling white gooseberries, but entirely tasteless. No one knows how this herb grows, as there is no ground or land aboutthe place where it is found floating on the water, neither can it besupposed to come from the bottom, as the sea is very deep, and is inmany places quite unfathomable. This sea-weed begins to be seen in thelat. Of 34° N. Where it is so thick that it seems as if islands, but isnot to be met with in any other part of the ocean. The _Cape de Verd islands_, when first discovered by the Portuguese in1572, were all desert and uninhabited, but they now inhabit several ofthem. They are ten in number, St Jago, St Lucia, St Vincent, St Antonio, St Nicolas, Ilha Blanca, Ilha de Sal, Ilha de Maio, Ilha de Fogo, andBonavista. They now afford plenty of rice, flour, Tartarian wheat, oranges, lemons, citrons, bananas, ananas or pine-apples, ignames, batatas, melons, cucumbers, pompions, garden and wild figs, and severalother sorts of fruits. They have vineyards also, which produce ripegrapes twice a year; and have abundance of cattle, both great and small, but especially goats. The capital city is St Jago, in the island of thatname, in which resides the governor who commands over all these islandsunder the King of Portugal. It is also the residence of an archbishop, whose see extends over all these islands, and over all the conquests ofthe Portuguese on this side of the Cape of Good Hope. These islandsafford good convenience for ships on long voyages procuring a supply offresh water. On the east side of Maio there is a little river, and asthe island is uninhabited, there is nobody to hinder one from taking it:There is also water to be had on St Antonio, where also goodrefreshments may be had, of oranges, lemons, and other fruits; and thePortuguese on this island are so few in number, that they cannot preventone from taking what they please. May the 29th having an observation, Clipperton found his latitude to be52° 15' S. Being then off Cape _Virgin Mary_, the northern point at theeastern entrance into the straits of Magellan, distant from _Fuego_, oneof the Cape de Verd islands, 1580 leagues, the meridional distance being36° 4' W. [236] Next day they entered the straits. Proceeding onwards toQueen Elizabeth's island, the pinnace was sent off to a fresh-waterriver on the main, which was found frozen up. They saw large flocks ofgeese and ducks at this place, but they were very shy. By some accidentthe surgeon's mate was left ashore at this place by the boat, and whenbrought on board next morning he was almost dead with the cold. Theyremained some time at Queen Elizabeth's island, which is dry and mostlybarren, yet they found plenty of sallad herbs, which were of infiniteservice, the crew being much afflicted by the scurvy. The principal herbwas _smallage_ of extraordinary size, which they eat raw, or boiled intheir broth, and of which they brought away a considerable quantity ofjuice in bottles. On the 14th June, the empty water casks were sentashore to be filled, and the carpenters went to look out for a properpiece of timber for a mizen-mast. They found abundance of wild fowl andshell fish on shore, which were most welcome to all the company, as theyfound their appetites to increase, while the necessity compelled theenforcement of short allowance. They anchored on the 22d in a fine bay, which they named _No-bottom Bay_, because of its great depth of water. The trees here are lofty, and so loaded with snow as to be a mostastonishing sight. On the 29th there came to them a canoe in which weretwo men, a woman, and a boy. These were of middle stature, with darkcomplexions, broad, round faces, and low features, with low foreheads, lank short black hair, and no clothing except a piece of skin to covertheir middles. The most extraordinary circumstance about them, was afine streak round their wrists of an azure colour. They seem to be veryjealous of their women, as they would on no account permit the woman whowas along with them to come on board. Clipperton ordered them bread andcheese, and a dram of brandy, which last they refused to take, but theyeat the bread and cheese voraciously. They had a fire in the middle oftheir canoe, which was made of the bark of trees sewed together, andthey brought with them some wild geese and ducks, which they exchangedfor knives. They had bows and arrows, together with some fishing tackle, and went away after two hours stay, making signs that they would return. [Footnote 236: The meridional distance between these two stations is 49°25' W. Mayo being in long. 28° 15', and Cape Virgin Mary in long. 72°40' both W. From Greenwich. --E. ] Next day the pinnace went ashore, and returned in the evening with theIndian canoe filled with large muscles, which our people bought from theIndians, for knives, bread, and other trifles. In the beginning of Julythe weather was very moderate. Clipperton found the savages in thesestraits by no means so mischievous as they are usually represented, ofwhich they had two remarkable instances: As, on one occasion, one of thecrew was on shore two nights and a day, and was well used by thenatives; and, on another occasion, one of the natives being leftaccidentally all night in the ship, the natives came for him next daywithout fear; so that, if well treated, they do not seem to betreacherous. In another canoe which came to the ship there were severalwomen, each having a necklace of five or six rows of small shiningshells, very nicely strung, resembling mother-of-pearl. All this timethe crew was very sickly, scarcely a day passing in which one or moredid not die, which was generally attributed to the want of somethingcomfortable to drink in this rigorous climate, all the liquors intendedfor the voyage having been left in the Speedwell. The weather wassometimes fair and moderate for two or three days together, but wascontinually varying, and perhaps for two or three days following theyhad continual snow, rain, and sleet, with frequent great flows of windthat were intolerably sharp and piercing. William Pridham, themaster-gunner, died on the 7th July, and was buried ashore next day, having a strong, plank with an inscription driven into the ground at thehead of his grave. On the 20th July, Captain Mitchell and Lieutenant Davidson went in thepinnace, furnished with all necessaries, in order to make a discovery ofa passage on the southern side of the straits, through which a Frenchtartan is said to have gone into the South Sea in May, 1713, and toexamine if there were any anchorage beyond Cape _Quad_. The pinnacereturned on the 29th, having found the passage, but so narrow that itwas deemed too hazardous. Their provisions falling short, they wereforced to return before they had satisfied themselves sufficiently; yetthey found several good bays for anchoring in, to the N. W. Of Cape_Quad_. They got a seal from some Indians, which they broiled and eat, and said that it was as good as venison. On the 1st of August, CaptainMitchell and three other officers went a second time to examine to lookfor the new passage. But, after the strictest examination, they couldnot find that it led into the South Sea, but only into an icy bay, andat all events was too narrow for their ship. On the return of CaptainMitchell, it was resolved to prosecute their way through the straits, which they did with much difficulty, getting into the South Sea on the18th of August, but in so weak and sickly a condition as to be utterlyincapable of attempting any enterprize for some time, having been longon short allowance of only one piece of beef or pork to a mess of sixmen. In pursuance, therefore, of his instructions, Captain Clippertonbore away for the island of Juan Fernandez, the third and last appointedplace of rendezvous with the Speedwell. The Success accordingly anchored at Juan Fernandez on the 7th September, and search was made for any testimony of the Speedwell having beenthere, but to no purpose. Captain Clipperton resolved, in compliancewith his instructions, to remain here, or cruizing in the neighbourhood, for a month; and also had an inscription cut on a conspicuous treefronting the landing-place, to the following purport: "_Captain John----W. Magee, 1719_. " This William Magee was surgeon of the Success, andwell known to Captain Shelvocke and all his company; and Clippertonomitted his own name in the inscription, because he had been formerly inthe South Sea, and had been long a prisoner among the Spaniards, forwhich reason he did not wish to give them notice of his return into thissea. The sick were all landed on the 8th, and every convenience affordedby the island made use of to promote their recovery. The weather wasvery changeable all the time of the Success continuing here, with muchrain, and some hard gales of wind. They took, however, a considerablenumber of goats, which not only served them for present subsistence, butenabled them to increase their sea store, as they had an opportunity ofsalting a good many; for some French ships, that had been at the island, had left a considerable quantity of salt ready made. They likewisecleaned the ship's bottom, and took on board a supply of wood and water. It was now evident that the Success would have to act singly in theseseas, as Clipperton was fully of opinion that the Speedwell was lost, orat least gave out so among the company, to prevent them from continuallycursing Shelvocke for running away with their liquors, which some of thesick men did with their dying breaths. The beauty and fertility of this island, compared with the dangers anddifficulties unavoidable in the South Sea, tempted four of the men toremain in the island, and they actually ran away into the mountains. Asit was very inconvenient to lose so many good hands, Captain Clippertontook measures for recovering them, but ineffectually. At last, afortnight after their desertion, and only the day before the ship was toleave the island, two of them were caught by the goat-hunters andbrought aboard. They confessed that they had been hard put to it for thefirst five days, being forced to subsist entirely on the cabbage-trees, which are here in great plenty; but having accidentally found some fire, left by the goat-hunters, it served them in good stead, as it enabledthem to cook their victuals. That same evening they brought on boardall the goats-flesh they had salted, together with four casks ofseal-oil, and every thing else they had on shore. A cross was set up onshore, at the foot of which a bottle was buried, containing a letter forCaptain Shelvocke, appointing another place of rendezvous, with certainsignals by which to know each other if they happened to meet at sea. SECTION II. _Proceedings of the Success in the South Seas_. Clipperton left Juan Fernandez on the 7th October, leaving two menbehind, as successors to Governor Selkirk, but of whose adventures wehave no mention. He now steered his course to the northwards, till inthe parallel of Lima, where he proposed to commence operations, thoughin a very indifferent condition, having lost thirty men since passingthe equator. On the 25th, being in the latitude of Lima, they captured asnow of forty tons, laden with sand and rubbish for manure, on board ofwhich were seven Indians and two negroes, their master having been leftsick on shore. The only thing she contained worth taking were two jarsfull of eggs, two jars of treacle, and two dollars. Next day theycaptured a ship of 150 tons, laden with timber from Guayaquil, in whichwere two friars, sixteen Indians, and four Negroes. On the 30th theytook a ship of 400 tons, bound from Panama to Lima, which had been takenby Captain Rogers at Guayaquil ten years before. She had many passengerson board, and a loading of considerable value. Another prize was takenon the 2d of November, being a vessel of seventy tons, on board of whichwas the Countess of _Laguna_ and several other passengers, with a greatsum of money, and 400 jars of wine and brandy, which was veryacceptable. Captain Clipperton desired the countess to inform him, whether she thought proper to remain in the prize, or to accept of suchaccommodations as he was able to give her in the Success. She chose tocontinue in the prize, on which he sent an officer of marines with aguard, to prevent her from being molested, and with strict orders not toallow any person to enter her cabin, except her own domestics. He alsosent part of the wine and brandy on board the other prizes, for the useof his seamen who had charge of them. Although Captain Clipperton had now so many prizes, that above a thirdof his company was detached to take charge of them, he was still aseager to take more as if he had commanded a squadron of men of war, instead of a single privateer weakly manned. On the 12th November, aLondon-built pink of about 200 tons was discovered at some distance, bound from Panama to Lima with a cargo of woad, of very little value toClipperton, yet he added this to the number of his prizes. The master ofthis vessel, being a shrewd fellow, soon saw the error Clipperton hadfallen into, and resolved to turn it to his advantage. Guessing by thenumber of prizes already attending the English ship, that he could notspare many men to take possession of his ship, and having above a dozenpassengers, he directed them to hide themselves in the hold, along witha Frenchman who served as boatswain, with orders to seize as many of theEnglish as went down below, assuring them that he with the ship'scompany would be able to manage the rest. When this ship struck, Clipperton sent Lieutenant Sergeantson with eight men to take possessionof her; who, on coming on board, ordered all he saw on deck into thegreat cabin, at the door of which he placed a sentinel. Thinking everything was now secure, he ordered the topsails to be hoisted, in order tostand down towards the Success; after which, the men went down into thehold, to see what loading was in the ship. On this the concealedpassengers sallied out, knocked most of them down, and the boatswaincame behind Mr Sergeantson, whom he knocked down likewise, and thenbound all the Englishmen in the hold. In the mean time, the crew in thegreat cabin, Spaniards, Indians, and Negroes, secured the sentinel. Having thus recovered possession of the ship, the Spanish captainresolved on getting ashore at all events, in which design he ran hisship among the rocks, where he with his crew and prisoners were all inconsiderable danger. He then ordered all the English prisoners to beunbound, and all got safe on shore, after which Lieutenant Sergeantsonand his men were all sent prisoners to Lima. The viceroy was so much pleased with this hardy action of the Spanishshipmaster, that he ordered a new vessel to be built for him atGuayaquil, ordering all the traders in Peru to be taxed for defrayingthe expence, as a reward for the service rendered on this occasion tothe public, and an encouragement for others to behave in like manner. Onthe arrival of the prisoners at Lima, they were all strictly examined, when one of them gave a full account of every thing he knew, particularly of the two men who remained on the island of JuanFernandez, and of the letter left in a bottle for the Speedwell, theconsort of the Success. On this information, a small vessel was fittedout and sent to Juan Fernandez, with orders to fetch away the two menand the bottle containing the signals, which was accordingly done. Perceiving on the 20th November, that the last-taken, prize had beenrecovered by her crew, as on making the signal to tack, she was seen tomake all possible sail towards the land, Captain Clipperton immediatelysuspected what had happened; and finding it impossible to get up withher, he began to consider what was best for him to do, to prevent thebad effects which might reasonably be expected from her crew getting onshore and communicating the alarm. Wherefore, he very prudentlydetermined to set all his Spanish prisoners at liberty, as well to saveprovisions, which he could not very well spare, as that their good usagefrom him might be speedily known, in hopes of the same being returned tothose of his men who had fallen into the hands of the Spaniards. On the 24th we took another prize of about 200 tons, laden with timberfrom Panama to Lima, having on board forty negroes and thirty Spaniards, most of the last being passengers. On the 27th he came to anchor withall his prizes at the island of Plata, where he began seriously toreflect how best to turn the expedition to the profit of the owners, aswell as of himself and crew. He knew well that all the coast was nowalarmed, and that two men-of-war were fitting out on purpose to takehim, one of fifty and the other of thirty guns. He had no expectationsof the ships and goods he had taken being ransomed in that pan of theworld, and believed they would prove of little value if brought home;and reflecting on what had formerly been proposed by Captain WoodsRogers on a similar occasion, of sending a cargo of such prize goods toBrazil, he resolved to try that experiment. Accordingly, he fitted outthe bark in which he had taken the Countess de Laguna, armed her witheight guns, and gave her a crew of thirteen Englishmen and ten negroes, with what provisions and stores he could spare, calling her the_Chickly_. Into this vessel he put a cargo of European commodities, valued at upwards of ten thousand pounds, and on the 27th November, 1719, he sailed for Brazil under the command of Captain Mitchell. Assoon as she was gone, he gave up his other prizes to the Spaniards, taking out of them whatever he thought worth keeping, and detaining oneof the Spanish masters to serve him as pilot, with all the negroes;after which he sailed from La Plata to resume his cruize on his formerstation. The 12th December he took a vessel bound from Cherisse for Panama withprovisions, which employed the launch and pinnace of the Success a wholeday in bringing on board the flour and other provisions out of theprize. Having got as much flour out of her as they could well stow awayin the Success, Clipperton ordered the main-mast of the prize to be cutaway, lest she should overset, and then dismissed her. From the peopleof this prize, they learnt that Lieutenant Sergeantson and his men hadbeen carried prisoners to Lima. On the 27th they anchored in _Guanchaco_bay, where they found two ships at anchor, which had been abandoned bytheir crews, and every thing taken out of them, except some bread and afew jars of water. These ships were set on fire. It was now resolved tobear away for the Gallapagos islands for refreshments, and accordinglyanchored in York road, on the north side of the Duke of York's island, on the 9th January, 1720, immediately under the equinoctial line. Theyhere found good water, scrubbed and cleaned their ship's bottom, andafter ten days proceeded to the northwards, in order to cruize on thecoast of Mexico. The circumstance of finding good water at this place, sufficiently justifies Captain Cowley from the aspersions thrown uponhim by later writers, who allege that he gave a fanciful and untrueaccount of these islands, as they had not been able to find water oranchorage at such of them as they tried. Having returned to the American coast, they fell in with a ship on the21st of January, which they took after a long chase. This proved to bethe Prince Eugene, on board of which was the Marquis of _Villa Roche_and all his family, bound from Panama, where he had been president, toLima. This was the very ship in which Captain Clipperton had beencircumvented and taken in his last voyage in these seas, [237] when hehad been very indifferently used by the marquis, who was now at hismercy, and whom he used, notwithstanding, with all civility. On the 8thMarch, a priest who was on board the prize, and the boatswain of thatship, desired leave to go on shore at the island of _Velas_, [238] whichwas granted on condition that they would induce the inhabitants to bringsome bullocks to the shore, to exchange them for such goods as theymight think proper to accept in payment. This they promised, and on the16th they returned with four bullocks, together with some fowls andfruit as a present to the marquis, but said their alcalde, or governor, would on no account permit them to trade with the English. They alsolearnt that Captain Mitchell had been ashore at this place, and had shotsome of their cattle, but on 200 men appearing under arms, had beenforced to retire. This story seemed the more probable, as these peoplehad some linen and other articles of clothing belonging to CaptainMitchell's men. Next day some letters from the marquis were intercepted, which were by no means conformable to the strict honour to which theSpanish nobility usually pretend, as they were meant to stir up theinhabitants of Velas to surprise the men belonging to CaptainClipperton, and to seize his boat when it went ashore for water. Uponthis Captain Clipperton confined the marquis for some days; yet allowedhim and his lady to go ashore on the 20th, leaving their only child asan hostage; and soon after the prize was restored to her captain. [Footnote 237: The circumstance here alluded to no where appears in thenarratives of any of the former circumnavigations. --E. ] [Footnote 238: Perhaps Velas point is here meant, in lat. 10° 9' N. Onthe coast of that province of Mexico called _Corta Rica_. --E. ] On the 14th April, the marquis and his lady came on board, accompaniedby the alcalde, and an agreement being made for their ransom, the ladyand child were sent ashore, and the marquis remained as sole hostage. Inthe whole of this transaction, Clipperton seems to have been outwittedby the marquis, who lately broke his word, and by this the crew of theSuccess were provoked to murmur against their captain for trusting him. On the 20th of April, the Success anchored in the Gulf of Amapala, orFouseca, in lat. 13° N. And not being able to water there, repaired tothe _Island of Tigers_, [239] where they procured water with great ease. They went to the island of Gorgona, in lat. 2° 53' N. For the samepurpose, on the 4th June. On the 24th of that month they took a prizewhich had once been in their hands before, now laden with timber andcocoa-nuts; and on the 11th August, anchored with their prize at theisland of _Lobor de la Mar_, in lat. 6° 95' S. Where they set up tentson shore, scrubbed and cleaned their ship's bottom, and took whateverseemed of any value out of the prize. [Footnote 239: Perhaps the Isla del Cana, in lat. 8° 46' N. Is heremeant, or it may have been one of the islands in the Gulf ofAmapala. --E. ] While here, a plot was entered into by the crew, for seizing the captainand officers, whom they proposed to leave on the island of Lobos, andthen to run away with the ship; but this was happily discovered on the6th September, the two principal ringleaders severely punished, and therest pardoned. On the 17th, they took a fishing-boat with a considerablequantity of well-cured and salt fish. On the 1st November they went intothe Bay of Conception, on the coast of Chili, in lat. 36° 35' S. Inchace of a vessel which outsailed them and escaped; whence they boreaway for Coquimbo, in lat. 29° 50' S. And took a ship laden with sugar, tobacco, and cloth, on their passage between these two places. On the6th in the afternoon, on opening the harbour of Coquimbo, they saw threemen-of-war at anchor with their topsails loose, which immediatelyslipped their cables and stood after them. The Success hauled close upona wind, as the prize did likewise, on which the best sailing Spanishman-of-war gave chase to the prize, which she soon came up with andtook. The two other ships crowded all sail after the Success, tillafternoon, when the biggest carried away her mizen-mast, on which shefired a gun and stood in for the shore, which favoured the escape of theSuccess. In the re-captured prize, they lost their third lieutenant, Mr JamesMilne, with twelve men. The captain of the Spanish man-of-war which tookhim, was the famous Don Blas de Lesso, who was governor of Carthagenawhen that place was attacked by Admiral Vernon. At first Don Blastreated Mr Milne very roughly, being enraged at having missed taking theEnglish privateer, and had only retaken a Spanish prize, and in thefirst transport of his passion struck Mr Milne over the head with theflat of his sword. But on coming to himself he sent for Mr Milne, andgenerously asked his pardon, and finding he had been stripped by thesoldiers, ordered him a new suit of clothes, and kept him some time inhis own ship. He afterwards procured his liberty at Lima, paid hispassage to Panama, giving him a jar of wine and another of brandy forhis sea-store, and put 200 dollars in his pocket to carry him toEngland. This unlucky accident of losing the prize revived theill-humour among the crew of the Success, who did not indeed enter intoany new plot, but became much dejected. On the 16th they gave chase to another ship, which, after exchanging afew shots, bore away and left them. This was a fortunate escape, as shewas a ship of force commanded by one Fitzgerald, which had been fittedout on purpose to take Captain Shelvocke; but knowing this not to be theship he was in search of, and doubting her strength, had no greatstomach to engage. These repeated disappointments, as they broke thespirit of the crew, had a very bad effect on Captain Clipperton, who nowbegan to take to drinking, which grew at last to such a pitch that hewas hardly ever quite sober; owing to which unhappy propensity hecommitted many errors in his future proceedings. It was now determined to proceed to the northward in search of plunder, as also to procure a supply of provisions, especially flour, havingexpended all their stock of that article, and being now reduced to threepounds of Indian corn for a mess of six men per day. Having butindifferent fortune, and being in sight of point _Helena_ in lat. 2° 10'S. They resolved to bear away for the Gallapagos islands, on the 27thNovember, having in the first place set ashore the prisoners belongingto the vessel in which Mr Milne was taken. In their passage to theseislands, they suspected an error in their log-line, which was foundthree fathoms too short, making an error in their computation on thisrun of about fifty-two miles. On the 4th of December they lost theirpurser, Mr Fairman, and the same day found themselves near theGallapagos, being in lat. 0° 36' N. With a strong current running to theS. W. Against which they had to contend. On the 6th the pinnace was sentto look out for an anchorage at one of the islands, but returned withoutfinding any, having seen many tortoises on shore. Upon this the pinnaceand yawl were sent out to bring off some of these animals, and returnedwith sufficient fish to serve the whole company for a day, but had beenunable to land for turtle, in consequence of a prodigious surf on theshore. This island was a mere rock in lat. 0° 9' N. And the ground allabout it was foul, with soundings from fifty to eighty fathoms. Leavingthis island, they proceeded to another in the S. W. But could find noanchorage. Being unwilling to lose more time, they made the best oftheir way for the island of _Cocos_, [240] where they hoped to procurefish, fowls, and cocoa-nuts. On the 7th they saw several islands in theN. E. Through which they passed, and got clear of them all by the9th, [241] but as the people daily fell sick, they grew very apprehensiveof the dangerous situation they might incur in case of missing theisland of which they were now in search. On the 17th they had thesatisfaction of seeing the long-wished for island in the N. W. At thedistance of nine leagues; and on the 18th, after coming to anchor, allof them went on shore that could be spared from the necessary duty ofthe ship, in order to build a hut for the reception of the sick, whowere then carried on shore and comfortably lodged. They here had plentyof fish, fowls, eggs, and cocoa-nuts, with other refreshments. Thecaptain here opened the last hogshead of brandy for the use of thecompany, giving every man a dram daily as long as it lasted; and onnew-year's-day 1721, he allowed a gallon of strong beer to every mess. By means of abundant nourishing food and much ease, the crew began torecover their health and spirits, and were soon able to take on boardwood and water, though with considerable difficulty, as a very heavyswell set in from the northwards at the full and change of the moon, sothat they had to wait till after the spring-tides were over, before theywere able to get any thing off. [Footnote 240: The island of Cocos, nearly north from the Gallapagos, isin lat. 5° 20' N. And long. 87° 53' W. From Greenwich. --E. ] [Footnote 241: These were probably some of the most northerly of theGallapagos. --E. ] On the 17th January, 1721, Captain Clipperton made the necessarydispositions for sailing, but it was three days before he could get hispeople on board, and then no less than eleven of them were missing, three Englishmen and eight negroes. It is not easy to conceive whatcould have induced the former to hazard themselves at this island, sofar removed from the continent, and so little likely to be frequented byships, and whence they had so very small a chance of ever getting off. It must be attributed to their dread of the dangers and fatigues towhich they had been continually exposed, and to their living almostcontinually on short allowance, whereas they were here sure of plenty ofprovisions, with no other fatigue but the trouble of procuring anddressing them. Perhaps they might have received some assurance from themarquis, of having a ship sent for them when he obtained his liberty, which was at least a hazardous contingency; and there is great reasonto doubt was never performed. Leaving the island of Cocos on the 20th, they arrived on the coast ofMexico on the 25th, when they met with an extraordinary adventure. Discovering a sail about seven in the evening, they gave chase and senttheir pinnace to board, which came up with the chase about eleven. Onthe return of the pinnace, her people reported that this was a Spanishship named the Jesu Maria, but now in possession of Captain Shelvocke, who had now only forty of his men remaining, all the rest being dead ordispersed. He said that he had lost the Speedwell at the island of JuanFernandez, where he staid five months, and built a bark out of the wreckof the Speedwell. Putting to sea in this bark, he had coasted alongChili and Peru, meeting several ships, but could not take any, till atlength he captured the Jesu Maria at Pisco near Lima. Shelvocke's peoplediffered much in their stories, but it appeared that there was noregular command among them; and, as used to be the practice in thebuccaneers, they had chosen a quarter-master, every thing being carriedby a majority of votes, being all equal, and snared every thing amongthemselves, contrary to the articles of agreement with their owners. On the 27th, Mr Clipperton sent for the purser of the Jesu Maria, whogave but a dark account of their proceedings, only that he was notallowed to take any account of the treasure for the owners. CaptainShelvocke afterwards came on board the Success, accompanied by Mr Dod, his lieutenant of marines, who proposed to remain in the Success, havingbeen very ill used by the other crew for his attachment to the interestof the owners, at least so he said, and was credited by CaptainClipperton and his officers. Next day, Shelvocke sent on board theSuccess six chests of pitch and _dammer_, two barrels of tar, and sixslabs of copper; and Captain Clipperton gave him _twenty-four_ quarterdeck guns, [242] some round shot, a compass, and a few other necessaries. Shelvocke's people laid out a great deal of money with the crew of theSuccess, in the purchase of clothes, shoes, hats, and other necessaries;and there remained with them two of Shelvocke's officers, Mr Hendric thepurser, and Mr Dod the lieutenant of marines. [Footnote 242: This must be a gross error, as the Success originallycarried only _twenty-four_ guns; and accordingly, in the subsequentaccount of the circumnavigation of Shelvocke, only two quarter-deck gunsare mentioned. --E. ] Still keeping to the northward on the coast of Mexico, the Successafterwards saw the Jesu Maria several times; and at length, in thebeginning of March, it was resolved to propose a conjunct attempt on theManilla ship on her way to Acapulco. Accordingly on the 13th March, in ageneral consultation by the officers of both ships, it was agreed tomake the attempt jointly, both ships boarding her at once, as the onlychance of taking her. On the 15th, in another consultation, CaptainClipperton and his officers agreed to certain articles, which were sentto Captain Shelvocke, proposing, if he and his crew would refund all themoney they had shared among themselves, contrary to the articles agreedupon with the owners, and put the whole into a joint stock, thus alltheir faults should be forgiven, both companies uniting, and should thenproceed together to cruise for the Acapulco ship. This proposal was veryindifferently received by Shelvocke and his men, who did not care topart with what they possessed, and declined to give any answer to thisproposal. Perceiving, therefore, that nothing good was to be expectedfrom their quondam consort, considering also that the usual time of theManilla ship arriving at Acapulco was already elapsed, that most oftheir remaining men were weak and sickly, and that they were onlyvictualled for five months at their present short allowance, CaptainClipperton and his men thought it was now proper for them to proceed forthe East Indies without loss of time, in order to preserve what littlethey had got for their owners and themselves. It was therefore resolvedupon to put this plan into immediate execution, without any fartherconsultation with Shelvocke, and to leave the coast of America directly. They were now to the S. S. E. Of Port Marquis, in lat. 16°50'N. Andaccordingly on the 18th March shaped their course for crossing thePacific ocean towards the Ladrone islands. The Manilla ships usually leave the Philippine islands about thebeginning of July, and arrive at the Ladrones about the beginning ofSeptember, whence they proceed for Acapulco, where they are expected toarrive about the middle of January. They generally remain at Acapulco, till towards the latter end of April, and then sail for Manilla. This, though the general rule, is liable to some alterations, according as thetrade-winds set in earlier or later. From this account, it is plainthat the ship they had now proposed to wait for must have been thegalleon on her passage from Acapulco for Manilla, which always has aprodigious quantity of silver on board. SECTION III. _Voyage of the Success from the Coast of Mexico to China. _ The Success performed the voyage from the coast of Mexico to theLadrones in fifty-three days, arriving in sight of the island of Serpanaon the 10th May, 1721. This island is in lat. 13°42'N. Though usuallylaid down in the Spanish maps in 14°. [243] In this passage they lost sixof their men, and the rest were reduced to so weak and low a state, thatthe sight of this island gave them great joy. They determined however toproceed to Guam, as best known to Europeans, and where they were mostlikely to procure provisions; but in their present weakly condition itmight have been better to have gone to Serpana, where the Spaniards havenot so great a force as at Guam. They anchored in the road at thisisland on the 13th May, and sent their pinnace ashore with a flag oftruce to obtain provisions. But the people informed them that, withoutleave of the governor, they could not trade with them. Application wastherefore made to the governor for this purpose, which was favourablyreceived for the present; and Mr Godfrey, the owners agent, who had beensent up to the governor at Umatta, returned on the 16th to the Successin one of the country proas, with a message from the governor, intimating, that they should be furnished with provisions, if theybehaved civilly and paid honestly. The launch arrived soon after, bringing on board some cattle, bread, sugar, brandy, fruit, andvegetables; and on the 17th the governor sent a handsome present ofpalm-wine, sugar, and brandy, with a large quantity of chocolate. [Footnote 243: Serpana is probably some small island close to Guam, notinserted in general maps. The centre of Guam is in 13°30'N. ] The _Island of Guam_, in lat. 13°30'N. Long 145°30'E. From Greenwich, isnearly ten leagues long from N. To S. And five leagues from E. To W. Ithas several villages, the most remarkable being Amatta, Atry, Agana, Anigua, Asa, Hugatee, and Rigues. The natives are formerly said to haveamounted to 150, 000 souls, but at this time did not exceed a tenth ofthe number, of which a few hundreds remained independent in themountains, in spite of every effort to reduce them under the Spanishdominion. The natives are strong, active, vigorous, and war-like, butare represented as cruel, vindictive, and treacherous, though perhapsthe Spaniards have exaggerated their bad qualities, to extenuate theirown tyranny and oppression. The Spanish garrison at this island at thistime consisted of 300, relieved from time to time from Manilla, and theKing of Spain is said to have allowed 30, 000 dollars yearly for themaintenance of this port, the only use of which is to give refreshmentsto the annual ship which goes between Manilla and Acapulco. Having agreed with the governor of Guam for the ransom of the Marquis deVilla Roche, that nobleman went ashore on the 18th May, accompanied bythe agent, the first lieutenant, and the doctor; and the Success gavehim a salute of five guns at parting. For six days after, the launch wascontinually employed in bringing wood, water, and provisions on board, during which time the governor requested to be supplied with some armsand ammunition in exchange, and accordingly Captain Clipperton sent himtwelve fuzees, three jars of gunpowder, sixty rounds of shot, four pairof pistols, and several cutlasses, swords, and daggers. On the 25th aletter was sent on board, demanding the jewels belonging to the marquis, some consecrated plate, and two negroes, who were Christians; as alsorequiring to have a certificate signed by the captain and officers ofthe Success, that peace had been proclaimed between Britain and Spain;besides which, this letter intimated that Mr Godfrey and Mr Pritty weredetained till all these demands were complied with. In reply, CaptainClipperton sent a letter, containing a certificate, that he had beeninformed by the Solidad, the last prize taken on the coast of Chili, that peace had been concluded between Britain and Spain; but threatning, if the agreed ransom for the marquis, and the two gentlemen nowdetained, were not sent off in twenty-four hours, that he would demolishall the houses on shore, burn the ship in the harbour, and do all themischief he could at the Philippine Islands. Soon after, a letter was received from the governor, saying that hewould pay for the consecrated plate, and desiring to have more powderand shot; to which Clipperton made answer that he could not spare anymore. The yawl went ashore on the 28th for more provisions; but thepeople were told that no more could be had, unless they sent more powderand shot. Upon this Clipperton weighed anchor, and stood in for theharbour, sending the pinnace a-head to sound. The people on shore hadraised a battery during the sham treaty about the ransom of the marquis, from which they fired on the pinnace. The pinnace now returned toClipperton, and reported that the only channel they could find laywithin pistol-shot of the shore; yet at six in the afternoon Clippertonpersisted to carry the Success into the harbour, making directly for theship that lay there at anchor. The _Spaniards_ carried her intoshoal-water, [244] where she was exposed to two fires, one from the newbattery on land, almost directly over head, and the other from the ship. At nine she got foul of the rocks, when they had to cut away two oftheir anchors, endeavouring to get her off, all the while the enemyplying them warmly with shot and stones from the new battery on thehill, so that they suffered severely in the hull and rigging of theship. They also had three men wounded, besides losing the firstlieutenant, Mr Davidson, an honest man and a good officer. Thus theSuccess had to remain in a miserable situation, exposed during the wholenight to the continual fire of the enemy; and the surface of the waterbeing as smooth as a mill-pond, the ship was easily seen in the night, while her unfortunate crew had no other mark to fire at but the flashesof the enemy's guns. [Footnote 244: This unexplained circumstance probably meant, that theSuccess had at this time _Spanish_ pilots, who betrayed her. --E. ] In this dangerous emergency, Captain Clipperton being overcome withliquor, and quite unable to command, the officers came to the resolutionof running clear from the enemy as soon as they could get the shipafloat, and signed a paper to indemnify Mr Cook if he would assume thecommand. By four in the afternoon of the 29th they got the ship afloat, and cut away their small bower anchor, but ran aground again in tenminutes. At nine they carried out the kedge-anchor, but the hawser brokein heaving. They now carried out another hawser, having a lower-deck gunfixed to it, as they had now lost all their anchors, and were stillaground. At two in the morning of the 30th the enemy repeatedly calledupon them to surrender, or they might expect no quarter. At five theycarried out the main-top-mast shrowd hawser, with another gun, stillplying the enemy with their great guns and small-arms, though they wereable to do little harm; while the enemy never missed them, especiallydirecting their shot at the boats of the Success, whenever they saw themin motion. At eleven in the forenoon of the 30th they carried out theremains of their best bower-cable, with two lower-deck guns, which theydropped right a-head in five fathoms water. They now cleared the hold, ready to start their water to lighten the ship; got their upper andlower-deck guns forwards, to bring her by the head as she hung abaft onthe rocks, and kept two guns constantly firing from the stern-ports atthe enemy's battery, but could not get them to bear. During the lasttwenty-four hours they had fortunately only one man wounded; but theship was wretchedly injured between wind and water, and her rigging tornto pieces. At six in the afternoon of the 30th the ship floated, when they cut awaytheir yawl, having been sunk by a shot. They hove taught their cable, and then cut it away, together with the two hawsers, and sent thepinnace a-head to tow the ship off. Just as the ship got afloat, theenemy fired with great briskness from their new battery, their shotraking through the Success between wind and water, killed one of hermen, and wounded two others. The Success had now remained fifty hours as a fair mark for the enemy tofire at, during which they lost both their bower-anchors and cables, with the stern and kedge-anchors, four hawsers, four lower-deck guns, nineteen barrels of powder, two men killed and six wounded; and had theynot now got off, it was believed they must have been sunk beforemorning. At ten in the forenoon of the 31st they hove to, and began tosplice their rigging, not a rope of which had escaped the shot of theenemy. The masts and yards were all sore wounded; and the carpenters hadto work during the whole night, stopping-the shot-holes in the hull. They stowed away most of their guns in the hold, barred up the ports, hoisted in the launch and pinnace, and at noon steered away west underan easy sail, hoping to save their passage before the western monsoonset in; the carpenters being fully occupied in fishing the masts andyards, and the rest of the crew in mending the rigging. At six in theevening of the 31st May, 1721, the body of the island of Guam bore E. Seven leagues distant, and they then took their departure; being in 15°20' N. Designing now for China. The conduct of Captain Clipperton at Guam was certainly exceedinglyerroneous. He ought on no account to have permitted the marquis to go onshore till he had received the money for his ransom, and all theprovisions of which he stood in need. The marquis had before behavedvery ill to him, and had no title to any favour; and if he had kept themarquis, the governor of Guam would not have had any opportunity ofputting his schemes in execution. Clipperton committed also an egregiouserror in pretending to attack the town, and the ship in the harbour. Though drunkenness is rather an aggravation than an excuse formisconduct, yet it is to be considered that Clipperton was a meresailor, who had not the benefit of a liberal education, and that he fellinto this sad vice from disappointment and despair. On all occasions hehad shewn a humane and even generous disposition, with the mostinflexible honesty, and a constant regard to the interest of his owners. He is therefore much to be pitied, for having fled to the bottle under aload of misfortunes too heavy for him to bear. The voyage upon which they had now to enter was very dangerous, the runfrom Manilla to China being estimated at 400 leagues; besides that thedistance they had now to sail was much greater. They had only received avery moderate addition to their former scanty stock of provisions; andtheir vessel had been so roughly handled in the late unfortunate affair, that they were very apprehensive she would not last out the voyage. Oncareful examination, she was found to be in a very shattered condition, having scarcely a whole timber in her upper works, and one of her_fashion pieces_ being shot through, which is a principal support of theafter-part of the ship, they were obliged to strap her, to keep hertogether. As it blew pretty fresh, they durst not carry sail, and fornearly a week together had to scud almost under bare poles, throughvariable winds, bad weather, and a rough sea. This was a melancholysituation for the people, in seas with which they were littleacquainted, and sailing by charts on which they could not depend. Yetthey found the accounts and charts of Dampier much superior to thoselaid down by persons of much greater figure, so that without these theyhad hardly been able to have extricated themselves from theirdifficulties. The 24th June they were in sight of the _Bashee_ Islands, in lat. 20° 45' N. Long. 121° 40' E. On the 31st they saw the_island-shoals_ of _Pralas_, in lat. 21° N. Long. 116° 20' E. The 1stJuly they fell in with other islands, not laid down in any of theircharts, which perplexed them sadly, not being able to form any certainjudgment of their true course. They anchored under one of these islandsin thirteen fathoms, and sent away one of their boats to endeavour toprocure intelligence how Macao bore from them, that being the port towhich they were bound. The pinnace returned on the 2d July, bringing aboat in which were three Chinese sailors, or fishermen, whom they couldnot understand, and all they could learn from them was, that Canton borefrom them to the S. W. On the 3d July, finding they had got too far to leeward of Macao, andbeing unable to procure a pilot, they resolved to sail for _Amoy_, asthe only course that was left them, and accordingly arrived before thatport in the evening of the 5th; but being afraid to enter it in thenight, they plied off and on till daybreak of the 6th. They here noticedgreat numbers of snakes in the sea, brought down by the rivers thatempty themselves upon that coast. The entrance into the port of _Amoy_is sufficiently conspicuous, in consequence of a high mountain, on thetop of which is a tower, or pagoda, which may be seen at the distance oftwenty leagues out to sea, and has a small island immediately before themouth of the bay. The river _Change-neu_[245] discharges itself hereinto the sea, forming a spacious bay about eight leagues in circuit, where ships may ride at anchor in great safety, the only difficultybeing in getting into port, which they happily accomplished in theevening of the 6th July, being well pleased to find themselves once morein a place where they might hope to procure refreshments, and be able torepair their ship; or if that were impracticable, whence they mightprocure a passage home. Clipperton was as much rejoiced as the rest;for, having had his full share of afflictions and misfortunes at sea, hewas happy in the prospect of securing a small sum of money for his ownuse, and sending home what belonged to the owners, if the ship werereally past repairing, as his people reported. [Footnote 245: No name resembling _Amoy_ is to be found on the coast ofChina in any of our best maps, and the text gives no distinct indicationof its situation. The river _Changeneu_ of the text, perhaps refers to_Tchang-tcheou_, a city in the province of Fokien, having a large bay inlat. 24° 30' N. Long. 118° 15' E. And _Amoy_ may have been somecorruption of the port of discharge at the mouth of the river whichpasses Tchang-tcheou. --E. ] They had no sooner anchored in the port than ten custom-house officerswere placed on board. At Amoy, as in most other ports in China, thecustoms are under the direction of a single mandarin, called the Hoppo, or Hoppou. The Chinese are justly reputed the craftiest people in theworld; and it is their invariable maxim to appoint the cunningest manthey can find to the office of hoppo. It may be added, that the peopleof Amoy are reputed to be less nice in the principles of honour andhonesty even than any others in China. The first thing demanded by thesecustom-house officers was, what the ship was, and what was her businessat this port. Clipperton made answer, that the ship belonged to the Kingof Great Britain, and had put in there from stress of weather, in orderto obtain a supply of provisions and other necessaries. The officers nowdemanded an exact account of the number of men and guns, the nature andamount of the cargo, and the time they intended to stay, all of whichthey set down in writing, and then departed. Next morning the men mutinied, and insisted that Clipperton should paythem their prize-money immediately, as the Success was in no conditionto proceed to sea. The man who made this demand was one John Dennison;and when Mr Taylor interposed in behalf of the captain, one EdwardBoreman told him he had better desist, unless he had a mind to have abrace of bullets through his head. There was now an end of allregularity on board, the authority of the captain being completelyoverthrown. The country people supplied the ship with abundance of rice, with some cattle and fowls, together with wood and water, for which theywere paid. On the 12th the officers went ashore to wait upon the hoppo, who had a fine palace. He treated them with great civility, giving themleave to anchor in the harbour, and to remain there till the adversemonsoon was over; but for this he demanded 1700 dollars as port-charges, equal to near £400 sterling, and soon afterward received that sum inready money. It may be remembered that Mr Mitchell went out from. England as secondcaptain under Clipperton. On his going to Brazil, he was succeeded by MrDavidson, who was slain in the unfortunate affair at Guam; to whom MrCook succeeded as second captain. He now demanded to receive thirtyshares of the prize-money in that capacity, in which he was supported bythe men, whom he courted by a continual compliance with all theirhumours. Captain Clipperton and the rest of the officers, seeing theturn matters were likely to take, were very desirous that some allowanceshould be reserved for the officers who were absent, and had been takenprisoners, and for Mr Hendrie and Mr Dod, who had joined them from theSpeedwell: but all their endeavours were fruitless, as the men would notlisten to any such allowances. While these disputes were going on, themen went ashore as they pleased, without asking leave; and when thecaptain endeavoured to correct this licence, the whole company stoodout, and would not submit to controul. After this every thing fell intoconfusion, and the men refused to work till they should receive theirprize-money. They even applied to the chief mandarin of the place, styled _Hyhuug_ by the Chinese, to interpose his authority for obligingtheir captain to comply with their demands. This magistrate thensummoned Captain Clipperton to appear before him, and demanded to knowthe reason why he refused to give the men satisfaction; on which thecaptain produced the articles, which contained expressly that they werenot to receive their prize-money till their return to London. ButCaptain Cook, as he was now styled, gave quite a different account ofthis matter to the mandarin; on which a guard of soldiers was sentaboard the Success, with a peremptory order to Captain Clippertonimmediately to settle the shares, and to pay them to the men, with whichhe was forced to comply. This distribution was accordingly made on the 16th September, pursuantto the order of the chief mandarin; and as no allowance was reserved forthose who had been made prisoners, or for the representatives of thosewho had died, or the two gentlemen who formerly served in the Speedwell, the prize-money stood thus: The share of money and silver plate, dollars 280 The share of gold, 100 The share of jewels, 39 ----- Total share of a foremast-man, 419 Which, at 4s. 8d. The dollar, amounted to £97:15:4 sterling. Accordingto this distribution: The share of the captain amounted to £1466, 10s. The second captain had £733, 5s. The captain of marines, the lieutenantsof the ship, and the surgeon, had each £488:16:8. Although Captain Cookand his associates were thus able to carry their point, yet CaptainClipperton prevailed on the mandarin to set apart one half of the cargofor the benefit of the owners; which amounted, in money, silver, gold, and jewels, to between six and seven thousand pounds. This wasafterwards shipped at Macao in a Portuguese ship, called the Queen ofAngels, commanded by Don Francisco de la Vero. This ship wasunfortunately burnt at Rio de Janeiro, on the coast of Brazil, on the6th June, 1722; so that the owners, after deducting salvage, onlyreceived £1800. The people and mandarins at Amoy have so conducted themselves for a longtime, that, even among their own countrymen, this port has theappellation of _Hiamuin booz_, or Amoy the roguish. The fishermen on thecoast, when they meet any European ship that seems intended for thatport, pronounce these words with a very significant air; but, for wantof understanding the language, or perhaps from confidence in their ownprudence, this warning is seldom attended to. The custom of this port isto disarm every ship that enters it, sending two frigates or armedvessels, called _chan-pans_, full of men, to ride close by the vessel, to ensure the execution of all orders from the _hoppo_ and chiefmandarin. Besides the enormous imposition under the name of portcharges, already mentioned, they have other strange methods of gettingmoney. Thus, though the small craft of the country are at liberty tocarry all sorts of provisions on board for sale, yet every one of thesemust in the first place go to one of the _chan-pans_, and pay there atax or consideration for leave to go to the strange vessel. By thismeans, though provisions are here very plentiful, and ought therefore tobe cheap, the price is enhanced at least a third. The mandarins havealso a practice of sending presents of wine, provisions, and expensivecuriosities, to the captain and other officers; of all which, when theship is ready to sail, they send an exact memorial with the pricescharged, the last article being so much for the clerk drawing up theaccount; and all this must be discharged in money or commodities, beforetheir arms and ammunition are returned. During a stay of ten weeks at this port, they sufficiently experiencedall the artifices of this covetous and fraudulent people, from whomCaptain Clipperton had no way to defend himself, and was thereforeobliged to submit to all their demands. Towards the end of September, the season and their inclinations concurred to deliver them from thisplace; for by this time, even the common men began to be weary of thepeople, who shewed themselves finished cheats in every thing. On the25th September, their arms and ammunition were restored, and that sameday the Success weighed from the harbour, going out into the road orgulf, in order to proceed for Macao, to have the ship surveyed, as themen insisted she was not in a condition for the voyage home. CaptainClipperton affirmed the contrary, well knowing that the men insisted onthis point merely to justify their own conduct, and to avoid beingpunished in England for their misbehaviour in China. They weighed anchor from the Bay of Amoy, in the province of_Tonkin_, [246] on the 30th September, and anchored in the road of_Macao_ on the 4th October. This place had been an hundred and fiftyyears in the hands of the Portuguese, and had formerly been one of themost considerable places of trade in all China, but has now fallen muchinto decay. The way in which the Portuguese became possessed of thisplace gives a good specimen of Chinese generosity. In prosecuting theirtrade with China from India and Malacca, being often overtaken bystorms, many of their ships had been cast away for want of a harbour, among the islands about Macao, on which they requested to have someplace of safety allowed them in which to winter. The Chinese accordinglygave them this rocky island, then inhabited by robbers, whom theyexpelled. At first they were only allowed to build thatched cottages;but, by bribing the mandarins, they were permitted in the sequel toerect stone houses, and even to build forts. One of these, called _theFort of the Bar_, is at the mouth of the harbour, and terminates at arock called _Appenka_, where there is a hermitage of the order of StAugustine. There is another fort on the top of a hill, called the Fortof the Mountain; also another high fort, called _Nuestra Senhora deGuia_. The city of Macao stands on a peninsula, having a strong wallbuilt across the isthmus, with a gate in the middle, through which theChinese pass out and in at pleasure, but it is death for a Portuguese topass that way. [Footnote 246: This surely is an error for Fo-kien. Amoy has been beforestated in the text as N. E. From Macao, whereas the _kingdom_ of Tonquinis S. W. From that port. --E. ] Some travellers have reported that the Portuguese were sovereigns ofMacao, as of other places in India: But they never were, and the Chineseare too wise a people to suffer any thing of the kind. Macao certainlyis as fine a city, and even finer, than could be expected, consideringits untoward situation: It is also regularly and strongly fortified, having upwards of 200 pieces of brass cannon upon its walls. Yet, withall these, it can only defend itself against strangers. The Chinese everwere, and ever will be, masters of Macao, and that without firing a gunor striking a blow. They have only to shut up that gate and place aguard there, and Macao is undone; and this they have actually donefrequently. Without receiving provisions from the adjacent country, theinhabitants of this city cannot subsist for a day; and besides, it is sosurrounded by populous islands, and the Chinese are here so completelymasters of the sea, that the Portuguese at Macao might be completelystarved on the slightest difference with the Chinese. The Portuguesehave indeed the government over their own people within the walls ofthis city; yet Macao is strictly and properly a Chinese city: For thereis a Chinese governor resident on the spot, together with a hoppo orcommissioner of the customs; and these Chinese mandarins, with all theirofficers and servants, are maintained at the expence of the city, whichhas also to bear the charges of the Portuguese government. [247] [Footnote 247: The East India Company found all this to be true a fewyears ago, when its Indian government thought to have taken Macao fromthe Portuguese. Had this account of the matter been read and understood, they would not have unnecessarily incurred a vast expence, and sufferedno small disgrace at Canton. --E. ] In spite of all this, the Portuguese inhabitants were formerly veryrich, owing to the great trade they carried on with Japan, which is nowin a great measure lost. Yet, being so near Canton, and allowed tofrequent the two annual fairs at that place, and to make trading voyagesat other times, they still find a way to subsist, and that is all, asthe prodigious presents they have to make on all occasions to theChinese mandarins, consume the far greater part of their profits. Eachof their vessels, on going up to Canton, has in the first place to pay£100 sterling for leave to trade. They are next obliged to make aconsiderable present, for permission to have their goods brought onboard by the Chinese, to whom they must not only pay ready money for allthey buy, but have sometimes to advance the price beforehand for a year. After all this, they have to make another present for leave to depart, at least double the amount of what they formerly paid for liberty totrade; and they have to pay heavy duties to the emperor for every thingthey buy or sell, besides their enormous presents to his ministers. SECTION IV. _Residence of Captain Clipperton at Macao, and Returns from thence toEngland. _ On entering the port of Macao in the Success, Captain Clipperton salutedthe fortress, which compliment was returned. He then went on shore, where he prevailed on the captain of a Portuguese ship of war, formerlymentioned, to carry the property belonging to his owners to Brazil. Atthis place, the crew of the Success found themselves considerably at aloss, as the Portuguese commander declared himself entirely in favour ofCaptain Clipperton. Captain Cook, therefore, and another of the officersof the Success, went up to Canton, to consult with Mr Winder, supercargoof an English East Indiaman, and son to one of the principal owners, asto what should be done with, the Success. On their return, the ship wassurveyed, condemned, and sold for 4000 dollars, which was much less thanher worth. This was, however, no fault in Captain Clipperton, who, toshew that he still adhered to his former opinion, that the ship was fitto proceed to England, agreed with the persons who purchased her for apassage to Batavia, a convincing proof that he did not believe her inany danger of foundering at sea. The ship being sold, the crew naturally considered themselves at libertyto shift for themselves, and to use their best endeavours each to savewhat little remained to him, after their unfortunate expedition. Allwere satisfied that Captain Mitchell, with his crew and cargo, hadeither gone to the bottom or fallen into the hands of the Spaniards, sothat they had no hopes of any farther dividend from that quarter; yet itwas some consolation that they were so near the English factory atCanton, and as six dollars were required for a passage to that place inone of the Chinese boats, twenty of them agreed to go there immediately, in hopes of getting a passage from thence to England. Mr Taylor, one ofthe mates of the Success, was of the number: But before the boat setsail, he had some presentiment of danger, and chose rather to lose hismoney, by waiting for another opportunity. He had reason to be satisfiedwith himself for this conduct; as he soon learnt that the boat tad beentaken by a pirate, and the people stript of all their property. After ashort stay at Macao, Mr Taylor had an opportunity of going up to Cantonin an armed boat along with a mandarin, for which he and the rest of thecrew belonging to the Success, who went along with him, paid twentydollars each. In their passage up, they had satisfactory proof that insome cases there may be frugality in expence, as they saw a pirate takea boat in sight of that in which was the mandarin. This plainly shewedthat the government winks at these things, perhaps deeming it goodpolicy to raise thereby a considerable revenue, partly by presents fromthe pirates, and partly by sums paid by merchants and passengers forprotection. From this, and many other circumstances which might beadduced, the boasted wisdom of the Chinese is nothing more than thescience of dexterously hiding their robberies from the inspection of thelaw: In which, perhaps, they are as much exceeded by some northernnations as in the use of the compass, of which they pretend to be theoriginal inventors, and perhaps with justice; but both in the managementof the compass, and in this political trade of pirating, they areequally clumsy. Mr Taylor and his company arrived at the English factory in Canton onthe 4th November, where they were well received, and promised allassistance for getting home. There were at this time ships ready tosail, first for several ports in India and then for Europe. The captainsof these vessels, on being solicited by the gentlemen of the factory totake Captain Clipperton's men on board, agreed to carry them for fivepounds a man, which they all accordingly paid, esteeming it a very greatfavour. Mr Taylor and two or three more embarked in the Maurice, CaptainPeacock, then riding at Wanapo, [Wampoa, ] about three leagues belowCanton, the place where European ships lie; and the rest of the companywere distributed among the other ships. They sailed on the 9th, incompany with the Macclesfield, an English East-Indiaman, and theHouse-of-Austria, belonging to Ostend. Mr Taylor arrived safely atBatavia in the month of December; sailed thence by the Cape and StHelena, and arrived in London in May 1722. The rest of the companyreturned also, some sooner and some later. As for Captain Mitchell, who was sent to Brazil with a small crew, hewas never more heard of, having probably been destroyed at the islandof Velas, where he went ashore to procure fresh provisions. This hasgenerally been considered as the greatest blemish in the management ofCaptain Clipperton, but I confess without just cause, in my opinion; asthe great stress laid on that measure by Captain Rogers, might very wellhave induced Captain Clipperton to try what might be done in this way, especially as his owners had very strongly recommended the account ofCaptain Rogers to be his rule and guide. I also think the proposal initself was very reasonable, and such as an officer who had the good ofthe expedition at heart had good grounds for trying. It was well knownthat the prize goods could produce little or nothing in the South Sea, as the Spanish governors demanded such exorbitant sums for liberty totrade, that no advantage could be derived from such a commerce, eitherin buying or selling. He knew also that it was to little purposecarrying these goods to Europe; and it was certainly much preferable tosend them to a place where they might sell to advantage, and where theproduce might be so invested as to procure a considerable profit on thevoyage from Brazil to London. The vessel in which Captain Mitchellsailed was very fit for the purpose, and every way well provided; andhaving a crew of thirteen English and ten negroes, was quite sufficientfor the navigation. Captain Clipperton sailed from Macao to Batavia, in his own ship theSuccess, after she was sold; and got a passage to Europe in a Dutchship. He arrived at Galway in Ireland, where he left his family, inJune, 1722; being then in a very bad state of health, partly occasionedby his great fatigues, but chiefly through the concern he was under forthe loss sustained by his owners in this unfortunate enterprize. It maybe objected, that he ought to have returned from Holland to England, togive his owners the best account in his power respecting the events ofthe voyage. But, as he sent home their moiety of the profits in thePortugueze ship, which, had it not been destroyed by the way, had nearlycovered the expence of fitting out the Success, taking in the money shesold for; and if we consider the reduced state of his health when hewent to Galway, where he did not live above a week, he may well beexcused for this step. CHAPTER XII. VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD BY CAPTAIN GEORGE SHELVOCKE, IN 1719-1722. [248] INTRODUCTION. In the introduction to the former voyage, a sufficient account has beengiven of the motives on which the expedition was founded, and theoriginal plan of acting under an imperial commission; together withmotives for changing this plan, and the reason of advancing CaptainClipperton to the chief command. In the new scheme of the voyage, Captain Shelvocke retained the command of the Speedwell, carryingtwenty-four guns and 106 men, Mr Simon Hately being his second captain, an officer who has a good character given of him in the account of theformer voyage by Captain Rogers. The marines were under the command ofCaptain William Betagh. Captain Shelvocke has himself written an accountof the expedition, and another was published by Captain Betagh, so thatthe following narrative is composed from both. Shelvocke's narrative is, strictly speaking, an apology for his own conduct, yet containsabundance of curious particulars, written in an entertaining style, andwith an agreeable spirit; while the other is written with much acrimony, and contains heavy charges against Captain Shelvocke, yet contains manycurious circumstances. --_Harris_. [Footnote 248: Harris, I. 198. Callender, III. 502. ] This is one of the best written voyages we have hitherto met with, yetextends rather to considerable length, considering its relativeimportance. On the present occasion, therefore, it has been endeavouredto lop off as many of its redundances as could be conveniently donewithout injury, yet leaving every circumstance of any interest orimportance. The principal omission, or abbreviation rather, on thepresent occasion, is the leaving out several controversial matters, inserted by Harris from the account of this voyage by Betagh; whichmight have sufficient interest among contemporaries, a few years afterthe unfortunate issue of this misconducted enterprise, but are now of noimportance, near a century later. --Ed. SECTION I. _Narrative of the Voyage from England to the South Sea. _ Sailing from Plymouth on the 13th February, 1719, in company with theSuccess, we kept company no longer than to the 19th, when, between nineand ten at night, we had a violent storm at S. W. Which increased so, that by eleven we were under bare poles. At midnight a sea struck us onour quarter, which stove in one of our dead lights on the quarter andanother on our stern, by which we shipped a vast quantity of waterbefore we could get them again fastened up, and we were a considerabletime under great apprehension of foundering. On the 20th we could notsee the Success; and this storm so terrified the greatest part of thecrew, that seventy of them were resolved to bear away for England, alleging that the ship was so very crank she would never be able tocarry us to the South Sea. But by the resolution of the officers theywere brought back to their duty. As the Canaries were the first place of rendezvous, we continued ourcourse for these islands, where we arrived on the 17th March, andcruised there the time appointed by our instructions. [249] We nextsailed for the Cape de Verde Islands, and arrived at Maio on the 14thApril. [250] A little before arriving here, Turner Stevens[251] thegunner very gravely proposed to me and the rest of the officers tocruize in the Red Sea; as there could be no harm in robbing theMahometans, whereas the Spaniards were good Christians, and it was a sinto injure them. I ordered him immediately into confinement, after whichhe became outrageous, threatening to blow up the ship. Wherefore Idischarged him at his own request, and left also here on shore my chiefmate, who had challenged and fought with Mr Brooks, my first lieutenant. [Footnote 249: Clipperton arrived there on the 5th, and sailed thence onthe 15th of March. --E. ] [Footnote 250: Clipperton came to St Vincent on the 24th March, andcruized in that neighbourhood for ten days, so that he must have sailedabout the 31st, at least a fortnight before the arrival ofShelvocke. --E. ] [Footnote 251: Called Charles Turner by Betagh. --E. ] On the 18th, we went to _Port Praya_, in the island of St Jago, butfinding nothing here but fair promises, I resolved to proceed to theisland of St Catharine on the coast of Brazil, in lat. 20° 30' S. [252]in hopes of obtaining every thing necessary for our passage into theSouth Sea, as, according to the account of it by Frezier, it abounds inall the necessaries of life, such especially as are requisite in longvoyages. We sailed therefore from Port Praya on the 20th of April, andhad a very bad passage, as we were twenty-one days before we could passthe equinoctial. White between the two tradewinds, we had usually slightbreezes, varying all round the compass, and sometimes heavy squalls ofwind, with thunder, lightning, and rain. In short, the most variableweather that can be conceived, insomuch that we were fifty-five daysbetween St Jago and St Catharines. On the 4th June we made Cape Frio, bearing W. Seven leagues off our lat. By observation, 23° 41' S. [253] Onthe 5th we met and spoke a ship, to which I sent Captain Hately toenquire the news on the coast, and gave him money to buy tobacco, as theSuccess had our stock on board. She was a Portuguese from Rio de Janeirobound to Pernambuco, and had no tobacco; but Hately had laid out mymoney in unnecessary trifles, alleging they would sell for double themoney at the next port. [Footnote 252: This island is in 27° 10' S. ] [Footnote 253: Cape Frio is in 22° 33' S. ] [Captain Betagh gives a very different account of this matter, assertingthat Shelvocke hoisted imperial colours and made the Portuguese shipbring to, on which Hately went aboard with a boat's crew well armed, andput the Portuguese captain in such a fright, that he not only sent allsorts of refreshments on board the Speedwell, but a dozen pieces of silkflowered with gold and silver, worth about three pounds a yard, severaldozens of China plates and basons, a Japan cabinet, and three hundredmoidores in gold; ninety-six of which were afterwards found on Hately, when made prisoner by the Spaniards, when he had nearly been put todeath for piracy on their account. ][254] [Footnote 254: It is almost unnecessary to point out, that thisparagraph is an addition by Harris to the narrative of Shelvocke, extracted from the journal of Betagh. --E. ] We anchored at the island of St Catharine on the 23d June, where thecarpenter went ashore with a gang to fell trees, and saw them intoplanks. The captain and inhabitants of the island came off to us dailywith fresh provisions, which saved our sea-stores while we lay here. Ialso bought twenty-one beeves, 200 salted drom-fish of large size, and150 bushels of cassado meal, called by the Portuguese _farina de fao_. This is about as fine as our oatmeal, and from it a very hearty food isprepared with little trouble. I also bought 160 bushels of _calavances_, partly for money at a dollar the bushel, and partly in exchange forsalt, measure for measure; and likewise provided a quantity of tobaccofor the crew. The account given of this island by Frezier is very exact, only that hetakes no notice of an island between the island of _Gall_ and thecontinent of Brazil, nor of a reef of rocks. To arrive at the properanchoring place at this island of St Catharine, it is necessary toproceed in the channel between that island and the continent till withinor near two small nameless islands, over against the northernmost ofwhich is the watering place on the island of St Catharine, near theentrance of a salt-water creek, opposite to which you may safely anchorin six or seven fathoms on fine grey sand. The isle of St Catharine isabout eight leagues and a half long, but no where exceeds two leaguesbroad; and at one place the channel between it and the continent is onlya quarter of a mile broad. The island is covered all over withimpassable woods, except where cleared for the plantations. Even thesmallest island about it is covered in like manner with a great varietyof trees, between which the ground is entirely covered with thorns andbrambles, which hinder all access; and the main land of Brazil may bejustly termed a vast continued wilderness. Sassafras, so much valued inEurope, is so common here that we laid in a good quantity for fuel. Ithas great abundance of oranges, both China and Seville, lemons, citrons, limes, bananas, cabbage-palms, melons of all sorts, and potatoes. It hasalso very large and good sugar-canes, of which they make little use forwant of utensils, so that the little sugar, molasses and rum they haveis very dear. They have very little game, though the woods are full ofparrots, which are good eating. These birds always fly in pairs, thoughoften several hundreds in a flock. Maccaos, cockatoes, plovers, and avariety of other birds of curious colours and various shapes, are to beseen in abundance; particularly one somewhat larger than a thrush, having a spur on the joint of each wing. Flamingoes are often seen herein great numbers, of a fine scarlet colour, and appear very beautifulwhile flying. This bird is about the size of a heron, and not unlike itin shape. The fishery is here abundant, as fish of several excellent sorts are ingreat plenty, and there is the best convenience almost everywhere forhauling the seine. All the creeks and bays are well stocked withmullets, large rays, grantors, cavallies, and drum-fish, so named fromthe noise they make when followed into shallow water, and there taken. Some of them weigh twenty or thirty pounds each, their scales being aslarge as crown pieces. The Portuguese call them _moroes_. The salt-watercreek formerly mentioned may be gone up three or four miles, to be nearthe watering-place; and every rock or stone, even the roots of themangrove trees, afford a delicious small green oyster. Likewise on therocks at the sea-side there are _sea-eggs_, which resemble _dock-burrs_, but usually three or four times as large, of a sea-green or purplecolour. In the inside they are divided into partitions, like oranges, each cell containing a yellow substance, which is eaten raw, andexceeds, in my opinion, all the shell-fish I ever tasted. They haveprawns of extraordinary size, and we sometimes caught the _sea-horse_ inour nets. On the savannahs of Areziliba, on the continent opposite thesouthern end of St Catharine, they have great numbers of black cattle, some of which we had from thence at a very reasonable price. The Portuguese on this island are a parcel of banditti, who have takenrefuge here from the more strictly governed parts of Brazil. EmanuelMansa, who was captain of the island in the time of Frezier, was stilltheir chief. They enjoy the blessings of a fertile country and wholesomeair, and stand in need of nothing from other countries except clothing. They have fire-arms sufficient for their use, and have often need ofthem, being greatly infected with tigers; for which reason every househas many dogs to destroy these ravenous animals, which yet often makegreat havock. I have been told that a tiger has killed eight or ten dogsin a night: But when any make their appearance in the day, they seldomescape, as the inhabitants are fond of the diversion of hunting them. These animals are so numerous, that it is quite common to see the printsof their paws on the sandy beach. We could not see any of the finedwelling-houses mentioned by Frezier; neither have they any place thatcan be called a town, nor any kind of fortification, except the woods, which are a secure retreat from any enemy that may attack them. I cannotsay much about the Indians of those parts, as I never saw above two orthree of them. On the 2d July we saw a large ship at anchor, under Parrots Island, about five miles from where we lay. After securing the watering-place, and what we had there ashore, I sent the launch, well manned and armed, under a lieutenant, to see what she was. The launch returned about noon, reporting that she was the _Ruby_, formerly an English man-of-war, butnow one of the squadron under Martinet, and commanded by Mons. LaJonqniere. She was in, the Spanish service, but most of her officers andcrew were French, to the number of about 420. Yet they had no intentionto molest us, having quitted the South Sea on report of a rupturebetween France and Spain. M. La Jonquiere was a man of strict honour, and sent me intimation of his good intentions, with an invitation todinner, which I accepted, and was well entertained. About this time Iheard that Hately had plundered the Portuguese ship, formerly mentioned, of 100 moidores, and had distributed part of the money among the boat'screw, to engage them to secrecy. I examined into this as strictly aspossible, intending, if found guilty, to have delivered him up to thecaptain of St Catharine's, but I could not get sufficient proof. Thisman also committed so many vile actions in the island of St Catharine, that oar people were often in the utmost danger, from the resentment ofthe Portuguese; which bad conduct I could neither prevent nor punish, ashe had become a great favourite with my mutinous crew. M. La Jonquiere, with several of his officers and passengers, came onboard the Speedwell to dine with me, on the 6th July. While they were onboard, Hudson my boatswain raised a mutiny, which was easily quelled bythe assistance of the French gentlemen: But the boatswain was sent homein the French ship. On the 15th July, we saw a large ship bearing infor the harbour; but on discovering us, she turned out again. Thiscircumstance alarmed M. La Jonquiere, suspecting she might be ourconsort, so that he put to sea next morning. The large ship appearedagain on the 25th under French colours, being the Solomon of St Malo offorty guns and 160 men, commanded by M. Dumain Girard, bound for Peruand Chili. At this time great heart-burnings arose in my crew: for, having heardthat the people on board the Duke and Duchess had been indifferentlytreated in regard to their prize-money when they got home, they resolvedto secure themselves in time. With this view, and by the advice ofMatthew Stewart, chief-mate, they drew up a paper of articles respectingplunder, and sent me a letter insisting on these articles being made therule of our voyage; to which at last I was obliged to agree, rather thansuffer them to proceed in a piratical manner. On the 3d August the St Francisco Zavier came into the harbour, aPortuguese man of war of forty guns and 300 men, bound from Lisbon forMacao in China, commanded by Mons. Riviere, a Frenchman. We departedfrom the island of St Catharine on the 9th August. Its northern pointbeing in lat. 27° 20' S. And long. 50° W. From the Lizard. [255] I keptthe lead constantly sounding all along the coast of Patagonia, and hadregular soundings. From the lat. Of 40° to 30° 38' both S. We frequentlysaw great shoals of seals and penguins, which were always attended byflocks of pintadoes, birds about the size of pigeons. The French callthese birds _damiers_, as their black and white feathers on their backand wings are disposed like the squares of a draught-board. These werealso attended by albatrosses, the largest of all sea-fowl, some of themextending their wings twelve or thirteen feet from tip to tip. Whilepassing the mouth of the Rio. Plata, the sea was covered with prodigiousquantities of large seaweed, which often greatly incommoded us anddeadened our way. On getting farther south we were freed from thisinconvenience; after which we saw abundance of things floating on thesurface of the sea, like white snakes. We took some of these up, butcould not perceive them to have any appearance of life, neither had theythe shape of any kind of animal, being only a long cylinder of a whitejelly-like substance, perhaps the spawn of some large fish. [Footnote 255: Only 27° S. And 48° 30' W. From Greenwich. --E. ] As we advanced to the southward, the appetites of our people increasedwith the cold, which occasioned disputes in the ship. Even at my owntable, Captain Betagh of the marines insisted on a larger allowance insuch coarse terms, that I confined him till he wrote me a submissiveletter, on which I restored him. But this squabble constrained me toallow an extraordinary meal to the people daily, either of flour orcalavances; which reduced our stock of provisions, and consumed ourwood and water, proving afterwards of great inconvenience. Whales, grampuses, and other fish of monstrous size, are in such vast numbers onthe coast of Patagonia, that they were often offensive to us, coming soclose to us that it seemed impossible to avoid striking them on everyscud of a sea, and almost stifling us with the stench of their breaths, when they blew close to windward. Being ignorant of the Greenlandfishery, I cannot pretend to say whether that trade might not be carriedon here; but this I may venture to affirm, that the navigation here issafer, and I am apt to believe it has a greater chance of beingsuccessful. [256] [Footnote 256: This southern whale-fishery is now carried on to aconsiderable extent. --E. ] On the 19th September, about midnight, perceiving the water all at onceto be discoloured, we sounded, and had 25 fathoms, on which we stood outfrom the land, but did not deepen our water in five leagues. This bankmust lie very near the entrance into the Straits of Magellan. On thisbank we saw great numbers of blubbers, appearing like the tops ofumbrellas, curiously streaked with all sorts of colours, being anentirely different species from any I had ever seen before. We nowsteered for the Straits of _Le Maire_, and met with very foggy weatheron approaching the coast of _Terra del Fuego_. The fog cleared up on the23d September, when we had sight of stupendous mountains on thatsouthern land, entirely covered with snow. The nearest point of land wasat least eight leagues from us, in the S. W. But before we couldascertain our situation the mist returned. At four next morning, proceeding under easy sail to the S. E. It proved very clear atday-break, and I found we had fallen in with the land about five leaguesN. W. From the straits of Le Maire. We had now a full, but melancholyprospect of the most desolate country that can well be conceived, appearing a congeries of chains of mountains in succession, one behindthe other, perpetually cloathed in snow. Hitherto we had not been sensible of any current, either favourable oradverse, after getting to the south of the Rio Plata. But this afternoonwe were hurried with incredible rapidity into the straits of Le Maire;and when we had gained about the middle of the passage, the tideslackened. On sounding we had twenty-seven fathoms on a rocky bottom. Wehad a dear view of _Staten-land_, which yields a most uncomfortableprospect of a surprising height, quite covered with snow to the verywash of the sea, so that it seems more like a white cloud than firmland. These straits seemed to answer well to the map of Frezier; beingabout seven leagues through and six wide, and extend almost due northand south. Now the return tide rushed upon us with a violence equal tothat which brought us in, and it was astonishing with what rapidity wewere driven again to the north, though we had a fresh gale at N. W. Sothat we seemed to advance six knots by the log; whence I judged thistide ran not less than ten knots. In short, we were carried quite out ofthe straits to the north in about an hour. Upon this shift of tide therearose such a short sea, and so lofty at the same time, that wealternately dipped our bowsprit and poop-lanterns into the water; ourship all the while labouring most violently, and refusing to answer thehelm. The tide shifted again at midnight, and we shot through thestraits, steering S. With a brisk gale at N. W. Without seeing the landdistinctly on either side: And, in the morning, had a good offing to thesouthward. We found it very cold before we got thus far; but now we began to feelthe utmost extremity of coldness. The bleak western winds had ofthemselves been sufficiently piercing; but these were always accompaniedby snow or sleet, which beat continually on our sails and rigging, casedall our masts, yards, and ropes with ice, and rendered our sails almostuseless. We had been so much accustomed to most severe storms, that wethought the weather tolerable when we could carry a reefed main-sail; aswe were often for two or three days together lying-to under bare poles, exposed to the shocks of prodigious waves, more mountainous than any Ihad ever seen. We now sensibly felt the benefit of our awning, withoutwhich we could scarcely have lived. The wind continued to rage withoutintermission from the westward, by which we were driven to the latitudeof 61° 30' S. And had such continued misty weather, that we were underperpetual apprehension of running foul of ice islands: But, thank God, we escaped that danger, though under frequent alarms from fog banks andother false appearances. Though the days were long, we could seldom getsight of the sun, so that we had only one observation for the variationin all this passage, which was in lat. 60° 37' S. 5° W. Of the straitsof Le Maire, when we found it 22° 6' E. On the 1st October, as we werefurling the main-sail, one William Camell, cried out that his hands andfingers were so benumbed that he could not hold himself: And, beforethose near could assist him, he fell down and was drowned. On the 22dOctober, our fore-top-mast was carried away, and we rigged another nextday. Having contrary winds from the time we passed the straits of LeMaire, with the most uncomfortable weather, we made our way very slowlyto the west and northwards, the hopes of getting soon into a wanner andbetter climate supporting us under our many miseries. SECTION II. _Proceedings in the South Sea, till Ship-wrecked on the Island of JuanFernandez. _ At length, on the 14th November at noon, our spirits were cheared byseeing the coast of Chili; yet here we found ourselves under very greatdifficulties. Our tedious passage and extraordinary consumption ofprovisions, had so reduced our wood and water, and even our food, thatit was necessary to repair to some place where our wants might besupplied; but it was difficult to resolve where that might be done. Wefirst tried Narborough island, but finding the road unsafe, sailed forthe mouth of St Domingo river on the continent, where we hadtwenty-eight fathoms, shoaling as we advanced from eighteen to less thanfive as fast as a man could heave the lead. Finding this place toohazardous, we stood out to sea, and were blown farther north than wedesigned. Being greatly at a loss where to procure wood and water, oneJoseph de la Fontaine, a Frenchman, proposed going to the island ofChiloe, assuring us that the towns of _Chaiao_ and _Calibuco_, theformer on the island and the latter on the continent, were rich places, where we could not fail of procuring whatever we wanted. Cliacao was, hesaid, the usual residence of the governor, and at Calibuco was a wealthycollege of Jesuits, having considerable magazines, always well stockedwith provisions of all kinds. This person at the same time insinuatedamong the people, that our expedition would probably turn outunfortunate, if we passed this place, as Captain Clipperton must by thistime have alarmed the coast, in consequence of which there would be anembargo on all ships trading to leeward. My chief inducement for making an attempt on Chiloe was to procure suchadditional supply of provisions, as might enable us, in case the coastwere already alarmed, to retire to some unfrequented island, to remaintill the Spaniards should suppose we had abandoned the South Sea; afterwhich we could resume our cruize, when they were under no apprehensionsof being molested. Accordingly, on the 30th November, we entered thechannel which divides the island of Chiloe from the main land of Chili, and stood in for the harbour of Chacao under French colours, intendingto have attacked the towns of Chacao and Calibuco by surprise. Ourpilot, however, seemed as much a stranger to the navigation here as Iwas, and as the wind began to blow fresh with thick weather, I came toanchor in thirteen fathoms, at ten in the morning, between the point of_Carelampo_ and the small island of Pedro Nunez. Soon after coming toanchor, the tide made outwards with prodigious rapidity, and the windincreased greatly, between which the sea became very boisterous, all thechannel in which we lay appearing one continued breach or surf. Our shipconsequently made a vast strain on her cable, which parted at two in theafternoon, and we could have no hopes to recover our anchor, as the buoyhad been staved and sunk about an hour before we were thus set adrift. Idid not think it adviseable to risk another anchor, and thereforeimmediately crossed over for the island of Chiloe, in a boisterous galewith thick rainy weather, surrounded on all hands with seeming shoals, and in a manner bewildered in an unknown navigation. When within a mileof Chiloe, we ranged along shore to the southward, [257] in hope ofdiscovering the town of Chacao. We passed two commodious bays, which hadno appearance of any town, and came to a point of land marked by a highpyramidal rock. After getting round this point, we found ourselvesentirely out of the tideway, and quite sheltered from all otherinconveniences, and came therefore to anchor opposite a cross on thenorth side of the harbour, having just sufficient day-light to enable usto get into this place of shelter. [Footnote 257: The direction was more probably to the eastward--E. ] Next morning, I sent the second lieutenant, in the pinnace well mannedand armed, to look out for the two towns; and sent at the same time MrHately in the launch, to endeavour to find a watering-place. He soonreturned, accompanied by an Indian, who had shewn him a very convenientplace where we could at once procure both wood and water, even under thecommand of our guns from the ship, and free from all danger of beingsurprised. I accordingly sent back the launch with casks to be filled, and several people to cut wood, all well armed, together with anofficer of marines and ten men to keep guard. The Indians gave us hopesof a sufficient supply of provisions; but came in the evening to ourpeople who were on shore, to acquaint them that the natives wereforbidden to bring any thing to us. As the pinnace had not yet returned, this information gave me much concern, fearing that the enemy had takenher, and had by that means learnt what we were. On the 3d December, about seven in the evening, a Spanish officer came to us, in a boatrowed by eight Indians, being sent by the governor of Chiloe to enquirewhat we were. Meaning to pass upon him for a French captain well knownin these seas, I ordered none of my people to appear on deck but such ascould speak French or Spanish, and hoisted French colours. When theofficer came on board, I told him my ship was the St Rose, homeward-bound, that my name was _Janis le Breton_, and that I entreatedthe governor to spare me what provisions he could conveniently afford, that being my only business on the coast. The officer heard me with muchcivility, seeming to give implicit credit to all I said; even staid onboard all night, and went away next morning, to all appearance wellsatisfied. On the 5th in the morning, two boats came towards us full of armed men;but, after taking a view of us, went to a small island in the mouth ofthe harbour. On the 6th we saw a white flag hoisted on shore, to which Isent my launch completely manned and armed, but they found no personnear the flag, to the shaft of which a letter was fastened, and a dozenhams lying close by. The letter was from _Don Nicholas Salvo_, governorof Chiloe, intimating strong doubts of our ship being the St Rose, complaining of the behaviour of the people in our pinnace, and desiringme to leave the coast. I returned an answer in as proper terms as Icould devise, and next morning had another letter, couched in the utmostcivility, but absolutely refusing me any refreshments, and demanding therestitution of the Indians said to have been made prisoners by ourpinnace. In fact I knew less of our pinnace than he did, and believedthat he actually had the people in his hands of whom he now complained. Despairing of ever seeing my people, and still ignorant where Chacao wassituated, having no chart of the island on which I could depend, Idetermined to change my style of writing to the governor, and try whatcould be done by threatening to use force. I therefore wrote, that Iwas determined to have provisions by fair means or foul. Next day I sentmy first lieutenant, Mr Brooks, with twenty-nine men well armed in thelaunch, ordering him to bring off all the provisions he could find. Shortly after, a boat came with a message from the governor, offering totreat with me, if I would send an officer to Chacao: But I answered, that I would treat no where but on board, and that he was now too late, as I had already sent eighty men on shore to take all they could find. In the evening the launch returned, accompanied by a large piragua, andboth were completely laden with sheep, hogs, fowls, barley, and greenpeas and beans. Soon afterwards, the pinnace arrived with all her crew, but so terrified that I did not expect them to be again fit for servicefor one while. The officer told me, that he had been forced to fight hisway through several canoes, filled with armed Indians, from whom he gotclear with the utmost difficulty, and had been under the necessity ofmaking his passage quite round the island, a course of not less thanseventy leagues. [258] This proceeded only from excess of terror, as theyonly met one boat with unarmed Indians and a Spanish sergeant, who cameoff to them without the least shew of violence, as some of themafterwards confessed, but with this addition, that there were greatnumbers of people on shore, who they were apprehensive would come off tothem. The only excuse the officer could allege was, that the tide hadhurried him away, and he forgot in his fright that he had a grappling inthe boat, with which he might have anchored till the tide turned. [Footnote 258: The circuit of the island of Chiloe by sea, could hardlybe less than 350 English miles; an arduous navigation in an open boatupon an utterly unknown coast. --E. ] By this strange mismanagement, I missed a favourable opportunity ofseizing the town of Chacao, which I might easily have done if I hadappeared before it within forty-eight hours after our arrival, when thegovernor was totally unprovided for resistance. But now, having a wholeweek allowed for mustering the force of the island, he had collectednear a thousand armed Spaniards, as I learnt from the Indian prisonersin the pinnace. I therefore laid aside all thoughts of going to thetowns, in the hopes of furnishing ourselves from the Indian farms andplantations, in which I kept one of our boats constantly employed. Bythe 16th, our decks were full of live cattle, together with poultry andhams in abundance, and such quantities of wheat, barley, potatoes, andmaize, that I was quite satisfied. On a moderate computation, we hadadded four months provisions to the stock we brought from England, sothat I was well pleased with the effects of our stay at Chiloe, andprepared to depart. I might certainly have done much more for my owncredit and the profit of my owners, had if not been for themismanagement of the officer in the pinnace. _Chiloe_ is the first of the Spanish possessions on the coast of Chili, reckoning from the south; and, though it produces neither gold norsilver, is a fine island, and is considered as of great consequence;insomuch that the Spaniards would be under great apprehensions whenstrange ships enter its ports, did they not confide in the number of itsinhabitants, which is extraordinary for this part of the world. The bodyof this island is in lat. 42° 4' S. Being about thirty leagues in lengthfrom N. To S. And not above six or seven leagues from E. To W. [259] Itis watered by several rivers, and produces many kinds of useful trees, yielding an agreeable prospect, by the great number of Indian farms andplantations dispersed at small distances from each other, on risinggrounds among the woods. Within this great island there is anarchipelago or cluster of smaller islands, the number of which is notwell known; yet the smallest of these is said to be well inhabited, andto abound in cattle. Among these islands there are very uncertain andviolent currents, which are by no means safe. I would recommend allstrangers to go in at the north end of the great island, giving thenorthern point of the island a good birth, and then to keep the islandside of the channel on board, running along shore to the southward(eastward). Passing two bays, which seem commodious, you come to apoint, almost contiguous to which is a high rock, somewhat like apyramid; and passing between that rock and a small high island near it, you run directly into a harbour resembling the mouth of a river, whichforms a safe anchorage. In going in, take care not to come nearer shorethan having the depth of five fathoms, as the nearer to the small islandthe less water; wherefore keep the lead going, and be bold with theshore towards the north side of the harbour, which has the greatestdepth, while the south side is shoaly. [260] [Footnote 259: Chiloe reaches from lat. 41° 50' to 43° 50', both S. Andfrom long. 73° 18' to 74° 24', both W. Extending 135 English miles inextreme length, by 35 in medium breadth. See vol. V. P. 592, for anaccount of the Archipelago of Chiloe. --E. ] [Footnote 260: Shelvocke seems here to describe the harbour leading tothe town or village of San Carlos. --E. ] My pilot carried me the contrary way to that here directed, advising meto keep near the main land of Chili, which I did till I got to_Carelampo_ Point, having several small islands to the southward of mycourse, which proved unfortunate for me by the loss of my anchor. Thesoil of Chiloe is very fertile, producing all sorts of European fruitsand grains, and has fine pasture lands, in which great numbers of cattleare grazed, particularly sheep. The air is wholesome and temperate; yetI suspect the winter may be rigorous, being bounded on the west by animmense ocean, without any land to screen it from the cold moist vapoursbrought thither by the tempestuous westerly winds, which generally reignin these latitudes, and which must render it uncomfortable in the wintermonths, as the parallels of latitude to the south of the equator aremuch colder than those in the same degrees to the northwards. In this island they have abundance of very handsome middle-sized horses, which the natives are said to manage with great dexterity. They havealso an animal, called _guanaco_ or _carneso de tierra_, that is, sheepof the country, which very much resembles a camel, but not nearly solarge. They have long necks, and I have seen one of them between fiveand six feet high. Their wool or soft hair is very fine. They smell veryrank, and move with a very slow majestic pace, which hardly any violencecan make them quicken; yet they are of great service at the mines inPeru, where they are employed in carrying the ore and other things. Their flesh is very coarse, as we experienced, having salted some ofthem for our future use. Besides these, the inhabitants have Europeansheep and great numbers of hogs, but not many black cattle. The islandhas plenty of fowls, both wild and tame. Among the former is a smallspecies of goose, found on the banks of the rivers, which arebeautifully white, and of an excellent taste. The tame poultry are ofthe same kinds with our own. The natives are almost in all respects the same with those on thecontinent of Chili, of moderate stature, with deep olive complexions, and coarse shaggy black hair, some of them having by no meansdisagreeable features. They seem naturally of fierce and warlikedispositions; but the oppressions of the Spaniards, and the artifices ofthe jesuits, who are the missionaries in these parts, have curbed andbroken their spirits. Frezier says, that the Indians on the continent, to the southward of this island, are called _Chonos_, who go quitenaked; and that there is a race of men of extraordinary size in theinland parts of the country, called _Cacahues_, [261] who are in amitywith the _Chonos_, and sometimes accompany them to the Spanishsettlements in Chiloe. Frezier says, that he has been credibly informedby eye-witnesses, that some of these were about nine or ten feet high. Ihad sight of two of these Indians, who came from the southward of StDomingo river, one of whom was a cacique, who did not seem to me todiffer in their persons from the ordinary natives of Chiloe. They weredecently clothed in _ponchos, monteras_, and _poulains_. The _poncho_ isa sort of square carpet, having a slit or hole cut in the middle, wideenough to slip over the head, so that it hangs down over the shoulders, half before and half behind, under which they generally wear a shortdoublet. On their heads they have a _montera_, or cap nearly like thoseof our postillions, and their legs are covered by the _poulains_, a kindof knit buskins, or hose without feet. In short, their appearance haslittle or none of the savage. Their habitations are firmly built ofplanks, but have no chimneys, so that they are very black and sootywithin. [Footnote 261: See an account of the native tribes, inhabiting thesouthern extremity of South America, vol. V. P. 401. ] They inclose some of their land for cultivation, by means of rails orpaling; and although they have plenty of every thing necessary to acomfortable subsistence, they have no bread, from wanting mills in whichto grind and prepare their wheat They use a miserable substitute, makinga kind of cakes of sea-weeds, which from use is much esteemed by them, and was not even disliked by some of our men. Besides this, they preparetheir maize in several manners to answer the purpose of bread, and theyuse potatoes and other roots with the same intention. They prepare aliquor called _chicha_ from their Indian corn, in imitation of theirneighbours on the continent of Chili; but the Spaniards endeavor to curbtheir propensity to the use of this liquor, as their drinking bouts haveoften occasioned seditions and revolts. Such of the natives as have noEuropean weapons, use pikes, darts, and other arms of the country. Amongthese is a running noose on a long leathern thong, called a _lays_, which they use with surprising dexterity for catching cattle, horses, orother animals, even when at full career. From all that I could see ofthe natives of Chiloe, or hear respecting the Chilese, they seem toresemble each other in all things, which is not wonderful, consideringthe near neighbourhood of this island to the continent of Chili. Theyuse small drums, the heads of which are made of goats skins with thehair on, and give a very dull sound. The natives of Chiloe carry on a small woollen manufacture, consistingof _ponchoes_ and other articles of clothing, formerly mentioned. Theyalso export considerable quantities of cedar, both in plank, and wroughtup into boxes, chests, desks, and the like, with which they supply allChili and Peru. They have no European trade; but the Spaniard who cameto me from the governor expressed his astonishment that no trading shipsever put in there, saying they had plenty of money among them, with asafe port, free from the danger of going to the northward among theSpanish ships of war; as a great deal of business might be done here, before intelligence could be sent as far as Lima, and the ships could befitted out and sent so great a way to wind-ward. It is observed of theChilese, that, differing from all other nations ever heard of, they haveno notion of a Supreme Being, and consequently have no kind of worship;and they are such enemies to civil society that they never live togetherin towns and villages, so that their country seems thinly inhabited, though very populous, the whole nation being dispersed in farms at agood distance, every family having its own plantation, and raising itsown necessaries. Though thus scattered, they are not wholly independent, each tribe beingsubject to a chief, called a cacique, whose dwelling is convenientlysituated among them, for the more speedy summoning them together onaffairs of importance. This is done by the sound of a sort of horn, onhearing which all his vassals repair to him without delay. The chiefcommands them in war, and has an absolute power of dispensing justiceamong his subjects, who all consider themselves as his relations, hebeing as it were the head of his family, and his authority hereditary. In all these respects the inhabitants of Chiloe resemble theirneighbours on the continent, excepting that their caciques are striptin a great measure of their power and influence, by the tyranny of theSpaniards, who keep them under the most servile slavery, while themissionaries blind them by a superstitious and imperfect conversion toChristianity, of which not one of these natives know any thing more thanmerely that they were baptized; all their devotion consisting of mereidolatry of the cross, or the images of saints; for the Spanish clergyuse no manner of pains to enlighten their minds, but probably think itbetter, by keeping them in ignorance, to make them more contented underthe rigorous government of the Spaniards. Under this delusion, thecaciques have changed their lawful prerogatives for the vain ostentationof being allowed to wear a silver-headed cane, which places them on afooting outwardly with a Spanish captain. Yet have they sometimesrebelled against their proud oppressors, deeming death preferable toslavery, as may be seen in the account of Frezier's voyage. The vessels used in Chiloe are peculiarly constructed, as, for want ofnails and other articles of iron, the planks of which their boats areconstructed are sewed together very ingeniously with oziers. These boatsare all constructed of three pieces only, the keel or bottom being onepiece, and the sides two others; and they are rowed with oars, in thesame manner as with us, more or fewer according to their size. Having nothing farther to detain us in Chiloe, I determined uponproceeding to the island of Juan Fernandez, as directed in myinstructions; but my men took it into their heads that great thingsmight be done by a short trip to the Bay of Conception, to which alsothey were induced by the Frenchman who persuaded us to come to Chiloe. He pretended that there were always five or six ships in the road ofConception, besides others daily coming in or going out, and that thesehad often both ways considerable sums of money or silver, with othervaluable things, on board; and, though large ships, they were of littleor no force, neither were there any fortifications at that place toprotect them; so that we could not meet any opposition in taking them, even if there were twenty sail. He said their, cargoes consisted chieflyof corn, wine, brandy, flour, and jerked beef; and that the ships boundfor Conception always brought money to purchase their cargoes; besidesthat considerable booty might be made for rich trading passengers, whocarry on a considerable trade over land between Conception and BuenosAyres. He also alleged, that we could not fail of having any ships wemight take ransomed; and that we should certainly make our fortunes, ifwe could only reach Conception before they had notice of our being inthese seas. This man therefore advised my people to endeavour to prevailon me to make the best of my way to Conception, before the governor ofChiloe could send our deserter thither; after which all the coast wouldbe alarmed, and we should have no opportunity of meeting with any thingtill the Spaniards had imagined we were gone from the South Sea. In similar cases, all are fond of delivering their sentiments; and, asit is impossible to keep a ship's company in so much awe in so remote apart as in short voyages, my men did not fail to speak their mindssomewhat insolently. One William Morphew, who had been in these seasseveral years, took upon him to tell me, that it did not signify much ifwe arrived two or three days sooner or later at Juan Fernandez. He saidalso, that I was a stranger here, but the Frenchman and he were wellacquainted with these seas, and every body hoped I would be advised togo to Conception; hoping I would not put a mere punctilious adherence toorders in balance against so fair a prospect, or almost certainty ofsuccess, if we arrived there in time. In short, they all assured me thatthey had the interest of the proprietors in view, as much as their own, and that they would perish sooner than injure them in any respect. Theysaid at the same time, if I had not success in my proceedings nobodycould be blamed but myself, and entreated me not to let slip thisopportunity, in which they would stand by me with all fidelity. On our way to Conception, we made the islands of Mocha and St Mary onthe 23d December, and arrived that same evening in the Bay ofConception, but could not be certain whether there were any ships in theroad. I immediately gave orders to man and arm our boats and sent themup that same night, in order to surprise any ships that might be there;and with strict orders, if they found them too strong, to endeavour toprevent them from sending any thing on shore till I were able to workthe ship up to them. This I endeavoured to do all night, but to verylittle purpose; for at day-light next morning I could not discern anything above us. Captain Hately returned about noon of the 24th, informing me that he had taken a ship of about 150 tons, lately arrivedfrom Baldivia, and having only a few cedar plants on board, with noperson in her but the boatswain, an old negro, and two Indian boys. Hehad left her in the charge of Mr Brooks, my first lieutenant, withorders to bring her down the first opportunity; and had taken, while onhis return, a small vessel, of about twenty-five tons, near the island_Quiri-quinie_, which lies in the harbour or bay of Conception, wherethis small vessel had been taking in pears, cherries, and other fruits, to sell at Conception. Immediately after taking this small vessel, Icould perceive with my glass another small boat come in between theislands of _Quiri-quinie_ and _Talgaguana_, passing within pistol-shotof my pinnace, and yet Captain Hately did not engage her. For this hisonly excuse, after he came on board, was, that he did not mind her;though our boat's crew said she was full of men. On the 26th about noon, Mr Brooks brought down the prize, and anchoredabout half a mile short of us. The boatswain of this prize had not beentwo hours in the Speed-well, till he told us of a vessel, laden withwine, brandy, and other valuable things, riding at anchor in the Bay ofHerradura, about two leagues to the north of us, and bound for Chiloe. On receiving this information, I ordered Mr Randal, my secondlieutenant, with twenty five men, to go in the Mercury, which name wegave to the captured flour bark, and, accompanied by the Spanishboatswain of the other prize, to go in search of the vessel in the Bayof Herradura, with positive orders not to land or to make any otherhazardous attempt. But they returned next evening with the followingmelancholy story. On getting into the bay, they found the vessel hauled dry ashore, whenRandal ordered his people to land and bring away what they could find inher, while he and three or four more kept the bark afloat. The peoplefound the bark empty, but seeing a small house hard by, they suspectedher cargo might be lodged there, and the inferior officer along withthem ordered them to examine that house. The poor fellows wentaccordingly, without any officer at their head, and without any regardto order, every one endeavouring to be foremost. Their career was soonstopped, as they had hardly got beyond the top of the bank when theydiscovered the enemy coming furiously towards them. Some of the seamenwere of opinion they might have retreated at this time in safety, ifthey had not been astonished at the strange manner in which they wereattacked, by a number of horses galloping up to them without riders, which caused them for some time to stand amazed, not knowing what way toproceed; but on a little reflection they bestirred themselves to makethe best of their way to the Mercury, in which they all succeeded exceptfive, who were made prisoners. Fortunately for them, the Mercury had bysome accident got aground, or they must all have been cut off, as theSpaniards thought fit to retire on getting within musket-shot of theMercury. They now got the bark afloat, but as the water was still verylow, and they were obliged in going out of the bay to keep very near toa point of land, the Spaniards galled them from that point, under theshelter of the wood. They soon passed this point, having a fair wind, all lying close in the bottom of the bark, so that on this occasion onlyone man was wounded, who was shot through the thigh. The Spaniards camedown upon them in this affair after the following singular manner. Theywere preceded by twenty or more horses abreast, two deep, and linkedtogether, behind which extraordinary van-guard came the enemy onhorseback, lying on the necks of their horses, and driving the othersbefore them, never seen to sit up on their saddles, except to fire theirmuskets, or when there was no danger. When they got near our people, they threw their _lays_ or running nooses to catch them, and accordinglyensnared James Daniel, one of my foremast-men, who was a good way intothe water, and whom they dragged out again at the rate of ten knots. TheSpaniards in Chili are universally dexterous in the use of this runningnoose, for I have seen a Spaniard bring a man up by the foot as he ranalong the deck, and they are sure of any thing they fling at, at thedistance of several fathoms. These misfortunes and disappointments made my crew extremely uneasy, andmight have had bad consequences, if we had not been agreeably surprisedby seeing a large ship coming round the northern point of the island of_Quiri-quinie_. [262] It was at this time almost dark, so that her peoplecould not perceive what we were, and stood on therefore without fear, sothat she came towards us, and was taken without resistance. This shipproved to be the St Fermin, of about 300 tons, last from _Cadaco_, [263]having only a small cargo, consisting of sugar, molasses, rice, coarseFrench linen, some woollen cloth and bays of Quito, a small quantity ofchocolate, and about five or six thousand dollars in money and wroughtplate. I sent Mr Hendric, the owners agent, to inspect her cargo, and toorder every thing of value out of her into the Speedwell, and the ship'scompany sent their agent likewise. They returned in the afternoon, bringing all the bales, boxes, chests, portmanteaus, and other packages, with a large quantity of sugar, molasses, and chocolate, and aboutseventy hundred weight of good rusk, with all her other stores andeatables. Don Francisco Larragan, the captain of this ship, begged to beallowed to ransom her, which I willingly consented to, and allowed himto go in his own launch to Conception to raise the money, accompanied bya merchant, one of the prisoners. [Footnote 262: A small island in the entrance of the Bay ofConception. --E. ] [Footnote 263: Callao, or the port of Lima, is perhaps here meant. --E. ] In the mean time we were very busy in searching the prize, lest anything might have been concealed; and every one who came at any time fromthe St Fermin was strictly searched by some of our people appointed forthe purpose, that they might not appropriate any thing of value. Ourcarpenter also was employed in making a slight spar-deck over theMercury, as she might be of great use while cruizing along the coast. Onthe 30th December a boat came off to us with a flag of truce from thegovernor of Conception, and an officer, who acquainted us that two ofour people, taken in the late skirmish, were still alive, but very muchwounded. He brought also a present of seven jars of very good wine, anda letter from Don Gabriel Cano, the governor, in which he demanded tosee my commission, as also that I should send ashore Joseph de laFontaine, who had been servant to one of the mates belonging to CaptainLa Jonquiere, and some other things that I thought unreasonable, engaging to enter into a treaty, if I would comply with theserequisitions. At length a formal treaty was begun, in which I demanded16, 000 dollars for the ransom of the St Fermin alone, while they offeredonly 12, 000 for both the ships and the bark. Finding all his Spanish_puncto_ tended only to entrap us, I set fire to the Solidad, one of ourprizes; and, giving them time to comply with my proposals it they would, I set the St Fermin also on fire. We sailed from the bay of Conception on the 7th January, 1720, intendingfor Juan Fernandez; and on the 8th we observed the sea to be entirely ofa red colour, occasioned, as the Spaniards say, by the spawn of the_camarones_, or pracous. On the 9th, the plunder taken in the St Ferminwas sold by the ship's agent at the mart, and brought extravagantprices. The account being taken, and the shares calculated, the peopleinsisted for an immediate distribution, which was made accordingly, andeach foremast-man had after the rate of ten dollars a share, in moneyand goods. On the 11th we saw the island of Juan Fernandez; and at noonit bore from us five leagues W. S. W. The meridional distance fromConception being 275 miles[264] W. From that day to the 15th, I stoodoff and on, waiting for my boats which were employed in fishing. In thistime I sent the Mercury ashore to stop her leaks, while the boats caughtso many fish, that we salted the fill of five puncheons. I could find nomarks of Captain Clipperton having been here for a long time; but atlength some of my men saw accidentally the words _Magee_ and CaptainJohn cut upon a tree. Magee was the name of Clipperton's surgeon, but nodirections were left, as agreed upon in his instructions to me, so thatit was evident he never meant I should keep him company, or ever joinhim again. [Footnote 264: The difference of longitude between Conception and JuanFernandez is six degrees of longitude W. And, consequently, 360 minutesor marine miles. --E. ] Being by this certified of the arrival of Clipperton in the South Sea, Idirectly made the best of my way from Juan Fernandez, being in a prettygood condition as to provisions, by the additional stock of fish caughthere, all our casks being filled. On the 21st, while sailing along therewith the design of looking into _Copiapo_, I put Mr Dodd, secondlieutenant of marines, into the Mercury, with a reinforcement of eightmen, and sent her next evening to cruize close in with the land, while Ikept with the Speedwell in the offing, to prevent being discovered fromthe land. On this occasion I took care to give the officer commandingthe Mercury a copy of my commission, with all necessary instructions howto proceed, appointing the _Moro_, or head-land of Copiapo, to be ourplace of meeting. The business of the Mercury was to look into the portof Copiapo, called _Caldera_, [265] near which there are some gold-mines, and from whence considerable quantities of gold are exported in smallvessels; and our bark had the advantage of being of that country build, so that she could not excite suspicion. Next day I hove in sight of thehead-land of Copiapo, and lay to the southward, that I might not be seenfrom that port, which is to the northward of the _Moro de Copiapo_. While here, opposite a small island which lies athwart the mouth ofCopiapo river, I sent the pinnace to fish between that isle and themain, and soon after saw a vessel crowding all sail towards us. She atfirst seemed too large for the Mercury, yet turned out to be her; whenthe officer told me he had looked into the port, but could see noshipping; but he had looked into a wrong place, and having made himsensible of his error, I sent him again to the right place, which wasabout six leagues farther north. [Footnote 265: The port of Caldera, or English harbour, is about twelveor fifteen miles to the N. Of Copiapo river, having a considerableinterposed promontory. --E. ] Next morning our pinnace returned, bringing only a few penguins whichshe had taken on the island in the bay of Copiapo. The Mercury hadlooked into Caldera, but saw nothing; and instead of making use of theland-wind to come off to me, had kept along shore in the bottom of thebay till the land-wind came in so strong that she was nearly lost on thelee-shore. On the 27th, I sent Mr Brooks, my first lieutenant, and MrRainor, first lieutenant of marines, to relieve Mr Randal and Mr Dodd inthe Mercury, which I had fitted with a gang of oars, and, upon trial, she was found to make way at the rate of three knots, which might renderher extremely useful in a calm. The 5th February, I dispatched Mr Brooksahead in the Mercury, to see if there were any ships in the harbour ofArica, in lat. 18° 26' S. And next day, at one p. M. Having ranged alongshore, by the breakers of _Pisagua, Camarones_, and _Victor_, I gotsight of the head-land of Arica, with a ship at anchor on its northernside, and saw the Mercury standing out of the bay, by which I judged theship was too warm for her, and therefore made all haste to get up to herwith the Speedwell. On coming up, we found that the ship was alreadytaken, and the Mercury only accidentally adrift. This prize was calledthe Rosario, of 100 tons, laden with cormorants dung, which they use formanuring the land which produces the cod-pepper, or _Capsicum_, from thecultivation of which they make a vast profit in the vale of Arica. Theonly white face in this ship was the pilot, whom I sent ashore to see ifthe owner would ransom his ship, the cargo being worth gold to them, butentirely useless to us. Next morning I received a letter from MiguelDiaz Gonzale, the owner of the ship, insisting pitifully on his povertyand distress, having a large family to provide for, and promising tomeet me at Hilo or Quaco, to treat for a ransom. We soon after took a small bark of ten tons, laden with _guana_, orcormorants dung, and having also some dried fish, which lay within amile of Arica. By this time all the adjacent country was up in arms, andgreat numbers had come down to the coast, well mounted and armed, andseemingly well disciplined. To try their courage, I ordered the Mercuryand launch to draw near the shore, as if we had really intended to land, though the landing-place here is altogether impracticable for Europeanboats; and I also cannonaded the town briskly. Our balls made noexecution, yet ploughed up the sand in front of the Spanish horse, throwing it all over them: But neither this, nor the approach of mysmall craft, made any impression, for they stood firm, and at leastshewed the countenance of as good troops as could be wished. This muchdisappointed me, as it shewed my men that the Spaniards were far frombeing cowards, as they had been represented. As soon as it was dark, Gonzales came off to me, and I agreed to let him have back his ship andsix negroes on receiving 1500 dollars, reserving right to take any thingout of her that might be useful to us; and at ten next night he broughtme the agreed sum, being the weight of 1300 dollars in ingots of virginsilver, called _pinnas_ by the Spaniards, and the rest in coineddollars. He also made great enquiry for English commodities, for whichhe offered high prices, complaining that the French only supplied themwith paltry goods and mere trifles, for which they carried off vastsums. He added, that he supposed the English merchants were all asleep, or too rich, as they did not come near them: And, although their portswere not so open as in other parts of the world, they yet know how tomanage matters tolerably well; and that their governors, being generallyEuropeans, who seldom remained above three years in the country, usedany means to improve their time, and could easily be gained so as to actvery obligingly. He said much more as to the blindness of the English, in suffering the French pedlars to carry on, uninterruptedly, the mostconsiderable branch of traffic in the world. Before leaving me, hedesired me to carry his ship two or three leagues out to sea, and thento turn her adrift, on purpose to deceive the governor and the king'sofficers; and, if I would meet him at _Hilo_ (_Ilo_, ) about twenty-fiveleagues to the north-westwards, he would purchase from me any coarsegoods I had to dispose of, which might be done there with all imaginablesecrecy. At this time also, the master of the small bark came off in a_balsa_. This is an odd sort of an embarkation, consisting of two largeseal skins, separately blown up, like bladders, and made fast to piecesof wood. On this he brought off two jars of brandy and forty dollars;which, considering his mean appearance, was as much as I could expect. One part of his cargo was valuable, being a considerable quantity ofexcellent dried fish. The port of _Arica_, formerly so famous for the great quantities ofsilver shipped from thence, is now much diminished in its riches, andappears mostly a heap of ruins, except the church of St Mark, and two orthree more, which still look tolerably well. What helps to give it avery desolate appearance is, that the houses near the sea are onlycovered with mats. Being situated on the sea-shore, in an openroadstead, it has no fortifications of any kind to defend or command theanchorage, the Spaniards thinking it sufficiently secured by the heavysurf, and the rocky bottom near the shore, which threaten inevitabledestruction to any European boats, or other embarkation, except what isexpressly contrived for the purpose, being the _balsas_ alreadymentioned. To obstruct the landing of an enemy, the Spaniards hadformerly a fort and entrenchments, flanking the storecreeks; but beingbuilt of unburnt bricks, it is now fallen to ruins. In 1680, whenDampier was here, being repulsed before the town, the English landed atthe creek of _Chacota, _ to the south of the head-land, whence theymarched over the mountain _(Gordo)_ to plunder Arica. Earthquakes also, which are frequent here, have at last ruined the town, and Arica is nowno more than a little village of about 150 families, most of themnegroes, mulattoes, and Indians, with very few whites. On the 26thNovember, 1605, [266] the sea, violently agitated by an earthquake, suddenly overflowed, and broke down the greatest part of the town, andthe ruins of its streets are to be seen at this day. What remains ofArica is not now liable to such an accident, being situated on a littlerising ground at the foot of the head-land. Most of the houses are onlyconstructed of a sort of fascines, made of flags or sedges, boundtogether, called _totora_, set up on end, crossed by canes and leatherthongs; or are made of canes set on end, having the intervals filledwith earth. The use of unburnt bricks is reserved for churches and thestateliest houses; and as no rain ever falls here, they are only coveredwith mats, so that the houses seem all in ruins when seen from the sea. The parish church, dedicated to St Mark, is handsome enough. There arealso three religious houses, one a monastery of seven or eight_mercenarians_, a second is an hospital of the brothers of _St John ofGod_, and the third a monastery of Franciscans, who formerly had a housea short way from town, in the pleasantest part of the vale, near thesea. [Footnote 266: Perhaps this date ought to have been 1705. --E. ] The vale of Arica is about a league wide next the sea, all barren groundexcept where the old town stood, which is divided into small fields ofclover, some small plantations of sugar-canes, with olive-trees andcotton-trees intermixed, and several intervening marshes, full of thesedges of which they build their houses. Growing narrower about a leagueeastward at the village of _St Michael de Sapa_, they begin to cultivatethe _agi_, or Guinea pepper, which culture extends over all the rest ofthe vale, in which there are several detached farms exclusively devotedto its culture. In that part of the vale, which is very narrow, andabout six leagues long, they raise yearly to the value of above 80, 000crowns. The Spaniards of Peru are so much addicted to this spice, thatthey dress no meat without it, although so hot and biting that no onecan endure it, unless accustomed to its use; and, as it cannot grow inthe _Puna_, or mountainous country, many merchants come down every year, who carry away all the Guinea pepper that grows in the districts of_Arica, Sama, Taena, Locumba_, and others, ten leagues around, from allof which it is reckoned they export yearly to the value of 600, 000dollars, though sold cheap. It is hard to credit that such vastquantities should go from hence, as the country is so parched up, exceptthe vales, that nothing green is to be seen. This wonderful fertility isproduced by the dung of fowls, which is brought from _Iquique_, andwhich fertilizes the soil in a wonderful manner, making it produce fouror five hundred for one of all sorts of grain, as wheat, maize, and soforth, but particularly of this _agi_, or Guinea pepper, when rightlymanaged. When the plants are sufficiently grown in the seed-bed to befit for transplanting, they are set out in winding lines like the letterS, that the furrows for conveying the water may distribute it equally tothe roots of the plants. They then lay about the root of each plant ofGuinea pepper as much _guana_, or bird's dung formerly mentioned, aswill lie in the hollow of the hand. When in blossom, they add a littlemore; and, lastly, when the pods are completely formed, they add a goodhandful more to each plant, always taking care to supply them withwater, as it never rains in this country; otherwise, the salts containedin the manure, not being dissolved, would burn the plants, as has beenfound by experience. It is also for this reason that this manure is laidon at different times, as already explained, the necessity of which hasbeen found by long use, and by the superior value of the crops thusproduced. For the carriage of this _guana_, or fowl's dung, the people at Aricagenerally use that sort of little camels which the Indians of Bern call_Llamas_, the Chilese, _Chilihneque_, and the Spaniards, _Carneros de latierra_, or native sheep. The heads of these animals are small inproportion to their bodies, and are somewhat in shape between the headof a horse and that of a sheep, the upper lips being cleft like that ofa hare, through which they can spit to the distance of ten paces againstany one who offends them, and if the spittle happens to fall on the faceof a person, it causes a red itchy spot. Their necks are long, andconcavely bent downwards, like that of a camel, which animal theygreatly resemble, except in having no hunch on their backs, and in beingmuch smaller. Their ordinary height is from four feet to four and ahalf; and their ordinary burden does not exceed an hundred-weight. Theywalk, holding up their heads with wonderful gravity, and at so regular apace as no beating can quicken. At night it is impossible to make themmove with their loads, for they lie down till these are taken off, andthen go to graze. Their ordinary food is a sort of grass called _yeho_, somewhat like a small rush, but finer, and has a sharp point, with whichall the mountains are covered exclusively. They eat little, and neverdrink, so that they are very easily maintained. They have cloven feetlike sheep, and are used at the mines to carry ore to the mills; and, assoon as loaded, they set off without any guide to the place where theyare usually unloaded. They have a sort of spur above the foot, whichrenders them sure-footed among the rocks, as it serves as a kind of hookto hold by. Their hair, or wool rather, is long, white, grey, andrusset, in spots, and fine, but much inferior to that of the Vicunna, and has a strong and disagreeable scent. The _Vicunna_ is shaped much like the Llama, but much smaller andlighter, their wool being extraordinarily fine and much valued. Theseanimals are often hunted after the following manner: Many Indians gathertogether, and drive them into some narrow pass, across which they havepreviously extended cords about four feet from the ground, having bitsof wool or cloth hanging to them at small distances. This so frightensthem that they dare not pass, and gather together in a string, when theIndians kill them with stones tied to the ends of leather thongs. Shouldany _quanacos_ happen to be among the flock, these leap over the cords, and are followed by all the _vicunnas_. These _quanacos_ are larger andmore corpulent, and are also called _viscachas_. There is yet anotheranimal of this kind, called _alpagnes_, having wool of extraordinaryfineness, but their legs are shorter, and their snouts contracted insuch a manner as to give them some resemblance to the human countenance. The Indians make several uses of these creatures, some of which carryburdens of about an hundred-weight. Their wool serves to make stuffs, cords, and sacks. Their bones are used for the construction of weaversutensils; and their dung is employed as fuel for dressing meat, andwarming their huts. Before the last war, a small fleet called the _armadilla_ used to resortyearly to Arica, partly composed of kings ships, and partly those ofprivate persons. By this fleet, European commodities were brought fromPanama, together with quicksilver for the mines of _La Paz, Oruro LaPlata, _ or _Chuguizaca, Potosi_, and _Lipes_; and in return carried toLima the king's fifth of the silver drawn from the mines. Since thegalleons have ceased going to Porto-Bello, and the French have carriedon the trade of supplying the coast of the South Sea with Europeancommodities, Arica has been the most considerable mart of all thiscoast, and to which the merchants of the five above-mentioned rich, towns resort. It is true that the port of _Cobija_ is nearer _Lipes_ and_Potosi_; but being situated in a barren and desert country, wherenothing can be procured for the subsistence of man or beast, themerchants chuse rather to go to Arica, though more distant, as they aresure to find at that place every thing they need. Besides, they find nogreat difficulty in bringing there their silver privately in a mass, andcompounding with the corregidores or chief magistrates to avoid payingthe royal fifth. On leaving Arica, we sailed for the road of Ilo, about 75 miles to theN. W. Where we arrived that same afternoon, and saw a large ship withthree small ones at anchor. The great ship immediately hoisted Frenchcolours, being the _Wise Solomon_ of 40 guns, commanded by Mons. Dumain, who was resolved to protect the vessels that were beside him, and to oppose my coming into the road. As it grew dark before I couldget into the road, I sent my third lieutenant, Mr La Porte, a Frenchman, to inform Mr Dumain who we were: But my officer no sooner got on boardthan he was tumbled out again, the Frenchman calling him a renegado; andMr Dumain sent me word he would sink me if I offered to anchor there. LaPorte also told me, that to his knowledge the French ships oftenaccepted Spanish commissions, when there were English cruizers on thiscoast, having great privileges in trade allowed them for this service;and he could plainly see that the French ship was double manned, bymeans of inhabitants from the town, who were partly French; and, as hesupposed, would come to attack me as soon as the wind was off shore. While thus talking, the French ship fired several guns at us, as if toshew that they were ready, and meant shortly to be with us. At first, this bravado heated me not a little, and I had some design of turningthe Mercury into a fire-ship, by the help of which I might have roastedthis insolent Frenchman: But, having reflected on the situation ofaffairs at home, and fearing my attacking him might be deemedunjustifiable, notwithstanding his unwarranted conduct, I thought itbest to stand out of the harbour. On the 12th February, the moiety of the money taken at Arica was dividedamong the company according to their shares. On the 22d we foundourselves in the heights of _Calao, _ the port of Lima; on which I furledall my sails, resolving to get away in the night; knowing, if we werediscovered from thence, that we should certainly be pursued by someSpanish men of war, as there are always some in that port. On the 26th, the officers in the Mercury desired to be relieved, and I spoke toCaptain Hately, whose turn it was to take the command of that bark. Thisgentleman had been long a prisoner among the Spaniards in this country, which he was well acquainted with, having travelled between Payta andLima by land, on which occasion he had observed several rich towns, which made him conceive we might do something to purpose, by cruizingalong the coast, as far as the island of Lobos, in lat. 7° S. I approvedof this, as it was probable we might meet some of the Panama ships, which always keep well in with the land, in order to have the benefit ofthe land-breezes. As the company of the Mercury seemed delighted withthis project, I augmented their complement, giving them a month'sprovisions on board. I also lent Captain Hately my pinnace, mounted hisbark with two of our quarter-deck guns, and gave him a copy of mycommission, although it was very likely we should have frequent sight ofthe Mercury, between our present intended separation, and our intendedrendezvous at the island of Lobos, not above sixty leagues from where wethen were. When every thing was ready for their departure, Captain Betagh, whoseturn it was to relieve the marine officer in the Mercury, beingunwilling to go, went among our people with a terrified countenance, saying, that he and those with him in the Mercury were going to besacrificed. Hearing this, I addressed my ship's company, telling them Icould not conceive what this pestilent fellow meant by making such anuproar. I appealed to them all, if it had not been customary to relievethe officers in this manner, ever since we had this vessel in company, and asked them if ever they knew me select any man for going upon anenterprise, and had not, on the contrary, left it always to their ownchoice to go on any particular service out of the ship. I then desiredto know who among them were of Betagh's opinion? Upon this, they alldeclared with one voice, that they had never entertained any suchopinion; but, on the contrary, that I should always find them obedientto my commands. In the next place, I ordered the Mercury along side, andacquainted her crew with the speech Betagh had made in the Speedwell, and desired to know if any of them were apprehensive of being sold orsacrificed. At this they all set up a loud huzza, and requested theymight go on the intended cruize in the Mercury. Accordingly Hately andBetagh went on board that bark, and put off from us, giving us threecheers, and stood right in for the land. It may be proper to take some notice of the proceedings of the Mercuryafter she left me, as I have been informed from some of themselves andsome prisoners. The very next day they took a small bark laden withrice, chocolate, wheat, flour, and the like; and the day following, another. On the 4th day, they took a ship of near 200 tons, in whichwere 150, 000 dollars. Flushed with this success, Betagh prevailed uponHately, and most of the people in the Mercury, not to rejoin me, saying, they had now enough to appear like gentlemen as long as they lived, butit would be a mere nothing when the owner's part was taken out, and therest divided into 500 shares. He therefore thought, since fortune hadbeen so kind to them, they ought to make the best of their way to India, as they had sufficient provisions and all other requisites for thevoyage, and Captain. Hately was well able to conduct them to some portin the East Indies. This plan was accordingly resolved on, and they fellto leeward of the place of rendezvous. But, weighing with himself theprodigious extent of the run, and its many hazards, and well knowing thetreatment he might expect in India, if his treachery were discovered, Captain Hately became irresolute, and could not determine what was bestto be done, so that he kept hovering on the coast. In the mean time, some of his crew went away in his boat to surrender themselves to theenemy, rather than be concerned in such a piratical undertaking. Betaghand his accomplices still kept Hately warm with liquor, and at lengthbrought him to the resolution of leaving the South Sea. But they had nosooner clapped their helm a-weather for this purpose than they saw asail standing towards them, which proved to be a Spanish man of war, which caught them, and spoilt their India voyage. The English prisonerswere very indifferently used; but Betagh, being a Roman Catholic, and ofa nation which the Spaniards are very fond of, [267] was treated withmuch respect, and was even made an officer. [Footnote 267: He seems to have been a Fleming, taken on board atOstend, when the voyage was originally intended to have proceeded underan imperial commission. --E. ] In the morning of the 29th February, we saw a vessel at anchor in theroad of _Guanchaeo_, and anchored alongside of her at eleven a. M. Shewas called the Carmasita, of about 100 tons, having only two Indian menand a boy on board, and her only loading was a small quantity of timberfrom Guayaquil. From these prisoners, I was informed of a rich shipbeing in the cove of Payta, having put in there to repair some damageshe had sustained in a gale of wind. On this information I putimmediately to sea, but in purchasing our anchor, the cable parted, andwe lost our anchor. Our prize being new and likely to sail well, I tookher with us, naming her the St David, designing to have made her acomplete fire-ship as soon as we should be rejoined by the Mercury, inwhich there were materials for that purpose. Next day we looked intoCheripe, whence we chased a small vessel, which ran on shore to avoidus. Next morning, being near Lobos, our appointed rendezvous with theMercury, I sent ashore my second lieutenant, Mr Randal, with two lettersin separate bottles, directing Captain Hately to follow me to Payta, towhich port I now made the best of my way, and arrived before it on the18th of March, and sent Mr Randal to look into the cove, to bring me anaccount of what ships were there, that I might know what to think of theinformation we had received from our prisoners. On the 21st, I steered directly in for the cove of Payta, which Ientered under French colours about four in the afternoon. We found onlya small ship there, of which Mr Brooks took possession in the launch. About seven p. M. We came to anchor within three quarters of a mile ofthe town. The town seemed to be moderately large and populous, and theremight probably be some land-forces for its defence, being the rendezvousof the ships which trade between Panama and Caloa; yet, as the taking ofthis place was treated in our instructions as a matter of importance, Iconsulted with my officers as to the best manner of making the attempt. Leaving the charge of the ship with the master, Mr Coldsea, and a fewhands, to look after the negroes we had on board, and with orders tobring the ship nearer to the town, for the more expeditiously embarkingany plunder we might make; I landed with forty-six men, well armed, about two in the morning of the 22d, and marched directly up to thegreat church without the slightest opposition, for we found the townentirely deserted by the inhabitants. At day-light, we observed large bodies of men on the hills, on bothsides of the town, which we expected would have come down to attack us;but, on marching up towards them, they retired before us. Hitherto wehad taken no prisoners, except an old Indian and a boy, who told us thatCaptain Clipperton had been here some time before, and had set someprisoners ashore, who assured them he meant not to do them any injury;but that the inhabitants, not thinking fit to trust him, had removed alltheir valuable effects into the mountains, among which were 400, 000dollars belonging to the king, which had been a fine prize forClipperton, who certainly would have found no greater difficulty intaking this town than I did. I was constrained suddenly to halt, in consequence of hearing a gunfired from the ship, soon after which word was brought me that she wasashore. I hurried off as fast as I could, carrying with us theunion-flag, which I had planted in the church-yard; and, as we werere-embarking, the enemy came running down the hill, hallooing after us. When I got on board, I found the ship entirely afloat, but within herown breadth of the rocks; and, as the water was quite smooth, we soonwarped her off again. We then returned to the town, whence the Spaniardsretired as peaceably as before. The remainder of the day was employed inshipping off what plunder we could find, which consisted of hogs, brownand white _calavances_, beans, Indian corn, wheat, flour, sugar, and asmany _cocoa nuts_[268] as we were able to stow away, together with pansand other conveniences for preparing it, so that we were now amplyprovided with excellent breakfast meat for the rest of our voyage, andwere, besides, full of other provisions. [Footnote 268: Cacao, chocolate-nuts, are almost certainly heremeant. --E. ] At eight in the morning of the 23d, a messenger came in to know whatransom I would take for the town and the ship, for which I demanded10, 000 dollars in twenty-four hours. At eight next morning, I had aletter from the governor, signifying, that as I wrote in French, neitherhe nor any one about him could understand its contents; but if I wouldwrite in Latin or Spanish, I might depend on a satisfactory answer. Inthe afternoon, I sent for one of our quarter-deck guns on shore, whichwas mounted at our guard, and was fired at sun-set, midnight, and breakof day. The messenger returned in the morning of the 24th, accompaniedby the master of the ship we had taken, and on hearing of their arrival, I went on shore to know what they had to propose. I understood from themthat the governor was determined not to ransom the town, and did notcare what become of it, provided the churches were not burnt. Though Inever had any intention to destroy any place devoted to divine worship, I answered that I should have no regard to the churches, or anythingelse, when I set the town on fire; and I told the master of the vessel, he might expect to see her in flames immediately, if not ransomedwithout delay. This seemed to make a great impression, and he promisedto return in three hours with the money. I then caused every thing tobe taken out of the town that could be of any use to us, after which Iordered the town to be set on fire in several places; and, as the houseswere old and dry, it instantly became a bonfire. In the midst of this conflagration, the people in the Speedwell mademany signals for me to come on board, and kept continually firingtowards the mouths of the harbour. As I could only guess the meaning ofall this, I went on board as soon as possible in a canoe, having onlythree men along with me. Before I could reach the ship, I coulddistinctly see a large ship, with a Spanish flag at herfore-topmast-head, and her fore-topsail a-back. At this sight, two of mythree men were ready to faint, and if it had not been for my boatswain, I doubt if I should have got on board; and if the Spanish admiral hadacted with vigour, he might have taken the ship long enough before I gotto her. It is bare justice to Mr Coldsea to say, that he fired sosmartly on the Spaniard as to induce him to act with great precaution, which had been quite unnecessary if he had known our weakness. Hiscaution, however, gave me the opportunity of getting on board: and, inthe mean time, my officers were so unwilling to leave our guard-gunashore, that they spent a great while in getting it into the boat, sothat I was afraid the enemy would attack us before our people could geton board. The Spaniard was, however, in no hurry, thinking, no doubt, that we could not well escape him, yet was within pistol-shot of usbefore the last of our men got on board, being about fifty in all. Wenow cut our cable, but our ship fell round the wrong way, so that I hadjust room enough to fall clear of the enemy. Being now close together, the formidable appearance of the enemy struck an universal damp on thespirits of my people; some of whom, in coming off from the shore, werefor jumping into the water and swimming on shore, which a few actuallydid. The enemy was a fine European-built ship, of 50 guns, and thedisproportion was so great between us, that there seemed no hopes ofescaping, as we were under his lee. I endeavoured to get into shoalwater, but he becalmed me with his sails, and confined us for the bestpart of an hour, during which he handled us very roughly with hiscannon, making very little use of his small-arms, never allowing us amoment's ease, but as soon as his broadside was ready, he gave his shipthe starboard helm, bringing as many of his guns to bear as possible, and at the same time kept me from the wind. We returned his fire asbriskly as we could; but, in our precipitate retreat from the town, mostof our small arms were wetted, so that it was long before they were ofany use. During this action, there was a strange contusion on shore, where the people had flocked down from the hills to extinguish the firein Payta, in which some of them were busily employed, while others stoodon the shore, spectators of our engagement. I was long in despair ofgetting away from the Spaniard, expecting nothing less than to be tornin pieces by his superior fire, unless we could have an opportunity oftrying our heels with him while our masts remained standing. I expectedevery minute that he would board us, and hearing a hallooing among them, and seeing their forecastle full of men, I concluded that they had cometo this resolution; but soon saw that it proceeded from our ensign beingshot down, on which I made another be displayed in the mizen-shrouds, onsight of which they lay snug as before, keeping close upon our quarter. Intending at length to do our business at once, they clapped their helmhard a-starboard, in order to bring their whole broadside to bear, buttheir fire had little effect, and it muzzled themselves, which gave usan opportunity to get away from them. This certainly was a lucky escape, after an engagement of three glasseswith an enemy so much our superior; for he had 56 guns and 450 men, while we had only 20 guns mounted and only 73 men, of whom 11 werenegroes and two Indians. He had farther the vast advantage over us ofbeing in perfect readiness, while we were in the utmost confusion; andin the middle of the engagement, a third of my people, instead offighting, were hard at work in preparing for an obstinate resistance;particularly the carpenter and his crew, who were busy in makingport-holes for stern-chase guns, which, as it happened, we made no useof. Yet were we not unhurt, as the loss of my boat and anchor wereirreparable, and may be said to have been the cause of that scene oftrouble which fell upon us soon after; as we had now only one anchorremaining, that lost at Payta being the third, and we had not now a boatof any kind. I have since learnt that some of our shots in theengagement were well directed, and that we killed and wounded several ofthe enemy. Having thus got away from the _Peregrine_, I slipped off in the eveningwith much ado from the Brilliant, her consort, on board of which Betaghnow was, and even desired to be the first to board me. I was now in avery uncomfortable situation, not having the smallest hope of meetingwith the Success; and I had learned at Payta, that the Spaniards hadlaid on an embargo for six months, so that we had nothing to expect inthe way of prizes; and, having seen our prize taken, we had reason toexpect that all our designs were discovered by the enemy. Having nowonly one anchor and no boat, it is not to be wondered that I gave up allidea of making an attempt on Guayaquil, which I at first proposed, having intelligence that there were several ships of considerable valuein that river, in consequence of the embargo, which might have done mesome service, if I had been better provided. In this situation, it wasresolved, in a committee of my officers, to return to the southwards, orto windward, as the Spaniards must necessarily continue their trade withChili, in spite of their embargo; after which we proposed to water atJuan Fernandez, and then to cruize on the coast of Conception, Valparaiso, and Coquimbo, for the coasting traders, among whom we mightsupply ourselves with anchors, cables, and boats, and a vessel to fitout as a fire-ship. I also proposed, before leaving the coast of Chili, to make an attempt on La Serena or Coquimbo. After all this, I proposedto proceed for the coast of Mexico, and thence to the _Tres Marias_ andCalifornia, as the most likely means of meeting with the Success;besides which, the former of these places might be commodious forsalting turtle, to serve as sea stores, and the latter for laying in astock of wood and water; after which we might lie in the track of theManilla ship. But if we could not succeed in that attempt, we might thensatisfy ourselves with cruizing for the Peruvian ships, which bringsilver to Acapulco for purchasing the Indian and Chinese commodities. My plan being approved, we proceeded to windward, having secured ourmasts and bent a new set of sails on the 26th, after which we stood tothe southward, expecting to make our passage in about five weeks. Thecarpenters were now set to work to build a new boat that we might havethe means of watering our ship. On the 31st, while working the pumps, the water not only came in in greater quantity than usual, but was asblack as ink, which made me suspect some water had got at our powder;and on going into the powder-room, I found the water rushing in like alittle sluice, which had already spoiled the greatest part of ourpowder, only six barrels remaining uninjured, which I immediately hadstowed away in the bread-room. It pleased God that we now had fairweather, as otherwise we might have had much difficulty to keep our shipafloat. We found the leak on the larboard side, under the lower cheek ofthe head, where a shot had lodged and afterwards dropt out, leaving roomfor a stream of water. We accordingly brought down our ship by thestern, and secured the leak effectually. At this time we had an abundantstock of provisions. Each man had a quart of chocolate and three ouncesof rusk for breakfast; and had fresh meat or fresh fish every day fordinner, having plenty of the latter about the ship, so that we couldalmost always make our choice between dolphin and albicore. On the 6th May we made the westermost of the islands of Juan Fernandez, otherwise called _Mas a Fuero_, distant twelve leagues N. E. By N. Andthe day after, our carpenters had completed our new boat, which couldcarry three hogsheads. On the 12th we saw the great island of JuanFernandez, bearing E. 1/2 S. Being in latitude, by observation, 33° 40'S. A joyful sight at the time, though so unfortunate to us in thesequel. We plied off and on till the 21st, but could not get as muchwater on board daily in that time as supplied our daily expenditure, owing to the smallness of our boat, which made it necessary for us toanchor in the roads till that purpose was accomplished, in order forwhich I prepared to raft twenty tons of casks on shore. We worked in andanchored in forty fathoms, carrying a warp on shore, which we fastenedto the rocks, of three hawsers and a half in length, which both steadiedthe ship, and enabled us to haul our cask-raft ashore and aboard. Bythis means we were ready to go to sea again next morning, having filledall our water casks; but had no opportunity of so doing for four days, during which we continued to anchor in the same manner. On the 25th May, a hard gale came upon us from seaward, bringing with ita great tumbling swell, by which at length our cable parted. This was adismal accident, as we had no means whatever by which to avoid theprospect of immediate destruction. But Providence interposed in ourbehalf: For had we struck only a cable's length to the east or west ofwhere we did, we must all have inevitably perished. When our ill-fatedship touched the rock, we had all to hold fast by some part of the shipor rigging, otherwise the violence of her shock in striking must havetossed us all into the sea. Our three masts went all away together bythe board. In short, words are wanting to express the wretched conditionin which we now were, or our astonishment at our unexpected andunfortunate shipwreck. SECTION III. _Residence on the Island of Juan Fernandez. _ Having all got on shore in the evening, my officers gathered around meto bear me company, and to devise measures for procuring necessaries outof the wreck; and having lighted a fire, wrapped themselves up in whatthey could get, and slept very soundly, notwithstanding the coldness ofthe weather, and our hopeless situation. I would have set the people towork that very night, in endeavouring to save what we could from thewreck, but they were so dispersed that we could not gather themtogether, and all opportunity was lost of saving any thing, except someof our fire-arms. But while the people were employed in building tents, and making other preparations for their residence on the island, thewreck was entirely destroyed, and every thing in her was lost, exceptone cask of beef and one of _farina de pao_, which were washed on shore. Thus all our provisions were gone, and every thing else that might havebeen useful. I had saved 1100 dollars belonging to the owners, whichhappened to be in my chest in the great cabin, all the rest of theirtreasure being in the bottom of the bread-room for security, whichconsequently could not be come at. I now took some pains to find out a convenient place in which to set upmy tent, and at length found a commodious spot of ground not half a milefrom the sea, having a fine stream of water on each side, with treesclose at hand for firing, and building our huts. The people settledaround me as well as they could, and as the cold season was coming on, some thatched their huts, while others covered theirs with the skins ofseals and sea-lions. Others again satisfied themselves with water-butts, in which they slept under cover of trees. Having thus secured ourselvesfrom the weather, we used to pass our time in the evenings around agreat fire before my tent, where my officers usually assembled, employing themselves in roasting cray-fish in the embers; sometimesbewailing our unhappy fate, and sinking into despondency; and at othertimes feeding ourselves with hopes that something might yet be done toset us again afloat. On this subject I first consulted with thecarpenter, who answered, that he could not make bricks without straw, and then walked from me in a surly humour. From him I went to thearmourer, and asked what he could do for us in his way that mightcontribute to build a small vessel. To this he answered, that he hopedhe could do all the iron work, as he had fortunately saved his bellowsfrom the wreck, with four or five _spadoes_ or Spanish swords, whichwould afford him steel, and there could be no want of iron along shore;besides, that we should doubtless find many useful things when we cameto work in good earnest. He desired therefore, that I would get somecharcoal made for him, while he set up his forge. Upon this encouragement, I called all hands together, and explained tothem the great probability there was of our being able to build a vesselsufficient to transport us from this island; but that it would be alaborious task, and must require their united best endeavours. To thisthey all consented, and promised to work with great diligence, beggingme to give them directions how to proceed. I then ordered the men whohad axes on shore, before the wreck, to cut wood for making charcoal, while the rest went down to the wreck to get the boltsprit ashore, ofwhich I proposed to make the keel of our intended vessel; and Iprevailed on the carpenter to go with me, to fix upon the properestplace for building. The people found a great many useful materials aboutthe wreck; and among the rest the topmast, which had been washed onshore, and was of the greatest importance. We laid the blocks for building upon on the 8th June, and had theboltsprit ready at hand to lay down as the keel; when the carpenterturned short round upon me, and swore an oath that he would not strikeanother stroke on the work, for he would be slave to nobody, and thoughthimself now on a footing with myself. I was at first angry, but came atlength to an agreement with him, to give him a four-pistole piece assoon as the stern and stern-posts were up, and 100 dollars when the barkwas finished, and the money to be committed to the keeping of any one hechose to name. This being settled, he went to work upon the keel, whichwas to be thirty feet long; the breadth of our bark, by the beam, sixteen feet, and her hold seven feet deep. In two months we made atolerable shew, owing in a great measure to the ingenuity of Poppleston, our armourer, who never lost a minute in working with his hands, orcontriving in his head. He made us a small double-headed maul, hammers, chisels, and a sort of gimblets or wimbles, which performed very well. He even made a bullet-mould, and an instrument to bore cartouch-boxes, which he made from the trucks of our gun-carriages, covering them withseal-skins, and contrived to make them not only convenient, but neat. Hecontrived to execute any iron-work wanted by the carpenter, and evenfinished a large serviceable boat, of which we stood much in need. In the beginning of this great work the people behaved themselves verywell, half of them working regularly one day, and the other half thenext, seeming every day to grow easier under our misfortunes. Theytreated me with as much respect as I could wish, and even in a bodythanked me for the prospect of their deliverance; while I never failedto encourage them by telling them stories of the great things that hadbeen accomplished by the united efforts of men in similar distresses. Ialways pressed them to stick close to the work, that we might get ourbark ready in time; and told them that we fortunately had three of thebest ports in Chili within 120 leagues of us. This inspired them withlife and vigour, and they often declared that they would exert theirutmost endeavours to finish her with all expedition. At last, however, we became a prey to faction, so that it was a miracle we ever got offfrom this place. For, after completing the most laborious part of thework, they entirely neglected it; and many of my officers, deserting mysociety, herded with the meanest of the ship's company. I was nowconvinced in a suspicion I had long entertained, that some black designwas in embryo; for when I met any of my officers, and asked what theywere about, and the reason of their acting so contrary to their duty, bydiverting the people from their work, some used even to tell me theyknew not whether they would leave the island or not, when my bundle ofsticks was ready; that they cared not how matters went, for they couldshift for themselves as well as the rest. When I spoke with the commonmen, some were surly, and others said they would be slaves no longer, but would do as the rest did. In the midst of these confusions, Iordered my son to secure my commission in some dry place among the woodsor rocks, remembering how Captain Dampier had been served in theseseas. At length, I one afternoon missed all the people, except Mr Adamson thesurgeon, Mr Hendric the agent, my son, and Mr Dodd, lieutenant ofmarines, which last feigned lunacy, for some reason best known tohimself. I learnt at night that they had been all day assembled at thegreat tree, in deep consultation, and had framed a new set ofregulations and articles, by which the owners in England were excludedfrom any share in what we might take for the future, divested me of allauthority as captain, and regulated themselves according to the _Jamaicadiscipline_. [269] Even the chief officers, among the rest, had concurredin electing one Morphew to be their champion and speaker, who addressedthe assembly to the following purport: "That they were now their ownmasters, and servants to none: and as Mr Shelvocke, their formercaptain, took upon him still to command, he ought to be informed, thatwhoever was now to be their commander, must be so through their owncourtesy. However, that Mr Shelvocke might have the first offer of thecommand, if the majority thought fit, but not otherwise. That MrShelvocke carried himself too lofty and arbitrarily for the command of aprivateer, and ought to have continued in men-of-war, where the peoplewere obliged to bear all hardships quietly, whether right or wrong. " [Footnote 269: This expression is not explained, but seems to have been, according to the model of the Buccaneers, all prizes to be divided amongthe captors. --E. ] Some persons present, who had a regard for me, represented, "That theyhad never seen or known me treat any one unjustly or severely; and thathowever strict I might be, they had no one else to depend upon, and thatthey ought all to consider how many difficulties I had already broughtthem through. That, although they were not now in the hands of ourenemies, no one could tell how soon others might come upon them: and, ifthey ever looked to get back to England, there was no other way but bygoing round the world, for which there was no one capable of undertakingthe charge except Captain Shelvocke. They ought also to consider hiscommission, and the respect due to him on that account; besides theprotection that would afford them, should they happen to fall into thehands of the Spaniards. " This remonstrance had some effect on the common men, but they werediverted from the thoughts of returning to obedience by no less aperson than my first lieutenant, Mr Brooks, who had made Morphew hisconfidant even on board ship: for having served before the mast beforehe was made my lieutenant, he had contracted a liking for forecastleconversation. They were also supported and encouraged by Mr Randal, mysecond lieutenant, who was brother-in-law to Brooks, and by others. Thefirst remarkable outrage committed by this gang of levellers was to MrLa Porte, my third lieutenant, whom Morphew knocked down on the beach, while Brooks stood by and witnessed this brutality. This affair camesoon after to be fully explained; for the men framed a new set ofarticles, putting themselves upon the Jamaica discipline, and declaring, as I had been their captain, I might be so still; and that they werewilling to allow me six shares, as a mark of their regard, though Iought only to have four, according to the Jamaica articles. Most of theofficers were reduced, according to the same plan: for instance, Mr LaPorte, Mr Dodu, and Mr Hendrie were declared midshipmen; and as thesuperior officers consented to this scheme, it could not be preventedfrom being carried into execution. Mr Coldsea the master was the onlyperson who preserved a kind of neutrality, neither promoting noropposing their designs. In this distressed emergency, I thought itlawful, and even necessary, to submit to their demands, and thereforesigned their articles, in conjunction with the rest of my officers. I now thought to have got them to work on our bark; but, instead oflistening to me, they demanded what little money I had saved belongingto the owners, with which I was obliged to comply, being 750 dollars invirgin silver, a silver dish weighing 75 ounces, and 250 dollars incoin. Even after this I was treated worse than ever, having only therefuse of the fish allowed me, after they had chosen the best, beingglad, after a hard day's work, to dine upon seal; while Morphew and hisassociates feasted on the best fish the sea afforded. They next took thearms out of my custody, of which hitherto I had taken great care;because, having only one flint to each musket, and very littleammunition, I foresaw that we would be undone if this were wasted. Irepresented all this to them, yet they squandered away the smallremainder of powder and bullets in killing cats, or any thing else theycould get to fire at. --This is a concise history of our transactions inthe island of Juan Fernandez, from the 24th May to the 15th August, during which no person could suffer more than I did, or have a moreuncomfortable prospect. On the 15th of August we were put into great confusion by the sight of alarge ship, on which, before she crossed the bay, I ordered all thefires to be put out, and the negroes and Indians to be confined, lestthe ship might be becalmed under the land, and any of them shouldattempt to swim off to her, as I conceived she might possibly be aman-of-war come to seek us, having received advice of our shipwreck; yetI knew, if she discovered what we were about, we should soon have thewhole force of the kingdom of Chili upon us. Our apprehensions were soonover, as the ship bore away large, and kept at too great a distance tosee any thing of us. On this occasion I got most of our people underarms, and was glad to see them in some measure obedient to command;telling them that I was pleased to see their arms in such good order, Iwas impertinently answered, that this was for their own sakes. Beforethey dispersed, I represented to them the necessity of using their bestendeavour to get our bark afloat, instead of caballing against theircaptain, which, in the end, might be very prejudicial to them all; as, if discovered by the Spaniards, we might expect to be all made slaves inthe mines. I told them we still had a great deal of work to do, and hadnever above ten of the most considerate to labour, and seldom above sixor seven; while they knew I was always one of the number, to shew a goodexample. But the more I tried to reclaim them, the more obstinately theyran into confusion, interrupting every thing that tended to do themservice. Next day they divided among themselves on a new scheme, being no lessthan to burn our bark, and to build two large shallops, or pinnaces, inlieu of her. Morphew and his friend Brooks were the favourers of thisnew design, aiming doubtless at a separation by this means: but as thismust be determined by a majority, they assembled to debate this matterin front of my tent, carrying on their deliberations with much clamouron both sides. In order to put them off this ruinous plan, I representedto them the impracticability of building the boats, as our tools andother materials were already worn out and expended. The workmen, and aconsiderable majority of the rest, sided with me: but at night thecarpenter sent me word, if I did not pay him the money agreed upon atfirst, I should never see his face again; wherefore, although his termshad not been implemented, I was obliged to raise the money for him. Themost provoking part of this proposal about the boats was, that thefellows who chiefly promoted it were those who had never done an hour'swork since we were cast away. Not gaining this point, they openlydeclared I should not be their captain, and that none but Brooks shouldcommand them, which was probably what that young man aspired to from thecommencement of the mutiny; and had undoubtedly succeeded, had it notbeen for the people in the boatswain's tent, who still refused theirconsent to my being left on the island, though fond of thinkingthemselves their own masters, and of refusing to submit to regularcommand. To complete our confusion, there arose a third party, who resolved tohave nothing to do with the rest, proposing to remain on the island. There were twelve of these, who separated from the rest, and never madetheir appearance except at night, when they used to come about the tentsto steal powder, lead, and axes, and any thing else they could lay theirhands, on. But in a little time I found means to manage them, and tookfrom them all their arms, ammunition, axes, and other plunder, andthreatened to have them treated as enemies, if they came withinmusket-shot of our tents. These divisions so weakened the whole body, that they began to listen to me, so that I got most of them into aworking humour. Even Brooks came to me with a feigned submission, desiring to eat with me again, yet in the main did not lessen his esteemfor Morphew. His dissimulation, however, proved of infinite service incontributing to the finishing of our bark, which required the unitedefforts of all our heads and hands. For, when we came to plank thebottom, we had very vexatious difficulties to encounter, as our onlyplank consisted in pieces from the deck of our wreck, which was so dryand stubborn that fire and water had hardly any effect in making itpliable, as it rent, split, and flew in pieces like glass; so that I nowbegan to fear that all our labour was in vain, and we must quietly waitto be taken off by some Spanish ship, and be led quietly to prison afterall our troubles. By constant labour, and using a variety of contrivances, we at lengthfinished our bark, but in such a manner that I may safely assert, asimilar bottom never before swam on the sea. Our boat also was launchedon the 9th September; and our bark being now in a fair way of beingcompleted, it remained to consider what provisions we could get tosupport us during our voyage, all our stock being one cask of beef, fiveor six bushels of _farina de poa_, or cassada flour, and four or fivelive hogs. I made several experiments to preserve both fish and seal, but found that this could not be done without salt. At length we fellupon a contrivance for curing conger eels, by splitting them, taking outtheir backbones, dipping them in sea-water, and then drying them in agreat smoke; but as no other fish could be cured in a similar manner, our fishers were directed to catch as many congers as they could. Atthis time several of our people who had not hitherto done any work, began to repent of their folly, as they grew weary of living on thisisland, and now offered their services to go a-fishing, making some idleexcuses for being so long idle, asking my pardon, and promising not tolose a moment in future. The new boat was sent to try her fortune, andreturned at night with a great parcel of various kinds of fish, amongwhich were about 200 congers, which was a good beginning, and which weredivided among the tents to be cured. Our boat was carefully hauled onshore every night, and strictly guarded, to prevent any of our peoplefrom stealing her, and making their escape. By her means also, MrBrooks, our only diver, tried what could be recovered from that part ofthe wreck which had not been drifted on shore; but could only weigh onesmall gun, and two pieces of a large church candlestick, belonging toour owners. Our boat was daily employed in fishing, for which purpose the armourersupplied hooks; and our men made abundance of lines of twisted ribbons, a great quantity of which had been driven on shore. Others of the menwere employed in making twine stuff for rigging, patching up old canvassfor sails, and a variety of other necessary contrivances to enable us toput to sea; and our cooper put our casks in order; and at length we setup our masts, which were tolerably well rigged, and our bark made adecent figure. My spirits were however much damped, by the extremedifficulty of caulking her tight, as her seams were bad, our toolswretched, and our artists very indifferent. When this was done, so as wecould, our bark was put into the water to try her fitness, on whichthere was an outcry of, A sieve! a sieve! Every one now seemedmelancholy and dispirited, insomuch that I was afraid they would use nofarther means; but in a little time, by incessant labour, we brought herinto a tolerable condition. Having repaired the ship's pumps, and fittedthem to the bark, the people exclaimed that this was only a poordependence; but I exhorted them to have patience, and continue theirassistance in doing every thing that could be thought of for hersecurity. The cooper also made a set of buckets, one for every man, toserve to bale her, in case of necessity. Next spring-tide, which was onthe 5th October, 1720, we put her again into the water, naming her the_Recovery_, when she answered tolerably well, when we resolved to runthe hazard of going to sea in her, and made all possible dispatch ingetting our things on board. Yet, after all, a dozen of our people choseto remain on shore, together with as many negroes and Indians. Our sea-stock, besides the small quantity of beef and cassada flourformerly mentioned, consisted of 2300 eels cured in smoke, weighing onewith another about a pound each, together with about sixty gallons ofseal-oil, in which to fry them. On our first landing, as the weather wasthen too coarse for fishing, we had to live on seals, the entrails ofwhich are tolerable food; but the constant and prodigious slaughter wemade among them, frightened them from our side of the island. Some ofthe people eat cats, which I could not bring myself to, and declaredthey were sweet nourishing food. When the weather allowed us to fish, wewere delivered from these hardships; but some of our mischievous crewset the boat a-drift, so that she was lost: after which we contrivedwicker boats, covered with sea-lions skins, which did well enough nearshore, but we durst not venture in them out into the bay, andconsequently were worse provided with fish than we might otherwise havebeen. We fried our fish in seal-oil, and eat it without bread or salt, or any other relish, except some wild sorrel. Our habitations were verywretched, being only covered by boughs of trees, with the skins of sealsand sea-lions, which were often torn off in the night, by sudden flawsof wind from the mountains. The island of Juan Fernandez is in lat 33° 40' S. And long. 79° W. Beingat the distance of about 150 marine leagues, or 7° 30' from the coastof Chili. It is about fifteen English miles long from E. To W. And fivemiles at the broadest, from N to S. Entirely composed of mountains andvalleys, so that there is no walking a quarter of a mile on a flat. Theanchoring place is on the north side of the island, and is distinguishedby a little mountain, with a high peak on each side. It is not safe toanchor in less than forty fathoms, and even there, ships are very muchexposed to sharp gales from the north, which blow frequently. Therecannot well be a more unpleasant place to anchor in, as the bay issurrounded by high mountains, and is subject to alternate dead calms andsudden stormy gusts of wind. This island enjoys a fine wholesome air, insomuch that out of seventy of us, who remained here five months andeleven days, not one among us had an hour's sickness, though we fed uponsuch foul diet, without bread or salt; so that we had no complaintsamong us, except an incessant craving appetite, and the want of ourformer strength and vigour. As for myself, from being corpulent, andalmost crippled by the gout, I lost much of my flesh, but became one ofthe strongest and most active men on the island, walking much about, working hard, and never in the least afflicted with that distemper. Thesoil is fertile, and abounds with many large and beautiful trees, mostof them aromatic. The names of such as we knew were the _Pimento_, whichbears a leaf like a myrtle, but somewhat larger, with a blue blossom, the trunks being short and thick, and the heads bushy and round, as iftrained by art. There is another tree, much larger, which I thinkresembles that which produces the jesuit bark. There are plains on thetops of some of the mountains, on which are groves of the _Indianlaurel_, mentioned by Frezier in his description of Chili. These have astraight slender body, from which sprout small irregular branches allthe way from the root to the top, bearing leaves like the laurel, butsmaller. _Palm-trees_ are found in most parts of the island, growing insmooth joints, like canes, some thirty and some forty feet high. Theirheads resemble the cocoa-nut tree, except that their leaves are of apaler green, and bear large bunches of red berries, bigger than sloes, which taste like haws, and have stones as large as those ofheart-cherries. That which we call the _palm-cabbage_ is the verysubstance of the head of the tree; which being cut off and divested ofits great spreading leaves, and all that is hard and tough, consists ofa white and tender young shoot or head, having its leaves and berriesperfectly formed, and ready to replace the old one. When in search ofthese, we were forced to cut down a lofty tree for each individualcabbage. One good property of the woods which cover this island is, that they areevery where of easy access, as there is no undergrowth, except in someof the deepest valleys, where the fern grows exceedingly high, and ofwhich there are very large trees, with trunks of considerablesolidity. [270] Some of the English who had been formerly here, had sowedturnips, which have spread much, as have also two or three plantationsof small pompions; but my men never had patience to let any of thesecome to maturity. We found also plenty of water-cresses and wild sorrel. Some of the hills are remarkable for a fine red earth, which I take tobe the same with that of which the inhabitants of Chili make theirearthenware, which is almost as beautiful as the red porcelain of China. The northern part of the island is well watered by a great many streamswhich flow down the narrow valleys; and we found the water to keep wellat sea, and to be as good as any in the world. Down the western peak, contiguous to the Table Mountain, there fall two cascades from aperpendicular height of not less than 500 feet. These are closetogether, and about 12 feet broad. What with the rapid descent of thesestreams, and the numerous palm-trees growing close beside them, adornedwith vast clusters of red berries, the prospect is really beautiful. Weshould have had no want of goats, could we have conveniently followedthem in the mountains. The Spaniards, before they settled in Chili, lefta breed of goats here, and have since endeavoured to destroy them, byleaving a breed of dogs, but without effect. Cats are also verynumerous, exactly resembling our household cats in size and colour; andthose of our men who eat of them, assured me they found more substantialrelief from one meal of their flesh, than from four or five of seal orfish; and, to their great satisfaction, we had a small bitch, which, could catch almost any number they wanted in an hour. There are not manysorts of birds; but the sea on the coast abounds with a greater varietyof fish than almost any place I was ever in. [Footnote 270: These must have been some species of palm, havingpalmatad leaves resembling ferns. --E. ] Seals and sea-lions also abound; called _lobos de la mar_ by theSpaniards, from their resemblance to wolves. They have a fine iron-greyfur, and when full grown are as big as a large mastiff. They arenaturally surly, and snarl at the approach of any one. Instead of tails, they have two fins behind, with which they make shift to get on muchfaster than the sea-lions, which are large unwieldy creatures, andprodigiously full of oil. SECTION IV. _Farther Proceedings in the South Sea, after leaving Juan Fernandez. _ We departed from Juan Fernandez on the evening of the 6th October, having nothing to subsist upon except the smoked congers, one of whichwas allowed to each man for twenty-four hours; together with one cask ofbeef, four live hogs, which had fed all the time we were ashore on theputrid carcases of seals, and three or four bushels of cassada meal. Wewere upwards of forty men, crowded together, and lying on the bundles ofeels, with no means of keeping ourselves clean, so that all our senseswere offended as greatly as possible. The only way we had of procuringwater, was by sucking it from the cask with a gun-barrel, usedpromiscuously by every one. The little unsavoury morsels we daily eat, created incessant quarrels, every one contending for the frying-pan; andour only convenience for a fire, was a tub half filled with earth, whichmade cooking so tedious, that we had the continual noise of frying frommorning to night. I proposed that we should stand for the Bay ofConception, as being the nearest to us; and we were hard put to it everyday, while the sea-breeze continued; for, not having above sixteeninches free board, and our bark tumbling prodigiously, the water ranover us perpetually; and having only a grating deck, and no tarpaulin tocover it but the top-sail of our bark, our pomps were barely sufficientto keep us free. At four in the morning of the 10th, we fell in with a large ship, and Icould see by moon-light that she was Europe-built. Our case beingdesperate, we stood towards her, and being rigged after the fashion ofthe South Seas, they did not regard us till day-light. Not being thenquite up with her, they suspected us by the brownness of our canvas, wore ship, hauled close upon the wind, fired a gun, and crowded sailaway from us, leaving us at a great rate. It fell calm two hours after, when we had recourse to our oars, and neared her with tolerable speed. In the mean time, we overhauled our arms, which we found in badcondition, a third of them wanting flints, and we had only threecutlasses, so that we were by no means prepared for boarding, which yetwas the only means we had of taking the ship. We had only one smallcannon, which we could not mount, and were therefore obliged to fire itas it lay along the deck; and we had only two round shot, a fewchain-bolts, the clapper of the Speedwell's bell, and some bags ofstones. We came up with her in four hours; but I now saw that she hadguns and pattereroes, with a considerable number of men, whose armsglittered in the sun. The enemy defied us to board them, and at the sametime gave us a volley of great and small shot, which killed our gunner, and almost brought our foremast by the board. This unexpected receptionstaggered many of my people, who before seemed most forward, so thatthey lay on their oars for some time, though I urged them to keep theirway. Recovering again, we rowed quite up to them, and continued toengage till all our small shot was expended, which obliged us to fallastern to make some slugs, and in this manner we made three attackswithout success. All night we were busied in making slugs, and provideda large quantity before morning, when we came to the determinedresolution either to carry her by boarding, or to submit to her. Atday-break, I accordingly ordered twenty men in our yawl to lay herathwart hawse, while I proposed to board her from the bark; but, just aswe were on the point of making the attempt, a gale sprung up, and shewent away from us. We learnt afterwards that she was the _Margaretta_, having formerly been a privateer from St Malo, mounting forty guns. Inthe several skirmishes, we had none killed, except Gilbert Henderson ourgunner. Three were wounded, Mr Brooks being shot through the thigh, MrColdsea in the groin, and one of the crew in the small of the back. MrColdsea lingered in a miserable condition for nine or ten months, but atlength recovered. We were now in a worse condition than ever, and the sea being too roughfor our uncomfortable vessel, I proposed to stand to the north to getinto fairer weather, but to take Coquimbo in our way, to try what mightbe done there. This was agreed to; but the very morning in which weexpected to have got into Coquimbo, a hard gale of wind sprung up, whichlasted four days, during which we every hour expected to founder, beingobliged to scud under bare poles, with our yawl in tow, and having onlya very short rope for her. This storm so frightened many of our people, that they resolved to go ashore at the first place they could find. Atlength, calling to mind the account given by Frezier of the island of_Iquique_, I mentioned the surprisal of that place, being but a smalllieutenancy, where we might probably get some wholesome provisions, anda better vessel. This was approved, and the sun again shining, so thatwe lay dry, we acquired fresh vigour, and directed our course for thatisland. Next evening we saw the island, which seemed merely a high whiterock, at the foot of the high land of _Carapucho_. Our boat set off forthe island about sun-set, and had like to have been lost among thebreakers. At length they heard the barking of dogs, and saw the light ofsome candles; but, aware of the danger of landing in the dark, they madefast their boat to a float of weeds for want of a grapnel, and waitedtill day-light. They then rowed in between the rocks, and wereignorantly welcomed on shore by some Indians. Going to the house of thelieutenant, they broke open the door, and rummaged it and the village, finding a booty more valuable to us in our present situation than goldor silver. This consisted of 60 bushels of wheat flour, 120 ofcalavanses and corn, some jerked beef, mutton, and pork, a thousandweight of well-cured fish, four or five days eating of soft bread, andfive or six jars of Peruvian wine and brandy, besides a good number offowls and some rusk. They had also the good fortune to find a boat tobring off their plunder, which otherwise had been of little use to us, as our own boat was fully laden with men. In the mean time, we in the bark were carried away by the current to thenorthward, out of sight of the island; and as they had not loaded theirboats till the height of the day, they had a laborious task to row off, being very heavily laden. We were under melancholy apprehensions, fearing that our people might have remained on shore and deserted us;but towards evening we perceived two boats coming fast towards us, asheavily laden as they could be with safety. Words cannot express our joywhen they came aboard. The scene was now changed from famine to plenty. The loaves of soft bread were distributed, and the jars of winebroached: But I took care they should drink of it moderately, allowingeach man no more than half a pint a-day. After living a day or two onwholesome food, we wondered how our stomachs could receive and digestthe rank nauseous congers fried in train-oil, and could hardly believewe had lived on nothing else for a month past. I was assured by mysecond lieutenant, who commanded the boat on this occasion, that theIndians seemed rather pleased at our plundering the Spaniards; sonatural is it for bad masters to find enemies in their servants. The _island of Iquique_ is in the lat. Of 19° 50' S. [271] about a milefrom the main land, and only about a mile and a half in circuit, thechannel between it and the coast of Peru being full of rocks. It is ofmoderate height, and the surface consists mostly of cormorant's dung, which is so very white that places covered with it appear at a distancelike chalk cliffs. Its smell is very offensive, yet it producesconsiderable gain, as several ships load here with it every year forArica, where it is used as manure for growing capsicums. The onlyinhabitants of this island are negro slaves, who gather this dung intolarge heaps near the shore, ready for boats to take it off. The villagewhere the lieutenant resides, and which our people plundered, is on themain land close by the sea, and consists of about sixty scatteredill-built houses, or huts rather, and a small church. There is not thesmallest verdure to be seen about it, neither does its neighbourhoodafford even the smallest necessary of life, not even water, which theinhabitants have to bring in boats from the _Quebrada_, or breach of_Pisagua_, ten leagues to the northward; wherefore, being so miserable aplace, the advantage derived from the _guana_ or cormorant's dung seemsthe only inducement for its being inhabited. To be at some distance fromthe excessively offensive stench of the dung, they have built theirwretched habitations on the main, in a most hideous situation, and stilleven too near the guana, the vapours from which are even there very bad, yet not quite so suffocating as on the island. The sea here affordsabundance of excellent fish, some kinds of which I had never beforeseen; one of them resembling a large silver eel, but much thicker inproportion. The inhabitants of this desolate and forbidding place curethese fish in a very cleanly manner, and export large quantities ofthem by the vessels which come for the guana. [Footnote 271: There is no island on the coast of Peru in that latitude. Iquique is a town on the main land, about thirty miles from the sea. Theislands called _los Patillos_, or the Claws, are near the coast, in lat. 20° 45' S. And probably one of these may have got the name of _Iquique_, as being under the jurisdiction of that town. The mountain Carapacha ofthe text, is probably the hills of Tarapaca of our maps. --E. ] We were informed by two Indian prisoners, that the lieutenant of Iquiquehad a boat at Pisagua for water, of which we began to be in need, forwhich reason I sent Mr Randal in search of her. He failed in thisobject, but brought off a few bladders full of water, and three or four_balsas_, very artificially sewed and filled with wind, which are usedfor landing on this dangerous coast. On these the rower sits across, using a double paddle; and as the wind escapes from the skin bags, hehas a contrivance for supplying the deficiency. These are the chiefembarkations used by the fishermen, and are found very serviceable forlanding on this coast, which has hardly a smooth beach from one end ofit to the other. We intended to have looked into the port of Arica, butheard there was a ship there of force, on which we continued our courseto the northwards to La Nasca. Off that port we met a large ship abouttwo hours before day, and though we rowed very hard, it was ten o'clockbefore we got up with her. After a brisk dispute of six or seven hours, we were obliged to leave her, in consequence of the sea-breeze coming invery strong. She was called the Francisco Palacio, of 700 tons, 8 guns, and 10 patereroes, with a great number of men, and well provided withsmall arms; but was so deeply laden that, in rolling, the water ran overher deck and out at her scuppers; indeed she had more the appearance ofan ill-contrived floating castle, than of a ship, according to thepresent fashion of Europe. Thus we had the misfortune, on this forlornvoyage, to meet with the two best equipped and armed private ships atthat time in the South Sea. In this action we had not above twentyfire-arms that were of any use, owing to the improvidence of our peopleat Juan Fernandez; yet were they so impatient of this disappointment, that some of them were for immediately surrendering to the enemy. Toprevent this, I ordered four men whom I thought I could trust to takethe charge of our two boats; but two of these went away with the bestboat, and my first lieutenant and Morphew plotted to have gone away withthe other, but were hindered by blowing weather, and so weak was myauthority that I was forced to dissemble. Next day we stood into the road of Pisco, where we saw a very fine ship, and resolved immediately to board her; and to our great satisfaction, the captain and his people met us with their hats off, beseeching us togive them quarter. This was a good ship, of about 200 tons, called theJesu Maria, almost laden with pitch, tar, copper, and plank, but nothingelse. The captain offered 16, 000 dollars for her ransom, but I could notcomply, as the Recovery was disabled in her masts in boarding, and alsowe had now a vessel in which we could at least enjoy cleanliness, whichwe had been entire strangers to ever since our departure from JuanFernandez; wherefore we made all dispatch in getting every thing out ofthe bark. The Spanish captain of the Jesu Maria informed me, that theMargaretta had arrived some time before at Calao, where she had given afull account of her rencounter with us; her captain and three men havingbeen killed in the action, and a priest with several others wounded. Shewas now ready to put to sea again to cruize for us, with the addition often guns and fifty men. A frigate of twenty-eight guns, called theFlying-fish, was already out with the same intention; and advice hadbeen sent respecting us along the coast, both to the north and south, with orders to equip what strength there was to catch us. All night, thepeople of Pisco were on the alert, continually firing guns, to give usan earnest of what we were to expect if we attempted to land, but we hadno such intention. Having cleared our bark next morning, we gave her to the Spanish captainof the Jesu Maria; and as soon as the breeze sprung up, we weighed andstood to sea. While going out, we met our own boat with the two men whohad deserted us, and who now edged down upon us, imagining we had beenSpaniards. The two fellows were almost dead, having neither eat nordrank for three days, and had just been ashore on a small island nearthe harbour of Pisco, to kill some seals that they might drink theirblood. Their only excuse for leaving us was, that they had fallenasleep, during which the breeze had wafted our bark away from them. Wehad only a transient view of Pisco, which seemed pleasantly situatedamong orchards and vineyards. We proceeded along the coast verycautiously, knowing that we were almost in the mouths of our enemies, and that the least act of indiscretion might throw us into their hands. We ventured, however, to look into the roads of Guanchaco, Malabriga, and Cheripe, where we saw no shipping, after which we passed throughbetween the island of _Lobos de Tierra_ and the continent. Being near the _Saddle_ of Payta on the 25th November, I thought ofsurprising that place in the night, though our force was much diminishedsince our last attack; but as it grew calm while we were endeavouring toget into the harbour, we thought it better to delay till morning, as ourvessel being Spanish would deceive the inhabitants, and prevent themfrom suspecting us. In the morning, being observed from the shore makingmany short trips to gain ground to windward, the Spaniards sent off alarge boat full of men to assist in bringing in our ship, and to enquirethe news. Seeing them making towards us, I ordered none of our men toappear but such as had dark complexions and wore Spanish dresses, standing ready to answer such questions as they might ask in hailing, and to give them a rope when they clapped us on board. Some of our menalso were concealed under our gunwales, with their muskets ready topoint into the boat, to command them to make her fast, and thisstratagem succeeded. I examined the prisoners as to the condition of thetown, which they assured me was then extremely poor, having neithermoney nor provisions, and shewed me a small bark on shore, lately sentin by Captain Clipperton with some of his prisoners, on the arrival ofwhich every thing of value had been removed into the country. Yet weheld on our way with Spanish colours flying, and came to the anchorage. As soon as we were anchored, I sent Mr Brooks to attack the town withtwenty-four men, only those who rowed appearing, and the rest with theirarms lying in the bottom of the boats; so that when they landed, theyeven found the children playing on the beach. These took the alarmimmediately, and ran away on seeing our armed men. In an instant thewhole place was in confusion, and happy were they who could escape, thetown being left destitute, and they were too nimble to be overtaken. Ourparty ransacked Payta, but found it as poor as our prisoners reported;so that they only found a few bales of coarse cloth, about fivehundred-weight of dried dog-fish, two or three pedlars packs, and aninconsiderable quantity of bread and sweetmeats. We had better fortunewhile at anchor, as we took a vessel in which were about fifty jars ofPeruvian wine and brandy; her master having come by stealth from Calao, where orders had been given, that none but ships of force should ventureto sea. My people in the town were in no haste to re-embark, and when itgrew dark, some of the Spaniards began to assemble, and learning thatthere were only eighteen English in the town, came down the hills withgreat boldness. At first our people took refuge in the largest church, meaning to have defended themselves there; but at length they marchedout, formed in a line, and kept beating their drum; and one of themhaving fired a musket, the Spaniards hastily retreated, and our menembarked without any more alarm. From Payta we directed our course for the island of Gorgona, in the bayof Panama, and in our passage to that place built a tank or woodencistern in our vessel, sufficient to contain ten tons of water. In ourway we made the island of Plata, Cape St Francisco, Gorgonella, orLittle Gorgona, and on the 2d of December arrived at the island ofGorgona. We had here the advantage of being able to fill our watercasksin the boat, the water running in small streams from the rocks into thesea, and we cut our wood for fuel close to high-water mark; so that inless than forty-eight hours we completed our business, and hurried awayfor fear of those vessels which we understood had been sent in search ofus. Having got out of the track of the enemy's ships, we consulted as tothe properest manner of proceeding, when the majority were for goingdirectly for India. Upon this we changed the name of our vessel, fromthe Jesu Maria to the Happy-Return, and used our best endeavours to getoff from the coast of America. The winds and currents were howevercontrary, and some of our people who were adverse to this plan did somesecret damage to our tank, so that the greatest part of our water leakedout. Owing to this, and our provisions being much exhausted by longdelays from contrary winds or dead calms, we were incapable ofattempting so long a run: Wherefore, on purpose to procure what wewanted, I proposed making a descent on Realejo, on the coast of Mexico, in 11° 50' [12° 28' N. ] In our way thither, we fell in with Cape Burica, in 8° 20' [_exactly_ 8° N. ] and then, on second thoughts, I judged itmight be safer to make an attempt on the island of Quibo, in lat. 7°30' N. Where, according to the account given by Captain Rogers. Iguessed there were inhabitants, who lived plentifully on the produce oftheir island. On the 31st January, 1721, we entered the channel between the islands of_Quibo_ and _Quivetta_, in lat. 7° 18' N. In twenty fathoms water, andanchored opposite a sandy bay, which promised to afford convenience forwooding and watering. Sending our boat to view the bay, my peoplereported that there was a good close harbour a little to the south, butno signs of inhabitants, except three or four huts by the shore, whichthey supposed had formerly been used by pearl-fishers, as there weregreat quantities of mother-of-pearl-shells scattered about these huts. On attentive consideration, I resolved not to shut up our vessel in aclose harbour, for fear of bad consequences, and remained therefore atanchor in the open channel. At day-break next morning, we saw two largeboats under Spanish colours, rowing in for Quivetta, which gave me someapprehensions they had some intelligence of us, and intended an attack. The mulattoes on the coast of Mexico are remarkable for their courage, and have sometimes done very bold actions, even in such paltry vesselsas these we now saw: These, however, steered into a small cove on theisland of Quivetta, which satisfied us they had no intentions to attackus. I now sent Mr Brooks in our yawl to attack them, when he found themall ashore, and brought away their piraguas with two prisoners, a negroand a mulatto, the rest taking refuge in the woods. We took all theirprovisions, consisting of a small quantity of pork, with plantains, somegreen, some ripe, and some dried. Of this last there was a considerablequantity, which, on being pounded, made a pleasant-tasted flour, indifferently white, and supplied us with bread for a month. The mulattomortified us greatly by telling us that a vessel laden with provisionshad passed near us in the night, but promised to bring us to a placewhere we might supply ourselves without hazard, provided we were notabove two or three days about it, wherefore we made all possibledispatch in getting in our wood and water. We weighed from this place on the 16th January, steering for _Mariato_, being the westernmost point of the gulf of St Martin. In going out fromthe channel of Quibo, we were in imminent danger of being forced by thecurrent upon two rocks at a small distance from each other, off thenorthern point of Quivetta; but having cleared them, we steered through_Canal bueno_, or the good channel, so called from its safety, beingfree from rocks or shoals. Over against the south entrance of thesestraits, at the distance of a league from point Mariato, is the islandof Cebaco, in my opinion about ten leagues in circumference. I ran alongthe south end of that island, and in the evening of the 19th got safe inbetween it and point Mariato, and anchored in six fathoms, over againsta green field, being the only clear spot thereabout. Our pilot advisedus to land about three hours before day, when we should be in good timefor the plantations. Accordingly, I went at two in the morning in ourown boat, the two lieutenants being in the two piraguas, and left my sonwith a few hands to take care of the ship. Our pilot carried us a littleway up the river of St Martin, and out of that through several branchesor narrow creeks, among groves of trees, so close that we had not roomto row. Not approving of this navigation, I kept a watchful eye on ourguide, suspecting he had no good design in his head. We landed just atday-break, in a fine plain, or savannah; and, after a march of threemiles, came to two farm-houses, whence the inhabitants made theirescape, except the wife and children belonging to one of them. We hadthe satisfaction of seeing that this place answered the descriptiongiven by our guide, being surrounded by numerous flocks of black cattle, with plenty of hogs, and fowls of several sorts, together with somedried beef; plantains, and maize; and, in the mean time, we had abreakfast of hot cakes and milk. When it was broad day, I saw our ship close by us, on which I asked ourguide, why he had brought us so far about? when he said there was ariver between us and the shore, and he was not sure if it were fordable. I therefore sent some to try, who found it only knee deep, on which, toavoid carrying our plunder so far by land, I ordered our boats to leavethe river of St Martin, and to row to the beach over against the ship. We had not been long at the farmhouse till the master of the family cameto us, bringing several horses with him, and offering to serve us as faras he could. This offer we kindly accepted, and we employed him to carryevery thing we thought fit to our boats. He then went among his blackcattle, and brought us as many as we thought we could cure, as we hadbut little salt, and could not afford water to keep them alive at sea, so that we killed them as soon as they came on board. We preserved themby cutting their flesh into long slips, about the thickness of one'sfinger, and then sprinkled them with a small quantity of salt, not usingmore than four or five pounds to the hundred-weight. After lying two orthree hours in the salt, we hung it up to dry in the sun for two orthree days, which perfectly cured it, much better than could have beendone by any quantity of the best salt. Having thus procured all we proposed at this place, we departed fromthence nest morning, having our decks full of fowls and hogs, among thelatter of which was one having its navel on its back. [272] The Spaniardssay that this animal, although but small even at its full growth, is aterrible creature to meet wild in the woods. Returning through the_Canal bueno_, we stopt at Quibo to complete our water; and on leavingthat island, gave the largest piragua to our two prisoners, to enablethose who were on the island of Quivetta to return home. The wine andbrandy we had lately taken had the effect of dividing my ship's companyinto two parties, those who were formerly so firmly united being nowinveterate enemies; insomuch, that in one night the ringleaders of bothhave solicited me to espouse their cause, assuring me that the otherparty had a design on my life, and urging me to murder those who were ofthe opposite faction. It is wonderful how this evil was diverted, as Icould use no other means than calm advice on both sides, and it wasutterly out of my power to hinder them from getting drunk as often asthey pleased; in which condition they often fell all to skirmishing witheach other, and I had more than once my clothes almost torn off my backin endeavouring to part them. It was happy this trade of drinking didnot last long, as, while the liquor lasted, I found it was unsafe to laymy head on my pillow, which almost wearied me out of my life. Their freeaccess to the liquor shortened the term of this miserable folly, by soonexpending the baneful cause. The necessities of hunger obliged them toact jointly and vigorously at Mariato; but they soon relapsed again, andwere as distracted as ever so long as the liquor lasted. My land as wellas sea-officers were now obliged to learn to steer, and to take theirturns at the helm with the seamen, such being the pass to which they hadbrought themselves by sinking my authority, that they had lost theirown, and were even in a worse condition than I; as the crew had, fortheir own sakes, to have recourse to me on all emergencies, obeying mepunctually while these lasted, and abusing me plentifully when thesewere over. [Footnote 272: The Pecary, Tajacu, or Mexican hog, the Sus Tajapin ofnaturalists, is here meant, which is an indigenous animal of the warmerparts of America, and is found in one of the West India islands. It hasno tail, and is particularly distinguished by an open glandular orificeon the hinder part of the back, which discharges a fetid unctuousliquid; and which orifice has been vulgarly mistaken for the navel. --E. ] On the 25th January, we discovered a sail in the morning, about twoleagues to leeward, to which we gave chase for some time; but seeing shewas Europe-built, and fearing she might be a man of war belonging to theenemy, I hauled on a wind, and in half an hour it fell dead calm. Wesoon after saw a boat rowing towards us, which proved the pinnace of ourconsort the Success, commanded by her first lieutenant, Mr Davison. Thiswas a most unexpected meeting to us both, Mr Davison being surprised tofind me in such a condition, and I no less so to find the Success inthese seas. I gave him an account of our misfortunes, and of all thathad befallen us during the long interval of our separation, and herelated all the remarkable incidents that had befallen them. A breeze ofwind springing up, I bore down upon the Success, and went aboard of her;when I gave Captain Clipperton, and Mr Godfrey, our agent-general, thewhole history of my voyage, expecting to have been treated by them asbelonging to the same interest, but found them unwilling to have anything to do with me, now that my ship was lost. I trusted, however, thatCaptain Clipperton would let me have such necessaries as he could spare, on which he said, I should know more of his mind next day. Among otherdiscourses, he told me that he was just come from the island of _Cocos_, his people very sickly, and on short allowance. I then offered myservice to pilot him to Mariato, which was not above thirty leaguesdistant, where he might have refreshed his company, and supplied hiswants; but he was resolved to make the best of his way for the _TresMarias_, where he said there was plenty of turtle to be had, and so Ileft him for the night. Next morning, as I was going again on board the Success with some of myofficers, Captain Clipperton spread all his canvass, and crowded awayfrom us. On this I returned to my ship, fired several guns, and madesignals of distress, which were not regarded by him, till his officersexclaimed against his barbarity, and at last he brought to. When I hadagain got up with him, I sent Mr Brooks to know the reason of hisabrupt departure, and to request the supply of several necessaries, which I was willing to pay for. On these terms, he spared me two of hisquarter-deck guns, sixty round shot, some musket-balls and flints, aSpanish chart of the coast of Mexico, with part of China and India, ahalf-hour glass and half-minute glass, a compass, and about threehundred-weight of salt: But all my arguments could not prevail with himto let me have any thing out of his medicine-chest for Mr Coldsea, whowas still very ill of his wound. For what we now had from the Success, we returned some bales of coarse broad-cloth, as much pitch and tar ashe would have, and some pigs of copper: I gave him also a largesilver-ladle for a dozen _spadoen_, or Spanish swords. This beingconcluded, I offered my services, assuring him I had a pretty good ship, and that our cargo was of some value: To this he answered, if my cargowere gold, he had no business with me, and I must take care of myself. Mr Hendric, our agent, Mr Rainer, and Mr Dodd, our lieutenant ofmarines, weary of the hard work imposed upon them, desired my leave togo on board the Success, which I consented to, and Captain Clippertonleft us to shift for ourselves, being now near the island of Cano. I was now for returning southwards, to try our fortunes in the bay ofPanama, but the majority opposed me through fear, insisting to go to theTres Marias, to salt turtle at these islands, and then to stretch overfor India. We accordingly directed our coarse that way, but as the windnear the land continued in the west, and the coast of Mexico trendednearly N. W. By W. We crept so slowly to windward, that we began to bevery short of provisions before we got the length of Realijo, on whichour design of landing there was renewed; but this intention was soonfrustrated, as we were blown past that place by a _tequante peque_, forso the Spaniards on this coast call a violent gale at N. E. As wecontinued our voyage along shore, we again fell in with the Success, then in quest of _Sonsonate_, expecting there to receive the ransom ofthe Marquis of _Villa Roche_ who had been some time a prisoner on board. We ranged close under her stern, and asked how Captain Clipperton andthe rest of the gentlemen did, but received no answer, and the Successsteered one way, while we went another. After this, calms, contrarywinds, and unaccountable currents, so delayed our proceedings, that werereduced to a very short allowance, which we were forced to diminishdaily, and had been reduced to very great distress, had we not from timeto time found turtle floating on the surface of the sea, for which wekept a good look-out, being able to discover them even at greatdistances, by the sea-birds perching on their backs. On sight of these, we were forced often to forego taking advantage of the wind; and, besides often losing some of our way in pursuit of them, they had stilla worse effect, as dressing them occasioned a great consumption of ourwater. Being now threatened with almost certain perdition if means were notfallen upon to avoid a state of absolute famine, I proposed that weshould attempt to plunder some small town as we coasted along shore. Atthis time _Guotalco_ was the nearest port; but, as we were standing infor it, we saw a sail a considerable way to leeward, which we consideredmore proper for us to endeavour to capture than to venture on shore, forwhich purpose we bore down upon her, which proved to be the Success. When sufficiently near, I made the private signal formerly concertedbetween us, but Captain Clipperton hauled his wind, and did not lie by amoment for us to get up with him. We were now so for to leeward ofGuatalco, that it was in vain to beat up for that port, especially on anuncertainty. We were now reduced to a small daily allowance ofcalavances, which not being sufficient to keep us alive, we had recourseto the remainder of our smoked congers which had been neglected for somemonths, and had been soaking and rotting in the bilge-water, so thatthey were now as disgusting food as could be. Under these calamitouscircumstances, we again met the Success near port _Angels_, in lat. 15°50' N. Long. 96° 25' W. Having exchanged signals, we stood so near eachother that a biscuit might have been chucked aboard, yet did notexchange a word, as Clipperton had ordered his officers and ship'scompany to take no notice of us: Yet was Captain Clipperton so sensibleof the difficulties and hazards we had to encounter in our design ofgoing for India, that he said the child just born would be grey-hairedbefore we should arrive there. We were now in a most miserablesituation, wandering upon an inhospitable coast in want of every thing, and all the land we had seen was so wild and open to the sea, that itwould have been impossible for us to have landed any where, and nothingcould have urged us to make the attempt but the extreme want we were nowin. On the 12th March, being off the port of Acapulco towards evening, wesaw a ship between us and the shore, which turned out to be the Success, when Clipperton not only answered my private signal, but also that forspeaking with me. After his late inhumane behaviour, I would hardly havetrusted him, had we not been so near Acapulco, where I thought he meantto cruize for the Manilla ships, and now wished to have our assistance, wherefore I bore down alongside. He now sent his second lieutenant, Captain Cooke, with a very obliging letter to me, stating that he wascruizing for the homeward-bound Manilla ships, and desired me to assisthim in the enterprise, with which view he desired me to come on boardnext morning, to consult on the best plan of attacking her, and proposedan union of the two companies. I was well pleased at this offer, andreturned an answer that I should be with him early. I then read hisletter to my people, who all expressed their readiness to join in theenterprise; but, as Clipperton had used us so unhandsomely, they desiredme to have some security for their shares, signed by Clipperton, Godfreythe agent, and the rest of the officers in the Success. I went aboard the Success next morning, accompanied by Brooks andRandal, my lieutenants, and was received with much apparent civility, all animosities being forgotten, and we seemed now in the most perfectharmony. I first told Captain Clipperton and Mr Godfrey of the paperexpected by my officers and men, entitling them to such shares as wereallowed by the original articles, to which they readily consented, anddrew up an instrument fully answerable to what my people desired. Wethen proceeded to our consultation, when it was agreed that I shouldsend most of my people on board the Success as soon as the Manilla shipappeared, leaving only a boat's crew with me to bring me away in case Ishould have an opportunity to use my vessel as a fire-ship, or smoker, in case she should prove too hard for the Success. We also determined toboard her at once, as otherwise we should have much the worst of thecontest, owing to her superior weight of metal, and her better abilityto bear a cannonade. Clipperton assured me he was certain of the timethis ship was to sail from Acapulco, being always within a day or twoafter Passion-week, of which time a fortnight was yet to come. Beforereturning to my own ship, I informed Captain Clipperton of our scarcityof water, when he told me he had eighty tons, and would spare me as muchas I wanted, or any thing else his ship afforded. I had now thepleasure of enjoying my command as fully as ever, and my whole remainingcrew, from the highest to the lowest, expressed their satisfaction atour present prospects. Morphew, the ringleader of all our disorders, fearing my resentment might fall heavily on him, contrived to insinuatehimself into the favour of the captain and officers of the Success, by asubmissive deportment, and presents, and, in the end, left me on the14th March, being received on board that ship. On the 15th, Mr Rainercame on board my ship, to visit his old ship-mates, and staid all night. I constantly reminded Clipperton of our want of water, and he as oftenpromised to supply us with a large quantity at once. We thus continued to cruize in good order, and with great hopes, tillthe 27th March, when I had to suffer the most prodigious piece oftreachery that could be imagined. We used to cruize off and on, at aconvenient distance from the shore, so as not to be discovered from theland, yet so that it was impossible for any ship to leave the port ofAcapulco without being seen by us. As my ship did not sail so well asthe Success, Clipperton used to shorten sail, particularly at night, andshewed us lights on all necessary occasions. Towards evening of thatday, he stretched about two leagues a-head of us, and I could not seethat he lowered even a topgallant-sail for us to come up with him. Ikept standing after him however, till almost a-shore on the breakers, when I had to tack and stand out to sea. Next morning no ship was to beseen, which reduced us to the most terrible apprehensions, consideringour sad situation for want of water, and our vast distance from anyplace where we could expect to procure any, as we had now no otherchoice but either to beat up 220 leagues to the _Tres Marias_, or tobear away for the gulf of Amapala, at a much greater distance. I wasafterwards informed, by some of Clipperton's officers, whom I met within China, that he had done this cruel action absolutely against therepeated remonstrances of his officers, who abhorred such an act ofbarbarity. I also learnt afterwards, by some Spaniards from Manilla, that the Acapulco ship sailed about a week after we desisted fromcruizing for her. This ship was the _Santo Christo_, carrying upwards offorty brass guns, and was exceedingly rich. In the sad situation we were now reduced to, every thing was to behazarded, and any experiment tried that promised the smallest chance ofsuccess. We continued our course therefore, under terribleinconveniences, distressed for water and provisions, and weak in pointof number; yet so far from being united by our common danger, that ourpeople could not be restrained within the bounds of common civility. Thewinds and weather being favourable, we found ourselves before the portof _Sansonate_ [273] on the 30th March, about sun-set, when wediscovered a ship of good size at anchor in the harbour. Being a finemoonlight evening, I sent my first lieutenant in the yawl, with some ofour best hands, to see what she was. Soon afterwards we heard some gunsfired, and on the return of the lieutenant, he reported that she was astout ship, having at least one tier of guns. Little regarding herapparent strength, or our own weakness, as we thought our necessitiesmade us a match for her, we continued plying in all night, and preparedto engage her. At sun-rise the land-breeze blew so fresh from the shore, that we worked in but slowly; and in the mean time we received all theirfire on every board we made, but without returning a single shot. Theirboat also was employed in bringing off soldiers from the shore, toreinforce their ship; and they hung up a jar of about ten gallons ofpowder, with a match, at each main and fore-yard-arm, and at thebowsprit end, to let fall on our deck, in case we boarded them, whichcontrivance, if it had taken effect, would have made an end of bothships, and all that were in them. Seeing them so desperate in theirpreparations, I could not but expect a warm reception; but as our casewould not admit of delay, at ever so hazardous a rate, we were not to bedismayed. About eleven in the forenoon the sea-breeze set in, and, tomake our small force as available as might be, I ordered all our threeguns to be placed on that side from which we were likely to engage. Asthe sea-breeze freshened we ran fast towards them, during which oursmall arms were effectually employed to break their powder-jars beforewe should board them, which we did without delay, and they submittedafter exchanging a few shots. [Footnote 273: The port of Aeazualte, at the mouth of the riverSamsonate, in the province of that name. --E. ] This ship was named the _Sacra Familia_, of 300 tons, six guns, andseventy men, having a great many small arms, shot, and hand-granades. She had arrived some time before from Calao, with wine and brandy; buthad now nothing on board except fifty jars of gunpowder, a smallquantity of rusk, and some jerked beef; so that she was hardly worth therisk and trouble of capture. But as she had the character of sailingbetter, and was much better fitted than our ship, I resolved to exchangeships, and we all went aboard the prize, which had been fitted out inwarlike manner, and commissioned, for the express purpose of taking us, if we chanced to fall in her way. To do justice to my people, our smallarms were handled with much dexterity on this occasion; but, having beenchiefly directed at the powder-jars, the only person killed on board theprize was the boatswain, and one person slightly wounded; while on ourside no damage was sustained. A merchant, made prisoner at this time, seemed inclined to purchase the _Jesu Maria_, which we had quitted; andhearing her cargo consisted of pitch, tar, and copper, he consented tomy demands, and went ashore to raise the sum agreed upon. We had so fewprovisions, that we could not afford to keep any prisoners, andtherefore dismissed all the whites, Indians, and others, except somenegroes, whom we detained to assist in working the ship: and, that wemight lose as little time as possible, we set immediately to work, overhauling our sails and rigging, that we might get our new ship readyfor sea. While thus employed, I received a letter from the governor of the place, which none of us could understand; but learnt by the messenger, that itintimated some account of a truce concluded between the crowns ofBritain and Spain, and that the governor requested me to stay five days, that he might satisfy me by shewing me the articles of accommodation. Ithought this odd, telling the Spanish gentleman I had not met with afriendly or peaceable reception; asking him why they had thus armedthemselves in so desperate a manner, and why the governor had not rathersent me a flag of truce in the morning before we engaged, giving me thisintimation? Saying also, if this story were true, we ought to have foundthe alleged intelligence on board the prize, as she came from Lima, whence they pretended the news came. It was likewise extraordinary, thatnone of the officers in the prize should know any thing of the matter:yet I had so great a regard for even the name of peace, that I wouldwait fifteen days, if the governor would supply us with provisions andwater, otherwise I would not consent to stay twenty-four hours. I sentalso a short answer to the governor, excusing our imperfect knowledge ofthe Spanish language. In this letter I stated if peace were actuallyconcluded between our sovereigns, that I was ready to act as he desired, on due proof; and hoped, as we were now friends, that he would allow usto have refreshments from his port. On receipt of this, the governorexpressed great satisfaction, and seemed to make no difficulty incomplying with my request. Our boats went therefore ashore everymorning, under a flag of truce, and we received for the first four dayseight small jars of water daily. On the fifth day they reduced us tofive jars, and during the whole time only one small cow was sent us. On this occasion a boat came off full of men, among whom were twopriests, who brought with them a paper in Spanish, which they called thearticles of peace; but so wretchedly written and blotted, that we shouldhave been puzzled to read it, had it even been in English. I thereforedesired the priests to translate it into Latin, which they promised todo, and took the paper with them. They also told me, that the governormeant to send for some Englishmen who lived at Guatimala, if I wouldcontinue three days longer in the road; to which I answered, that hemight take his own time. Two days after, on our boat going ashore asusual, the governor ordered her and her crew to be seized. I was all dayin suspence, not imagining the governor would make such a breach of thelaw of nations; but in the evening two of the boat's crew came off in anold leaky canoe, bringing a letter from the governor, and another fromMr Brooks, my first lieutenant, who was one of the prisoners. Thegovernor required me to deliver up the _Sacra Familia_, and that weshould all surrender, otherwise he would declare us pirates; and MrBrooks told me he believed the governor meant to bully me. The governorproposed two ways for conveying us from the Spanish dominions, one ofwhich was by Vera Cruz overland, and the other by sea to Lima. But Iliked neither of these, not chusing a journey of 1300 miles at leastthrough a country inhabited by a barbarous people, nor yet a voyage toLima under their guidance. My two men told me, that Frederick Mackenziehad let the governor into the secret of our necessities, and of mydesign of procuring water at the island of Tigers, in the gulf ofAmapala, which he said he would take care to prevent, and believed henow had us safe enough, knowing our only boat remaining was a smallcanoe. My two men who brought these letters offering their service, anda third volunteering to accompany them, to bale out the water from theirwretched canoe, I sent a letter in French to the governor, offering, ifI could be assured of a safe conduct for ourselves and effects toPanama, and thence by way of Portobello to one of the British colonies, we would enter into a farther treaty, which he might signify, if hemeant to comply, by firing two guns, and by sending off my people withthe usual supply; otherwise necessity would compel us to sail thatnight. Receiving no reply whatever, I weighed before day next morning, and made sail, leaving the Jesu Maria behind, a much more valuable shipthan the one I took away. On going to sea, we reduced ourselves to a pint of-water in thetwenty-four hours, and directed our course for the gulf of Amapala, about thirty-five leagues S. S. E. [274] meaning to water there on theisland of Tigers. The loss of my officer and boat's crew sensiblydiminished the number of white faces among us, and so lessened ourstrength, that we should never have been able to manage this great ship, with her heavy cotton sails, but for our negro prisoners, who proved tobe very good sailors. The loss of our boat was a great inconvenience tous; but as I meant only to provide water enough to serve us to Panama, where we were determined to surrender ourselves, if it were reallypeace, I thought we might contrive to get such a quantity of water asmight suffice, in two or three days, by means of our canoe. The windsbeing favourable, we reached the gulf in ten days, but we could find nowater, after an anxious and hazardous search. Surrounded on all sideswith the most discouraging difficulties, we weighed anchor again on the13th of April, when I brought our people to a resolution not tosurrender on any account, let the consequence be what it might. We hadnot now forty gallons of water in the ship, and no other liquids, whenwe came to an allowance of half a pint each for twenty-four hours, eventhis being too large, considering we could get none nearer than theisland of Quibo, which was about 160 leagues from the gulf of Amapala, and we were forty-three in number, including our negroes. [Footnote 274: About forty-two marine leagues E. S. E. ] We accordingly steered for Quibo, having very uncertain winds andvariable weather, and were thirteen days on this short allowance. No onewho has not experienced it can conceive our sufferings in this sultryclimate, by the perpetual extremity of thirst, which would not permit usto eat an ounce of victuals in a day. We even drank our urine, whichmoistened our mouths indeed, but excited our thirst the more. Some evendrank large draughts of sea-water, which had like to have killed them. [275] On the 25th April we came to the island of _Cano_, in lat. 8° 47'N. Which, by the verdure, promised to yield us water, if our canoe couldget on shore. In this hope we came to anchor off the north-west side ofthis island, when it was as much as we could do to hand our sails, stopour cable, and execute the other necessary labours, so greatly were wereduced. We imagined we could see a run of water, yet dreaded thedangerous surf which broke all round those parts of the island we couldsee. Mr Randal was sent with some jars, to try what could be done; andas he did not appear again when very late at night, I becameapprehensive he was either lost, or, not finding water on the island, had gone in search of it to the continent. At length he came back, withhis jars filled, and any one may guess our unspeakable joy on being thusopportunely delivered from the jaws of death. He did not bring abovesixty or seventy gallons, and I was at great pains to restrain my menfrom using it immoderately, allowing only a quart to be distributedimmediately to each man. What made me the more strict on this occasionwas, that Mr Randal assured me we should hardly get any more, thebreakers were so very dangerous. That very night we chanced to have ashower of rain, on which we used every expedient for catching it, insheets, blankets, and sails. During our long thirst we had continuallywished for rainy weather, and had often good reason to expect it, byseeing many louring black clouds, which seemed every minute ready todischarge their burdens, yet never did before to any purpose. Next day Isent our boatswain to make another essay; but after going round thewhole island, and wasting the entire day in search of a smooth beach, hecould not see a single spot where he might venture on shore. Thinking wehad a sufficient stock to carry us to Quibo, we weighed next day; andwhile ranging near the island, we saw a smooth beach, on which I sentour canoe again, which brought back nine jars full of water. [Footnote 275: It may not be improper to state, that in such extremityfor want of water, great relief has been experienced by remainingimmersed for some time in the sea; the lymphatics of the skin absorbingwater to supply and relieve the system very materially. --E. ] We now pursued our course to the S. E. And arrived in a few days atQuibo, anchoring at the same place where we had been formerly. Wepursued our business of wooding and watering at this island withtolerable chearfulness, yet without any great hurry; chiefly because wewere now within eighty leagues of Panama, and it was requisite for us todeliberate very seriously on our scheme of surrendering to theSpaniards. We considered Panama as well calculated for treating on thissubject, not being any way strong towards the sea; and as we had a goodship, we thought it no difficult matter to settle the terms of oursurrender, before giving ourselves into their hands. We also reckoned onsome assistance from the factors of the South Sea company, residentthere, who, in case a peace were actually concluded in Europe, mightintercede for us, and procure us a passage for Europe. Yet as there wassomething extremely disagreeable in the idea of a surrender, especiallyto such enemies as the Spaniards, we were in no great hurry, particularly as we were here somewhat at our ease, enjoying manyconveniences to which we had long been strangers. The free use we madeof the excellent fruits growing on this island brought the flux amongus, which weakened us very much, and interrupted our work for some days, yet in the main did us little hurt, or rather tended to preserve us fromthe scurvy. We deliberated and consulted as to our future conduct; butour views were so discordant, and our minds so distracted, that we couldcome to no resolution, except that of continuing here, in hopes ofsomething happening to our advantage. The island of _Quibo_ or _Coibo_ is almost in the same parallel withPanama, [276] being about twenty-four English miles from N. To S. Andtwelve from E. To W. It is of moderate height, covered all over withinaccessible woods, always green; and, though never inhabited, aboundswith papaws and limes, and some other fruits I never saw before, whichare nearly as good, though wholly neglected, as those that are mostcarefully attended to in other islands in similar latitudes, whence itmay be inferred that the soil is fertile; and, if ever inhabited andcleared, it promises to be as productive as the best of our West-Indiaislands. The pearl-fishers, not being able to follow their occupationduring the _vandevals_, or black stormy months, from the beginning ofJune to the end of November, have a few scattered huts in several partsof this island and of _Quivetta_, used by the divers during theirseason, in which they sleep and open their oysters, so that the sandybeach is covered with fine mother-of-pearl shells. In wading only to themiddle, we could reach large pearl oysters with our hands, which atfirst pleased us much; but we found them as tough as leather, and quiteunpalatable. Having no seyne, I can say little about other kinds offish. We occasionally observed a large kind of flat fish, which oftensprung a great way out of the water, which are said to be verydestructive to the divers; for, when these return to the surface, unlessthey take great care, these fish wrap themselves round the divers, andhold them fast till drowned. To guard against this, the divers alwayscarry a sharp-pointed knife, and on seeing any of these fish above them, present the point over their heads, and stick it into the fish's belly. They are also subject to great danger from alligators, which swarm inthis part of the sea; and some of us fancied we saw one swimming belowthe surface near Mariato Point, only a few leagues from hence. Thisisland has a great variety of birds, also great numbers of black monkeysand guanoes, which last mostly frequent the streams of fresh water. Someof these guanoes are of extraordinary size, being of a grey colour withblack streaks, those about the head being brown. Quibo is a mostconvenient place for procuring wood and water, as the wood grows inabundance within twenty yards of the sea, and there are several streamsof fresh water crossing the beach. [Footnote 276: This is a material error. Panama is in lat. 9° N. Long. 80° 21' W. While the centre of Quibo is in lat. 7° 28' N. And long. 82°17' W. From Greenwich. --E. ] Having got clear of this place, and nothing thought of but our speedyreturn to Europe by surrendering at Panama, we met with strong adversecurrents, together with calms and contrary winds, by which we weredetained for several days under the mountains of _Guanachu_. [277] Onthe 15th. May, a small bark bore down upon us, mistaking us forSpaniards. She was called the Holy Sacrament, and came last fromCheriqui, laden with dried beef, pork; and live hogs. Her master wasmuch surprised at first, but soon recovered on being told we were boundfor Panama, and readily offered to pilot us thither, as he was bound forthat port; and begged us to take his bark in tow, as he could not fetchthe land, and his hogs were almost dead for want of water, while hisvessel was ready to sink, being so leaky that his people were no longerable to stand to the pumps. I took her in tow, sending some of my peopleto assist in pumping the bark, and even spared some water and maize forsupplying the hogs. The master came on board of my ship, but had heardno news of any peace or truce between Britain and Spain. [Footnote 277: Perhaps the Sierra de Canataqua are here meant, whichpervade the country between Montijo Bay and the Bay of Panama, ending inPoint Mariato, of which they seem to have been detained. --E. ] It may seem strange that this opportunity of supplying ourselves withprovisions made no change in our plans; but every one of us was so wornout by a continual want of all necessaries, and so disheartened by aperpetual succession of misfortunes, that we were tired of the sea, andwilling to embrace any opportunity of getting ashore, almost at anyrate. I was rejoiced at this bark having fallen into our hands; because, if we found the story of the governor of Sansonate false, we might bethoroughly enabled to go to India, with this help. To ascertain this, Imeant to anchor a great way short of Panama, keeping possession of thebark, in case the president might not agree to safe and honourableterms, when we still had it in our power to redress ourselves, bykeeping out of his hands. All this while, however, we had not determinedwho should be the bearer of the flag of truce; for my people, after somuch treachery among them, feared that the messenger might only maketerms for himself with the governor, and not return again: Wherefore, myson was chosen as the fittest person for the purpose, as being sure ofhis return, for my sake. On the 17th another bark came down upon us, but after coming prettynear, sheared off; on which I sent Mr Randal in our canoe, to informthem of our design, but they hoisted Spanish colours on his approach, and fired at him. Next morning we looked into the bay, where we foundthis bark at anchor, but she renewed her fire on our approach. On this, at his own request, I sent the master of the Holy Sacrament in a canoe, with four negroes and a flag of truce, to inform the people in the otherbark of our intentions. A gale of wind interrupted this plan, and forcedthe canoe on shore, I dare say without danger to their lives, as theyseemed to land of choice. On the 19th we saw a sail ahead of usstanding along shore, on which we let go the bark we had in tow, inwhich were four of our own people and five Spaniards, spreading all thesail we could, so that by night we were at a considerable distance fromthe bark. I was for lying-to all night, for the bark to come up, but themajority insisted we should crowd sail all night, so that by day-breakof the 20th we were within less than gun-shot of the chase. Iimmediately hoisted our colours, fired a gun to leeward, and sent a manto wave a white flag on our poop, in token of truce: But theycontinually fired at us, having their decks full of men, who kepthallooing and abusing us with the grossest epithets. Still I made noreturn, till I came close on their quarter, and then sent one of theircountrymen to our boltsprit-end, to inform them we were bound forPanama, and wished to treat with them peaceably: But the only reply theymade was by continuing their fire, calling us _borachos_ and _perosIngleses_, drunkards and English dogs; so that at length I thought itfull time to begin with them. I therefore met them with the helm, andsoon convinced them of their error, giving them so warm a reception thatthey soon sheered-off. We just missed catching hold of them, and as itfell calm, we continued to engage her for two or three hours at thedistance of musket-shot. A breeze at length sprung up, when we nearedthem, and their courage subsided in proportion as we approached. Theircaptain still encouraged them to fight, bravely exposing himself in anopen manner, till he was at length shot through the body, and dropt downdead; on which they immediately called out for quarter, and thus endedthe dispute. We now commanded them to hoist out their launch; but they answered, thattheir tackle and rigging were so shattered that they could not possiblycomply; wherefore I sent Mr Randall and two or three more in our canoe, who found all her people most submissively asking mercy. Mr Randall sentthe most considerable of the prisoners on board my ship, who informed metheir vessel was _La Conception de Receva_, belonging to Calao, but lastfrom Guanchaco, of 200 tons burden, laden with flour, loaves of sugar, boxes of marmalade, and jars of preserved peaches, grapes, limes, andsuch like. She mounted six guns, and carried above seventy men, beingone of the ships that had been fitted out and commissioned purposely totake us; so that she was the second of these armed merchantmen we hadtaken. In this engagement, the Spanish captain and one negro werekilled, and one or two slightly wounded; but their masts, sails, andrigging were much shattered. On our part, the gunner only was slightlywounded, and a small piece was carried out of the side of our main-mast. We had now above eighty prisoners of all sorts, and not exceedingtwenty-six of ourselves. When the Spanish gentlemen came off board, theywould not give me time to ask the reason of not hearkening to ourpeaceable offers; but immediately laid the whole blame on their deadcaptain, Don Joseph Desorio, who vowed he would listen to no terms buthis own, and was resolved to take us by force. There were severalpersons of note among our prisoners, particularly Don Baltazzar deAbarca, Conde de la Rosa, an European nobleman, who had been governor ofPisco on the coast of Peru, and was now on his return for Spain; also aCaptain Morell, who had been formerly taken by Captain Rogers; andseveral others. We treated them all with the utmost civility, at whichthey wondered; because, from prejudice against our cruizers, andconviction of their own harsh behaviour towards their prisoners, theyexpected to have been dealt with very roughly. In the situation where we now lay, we were in the track of all the shipsbound for Panama, not above thirty miles from that place, our numbersbeing very few, and even part of our crew sick. For these reasons wewere as expeditious as possible in examining the contents of our newprize, and removing them into our own ship; and, though the far greaterpart of the work was done by our prisoners, it took us full two days. Owing to this, and to faint winds and calms, we did not rejoin our barktill the 22d. As we bore down towards her, and came pretty near, we wereastonished to see her broach to and fall off again, though all her sailswere set; and, what amazed us still more, we could not see any person onher deck. I sent the boat on board, and the officer immediately calledout to me, that there was not a man on board, but that all her decks andquarters were covered with blood. By this melancholy appearance, itseemed evident that the Spaniards had overpowered and murdered my fourmen who were sent to assist them, doubtless taking the opportunity of mymen being asleep: Yet it is probable the murderers lost their own lives;for, being four leagues from land, and having no boat, they probablyjumped into the sea on the re-appearance of our ship, thinking to swimto land, and met the death they so justly merited. This tragical affair spoiled the satisfaction we had enjoyed for twodays past, on account of our prize, and raised an universal melancholyamong us. On seeing this sudden change, our prisoners became muchalarmed, looking at each other, as if fearful we might revenge on themthe fate of our unhappy companions: And, on my side, I became alarmedlest their dreadful apprehensions might stir them up to some desperateattempt, they being eighty in number, while we were not at this timeabove seventeen on board, and when altogether only twenty-five thatcould stand on our legs. I was therefore compelled to appear somewhatstern, in ordering all our prisoners into the stern gallery, except thenobleman and a few of the chiefs, while we kept a strict guard in thegreat cabin. The Spanish gentlemen lamented the murder of our men, andtheir own hard fate, in having been in some measure witnesses, and letfall some expressions, by which I perceived they were afraid I meant toshew some severities to their people on this occasion. Having a goodinterpreter between us, I assured them I was not of any such revengefuldisposition, and besides, that the laws of my country would restrain me, if I were, as I acted by my king's commission, whose orders strictlyforbid all acts of inhumanity or oppression towards our prisoners; onwhich assurance they might rest satisfied of their safety. In reply tothis, they begged me to think myself secure, as to themselves andcountrymen, now my prisoners, declaring on their honour that they wouldmake no attempt against us, and that they could never make a sufficientreturn for the generous treatment I had given them. Notwithstanding thisdeclaration, I took measures to secure our numerous prisoners of themeaner sort; for which purpose, after taking out of the Holy Sacramentall her jerked beef that remained fit for use, I placed them in thatvessel, under the command of Espina, former commander of the Conceptionafter the death of Desorio. Next day, being as willing to get rid of them, as they were to get backtheir own ship, I took every thing out of the Conception that could beof use to us, sufficient for twelve months provisions of bread, flour, sugar, and sweetmeats, [278] both for ourselves and the Success, which weexpected to meet with at the Tres Marias. I took also away her launchand negroes, the latter to assist us in working our ship, not havingsufficient strength to manage her in the long run before us of 175degrees. I then delivered up the Conception to Espina and the rest, after being three days in our possession: which was not only an act ofgenerosity to our prisoners, but an act of prudence with regard toourselves. The next great point to be managed, was to get our people toconsent to sail so far north as California, previous to our intendedvoyage to the East Indies, for which we were not in so good a conditionas we could wish, though much better than before, and even than we hadany reason to have expected, every thing considered. We had a good ship, with fifteen guns and sufficient ammunition, together with a reasonablequantity of provisions; but we still wanted to complete our wood andwater for so long a voyage, the procuring of which was necessarily ourfirst care. The ship's company were for going to Quibo for this purpose, as nearest us, but that place was attended by two importantinconveniences. The first was the danger of the road, as the stormyseason was coming on, and we were but indifferently provided with groundtackle, which must expose us to many dangers. The second was, that Quibowas but at a small distance from Panama, and we had reason to fear theSpaniards might send a ship of war from thence in search of us; as wehad now no hopes that peace had taken place, and had consequently laidaside all thoughts of surrendering. On these considerations, we plied upto the island of Cano, where we soon did our business, having a goodboat. [Footnote 278: Betagh charges Shelvocke on this occasion, with theconcealment of a considerable treasure, taken in the Conception, ofwhich some account will be given at the conclusion of the voyage. --E. ] On our passage to that island, the sweetmeats of all kinds were dividedamong our messes; and one day a man complained that he had got a box ofmarmalade into which his knife could not penetrate, and desiredtherefore to have it changed. On opening it, I found it to contain acake of virgin silver, moulded on purpose to fill the box, weighing 200dollars; and on examining the rest, we found five more of the same kind. These cakes of silver, being very porous, were nearly of the some weightwith so much marmalade, and were evidently contrived for the purpose ofdefrauding the king of Spain of his fifths, which he exacts from allsilver procured in the mines of Peru. We doubtless left many such cakesbehind in the Conception, so that this contrivance served them both towrong their king, and to deceive their enemies. A similarly vexatiousaffair occurred in a prize taken by the Success, in which there was aconsiderable quantity of _pinos_, or masses of virgin silver, in theform of bricks, artfully plaistered over with clay, and dried in thesun. As the Spaniards in Peru never burn their bricks, Clipperton andhis people took these for real bricks, and threw a great number of themoverboard as so much rubbish, and did not discover the deception untilfour or five only remained. Every thing taken in the Conception, wasdivided according to the articles settled at Juan Fernandez, which gaveme only six shares, instead of sixty; and the people refused to allow mean hundred pounds, which I had laid out of my own money, for necessarysupplies at the island of St Catharines. I now found myself under many difficulties as to the course we were topursue, because the company knew well enough that there was no necessityof going farther than the lat. Of 13° N. For going to the East Indies. Ihad therefore to represent the advantage of cleaning and repairing ourship at Porto Segnro, in California, and I had much difficulty topersuade them. I at last brought them to my purpose, when we sailed fromCano northwards. Having inconstant gales and bad weather, we wentbetween seventy and eighty leagues out to sea, in hopes of meeting moresettled weather. When at sixty leagues from the land, the winds stillcontinued variable, but at between seventy and eighty, they settled atE. N. E. And N. E. At which distance we continued till in lat. 20° N. Notbeing sensible of any currents in all that distance, and being alsoentirely out of the way of the frightful ripplings and overfalls ofwater which we used frequently to meet with nearer the land. These usedoften to alarm us when becalmed in deep water, hearing a noise as of thefall of water in passing through a bridge, a considerable time before itcame up to us, and which afterwards passed us at a very great rate. Allthe effect this had on the ship, was to make her answer the helm wildly, if we had any wind; and when we happened to meet any of these movingwaters very near the shore, we could not perceive that we either gainedor lost ground, though we sometimes continued in them for a quarter ofan hour. I have seen these overfalls to come both from the eastward andthe westward. By getting well out to sea, we not only got clear of theseinconveniences, but also were out of the way of the _vandevals_, orblack season, which had already begun on the coast; for at Cano, and ingoing there, we felt very hard gusts, with black rolling water, frequentand violent thunder and lightning, and heavy showers of rain. In this passage we were continually accompanied by vast shoals of fish, as dolphins, bonitas, albicores, and angel-fish. These last are shapedlike salmon, and have scales like them, but have tails like dolphins, and nearly resemble them when, in the water, appearing in all thebeautiful colours displayed by the dolphin. Besides, they are the bestfor eating of any fish that swim near the surface. We were continuallypestered with flocks of the birds called boobies, and their intolerablystinking dung proved an indescribable nuisance, in spite of all thepains that could be taken to clean our decks, yards, and tops. Wereached the islands of _Tres Marias_ in the beginning of August, butcould see no signs of Captain Clipperton having been there. We were alsodisappointed in our expectation of procuring water; as, after thestrictest search we could make in all the three islands, nothing like aspring could be found, though former writers mention their having foundwater in abundance. After spending three days in our ineffectual searchfor water in these islands, I thought it best to stand over for the mainland of California, as well for procuring what was wanting to our ship, as in hopes of meeting once more with the Success. END OF VOLUME TENTH. * * * * *