Chapter VII: Part 7

Thus surrounded on all sides by present want and threatening disasters, we, on the 12th of March, being off the port of Acapulco, saw a ship between us and the shore. I bore down to her, till perceiving her to be a large Europe-built ship, with Spanish colours flying, I concluded she was the Peregrine, who, as I had been informed, had carried the Prince of St. Bueno, who had been Viceroy of Peru, to this port in his way to Spain. With these suspicions, being as yet unwilling to run ourselves so immediately into the enemy’s clutches, I hauled again on a wind, which he seeing, he pulled down his Spanish, and hoisted an English ensign, and made the signal agreed on between Clipperton and me for knowing one another. Had they been in any other part, I should have been so far from entertaining any thoughts of such a change in him, that I should have looked on all his signals as the artifices of the enemy, who might have acquainted themselves with them by the information of such of our men as they might have taken prisoners. But now, making no doubt that it was he, I bore down to him, and being come along his side, he sent Captain Cook, his second Lieutenant, in his yaul, with an obliging letter to me, to inform me, he was cruising for the homeward-bound Manilla ship, and desiring I would assist him in the enterprize, and come on board of him the next morning, proposing a union of our two ships companies. I was very well pleased with this offer, and, without hesitation, returned him word that I would be with him early.

In the mean time, I read over his letter publicly to my people, and exhorted them seriously to consider of the great benefits that would accrue to us on all sides from it. Upon which they all expressed the most resigned willingness to join in the undertaking. But, as Clipperton had used us so unhandsomely before, they desired I would get some security for their shares, signed by Captain Clipperton, Mr. Godfrey the agent, and the rest of their officers. I went on board, and, according to their request, Capt. Clipperton, and Mr. Godfrey, the owners agent, immediately drew up an instrument fully worded for the purpose, and they and all the other officers signed it. This was all my people wanted to make them easy.

We then proceeded upon our main business; and, after mature deliberation, it was thought most adviseable, that I should send the greatest part of my men on board the Success, as soon as we saw the Manilla ship come out of Acapulco, and leave only a boat’s crew with me to bring me away, in case I should have occasion to make use of my ship as a fire-ship, or a smoaker, which we jointly proposed to do, if we found the enemy too hard for us; and it was determined to board her at once, as we should otherwise have much the worst of it, on account of their superior weight of metal, and the better capacity of their ships, which are built very strong, to bear a cannonading. Clipperton assured me, he was certain of the time when she would sail from this port, which the Spaniards say is always within a day or two after Passion-week, of which we had a fortnight yet to come.

Before I returned to my own ship, I acquainted Captain Clipperton with our slender stock of provisions, but particularly with our shortness of water; and he told me he had 80 tons of it on board, and he would spare me as much of it as I would have, or any thing else his ship afforded.

I had now the pleasure of being restored to my command in as regular a manner as ever; every one, from the highest to the lowest, expressing the satisfaction he had in the prospect before us. But, Morphew, that ringleader of all our disorders, fearing my resentment, thought it was his best way, to insinuate himself into the favour of the Captain and Officers of the Success, which he did effectually, by an humble, submissive, outward deportment, and prevailing presents. In short, he had his end, and left me; but, the next morning, Mr. Rainer, who acted with us afterwards as Captain of marines, came on board of us to visit his old shipmates, and so continued.

Thus we cruised in good order, and with a great deal of hope, until March 17, when, towards evening, Clipperton, contrary to his usual custom, stretched a-head of us about two leagues, without lowering so much as a top-gallant-sail for us to come up with him. I could not but be a little startled at this, as being quite contrary to his usual method. However, I kept standing after him, as I thought, in the night, till we were almost in the breakers on the shore, which of course obliged us to tack, and stand out to sea again, admiring all the time that we had had no signal for going about. The next morning we had no sight of any ship near us, which laid me under the most terrible apprehensions, considering the bad condition we were in for want of water, and the vast distance we were at from any place where we could expect to get a recruit of any, having now no choice left, but either to beat up 220 leagues against the wind, to go to the Tres Marias, or bear away a much more considerable distance for the gulph of Amapala, or the island of Cocos.

But, notwithstanding our distress, I kept our cruising station for him two or three days. At last it was resolved to bear away to the first convenient place to water at; and, in truth, it was time, for we were now 40 odd men, who had but three buts of water for a run of 300 leagues and upwards, on a coast subject to long calms, variable winds, and uncertain currents.

It was afterwards told me, that the night Clipperton left us, he assembled all his officers, and told them it was his intention immediately to quit the coast. His officers remonstrated to him on the barbarity of doing this without acquainting Captain Shelvock with his intention, and sparing us some water. But he put off their serious expostulations with an inhuman sneer, saying, That, if I should, through want, be obliged to surrender to the enemy, I should only share the same fate, that, perhaps, some others had met with before me.

Thus this man, perhaps, through an excess of mean-spiritedness, and dreading the engagement with a ship that was always known to defend itself with some obstinacy, neglected as fine an opportunity as most of our nation have ever had of taking this ship, which, as I was informed, by some Spaniards from Manilla, when I was in China, came out of Acapulco about a week after we left the cruize.--[For Capt. Clipperton’s account of this transaction we refer the reader to the preceding voyage.]

On March 30, in the evening, we entered the road of Sonsonnate, and, as the sun set, saw a ship at anchor there. It being a moon-light night, I sent the first Lieutenant, with some of the best hands, to discover what this ship might be. On his return he informed me, the ship was a large one, of one tier of guns at least. I nevertheless continued to ply in all the night, and prepared for action. At day-light we found they had hoisted a jar of powder, containing about ten gallons, with lighted match, at each main and fore yard arm, and at the bowsprit end, with design to let them fall on our decks if we boarded them. This contrivance, if it had taken effect, would have soon made an end of both ships, and of all that were in them. Seeing them so desperate in their preparations, I expected a warm dispute with them; and, by what I could see, they were, in all points, superior by much to us in strength.

At eleven in the morning, the sea-breeze came in, and ran us upon them very fast, whilst our small arms were briskly and effectually employed to break their powder jars, before we came to board them, which we did without delay, and, after the exchange of a few shot when on board of each other, they submitted.

This ship was called the Sacra Familia, of 300 tons, six guns, and 70 men; besides a great number of small arms, with some grenade shells and shot. She had been, for some time before, arrived from Callao, with wine and brandy; but had now nothing in her but fifty jars of gunpowder, and a small parcel of rusk and jerked beef. In short, she could hardly be said to be worth the trouble we took, and the risques we ran for her: but she was reputed to be a better sailor, and was visibly better fitted out than our own; wherefore I changed ships, and we all went on board our prize, which was equipped in the warlike manner we found her, and commissioned, on purpose to take us.

A merchant, the escrivan of the ship, being on board, desired we would sell him the Jesus Maria, which we agreed to, and sent him on shore to raise the money for that purpose; and at night he came off with another Spanish gentleman, and brought us a letter of advice from the Governor on shore, signifying that there was a treaty of peace on foot between their Britannic and Catholic Majesties, which was what we had not before heard of. However, I sent to the Governor, signifying that I should be very glad to see the proclamation and articles; and that thereupon, I should be ready to obey the commands of my Sovereign; so we came to an agreement with the Governor to lye in the road till he sent to Guatimala, 50 leagues distant, for those papers, provided he would supply us with water and provisions. On the 5th of April, the Governor sent on board two papers, which, by the best interpretation we could get of them, did not appear to us to be in the form of proclamations. We told those who brought the papers aboard, that we were in great want of an interpreter; upon which they said, there were some Englishmen at Guatimala, whom they would send for, if we would stay three days for them, and that they would supply us with water and provisions till that time; which we agreed to, and they desired we would send our boat on shore every morning for the supply. Accordingly, on the 7th of April, we sent our boat on shore with Mr. Brooks, our first Lieutenant, and five men. This officer, men, and boat, the Governor detained under a flag of truce, and, at night, sent off a small boat, with two of our men, with a letter from himself, and another from Mr. Brooks. His letter signified, that, if we did not deliver up our ship to him, he would declare us pirates. And Mr. Brooks, by his, informed me, that it was his opinion, that the Governor was endeavouring to bully me into a surrender, having spoken very ambiguously of a cessation of arms: notwithstanding which, I sent the Governor a letter, signifying, that, if we could be secured of a safe and sure conduct for ourselves and effects to Panama, and from thence, by the way of Porto Bello, be conveyed to any of our British plantations, we would come to a farther treaty; which if he intended, he was desired to signify it by firing two guns as soon as he had received this advice, and by sending back my officer and men; if not, necessity would oblige us to sail. At three in the morning (the Governor having shewn no signal, nor sent any word) we weighed our anchor, yet lay to in the bay till ten, but then made sail, being forced thereto for want of water; having, however, no other intent, in case of the certainty of a peace, than to deliver up the ship we were now in at the first convenient port, as was signified to the Governor by letter.

Being now got out to sea, we reduced ourselves to a pint of water for 24 hours each man, and directed our course for the gulph of Amapala, which was about 35 leagues to the E.S.E. of this place, in order to get a fresh supply. The loss of my officer and boat’s crew, sensibly diminished the number of white faces, and we should have been so much weakened by it, that we should never have been able to manage this great ship, with her heavy cotton sails, if we had not taken with us our negro prisoners, who proved to be very good sailors. The loss of our boat was also a very great inconvenience to us; but as I only thought of taking water enough to carry us to Panama, where we were fully resolved to surrender, if it was really peace, I imagined we might make shift without her, and get such a quantity as we might want in two or three days time.

The winds were favourable, and we arrived there on the tenth following in the evening. As soon as we had entered the gulph we found ourselves in the midst of several small islands, one of which was the island of Tygers, where we expected to find water; but our expectations proved vain, for, after a hazardous and fruitless search not only on that, but on some of the greenest of the other isles, there was not the least drop of fresh water to be found, by us, on any of them.

In this miserable condition, threatened on all sides with inevitable destruction, unfit for the sea, fearful of trusting ourselves in the cruel hands of the inhabitants on the shore, quite dispirited by the continued course of misfortunes which had hitherto been our constant attendants; but, above all, lamenting this unhappy baulk in not finding water where we so much expected it, which had reduced us to such extremities as we had never known before; in short, ready to sink under the burden of our calamities, we weighed our anchor on the 13th of April before day-break, and stood out from this gulph. And now having the open sea before us, I brought my people in general to an obstinate resolution not to surrender on this part of the coast, let the consequences be ever so miserable. Upon this unanimous agreement, with not 40 gallons of water in the ship, and no other liquids to supply the want of it, we came to so small an allowance as half a pint of water for 24 hours; and even this allowance was rather too large, there being no place, that we knew of, where we could get any more, nearer than Quibo, to which island, about 200 leagues distant from us, we shaped our course, but having very uncertain winds and weather, we were 13 days at this allowance. Our sufferings from the extremity of thirst are hardly to be conceived; some drank their own water to allay the burning heat within them, but though this moistened their mouths, it increased their misery; some drank large draughts of sea-water, which was near putting a period to their lives; while others eat just enough of the calavances moistened with water to sustain life, and these suffered the least.

At length we were fortunately relieved, by falling in unexpectedly with the island of Cano, in lat. 9 deg. N. where seeing a run of water, Mr. Randall, without dreading the dangerous surf, passed through the breakers, and, to the unspeakable joy of all the company, soon returned on board with his jars filled; but as he could not bring off more than 60 or 70 gallons, I took care to restrain our people in the use of it, allowing to each man only a quart for their immediate use: and I was the more strict in this distribution, because Mr. Randall assured me, the breakers were so dangerous that he believed we should not be able to get at any more.

Being willing, however, to make another trial, I next day sent the boatswain, to endeavour to procure a further supply; but, after wasting the whole day in search of a smooth beach to land upon, he could not see one spot where he durst venture on shore. Therefore, thinking we had a stock sufficient to carry us to Quibo, I weighed anchor, and in ranging the island I accidentally discovered a smooth beach, where the little boat getting on shore, the crew filled nine jars, which lasted till we arrived at Quibo, where we anchored at the same place we had twice anchored at before. Here we consulted about surrendering ourselves to the Spaniards, being within 80 leagues of Panama, a place of little or no strength towards the sea, and but little frequented by the enemy’s ships of war, where we could treat with them at a distance, and be truly informed how affairs stood in Europe. During our deliberations we wooded and watered at leisure; and some searched the woods for fruits to refresh us, by way of prevention against the scurvy, which we had been all along less subject to than any ship I ever saw or heard of in such long runs. Those who were thus usefully employed brought us papas, guayavas, cassia, limes, and a small kind of white sour plumb, which was much eaten and admired by most of us; but, by its violent operation, it put stop to our proceedings for some days. However, we soon recovered, without any bad symptoms, and made an end of wooding and watering, and set sail, fully determined to surrender at Panama. In our way we passed by a great many small islands, but the most remarkable are, Montuosa, Sebaco, and the isle of Picara, which lies on the western side of Quibo.

May 15, a small bark, taking us for Spaniards, bore down to us, the master of which was in the greatest consternation when he found his mistake, but recovered when he heard we were bound for Panama to surrender, and readily offered his pilot thither, his vessel, called the Holy Sacrament, being bound to that port, laden with dried beef, pork, and live hogs, which, as she was leaky, he desired that I would take in tow. I was glad this bark fell into our hands, and readily complied with his request, because, if we found the Governor of Sonsonnate’s account to be false, we might be thoroughly enabled by this help to go to India. In the mean while, it had remained a point yet undetermined, who should be the person entrusted with the flag of truce; for my people, having known much treachery, were apprehensive the person sent would only, or chiefly, make good his own case and that of his friends to the Governor, and not care what became of the common men. At last, my son was judged the fittest to go, as he would surely return, if it were purely for my sake. Other difficulties were started that could not so easily be removed, notwithstanding which, we kept on our way, fully fixed in our resolution.

May 17, another small bark came down upon us, but having stood pretty near to us, she bore away again, and ran on shore directly, at the hazard of the lives of every soul on board. This unaccountable behaviour, gave us good reason to believe that the Governor of Sonsonnate’s account of a cessation of arms was groundless.

May 19, we saw a sail a-head of us, standing along shore, and being desirous of speaking with her, I let go the bark we had in tow, and made all the sail we could after her. We gained very little upon her all the day; but had, nevertheless, got a great way a-head of our bark, wherein were four of our own people and five Spaniards. However, notwithstanding night came on, all our sail was kept abroad, and next morning we were within gun-shot of her. I immediately ordered our colours to be spread, fired a gun to leeward, and set a man to wave a flag of truce; but, on sight of out English ensign, she fired at us, and so continued to do, with her decks full of men, abusing us with the grossest appellations. I made no return until I came close upon their quarter, and then I sent one of their countrymen to the bowsprit end, to inform them in Spanish, that we were bound to Panama, and desired to treat peaceably with them, and hoped, at least, they would have some regard to the white flag which they saw flying; but they still continued their fire; and presuming, as I supposed, by our quiet behaviour, that we were unable to defend ourselves, they were preparing to board us, which I no sooner perceived than I met them with our helm, and gave them so warm a salute, that they sheered round off from us. We just missed getting hold of them, but it falling almost immediately calm, we continued our engagement for the space of two or three hours at the distance of musquet-shot. At length, a breeze wafting us nearer to them, we found that as fast as we approached, so fast did their courage cool. Their Captain, however, still bravely encouraging his people, and exposing himself in the openest manner, was shot through the body, and dropped down dead; upon which they immediately, and with one voice, cried out for quarter, and put an end to the dispute. Mr. Randall, and two or three more, went on board the prize, and found the prisoners, in the most submissive posture, asking for mercy, which was granted, though they had no great reason to expect it, after their direct breach of the laws of arms and nations in firing at a flag of truce.

The most considerable prisoners, being brought on board, informed me, that their ship, called the Conception de Recova, belonging to Callao, was of the burthen of 200 tons, and laden with flour, loaves of sugar, bales of boxes of malmalade, jars of preserved peaches, grapes, limes, and the like, mounted six guns, and had 70 odd men on board. In this engagement, the Spanish Captain and a negroe were killed, and one or two slightly wounded. On our part, our gunner was slightly wounded by a pistol ball, and our main-mast had a small piece carried out of the side of it. We had now about 80 prisoners of all colours, though we ourselves were not above 26.

Amongst our prisoners we had several of note, particularly Don Baltazzar de Abarca, Conde de Rosa, an European nobleman, who had been Governor of Pisco, and was now upon his return to Spain, together with Captain Morel, who had formerly been taken by Captain Rogers. They were all treated with the utmost civility, which they the more wondered at, because, from a self-conviction of their own ungenerous behaviour towards us, they could not but expert to have been dealt with quite otherwise.

The winds and calms prevented our joining the Holy Sacrament, the prize we had left behind us, till May 22, when we bore down to her, and were surprized to find no soul on board, but that her decks and quarters were covered with blood. By many circumstances it plainly appeared, that the Spanish crew had butchered those who were left to assist them, while they were asleep; otherwise it could not have happened, that five unarmed Spaniards could have overpowered four Englishmen completely provided with arms for their defence. It is very probable, however, that these murderers paid with their lives, the loss of those lives they had taken away; for, being above four leagues from the land, and having no boat with them, they probably jumped into the sea on our approach, fearing, if they fell into our hands, to meet the vengeance due for so horrid a crime. That part of the deck which was dyed with gore they endeavoured to cover, by throwing the flocks and stuffings of beds over it; so that till these were removed, the blood was not to be seen.

This tragical accident put a damp to the pleasure we had enjoyed for a day or two past on the account of our late prize. Our prisoners, at such a sad and sudden change, began to be alarmed, and looked at one another as if they all expected to be the victims of our revenge upon this unhappy occasion. On the other hand, I was fearful lest these apprehensions should urge them to some desperate attempt, they being 80 in number, and we not above 17 on board of our own ship, and, when we were all together, not above 25 that could stand to arms. In this dilemma, I ordered all the prisoners into the stern-gallery, except the nobleman, and some of the chief officers, and a guard to be kept in the great cabbin.

The Spanish gentlemen observing this, let fall some expressions whereby I perceived they were afraid I intended to proceed to severities towards their people; but I assured them, that, if I was of so revengeful a nature, the laws of my country forbad me from indulging it; that I acted under my King’s commission; and that the natural abhorrence our nation had to barbarity, might quiet their fears, and make them perfectly easy. They then, on their part, in the most solemn manner disclaimed the very thought of an attempt upon our lives; and assured us, on their honour, that they thought they should never be able to make a just return for the generous treatment they had met with. It was, however, prudent to secure our prisoners of the meaner sort, and when we had so done, we hauled the Holy Sacrament along-side of us. She was half full of water, and the greatest part of her dried beef was wet and spoiled, but all that was not damaged we took out, together with some live hogs. We also took out of the Conception a twelvemonth’s provision of bread, flour, sugar and sweetmeats, and a like proportion for the Success, whom I expected to find at the Tres Marias, being then a stranger to Clipperton’s faithless desertion. I likewise took from them their launch and their negroes; for considering we had a large ship, and a run of 175 degrees of longitude to sail, which was little less than half way round the world, I thought we could do no other than reinforce ourselves with these blacks, who are commonly good sailors in these parts; and, indeed, we afterwards found we should never have reached the coasts of Asia without them.

Thus having supplied ourselves with every thing the Conception afforded, I suffered our prisoners to return to their own ship again; but the chief of them would not leave me till they had drawn up a writing, which they signed, whereby they acknowledged the circumstances of our engagement, in the manner I have already related. In short, no people, circumstanced as we were, could part in a more friendly manner than we did.

Thus were we put by our design of surrendering, and were going to undertake a long and hazardous voyage to Asia. Our strength was indeed considerably augmented, for we had now 15 guns, and ammunition enough to supply them.

Before we proceeded any farther, it was necessary to get in a full stock of water. The island of Quibo was hazardous for us, being too near Panama; it was therefore determined to ply up to Cano, where, having a good boat, we soon did our business. In our passage thither, the sweetmeats of all kinds, which we had taken out of our late prize, were divided among the messes. It happened that one of the fellows, one day, complained he had a box of malmalade which he could not stick his knife into, and desired it might be changed. I opened it, and found in it a cake of virgin silver, moulded on purpose to fill such boxes, and being very porous, it was of near the same weight of so much malmalade. In overhauling the rest, we found five more of these boxes. This was a contrivance to defraud the King of Spain of his fifths, which he claims in all the silver taken out of any of the mines in Peru. We doubtless left a great many of these boxes behind us, so that this deceit served them in a double capacity, to defraud their king’s officers, and blind their enemies. An affair as vexatious as this, is said to have been discovered too late on board a prize the Success had taken, where they found a very considerable quantity of Pinna’s or virgin silver, in the form of bricks, very artfully plaistered over with clay, and dried in the sun, which being all the consistence they give their bricks in that country, they were taken to be really such, and a great number of them were thrown overboard as so much rubbish, without any discovery of what they were, till the four or five last pieces. How true this may be I can’t say, but it was reported to me, as matter of fact, by several of the officers belonging to Captain Clipperton.

I must here observe, that every thing we took in the Conception was divided among us according to the Juan Fernandian articles, and that I had no more than six instead of sixty shares. They would not so much as allow me the money I had out laid at St. Catherine’s, which was upwards of a hundred pounds. I had some difficulty to persuade them to run to the northward so far as California; and was obliged to use many arguments to prevail upon them to believe that the harbour of Puerto Seguro was the only port of security where we could safely lay down and refit our ship; but having at last obtained their consents, I weighed from Cano, steering to the northward, and had favourable gales for 48 hours; but then came on the constant, or what may be called the trade wind on this coast, which being as contrary to us as they well could be, I was willing to try how far off these winds might prevail, which, in my opinion, may be called the eddy of the true trade wind, whose course may be perverted by the interposition of this vast mountainous continent.

Accordingly I found, that, at the distance of 60 leagues, we had light winds and variable, and that, at the distance of between 70 and 80 leagues, it settled at E. N. E. and N. E. I therefore kept at this distance from the land till we had run up to the height of 20 degrees north. In all this passage, we were not in the least sensible of any currents, and entirely out of the way of certain riplings and overfalls of water, which we frequently met with nearer to the land, and which often surprized us when we were becalmed in deep water.

In this passage we were accompanied by vast shoals of fish, and were continually incommoded by numerous flocks of the birds called boobies, making our ship their resting place, which fouled our yards and deck with their dung as fast as we could clean them. However, for change of diet, some of my people made ragouts of them, and the smoakers made stems for their pipes of their long wing-bones.

We fell in with Cape Corientes in the beginning of the month of August, and were carried away to the islands called the Tres Marias, by a hard gale at south, and came to an anchor under the lee of the middlemost of these islands, but could see no sign of the Success having been there. After a tedious search on all the three islands for fresh water, there was nothing like a stream of it that we could find. This was the more astonishing to us, as one or two of our late navigators have reported that fresh water is to be found there in sufficient plenty. It may have been so when they were there; but we were unfortunate enough to seek, when none was to be found.

After employing three days in a fruitless search, I stretched over for the coast of California, and arrived thereon the 11th of August. The inhabitants, as soon as they discovered us, made fires all along the shore as the ship ran by them; and, towards the evening, it falling calm, two of them came off to us on a bark-log, but were a long time before they would accept of our invitation to come on board of us. At length, they ventured in; when, in a moment, seeing our blacks promiscuously standing together with us white men, they, with very angry countenances, separated them from us; and would hardly suffer them to look at us. They talked to us with great vehemence, but we could comprehend nothing more of their meaning, than that they rejoiced to see us. Night coming on, they took their leave, and we gave them a knife or two, an old coat, and some other trifles, which seemed to please them very well. They expressed themselves by signs in such a manner, that we could guess they gave us repeated invitations to go on shore with them.

On Sunday the 13th of August, at day-break, we found ourselves near Puerto Seguro, which may be readily known by three white rocks, not much unlike the Needles of the Isle of Wight, and you must keep close on board the outermost to fetch into the bay. We entered Puerto Seguro, surrounded by numbers of small embarkations of the inhabitants, while the shore, on all sides, was crouded with Indians, whose numbers visibly encreased by multitudes which flocked together from the adjacent parts. Our anchor was no sooner down, than they came off to us in shoals, some few on their bark-logs, but most of them swimming, talking and calling out to one another in a noisy and confused manner, but such as plainly shewed how desirous they were to come to us. Our ship was in an instant full of these swarthy gentlemen quite naked, and amongst the rest was their King, or Chief-man, who, unexpectedly, delivered to me his batoon, or ensign of royalty, which I immediately returned to him. This man, notwithstanding the wildness of his appearance to us, had a good countenance, and his behaviour had something that was very engaging in it. I was, at first, at a loss to know how to entertain our numerous guests, but at length I thought of regaling them with some of our liquid sweetmeats, which we had in great plenty. This they liked extremely, and the spoons, which were mostly silver, they returned with great honesty.

Having thus commenced a friendship with them, at day-break next morning our boat went on shore to cut wood and fill water; and before the sun was up, we were again crouded with our former guests, who seemed as if they could never be weary of gazing at us. To keep up the amity we had already contracted with them, I ordered a great boiler to be carried on shore, with good store of flour and sugar, and a negroe cook, who was continually boiling of hasty pudding for the numbers of spectators on the beach; and it really behoved us to endeavour to keep in their favour, for on seeing a few of our men rolling great and cumbersome casks of water over the heavy sand, it inclined them to help us. To this may added, a sense of the kind treatment they met with from us, and the particular readiness of their Chief to serve us, by shewing his people a good example; for, after Mr. Randall, my Lieutenant, he himself took up the second log of wood to carry to the boat, and was immediately followed by two or three hundred of them, who, encouraged by his example, all took to the work, repaying our civilities with their services, and every day they seemed more and more fond of us.

Mean while, the rumour of our arrival was spread through all the neighbouring parts, and some of the clans, different from those who inhabited the shores, came daily to take a view of us. Those who came from any distance in the country could not swim; and that they were different from those we had first seen on our arrival here, appeared by their manner of painting themselves, and by other little distinctions which were visible amongst them; but they all united to assist us, nor were any of them idle but the women, who used to sit in companies on the scorching sand, waiting for their share of what was going forward, which they used to receive very thankfully and without quarrelling.

Having done all our business here, in the space of five days, on the 18th of August, in the morning, we prepared for our departure in the afternoon. We employed the morning in making a large distribution of sugar amongst the women. To the men we gave a great many knives, old axes, and old iron, which we had taken in our prizes. These were the most useful things to them, and of which they stood most in need; in return for which, some of them gave us bows and arrows, deer-skin bags, live foxes, squirrels, and the like. Great many of the men staid in the ship all the while we were purchasing our anchor, and it was not till we were under weigh that they all jumped overboard to join in the lamentations of their countrymen on shore.

The men in this southern part of California, are tall, straight, and well made; their limbs are large, their hair coarse and black, and barely reaches down to their shoulders. The women are of a much smaller size; their hair is much longer than the mens, and with it some of their faces are almost covered. The men go quite naked, and have not the least thing to cover any part of them, except their heads, round which they wear a band of red and white silk-grass, adorned on each side with a tuft of hawk’s feathers. The women, on the contrary, wear a thick fringe of silk-grass, which hangs down to their knees, and have either a deer’s skin, or the skin of a large bird, carelessly wrapped over their shoulders.

Nothing can be more wild and savage to look at, than these people at first sight: but there is a wide difference between what they seem, and what they really are; for, by all we could discern in their behaviour towards one another, and in their deportment towards us, they are endued with great good nature.

They seem to lead a careless life, and to enjoy every thing in common amongst them; and, having nothing but their daily food to provide, they are strangers to those numerous gratifications, the want of which multiply distresses among nations more civilized and more refined. Their contentment makes them honest, for they never offered to steal even the things most useful to them. In a word, they seem to pass their lives, according to the notions we have of the purest simplicity of the earliest ages of the world, before discord and contention were heard of amongst men. Having no enemies, they live in perfect peace and harmony with one another. Hunting and fishing are their only employments, except making the instruments they use in these pursuits, which are the simplest that can be. They have no canoes, and go to sea on bark-logs; but they are the most expert divers I ever beheld. By their simple manner of living, and their continual exercise, they live to a great age; and yet, what is very surprizing, they do not appear to be very numerous, considering the extent of their country. Their only enemies are the wild beasts, and of these there are plenty in the woods and forests. They do not appear to be so jealous of their women as they have been represented; for we had the company of some hundreds of them, young and old, without any restraint from the men. Two things were remarkable, that they never would suffer us to take snuff, but would earnestly take it from us whenever we attempted it; nor would they ever suffer us to look through a spying-glass, which I had frequent resort to, to see how our work of wooding and watering went on. In these two instances, they always took upon them to controul us, and in these two only; the causes of which we could never learn.

They go out to sea on their bark-logs, which are only composed of five logs of a light wood, made fast to each other by wooden pegs, rowing with a double paddle and with their harpoons, which are made of a sort of hard wood, they strike the largest albicores, and bring them in when struck. This was altogether surprizing to us, who had so often experienced the strength of that fish, and the difficulty of getting them into our ship, when either hooked or struck. One would imagine, that as soon as these Indians had struck one of these albicores, on his light embarkation, it would run away with him and his bark-log; but they either strike them so as to give them some mortal wound, or have some particular way of managing them, for they struggle and resist in vain. When we were in this port, it was apparently their fishing season; but by the number of deer-skins one sees amongst them, it is natural to conclude they have also their season for hunting. The skins of their deer are grey, and so are the skins of their foxes and squirrels; of all which, it is likely, they eat indifferently, as of most other animals that become their prey. Of birds amongst them we saw scarce any, but a few pelicans.

What these Indians used instead of bread is very remarkable. It is a small black seed of an oily substance, which they grind much the same way as we do our chocolate, and afterwards make it up in some such manner. The look of these black lumps or rolls so made up, is not very inviting, yet the taste is not very disagreeable. When they want to drink, they go to the river.

Their arms are bows and arrows. Their bows are about six feet in length, and their arrows seem to be somewhat too long for their bows. Their bow-strings are made of deer’s sinews, and their arrows are composed of a hollow cane for two-thirds of their length, and the other third next the point is of a heavy kind of wood, which is headed with a piece of flint, and sometimes with a kind of agate, the edges of which are indented, or cut in teeth like a saw. They made no manner of shew of their arms to us, and it was rarely that we saw them in the hands of any of the men. The women had them in the woods in search of game, which may be thence presumed to be some part of their employment. Upon the whole, they may be truly said to be a happy people.

Aug. 18, I sailed, as before-mentioned, from Puerto Seguro, and the same evening we took our departure from Cape St. Lucar, in latitude 23 deg. 50 min. N. bound to Canton, in China, the most likely place where we could hope to meet with English ships homeward bound for Europe.

Aug. 21, we discovered an island bearing W. S. W. 110 leagues distant from Cape St. Lucar. I endeavoured to get in with it; but night coming on, I could not lose time to view it. This isle my people called after my name. From hence we steered gradually into the parallel of 13 deg. N. but had our way stopped for two or three days by westerly winds. We were astonished at such an unforeseen delay, and began to dread we might meet with many such reverses of winds in this passage; nor could we conjecture, or conceive what might be the cause or causes of them. In the midst of this, the usual trade-wind prevailed again, and delivered us from the fears and apprehensions we had been involved in upon this occasion. With this we proceeded on our passage, keeping the parallel or track of the thirteenth degree of northern latitude, except when we judged ourselves to be near the shoals of St. Bartholomew. We then ventured to sail a degree, more northerly, and so continued to do for a run of 60 or 70 leagues.

About a fortnight after we had left California, my people, who had hitherto enjoyed an uninterrupted state of health, began to be afflicted with a sickness which particularly affected their stomachs. This we took to be owing, in a great measure, to the quantities of sweetmeats they were continually devouring, together with the dried beef, half devoured with ants, cockroaches, and other vermin, which was their daily food. This sickness increased every day, insomuch that, out of our small number, we once buried two in one day, one of whom was John Popplestone, our ingenious armourer, who was of such use to us on the island of Juan Fernandez. Before we had stretched with favourable gales the length of Guam, most of my people were sick and disabled, my ship began to be very leaky, and, to add still to our misfortunes, we had the ill luck to have one of our pumps split, and rendered useless.

Under these circumstances, we met with black and dismal weather, with tempestuous winds, flying and varying all round the compass. These boisterous gales raised such a tumbling sea, and our ship laboured so much in it, that the knee of her head, and the whole beak-head, became loose; so that the bowsprit fetched way, and played with the motion of the ship, which it continued to do all the time we were out at sea, and till we arrived at Canton. Our main-mast stood for some time without shrouds on the larboard side, till we could unlay our best cable to make more, having knotted and spliced the old shrouds till our labour was in vain.

In the midst of all this sickness and distress, I myself was taken violently ill, and had no hope to recover till a fit of the gout gave me some relief. Great was our want of every thing fit or comfortable for persons in such a state of sickness; yet, about the beginning of October, we passed by Guam; and, though upon the very brink of perishing, we dared not venture in, for fear the inhabitants should take the advantage of our weakness, and make some attempt upon our lives.

From Guam I directed my course for the island of Formosa. And now, though the length of our voyage was decreasing very fast, our sickness was daily increasing upon us in a much greater proportion; and most truly it may be said, that both our ship and ourselves were no longer fit for the sea. It was the 3d of November before we had sight of that island, and the 10th, before we could get any sort of directions to enable us to reach our intended port. At length, as we were passing through a very narrow channel, between a couple of islands, a fisherman took notice, by our cautious manner of working, that we were strangers, and made signs to us to bring our ship to, till he came up with us; when we made him understand in general, that we were bound to Macao, and he made signs that he would conduct us thither, if we would give him as many pieces of silver as he counted little fish out of his basket, which amounted to 40. We accordingly counted out 40 dollars into a hat, and next day he took us in charge, and anchored us safe in the road of Macao, near the entrance of the river of Canton.

Soon after our arrival, there came off to us a great many of the Success’s people, to make us a visit; I was amazed at the sight of them, and was very glad to hear their story. They said, their Commander, Clipperton, left me designedly; that they went directly to Guam, where they were very well refreshed, and supplied with provisions; that their Captain sold the Governor a great quantity of powder and shot, and several other valuable things, and permitted the Marquis of Villa Rocha, who was his prisoner, to go on shore there; that Mr. Godfrey the agent, and a marine officer, went to settle the accounts for what supplies of things they had had; and that, as soon as they were landed, and the boat come off again, Captain Clipperton weighed with his ship, in order to attack a ship of 20 guns from Manilla, that had lain quietly in the road in company with him all the time: that in approaching her he ran his own ship upon the rocks, and soon found the enemy was prepared for him: that, his condition being desperate, and supposing the loss of his ship inevitable, he had recourse to his case of brandy, and took so abundantly of it, that he fell on the deck, and snored out his time in a beastly manner, whilst his First Lieutenant, Davidson, in his stead, undertook the command of the ship, which he bravely executed till he was killed: he was succeeded by Captain Cook, their Second Lieutenant, who made a handsome resistance, and got the ship afloat again, after she had lain on the rocks forty-eight hours: that they lost their prisoner the Marquis de la Rocha, and also Mr. Godfrey the agent-general, with the officer already mentioned; which gave the ships company so much distaste, that they would not suffer him to have the command of them any more, and, locking him up in his cabbin, chose Captain Cook to take charge of the ship.

They had, it seems, much bad weather between Guam and Amoy in China, whither they got with much difficulty; and there made a dividend of all they had taken, half to the owners, and half to the ship’s company. Clipperton designed for the straits of Malacca; but his people, fearing he had no good intentions, would go no farther with him than Macao, that being a Christian port. Upon their arrival there, the Governor ordered Clipperton into custody. It seems he had broke prison formerly from thence, where he had been confined (as far as could be learned) on account of his having run away with Dampier’s commission and one of his prizes; but upon producing his Majesty’s commission now for the Success, they gave him no farther trouble, and only contented themselves with fleecing him a little. Here he sold his ship, the Success, for about 1000l. sterling.--[Such is the account given by Captain Shelvock, for the information, as he says, of the gentlemen-owners, who will never, either publicly or privately, be let into the truth of that story.]