Here also we shar’d our Booty, which was great indeed to a Profusion; and as keeping such a Treasure in every Man’s particular private Possession, would have occasion’d Gaming, Quarrelling, and perhaps Thieving and Pilfering, I order’d that so many small Chests should be made as there were Men in the Ship, and every Man’s Treasure was nail’d up in these Chests, and the Chests all stow’d in the Hold, with every Man’s Name upon his Chest, not to be touch’d but by general Order, and to prevent Gaming, I prevail’d with them to make a Law or Agreement, and everyone to set their Hands to it; by which they agreed, That if any Man play’d for any more Money than he had in his Keeping, the Winner should not be paid whatever the Loser run in Debt, but the Chest containing every Man’s Dividend, should be all his own, to be deliver’d whole to him; and the Offender, whenever he left the Ship, if he would pay any Gaming Debts afterward, that was another Case; but such Debts should never be paid while he continu’d in that Company.
By this Means also we secur’d the Ship’s Crew keeping together; for if any Man left the Ship now, he was sure to leave about 6000 Pieces of Eight behind him, to be shar’d among the rest of the Ship’s Company, which few of them car’d to do.
As we were now all embark’d together, the next Question was, Whither we should go? As for our Crew, we were so rich, that our Men were all for going back again, and so to make off to some of the Leeward Islands, that we might get a-Shore privately with our Booty: But as we had shipp’d our new Comrades on Board a good Ship,
it would be very hard to oblige them to go back without any Purchace, for that would be to give them a Ship to do them no Good, but to carry them back to Europe just as they came out from thence, viz. with no Money in their Pockets.
Upon these Considerations we came to this Resolution, That they should go out to Sea and Cruise the Height of Lima, and try their Fortune, and that we would stay 60 Days for them at Juan Fernando.
Upon this Agreement they went away very joyful, and we fell to work to new rig our Ship, mending our Sails, and cleaning our Bottom. Here we employ’d ourselves a Month very hard at Work; our Carpenters also took down some of the Ship’s upper Work, and built it, as we thought, more to the Advantage of Sailing; so that we had more Room within, and yet did not lie so high.
During this Time we had a Tent set up on Shore, and 50 of our Men employ’d themselves wholly in killing Goats and Fowls for our fresh Provisions; and one of our Men understanding we had some Malt left on Board the Ship, which was taken in one of the Prizes, set up a great Kettle on Shore, and went to work to Brewing, and, to our great Satisfaction, brew’d us some very good Beer; but we wanted Bottles to keep it in, after it had stood a while in the Cask.
However, he brew’d us very good Small Beer, for present Use; and instead of Hops he found some wild Wormwood growing on the Island, which gave it no unpleasant Taste, and made it very agreeable to us.
Before the Time was expir’d, our Frigat sent a Sloop to us, which they had taken, to give us Notice that they were in a small Creek near the Mould of the River Guyaquil, on the Coast of Peru, in the Latitude of 22 Degrees. They had a great Booty in View, there being two Ships in the River of Guyaquil, and two more expected to pass by from Lima, in which was a great Quantity of Plate; that they waited there for them, and begg’d we would not think the Time long; but that if we should go away, they desir’d that we would fix up a Post, with a Piece of Lead on it, signifying where they should come to us, and wherever it was, East or West, North or South, they would follow us with all the Sail they could make.
A little while after this, they sent another Sloop, which they had taken also; and she brought a vast Treasure in Silver and very rich Goods, which they had got in plundering a Town on the Continent; and they order’d the Sloop to wait for them at the Island where we lay, till their Return: But they were so eager in the Pursuit of their Game, that they could not think of coming back yet, neither could we blame them, they having such great Things in View: So we resolv’d, in Pursuit of our former Resolution, to be gone; and after several Consultations among our selves in what Part of the World we should pitch our Tent, we broke up at first without any Conclusion.