From Tusca N.E. until Tara Hill bears N.W.
10 pieces of chocolate 10 gulders.
10 pieces of gays[20] 10 ditto.
A proportion of G., say one-third, and let it be strong as possible. A vessel coming in the daytime should come to anchor outside the banks.
At Clocker Head, Bryan King.
At the Mountain Fort, Henry Curran.
And Racklen, Alexander M'Donald."
Now anyone on consulting a chart or map of the south-west and west of the British Isles can easily see that the above was just a crude form of sailing directions to guide the ship to land the goods at various places in Ireland, especially when the box also contained a paper to the following effect:—
"The Land's End to Tusca 135 miles N.N.E. A berth off Scilly 150 N.E.¾N."
The ship was to take such goods as mentioned to the above individuals, and here were the landmarks and courses and the division of the goods. "A proportion of G," of course, referred to the amount of Geneva, but the gentleman for whom it was intended did not get it "as strong as possible." Not one of these places mentioned was within hundreds of miles of Bilbao, but all the seamarks were to guide the mariners to Ireland. Tara Hill, Tuscar Rock and so on were certainly not Spanish. But these instructions were by no means uncommon. They were technically known among smugglers as "spot-notes," that is to say, indications of the spots where the goods were to be landed. When Stevenson found that his captors had become possessed of these papers he was considerably confused and embarrassed, even going so far as to ask for them to be given back to him—a request which was naturally declined.
The lugger was taken captive into Dover, and Stevenson, being an Englishman, was committed to gaol in the Dover town prison, from which he succeeded in escaping. The Dutchman was let off, as he was a foreigner. The men who had rowed away in the tub-boat escaped to France, having taken with them out of the galley one parcel of bandanna handkerchiefs. The rule in these cases was to fine the culprit £100 if he was a landsman; but if he was a sailor he was impressed into the Navy for a period of five years.