On the 22d October we caught four fish; a shark, a dolphin, a jelly-fish, and an old-wife. The shark and dolphin are well known, and need not be described in this place. The Jelly-fish was about fourteen inches long and two inches deep, having sharp teeth, a sparkling eye, and long extended mouth. It has a prodigiously high fin on its back, of a 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 the same slimy substance with the large one on its back. The greater part of the body is of a silver colour, with numerous small dark spots and circular bands, all the rest of its substance being a green jelly-like substance, whence the name. The Old-wife is about two feet long and nine inches high in the back, having a small mouth, a large eye, and a large broad fin beginning at the hinder part of the head, and reaching to 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 the fins a very light blue, tipt with yellow. The head has many spots, and the body is regularly streaked longways.
We passed the equator on the 2d November, about forty-five leagues west from the meridian of St Jago. On the 8th, in lat. 10° 20' S. we saw three small islands on the coast of Brazil, called the islands of St Ann, 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 from the main, and are much troubled with southerly winds, which blow in gusts, so that ships ought here to lay their best anchor to the south, and all little enough sometimes for their safety. They produce nothing except wood, and are frequented by vast flocks of sea fowl, called boobies by our sailors. The booby is about the size of a duck, some entirely white and others grey, having feet like a duck, and subsist mostly on flying-fishes, which they catch while in the air. I have made many a meal on these birds, but it was for want of other victuals, for they taste very fishy, and are apt to make one sick, if not previously well salted. They are so silly, when weary of flying, that they will light upon your hand, if held out to them.
We anchored at the island of Le Grand, in lat, 23° 30' S.[206] on the 24th of November. This is a very woody island, on which are several good springs of water. It is about nine miles in circuit, and three miles from the main, the woods being infested with many savage animals, which make a most hideous noise in the night. It produces sugar, rum, and several kinds of fruits, but all very dear, on account of supplying the town of St Paul with necessaries. St Paul is 300 miles inland from Le Grand; but by the vast high mountains which are between, it is reckoned a distance of sixty days journey. Near St Paul there is said to be a gold mine, which is accounted the richest hitherto known. We here wooded, watered, and refitted our ships; and our new first-lieutenant, falling out with the captain, went ashore, together with eight of our men, and left us. Here also Charles Pickering, captain of the Cinque-ports, departed this life, and was succeeded in the command by his first-lieutenant, Mr Thomas Stradling. At this island there are good fish of various sorts, one of which, called the Silver-fish, is about twenty inches long, and eight deep, from back to belly, having five small fins immediately behind the head, and one large fin from the last of 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 is half-moon shaped. The eyes are large, the nostrils wide, and the mouth small. It is a thin fish, and full of bones, of a fine transparent white, like silver.
[Footnote 206: Isla Grande is only in lat 30° N. and St Paul's, stated in the text, as 300 miles distant, is hardly 200, and is at within twenty-five miles of the coast farther south.--E.]
Leaving the isle of Le Grand on the 8th December, we passed the islands of Sebalt de Weert[207] [Falklands] on the 29th. In lat. 57° 50' S. we had a terrible storm, in which we lost company of our consort, the Cinque-ports, on the 4th January, 1704. When in lat 60° 51' S. on the 20th, believing we had sufficiently passed Cape Horn, we tacked to the N. and got sight of the island of Mocha on the 4th February. This island is in lat. 38° 20' S. twenty miles from the coast of Chili, and is well inhabited by Indians, who are always at war with the Spaniards, and indeed with all white men, because they consider them all as Spaniards. It is a high island, four leagues long, having many shoals on its west side, which extend a league or more out to sea. It is about 112 miles to the northward of Baldivia.
[Footnote 207: Called Sibbil de Ward Islands in the narrative of Funnell.--E.]
We saw the island of Juan Fernandez on the 7th February, and on the 10th, while passing the great bay, we saw the Cinque-ports, which had arrived three days before. We accordingly anchored in the great bay, in thirty-five fathoms. At this island we wooded, watered, and refitted our ships, giving them a heel to clean their sides as low as we could, which took up much time, and occasioned both companies to be much on shore. In this island there are abundance of cabbage-trees, which are excellent, though small. The cabbage-tree, which is a species of palm, has a small straight stem, often ninety to one hundred feet long, with many knots or joints, about four inches asunder, like a bamboo-cane. It has no leaves except at the top, in the midst of which the substance called cabbage is contained, which, when boiled, is as good as any garden cabbage. The branches of this tree we commonly twelve or thirteen feet in length, and at about a foot and a half from the tree the leaves begin, which are about four feet long and an inch and a half broad, the leaves growing so regularly that the whole branch seems one entire leaf. The cabbage, when cut out from among the roots of the branches, is usually a foot long and six inches diameter, and as white as milk. From the bottom of the cabbage there spring out several large bunches of berries, like grapes, each bunch being five or six pounds weight. The berries are red, and about the size of cherries, each having a large stone in the middle, and the pulp tastes like that of haws.
The sea-lion is so called, as I suppose, because he roars somewhat like a lion, and his head also has some resemblance to that animal, having four large teeth in front, all the rest being short, thick, and stubbed. Instead of feet and legs, he has four fins; the two foremost serving him, when he goes ashore, to raise the fore part of the body, and he then draws the hind part after him. The two hinder fins are of no use on land, but only when in the water. This animal is very fat, for which reason we killed several of them, from which we made a ton of oil for our lamps; and, while at this island, made use of it also for frying our fish. They have short light-coloured hair while young, becoming sandy when old. Their food is fish, and they prey altogether in the water, but come on land to sleep, when five, six, or more of them huddle together like swine, and will often lie still three or four days, if not molested. They are much afraid of men, and make off as fast as they can into the water. If hard pressed, they will turn about, raising their bodies on their fore fins, and face you with their mouths wide open, so that we used to clap a pistol to their mouth, and fire down their throat. Sometimes five or six of us would surround one of these monsters, each having a half pike, and so prick him till he died, which commonly was the sport of two or three hours.
While we were at this island, a difference took place between Captain Stradling and his men, which was at last compromised by Captain Dampier. On the 29th February we descried a sail, on which all hands hurried on board, and we slipped our cables and stood out to sea. The Frenchman, for so he afterwards proved, immediately tacked and stood from us, while we followed the chase with all sail, and got up with him about eleven at night, but did not deem it convenient to engage till day. During the chase our pinnace towed under water, and was cut adrift. Captain Stradling'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. We fought her very close, broadside to broadside, for seven hours; and then a small gale springing up, she sheered off. In this action our consort only fired ten or twelve guns at the commencement, when she dropt astern, and never again came up during the whole fight, in which we had nine men slain and several wounded. We were desirous to have had another trial with the Frenchman, knowing it would be of bad consequences to let him 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 the value of 500,000l. at any time. So we concluded to return to Juan Fernandez, to get our anchors, long boats, and several tons of water already casked, together with a ton of sea-lion oil, which we had left there. Captain Stradling also had left five of his men, who were gone to the west part of the island, and knew nothing of our going away after the enemy. He had also left all his sails, besides those at the yards, and a great many other stores.