Our next care was to get rid of our prisoners, who were a great burden to us, and we resolved therefore to set them on shore, after trying every possible method to engage them in a scheme for trading with us. For this purpose I proposed going to Panama, to remain six days near that place, till they should bring the money we could agree for, as the price of our prize goods; and to this the two Morels and Don Antonio agreed, provided we would take 60,000 dollars for the whole. I then proposed to give them up the galleon and all the goods and negroes, if they would give us 120,000 dollars for the whole. They told us that trading in these seas with strangers, especially the English and Dutch, was so rigidly prohibited, that they would have to give more than the original cost in bribes, to procure licence to deal with us, and could not therefore assure us of payment, unless we agreed to take a low price. Finding it therefore not worth while to waste time, and knowing we should run much risk in treating with them, we at length resolved to set them all ashore, hoping the Morels and Don Antonio would get money for us, to prevent us from burning the ships we could not conveniently carry away. At parting, I made them sensible that we had treated them like generous enemies, and said we would sell them good bargains for what money they might be able to bring us in ten days, after which we should burn or carry away all that was not then disposed of. We accordingly landed seventy-two prisoners on the 10th July. On the 16th the Morels came off with what money they had been able to procure, and bought some of our goods, behaving with much honour, and putting great confidence in us. On the 18th, a negro belonging to the Duchess was bitten by a small brown speckled snake, and died in twelve hours. There are many snakes in this island of Gorgona, and I saw one above three yards long, and as thick as my leg. The same morning the Mr Morels went off a second time in our bark for money; and this day one of the same kind of snakes that killed our negro was found on the forecastle of the Duke, having crawled up the cable, as we supposed, as they were often seen in the water.
On the 2d of August we were like to have had a mutiny, for the steward informed me that he understood many of the men had entered into a secret agreement, and he had heard some ringleaders boasting that sixty men had already signed the paper, but knew not the nature of their design. I immediately convened the officers in the cabin, where we armed ourselves, and soon secured four of the principal mutineers, putting the fellow who wrote the paper in irons. By this time all the people were on deck, and we had got their paper from those we had in custody; the purport of it being to refuse accepting the intended distribution of plunder, and not to move from this place, till they had what they termed justice done them. Not knowing how far this mutiny might have been concerted with the people of the other ships, we agreed to discharge those in confinement, on asking pardon, and faithfully promising never to be guilty of the like again.
We sailed from Gorgona on the 11th August, and as our ships were now rather thinly manned, I engaged thirty-two of our negro prisoners to join our company, placing Michael Kendall, a free Jamaica negro, who had deserted to us from the Spaniards, as their leader, and charging him to exercise them in the use of arms. At the same time I supplied them with clothes, desiring them to consider themselves now as Englishmen, and no longer slaves to the Spaniards. After this we stood over to the bay of Jecames, [Atacames,] where the Indians are free; and with much ado entered into trade with them, by the help of a priest. We sent them three large wooden saints to adorn their church, which they took as a great present; and I sent a feathered cap to the wife of the chief which was 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 1st September, intending for the Gallapagos, and on the 8th we made one of these islands.
Next day we came to anchor in about thirty fathoms; and in the evening our boats brought us off a lading of excellent turtle, having sent our yawl and several men ashore previously to turn over these creatures in the night; but to no purpose, as we afterwards found they only came ashore in the day. The island off which we lay was high, rocky, and barren, 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 at anchor a good distance from us, had got about 150 land and sea-tortoises, but not generally so large as ours; while we had 120 turtles, 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 got land-tortoises, which returned at night with thirty-seven, and some salt they had found in a pond; and our yawl brought us twenty sea-turtles, so that we were now well provided. Some of the largest land-tortoises weighed 100 pounds; and the largest sea-turtles were upwards of 400 pounds weight. The land-tortoises laid eggs on our deck; and our men brought many of them from the land, pure white, and as large as a goose's egg, with a strong thick shell, exactly round.
These are the ugliest creatures that can well be imagined, the back-shell being not unlike the top of an old hackney-coach, as black as jet, and covered with a rough shrivelled skin. The neck and legs are long, and as big as a man's wrist, and they have club-feet as large as a fist, shaped much like those of an elephant, having five knobs, or thick nails, on each fore-foot, and only four on the hind-feet. The head is small, with a visage like that of a snake; and when first surprised they shrink up their head, neck, and legs under their shell. Some of our men affirmed that they saw some of these about four feet high, and of vast size; and that two men mounted on the back of one of these, whom it easily carried at its usual slow pace, not appearing to regard their weight. They supposed this one could not weigh less than 700 pounds. The Spaniards say that there are no others in these seas, except at the Gallapagos, but they are common in Brazil.
The 15th, being under sail with a fine breeze, we agreed to lay to till midnight. The 16th, seeing many islands and rocks to the westwards, we agreed to bear away, not caring to encumber ourselves among them during the night; but by six in the evening, from the mast-head, we could see so many low rocks, almost joining from island to island, that we seemed land-locked for more than three parts of the compass, and no way open except the S.W. whence we came. We resolved therefore to return that way, making short trips all night, and continually sounding, for fear of shoals, having from forty to sixty fathoms. The 18th and 19th we saw several more islands, one of them very large, which we supposed to be near the equator. At noon of the 19th we had an observation, making our latitude 2° 2' N. We saw in all at least fifty islands, some of which we searched, and others we viewed from a distance, but none had the least appearance of fresh water.[228] Signior Morel told me that a Spanish man-of-war had been to an island in lat. 1° 20' or 30' S. 140 Spanish leagues west from the island of Plata, and to which they gave the name of Santa Maria del Aguada, a pleasant island with a good road, full of wood, and having plenty of water, with turtle and sea-tortoises in abundance. This I believe to have been the same island in which Davis the buccaneer recruited; and all the light he has left by which to find it again, is, that it is to the west of the islands he was at with the other buccaneers, which must be those we were twice at. We had no occasion to look out for this island on the present trip, though I believe it might easily have been found without farther directions. In these islands there are many kinds of sea-fowl, and some land-birds, particularly hawks and turtle-doves, both so very tame that we often knocked them down with sticks. I saw no kind of beasts, but there are guanas in abundance, and land-tortoises almost on every island, besides vast numbers of turtles or sea-tortoises. It is very strange how the land-tortoises have got here, as there are none on the main, and they could not have come of themselves. Some of these islands are the haunts of seals, but not in such numbers as at Juan Fernandez, neither is their fur so good. A very large one made at me three several times, and if I had not happened to have a pike-staff headed with iron, he might have killed me. I was on the level sand when he came open-mouthed at me from the water, as fierce and quick as an angry dog let loose. All the three times he made at me, I struck the pike into his breast, which at last forced him to retire into the water, snarling with an ugly noise, and shewing his long teeth. This animal was as big as a large bear.
[Footnote 228: In Cowley's voyage, formerly given, one of these islands, which he calls the Duke of York's Island, is said to have abundance 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 Aguada of Morel, may be the same.--E.]
On the 1st October we made the main-land of Mexico, which Captain Dampier immediately recognized as near the place where he had attacked the lesser Manilla ship in the St George. Our men began again to fall sick, and two of them dropped down on the deck in a kind of scorbutic appoplexy, but recovered on being let blood. The 2d we made Cape Corientes, on the coast of Mexico, in lat. 20° 25' N. which we knew by our 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 to land at different places, he very readily recollected them. Our purpose now was to look for the islands called Tres Marias, to procure some refreshments, but found this somewhat difficult, being very uncertain as to their true situation. In the afternoon of the 4th, Cape Corientes bore E.N.E. about ten leagues, and next morning, being fine clear weather, we discovered two islands at the distance of about fourteen leagues, one bearing N. by W. and the other N. by E. At noon we had an observation, and found our latitude 20° 45' N.
The sight of these islands was very satisfactory, for though our men had their fill of land and sea-turtle, which kept them from the scurvy, they were but weak, as that is but a faint food, except they had enough of bread or flour to eat with it; whereas they only had a pound and a quarter of bread or flour to five men per day, on purpose to husband our stock till we came to live entirely on salt-meat, when we should be under the necessity to allow more. On the 6th I sent a pinnace to the eastern island, to look if there were any good road, or convenience for wooding and watering; but the officer reported that the island had foul ground for near half a mile from the shore, with bad anchorage and worse landing; 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 bore up for the middle island, which Captain Dampier believed he had been at when he sailed with Captain Swan, and on which occasion they found water. On the 8th our boat returned from the middle island, they and the boat of the Duchess having landed at several places on the S.E. side of the island, where was plenty of good water. They saw no signs of any people 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 were left there by Captain Swan, about twenty-three years before, as Dampier told us: for victuals being scarce with these buccaneers, they would not carry the poor Indians any farther, after they had served their turns, but left them to starve on this desolate island. The Marquis and bark having separated from us, we kept a light up all night, and made a fire on the island, that they might see where to find us at anchor; but not seeing them next morning at day-break, I proposed to have gone in search of them; but Captain Courtney and the rest made light of the matter, believing they might soon come in without assistance, which they afterwards did.
The supply of cattle, hogs, and plantains we procured at Atacames lasted us to the Gallapagos, and we had fed on turtle ever since till the last two days, which was a great refreshment to our men, and husbanded our stock of European provisions. On the 9th, I sent an officer to view the other side of the island, who told me, on his return, it was much better than where we were, having several sandy bays, on which he had seen the tracks of turtle. On this intelligence I sent the boat back in the evening; and it came back next morning with a full load of turtle, leaving another load ready turned; and, what was of much more consequence, they found good water; whereas that we had gotten hitherto purged the men excessively. As we wooded, watered, and furnished ourselves with fresh provisions here, and as these islands are little known, some account of them may be acceptable.