Although Captain Clipperton had now so many prizes, that above a third of his company was detached to take charge of them, he was still as eager to take more as if he had commanded a squadron of men of war, instead of a single privateer weakly manned. On the 12th November, a London-built pink of about 200 tons was discovered at some distance, bound from Panama to Lima with a cargo of woad, of very little value to Clipperton, yet he added this to the number of his prizes. The master of this vessel, being a shrewd fellow, soon saw the error Clipperton had fallen into, and resolved to turn it to his advantage. Guessing by the number of prizes already attending the English ship, that he could not spare many men to take possession of his ship, and having above a dozen passengers, he directed them to hide themselves in the hold, along with a Frenchman who served as boatswain, with orders to seize as many of the English as went down below, assuring them that he with the ship's company would be able to manage the rest. When this ship struck, Clipperton sent Lieutenant Sergeantson with eight men to take possession of her; who, on coming on board, ordered all he saw on deck into the great cabin, at the door of which he placed a sentinel. Thinking every thing was now secure, he ordered the topsails to be hoisted, in order to stand down towards the Success; after which, the men went down into the hold, to see what loading was in the ship. On this the concealed passengers sallied out, knocked most of them down, and the boatswain came behind Mr Sergeantson, whom he knocked down likewise, and then bound all the Englishmen in the hold. In the mean time, the crew in the great cabin, Spaniards, Indians, and Negroes, secured the sentinel. Having thus recovered possession of the ship, the Spanish captain resolved on getting ashore at all events, in which design he ran his ship among the rocks, where he with his crew and prisoners were all in considerable danger. He then ordered all the English prisoners to be unbound, and all got safe on shore, after which Lieutenant Sergeantson and his men were all sent prisoners to Lima.
The viceroy was so much pleased with this hardy action of the Spanish shipmaster, that he ordered a new vessel to be built for him at Guayaquil, ordering all the traders in Peru to be taxed for defraying the expence, as a reward for the service rendered on this occasion to the public, and an encouragement for others to behave in like manner. On the arrival of the prisoners at Lima, they were all strictly examined, when one of them gave a full account of every thing he knew, particularly of the two men who remained on the island of Juan Fernandez, and of the letter left in a bottle for the Speedwell, the consort of the Success. On this information, a small vessel was fitted out and sent to Juan Fernandez, with orders to fetch away the two men and the bottle containing the signals, which was accordingly done.
Perceiving on the 20th November, that the last-taken, prize had been recovered by her crew, as on making the signal to tack, she was seen to make all possible sail towards the land, Captain Clipperton immediately suspected what had happened; and finding it impossible to get up with her, he began to consider what was best for him to do, to prevent the bad effects which might reasonably be expected from her crew getting on shore and communicating the alarm. Wherefore, he very prudently determined to set all his Spanish prisoners at liberty, as well to save provisions, which he could not very well spare, as that their good usage from him might be speedily known, in hopes of the same being returned to those of his men who had fallen into the hands of the Spaniards.
On the 24th we took another prize of about 200 tons, laden with timber from Panama to Lima, having on board forty negroes and thirty Spaniards, most of the last being passengers. On the 27th he came to anchor with all his prizes at the island of Plata, where he began seriously to reflect how best to turn the expedition to the profit of the owners, as well as of himself and crew. He knew well that all the coast was now alarmed, and that two men-of-war were fitting out on purpose to take him, one of fifty and the other of thirty guns. He had no expectations of the ships and goods he had taken being ransomed in that pan of the world, and believed they would prove of little value if brought home; and reflecting on what had formerly been proposed by Captain Woods Rogers on a similar occasion, of sending a cargo of such prize goods to Brazil, he resolved to try that experiment. Accordingly, he fitted out the bark in which he had taken the Countess de Laguna, armed her with eight guns, and gave her a crew of thirteen Englishmen and ten negroes, with what provisions and stores he could spare, calling her the Chickly. Into this vessel he put a cargo of European commodities, valued at upwards of ten thousand pounds, and on the 27th November, 1719, he sailed for Brazil under the command of Captain Mitchell. As soon as she was gone, he gave up his other prizes to the Spaniards, taking out of them whatever he thought worth keeping, and detaining one of the Spanish masters to serve him as pilot, with all the negroes; after which he sailed from La Plata to resume his cruize on his former station.
The 12th December he took a vessel bound from Cherisse for Panama with provisions, which employed the launch and pinnace of the Success a whole day in bringing on board the flour and other provisions out of the prize. Having got as much flour out of her as they could well stow away in the Success, Clipperton ordered the main-mast of the prize to be cut away, lest she should overset, and then dismissed her. From the people of this prize, they learnt that Lieutenant Sergeantson and his men had been carried prisoners to Lima. On the 27th they anchored in Guanchaco bay, where they found two ships at anchor, which had been abandoned by their crews, and every thing taken out of them, except some bread and a few jars of water. These ships were set on fire. It was now resolved to bear away for the Gallapagos islands for refreshments, and accordingly anchored in York road, on the north side of the Duke of York's island, on the 9th January, 1720, immediately under the equinoctial line. They here found good water, scrubbed and cleaned their ship's bottom, and after ten days proceeded to the northwards, in order to cruize on the coast of Mexico. The circumstance of finding good water at this place, sufficiently justifies Captain Cowley from the aspersions thrown upon him by later writers, who allege that he gave a fanciful and untrue account of these islands, as they had not been able to find water or anchorage at such of them as they tried.
Having returned to the American coast, they fell in with a ship on the 21st of January, which they took after a long chase. This proved to be the Prince Eugene, on board of which was the Marquis of Villa Roche and all his family, bound from Panama, where he had been president, to Lima. This was the very ship in which Captain Clipperton had been circumvented and taken in his last voyage in these seas,[237] when he had been very indifferently used by the marquis, who was now at his mercy, and whom he used, notwithstanding, with all civility. On the 8th March, a priest who was on board the prize, and the boatswain of that ship, desired leave to go on shore at the island of Velas,[238] which was granted on condition that they would induce the inhabitants to bring some bullocks to the shore, to exchange them for such goods as they might think proper to accept in payment. This they promised, and on the 16th they returned with four bullocks, together with some fowls and fruit as a present to the marquis, but said their alcalde, or governor, would on no account permit them to trade with the English. They also learnt that Captain Mitchell had been ashore at this place, and had shot some of their cattle, but on 200 men appearing under arms, had been forced to retire. This story seemed the more probable, as these people had some linen and other articles of clothing belonging to Captain Mitchell's men. Next day some letters from the marquis were intercepted, which were by no means conformable to the strict honour to which the Spanish nobility usually pretend, as they were meant to stir up the inhabitants of Velas to surprise the men belonging to Captain Clipperton, and to seize his boat when it went ashore for water. Upon this Captain Clipperton confined the marquis for some days; yet allowed him and his lady to go ashore on the 20th, leaving their only child as an hostage; and soon after the prize was restored to her captain.
[Footnote 237: The circumstance here alluded to no where appears in the narratives of any of the former circumnavigations.--E.]
[Footnote 238: Perhaps Velas point is here meant, in lat. 10° 9' N. on the coast of that province of Mexico called Corta Rica.--E.]
On the 14th April, the marquis and his lady came on board, accompanied by the alcalde, and an agreement being made for their ransom, the lady and child were sent ashore, and the marquis remained as sole hostage. In the whole of this transaction, Clipperton seems to have been outwitted by the marquis, who lately broke his word, and by this the crew of the Success were provoked to murmur against their captain for trusting him. On the 20th of April, the Success anchored in the Gulf of Amapala, or Fouseca, in lat. 13° N. and not being able to water there, repaired to the Island of Tigers,[239] where they procured water with great ease. They went to the island of Gorgona, in lat. 2° 53' N. for the same purpose, on the 4th June. On the 24th of that month they took a prize which had once been in their hands before, now laden with timber and cocoa-nuts; and on the 11th August, anchored with their prize at the island of Lobor de la Mar, in lat. 6° 95' S. where they set up tents on shore, scrubbed and cleaned their ship's bottom, and took whatever seemed of any value out of the prize.
[Footnote 239: Perhaps the Isla del Cana, in lat. 8° 46' N. is here meant, or it may have been one of the islands in the Gulf of Amapala.--E.]