While here, a plot was entered into by the crew, for seizing the captain and officers, whom they proposed to leave on the island of Lobos, and then to run away with the ship; but this was happily discovered on the 6th September, the two principal ringleaders severely punished, and the rest pardoned. On the 17th, they took a fishing-boat with a considerable quantity of well-cured and salt fish. On the 1st November they went into the Bay of Conception, on the coast of Chili, in lat. 36° 35' S. in chace of a vessel which outsailed them and escaped; whence they bore away for Coquimbo, in lat. 29° 50' S. and took a ship laden with sugar, tobacco, and cloth, on their passage between these two places. On the 6th in the afternoon, on opening the harbour of Coquimbo, they saw three men-of-war at anchor with their topsails loose, which immediately slipped their cables and stood after them. The Success hauled close upon a wind, as the prize did likewise, on which the best sailing Spanish man-of-war gave chase to the prize, which she soon came up with and took. The two other ships crowded all sail after the Success, till afternoon, when the biggest carried away her mizen-mast, on which she fired a gun and stood in for the shore, which favoured the escape of the Success.
In the re-captured prize, they lost their third lieutenant, Mr James Milne, with twelve men. The captain of the Spanish man-of-war which took him, was the famous Don Blas de Lesso, who was governor of Carthagena when that place was attacked by Admiral Vernon. At first Don Blas treated Mr Milne very roughly, being enraged at having missed taking the English privateer, and had only retaken a Spanish prize, and in the first transport of his passion struck Mr Milne over the head with the flat of his sword. But on coming to himself he sent for Mr Milne, and generously asked his pardon, and finding he had been stripped by the soldiers, ordered him a new suit of clothes, and kept him some time in his own ship. He afterwards procured his liberty at Lima, paid his passage to Panama, giving him a jar of wine and another of brandy for his sea-store, and put 200 dollars in his pocket to carry him to England. This unlucky accident of losing the prize revived the ill-humour among the crew of the Success, who did not indeed enter into any new plot, but became much dejected.
On the 16th they gave chase to another ship, which, after exchanging a few shots, bore away and left them. This was a fortunate escape, as she was a ship of force commanded by one Fitzgerald, which had been fitted out on purpose to take Captain Shelvocke; but knowing this not to be the ship he was in search of, and doubting her strength, had no great stomach to engage. These repeated disappointments, as they broke the spirit of the crew, had a very bad effect on Captain Clipperton, who now began to take to drinking, which grew at last to such a pitch that he was hardly ever quite sober; owing to which unhappy propensity he committed many errors in his future proceedings.
It was now determined to proceed to the northward in search of plunder, as also to procure a supply of provisions, especially flour, having expended all their stock of that article, and being now reduced to three pounds of Indian corn for a mess of six men per day. Having but indifferent fortune, and being in sight of point Helena in lat. 2° 10' S. they resolved to bear away for the Gallapagos islands, on the 27th November, having in the first place set ashore the prisoners belonging to the vessel in which Mr Milne was taken. In their passage to these islands, they suspected an error in their log-line, which was found three fathoms too short, making an error in their computation on this run of about fifty-two miles. On the 4th of December they lost their purser, Mr Fairman, and the same day found themselves near the Gallapagos, being in lat. 0° 36' N. with a strong current running to the S.W. against which they had to contend. On the 6th the pinnace was sent to look out for an anchorage at one of the islands, but returned without finding any, having seen many tortoises on shore. Upon this the pinnace and yawl were sent out to bring off some of these animals, and returned with sufficient fish to serve the whole company for a day, but had been unable to land for turtle, in consequence of a prodigious surf on the shore. This island was a mere rock in lat. 0° 9' N. and the ground all about it was foul, with soundings from fifty to eighty fathoms. Leaving this island, they proceeded to another in the S.W. but could find no anchorage. Being unwilling to lose more time, they made the best of their way for the island of Cocos,[240] where they hoped to procure fish, fowls, and cocoa-nuts. On the 7th they saw several islands in the N.E. through which they passed, and got clear of them all by the 9th,[241] but as the people daily fell sick, they grew very apprehensive of the dangerous situation they might incur in case of missing the island of which they were now in search. On the 17th they had the satisfaction of seeing the long-wished for island in the N.W. at the distance of nine leagues; and on the 18th, after coming to anchor, all of them went on shore that could be spared from the necessary duty of the ship, in order to build a hut for the reception of the sick, who were then carried on shore and comfortably lodged. They here had plenty of fish, fowls, eggs, and cocoa-nuts, with other refreshments. The captain here opened the last hogshead of brandy for the use of the company, giving every man a dram daily as long as it lasted; and on new-year's-day 1721, he allowed a gallon of strong beer to every mess. By means of abundant nourishing food and much ease, the crew began to recover their health and spirits, and were soon able to take on board wood and water, though with considerable difficulty, as a very heavy swell set in from the northwards at the full and change of the moon, so that they had to wait till after the spring-tides were over, before they were able to get any thing off.
[Footnote 240: The island of Cocos, nearly north from the Gallapagos, is in lat. 5° 20' N. and long. 87° 53' W. from Greenwich.--E.]
[Footnote 241: These were probably some of the most northerly of the Gallapagos.--E.]
On the 17th January, 1721, Captain Clipperton made the necessary dispositions for sailing, but it was three days before he could get his people on board, and then no less than eleven of them were missing, three Englishmen and eight negroes. It is not easy to conceive what could have induced the former to hazard themselves at this island, so far removed from the continent, and so little likely to be frequented by ships, and whence they had so very small a chance of ever getting off. It must be attributed to their dread of the dangers and fatigues to which they had been continually exposed, and to their living almost continually on short allowance, whereas they were here sure of plenty of provisions, with no other fatigue but the trouble of procuring and dressing them. Perhaps they might have received some assurance from the marquis, of having a ship sent for them when he obtained his liberty, which was at least a hazardous contingency; and there is great reason to doubt was never performed.
Leaving the island of Cocos on the 20th, they arrived on the coast of Mexico on the 25th, when they met with an extraordinary adventure. Discovering a sail about seven in the evening, they gave chase and sent their pinnace to board, which came up with the chase about eleven. On the return of the pinnace, her people reported that this was a Spanish ship named the Jesu Maria, but now in possession of Captain Shelvocke, who had now only forty of his men remaining, all the rest being dead or dispersed. He said that he had lost the Speedwell at the island of Juan Fernandez, where he staid five months, and built a bark out of the wreck of the Speedwell. Putting to sea in this bark, he had coasted along Chili and Peru, meeting several ships, but could not take any, till at length he captured the Jesu Maria at Pisco near Lima. Shelvocke's people differed much in their stories, but it appeared that there was no regular command among them; and, as used to be the practice in the buccaneers, they had chosen a quarter-master, every thing being carried by a majority of votes, being all equal, and snared every thing among themselves, contrary to the articles of agreement with their owners.
On the 27th, Mr Clipperton sent for the purser of the Jesu Maria, who gave but a dark account of their proceedings, only that he was not allowed to take any account of the treasure for the owners. Captain Shelvocke afterwards came on board the Success, accompanied by Mr Dod, his lieutenant of marines, who proposed to remain in the Success, having been very ill used by the other crew for his attachment to the interest of the owners, at least so he said, and was credited by Captain Clipperton and his officers. Next day, Shelvocke sent on board the Success six chests of pitch and dammer, two barrels of tar, and six slabs of copper; and Captain Clipperton gave him twenty-four quarter deck guns,[242] some round shot, a compass, and a few other necessaries. Shelvocke's people laid out a great deal of money with the crew of the Success, in the purchase of clothes, shoes, hats, and other necessaries; and there remained with them two of Shelvocke's officers, Mr Hendric the purser, and Mr Dod the lieutenant of marines.
[Footnote 242: This must be a gross error, as the Success originally carried only twenty-four guns; and accordingly, in the subsequent account of the circumnavigation of Shelvocke, only two quarter-deck guns are mentioned.--E.]