The 21st February, near the Perico islands opposite to Panama, we took another prize from Lavelia, laden with beeves, hogs, fowls, and salt. The 24th we went to the isle of Taboga, six leagues south of Panama. This island is three miles long and two broad, being very rocky and steep all round, except on the north side, where the shore has an easy dope. In the middle of the isle the soil is black and rich, where abundance of plantains and bananas are produced, and near the sea there are cocoa and mammee trees. These are large and straight in their stems, without knots, boughs, or branches, and sixty or seventy feet high. At the top there are many small branches set close together, bearing round fruit about the size of a large quince, covered with a grey rind, which is brittle before the fruit is ripe, but grows yellow when the fruit comes to maturity, and is then easily peeled off. The ripe fruit is also yellow, resembling a carrot in its flesh, and both smells and tastes well, having two rough flat kernels in the middle, about the size of large almonds. The S.W. side of this isle is covered with trees, affording abundant fuel, and the N. side has a fine stream of good water, which falls from the mountains into the sea. Near this there was formerly a pretty town with a handsome church, but it has been mostly destroyed by the privateers. There is good anchorage opposite this town a mile from the shore, in sixteen to eighteen fathoms on soft ooze. At the N.N.W. end is a small town called Tabogilla, and on the N.E. of this another small town or village without a name.
While at anchor near Tabogilla, we were in great danger from a pretended merchant, who brought a bark to us in the night, under pretence of being laden with merchandise to trade with us privately, but which was in reality a fire-ship fitted out for our destruction. But on her approach, some of our men hailed her to come to anchor, and even fired upon her, which so terrified the men that they got into their canoes, having first set her on fire, on which we cut our cables and got out of her way. This fire-ship was constructed and managed by one Bond, who formerly deserted from us to the Spaniards. While busied next morning in recovering our anchors, we discovered a whole fleet of canoes full of men, passing between Tabogilla and another isle. These proved to be French and English buccaneers, lately come from the North Sea across the isthmus of Darien, 200 of them being French and 80 English. These last were divides between our two ships, under Captains Davis and Swan; and the Frenchmen were put into our prize, named the Flower, under the command of Captain Gronet, their countryman, in return for which he offered commissions to Captains Davis and Swan, from the governor of Petite Goave, as it is the custom of the French privateers to carry with them blank commissions. Captain Davis accepted one, but Captain Swan had one already from the Duke of York.
Learning from these men that Captain Townley was coming across the isthmus of Darien with 180 Englishmen, we set sail on the 2d March for the gulf of San Miguel to meet Townley. This gulf is on the east side of the great Bay of Panama, in lat. 8° 15' N. long. 79° 10' W. thirty leagues S.E. from Panama; from whence the passage lies between Isola del Rey and the main. In this gulf many rivers discharge their waters. Its southern point is Cape Carachina, in lat. 8° 6' N. and the northern, named Cape Gardo, is in lat. 8° 18' N. The most noted rivers which discharge themselves into this gulf, are named Santa Maria, Sambo, and Congo. This last rises far within the country, and after being joined by many small streams on both sides of its course, falls into the north side of the gulf a league from Cape Gardo. It is deep and navigable for several leagues into the country, but not broad, and is neglected by the Spaniards owing to its nearness to the river of Santa Maria, where they have gold mines. Santa Maria is the largest of the rivers in this gulf, being navigable for eight or nine leagues, as far as the tide flows, above which it divides into several branches fit only for canoes. In this river the tide of flood rises eighteen feet. About the year 1665, the Spaniards built the town of Santa Maria, near six leagues up this river,[173] to be near the gold mines. I have been told, that, besides the gold usually procured out of the ore and sand, they sometimes find lumps wedged between the fissures of rocks as large as hens eggs or larger. One of these was got by Mr Harris, who got here 120 pounds weight of gold, and in his lump there were several crevices full of earth and dust.
[Footnote 173: In modern maps the river which seems to agree with this description of the Santa Maria, is called Tlace, one of the principal branches of which is named Chuchunque. The gold mines of Cana and Balsa are placed on some of its branches, on which likewise there are several towns, as Nisperal, Fichichi, Pungana, Praya, and Balsa.--E.]
The Spaniards employ their slaves to dig these mines in the dry season; but when the rivers overflow, as the mines cannot be then worked, the Indians wash the gold out of the sands that are forced down from the mountains, and which gold they sell to the Spaniards, who gain as much in that way as they do by their mines. During the wet season, the Spaniards retire with their slaves to Panama. Near the mouth of the Santa Maria, the Spaniards have lately built another town, called Scuchadores,[174] in a more airy situation than Santa Maria. The land all about the gulf of San Miguel is low and fertile, and is covered with great numbers of large trees.
[Footnote 174: This probably is that named Nisperal in modern geography, the appellation in the text being the Spanish name, and the other the name given by the Indians.--E.]
While crossing the isthmus, Gronet had seen Captain Townley and his crew at the town of Santa Maria, busied in making causes in which to embark on the South Sea, the town being at that time abandoned by the Spaniards; and on the 3d March, when we were steering for the gulf of San Miguel, we met Captain Townley and his crew in two barks which they had takes, one laden with brandy, wine, and sugar, and the other with flour. As he wanted room for his men, he distributed the jars among our ships, in which the Spaniards transport their brandy, wine, and oil. These jars hold seven or eight gallons each. Being now at anchor among the King's islands, but our water growing scarce, we sailed for Cape Carachina, in hopes of providing ourselves with that necessary article, and anchored within that cape, in four fathoms on the 22d. We here found the tide to rise nine feet, and the flood to set N.N.E. the ebb running S.S.W. The natives brought us some refreshments, but as they did not in the least understand Spanish, we supposed they had no intercourse with the Spaniards.
Finding no water here, we sailed for Porto Pinas, about fifty miles to the S. by W. in lat. 7° 33' N. which is so named from the vast numbers of pine-trees which grow in its neighbourhood. The country here rises by a gentle ascent from the sea to a considerable height, and is pretty woody near the shore. At the entrance into the harbour there are two small rocks, which render the passage narrow, and the harbour within is rather small, besides which it is exposed to the S.W. wind. We sent our boats into this harbour for water, which they could not procure, owing to a heavy sea near the shore; wherefore we again made sail for Cape Carachina, where we arrived on the 29th March. On our way we took a canoe, in which were four Indians and a Mulatto, and as the last was found to have been in the fire-ship sent against us, he was hanged.
On the 11th of April we anchored among the King's isles, where we met with Captain Harris, who had come with some men by way of the river of Santa Maria. The 19th, 250 men were sent in canoes to the river Cheapo, to surprise the town of that name. The 21st we followed them to the island of Chepillo, directly opposite the mouth of the river Chepo, or Cheapo, in the bay of Panama, about seven leagues from the city of Panama, and one league from the continent. This is a pleasant island, about two miles long, and as much in breadth, low on the north side, but rising by a gentle ascent to the south. The soil is very good, and produces in the low grounds great store of fine fruits, as plantains, mammees, sapotas, sapadillos, avogato pears, star-apples, and others. Half a mile from shore there is good anchorage, opposite to which is a very good spring of fresh-water near the sea.
The Sapadillo-tree is altogether like a pear-tree, and the fruit resembles a bergamot pear, but somewhat longer. When first gathered it is hard and the juice clammy; but after keeping a few days it becomes juicy and sweet. It has two or three black kernels, resembling pomegranate seeds. The Avogato-tree is higher than our pear-trees, having a black smooth bark, and oval leaves. The fruit is about the size of a large lemon, green at first, but becomes yellow when ripe, having a yellowish pulp as soft as butter. After being three or four days gathered, the rind comes easily off, and as the fruit is insipid it is commonly eaten with sugar and limejuice, being esteemed a great provocative by the Spaniards, who have therefore planted them in most of their settlements on the Atlantic. It has a stone within as large as a horse-plum. The Sapota-tree, or Mammee-sapota, is neither so large nor so tall as the wild mammae at Taboga, nor is the fruit so large or so round. The rind is smooth, and the pulp, which is pleasant and wholesome, is quite red, with a rough longish stone. There are also here some wild mammee-trees, which grow very tall and straight, and are fit for masts, but the fruit is not esteemed. The tree producing the star-apples resembles our quince-tree, but is much larger, and has abundance of broad oval leaves. The fruit is as big as a large apple, and is reckoned very good, but I never tasted it.