Besides these rich passengers and their money, the Ruby had also on board a considerable sum arising to his catholic majesty from the confiscation of the thirteen captured interlopers, all of which, as I was informed, amounted to four millions of dollars in that ship. What a fine booty we missed therefore by the obstinacy of Shelvocke! For, when this ship, the Ruby, found us at the island of St Catharine, her company was so sickly that she had not above sixty sound men out of four hundred; so that La Jonquiere was actually afraid of us, and would not send his boat to the watering-place, where we kept guard, and our coopers and sail-makers were at work, till he had first obtained leave of our captain; neither is this strange, for he knew we had a consort, and was in Spain all the time he staid there, lest the Success should have joined us.
After Commodore Martinet had cleared the coast of Chili and Peru of his countrymen, he sent his brother-in-law, Monsieur de Grange, express with the news to Madrid, who went by way of Panama, Portobello, Jamaica, and London. On delivering his message, the king of Spain asked what he could do for him, when he humbly requested his majesty would give him the command of a ship, and send him again round Cape Horn into the South Sea. He accordingly got the Zelerin, of fifty guns. He came first to Calais,[2] where the ship was getting ready, and was surprised to meet with a cold reception from the French merchants and other gentlemen of his acquaintance residing there; for, as there were merchants of various nations interested in the ships taken and confiscated in the South Sea, they universally considered him and all the French in that squadron as false brethren, for serving the crown of Spain to the prejudice of their own countrymen. Thus, while he expected to have had a valuable cargo consigned to his care, no man would ship the value of a dollar with him. Captain Fitzgerald, who was then at Cales, made him a considerable offer for the privilege of going out as his second officer, with liberty to take out what goods he might be able to procure, in his own name. As de Grange was not a little embarrassed, he accepted this offer, and procured a commission for Fitzgerald as second captain. They accordingly manned the Zelerin chiefly with French seamen, and some English, and got very well round Cape Horn. At this time our two privateers, the Success and Speedwell, were known to be in the South Seas, and the Zelerin was one of the ships commissioned by the viceroy of Peru to cruize for us. Fitzgerald sold all his goods to great advantage at Lima, where he continued to reside; while de Grange served as captain under Admiral Don Pedro Miranda, who took Hately and me prisoners.
Though great sufferers by so many confiscations, the merchants of St Malo were not entirely discouraged; for, in the year 1720, we found the Solomon of St Malo, of 40 guns, and 150 men, at Ylo, on the coast of Chili, with several Spanish barks at her stern. In the course of six weeks, she sold all her cargo, got in a supply of provisions, and left the coast without interruption, as by this time Martinet's squadron had left the coast. Encouraged by the success of the Solomon, the merchants of St Malo fitted out fourteen sail together, all of which arrived in the South Sea in the beginning of the year 1721. Three of the commanders of these ships, being well acquainted with the creolians, quickly sold their cargoes and returned home. About this time, the people of Lima judged that our privateers were gone off the coast, or at least would not commit any more hostilities, because of the truce between the two crowns. Wherefore, the three Spanish men-of-war that had been fitted out to cruize against us, were ordered against these fresh interlopers. I was on board the Flying-fish, an advice-boat that accompanied the men-of-war, when they came up with eleven sail of the St Malo ships, which were then altogether on the coast of Chili, and, instead of firing on them, the Spaniards joined them as friends. At first, expecting to have been attacked, the French ships drew up in a line, as if daring the ships of war. This seemed to me somewhat strange, that three such ships, purposely fitted out for this cruize, should decline doing their duty on their own coasts; for, had they proved too weak, they had ports of their own to retire to, under their lee. But the ships of war contented themselves with watching the motions of the interlopers, keeping them always in sight; and when any of the French ships drew near the shore, the Spaniards always sent a pinnace or long-boat along with her, carrying the Spanish flag, the sight of which effectually deterred the creolians from trading with the French. In this manner they contrived to prevent all these ships from disposing of their goods, except when they were met with at sea by chance, and sold some of their commodities clandestinely. At length, completely tired out by this close superintendence, the French got leave to take in provisions, and went home, at least half of their goods remaining unsold. Notwithstanding these losses and disappointments, and severe edicts issued against this trade in France, the merchants of St Malo still persist to carry it on, though privately, nor is it probable they will ever leave off so lucrative a commerce, unless prevented by the strong arm of power, or supplanted by some other nation.
Footnote 1: [(return)]
No such name occurs, in enumerating the squadron immediately beforeE.
Footnote 2: [(return)]
This, certainly, is a mistake for Cadiz, often named Cales by English seamen; and, in fact, only a few lines lower down, the place is actually named Cales.E.
§ 8. Return of Betagh to England.
I now return to my own affairs, and the manner of my return to England from Peru. I have already acknowledged the kind reception I met with from the admiral of the South Seas, Don Pedro Miranda, and the reasons of his treating us so civilly. I think it barely justice to mention the several favours I received, during the eleven months that I continued at Lima, particularly from Don Juan Baptista Palacio, a native of Biscay, a knight of the order of St Jago, who came weekly to the prison while we were there, and distributed money to us all, in proportion to our several ranks. Captain Nicholas Fitzgerald procured my enlargement, by becoming security for me; and he afterwards supplied me with money and necessaries, from that time till my departure; and procured for me and twenty more, a passage to Cadiz, in a Spanish advice-boat called the Flying-fish, of which our surgeon's mate, Mr Pressick, acted as surgeon, receiving wages, as did the rest of our men, being released from prison expressly to assist in navigating that vessel home to Spain. For my own part, being well treated, I did not think proper to eat the bread of idleness, but kept my watches as well as the other officers. And pray, what is the harm of all this? Though Shelvocke had the stupidity to call it treason; it must surely appear a very malicious, as well as an ignorant charge, after a man has been driven among the enemy, to call him a traitor because he has been kindly used, and for accepting his passage back again; and, because I was not murdered in Peru, I ought to be executed at home. This is Shelvocke's great Christian charity and good conscience![1]
On my arrival at Cadiz, captain John Evers of the Britannia kindly gave me my passage to London, and entertained me at his own table. On my return to London, and representing the hardships I had undergone, nine honourable persons made me a present of ten guineas each; which afforded me the satisfaction of seeing, that such as were the best judges, had a proper idea of the miseries I had suffered, and approved the manner in which I had behaved, the only consolation I could receive in the circumstances in which I was left by that unfortunate voyage. The fair account I have given of facts, and the detail of my proceedings in the Spanish West Indies, together with the account of what I observed worthy of notice during my stay in these parts, will acquit me, I hope, in the opinion of every candid and impartial person, from the aspersions thrown upon me by Shelvocke, in the account he has published of his voyage.
Footnote 1: [(return)]
After all, had the Flying-fish been captured by a British cruizer, Betagh would have run great risk of being found guilty of treason for keeping his watches.E.