conjectured they knew nothing of the matter and we could have been very well content that all the Spaniards knew as little as they for fear our Disjunction might render them more forward to attack us After this Intelligence we dispatch'd away a Canoe which we had taken in this River to carry our Men some Victuals which we had found in this Hatto and to acquaint them that we were going towards Panama to see whether we might meet with an opportunity of seizing some Barks that so we might get out of St. Iohn's Islands Because as I have already said our Ship was not big enough â—o hold us and that as soon as the Canoes were ready they were to go and take Pueblo-Nuevo in order to get some Provision wherewith to subsist till our return On the fifteenth we went a-shore forty Leagues to Leeward of Panama and though we had no Guide we got by Cock-crowing to a very pretty Estancia as they call it which was a lone House and where we took fifty Prisoners of both Sexes Among these there was a young Man and Woman of Quality who promised we should have a Ransom for them and whom we carried to the Island Ignuana a Leagues distance from the great one and where there is no other but Rain-Water to be had which stands in the Cavities of the Rocks We staid for the fore-mention'd Ransom till the eight and twentieth when it was duly paid us and then went off being first informed that about eight Leagues to Windward there was a River wherein were two Barks laden with Maes which on the nine and twentieth in the Morning we boarded and took From thence we resumed our Course to 〈◊〉 and rejoyn our Men in St. Iohn's Island where we arrived on the third of September Here they told us that an Hundred of them whereof ninety eight were come back had gone on the five and twentieth of the preceding Month to Pueblo-Nuevo as we had ordered them where they arrived on the seven and twentieth and though they were discovered by the Centinels of the Town they made themselves masters of it and staid there two days for all the continual and various Attacks made upon them by the Spaniards That the Commander of the place came with a Trumpet to speak with them and asked why they carried White Colours seeing they were English so he took them to be but without satisfying his Curiosity in the point they constrained him to be gone from whence 〈◊〉 came That eight of them being gone some distance from the place of Arms there were two of the number massacred by an hundred and fifty Spaniards who seeing so small a Company together bravely fell upon them But with all the advantage they had they could not hinder the other six to recover their Main-guard who fought retreating with extraordinary Vigour On the fourth we put out with six Canoes and an hundred and forty Men on board whereof we detached two to go to the Hatto we had taken on the eleventh of August to look after the Ransom of the Master whom we kept Prisoner and with the other four returned to that Sugar-Plantation in St. Iago in order to get some Sugar-Cauldrons whereof we had occasion There we were informed that the Governor of St. Iago came thither after our Departure the first time we took it with eight hundred Men. We staid in this place till the ninth expecting the Answer of a Prisoner whom we had sent to the Governor and by whom we sent him word that if he were minded to advance with his eight hundred Men we were ready but hearing no news of him we departed thence after our two Canoes had rejoyned us and on the eleventh arrived on board our Ship and the two Barks at the Island of St. Iohn On the fifth we carreened our Ships and took in Water and Wood we would have left this Island had it not been for the continual Rains that fell and lasted eighteen days and such bad Weather that it was impossible for us to appear upon Deck having never seen the Sun all this time And for this reason it is that the Spaniards call the distance between the Bay of Gurgona and this Island of St. Iohn The Droppings of the South-Sea You have but four Months of good Weather here throughout the Year and they are December Ianuary February and March the other eight Months are incommoded with great Rains which falls almost without any Intermission and which besides the bloody Flux it brings is so pernicious that if a Man has been wet with it two or three times if he do not presently shift himself it breeds large Worms between his Skin and his Flesh in form somewhat like unto a Quill and about half a finger long The Weather clearing up on the fourth of October we mended our Sails which were almost rotten and made ready to be gone And the same Day we had one of our Men stung in the Leg by a Serpent who died of it presently as not having taken care to provide himself with the remedy we have spoken of On the eighth we made ready and sailed for Realeguo which is both a Port and Town an hundred and fourscore Leagues to the West and by North West of the Isle of St. Iohn and two hundred and sixty West of Panama We had a small South East Wind till the eleventh and on the twelfth and thirteenth we steered West North West and that Evening descryed Land On the fourteenth we had a boisterous South Wind which made us take in all our Sails till Mid-night and then came a Calm till the seventeenth when towards Noon we were surprized with a South West Blast attended with great Rains which separated us from our two Barks It blew so very hard that the Sea appeared presently very frightfull and put us so to it that we began to be very apprehensive we should be all cast away But the Weather as God would have it proving fair again we spent the nineteenth to set our Vessel in order as well as to mend our Sails with our Shirts and Drawers wherewith we were already but very indifferently provided Towards Evening we discovered Land and knew it to be the Bay of Caldaira whereof I shall give an account by and by On the twentieth we sailed in sight of that of Colebra from thence we had moderate Weather and a South-East Wind and on the one and twentieth we got to the Height of the Morns which the Spaniards call Papegaya's On the two and twentieth we found our selves over against Realeguo a place very remarkable for the high Mountains that surround it and especially for a high Sulphurous Hill that burns continually and whose Smoak reaches a great way but the Tides next Night put us twenty Leagues to Windward of it On the four and twentieth we put out four Canoes with an hundred men in them in order to take some Prisoners that we might receive some Information concerning this
Tements as soon as we got to any Place to burn all the Provision they had which to our sorrow was but to well executed not only here but every where else and was the cause also of that Hunger and extraordinary toyl which we were forced to endure in these Seas as long as we staid there The same day about Noon came about eight hundred Men into a Savana from Leon to fight us the Sentinel which we had placed on the top of the Steeple rung the Alarum-Bell to give us notice to get together and come out of the Houses where we were dispersed Whereupon we marched in a body of an hundred and fifty Men with red Colours to fight them but as they could not endure to let us come within Musket-shot of them for they fled without any more ado we were oblig'd to retire and on the 6th went away to go on Board our Ships which we careened next day as we also cleaned our Canoes On the 9th we had a consultation together about what way we should take and here we found our selves of two Opinions one party was for going up before Panama being in hopes they had begun their Navigation again as knowing we were far enough from them But the rest represented that many times they had such Years on that Coast whereof that might be one of them that eigâ—t Months thereof was sad Weather in respect to excessive Rains and Southerly Winds which reign there and that therefore it would be more advisable to go lower Westward and winter upon some Island or other and there to wait for fair Weather Now these different Sentiments were pursued by us and every Man having made choice of his side Next day our Chirurgeons had orders to give in an account of those among the wounded who were crippled to the end we mâ—ght make them Satisfaction before we divided They told us we had four Men crippled and six hurt to which we gave six hundred pieces of Eight a Man and a thousand to those that were crippled as it was our constant custom in those Seas and it was exactly all the Money we had got together that was applyed to that use We made a Division of the Barks and Canoes on the 12th and we found our selves to be an hundred and forty eight French-Men ready to go up towards Panama without comprehending the English under Captain Townsley and the same number of French failed also to the Westward Next day our Provision was shared amongst us and now it was that we divided into two parts those who were for the Westward put themselves under the Conduct of Captain Grogniet and we that were bound for Panama were commanded by Captain Townsley And then we went to Anchor at an Island half a League distant from that we left to take in Water and Wood On the sixteenth Captain Groignet sent us his Quarter-master to desire us to put none of our Prisoners ashoar for fear they should give the Spaniards notice of our Separation for as he had a design to make a Descent upon them he was apprehensive that such a Discovery would make them more 〈◊〉 and hardy to oppose him On the 19th we made ready and sailed for Panama with Captain Townslâ—y's Ship and oâ—e Bark We steered East-South-East to South-South-East and to South-South-West till mid-night when we were overtaken with a Storm which made us lye by till the 20th at Noon when the Weather proved fair then we steered East-South-East to the 23d when we anchored in the Bay of Colebra to take in Water We spent that day there to take Tortoises which are to be found in great numbers in that little Bayâ—h They are of different sizes and we found one sort of them so large that one was enough for fifty Persons to feed upon in a day On the 24th we put an hundred and fifty Men ashoar in order to find out some Town or Burrough we having no Guide with us that knew this Country and after we had walked a League or thereabouts we alight upon three Haâ—toes very near one another where finding Edibles enough we sâ—aid till the 26th when we returned on Board Then Captain Townsley proposed we should go and take the Town of Villia which is 30 Leagues to Leeward of Panama to which all of us agreed and that Evening we weighed having a Wind blowing from the Land which served us till the 27th at Noon when it blew very hard from the South-East accompanied with Rain till the 28th in the Evening when it began to allay we were favoured all the 29th with a Westerly Wind and that Evening were brought in sight of Capâ— Blanch. On the 3â—th the Weather was fair enough but on the 31st two hours before Day light it grew very boisterous so that we were forced to put in for that Cape we had a Thunderbolt fell upon the end of ouâ— great Sail Yard which did no more then crack it Having moderate weather on the first of Iuâ—e we steered east-south-East-South-East and next day about Noon had a sight of Land but it was so hazy that we could not tell where we were however we steered East by South-East to come near The Weather being now somewhat cleared up we found we were between the Bay of Boca-del-Toro and the Point called Barica when we sailed South and by South-East to put out to Sea and then bore to the North-East that we might reach the Isle of St. Iohn de Cueblo On the 7th we put in at the Isle of Montosa six Leagues to the Southward of that of St. Iohn We set out three Canoes with which we coasted round about this last and our Ships anchored at another little Island which is half a League to the East While we were going round St. Iohn's Island with our Canoes we found nothing there but one of our Prisoners who having made his escape from us when we were there and being not able to get to the Continent returned to us On the 10th we went back to our Ships and next day took in our store of Water and Wood and cleaned our Ships There arose the succeeding Night a North Wind that tore our Cables and made us think we should be thrown ashoar But as good Luck would have it it came about and gave us an opportunity to make ready and to cast Anchor farther from the Shoar By the favour of the Lightning we discovered our Canoes and â—ound their Ropes also broken and that the Waves were throwing them ashoar also unless we had saved them though we could not hinder one of them from being sâ—aved to pieces On the 13th we made ready and sailed for La Villia with a West-South-West Wind made Land on the fifteenth and knew it to be the Cape called Morn a Puercos then we bore off to Sea with a hard Wind till the Evening when the Weather grew so very bad that we did nothing till the 18th but let our Ships drive with a South-West
cannot find a Place to tread on or walk along in the Woods for the great numbers of land Tortoises Lizards and Agoutils that retire thither The Sea thereabouts is also so fruitful in the production of Fish that they come to the very Sands to die there but these advantages on the other hand are encountred with the want of Water whereof these Islands are entirely destitute The Wind towards Evening came to North North-East and made us bear East and by South-East to keep to the Continent the Weather on the Tenth in the Morning grew very dark and we having a Southerly Blast we bore East and East and by South-East till the Eleventh when we were becalmed on the Thirteenth arose an East Wind and we bore to the South South-East upon a tack and North North-East and then lay by for some time because we did not know the Currents On the 14th having a North East Wind we bore East South-East and accordingly as it blew fresh we steered East and by South-East and East on the Fifteenth Two Hours before Day-light we had a Storm and then a South Wind we steered East all that Day but we had such bad Weather the following Night that we could not carry our Sails next Day about Noon the Weather grew better and an Easterly Breeze presented we lay by till the Eighteenth at Noon when we discovered a Ship to Windward of us to whom we gave chase till the Evening she proved to be the English Ship that had parted from us when we came out of the Bay of Caldaira who knowing who we were put into the Cape we came to Leeward of her but she spread out her Sails and got to Leeward of us after we had given one another this salutation we put out for Two Hours to see which sailed best but knowing at last they were the better Sailors and fearing they might reach Queaquilla before us we desired them to joyn with us in our Design to which when they agreed we set fail together we found our selves much perplext to know what Latitude we might be in since we had not seen the Sun for Ten Days together But it happily fell out that it appeared on the Nineteenth our Pilots computed we might be about Five and twenty Leagues to Windward of Queaquilla and Sixty Leagues from Land but the Winds varied to that degree that we could make no way and many times went contrary On the 20th we had a West Wind and steered East and by South-East till the 21st when we were becalmed On the 24th arose a South Wind and on the 26th an Easterly Breeze at last the Wind persisting to be contrary we were reduced to great want of Victuals for we had already been upon our passage longer than our Provision would allow us to which we may add that Fish had till now been so scarce and hard to catch that we had but little support from them So that having on the 28th taken an Accompt of the remainder of our Victualling we were forced to retrench our selves so far as to eat but once in Forty eight Hours we also wanted Water and had it not been for the help of Rain we had certainly died of thirst but what made us amends for one part of our wants was that we found our selves all of a sudden in a Kingdom of large Fishes such as Emperors Tunnies Germons Galdenies Negros Bonitoes and several others to whom we gave no quarter no more that to the Sea Wolfs who for all their ill smell could not escape us During that time we bore to the North-East the Wind not allowing us to keep on our designed Course that if the worst came to the worst we might by this course reach the Isle of St. Iohn pursuant to the Design we had formed upon meeting with this contrary Wind of putting in there in case the same continued all the way On the 29th after we had taken the Latitude our Pilots computed us to be opposite to the Isle of Platta Thirty Leagues to Leeward of Queaquilla on the 30th being Easter-Day we were but one degree North Latitude in the Twi light the Wind began to blow fresh and bore us East north-North-East next Day the Wind came South South-West we steering East East and by South-East and East South-East On the 3d. of April we were becalmed and as we had for the space of Two Days by the computation of our Pilots sailed towards Land they were of Opinion that the Currents deceived them of which we made our selves satisfied by the following manner On the Fourth the Weather being very calm we furled our Sails and put out one of our Pirogues about whose Fore-Castle we spun Sixty Fathom of our smallest Rope made fast unto a Grapling Iron and from that Coast she made from the Tide ran along her side with as much swiftness as the Current of a River and bore to the north-North-East on the Fifth we caulked our Ships towards Midnight a South-West Wind presented it self and we bore South-East On the 6th in the Morning we discovered Land both to Windward and Leeward of us we veered to least we should be brought too near and steered South On the 8th we were about Four or Five Leagues off and our coasting Pilots knew the Place to be Cape Pastao which is under the Line Thirty Leagues to Leeward of the Isle of Platta we had all hands aloft and steered South On the 9th we bore to the South South-East till the Evening and to the South-West till Ten at Night when we steered to the South South-East and on the IIth we were got to the heighth of the Isle of Platta Eighteen Leagues out at Sea On the 12th at Noon we saw the Point of Sancta Helena which is Fifteen Leagues to Leeward of Queaquilla and forms the beginning of the Bay that bears the Name of that Town On the 12th at Night we saw Fire to Windward of us we lay by till break of Day when we discovered a Ship Three Leagues to Windward of us and as we were becalmed we sent Three Pirogues to know what she was they found her to be a Prize laden with Wine and Corn which Captain David had taken as she came out of Nasca and which was separated from him he had put Eight English Men on Board to Conduct her who were to have their Rendezvous in case of a separation at the Isle of Platta These Men told us that after they had left St Iohn's Island they made several Descents and in several Parts of that Country among others at Sagua Arrica and Pisca that in the last of these Places a Relation of the Vice-Roy of Lima came at the Head of Eight hundred Men to attack them with Sword in hand but that they were vigorously repulsed that they had also taken a great many Ships which when they pillaged they let go again so that finding they had got to the value of Five thousand pieces of Eight a Man they
with her We found her to be a small Vessel commanded by Captain Willnet an Englishman whose Creâ— consisted of forty English and eleven Frenchmen 〈◊〉 whom we had never heard any thing till now Bâ— they told us they had a long time ago passed oâ—â— I and into these Seas and that lately they had takeâ— a Ship laden with Corn out of the Port of Sansonne which is on the Continent and the place of embarking from Guatimala thirty Leagues to the East oâ— the Isle of St. Iohn and that going from thence towards the South-Coast they understood that thâ— Vice-Roy of Lima had sent a Spanish Fleet on purpose to chase and beat the Free-Booters which gaâ—â— them to understand there were others besides thâ—â— in these Seas and that upon the good News thâ—â— were come in quest of us in order to have a share 〈◊〉 taking of that Fleet which they believed infallible but that they understood when they came befoâ—â— Panama where they were in hopes to meet with 〈◊〉 that the fight was already over and that we weâ—â— gone to the Isle of St. Iohn The other English who as I have already said were gone to anchor about five or six Leagues to Windward of us had also sent out a Canoe to know what this Bark was which came up with her as soon as we and this made us very uneasie for this Bark being laden with Provision those English influenced these new Commers so far that they took them to anchor in the same place where they were except the eleven Frenchmen who left them and staid with us This Island of St. Iohn Cueblo is about twelve Leagues in Circumference standing East and West and North and South five Leagues distant from the main Land and separated by a narrow Channel which is indeed no other than an Arm of the Sea running in between two Lands It is not inhabited very mountainous full of Wood and watered with very fine Rivers It stands in no stead to the Spaniards besides supplying them with Masts for their Shipping which they have here in great abundance When we stopt upon that Island we were in hopes to have fared well so well stocked it was with Deer Monkeys Agoutills Lizards and Banks full of Tortoises but we were deprived of these Advantages by two Inconveniences we laboured under The first whereof was that the English in less than fifteen Days had made such a Destruction of these Tortoises that but very few of them landed The other respected our Hunting which after we had followed for a few days at first we were bound to decline for having staid in this place longer than we designed we were under a necessity of preserving our Powder for fear should we have spent it the Spaniards would have been quickly upon us so that we staid a whole Month upon this Island to the number of three hundred and thirty Men of us with eating no more than two Tortoises in eight and forty Hours and in seeking some Fruits in the Woods wherewith to subsist and with the eating of which some of us died as not knowing the Nature of them There are a sort of Serpents upon this Island whose stinging is so dangerous that if any one has not 〈◊〉 certain Fruit by him which he is to chew an presently to apply to the Wound there is no escaping present Death for him as we found by Experience by some of our Men whom we lost in this manner and who in their dying endured terrible Pains through the Activity and Violence of that Fire which this Poison kindled in their Bodies The Tree oâ— which this Fruit grows is to be found upon the same place as well as in the other parts of this Country being as to its Leaves and Height very like unto our Almond-Trees But its Fruit resembles Sea-Chesnuts though it s of a greyish Colour and of a somewhat bitter tast enclosing a whitish Almond in the midst thereof It s chewed altogether before the Application is made and is known by no other Name than the Serpents-Seed Here also about two or three Leagues up the Country you have a great many Cayemans which are a kind of Crocodiles that live both in the Sea Rivers and on dry Land and are of that ravenous Nature that some of our Men have been devoured by them On the seven and twentieth the English who had left us sent a Quarter-Master to us to know whether we would joyn our selves with them as supposing they were too weak to go and take the Town of Leon on which they had formed a Design And here we must acknowledge that extream Misery is so terrible a thing that it is almost impossible when an opportunity presents it self of being delivered that it should be let slip notwithstanding all the Repugnancy of our Reason to the contrary We had left the English by reason of their Impieties which we could not endure and now we were ready to comply with the Proposals they had made us of rejoyning them again The Provision was on their side and this was a charming Bait for People that were ready to perish with Hunger We presently asked them for some Victuals And as we had but one Ship that could not hold us all that they should give us another because we were not willing to be dispersed on board their Ships as before but this they would not agree to In the mean while as we were resolved not to recede here-from Famine forced thirty of our Men to joyn themselves with the English as being unable to bear with the Fasts we were forced to keep And on the fourth of August four of our Men died On the ninth when we knew the English were gone we embarked to the number of an hundred and twenty Men on board five Canoes commanded by Captain Groigniet and lest two hundred on board our Ship and upon the Island whom we ordered to build more Canoes and afterwards to cross over to the Continent Having made a Descent there on the thirteenth we came to an Hatto which is a kind of a Farm where the Spaniards breed their Cattle It was in the Neighbourhood of a Town called St. Iago which is twenty Leagues distant from St. Iohn's Island The People we found in this Hatto we made our Prisoners among whom was the Master who shewed and conducted us to take a Sugar Plantation in the River of St. Iago where we were discovered We sounded our Prisoners one after another in order to know whether they understood any thing of our Separation from the English by telling them we came from the North-Sea and that they should shew us where the Free-Booters were which they said were come into these Seas They answered they were gone to St. Iohn's Island to repair the Damage the Fleet of Peru had done them together with other Circumstances which we knew better than they without telling us one word of what had hapned between the English and us Hence we
went a Shoar We were quickly discovered by a Party that went the Rounds which made us use all the diligence imaginable in order to get into the Town before they had time to make themselves ready But our Guide having lead us out of the way another Party making the Round passed by who no sooner saw us but they made all the hast they could to get away yet we fired upon them presently which dismounted three of them and one we took Prisoner who told us we were still three Leagues distant from la Villia and that we were gone out of our way that all the People there were at their Arms and that they had had a Reinforcement of Six hundred Men sent them from Panama Upon this information we stopped short and were forced to return back again because we knew very well that we were discovered and that so we lost all our Labour Before we went on Board we went to eat to an Estancia that was half a League off from the Sea-side from whence the Spaniards brought us back by charging our Rear from time to time till that we had rejoyned our Canoes whereon when we had reimbarked we found our selves so weary and fatigued that we deferred till next Day to go and joyn our Ship and this being perceived by the Spaniards they fired so furiously upon us that we were constrained to go lye at Anchor farther from the Shoar On the 2d of November we rejoyned our Ships that were cruising in that Bay In the Evening we anchored between the Island of Iguana and the Continent over-against some Hattos we saw there with a Design to go and see for some Provision to which end we went a Shoar on the third at Noon where we found the Spaniards got together with whom we fought for half an Hour They killed us one Man and wounded another But they could not hinder us to go to the next Hatt◠where we found no sort of Cattle for the Spaniards 〈◊〉 carried away and drove them before them here we lay this Night but the Spaniards being unwilling to 〈◊〉 us have any Rest we were forced at Midnight to march out against them and made them quit the Field to us On the Fourth we returned on Board our Vessels having brought only some little Refreshments along wit◠us to our wounded Men and that Evening sailed away with a West Wind keeping out to Sea to the Fifth 〈◊〉 Noon when we returned to Land at Midnight 〈◊〉 steered South South-East as near the Wind as we could till the Sixth that we were brought back to the Shoar about the middle of the following Night we discovered a Vessel under sail and joyned her It was the Bark we had sent to Chiriquita who meeting with very bad Weather was constrained to put back under the Morn or Cape of Puercos On the Seventh being not able to double the Morn because of the contrary West Winds we sent our Galley to Chiriquita instead of our Bark we could not double the Morn before the Twelfth and we had a blast of Wind in the Night that in it self was favourable enough for our Course but the Currents carried us so to Leeward that we were still on the Thirteenth Six Leagues to Leeward of the Morn We steered West North-West bearing upon the Isle of Tygers the which stands Six Leagues North and South from the Continent between the River of St. Iames and this Morn or Cape of Puercos on the Fourteenth at Night we were apprehensive least we should be drove too near the Shoar On the 16th we arrived at St. Iohn's Island where we met with our Galley returned from Chiriquita having found nothing of what she sought for in that Place which still increased the Suspition we had already entertained that the President of Panama had caused a false Report to be spread abroad that some Freebooters had been there that so he might get us to quit his Port and make way by our absence for those Ships that were expected from Peru to enter into Panama and this so much the more heightened our Courage in that we came to understand one Day after another the cowardize and dastardly Nature of this proud Nation who with her Three Deckt Ships mounted each of them with Eighteen pieces of Cannon and having Four hundred Men on Board were afraid of pitiful Barks who had but Four Guns and some Petereroes in all with which however we waited for them On the Eighteenth we brought our Galleys and Canoes a Shoar in order to clean them two Days after we departed with an intention to take some Prisoners from whom we might obtain certain Intelligence of the Truth or Falshood of any Freebooters having been at Chiriquita for they might have been gone before we had sent thither and upon our departure we appointed our Ships to Rendezvous at the Isle of St. Peter there to tarry till we returned On the Morning of the 24th we went a Shoar Two Leagues to Leeward of the River Pueblo Nuevo where after we had travelled till about Four in the Afternoon to discover some Houses we saw Two Horsemen one of whom we dismounted but he made his Escape and took the other of whom we asked where we were And being informed that there was about half a League from thence to a Burrough called St. Lorenzo we went that way and arrived there in the Twilight Here we took a great many Prisoners who told us they had heard of no Freebooters from the time we had taken Chiriquita which now fully confirmed us in a belief of the Amusement the President of Panama had entertained us with on the 26th we returned to the Sea-side with our Prisoners and discovered our Ships that were sailing to the Place of Rendezvous to whom we sent a Canoe to give them Notice to come and Anchor at an Island which is over-against and Three quarters of a League distant from the Port of St. Lorenzo This Burrough stands a League and an half within Land and is in my Opinion no more than a Village It's Inhabited partly with Spaniards and partly Indians who as I have already said have been reduced by degrees and submitted themselves to the Spaniards It s a very open Country and a Man is so far from being sure of what Place he is in that he would believe himself to be at Chiriquita when here so like is the one to the other as well in respect to the Burrough and Places adjacent as for the course and disposition of the Rivers wherewith it is watered On the 26th in the Evening we went on Board our Ships with our Prisoners and agreed with them upon what quantity of Provision they were to give us for their Ransom on the 27th we sent the Father or Curate of the Place a Shoar to dispatch the sending of it on the 28th the English who made part of our Fleet desired us to come together in order to make a Division of the Ships
But finding the Spaniards stood to it more tightly than ordinary they threw themselves into their Retrenchment where killing all about them that made any resistance they wrought a great Slaughter amongst them That one part of them continued Prisoners while the other fled without any more ado and forsook their Retrenchment as well as the three Colours they had set up there That the Freeâ—â—â—ters had lost no more than three Men but that the Spaniards in the heat of the Action killed several Prisoners of the one and the other Sex which the other had brought away from the Town who after this went on board their Vessels That some Months after not concurring with a Design which Fourscore and five of his Men had taken of going down towards the Isles of Calyâ—fornia he had resolved with the Sixty that remained with him to go up towards Panama where happening 〈◊〉 I have told you to meet us we gave both him and his Men room in our Ships where we learnt this whole Relation from them On the 30th we quitted our Ships and went in our Canoes into several Rivers which discharge themselves into this Bay of Caldaira and amongst the rest into a â—ery fine one whereon we went up Ten Leagues in â—ll which space we always found her of the same depth â—â—d breadth Several Spaniards told us that a matter of Forty or Fifty Leagues higher there was a Mountain â—â—om whence arises the Spring of this River and on the â—ther side of the same Mountain arises also a Spring â—om which runs the River St. Iohn that discharges its if into the North Sea at the White Point We took a large Canoe laden with Tallow in this â—iver which some time after was of great use to us by â—ay of Food as we went to Queaquilla We also found the Hatto's on this River's side where we refreshed 〈◊〉 selves till the 6th of February when we returned a board our Ships On the 12th we departed in 〈◊〉 to go the third-time and visit Nicoya We arrived â—â—re next day in the Evening and presently detatched 〈◊〉 Parties to get us Intelligence concerning the Spaâ—â—ards who never appeared since they had threatned us 〈◊〉 their Succours instead of the Ransom we required of them for saving their Town which they still refusing to satisfie us for we burnt it this Third time and on the 17th went our ways But though we were forced to chastise the Spaniards in this manner we shewed our selves very exact in the Preservation of the Churches into which we carried the Pictures and Images of the Saints which we found in particular Houses that they might not be exposed to the rage and burning of the English who were not much pleased with these sorts of Precautions they being Men that took more satisfaction and pleasure to see one Church burnt than all the Houses of America put together But as it was our turn now to be the stronger Party they durst do nothing that derogated from that respect we bore to all those things Nicoya was a small Town Pleasant enough taken altogether Its Churches are very fine and the Houses as ill built they have a pretty River there that runs about one half of the Town round but when one is within you cannot know which way it is you have entered nor how to go out because of the height of the Mountains wherewith it is surrounded every way We were no sooner gone from this Town but the Spaniards sent to set Fire to the Roads through which we were to pass which yet we happily escaped because they had but just begun to do it We took one of this Men who was hemmed in between us and the Fire and who conducted us to several Estancia's from which we did not return before the 20th And on the 22d wepâ— Forty Prisoners a Shoar who were too chargeable to be kept on Board with us Some Men perhaps may be amazed at what I have said concerning the burning of the Roads but they would be much more so had they seen it as we have done there were two sorts of Places where this burning was wont to be practised to wit in the Savana's and Woodsâ— when the former were set on Fire whose Grass was almost as high as our Heads and also as dry in a manner as Powder we found our selves so besieged on the right and left side of the Road with the Flame that it made 〈◊〉 feel it to some purpose tho' the same were of no long duration But when these Roads lead through Convert and woody Countries as in the present Occasion whereof am speaking and that once fire be fet thereunto 〈◊〉 may see according to the course of the Wind the Country for several Leagues burnt in a little time to which the dryness of things doth very much contribute the Sun being exceeding hot at that Season On the Twenty third we sent our Quarter-Master on Board the English to make an agreement with them we proposed to go in Conjunction with them to take Queaquilla where the Spaniards drove a great Trade by Sea upon Condition that if we took Two Ships we should cast Lots who should chose and that in case there were but one taken that then we would put Fifty Men of each Nation on board her till such time as we could take another which they would not agree to as insisting upon the First choice So that seeing we could not bring them to comply we parted as well from them as from Captain Grogniet and Fifty of our Men who staid on board him so that they had an Hundred and forty two Men in their Ship and we an Hundred and Sixty two in our Frigate and long Bark On the Twenty fourth we weighed and set fail for Queaquilla which is the First maritime Town on the South Coast as you go thither from Panama we made all the sail we could to get thither before the English who had formed the same Design as we had done we lay by till the 25th to get out of the Bay and in passing from the White Cape we steered South South-West South and by South-West and directly South to the 28th in the Evening that we had on our Starboard side a West North-West Wind bearing us to the South which lasted till the 29th when we were becalmed in the Night On the First of March towards Noon arose a pretty fresh Gale from the North which made us bear South South-West and South South-East till the 4th in the Morning when an Easterly Breeze took us and made us bear South on the Fifth arose a North-West Wind and on the Eighth at Noon we passed the Equinoctial Line leaving the Isles of Galapa which are below to the West a douzen Leagues to Leeward These are Eight Islands that stand North and South of the Whihe Cape and East and West from Queaquilla they are full of Sea Tortoises that land there every Hour of the Day and you
into the Bay of Mapallo in quest of the French Men that were gone ashoar upon those Islands which I have already said are there and that in her return she was to carry the President of Guatimala and his Wife to Panama On the 25th we weigh'd and sailed for the Isle of Câ—cas which stands North and South of Realegâ—o an hundred Leagues distance We had a South-west Wind and sailed West North-west On the 30th we discovered Land we pinch'd upon the Wind that we might know what place it was we found towards Evening 't was the Isle of Malpalla that stands forty Leagues Southwards of that of St. Iohn's and from thence we sailed to the Bay of Mapalla instead of going to the Isle of Cocas from whence the Wind blew and consequently was contrary to us From this day forward to the 11th of Iuly we had the same Southwest Wind which allay'd not but when it blew from the East and South On the 13th we took our Latitude and found we were thirty Leagues out at Sea from Realegâ—o and steared North to get to Land On the 16th at Noon we discovered the Mountains and put into the Cape for fear of being discovered On the â—7th we sent two of our Canoes to endeavour to take some one Prisoner that so we might know how things were before we brought our Ships into the Bay In the Evening our Canoes having discovered what Coast it was returned and told it was St. Michael's Bay whether the Currents had driven us in making the Cape and which we took for that of Mapalla whither we would have gone and which stands fourteen Leagues to Windward of the former which might the more 〈◊〉 have been mistakâ—n from the Sea in that the Mountainâ—â— of these two Bayâ—â— are very like one another We lay by to Windward of iâ— in the Night and on the 18th 〈◊〉 out our Canoes and continuing at the Cape till the 20â—â— we made use of them to go and joyn our Friends at 〈◊〉 of the Islands As we entered in on the 23d we 〈◊〉 taken with a breeze of Wind that separated us from 〈◊〉 another and of five Sail whereof our Fleet consisted we had no more than two of the least and weakest of our Ships left together but we did not lose sight of the other three tho' they were got very far to Leeward and overtaken with a Calm In the mean time we Anchoâ—ed at the Isle of Tigers which is the nearest to the Mouth of it On the 24th about Eight in the Morning we discovered three Sail of Ships that doubled the Point of Harina which is to Windward of that Bay and Ten Leagues to Leeward of Realeguo we presently fired a Paterero to call in our Canoes who were ashoar to take in Water As soon as they were come on Board we made ready and bore up to those Ships with a full Wind though we had then but very little of it Those three Vessels which were a Galley and two Pirogues bore also towards us though they saw us 〈◊〉 but as soon as we were got out and discovered by them they doubled the Cape upon us with their Sails and Oaâ—â— and the two Pirogues that sailed better than the Galley got behind us and fired fifteen Cannon-shot upon us but as our Arms could reach them these Pirogues were forced to fall a Stern and to wait for their Galley When she had joyned them they held a Council and then put out to Attack us our Ships not being able to give us any Relief put to the Cape to wait for us we fought them all along till we had rejoyned our Vessels which we did about two in the Afternoon when the Spaniards left us to go bury their Dead upon the Island where we had been to take in Water when we first discovered them they did us some Damage in our main Mast and Rigging and wounded few of our Men Towards Evening a Wind arose from the Sea and we sailed in quest of them but they kept to the Shoar On the 25th we passed round the Island in search for our Canoes which the Enemy's Galley sought for also rightly imagining they were ashoar as not having seen 〈◊〉 with us during the Action About two in the Aâ—â—â—noon they discovered us and coming out from under their Covert gave us the Signal which we on our part answered they had hid themselves there for four Hours expecting our coming and had a full sight of the Engagement but could not possibly any more than the 〈◊〉 of our Ships come in to our Assistance The Spaniâ—â—ds who saw us take them with us durst not hinder it though they were at Anchor very near them then we attempted with one of our Ships to Board the Enemy's Galley but she saved her self upon the Flats where our Ships could not come near her On the 26th we Anchored at an Island in the Bay where we put two of our Vessels to Careen while the other three guarded them On the 28th we saw a Canoe under white Colours crossing from the main Land to the Islands where one of ours met and took her It was a Spanish Captain who believing us to be his own People came to congratulate the Commander upon the Victory which he from the Shoar thought they had got over us We put him upon the Wrack to know whether he came not by some wile or other to draw us into a Snare laid for us by the Galley 〈◊〉 the Greek Captain had formerly done But he solemnly protested it was not so and informed us that there 〈◊〉 a Pirogue with thirty Men in the same Bay where we were who were gone ashoar some time since and 〈◊〉 fought in the rase of Savannas against six hundred Spaniards whose Captain called don Albarado who was accounted the bravest and most valiant Man in the Province they had killed and that when we had met with their Galley and two Pirogues there had Eight â—â—ndred Armed Men come not with a design to look after us but to fight those thirty French Men who could not be conquered by his six hundred Country-men in admirable instance of the Valour of the Spaniards in those 〈◊〉 The Day of Mapalla is a very curious place and full of 〈◊〉 great Ilands not inferiour in Beauty to those of 〈◊〉 they were formerly Inhabited and there are still 〈◊〉 Burroughs there which the People have forsaken by 〈◊〉 of the Descents of the Free-booters As for Anchorage it 's very good here but no good shelter to be found in this place from any corner of the Wind great Blasts whereof come over those great Mountains that are at the bottom of it so that there are very few Cables that are proof against them On the 6th of August one of our Men who was Hunting upon the Island where we were Careening found two Men who had been there for the space of Eight Days to observe our Motions and who taking us to
wherewith to cover them in the Night and some of those People who live more at ease wear Shirts and Drawers which the English bring them from Iamaica They are the boldest People in the World for exposing themselves to the Perils of the Sea and undoubtedly the most expert in the Art of Fishing They 'll commit themselves to the Waves in these little Boats or such like which an able Seaman will scarce venture to do and here they will stay for three or four days together being no more concerned let the Weather be what it will than if they were made of the same piece as their Boat and provided they can but once set sight of the Fish tho' swimming never so low in the Water they will not fail to take him so dextrous are they at this Work They many times do our Freebooters a Kindness when they take them on Board with them upon Condition of letting them have a share of what Booty is got which must be exactly performed unto them For if you once deceive them you must no longer expect their Assistance and this Temper is peculiar almost to all the Indian Nations in these Parts that they will never go again when once you have broke your Word with them The Ancient Mousticks who gave these Men I have spoken of Entertainment live about ten or a dozen Leagues to Windward of Cape Gracia a Dios in those Places they call Sambay and Sanibey They are very slothful and neither Plant nor Sow but very little aâ—â— lie all day on their Amacks which are a kind of moviâ—â— Beds in their Ajoupas or Baracks while their Wives wâ—â— upon them in every thing as far as they can serve them and when they are pres'd with Hunger they go a Fishing in their Boats at which they are also very skilfuâ— and when they have taken any they eat them and gâ—â— not out any more till Hunger returns upon them again As for their Cloathing it 's neither larger nor moâ—â— sumptuous than that of the Mulasters at the Capâ—â— There are but a few amongst them that have a fixeâ— abode most of them being Vagabonds and wandring along the River-side and having no other House to shelter themselves in but a Latanier-leaf which they manage so that when the Wind drives the Rain on the one side they turn their Leaf against it behind which they lie and this Skreens them against the Weather When they are inclined to sleep they dig a hole in the Sand where they lie and then cover themselves therewith and this they do to keep themselves from the stinging of the Mousticks wherewith the Air is generally very full They are little Flies that are sooner 〈◊〉 than seen and have so sharp and venomous a sting 〈◊〉 where they alight they seem to have fiery Darts wherewith to prick Men. These poor People are so tormented with those mischievous Insects when they see them not that their Bodies appear like Lepers and I can assure it for Truth as knowing the same on my own Knowledge that it 〈◊〉 no small pain to be attacked with them For besides thâ—â— they caused us to lose our Rest in the Night it was theâ— that we were forced to go naked for want of Shirts when the troublesomness of these Animals made us 〈◊〉 into despair and such a Rage as set us besides our selves When these Indians go a Journey tho' never so shâ—â— they take their Wives Children Dogs and Fawns which they breed 〈◊〉 all along with them It 's a Custom I have observed to be â—â—eld among all the Indiâ—â— Nations on the Terra Firma of America and those speak of live as brutishly as any of the rest yet theâ— are not so Cruel and Savage because of the Society they have with the English who have no other aim than to endeavour to bring them under and Mailer their Country where they have a great many Habitationsâ— already On the 14th the Vessel which I said was gone to the Isles of Pearls arrived at the Place where we were and came scarce to an Anchor but we all crouded to go on Board because we were to draw Lots who should embark But about Fifty of us for all that being more vigilant than the rest made a shift to enter her who thinking it unadviseable to go ashoar again to commit to Chance a thing we were already in Possession of and for to prevent a greater Number from entring in we being already piled as it were on the top of one another we weighed Anchor and departed The Master would have carryed us to Iamaica but we not knowing how matters stood between France and England whether it were Peace or War engaged him to carry us to St. Domingo for Forty Pieces of Eight a Head We went to take in Water at the Isle of Pearls and on the 16th left the same On the 17th we doubled the Island of Catalina or Providence as the English call it where the Spaniards had formerly a very fine Fort and small Town which were taken by the French and English under the Colours of the last On the 18th we went to cross the Channel â—ho ' it blew a strong Easterly Breeze On the 24th we â—ame to Land at Los Iardinos which are a great many small Islands near unto that of Cuba And on the 29th we took in Water at Port Portilla in the Isle of Cuba which is not inhabited On the 30th we anchored to the South South-East of the Burrough of Baracoa in the same Island where we surprized the Hunters belonging to that Place whom we obliged to sell us the Victuals they had took by giving them their own Price for it But this our Liberality towards them proceeded from another cause and that was that we were uncertain whether our Nation was at Peace or War with the Spaniards since we had no Intelligence here 〈◊〉 from any French Country how things went with them On the 6th of April we touched at Nippas which is 〈◊〉 small Burrough on the Coast Seven Leagues distant from Petit Guavis that so we might hear some News of our own Country while we rode at Anchor there There were some of our People so infatuated with the long Miseries we had suffered that they thought of nothing â—â—se but the Spaniards insomuch that when from the Deck they saw some Horsemen riding along the Sea-side they flew to their Arms to fire upon them as imagining they were Enemies tho' we assured them we were now come amongst those of our own Nation We left this Port on the 4th and went to Anchor in the Port of Petit Guavis from whence we had departed almost four Years before and before we came near the Fort I went to Monsieur Dumas the King's Lieutenant to require him to grant us Protection and Idemnity in the Governour Monsieur de Cassy's absence by Vertue of an Amnesty the King had been pleased to send to those that made War upon the Spaniards
and Artillery we had taken as being desirous to be in a Ship by themselves which was presently done On the First of December we sent a Canoe to the Continent and the Men that were in her told us they had seen a Troop of Horse who threatned them at a distance with their Cutlasses which made us at Night to the number of a Hundred Men go a Shoar to see them on the Second we waited for them in their Town of St. Lorenzo but no body appearing we burnt it As soon as the Spaniards saw the Fire the Commander of the Place came to offer us a Summ of Money for the Ransom of the Prisoners which we refused because we had much more need of Provision We told them if they did not send us the same pursuant to the Agreement we had already made with their People they should have no more to do than to send for their Heads away from the Island In the said Commander's House we found the following Letter writ by the Tenient of Chiriquita A Letter from the Tenient of Chiriquita to the Commander of the Town of St. Lorenzo SIR I Have sent you by way of reinforcement all the Men which I could get together use your endeavours to take one or other of the Enemy to the end we may know what they design to do about which our Generals are mightily concerned Order the Cattle to be drove away from the Sea-side and put them into a Place fit to lay an Ambuscade to the end that the Enemy severing from one another according to their usual manner in order to kill them It may be so much the more easie for you to secure some one of them But if you cannot do that lay an Ambuscade at a Place where you think they will put our Prisoners a Shoar and let them shew you those Persons whom they have observed to be most respected on Ship Board so that if God gives us the Advantage over them do not you cut them off but send them to me especially interrogate the Women that you may know whether they have met with some weak Fellow that hath made any Discovery unto them This Letter made us keep more upon our Guard than otherwise we would have done and we returned on Board our Ships that Evening On the Third we went in a Canoe a Shoar to see whether they had brought the Provision agreed upon for the Ransom of their People but instead of that we saw them busie in raising an Entrenchment near the Place where they expected we should make our Descent which gave us to understand they pursued the Orders prescribed to them by the foresaid Letter On the Fourth we put those Prisoners ashoar upon the Island where we had anchored and left them there without any further expecting of their Ransom that so we might secure our selves against that Ambuscade whereunto we must have fallen had we sent them to the same Place where we took them In the Evening we weighed and sailed for the Bay of Boca del Toro with an Easterly Breeze that put us forward on the Fifth we doubled the Point of Porica which is Ten Leagues to Leeward of that Bay at the height whereof we were becalmed till the Tenth when towards Evening a small Wind blowing from the Sea arose which brought us to the Mouth of the Bay But the same was followed by so Terrible a Tempest that our Ship lay for an Hour in such a manner that she was under Water as far as her great Scuttle and what amazed us was that our Ropes Sheets and Clulings were cut so cleverly as if the same had been done with an Hatchet However this tearing of our Rigging served us in good stead for had it not been for that we had quickly gone to be Meat for Fishes for our Sails being held by no other than the Wind and Arms alone the Sails Yards yet stretched themselves out along the Masts and our Ship by little and little happily recovered her self The Wind was allay'd in the Dusk of the Evening by a great deal 〈◊〉 that fell wherewith we were becalmed and on the Eleventh we had a Southerly Wind which brought us to an Anchor in the Bottom of the Bay The Mouth of this Bay of Boca del Toro is about Four or Five Leagues in extent from one Point to another and Eight in depth If you would enter into it with safety you must keep the Whip of your Rudder to Starboard because 't is dangerous to keep to the East side Here is good Anchorage every where and also a Covert one may anchor in the bottom of the Bay within Pistol shot of Land There are Four Islands contained in it that stand very near unto the main Land to the East and North-East but it is not safe to lie near them because of the many Rocks that are there Several Fine Rivers discharge themselves into it and lead us up them to diverse Indian Carbets who have neither Peace nor are in amity with any People whatsoever no more than those whom I have mentioned when I spoke of Cape la Vella and Boca del Drago which yet does not hinder the Spaniards from passing their Caravans through the midst of their Country when they come from Costa Rica to Panama But then they must be very well guarded and the great Road through which they pass is not above Six Leagues from the Sea-side On the Twelfth we went to find out Trees fit both to make Canoes of for carrying our Water and Canoes of War on the 25th being Christmas-Day after we had according to Custom said our Prayers in the Night one of our Quarter-Masters being gone a Shoar in order to take care about our eating some Victuals for our Ships being a careening all our Provisions were then put out one of our Prisoners who served us as Cook stabbed him with a Knife in Six several places wherewith crying out he was presently relieved and the Assassine punished with Death CHAP. IV. The Freebooters Voyage to the South Seas in 1687. ON the First of Ianuary 1687. our Canoes being ready we left this Bay and failed for that of Caldaira that we might victual there and make an end of careening our Ships we left them there on the Second after we had given Orders to those who had the charge of them to come and joyn us in the Bay and we embarked Two hundred Men in our Canoes to crossover to la Cagna which is a small Island very inconvenient to draw near to and stands about a League North and South from the main Land between Boca del Toro and Caldaira We were six days in our passage before we could get thither having only put forward in the Night for fear of being discovered Being come on the Sixth at Night into the Bay our Guide made us put in under a Covert and told us that to prevent our being discovered we should go a Shoar in that
had resolved to return to the North Sea and that as they sailedâ— away for the Streights of Magellan they fell to gaming whereat many lost all they had got that they had anchored in the Road which leads to the Isles of Dom Fernandez that stand upon the brink of the Streight to which Place came Captain Willnet an English Man who had left them long before and was come thither upon the same Design with themselves of repassing into the North Seas by the same Streights but that Captain David had altered his Resolution for that those of his Crew who had lost their Money were not willing to leave these Seas nor the Ship till they had taken another That as for those who had won they went on Board Captain Willnet out of which Ship went also at the same time such of his Crâ—w as were without Money in order to go and get some with Captain David and that so they were come back into the South Sea to the number of Sixty English and Twenty French as Willnet was gone through the Streight for the North Sea that Captain Peter Henry was gone for the East-Indies presently after Captain Suams and lastly they told us tho' we had been informed thereof before that the Spanish Fleet was a careening at Puerto Callao which as I have already said is the Place of Embarking that belongs to Lima. As these Eight English Men did not think that Captain David's Frigate would rejoyn them so quickly at the Place of Rendezvous they proposed going with us to Queaquilla which we so much the more willingly agreed to in that they gave us a share of their Victuals and Drink and a little revived amongst us that usual meriment that had now for some time been exiled from us by the abstinences we were forced to undergo wherewith we were extreamly weakned Then we sailed all Night in their Company steering South-East and by East On the 14th we furled all our Sails for fear of being discovered from Land near unto which we were About two arose a Fog by favour whereof we made use of our main Sail of all as well to come ready Rigged into the Bay which is Thirty Leagues in length as to get to Windward of the River Queaquilla and to spare our selves also the Labour of rowing so much for being so extraordinary weak we had not strength to do it We steered all Night South-East And on the 11th discovered the White Cape which is the Windward Cape of this Bay about Ten in the Morning we embarked to the number of Two hundred and Sixty Men on Board our Canoes after having given our Ships Orders to lay by in the Bay till they heard News from us We steered all Day long for the Island Sancta Clara with which we came up at Sun setting this little Island is in reality nothing else but a Rock standing East and West Six Leagues distant from the Continent we were obliged to cast Anchor with all the Tides contrary to us it being impossible to put into this Bay against the Currents where we found Six Fathom Water And on the 16th we found our selves between Sancta Clara and la Puna about Five Leagues from the Shoar La Puna is a very pretty Island and may be discovered at a great distance at Sea because of the Form of it resembling a Cardinalâ—s Cap It 's Twenty Leagues in circumference and stands East and West Two Leagues from the Continent and over-against the Mouth of the River Queaquilla There is a large Burrough built upon it where in former times were kept the King of Spain's Magazines Great Ships that is such as are Two or Three Deck'd ones that cannot come into the River Anchor between it and the Island We hid our selves in this Island all Day and that with the good Luck of not being discovered by the Sentinels who were there to the number of Forty of them though we knew nothing of it We departed in the Evening and got more Southerly that we might not be discovered from the Continent On the 17th we hid our selves again in a Covert Place upon the same Island where after we had got an exact Account from our Prisoners of the State Situation and Disposition of the Town of Queaquilla which we were about to go and take we disposed of our Forces in the following Order There were Fifty Men making the Forlorn Hope led by Captain Picard who commanded our Frigate to attack the great Fort Fourscore Granadiers commanded by the Captain of our Bark were to be in the nature of Reserves and to serve any where as there should be Occasion for them Captain Grogniâ—â— with the main Body was to make himself Master of the Town and Port And Captain George Hewit who was Commander of the English Ship with Fifty of his Men was to attack the little Fort and a Thousand Pieces of Eight was promised to any one of the Ensigns whereof I was one that should pitch the First Colours upon the great Fort Things being thus regulated we left our Covert in the Evening believing we might be able to enter into the River of Queaquilla that Night before Day light appear'd but for all that all we could do was to gain one of the Points of the Island which is over-against the River for we could have the advantage of the Tyde 's coming in but for three Hours which was the Reason that on the 18th as we put off again that we might the more readily get under the Covert of the Island Day overtook us and so discovered us to a Sentinel who set a Cottage on Fire as a Signal to the other Sentinels that were posted at convenient distances on both sides the River that he saw us that so these same might advertise the Town of it As soon as we got a Shoar we marched cross a Wood to get to the said Fire where we found some of those that had kindled it whereof Two were killed as they â—â—ed to save themselves and a Third was taken but we could get no Intelligence from him for he was but a little Boy This day we discovered a Ship entring into the River we let her pass being unwilling to come out from under our Covert to fall upon her for fear of being discovered by those on the main Land who we supposed knew nothing of us Because the Inhabitants of Queaquilla had not answered the Fire-Signal which the Sentinel of La Puna had given them Upon the approach of Night we made ready and entred into the River of Queaquilla by one of the two Mouths we found there and by which goes in and out with the Tyde so rapid a Current that it is enough to carry a Canoe two Leagues in an hour so that we made four in the space of two hours There are two very fine Islands in the two largest parts of this River which may be about half a League over under the Covert whereof we hid our selves