They Now Bore Down Upon Us Under Full
Sail, So That We Were Forced To Make A Running Fight All Next Day,
Almost Quite Round The Bay Of Panama, And Came At Length To Anchor Over
Against The Island Of Pacheque.
As Captain Townley was hard pressed by
the Spaniards, he was forced to make a bold run through the
before-mentioned narrow channel, between Pacheque and the three small
islands; and Captain Harris was obliged to separate from us during the
fight.
Thus our long-projected design vanished into smoke.
According to the report of some prisoners taken afterwards, the Spanish
fleet consisted of fourteen sail, besides periagoes, or large boats of
twelve or fourteen oars each, and among these there were eight ships of
good force, mounting from eight to forty-eight guns, with two
fire-ships, and computed to contain 3000 men. In the morning of the 30th
we saw the Spanish fleet at anchor, three leagues from us to leeward,
and by ten a.m. they were under sail with an easy gale from the S.
making the best of their way to Panama. In this affair we had but one
man slain, but never knew the loss sustained by the Spaniards. Captain
Gronet and his Frenchmen never joined us in this fight, laying the fault
upon his men, wherefore he was ordered in a consultation to leave us;
after which we resolved to sail for the islands of Quibo, or Cobaya, in
quest of Captain Harris.
We sailed on the 1st June, 1685, with the wind at S.S.W. passing between
Cape Carachina and Islas del Rey. The 10th we came in sight of Moro
de Puercos, a high round hill on the coast of Lavelia, in lat. 7 deg. 12'
N. round which the coast makes a turn northwards to the isles of Quibo.
On this part of the coast there are many rivers and creeks, but not near
so large as those on the east side of the bay of Panama. Near the sea
this western coast of the bay is partly hilly and partly low land, with
many thick woods, but in the interior there are extensive savannahs or
fruitful plains, well stored with cattle. Some of the rivers on this
side produce gold, but not in such abundance as on the other side; and
there are hardly any Spanish settlements on this side, except along the
rivers leading to Lavelia and Nata, which are the only places I know of
between Panama and Pueblo nova. From Panama there is good travelling
all over Mexico, through savannahs or plains; but towards Peru there is
no passage by land beyond the river Chepo, by reason of thick woods and
many rivers and mountains.
We arrived at the isle of Quibo on the 15th June, where we found
Captain Harris. This isle is in lat 7 deg. 26' N. and long. 82 deg. 13' W. It is
near seven leagues long by four broad, being all low land, except at its
N.E. end, on which side, and also to the east, there is excellent water.
It abounds in many kinds of trees, among which are great numbers of deer
and black monkeys, the flesh of which is reckoned very wholesome; and it
has some guanas and snakes. A sand-bank runs out half a mile into the
sea from the S.E. end of this island, and on its east side, a league to
the north of this, there is a rock a mile from the shore, which is seen
above water at last quarter of the ebb. In all other places there is
safe anchorage a quarter of a mile from the shore, in six, eight, ten,
and twelve fathoms, on clean sand and ooze. The isle of Quicarra, to
the south of Quibo, is pretty large; and to the north of it is a small
isle named Ranchina, which produces great plenty of certain trees called
Palma-Maria. These are straight, tough, and of good length, and are
consequently fit for masts, the grain of the wood having a gradual twist
or spiral direction; but, notwithstanding the name, they have no
resemblance to palms. To the N.E. of Quibo are the small islands of
Canales and Cantarras, in the channels between which there is good
anchorage. These islands have plenty of wood and water, and appear at a
distance as if part of the continent; and as the island of Quibo is the
most considerable, these isles are generally named collectively the
Quibo islands.
Having failed in our designs at sea, it was agreed to try our fortune on
land, and the city of Leon, near the coast of Nicaragua in Mexico, was
pitched upon, as being nearest us. Being in want of canoes for landing
our men, we cut down trees to make as many as we had occasion for, and
in the mean time 150 men were detached to take Puebla nova, a town on
the continent, near the Quibo island,[176] in hopes of getting some
provisions. They easily took that town, but got nothing there except an
empty bark, and returned to us on the 26th June. Captain Knight came
back to us on the 5th July, having been farther to the west, but meeting
with no prize, he had gone south to the bay of Guayaquil, where he took
two barco-longas, with wine, oil, brandy, sugar, soap, and other
commodities. Knight learnt from his prisoners that certain merchant
ships, designed to have accompanied the Spanish fleet to Panama,
remained behind at Payta, which he might easily have taken if he had
been provided with a stronger force.
[Footnote 176: The only place in modern geography resembling the name,
and agreeing with the description in the text, is San Pablo on the S.
coast of Veragua, in lat. 8 deg. 9' N. and long. 83 deg. W. from Greenwich. - E.]
Our canoes being all ready, we sailed from Quibo on the 20th July
towards Realejo, a port a small way to the N.W. of Leon, being now 640
men, with eight ships, three tenders, and a fire-ship.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 109 of 221
Words from 110344 to 111378
of 224764
