We Sailed From Gorgona On The 11th August, And As Our Ships Were Now
Rather Thinly Manned, I Engaged Thirty-
Two of our negro prisoners to
join our company, placing Michael Kendall, a free Jamaica negro, who had
deserted to
Us from the Spaniards, as their leader, and charging him to
exercise them in the use of arms. At the same time I supplied them with
clothes, desiring them to consider themselves now as Englishmen, and no
longer slaves to the Spaniards. After this we stood over to the bay of
Jecames, [Atacames,] where the Indians are free; and with much ado
entered into trade with them, by the help of a priest. We sent them
three large wooden saints to adorn their church, which they took as a
great present; and I sent a feathered cap to the wife of the chief which
was well accepted. We here sold some of our prize goods to good account,
so that we had provisions very cheap. We sailed from hence on the 1st
September, intending for the Gallapagos, and on the 8th we made one of
these islands.
Next day we came to anchor in about thirty fathoms; and in the evening
our boats brought us off a lading of excellent turtle, having sent our
yawl and several men ashore previously to turn over these creatures in
the night; but to no purpose, as we afterwards found they only came
ashore in the day. The island off which we lay was high, rocky, and
barren, with some low land next the sea, but now water was to be found,
like those we had seen formerly. On the 12th the Duchess, which lay at
anchor a good distance from us, had got about 150 land and
sea-tortoises, but not generally so large as ours; while we had 120
turtles, but no land-tortoises as yet. The Marquis had the worst luck.
On the 13th, I sent our pinnace to the place where the Duchess got
land-tortoises, which returned at night with thirty-seven, and some salt
they had found in a pond; and our yawl brought us twenty sea-turtles, so
that we were now well provided. Some of the largest land-tortoises
weighed 100 pounds; and the largest sea-turtles were upwards of 400
pounds weight. The land-tortoises laid eggs on our deck; and our men
brought many of them from the land, pure white, and as large as a
goose's egg, with a strong thick shell, exactly round.
These are the ugliest creatures that can well be imagined, the
back-shell being not unlike the top of an old hackney-coach, as black as
jet, and covered with a rough shrivelled skin. The neck and legs are
long, and as big as a man's wrist, and they have club-feet as large as a
fist, shaped much like those of an elephant, having five knobs, or thick
nails, on each fore-foot, and only four on the hind-feet. The head is
small, with a visage like that of a snake; and when first surprised they
shrink up their head, neck, and legs under their shell. Some of our men
affirmed that they saw some of these about four feet high, and of vast
size; and that two men mounted on the back of one of these, whom it
easily carried at its usual slow pace, not appearing to regard their
weight. They supposed this one could not weigh less than 700 pounds. The
Spaniards say that there are no others in these seas, except at the
Gallapagos, but they are common in Brazil.
The 15th, being under sail with a fine breeze, we agreed to lay to till
midnight. The 16th, seeing many islands and rocks to the westwards, we
agreed to bear away, not caring to encumber ourselves among them during
the night; but by six in the evening, from the mast-head, we could see
so many low rocks, almost joining from island to island, that we seemed
land-locked for more than three parts of the compass, and no way open
except the S.W. whence we came. We resolved therefore to return that
way, making short trips all night, and continually sounding, for fear of
shoals, having from forty to sixty fathoms. The 18th and 19th we saw
several more islands, one of them very large, which we supposed to be
near the equator. At noon of the 19th we had an observation, making our
latitude 2 deg. 2' N. We saw in all at least fifty islands, some of which we
searched, and others we viewed from a distance, but none had the least
appearance of fresh water.[228] Signior Morel told me that a Spanish
man-of-war had been to an island in lat. 1 deg. 20' or 30' S. 140 Spanish
leagues west from the island of Plata, and to which they gave the name
of Santa Maria del Aguada, a pleasant island with a good road, full of
wood, and having plenty of water, with turtle and sea-tortoises in
abundance. This I believe to have been the same island in which Davis
the buccaneer recruited; and all the light he has left by which to find
it again, is, that it is to the west of the islands he was at with the
other buccaneers, which must be those we were twice at. We had no
occasion to look out for this island on the present trip, though I
believe it might easily have been found without farther directions. In
these islands there are many kinds of sea-fowl, and some land-birds,
particularly hawks and turtle-doves, both so very tame that we often
knocked them down with sticks. I saw no kind of beasts, but there are
guanas in abundance, and land-tortoises almost on every island, besides
vast numbers of turtles or sea-tortoises. It is very strange how the
land-tortoises have got here, as there are none on the main, and they
could not have come of themselves.
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