But They Had No
Sooner Clapped Their Helm A-Weather For This Purpose Than They Saw A
Sail Standing Towards Them, Which Proved To Be A Spanish Man Of War,
Which Caught Them, And Spoilt Their India Voyage.
The English prisoners
were very indifferently used; but Betagh, being a Roman Catholic, and of
a nation which the Spaniards are very fond of,[267] was treated with
much respect, and was even made an officer.
[Footnote 267: He seems to have been a Fleming, taken on board at
Ostend, when the voyage was originally intended to have proceeded under
an imperial commission. - E.]
In the morning of the 29th February, we saw a vessel at anchor in the
road of Guanchaeo, and anchored alongside of her at eleven a.m. She
was called the Carmasita, of about 100 tons, having only two Indian men
and a boy on board, and her only loading was a small quantity of timber
from Guayaquil. From these prisoners, I was informed of a rich ship
being in the cove of Payta, having put in there to repair some damage
she had sustained in a gale of wind. On this information I put
immediately to sea, but in purchasing our anchor, the cable parted, and
we lost our anchor. Our prize being new and likely to sail well, I took
her with us, naming her the St David, designing to have made her a
complete fire-ship as soon as we should be rejoined by the Mercury, in
which there were materials for that purpose. Next day we looked into
Cheripe, whence we chased a small vessel, which ran on shore to avoid
us. Next morning, being near Lobos, our appointed rendezvous with the
Mercury, I sent ashore my second lieutenant, Mr Randal, with two letters
in separate bottles, directing Captain Hately to follow me to Payta, to
which port I now made the best of my way, and arrived before it on the
18th of March, and sent Mr Randal to look into the cove, to bring me an
account of what ships were there, that I might know what to think of the
information we had received from our prisoners.
On the 21st, I steered directly in for the cove of Payta, which I
entered under French colours about four in the afternoon. We found only
a small ship there, of which Mr Brooks took possession in the launch.
About seven p.m. we came to anchor within three quarters of a mile of
the town. The town seemed to be moderately large and populous, and there
might probably be some land-forces for its defence, being the rendezvous
of the ships which trade between Panama and Caloa; yet, as the taking of
this place was treated in our instructions as a matter of importance, I
consulted with my officers as to the best manner of making the attempt.
Leaving the charge of the ship with the master, Mr Coldsea, and a few
hands, to look after the negroes we had on board, and with orders to
bring the ship nearer to the town, for the more expeditiously embarking
any plunder we might make; I landed with forty-six men, well armed,
about two in the morning of the 22d, and marched directly up to the
great church without the slightest opposition, for we found the town
entirely deserted by the inhabitants.
At day-light, we observed large bodies of men on the hills, on both
sides of the town, which we expected would have come down to attack us;
but, on marching up towards them, they retired before us. Hitherto we
had taken no prisoners, except an old Indian and a boy, who told us that
Captain Clipperton had been here some time before, and had set some
prisoners ashore, who assured them he meant not to do them any injury;
but that the inhabitants, not thinking fit to trust him, had removed all
their valuable effects into the mountains, among which were 400,000
dollars belonging to the king, which had been a fine prize for
Clipperton, who certainly would have found no greater difficulty in
taking this town than I did.
I was constrained suddenly to halt, in consequence of hearing a gun
fired from the ship, soon after which word was brought me that she was
ashore. I hurried off as fast as I could, carrying with us the
union-flag, which I had planted in the church-yard; and, as we were
re-embarking, the enemy came running down the hill, hallooing after us.
When I got on board, I found the ship entirely afloat, but within her
own breadth of the rocks; and, as the water was quite smooth, we soon
warped her off again. We then returned to the town, whence the Spaniards
retired as peaceably as before. The remainder of the day was employed in
shipping off what plunder we could find, which consisted of hogs, brown
and white calavances, beans, Indian corn, wheat, flour, sugar, and as
many cocoa nuts[268] as we were able to stow away, together with pans
and other conveniences for preparing it, so that we were now amply
provided with excellent breakfast meat for the rest of our voyage, and
were, besides, full of other provisions.
[Footnote 268: Cacao, chocolate-nuts, are almost certainly here
meant. - E.]
At eight in the morning of the 23d, a messenger came in to know what
ransom I would take for the town and the ship, for which I demanded
10,000 dollars in twenty-four hours. At eight next morning, I had a
letter from the governor, signifying, that as I wrote in French, neither
he nor any one about him could understand its contents; but if I would
write in Latin or Spanish, I might depend on a satisfactory answer. In
the afternoon, I sent for one of our quarter-deck guns on shore, which
was mounted at our guard, and was fired at sun-set, midnight, and break
of day.
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