In The Mean Time, We In The Bark Were Carried Away By The Current To The
Northward, Out Of Sight Of The Island; And As They Had Not Loaded Their
Boats Till The Height Of The Day, They Had A Laborious Task To Row Off,
Being Very Heavily Laden.
We were under melancholy apprehensions,
fearing that our people might have remained on shore and deserted us;
but towards evening we perceived two boats coming fast towards us, as
heavily laden as they could be with safety.
Words cannot express our joy
when they came aboard. The scene was now changed from famine to plenty.
The loaves of soft bread were distributed, and the jars of wine
broached: But I took care they should drink of it moderately, allowing
each man no more than half a pint a-day. After living a day or two on
wholesome food, we wondered how our stomachs could receive and digest
the rank nauseous congers fried in train-oil, and could hardly believe
we had lived on nothing else for a month past. I was assured by my
second lieutenant, who commanded the boat on this occasion, that the
Indians seemed rather pleased at our plundering the Spaniards; so
natural is it for bad masters to find enemies in their servants.
The island of Iquique is in the lat. of 19 deg. 50' S.[271] about a mile
from the main land, and only about a mile and a half in circuit, the
channel between it and the coast of Peru being full of rocks. It is of
moderate height, and the surface consists mostly of cormorant's dung,
which is so very white that places covered with it appear at a distance
like chalk cliffs. Its smell is very offensive, yet it produces
considerable gain, as several ships load here with it every year for
Arica, where it is used as manure for growing capsicums. The only
inhabitants of this island are negro slaves, who gather this dung into
large heaps near the shore, ready for boats to take it off. The village
where the lieutenant resides, and which our people plundered, is on the
main land close by the sea, and consists of about sixty scattered
ill-built houses, or huts rather, and a small church. There is not the
smallest verdure to be seen about it, neither does its neighbourhood
afford even the smallest necessary of life, not even water, which the
inhabitants have to bring in boats from the Quebrada, or breach of
Pisagua, ten leagues to the northward; wherefore, being so miserable a
place, the advantage derived from the guana or cormorant's dung seems
the only inducement for its being inhabited. To be at some distance from
the excessively offensive stench of the dung, they have built their
wretched habitations on the main, in a most hideous situation, and still
even too near the guana, the vapours from which are even there very bad,
yet not quite so suffocating as on the island. The sea here affords
abundance of excellent fish, some kinds of which I had never before
seen; one of them resembling a large silver eel, but much thicker in
proportion. The inhabitants of this desolate and forbidding place cure
these fish in a very cleanly manner, and export large quantities of
them by the vessels which come for the guana.
[Footnote 271: There is no island on the coast of Peru in that latitude.
Iquique is a town on the main land, about thirty miles from the sea. The
islands called los Patillos, or the Claws, are near the coast, in lat.
20 deg. 45' S. and probably one of these may have got the name of Iquique,
as being under the jurisdiction of that town. The mountain Carapacha of
the text, is probably the hills of Tarapaca of our maps. - E.]
We were informed by two Indian prisoners, that the lieutenant of Iquique
had a boat at Pisagua for water, of which we began to be in need, for
which reason I sent Mr Randal in search of her. He failed in this
object, but brought off a few bladders full of water, and three or four
balsas, very artificially sewed and filled with wind, which are used
for landing on this dangerous coast. On these the rower sits across,
using a double paddle; and as the wind escapes from the skin bags, he
has a contrivance for supplying the deficiency. These are the chief
embarkations used by the fishermen, and are found very serviceable for
landing on this coast, which has hardly a smooth beach from one end of
it to the other. We intended to have looked into the port of Arica, but
heard there was a ship there of force, on which we continued our course
to the northwards to La Nasca. Off that port we met a large ship about
two hours before day, and though we rowed very hard, it was ten o'clock
before we got up with her. After a brisk dispute of six or seven hours,
we were obliged to leave her, in consequence of the sea-breeze coming in
very strong. She was called the Francisco Palacio, of 700 tons, 8 guns,
and 10 patereroes, with a great number of men, and well provided with
small arms; but was so deeply laden that, in rolling, the water ran over
her deck and out at her scuppers; indeed she had more the appearance of
an ill-contrived floating castle, than of a ship, according to the
present fashion of Europe. Thus we had the misfortune, on this forlorn
voyage, to meet with the two best equipped and armed private ships at
that time in the South Sea. In this action we had not above twenty
fire-arms that were of any use, owing to the improvidence of our people
at Juan Fernandez; yet were they so impatient of this disappointment,
that some of them were for immediately surrendering to the enemy.
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