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. Coasting along to
the N.W. we passed the gulfs of Dulce and Nicoya, and the Isla del
Cano, the land along the coast being low and covered with wood, but
almost destitute of inhabitants. August 8th, in lat. 11 deg. 20' N. we got
sight of Volcano viejo, or Old Volcano, the sea-mark for Realejo,
bearing from us N.E. by N. when we made ready to land next day.
Accordingly, we sent 520 men on the 9th in thirty-one canoes to attack
the harbour of Realejo. The weather was fair and the wind favourable
till two p.m. when a tempest arose, attended by thunder and lightning,
which almost overwhelmed us in the sea. It subsided, however, in half an
hoar, as did the agitation of the waves; it being observable in these
hot climates that the waves soon rise and soon fall. It became calm
about seven p.m. but as we could not get ready to land that night before
day, being then five leagues from shore, we remained nearly in the same
place till next evening, that we might not be discovered.
About three next morning another tornado had nearly put an end to us and
our enterprise, but it did not last long, and we entered the creek, on
the S.E. side of the harbour, leading to Realejo in the night, but durst
not proceed further till day-break. We then rowed deeper into the creek,
which is very narrow, the land on both sides being very marshy and full
of mangrove trees, through among which it is impossible to pass, and
beyond these, where the ground is firm, the Spaniards had cast up a
small entrenchment. We rowed as fast as we could and landed 470 men, the
remainder, among whom I was, being left to guard the canoes.
The city of Leon stands twenty miles up the country in a sandy plain,
near a peaked burning mountain, called El Rico, or the Volcano of
Leon, the way to that city from where our people landed being through a
champaign country covered with long grass. Between the landing place and
the city were several sugar works, and about midway a beautiful river,
but fordable. Two miles before coming to the city there was an Indian
town, whence a pleasant sandy road led to the city.
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