This Is A Very Fleshy Fish, Having Hardly Any Bones Besides The
Back Bone, And Is Extraordinary Good Eating.
It has prodigious strength,
while in the water, and preys mostly on flying fish, as do dolphins and
bonetoes.
On the 6th of this month, a new revolution took place in our
affairs, as thirty of our men agreed to remain along with Captain
Dampier in the South Sea; but with what view or on what terms, we
others, who were not in the secret, never knew. Our company, who were
not of Dampier's party, consisted of thirty-three men; and,
notwithstanding this new arrangement, we all sailed to the Gulf of
Amapalla, where we anchored on the 26th January.
That same day, all the remaining provisions were equally divided between
the two companies by the agent for the owners, and we had four pieces of
cannon, with a proper proportion of small arms and ammunition, assigned
for us, for our defence during the voyage to India. Our next care was to
take in water, for which purpose we landed on the island of Conchagua;
and after some search, we found a large bottom behind the hills, in
which was a large plantain walk, and a large reservoir of rain water,
which came from the mountains. This was very inconvenient, as we were
forced to carry all our water over a high hill, which we could hardly
climb by ourselves; but there was no alternative, and we set to work to
cut down the bushes in our way, to make a clear path. After this, as the
hill was very steep on the land side towards the bottom whence we had to
fetch water, we cut steps in the hill with axes and shovels; and our
sail-maker made a hose or canvass pipe of ninety fathoms long, which
carried the water from the top of the hill down to our water cask at its
foot towards the sea. We then fell to work, each man having a six gallon
keg, in which the water was carried to the top of the hill, where it was
emptied into the hose. We were thus employed four days, in which time
we filled twenty-six tons, which we carried on board. The 31st January,
we all went to the plantain walk, where we cut down as many plantains as
we could carry, with which we returned on board our ship, meaning to set
sail next day.
This evening, two of the men who had agreed to remain with Captain
Dampier, left him and came over to us, so that our number was now
thirty-five, viz. thirty-four English, and a little negro boy we had
taken from the Spaniards. While we were employed in watering our bark,
the men on board the St George were busied in refitting that ship as
well as they could; the carpenter stopping up the shot-holes in the
powder-room with tallow and charcoal, not daring, as he said, to drive a
nail, for fear of making it worse.
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