On This Information, We Held Another
Consultation, In Which It Was Agreed To Desist From This Enterprize, And
We Came Accordingly Back To Gorgona, In So Very Weak A Condition That We
Could Hardly Have Defended Ourselves, If Attacked.
[Footnote 226:
It is somewhat difficult to ascertain what island is here
meant. There are some islands at the mouth of the Rio de Mira, in lat.
1 deg. 38' N. on one of which is Punta de Mangles, or Cape Mangles,
resembling one of the names in the text; but from the context, the
island for which they were next bound appears to have been that now
called Del Gallo, in lat. 1 deg. 55' N. not above ten miles south from the
river they proposed to enter. - E.]
[Footnote 227: Barbacoas is one of the provinces of New Granada, having
a town of the same name in the Rio Telemli, which joins the Rio
Patia. - E.]
We arrived at Gorgona on the 13th June, where we anchored in forty
fathoms, and resolved to careen our two ships in succession, beginning
with the Duchess. Our sick men were removed into the galleon, and the
sick officers to the French-built ship. We landed tents for the
cooper's and armourer's crews, and cleared a place for tents to
accommodate the sick on shore. All this was performed with so much
diligence, that by the 28th both ships were careened, caulked, rigged,
and restored fit for sea. On the 29th, we set up tents ashore for the
sick, who were already much recovered, though the Spaniards had
represented this island as unhealthy; yet by walking about on shore they
soon gathered strength enough to return to their duty. We here fitted
out the French-built ship, with twenty guns, putting Captain Cooke into
her, with a crew taken from the other two ships, resolving to carry her
home with us, and to employ her as a third cruizer while in these seas;
and this great work employed us from the 29th June to the 9th July,
calling her the Marquis. She had thirty-five men from the Duke and
twenty-six from the Duchess, making a crew of sixty-one British, to
which were added twenty negroes.
Our next care was to get rid of our prisoners, who were a great burden
to us, and we resolved therefore to set them on shore, after trying
every possible method to engage them in a scheme for trading with us.
For this purpose I proposed going to Panama, to remain six days near
that place, till they should bring the money we could agree for, as the
price of our prize goods; and to this the two Morels and Don Antonio
agreed, provided we would take 60,000 dollars for the whole. I then
proposed to give them up the galleon and all the goods and negroes, if
they would give us 120,000 dollars for the whole. They told us that
trading in these seas with strangers, especially the English and Dutch,
was so rigidly prohibited, that they would have to give more than the
original cost in bribes, to procure licence to deal with us, and could
not therefore assure us of payment, unless we agreed to take a low
price.
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