Finding It Therefore Not Worth While To Waste Time, And Knowing
We Should Run Much Risk In Treating With Them,
We at length resolved to
set them all ashore, hoping the Morels and Don Antonio would get money
for us,
To prevent us from burning the ships we could not conveniently
carry away. At parting, I made them sensible that we had treated them
like generous enemies, and said we would sell them good bargains for
what money they might be able to bring us in ten days, after which we
should burn or carry away all that was not then disposed of. We
accordingly landed seventy-two prisoners on the 10th July. On the 16th
the Morels came off with what money they had been able to procure, and
bought some of our goods, behaving with much honour, and putting great
confidence in us. On the 18th, a negro belonging to the Duchess was
bitten by a small brown speckled snake, and died in twelve hours. There
are many snakes in this island of Gorgona, and I saw one above three
yards long, and as thick as my leg. The same morning the Mr Morels went
off a second time in our bark for money; and this day one of the same
kind of snakes that killed our negro was found on the forecastle of the
Duke, having crawled up the cable, as we supposed, as they were often
seen in the water.
On the 2d of August we were like to have had a mutiny, for the steward
informed me that he understood many of the men had entered into a secret
agreement, and he had heard some ringleaders boasting that sixty men had
already signed the paper, but knew not the nature of their design. I
immediately convened the officers in the cabin, where we armed
ourselves, and soon secured four of the principal mutineers, putting the
fellow who wrote the paper in irons. By this time all the people were on
deck, and we had got their paper from those we had in custody; the
purport of it being to refuse accepting the intended distribution of
plunder, and not to move from this place, till they had what they termed
justice done them. Not knowing how far this mutiny might have been
concerted with the people of the other ships, we agreed to discharge
those in confinement, on asking pardon, and faithfully promising never
to be guilty of the like again.
We sailed from Gorgona on the 11th August, and as our ships were now
rather thinly manned, I engaged thirty-two of our negro prisoners to
join our company, placing Michael Kendall, a free Jamaica negro, who had
deserted to us from the Spaniards, as their leader, and charging him to
exercise them in the use of arms. At the same time I supplied them with
clothes, desiring them to consider themselves now as Englishmen, and no
longer slaves to the Spaniards. After this we stood over to the bay of
Jecames, [Atacames,] where the Indians are free; and with much ado
entered into trade with them, by the help of a priest.
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