On The 27th He Came To Anchor With
All His Prizes At The Island Of Plata, Where He Began Seriously To
Reflect How Best To Turn The Expedition To The Profit Of The Owners, As
Well As Of Himself And Crew.
He knew well that all the coast was now
alarmed, and that two men-of-war were fitting out on purpose to take
him, one of fifty and the other of thirty guns.
He had no expectations
of the ships and goods he had taken being ransomed in that pan of the
world, and believed they would prove of little value if brought home;
and reflecting on what had formerly been proposed by Captain Woods
Rogers on a similar occasion, of sending a cargo of such prize goods to
Brazil, he resolved to try that experiment. Accordingly, he fitted out
the bark in which he had taken the Countess de Laguna, armed her with
eight guns, and gave her a crew of thirteen Englishmen and ten negroes,
with what provisions and stores he could spare, calling her the
Chickly. Into this vessel he put a cargo of European commodities,
valued at upwards of ten thousand pounds, and on the 27th November,
1719, he sailed for Brazil under the command of Captain Mitchell. As
soon as she was gone, he gave up his other prizes to the Spaniards,
taking out of them whatever he thought worth keeping, and detaining one
of the Spanish masters to serve him as pilot, with all the negroes;
after which he sailed from La Plata to resume his cruize on his former
station.
The 12th December he took a vessel bound from Cherisse for Panama with
provisions, which employed the launch and pinnace of the Success a whole
day in bringing on board the flour and other provisions out of the
prize. Having got as much flour out of her as they could well stow away
in the Success, Clipperton ordered the main-mast of the prize to be cut
away, lest she should overset, and then dismissed her. From the people
of this prize, they learnt that Lieutenant Sergeantson and his men had
been carried prisoners to Lima. On the 27th they anchored in Guanchaco
bay, where they found two ships at anchor, which had been abandoned by
their crews, and every thing taken out of them, except some bread and a
few jars of water. These ships were set on fire. It was now resolved to
bear away for the Gallapagos islands for refreshments, and accordingly
anchored in York road, on the north side of the Duke of York's island,
on the 9th January, 1720, immediately under the equinoctial line. They
here found good water, scrubbed and cleaned their ship's bottom, and
after ten days proceeded to the northwards, in order to cruize on the
coast of Mexico. The circumstance of finding good water at this place,
sufficiently justifies Captain Cowley from the aspersions thrown upon
him by later writers, who allege that he gave a fanciful and untrue
account of these islands, as they had not been able to find water or
anchorage at such of them as they tried.
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