They Found This Ship
Fully As Rich As She Was Reported, Having Thirteen Chests Full Of
Dollars, Eighty Pounds Weight
Of gold, a good quantity of jewels, and
twenty-six tons of silver in bars.[28] Among other rich pieces
Of plate
found in this ship, there were two very large gilt silver bowls, which
belonged to her pilot. On seeing these, the admiral said to the pilot,
that these were fine bowls, and he must needs have one of them; to which
the pilot yielded, not knowing how to help himself; but, to make this
appear less like compulsion, he gave the other to the admiral's steward.
The place where this rich prize was taken was off Cape San Francisco,
about 150 leagues from Panama, and in lat. 1 deg. N. [00 deg. 45'.] When the
people of the prize were allowed to depart, the pilot's boy told the
admiral, that the English ship ought now to be called the Cacafuego,
not theirs, as it had got all their rich loading, and that their
unfortunate ship ought now to be called the Cacaplata, which jest
excited much mirth.[29]
[Footnote 28: Without calculating on the jewels, for which there are no
data, the silver and gold of this prize could hardly fall short of
250,000l - worth more than a million, in effective value, of the present
day. - E.]
[Footnote 29: This forecastle joke turns on the meaning of the words,
Cacafuego and Cacaplata, meaning Fartfire and Fartsilver. - Harris.]
Having ransacked the Cacafuego of every thing worth taking, she was
allowed to depart; and continuing their course westwards, they next met
a ship laden with cotton goods, China dishes, and China silks.
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