A NEW VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD, (continued 4)

Though this month's stay was unexpected, yet we had no reason to think our time ill spent. However, we did not think we ought to lie here too long whatever we got; so we weighed and stood off to sea, steering still south-east, keeping the shore of this golden country in sight, till our men told us they found the land fall off to the south. Then we steered away more southerly for six or eight days, not losing sight of, land all the time, till by an observation we found we were in the latitude of 34° 30' south of the line, our meridian distance from the Ladrones 22° 30' east, when a fresh gale of wind springing up at south and by east, obliged us to haul close for that evening. At night it blew such a storm that we were obliged to yield to the force of it, and go away afore it to the north, or north-by-west, till we came to the point of that land we passed before. Here, the land tending to the west, we ran in under the lee of a steep shore, and came to an anchor in twenty-five fathoms water, being the same country we were in before. Here we rode very safe for five days, the wind continuing to blow very hard all the time from the south-east.

My men would fain have had me gone ashore again and trafficked with the people for more gold; but I, who was still in quest of further discoveries, thought I knew enough of this place to tempt my friend the merchant, whose favourite design was that of making new discoveries, to another voyage there, and that was enough for me. So I declined going on shore again, except that we sent our boats for a recruit of fresh water; and our men, while they were filling it, shot a brace of deer, as they were feeding by the side of a swamp or moist ground, and also some wild ducks. Here we set up a great wooden cross, and wrote on it the names of our ships and commanders, and the time that we came to an anchor there.

But we were obliged to a farther discovery of this country than we intended, by the following accident. We had unmoored early in the morning, and by eight o'clock were under sail; by ten we had doubled the point I mentioned above, and stood away south keeping the shore on board, at the distance of about two leagues west.

The next day, the officer who had been with the shallop, showed us the opening or mouth where he had put in, and where he had made his traffick with the king of the country, as said before.

We went on still for two days, and still we found the land extending itself south, till the third day in the morning, when we were a little surprised to find ourselves, as it were, embayed, being in the bottom of a deep gulf, and the land appearing right ahead, distance about three leagues; the coast having turned away to the east and by south, very high land and mountainous, and the tops of some of the hills covered with snow.

Our second mate and the boatswain, upon this discovery, were for coming about, and sent to me for orders to make signals to the other ship and our brigantine, who were both ahead, to do the like; but I, who was willing to acquaint myself as fully as I could with the coast of the country, which I made no question I should have occasion to come to again, said, No, no, I will see a little farther first. So I ran on, having an easy gale at north-east and good weather, till I came within about a league and a half of the shore, when I found, that in the very bite or nook of the bay, there was a great inlet of water, which either must be a passage or strait between the land we had been on shore upon; which, in that case, must be a great island, or that it must be the mouth of some extraordinary great river.

This was a discovery too great to be omitted, so I ordered the brigantine to stand in with an easy sail, and see what account could be had of the place; accordingly they stood in, and we followed about a league, and then lay by, waiting their signals. I had particularly ordered them to keep two boats ahead to sound the depth all the way, and they did so; and how it happened we knew not, but on a sudden we heard the sloop fire two guns first, and then one gun; the first was a signal to us to bring to, and come no farther: the next was a signal of distress. We immediately tacked to stand off, but found a strong current setting directly into the bite, and there not being wind enough for us to stem the current, we let go our anchors in twenty fathoms water.

Immediately we manned out all the boats we had, great and small, to go and assist our brigantine, not knowing what distress she might be in; and they found that she had driven up, as we were like to have done, too far into the channel of a large river, the mouth of which, being very broad, had several shoals in it: and though she had dropped her anchor just upon notice, which the boats who were sounding gave her, yet she tailed aground upon a sand-bank, and stuck fast; our men made no doubt but she would be lost, and began to think of saving the provisions and ammunition out of her. The two long boats accordingly began to lighten her; and first they took in her guns, and let out all her casks of water: then they began to take in her great shot and the heavy goods. But by this time they found their mistake, for the current, which I mentioned, was nothing but a strong tide of flood, which, the indraught of the river being considerable, ran up with a very great force, and in something less than an hour the brigantine floated again.

However, she had stuck so long upon the sand, and the force of the current or tide had been so great, that she received considerable damage; and had a great deal of water in her hold. I immediately ordered out boats to row to the land, on both sides, to see if they could find a good place to lay her on shore in; they obeyed the order, and found a very convenient harbour in the mouth of a small river, which emptied itself into the great river about two leagues within the foreland of it, on the north side, as the river Medway runs into the Thames, within the mouth of it, on the south, side, only this was not so far up.

Here they ran in the sloop immediately, and the next day we came thither also; our boats having sounded the whole breadth, of the main river, and found a very good channel, half a league broad, having from seventeen to four-and-twenty fathoms water all the way, and very good riding.

Here we found it absolutely necessary to take everything out of the brigantine to search her bottom, for her lying on shore had strained her seams, and broke one of her floor timbers; and having hands enough, our men unloaded her in a very little time, and making a little dock for her, mended all the damage in about ten days' time. But seeing her in so good a condition, and the place so convenient, I resolved to have her whole bottom new calked and cleaned, that we made her as tight as she was when she first came off the stocks.

This I took for a good opportunity to careen and clean our other ships too; for we had done little to them since we came from Madagascar. We found our Madagascar ship much worm-eaten in her sheathing, which we helped as well as we could by new nailing and by taking out some pieces of her sheathing, and putting new ones in. But as to our great ship, she was sheathed with lead, and had received no damage at all; only that she was very foul, which we remedied by scraping and cleaning, and new graving her quite over.

We were not all employed in this work, and therefore we had leisure to make the best of our time for the main work of new discoveries. And now I resolved to leave it no more to under officers, as I had done before, viz., when I gave the command of the shallop that traded with the king and queen, as above, to a midshipman, which I was very sorry for, though the fellow did his business very well too; but, I say, I resolved not to trust any one now but myself.

In the first place, I took the two shallops and went across the mouth of the great river to the south shore, to see what kind of a country was to be found there. For, as to the north side, where we were, we found it to be much the same with that part where we had been before; with this difference only, whereas, in the other place gold was to be had in plenty, but here was none we could find; nor did we perceive that the people had any.

I found the mouth of this river, or inlet, to be about four leagues over where I crossed it, which was about three leagues and a half within the inlet itself. But the weather being very calm, and the flood-tide running sharp, we let our boat drive up, in our crossing, about two leagues more; and we found the channel grew narrow so fast, that, where we came to land, it was not full a league over; that about three leagues farther we found it a mere river, not above as broad as the Thames at Blackwall.

We found it a steep shore, and, observing a little creek very convenient for our purpose, we ran in our boats among some flags or rushes, and laid them as soft and as safe as if they had been in a dock; we went all on shore immediately, except two men in each boat left to guard our provisions.

We had for arms, every man a musket, a pistol, and a cutlass; and in each boat we had six half pikes, to use as we might have occasion. We had also every man a hatchet, hung in a little frog at his belt; and in each boat a broad axe and a saw.

We were furnished with strings of beads, bits of glass, glass rings, ear-rings, pearl necklaces, and suchlike jewellery ware innumerable; besides knives, scissors, needles, pins, looking-glasses, drinking-glasses, and toys in great plenty.

We were no sooner on shore but we found people in abundance; for there were two or three, small towns within a little way of the shore; and I suppose we might have the more people about us, because, as we understood afterwards, they had seen us before, though we had not seen them.

We made signs to them, by putting our fingers to our mouths, and moving our chaps as if we were eating, that we wanted provisions; and we hung up a white flag for a truce. They presently understood the first signal, but knew nothing of the last; and as to provisions, just as had been the case before, they brought us out roots and fruits, such as they ate themselves, but such as we had never seen before. Some of them, however, were very sweet and good, and when we boiled them they tasted much like an English parsnip; and we gave them strings of beads, pieces of glass, and such things as we remarked they were fond of.

We found the people, as I observed of the other, very inoffensive and sincere; not quarrelsome, nor treacherous, nor mischievous in the least. And we took care not so much as to let them know the use or manner of our fire-arms for a great while; neither was there one piece fired all the time we were among the other people, where we had so much gold. If there had, it had been very probable that they would have fled the country, in spite of all the good usage we could have been able to have shown them.

The people where we were now were not so rich in gold as those where we were before, but we found them much better stored with provisions; for besides deer, of which they had great plenty and variety, for they had some of a sort which I had never seen before, and besides an infinite number of those rabbits I have mentioned, which were as big as our hares, and which do not burrow in the ground as our rabbits do, they had also a kind of sheep, large, (like those of Peru, where they are used to carry burdens), and very good. They have no wool nor horns, but are rather hairy like a goat; nor should I call them sheep, but that their flesh eats like mutton, and I knew not what else to call them. The natives called them huttash; but what breed, or from what part of the world, or whether peculiar to this division alone, I know not.

However, their flesh was very agreeable, and they were fat and good; and as the Indians were mightily pleased with the price we paid them, and the goods we paid them in, they brought us more of these huttashes than we knew what to do with; and as I can calculate the rate, I suppose we might have them for about eight-pence, or sometimes not above sixpence cost each; for they would give us one very thankfully for a string or two of small beads, and think themselves mighty well paid.

I found them so plentiful, and so easy to come at, that in short I sent fifty of them alive, tied neck and heels, in one of the shallops back to our ships, and ordered them to send their long-boats over for more; for though it was so little a way over, we did not find they had any of them on that side the river.

We did the Indians another piece of service, for, if they gave us meat, we taught them to be cooks, for we showed them how to roast it upon a stick or spit before the fire; whereas they ate all their meat before, either stewed in earthen pots over the fire, with herbs, such as we did not understand, or thrown on burning fuel of green wood, which always made it taste and stink of the smoke most intolerably.

We had a great deal of opportunity now to converse with the people on both sides the river; and we found them to be not only different nations, but of different speech and different customs. These on the south side, where I now was, seemed to be the best furnished with provisions, and to live in the greatest plenty. But those on the north side appeared better clothed, and a more civilized sort of people; and of the two, seemed to have in their countenances something more agreeable.

However, as they were near neighbours, for the river only parted them, they were not very much unlike each other. That which seemed most strange to me was, that we found they had little knowledge or communication one with another. They had indeed some boats in the river, but they were very small, and rather served to just waft them over, or to fish in them, than for any other use; for we found none that could carry above four men, and those very oddly made, partly as a canoe, by hollowing a tree, and partly by skins of beasts, dried and stuck on in such a manner that they would paddle along at a great rate with them.

For want of understanding their language I could come at no knowledge of their religion or worship; nor did I see any idols among them, or any adoration paid to the sun or moon. But yet, as a confirmation that all nations, however barbarous, have some notion of a God, and some awe of a superior power, I observed here, that, in making a bargain with one of the principal men, (such I perceived him to be by the respect the rest showed him), I say, being making a bargain with him, as well as could be done between two people who understood not one word of what either said, he had made signs to bring me twelve sheep the next morning, for some things that I was to deliver him of mine. I am sure the goods were not all of them of value sufficient to give me the least distrust; but when I gave him the goods without the sheep, being, as I said, to trust him till the next day, he called two men to him, and pointing to the goods that I had put into his hands, he tells upon his fingers twelve, letting them know, as I supposed, that he was to give me twelve sheep the next day in return, and so far it appeared they were to be witnesses of the agreement. He then placed his two hands, one upon each breast, with the fingers turned up towards his face, and holding them thus he looked towards heaven, with his face turned upward also, and with the utmost gravity, seriousness, and solemnity in his countenance that ever I saw in any man's face in my life, he moved his lips in the action of speaking. When he had continued in this posture about a quarter of a minute, he took the two men, and put them in the same attitude, and then pointed to me, and next to himself; by which I understood, first, that he solemnly swore to me that he would bring the sheep punctually and faithfully to me, and then brought the two men to be bail or security for the performance; that is to say, to oblige themselves to perform it if he did not.

Doubtless those people who have any notion of a God must represent him to themselves as something superior, and something that sees, and hears, and knows what they say or do. Whether these people meant the sun, or the moon, or the stars, or other visible object, or whatever else, I do not pretend to determine, but it is certain they understood it to be something to swear by; something that could bear witness of their engagement, and that being called to witness it would resent their breach of promise if they made it. As to those whose gods are monsters, and hideous shapes, frightful images, and terrible figures, the motive of their adoration being that of mere terror, they have certainly gross ideas; but these people seem to act upon a more solid foundation, paying their reverence in a manner much more rational, and to something which it was much more reasonable to worship, as appeared in the solemnity of their countenances, and their behaviour in making a solemn promise.

We found those people clothed, generally speaking, over their whole bodies, their heads, arms, legs and feet excepted, but not so agreeably as those we mentioned above; and we found that the clothing of these were generally made of the skins of beasts, but very artfully put together, so that though they had neither needle nor thread, yet they had the same plant as I mentioned before, the stalk of which would so strongly tie like a thread, that they peeled it off thicker or finer as they had occasion, and made use of it abundance of ways to tie and twist, and make their clothes with it, as well for their occasion as if it had been woven in a loom.

We found several of these people had little bits of gold about them; but when we made signs to them to know where they got it, and where it might be had, they made signs to us, pointing to the country on the north side of the river; so that we had, it seems, fallen upon the right gold coast in our first coming. They pointed indeed likewise to some very high mountains, which we saw at a great distance south-west, so that it seems as if there was gold found that way also; but it appeared the people here had not much of it for their share.

The men here had bows and arrows, and they used them so dexterously, that a wild goose flying over our heads, one of the Indians shot it quite through with an arrow. One of our men was so provoked to see them, as it were, to outdo him, that, some time after, seeing a couple of ducks flying fair for a mark, he presented his piece, and shot them both flying.

I was very angry when I heard the gun; had I been there he had never got leave to fire; however, when it was done, I was pleased well enough to see the effect it had upon these poor innocent well-meaning people. At first it frightened them to the last degree, and I may truly say it frightened them out of their senses, for they that were near it started so violently, that they fell down and lay speechless for some time; those that were farther off ran away, as if it had been some new kind of lightning and thunder, and came out of the earth instead of out of the clouds; but when they saw the two creatures fall down dead from above, and could see nothing that flew upward to kill them, they were perfectly astonished, and laid their two hands on their breasts and looked up to heaven, as if they were saying their prayers, in the most solemn manner imaginable.

However, this accident gave them terrible ideas of us, and I was afraid at first they would run all away from us through fear. I therefore used them after it with all the kindness and tenderness imaginable, gave them every day some trifle or other, which, though of no value to me, they were exceedingly fond of; and we asked nothing of them in return but provisions, of which they had great plenty, and gave us enough every day to satisfy us. As for drink, they had none of the milky liquor which we had in the other part of the country, but they had a root which they steeped in water, and made it taste hot, as if pepper had been in it, which made it so strong, that though it would not make our men drunk, it was worse, for it made them nearly mad.

I was so pleased with these people that I came over to them every other day, and some of our men lay on shore, under a sail pitched for a tent; and they were so safe, that at last they kept no watch, for the poor people neither thought any harm, nor did any; and we never gave them the least occasion to apprehend anything from us, at least not till our man fired the gun, and that only let them know we were able to hurt them, without giving them the least suspicion that we intended it; on the contrary, one of our men played an odd prank with a child, and fully satisfied them that we would do them no harm. This man having seen one of their children, a little laughing speechless creature, of about two years old, the mother having gone from it a little way, on some particular occasion, the fellow took it and led it home to the tent, and kept it there all night.

The next morning, he dressed it up with beads and jewels wondrous fine, a necklace about its neck, and bracelets of beads about its wrists, and several strings of beads wrapped up and tied in its hair, having fed it and laid it to sleep, and made much of it.

In this figure he carried it up in his arms to the Indian's hut where he had found it, and where there had been a lamentable outcry for the child all the night, the mother crying and raising her neighbours, and in a most strange concern.

But when some of the women, her neighbours, saw the child brought back, there was a contrary extreme of joy; and the mother of it being fetched, she fell a-jumping and dancing to see her child, but also making so many odd gestures, as that our men could not well know for awhile whether she was pleased or not: the reason it seems was, she did not know whether to hope or fear, for she did not know whether the man would give back her child or take it away again.

But when the man who had the child in his arms had been told by signs that this was the mother, he beckoned to have her come to him, and she came, but trembling for fear. Then he took the child, and kissing it two or three times, gave it her into her arms. But it is impossible to express by words the agony the poor woman was in; she took the child, and holding it in her arms fixed her eyes upon it without motion, or, as it were, without life, for a good while; then she took it and embraced it in the most passionate manner imaginable; when this was over, she fell a-crying so vehemently till she sobbed; and all this while spoke not one word. When the crying had given sufficient vent to her passion, then she fell a-dancing and making a strange odd noise, that cannot be described, and at last she left the child, and came back to the place where our men were, and to the man that brought her child, and, as soon as she came up to him, she fell flat on the ground, as I have described above the queen and her women did, and up again immediately; and thus she did three times, which it seems was her acknowledgment to him for bringing it back.

The next day, for her gratitude did not end here, she came down to our tent, and brought with her two sheep, with a great back-burden of roots of the kind which I said the natives steep in the water, and several fruits of the country, as much as two men who came with her could carry, and these she gave all to the man who had brought back her child. Our men were so moved at the affectionate carriage of this poor woman to her infant, that they told me it brought tears from their eyes.

The man who received the present took the woman and dressed her up almost as fine as he had done the child, and she went home like a kind of a queen among them.

We observed while we stayed here that this was a most incomparable soil; that the earth was a fat loamy mould; that the herbage was strong; that the grass in some places was very flourishing and good, being as high as our mid-thigh; and that the air was neither very hot, nor, as we believed, very cold. We made an experiment of the fruitfulness of the soil, for we took some white peas, and digging the ground up with a spade, we sowed some, and before we went away we saw them come out of the ground again, which was in about nine days.

We made signs to the people that they should let them grow, and that if they gathered them they were good to eat; we also sowed some English wheat, and let them know, as well as we could, what the use of them both was. But I make no doubt but they have been better acquainted with, both by this time, by an occasion which followed.

Our men were so fond of this place, and so pleased with the temper of the people, the fruitfulness of the soil, and agreeableness of the climate, that about twenty of them offered me, if I would give them my word to come again, or send to them to relieve and supply them with necessaries, they would go on shore and begin a colony, and live all their days there. Nay, after this, their number came up to three-and-thirty; or they offered, that, if I would give them the sloop, and leave them a quantity of goods, especially of such toys as they knew would oblige the people to use them well, they would stay at all hazards, not doubting, as they told me, but they should come to England again at last, with the sloop full of gold.

I was not very willing to encourage either of these proposals, because, as I told them, I might perhaps find a place as fit to settle a colony in before we came home, which was not at such an excessive distance from England, so that it was scarce possible ever to relieve them. This satisfied them pretty well, and they were content to give over the project; and yet, at last, which was more preposterous than all the rest, five of our men and a boy ran away from us and went on shore, and what sort of life they led, or how they managed, we could not tell, for they were too far off us to inquire after them again. They took a small yawl with them, and it seems had furnished themselves privately with some necessary things, especially, tools, a grindstone, a barrel of powder, some peas, some wheat, and some barley; so that it seems they are resolved to plant there. I confess I pitied them, and when I had searched for them, and could not find them, I caused a letter to be written to them, and fixed it upon a post at the place where our ship careened; and another letter on the south side, to tell them that in such a certain place I had left other necessaries for them, which I did, made up in a large case of boards or planks, and covered with boards like a shed.

Here I left them hammocks for lodging, all sorts of tools for building them a house, spades, shovels, pickaxes, an axe, and two saws, with clothes, shoes, stockings, hats, shirts, and, in a word, every thing that I could think of for their use; and a large box of toys, beads, &c., to invite the natives to trade with them.

One of our men, whom they had made privy to their design, but made him promise not to reveal it until they were gone, had told them that he would persuade me, if he could, to leave them a farther supply; and bade them come to the place after the ships were gone, and that they should find directions left for them on a piece of a board, or a letter from him set up upon a post. Thus they were well furnished with all things for immediate living.

I make no doubt but they came to find these things; and, since they had a mind to make trial of a wild retired life, they might shift very well; nor would they want anything but English women to raise a new nation of English people, in a part of the world that belongs neither to Europe, Asia, Africa, or America. I also left them every man another gun, a cutlass, and a horn for powder; and I left two barrels of fine powder, and two pigs of lead for shot, in another chest by itself.

I doubt not but the natives will bestow wives upon them, but what sort of a posterity they will make, I cannot foresee, for I do not find by inquiry that the fellows had any great store of knowledge or religion in them, being all Madagascar men, as we called them, that is to say, pirates and rogues; so that, for aught I know, there may be a generation of English heathens in an age or two more; though I left them five Bibles, and six or seven Prayer-books, and good books of several sorts, that they might not want instruction, if they thought fit to make use of it for themselves or their progeny.

It is true, that this is a country that is remote from us of any in the yet discovered world, and consequently it would be suggested as unprofitable to our commerce; but I have something to allege in its defence, which will prove it to be infinitely more advantageous to England than any of our East India trade can be, or that can be pretended for it. The reason is plain in a few words; our East India trade is all carried on, or most part of it, by an exportation of bullion in specie, and a return of foreign manufactures or produce; and most of these manufactures also, either trifling and unnecessary in themselves, or such as are injurious to our own manufactures. The solid goods brought from India, which may be said to be necessary to us, and worth sending our money for, are but few; for example,

1. The returns which I reckon trifling and unnecessary, are such as China ware, coffee, tea, Japan work, pictures, fans, screens, &c.

2. The returns that are injurious to our manufactures, or growth of our own country, are printed calicoes, chintz, wrought silks, stuffs, of herbs and barks, block-tin, sugar, cotton, arrack, copper, and indigo.

3. The necessary or useful things are, pepper, saltpetre, dying-woods and dying-earths, drugs, lacs, such as shell-lac, stick-lac, &c., diamonds, some pearl, and raw-silk.

For all these we carry nothing or very little but money, the innumerable nations of the Indies, China, &c., despising our manufactures, and filling us with their own.

On the contrary, the people in the southern unknown countries, being first of all very numerous, and living in a temperate climate, which requires clothing, and having no manufactures, or materials for manufactures, of their own, would consequently take off a very great quantity of English woollen manufactures, especially when civilized by our dwelling among them, and taught the manner of clothing themselves for their ease and convenience; and, in return for these manufactures, it is evident we should have gold in specie, and perhaps spices, the best merchandise and return in the world.

I need say no more to excite adventurous heads to search out a country by which such an improvement might be made, and which would be such an increase of, or addition to, the wealth and commerce of our country.

Nor can it be objected here, that this nook of the country may not easily be found by any one but by us, who have been there before, and perhaps not by us again exactly; for, not to enter into our journal of observations for their direction, I lay it down as a foundation, that whoever sailing over the South Seas keeps a stated distance from the tropic, to the latitude of 56 to 60°, and steers eastward towards the Straits of Magellan, shall never fail to discover new worlds, new nations, and new inexhaustible funds of wealth and commerce, such as never were yet known to the merchants of Europe.

This is the true ocean called the South Sea; that part which we corruptly call so can be so in no geographical account, or by any rule, but by the mere imposition of custom, it being only originally called so, because they that sailed to it were obliged to go round the southernmost part of America to come into it; whereas it ought indeed to be called the West Sea, as it lies on the west side of America, and washes the western shore of that great continent for near eight thousand miles in length; to wit, from 56° south of the line to 70° north, and how much farther we know not; on this account I think it ought to be called the American Ocean, rather than with such impropriety the South Sea.

But this part of the world where we were may rightly be called the South Sea, by way of distinction, as it extends from India round the globe, to India again, and lies all south of the line even, for aught we know, to the very South Pole, and which, except some interposition of land, whether islands or continent, really surrounds the South Pole.

We were now in the very centre or middle of this South Sea, being, as I have said, in the latitude of 34° 20'; but having had such good success in our inquiry or search after new continents, I resolved to steer to the south and south-east, as far as till we should be interrupted by land or ice, determining to search this unknown part of the globe as far as nature would permit, that I might be able to give some account to my employers, and some light to other people that might come that way, whether by accident or by design.

We had spent six-and-twenty days in this place, as well in repairing our brigantine and careening, as trimming our ship; we had not been so long, but, that we did not resolve to careen our ships till we had spent ten days about the brigantine, and then we found more work to do to the sheathing of the Madagascar ship than we expected.

We stored ourselves here with fresh provisions and water, but got nothing that we could properly call a store, except the flesh of about thirty deer, which we dried in the sun, and which proved indifferently good afterwards, but not extraordinary.

We sailed again the six-and-twentieth day after we came in, having a fair wind at north and north-north-west, and a fresh gale which held us five days without intermission; in which time, running away south and south-south-east, we reached the former latitude, where we had been, and meeting with nothing remarkable, we steered a little farther to the eastward; but keeping a southerly course still, till we came into the latitude of 41°, and then going due east, with the wind at north and by west, we reckoned our meridian distance from the Ladrones, to be 50° 30'.

In all this run we saw no land, so we hauled two points more southerly, and went on for six or seven days more; when one of our men on the round top, cried Land! It was a clear fine morning, and the land he espied being very high, it was found to be sixteen leagues distance; and the wind slackening, we could not get in that night, so we lay by till morning, when being fair with the land, we hoisted our boat to go and sound the shore, as usual. The men rowed in close with the shore and found a little cove, where there was good riding, but very deep water, being no less than sixty fathoms within cable's length of the shore.

We went in, however, and after we were moored sent our boat on shore to look for water, and what else the country afforded. Our men found water, and a good sort of country, but saw no inhabitants; and, upon coasting a little both ways on the shore, they found it to be an island, and without people; but said that about three leagues off to the southward, there seemed to be a Terra Firma, or continent of land, where it was more likely we should make some discovery.

The next day we filled water again, and shot some ducks, and the day after weighed and stood over for the main, as we thought it to be. Here, using the same caution as we always had done, viz., of sounding the coast, we found a bold shore and very good anchor hold, in six-and-twenty to thirty fathoms.

When we came on shore, we found people, but of a quite different condition from those we had met with before, being wild, furious, and untractable; surprised at the sight of us, but not intimidated; preparing for battle, not for trade; and no sooner were we on shore but they saluted us with their bows and arrows. We made signals of truce to them, but they did not understand us, and we knew not what to offer them more but the muzzles of our muskets; for we were resolved to see what sort of folks they were, either by fair means or foul.

The first time, therefore, that they shot at our men with their bows and arrows, we returned the salute with our musket-ball, and kill two of their foremost archers. We could easily perceive that the noise of our pieces terrified them, and the two men being killed, they knew not how, or with what, perfectly astonished them; so that they ran, as it were, clean out of the country, that is to say, clean out of our reach, for we could never set our eyes upon them after it. We coasted this place also, according to our usual custom; and, to our great surprise, found it was an island too, though a large one; and that the mainland lay still more to the southward, about six leagues distance, so we resolved to look out farther, and accordingly set sail the next day, and anchored under the shore of this last land, which we were persuaded was really the main.

We went on shore here peaceably, for we neither saw any people, or the appearance of any, but a charming pleasant valley, of about ten or eleven miles long, and five or six miles broad; and then it was surrounded with mountains, which reached the full length, running parallel with the valley, and closing it in to the sea at both ends; so that it was a natural park, having the sea on the north side, and the mountains in a semicircle round all the rest of it. These hills were so high, and the ways so untrod and so steep, that our men, who were curious enough to have climbed up to the top of them, could find no way that was practicable to get up, and after two or three attempts gave it over.

In this vale we found abundance of deer, and abundance of the same kind of sheep which I mentioned lately. We killed as many of both as we had occasion for; and, finding nothing here worth our staying any longer for, except that we saw something like wild rice growing here, we weighed after three days, and stood away still to the south.

We had not sailed above two days with little wind and an easy sail, when we perceived this also was an island, though it must be a large one; for, by our account, we sailed near a hundred and fifty miles along the shore of it, and we found the south part a flat pleasant country enough; and our men said they saw people upon it on the south side, but we went not on shore there any more.

Steering due south from hence in quest of the mainland, we went on eleven days more, and saw nothing significant, and, upon a fair observation, I found we were in the latitude of 47° 8' south; then I altered my course a little to the eastward, finding no land, and the weather very cold, and going on with a fresh gale at south-south-west for four days, we made land again; but it was now to the east-north-east, so that we were gotten, as we may say, beyond it.

We fell in with this land in the evening, so that it was not perceived till we were within half a league of it, which very much alarmed us, the land being low; and having found our error, we brought to and stood off and on till morning, when we saw the shore lie, as it were, under our larboard bow, within a mile and a quarter distance, the land low, but the sea deep and soft ground. We came to anchor immediately, and sent our shallops to sound the shore, and the men found very good riding in a little bay, under the shelter of two points of land, one of which made a kind of hook, under which we lay secure from all winds that could blow, in seventeen fathoms good ground. Here we had a good observation, and found ourselves in the latitude of 50° 21'. Our next work was to find water, and our boats going on shore, found plenty of good water and some cattle, but told us they could give no account what the cattle were, or what they were like. In searching the coast, we soon found this was an island also, about eleven leagues in length, from north-west to south-east, what breadth we could not tell. Our men also saw some signs of inhabitants. The next day six men appeared at a distance, but would take notice of no signals, and fled as soon as our men advanced. Our people went up to the place were they lay, and found they had made a fire of some dry wood; that they had laid there, as they suppose, all night, though without covering. They found two pieces of old ragged skins of deer, which looked as if worn out by some that had used them for clothing, and one piece of a skin of some other creature, which had been rolled up into a cap for the head; also a couple of arrows of about four feet long, very thick, and made of a hard and heavy wood; so they must have very large and strong bows to shoot such arrows, and consequently must be men of an uncommon strength.

Our men wandered about the country three or four days, with less caution than the nature of their situation required; for they were not among a people of an innocent, inoffensive temper here, as before, but among a wild, untractable nation, that perhaps had never seen creatures in their own likeness before, and had no thought of themselves but of being killed and destroyed, and consequently had no thought of those they had seen but as of enemies, whom they must either destroy, if they were able, or escape from them if they were not. However, we got no harm, neither would the natives ever appear to accept any kindnesses from us.

We had no business here, after we found what sort of people they were who inhabited this place; so, as soon as we had taken in fresh water, and caught some fish, of which we found good store in the bay or harbour where we rode, we prepared to be gone. Here we found the first oysters that we saw anywhere in the South Seas; and, as our men found them but the day before we were to sail, they made great entreaty to me to let them stay one day to get a quantity on board, they being very refreshing, as well as nourishing, to our men.

But I was more easily prevailed with to stay, when Captain Merlotte brought me, out of one oyster that he happened to open, a true oriental pearl, so large and so fine, that I sold it, since my return, for three-and-fifty pounds.

After taking this oyster, I ordered all our boats out a dredging, and in two days' time so great a quantity there was, that our men had taken above fifty bushels, most of them very large. But we were surprised and disappointed, when, at the opening all those oysters, we found not one pearl, small or great, of any kind whatever, so we concluded that the other was a lucky hit only, and that perhaps there might not be any more of that kind in these seas.

While we were musing on the oddness of this accident, the boatswain of the Madagascar ship, whose boat's crew had brought in the great oyster in which the pearl was found, and who had been examining the matter, came and told me that it was true that their boat had brought in the oyster, and that it was before they went out a dredging in the offing, but that their boat took these oysters on the west side of the island, where they had been shoring, as they called it, that is to say, coasting along the shore, to see if they could find anything worth their labour, but that afterwards the boats went a dredging in the mouth of the bay where we rode, and where, finding good store of oysters, they had gone no farther.

Upon this intelligence we ordered all hands to dredging again, on the west side of the island. This was in a narrow channel, between this island and a little cluster of islands which we found together extended west, the channel where our men fished might be about a league over, or something better, and the water about five or seven fathoms deep.

They came home well tired and ill pleased, having taken nothing near so many oysters, as before; but I was much better pleased, when, in opening them, we found a hundred and fifty-eight pearls, of the most perfect colour, and of extraordinary shape and size, besides double the number of a less size, and irregular shape.

This quickened our diligence, and encouraged our men, for I promised the men two pieces of eight to each man above his pay, if I got any considerable quantity of pearl. Upon this they spread themselves among the islands, and fished for a whole week, and I got such a quantity of pearl as made it very well worth our while; and, besides that, I had reason to believe the men, at least the officers who went with them, concealed a considerable quantity among themselves; which, however, I did not think fit to inquire very strictly after at that time.

Had we been nearer home, and not at so very great an expense, as three ships, and so many men at victuals and wages, or had we been where we might have left one of our vessels to fish, and have come to them again, we would not have given it over while there had been an oyster left in the sea, or, at least, that we could come at: but as things stood, I resolved to give it over, and put to sea.

But when I was just giving orders, Captain Merlotte came to me, and told me that all the officers in the three ships had joined together to make an humble petition to me, which was, that I would give them one day to fish for themselves; that the men had promised that, if I would consent, they would work for them gratis; and likewise, if they gained anything considerable, they would account for as much out of their wages as should defray the ships' expense, victuals, and wages, for the day.

This was so small a request, that I readily consented to it, and told them I would give them three days, provided they were willing to give the men a largess, as I had done, in proportion to their gain. This they agreed to, and to work they went; but whether it was that the fellows worked with a better will, or that the officers gave them more liquor, or that they found a new bank of oysters, which had not been found out before, but so it was, that the officers got as many pearls, and some of extraordinary size and beauty, as they afterwards sold, when they came to Peru, for three thousand two hundred and seventeen pieces of eight.

When they had done this, I told them it was but right that, as they had made so good a purchase for themselves by the labour of the men, the men should have the consideration which I had proposed to them. But now I would make another condition with them, that we would stay three days more, and whatever was caught in these three days should be shared among the men at the first port we came at, where they could be sold, that the men who had now been out so long might have something to buy clothes and liquors, without anticipating their wages; but then I made a condition with the men too, viz., that whatever was taken they should deposit it in my hands, and with the joint trust of three men of their own choosing, one out of each ship, and that we would sell the pearl, and I should divide the money among them equally, that so there might be no quarrelling or discontent, and that none of them should play any part of it away. These engagements they all came willingly into, and away they went a dredging, relieving one another punctually, so that in the three whole days every man worked an equal share of hours with the rest.

But the poor men had not so good luck for themselves as they had for their officers. However, they got a considerable quantity, and some very fine ones; among the rest they had two in the exact shape of a pear, and very exactly matched; and these they would needs make me a present of, because I had been so kind to them to make the proposal for them. I would have paid for them two hundred pieces of eight, but one and all, they would not be paid, and would certainly have been very much troubled if I had not accepted of them. And yet the success of the men was not so small but, joined with the two pieces of eight a man which I allowed them on the ships' account, and the like allowance the officers made them, and the produce of their own purchase, they divided afterwards about fifteen pieces of eight a man, which was a great encouragement to them.

Thus we spent in the whole, near three weeks here, and called these the Pearl Islands, though we had given no names to any of the places before. We were the more surprised with this unexpected booty, because we all thought it very unusual to find pearl of so excellent a kind in such a latitude as that of 49 to 50°; but it seems there are riches yet unknown in those parts of the world, where they have never been yet expected, and I have been told, by those who pretend to give a reason for it, that if there was any land directly under the poles, either south or north, there would be found gold of a fineness more than double to any that was ever yet found in the world: and this is the reason, they say, why the magnetic influence directs to the poles, that being the centre of the most pure metals, and why the needle touched with the loadstone or magnet always points to the north or south pole. But I do not recommend this, as a certainty, because it is evident no demonstration could ever be arrived at, nor could any creature reach to that particular spot of land under the pole, if such there should be, those lands being surrounded with mountains of snow and frozen seas, which never thaw, and are utterly impassable either for ships or men.

But to return to our voyage; having thus spent as I have said, three weeks on this unexpected expedition, we set sail, and as I was almost satisfied with the discoveries we had made, I was for bending my course due east and so directly for the south part of America; but the winds now blowing fresh from the north-west, and good weather, I took the occasion as a favourable summons, to keep still on southing as well as east till we came into the latitude of 56°, when our men, who had been all along a warm weather voyage, began to be pinched very much with the cold, and particularly complained that they had no clothes sufficient for it.

But they were brought to be content by force; for the wind continuing at north and north-north-west, and blowing very hard, we were obliged to keep on our course farther south, indeed, than I ever intended, and one of the men swore we should be driven to the south pole. Indeed, we rather ran afore it than kept our course, and in this run we suffered the extremest cold, though a northerly wind in those latitudes is the warm wind, as a southerly is here; but it was attended with rain and snow, and both freezing violently. At length one of our men cried out, Land, and our men began to rejoice; but I was quite of a different opinion, and my fears were but too just, for as soon as ever he cried Land, and that I asked him in what quarter, and he answered due south, which was almost right ahead, I gave orders to wear the ship, and put her about immediately, not doubting but instead of land I should find it a mountain of ice, and so it was; and it was happy for us that we had a stout ship under us, for it blew a fret of wind. However, the ship came very well about, though when she filled again, we found the ice not half a league distance under our stern.

As I happened to be the headmost ship, I fired two guns to give notice to our other vessels, for that was our signal to come about, but that which was very uneasy to me, the weather was hazy, and they were both out of sight; which was the first time that we lost one another in those seas; however, being both to windward, and within hearing of my guns, they took the warning, and came about with more leisure and less hazard than I had done.

I stood away now to the eastward, firing guns continually, that they might know which way to follow; and they answered me duly, to let me know that they heard me.

It was our good fortune also, that it was day when we were so near running into this danger. In the afternoon the wind abated, and the weather cleared up; we then called a council, and resolved to go no farther south, being then in the latitude of 67° south, which I suppose is the farthest southern latitude that any European ship ever saw in those seas.

That night it froze extremely hard, and the wind veering to the south-west, it was the severest cold that ever I felt in my life; a barrel or cask of water, which stood on the deck, froze entirely in one night into one lump, and our cooper, knocking off the hoops from the cask, took it to pieces, and the barrel of ice stood by itself, in the true shape of the vessel it had been in. This wind was, however, favourable to our deliverance, for we stood away now north-east and north-east-by-north, making fresh way with a fair wind.

We made no more land till we came into the latitude of 62°, when we saw some islands at a great distance, on both sides of us; we believed them to be islands, because we saw many of them with large openings between. But we were all so willing to get into a warmer climate, that we did not incline to put in anywhere, till, having run thus fifteen days and the wind still holding southerly, with small alteration and clear weather, we could easily perceive the climate to change, and the weather grow milder. And here taking an observation, I found we were in the latitude of 50° 30', and that our meridian distance from the Ladrones west was 87°, being almost one semi-diameter of the globe, so that we could not be far from the coast of America, which was my next design, and indeed the chief design of the whole voyage.

On this expectation I changed my course a little, and went away north-by-east, till by an observation I found myself in 47° 7', and then standing away east for about eleven days more, we made the tops of the Andes, the great mountains of Chili, in South America, to our great joy and satisfaction, though at a very great distance.

We found our distance from the shore not less than twenty leagues, the mountains being so very high; and our next business was to consider what part of the Andes it must be, and to what port we should direct ourselves first. Upon the whole, we found we were too much to the south still, and resolved to make directly for the river or port of Valdivia, or Baldivia, as it is sometimes called, in the latitude of 40°; so we stood away to the north. The next day the pacific, quiet sea, as it is termed, showed us a very frowning rough countenance, and proved the very extreme of a contrary disposition; for it blew a storm of wind at east-by-south, and drove us off the coast again, but it abated again for a day or two; and then for six days together it blew excessive hard, almost all at east, so that I found no possibility of getting into the shore; and besides, I found that the winds came off that mountainous country in squalls, and that the nearer we came to the hills the gusts were the more violent. So I resolved to run for the island of Juan Fernandez, to refresh ourselves there until the weather was settled; and besides, we wanted fresh water very much.

The little that the wind stood southerly helped me in this run, and we came in five days more, fair with the island, to our great joy, and brought all our ships to an anchor as near the watering-place as is usual, where we rode easy, though, the wind continued to blow very hard; and being, I say, now about the middle of our voyage, I shall break off my account here, as of the first part of my work, and begin again at our departure from hence.

It is true, we had got over much the greater run, as to length of way; but the most important part of our voyage was yet to come, and we had no inconsiderable length to run neither, for as we purposed to sail north, the height of Panama, in the latitude of 9° north, and back again by Cape Horn, in the latitude of, perhaps, 60° south, and that we were now in 40° south; those three added to the run, from Cape Horn home to England made a prodigious length, as will be seen by this following account, in which also the meridian distances are not all reckoned, though those also are very great.

From Juan Fernandez to the Line 30

From the Line to Panama 9

From Panama to Cape Horn, including the distance we take in going round 60

From Cape Horn to the Line again in the North Seas 60

From the Line to England 51

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210 Deg.

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N.B. There must be deducted from this account the distance from Lima to Panama, because we did not go up to Panama, as we intended to do.

By this account we had almost 30° to run more than a diameter of the globe, besides our distance west, where we then were, from the meridian of England, whither we were to go; which, if exactly calculated, is above 70°, take it from the island of Juan Fernandez.

But to return a little to our stay in this place, for that belongs to this part of my account, and of which I must make a few short observations.

It was scarce possible to restrain Englishmen, after so long beating the sea, from going on shore when they came to such a place of refreshment as this; nor indeed was it reasonable to restrain them, considering how we all might be supposed to stand in need of refreshment, and considering that here was no length of ground for the men to wander in, no liquors to come at to distract them with their excess, and, which was still more, no women to disorder or debauch them. We all knew their chief exercise would be hunting goats for their subsistence, and we knew also, that, however they wanted the benefit of fresh provision, they must work hard to catch it before they could taste the sweet of it. Upon these considerations, I say, our ships being well moored, and riding safe, we restrained none of them, except a proper number to take care of each ship; and those were taken out by lot, and then had their turn also to go on shore some days afterwards, and in the mean time had both fresh water and fresh meat sent them immediately, and that in sufficient quantity to their satisfaction. As soon as we were on shore, and had looked about us, we began first with getting some fresh water, for we greatly wanted it. Then carrying a small cask of arrack on shore, I made a quantity of it be put into a whole butt of water before I let our men drink a drop; so correcting a little the chilness of the water, because I knew they would drink an immoderate quantity, and endanger their healths, and the effect answered my care; for, those who drank at the spring where they took in the water, before I got this butt filled, and before the arrack was put into it, fell into swoonings and faint sweats, having gorged themselves too much with the cool water; and two or three I thought would have died, but our surgeons took such care of them, that they recovered.

While this was doing, others cut down branches of trees and built us two large booths, and five or six smaller, and we made two tents with some old sails; and thus we encamped, as if we had been to take up our dwelling, and intended to people the island.

At the same time, others of our men began to look out for goats, for it may be believed we all longed for a meal of fresh meat. They were a little too hasty at their work at first, for firing among the first goats they came at, when there were but a few men together, they frighted all the creatures, and they ran all away into holes, and among the rocks and places where we could not find them; so that for that day they made little of it. However, sending for more firemen, they made a shift to bring in seventeen goats the same day, whereof we sent five on board the ships, and feasted with the rest on shore. But the next day the men went to work in another manner, and with better conduct; for as we had hands enough, and fire-arms enough, they spread themselves so far, that they, as it were, surrounded the creatures; and so driving them out of their fastnesses and retreats, they had no occasion to shoot, for the goats could not get from them, and they took them everywhere with their hands, except some of the old he-goats, which were so surly, that they would stand at bay and rise at them, and would not be taken; and these, as being old also, and as they thought, good for nothing, they let go.

In short, so many of our men went on shore, and these divided themselves into so many little parties, and plyed their work so hard, and had such good luck, that I told them it looked as if they had made a general massacre of the goats, rather than a hunting.

Our men also might be said not to refresh themselves, but to feast themselves here with fresh provisions; for though we stayed but thirteen days, yet we killed three hundred and seventy goats, and our men who were on board were very merrily employed, most assuredly, for they might be said to do very little but roast and stew, and broil and fry, from morning to night. It was indeed an exceeding good supply to them, for they had been extremely fatigued with the last part of their voyage, and had tasted of no fresh provisions for six weeks before.

This made them hunt the goats with the more eagerness, and indeed, they surrounded them so dexterously, and followed them so nimbly, that notwithstanding the difficulties of the rocks, yet the goats could hardly ever escape them. Here our men found also very good fish, and some few tortoises, or turtles, as the seamen call them, but they valued them not, when they had such plenty of venison; also they found some very good herbs in the island, which they boiled with the goats' flesh, and which made their broth very savoury and comfortable, and withal very healing, and good against the scurvy, which in those climates Englishmen are very subject to.

We were now come to the month of April, 1715, having spent almost eight months in this trafficking wandering voyage from Manilla hither. And whoever shall follow the same, or a like track, if ever such a thing shall happen, will do well to make a year of it, and may find it very well worth while.

I doubt not but there are many undiscovered parts of land to the west, and to the south also, of the first shore, of which I mentioned, that we stayed trafficking for little bits of gold. And though it is true that such traffick, as I have given an account of, is very advantageous in itself, and worth while to look for, especially after having had a good market for an out-ward-bound European cargo, according to the pattern of ours, at the Philippines, and which, by the way, they need not miss, I say, as this trade for gold would be well worth while, so had we gone the best way, and taken a course more to the south from Manilla, not going away east to the Ladrones, we should certainly have fallen in with a country, from the coast of New Guinea, where we might have found plenty of spices, as well as of gold.

For why may we not be allowed to suppose that the country on the same continent, and in the same latitude, should produce the same growth? Especially considering them situated, as it may be called, in the neighbourhood of one another.

Had we then proceeded this way, no question but we might have fixed on some place for a settlement, either English or French, whence a correspondence being established with Europe, either by Cape Horn east, or the Cape De Bona Esperance west, as we had thought fit, they might have found as great a production of the nutmegs and the cloves as at Banda and Ternate, or have made those productions have been planted there for the future, where no doubt they would grow and thrive as well as they do now in the Moluccas.

But we spun out too much time for the business we did; and though we might, as above, discover new places, and get very well too, yet we did nothing in comparison of what we might be supposed to have done, had we made the discovery more our business.

I cannot doubt, also, but that when we stood away south it was too late; for had we stood into the latitude of 67° at first, as we did afterwards, I have good reason to believe that those islands which we call the Moluccas, and which lie so thick and for so great an extent, go on yet farther, and it is scarce to be imagined that they break off just with Gilloto.

This I call a mistake in me, namely, that I stood away east from the Philippines to the Ladrones, before I had gone any length to the south.

But to come to the course set down in this work, namely, south-east and by east from the Ladrones, the places I have taken notice of, as these do not, in my opinion, appear to be inconsiderable and of no value, so had we searched farther into them, I doubt not but there are greater things to be discovered, and perhaps a much greater extent of land also. For as I have but just, as it were, described the shell, having made no search for the kernel, it is more than probable, that within the country there might be greater discoveries made, of immense value too. For even, as I observed several times, whenever we found any people who had gold, and asked them, as well as by signs we could make them understand, they always pointed to the rivers and the mountains which lay farther up the country, and which we never made any discovery of, having little in our view but the getting what little share of gold the poor people had about them. Whereas had we taken possession of the place, and left a number of men sufficient to support themselves, in making a farther search, I cannot doubt but there must be a great deal of that of which the inactive Indians had gotten but a little.

Nor had we one skilful man among us to view the face of the earth, and see what treasure of choice vegetables might be there. We had indeed six very good surgeons, and one of them, whom we took in among the Madagascar men, was a man of great reading and judgment; but he acknowledged he had no skill in botanics, having never made it his study.

But to say the truth, our doctors themselves (so we call the surgeons at sea) were so taken up in their traffick for gold, that they had no leisure to think of anything else. They did indeed pick up some shells, and some strange figured skeletons of fishes and small beasts, and other things, which they esteemed as rarities; but they never went a simpling, as we call it, or to inquire what the earth brought forth that was rare, and not to be found anywhere else.

I think, likewise, it is worth observing, how the people we met with, where it is probable no ships, much less European ships, had ever been, and where they had never conversed with enemies, or with nations accustomed to steal and plunder; I say, the people who lived thus, had no fire, no rage in their looks, no jealous fears of strangers doing them harm, and consequently no desire to do harm to others. They had bows and arrows indeed, but it was rather to kill the deer and fowls, and to provide themselves with food, than to offend their enemies, for they had none.

When, therefore, removing from thence, we came to other and different nations, who were ravenous and mischievous, treacherous and fierce, we concluded they had conversed with other nations, either by going to them, or their vessels coming there. And to confirm me in this opinion, I found these fierce false Indians had canoes and boats, some of one kind, and some of another, by which perhaps, they conversed with the islands or other nations near them, and that they also received ships and vessels from other nations, by which they had several occasions to be upon their guard, and learned the treacherous and cruel parts from others which nature gave them no ideas of before.

As the natives of these places were tractable and courteous, so they would be made easily subservient and assistant to any European nation that would come to make settlements among them, especially if those European nations treated them with humanity and courtesy; for I have made it a general observation, concerning the natural disposition of all the savage nations that ever I met with, that if they are once but really obliged they will always be very faithful.

But it is our people, I mean the Europeans, who, by breaking faith with them, teach them ingratitude, and inure them to treat their new comers with breach of faith, and with cruelty and barbarity. If you once win them by kindness, and doing them good, I mean at first, before they are taught to be rogues by example, they will generally be honest, and be kind also, to the uttermost of their power.

It is to be observed, that it has been the opinion of all the sailors who have navigated those parts of the world, that farther south there are great tracts of undiscovered land; and some have told us they have seen them, and have called them by such and such name, as, particularly, the Isles of Solomon, of which yet we can read of nobody that ever went on shore on them, or that could give any account of them, except such as are romantic, and not to be depended upon.

But what has been the reason why we have hitherto had nothing but guesses made at those things, and that all that has been said of such lands has been imperfect? The reason, if I may speak my opinion, has been, because it is such a prodigious run from the coast of America to the islands of the Ladrones, that the few people who have performed it never durst venture to go out of the way of the trade-winds, lest they should not be able to subsist for want of water and provisions; and this is particularly the case in the voyage from the coast of America only.

Whereas, to go the way which I have marked out, had we seen a necessity, and that there was no land to be found to the south of the tropic for a supply of provisions and fresh water, it is evident we could have gone back again, from one place to another, and have been constantly supplied; and this makes it certain also, that it cannot be reasonably undertaken by a ship going from the east, I mean the coast of America, to the west; but, from the west, viz., the Spice Islands to America west, it may be adventured with ease, as I have shown.

It is true, that William Cornelius Van Schouten and Francis le Maire, who first found the passage into the South Sea by Cape Horn, and not to pass the Straits of Magellan, I say, they did keep to the southward of the tropic, and pass in part the same way I have here given an account of, as by their journals, which I have by me at this time, is apparent.

And it is as true also, that they did meet with many islands and unknown shores in those seas, where they got refreshment, especially fresh water: perhaps some of the places were the same I have described in this voyage, but why they never pursued that discovery, or marked those islands and places they got refreshments at, so that others in quest of business might have touched at them and have received the like benefit, that I can give no account of.

I cannot help being of opinion, let our map makers place them where they will, that those islands where we so successfully fished for oysters, or rather for pearl, are the same which the ancient geographers have called Solomon's Islands; and though they are so far south, the riches of them may not be the less, nor are they more out of the way. On the contrary, they lie directly in the track which our navigators would take, if they thought fit, either to go or come between Europe and the East Indies, seeing they that come about Cape Horn seldom go less south than the latitude of 63 or 64°; and these islands, as I have said, lie in the latitude of 40 to 48° south, and extend themselves near one hundred and sixty leagues in breadth from north to south.

Without doubt those islands would make a very noble settlement, in order to victual and relieve the European merchants in so long a run as they have to make; and when this trade came to be more frequented, the calling of those ships there would enrich the islands, as the English at St. Helena are enriched by the refreshing which the East India ships find that meet there.

But to return to our present situation at Juan Fernandez. The refreshment which our men found here greatly encouraged and revived them; and the broths and stewings which we made of the goats' flesh which we killed there, than which nothing could be wholesomer, restored all our sick men, so that we lost but two men in our whole passage from the East Indies, and had lost but eight men in our whole voyage from England, except I should reckon those five men and a boy to be lost which run away from us in the country among the Indians, as I have already related.

I should have added, that we careened and cleaned our ships here, and put ourselves into a posture for whatever adventures might happen; for as I resolved upon a trading voyage upon the coast of Chili and Peru, and a cruising voyage also, as it might happen, so I resolved also to put our ships into a condition for both, as occasion should present.

Our men were nimble at this work, especially having been so well refreshed and heartened up by their extraordinary supply of fresh meats, and the additions of good broths and soups which they fed on every day in the island, and with which they were supplied without any manner of limitation all the time they were at work.

This I say being their case, they got the Madagascar ship hauled down, and her bottom washed and tallowed, and she was as clean as when she first came off the stocks in five days' time: and she was rigged, and all set to rights, and fit for sailing in two more.

The great ship was not so soon fitted, nor was I in so much haste, for I had a design in my head which I had not yet communicated to anybody, and that was to send the Madagascar ship a-cruising as soon as she was fitted up; accordingly, I say, the fifth day she was ready, and I managed it so that the captain of the Madagascar ship openly, before all the men, made the motion, as if it had been his own project, and desired I would let him go and try his fortune, as he called it.

I seemed unwilling at first, but he added to his importunity, that he and all his crew were desirous, if they made any purchase, it should be divided among all the crews in shares, according as they were shipped; that if it was provisions, the captain should buy it at half price, for the use of the whole, and the money to be shared.

Upon hearing his proposals, which were esteemed very just, and the men all agreeing, I gave consent, and so he had my orders and instructions, and leave to be out twelve days on his cruise, and away he went. His ship was an excellent sailer, as has been said, and being now a very clean vessel, I thought he might speak with any other, or get away from her if he pleased; by the way, I ordered him to put out none but French colours.

He cruised a week without seeing a sail, and stood in quite to the Spanish shore in one place, but in that he was wrong. The eighth day, giving over all expectations, he stood off again to sea, and the next morning he spied a sail, which proved to be a large Spanish ship, and that seemed to stand down directly upon him, which a little checked his forwardness; however, he kept on his course, when the Spaniard seeing him plainer than probably he had done at first, tacked, and crowding all the sail he could carry, stood in for the shore.

The Spaniard was a good sailer, but our ship plainly gained upon her, and in the evening came almost up with her; when he saw the land, though at a great distance, he was loath to be seen chasing her from the shore; however, he followed, and night coming on, the Spaniard changed his course, thinking to get away, but as the moon was just rising, our men, who resolved to keep her in sight, if possible, perceived her, and stretched after her with all the canvass they could lay on.

This chase held till about midnight, when our ship coming up with her, took her after a little dispute. They pretended, at first, to have nothing on board but timber, which they were carrying, as they said, to some port for the building of ships; but our men had the secret to make the Spaniards confess their treasure, if they had any, so that after some hard words with the Spanish commander, he confessed he had some money on board, which, on our men's promise of good usage, he afterwards very honestly delivered, and which might amount to about sixteen thousand pieces of eight.

But he had what we were very glad of besides, viz., about two hundred great jars of very good wheat flour, a large quantity of oil, and some casks of sweetmeats, all which was to us very good prize.

But now our difficulty was, what we should do with the ship, and with the Spaniards; and this was so real a difficulty that I began to wish he had not taken her, lest her being suffered to go, she should alarm the country, or if detained, discover us all.

It was not above one day beyond his orders that we had the pleasure of seeing the captain of the Madagascar come into the road, with his prize in tow, and the flour and oil was a very good booty to us; but upon second and better thoughts, we brought the Spaniards to a fair treaty, and, which was more difficult, brought all our men to consent to it. The case was this. Knowing what I proposed to myself to do, namely, to trade all the way up the Spanish coast, and to pass for French ships, I knew the taking this Spanish ship would betray us all, unless I resolved to sink the ship and murder all the men; so I came to a resolution of talking with the Spanish captain, and making terms with him, which I soon made him very glad to accept of.

First, I pretended to be angry with the captain of the Madagascar ship, and ordered him to be put under confinement, for having made a prize of his catholic majesty's subjects, we being subjects to the king of France, who was in perfect peace with the king of Spain.

Then I told him that I would restore him his ship and all his money, and as to his flour and oil, which the men had fallen greedily upon, having a want of it, I would pay him the full value in money for it all, and for any other loss he had sustained, only that I would oblige him to lie in the road at the island where we were, till we returned from our voyage to Lima, whither we were going to trade, for which lying I also agreed to pay him demurrage for his ship, after the rate of eight hundred pieces of eight per month, and if I returned not in four months, he was to be at his liberty to go.

The captain, who thought himself a prisoner and undone, readily embraced this offer; and so we secured his ship till our return, and there we found him very honestly at an anchor, of which I shall give a farther account in its place.

We were now, as I have said, much about the middle of our voyage, at least as I had intended it; and having stored ourselves with every thing the place afforded, we got ready to proceed, for we had, as it were, dwelt here near a fortnight.

By this time the weather was good again, and we stood away to the south-east for the port of Baldivia, as above, and reached to the mouth, of the harbour in twelve days' sail.

I was now to change faces again, and Captain Merlotte appeared as captain, all things being transacted in his name, and French captains were put into the brigantine, and into the Madagascar ship also. The first thing the captain did was to send a civil message to the Spanish governor, to acquaint him, that being come into those seas as friends, under his most Christian majesty's commission, and with the king of Spain's permission, we desired to be treated as allies, and to be allowed to take water and wood, and to buy such refreshments as we wanted, for which we would pay ready money; also we carried French colours, but took not the least notice of our intention to trade with them.

We received a very civil answer from the governor, viz., That being the king of France's subjects, and that they were in alliance with us, we were very welcome to wood and water, and any provision the place would afford, and that our persons should be safe, and in perfect liberty to go on shore; but that he could not allow any of our men to lie on shore, it being express in his orders that he should not permit any nation not actually in commission from the king of Spain to come on shore and stay there, not even one night; and that this was done to prevent disorders.

We answered, that we were content with that order, seeing we did not desire our men should go on shore to stay there, we not being able to answer for any misbehaviour, which was frequent among seamen.

While we continued here, several Spaniards came on board and visited us, and we often went on shore on the same pretence; but our supercargo, who understood his business too well not to make use of the occasion, presently let the Spaniards see that he had a great cargo of goods to dispose of; they as freely took the hint, and let him know that they had money enough to pay for whatever they bought; so they fell to work, and they bought East India and China silks, Japan ware, China ware, spice, and something of everything we had. We knew we should not sell all our cargo here; nor any extraordinary quantity; but we knew, on the other hand, that, what we did sell here, we should sell for 100l. per cent. extraordinary, I mean more than we should sell for at Lima, or any other ports on that side, and so we did; for here we sold a bottle of arrack for four pieces of eight, a pound of cloves for five pieces of eight, and a pound of nutmegs for six pieces of eight; and the like of other things.

They would gladly have purchased some European goods, and especially English cloth and baize; but as we had indeed very few such things left, so we were not willing they should see them, that they might not have any suspicion of our being Englishmen, and English ships, which would soon have put an end to all our commerce.

While we lay here trafficking with the Spaniards, I set some of my men to work to converse among the native Chilians, or Indians, as we call them, of the country, and several things they learned of them, according to the instructions which I gave them; for example, first, I understood by them that the country people, who do not live among the Spaniards, have a mortal aversion to them; that it is rivetted in their minds by tradition from father to son, ever since the wars which had formerly been among them, and that though they did not now carry on those wars, yet the animosity remained; and the pride and cruel haughty temper of the Spaniards were such still to those of the country people who came under their government, as make that aversion continually increase. They let us know, that if any nation in the world would but come in and assist them against the Spaniards, and support them in their rising against them, they would soon rid their hands of the whole nation. This was to the purpose exactly, as to what I wanted to know.

I then ordered particular inquiry to be made, whether the mountains of Andes, which are indeed prodigious to look at, and so frightful for their height, that it is not to be thought of without some horror, were in any places passable? what country there was beyond them? and whether any of their people had gone, over and knew the passages?

The Indians concurred with the Spaniards in this (for our men inquired of both), that though the Andes were to be supposed, indeed, to be the highest mountains in the world, and that, generally speaking, they were impassable, yet that there had been passages found by the vales among the mountains; where, with fetching several compasses and windings partly on the hills, and partly in the valleys, men went with a great deal of ease and safety quite through or over, call it as we will, to the other, named the east side, and as often returned again.

Some of the more knowing Indians or Chilians went farther than this, and when our men inquired after the manners, situation, and produce of the country on the other side, they told them, that when they passed the mountains from that part of the country, they went chiefly to fetch cattle and kill deer, of which there were great numbers in that part of the land; but that when they went from St. Jago they turned away north some leagues, when they came to a town called St. Anthonio de los Vejos, or, the town of St. Anthony and the Old Men; that there was a great river at that city, from whence they found means to go down to the Rio de la Plata, and so to the Buenos Ayres, and that they frequently carried thither great sums of money in Chilian gold, and brought back European goods from thence.