The Only Thing She Contained Worth Taking Were Two Jars
Full Of Eggs, Two Jars Of Treacle, And Two Dollars.
Next day they
captured a ship of 150 tons, laden with timber from Guayaquil, in which
were two friars, sixteen Indians, and four Negroes.
On the 30th they
took a ship of 400 tons, bound from Panama to Lima, which had been taken
by Captain Rogers at Guayaquil ten years before. She had many passengers
on board, and a loading of considerable value. Another prize was taken
on the 2d of November, being a vessel of seventy tons, on board of which
was the Countess of Laguna and several other passengers, with a great
sum of money, and 400 jars of wine and brandy, which was very
acceptable. Captain Clipperton desired the countess to inform him,
whether she thought proper to remain in the prize, or to accept of such
accommodations as he was able to give her in the Success. She chose to
continue in the prize, on which he sent an officer of marines with a
guard, to prevent her from being molested, and with strict orders not to
allow any person to enter her cabin, except her own domestics. He also
sent part of the wine and brandy on board the other prizes, for the use
of his seamen who had charge of them.
Although Captain Clipperton had now so many prizes, that above a third
of his company was detached to take charge of them, he was still as
eager to take more as if he had commanded a squadron of men of war,
instead of a single privateer weakly manned. On the 12th November, a
London-built pink of about 200 tons was discovered at some distance,
bound from Panama to Lima with a cargo of woad, of very little value to
Clipperton, yet he added this to the number of his prizes. The master of
this vessel, being a shrewd fellow, soon saw the error Clipperton had
fallen into, and resolved to turn it to his advantage. Guessing by the
number of prizes already attending the English ship, that he could not
spare many men to take possession of his ship, and having above a dozen
passengers, he directed them to hide themselves in the hold, along with
a Frenchman who served as boatswain, with orders to seize as many of the
English as went down below, assuring them that he with the ship's
company would be able to manage the rest. When this ship struck,
Clipperton sent Lieutenant Sergeantson with eight men to take possession
of her; who, on coming on board, ordered all he saw on deck into the
great cabin, at the door of which he placed a sentinel. Thinking every
thing was now secure, he ordered the topsails to be hoisted, in order to
stand down towards the Success; after which, the men went down into the
hold, to see what loading was in the ship. On this the concealed
passengers sallied out, knocked most of them down, and the boatswain
came behind Mr Sergeantson, whom he knocked down likewise, and then
bound all the Englishmen in the hold. In the mean time, the crew in the
great cabin, Spaniards, Indians, and Negroes, secured the sentinel.
Having thus recovered possession of the ship, the Spanish captain
resolved on getting ashore at all events, in which design he ran his
ship among the rocks, where he with his crew and prisoners were all in
considerable danger. He then ordered all the English prisoners to be
unbound, and all got safe on shore, after which Lieutenant Sergeantson
and his men were all sent prisoners to Lima.
The viceroy was so much pleased with this hardy action of the Spanish
shipmaster, that he ordered a new vessel to be built for him at
Guayaquil, ordering all the traders in Peru to be taxed for defraying
the expence, as a reward for the service rendered on this occasion to
the public, and an encouragement for others to behave in like manner. On
the arrival of the prisoners at Lima, they were all strictly examined,
when one of them gave a full account of every thing he knew,
particularly of the two men who remained on the island of Juan
Fernandez, and of the letter left in a bottle for the Speedwell, the
consort of the Success. On this information, a small vessel was fitted
out and sent to Juan Fernandez, with orders to fetch away the two men
and the bottle containing the signals, which was accordingly done.
Perceiving on the 20th November, that the last-taken, prize had been
recovered by her crew, as on making the signal to tack, she was seen to
make all possible sail towards the land, Captain Clipperton immediately
suspected what had happened; and finding it impossible to get up with
her, he began to consider what was best for him to do, to prevent the
bad effects which might reasonably be expected from her crew getting on
shore and communicating the alarm. Wherefore, he very prudently
determined to set all his Spanish prisoners at liberty, as well to save
provisions, which he could not very well spare, as that their good usage
from him might be speedily known, in hopes of the same being returned to
those of his men who had fallen into the hands of the Spaniards.
On the 24th we took another prize of about 200 tons, laden with timber
from Panama to Lima, having on board forty negroes and thirty Spaniards,
most of the last being passengers. 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.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 176 of 221
Words from 178692 to 179699
of 224764
