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.
Having returned to the American coast, they fell in with a ship on the
21st of January, which they took after a long chase. This proved to be
the Prince Eugene, on board of which was the Marquis of Villa Roche
and all his family, bound from Panama, where he had been president, to
Lima. This was the very ship in which Captain Clipperton had been
circumvented and taken in his last voyage in these seas,[237] when he
had been very indifferently used by the marquis, who was now at his
mercy, and whom he used, notwithstanding, with all civility. On the 8th
March, a priest who was on board the prize, and the boatswain of that
ship, desired leave to go on shore at the island of Velas,[238] which
was granted on condition that they would induce the inhabitants to bring
some bullocks to the shore, to exchange them for such goods as they
might think proper to accept in payment. This they promised, and on the
16th they returned with four bullocks, together with some fowls and
fruit as a present to the marquis, but said their alcalde, or governor,
would on no account permit them to trade with the English. They also
learnt that Captain Mitchell had been ashore at this place, and had shot
some of their cattle, but on 200 men appearing under arms, had been
forced to retire. This story seemed the more probable, as these people
had some linen and other articles of clothing belonging to Captain
Mitchell's men. Next day some letters from the marquis were intercepted,
which were by no means conformable to the strict honour to which the
Spanish nobility usually pretend, as they were meant to stir up the
inhabitants of Velas to surprise the men belonging to Captain
Clipperton, and to seize his boat when it went ashore for water. Upon
this Captain Clipperton confined the marquis for some days; yet allowed
him and his lady to go ashore on the 20th, leaving their only child as
an hostage; and soon after the prize was restored to her captain.
[Footnote 237: The circumstance here alluded to no where appears in the
narratives of any of the former circumnavigations. - E.]
[Footnote 238: Perhaps Velas point is here meant, in lat. 10 deg. 9' N. on
the coast of that province of Mexico called Corta Rica. - E.]
On the 14th April, the marquis and his lady came on board, accompanied
by the alcalde, and an agreement being made for their ransom, the lady
and child were sent ashore, and the marquis remained as sole hostage. In
the whole of this transaction, Clipperton seems to have been outwitted
by the marquis, who lately broke his word, and by this the crew of the
Success were provoked to murmur against their captain for trusting him.
On the 20th of April, the Success anchored in the Gulf of Amapala, or
Fouseca, in lat. 13 deg. N. and not being able to water there, repaired to
the Island of Tigers,[239] where they procured water with great ease.
They went to the island of Gorgona, in lat. 2 deg. 53' N. for the same
purpose, on the 4th June. On the 24th of that month they took a prize
which had once been in their hands before, now laden with timber and
cocoa-nuts; and on the 11th August, anchored with their prize at the
island of Lobor de la Mar, in lat.
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