25' S. On The Coast Of
Guayaquil, Where He And His People Were Barbarously Used By A Mixed Race
Between The Indians And Negroes; But Were Rescued By A Priest, And Sent
To Lima, Where He Was Kindly Treated.
- E.]
In a consultation on the 26th May, we resolved to proceed for the island
of Plata in quest of water, and then to come immediately off the coast
again, having information of two French ships, one of sixty and the
other of forty-six guns, together with a Spanish man of war, that would
soon be sent in search of us. It was also our intention to refit our
ships there, and not to go near the main, our ships being out of order,
and our men very weak and sickly, several of them having already died.
We accordingly sailed on the 27th, and in another conversation on the
30th, it was agreed to go first to Gorgono, to see if there were any
English ships there; and afterwards to sail for Maugla, Malaga, or
Madulinar,[225] where there are some Indians at enmity with the
Spaniards, who, as the pilots informed us, come seldom there, and were
not likely to procure any intelligence of us from thence. They told us
also, if we could induce the Indians to trade with us, we might have
hogs, fowls, plantains, bananas, and other refreshments.
[Footnote 225: The island of Gorgona is on the coast of New Granada, in
lat. 2 deg. 54' N. and long. 78 deg. 35' W.]
While on our course towards Gorgona, the Duchess took the San Thoma de
Villa nova of ninety tons, having about forty people on board,
including eleven negro slaves, and but little European goods, except
some cloth and iron. Next day we made the island of Gorgona,[226] and
on the 8th of June our boats brought in another prize, a small bark of
fifteen tons belonging to a creek on the main. She was bound to
Guayaquil, having ten Spaniards and Indians on board, and some negroes,
but had very little cargo, except a small quantity of gold dust and a
large gold chain, together of about 500l. value, which were secured
aboard the Duchess. In a consultation, held on the 19th June, proceeding
upon information procured from our prisoners, it was resolved to proceed
to Malaga, at which there was an anchorage, where we proposed to leave
our ships, and to row up the river for the rich gold mines of Barbacore,
[Barbaceas][227] called also the mines of St Pean, from a village of
that name about two tides up the river. At that place we proposed to
seize canoes, as fitter than our boats for going up against the stream,
in which, at this season of the year, according to the information of an
old Spanish pilot, there are such strong freshes, that he did not expect
we should reach the mines in less than twelve days. But having
discoursed with several of the prisoners, we found the island of Malaga
an unsafe place for our ships, and besides, they represented the river
as so narrow, that the Indians would be able to assail us with poisoned
arrows, and the Spaniards might easily cut off our retreat, by felling
trees across from bank to bank.
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