On The 11th We Saw The Island Of Juan Fernandez; And At Noon
It Bore From Us Five Leagues W.
S.W. the meridional distance from
Conception being 275 miles[264] W. From that day to the 15th, I stood
Off and on, waiting for my boats which were employed in fishing. In this
time I sent the Mercury ashore to stop her leaks, while the boats caught
so many fish, that we salted the fill of five puncheons. I could find no
marks of Captain Clipperton having been here for a long time; but at
length some of my men saw accidentally the words Magee and Captain
John cut upon a tree. Magee was the name of Clipperton's surgeon, but no
directions were left, as agreed upon in his instructions to me, so that
it was evident he never meant I should keep him company, or ever join
him again.
[Footnote 264: The difference of longitude between Conception and Juan
Fernandez is six degrees of longitude W. and, consequently, 360 minutes
or marine miles. - E.]
Being by this certified of the arrival of Clipperton in the South Sea, I
directly made the best of my way from Juan Fernandez, being in a pretty
good condition as to provisions, by the additional stock of fish caught
here, all our casks being filled. On the 21st, while sailing along there
with the design of looking into Copiapo, I put Mr Dodd, second
lieutenant of marines, into the Mercury, with a reinforcement of eight
men, and sent her next evening to cruize close in with the land, while I
kept with the Speedwell in the offing, to prevent being discovered from
the land. On this occasion I took care to give the officer commanding
the Mercury a copy of my commission, with all necessary instructions how
to proceed, appointing the Moro, or head-land of Copiapo, to be our
place of meeting. The business of the Mercury was to look into the port
of Copiapo, called Caldera,[265] near which there are some gold-mines,
and from whence considerable quantities of gold are exported in small
vessels; and our bark had the advantage of being of that country build,
so that she could not excite suspicion. Next day I hove in sight of the
head-land of Copiapo, and lay to the southward, that I might not be seen
from that port, which is to the northward of the Moro de Copiapo.
While here, opposite a small island which lies athwart the mouth of
Copiapo river, I sent the pinnace to fish between that isle and the
main, and soon after saw a vessel crowding all sail towards us. She at
first seemed too large for the Mercury, yet turned out to be her; when
the officer told me he had looked into the port, but could see no
shipping; but he had looked into a wrong place, and having made him
sensible of his error, I sent him again to the right place, which was
about six leagues farther north.
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