also, and very well pleased with their entertainment; one of our
lieutenants had been teaching them navigation, and something of the
mathematics, and they made very good improvement in those studies,
considering the time they had been there; and the Spaniard, their
father, was so pleased with it, that not having gold enough to offer the
lieutenant, as an acknowledgment for his teaching them, he gave him a
very good ring from his finger, having a fine large emerald in it of
some value, and made him a long Spanish compliment for having nothing of
greater consequence to offer him.
We now made preparations for sailing, and our men, in my absence, had
laid in a very considerable supply of provisions, particularly excellent
pork, and tolerable good beef, with a great number of goats and hogs
alive, as many as we could stow.
But I had now my principal undertaking to manage, I mean that of sending
out my little army for discovery, and, having communicated my design to
the supercargo, and the person whom I intrusted with him in the command
of the ships, they unanimously approved of the scheme. My next business
was to resolve upon whom to confer the command of the expedition; and
this, by general consent, fell upon the lieutenant of the Madagascar
ship, who had taught the young Spaniards navigation, and this the
rather, because he was naturally a bold enterprising man, and also an
excellent geographer; indeed, he was a general artist, and a man
faithful and vigilant in whatever he undertook, nor was it a little
consideration with me, that he was so agreeable to the Spaniard and his
sons, of whose aid we knew he would stand in so much need.
When I had communicated to him the design, and he had both approved of
the undertaking itself, and accepted the command, we constituted him
captain, and the two midshipmen we made lieutenants for the expedition,
promising each of them 500_l._ if they performed it. As for the captain,
we came to a good agreement with him for his reward; for I engaged to
give him a thousand pounds in gold as soon as we met, if the journey was
performed effectually.
We then laid open the design to the men, and left it to every one's
choice to go, or not to go, as they pleased; but, instead of wanting men
to go volunteers, we were fain to decide it by lot among some of them,
they were all so eager to undertake it.
Then I gave them articles and conditions, which they who ventured should
engage themselves to comply with, and particularly, that they should
not mutiny, upon pain of being shot to death when we met, or upon the
spot, if the captain thought it necessary; that they should not straggle
from their company, nor be tempted by the view of picking up gold to
stay behind, when the company beat to march; that all the gold they
found in the way should be common, should be put together in a bulk
every night, and be divided faithfully and equally at the end of the
journey, allowing only five shares to each ship, to be divided as I
should direct. Besides which, upon condition that every man behaved
himself faithfully and quietly, and did his duty, I promised, that
besides the gold he might get by the way, I would give to all one
hundred pounds each at our meeting; and, if any man was sick, or maimed
by the way, the rest were to engage not to forsake and leave him on any
account whatsoever, death only excepted. And if any man died, except by
any violence from the rest, his share of the gold which was gotten
should be faithfully kept for his family, if he had any; but his reward
of one hundred pounds, which was not due, because he did not live to
demand it, should be divided among the rest; so that by this agreement,
the undertaking was not so dear to me as I had expected, for the pay of
the men amounted to no more than the sum following, viz.--
To the lieutenant, now made captain L1000
To the midshipmen, now made lieutenants, each
500_l._ 1000
To fifty men, each 100_l._ 5000
To the surgeon 200_l._, and his servant
100_l._, over and above their 100_l._
as being part of the fifty men 300
-----
L7300
Having pitched upon the men, I landed them, and made them encamp on
shore; but, first of all, I made them every one make wills or letters of
attorney, or other dispositions, of their effects to such persons as
they thought fit, with an account under their hands, endorsed on the
back of the said wills, &c., intimating what chests or cases or other
things they had on board, and what was in them, and what pay was due to
them; and those chests, &c., were sealed up before their faces with my
seal, and writings signed by me, the contents unknown. Thus they were
secure that all they had left in the ships, and all that was due to
them, should be punctually and carefully kept and delivered as it was
designed and directed by themselves, and this was greatly to their
satisfaction.
As to the reward of one hundred pounds a man, and the articles about
keeping together, obeying orders, gathering up gold, and the like, I did
not read to them till they were all on shore, and till I was ready to
leave them; because, if the rest of the men had heard it, I should have
kept nobody with me to have sailed the ships.
There was as stout a company of bold, young brisk fellows of them, as
ever went upon any expedition, fifty-three in number; among them a
surgeon and his mate, very skilful and honest men both of them, a
trumpeter and a drummer, three ship-carpenters, a cook, who was also a
butcher by trade, and a barber, two shoemakers who had been soldiers
among the pirates, a smith, and a tailor of the same, so that they
wanted no mechanics, whatever might happen to them.
Give the fellows their due, they took but little baggage with them; but,
however, what they had, I took care, with the assistance of my patron,
the Spaniard, should be as much carried for them as possible.
I provided them three large tents made of a cotton stuff, which I bought
in the country, and which we made up on board, which tents were large
enough to cover them all, in case of rain or heat; but as for beds or
bedding, they had only seven hammocks, in case any man was sick; for the
rest, they were to shift as well as they could; the season was hot, and
the climate good. Their way lay in the latitude of 40 to 50 deg., and they
set out in the latter end of the month of October, which, on that side
of the line, is the same as our April; so that the covering was more to
keep them from the heat than the cold.
It was needful, in order to their defence, to furnish them with arms and
ammunition; so I gave to every man a musket or fuzee, a pistol, and a
sword, with cartouches and a good stock of ammunition, powder and shot,
with three small barrels of fine powder for store, and lead in
proportion; and these things were, indeed, the heaviest part of their
baggage, excepting the carpenters' tools and the surgeon's box of
medicines.
As for the carrying all these things, they might easily furnish
themselves with mules or horses for carriage, while they had money to
pay for them, and you may judge how that could be wanting, by what has
been said of the country.
We gave them, however, a good large pack of European goods, to make
agreeable presents where they received favours; such as black baize,
pieces of say, serge, calamanco, drugget, hats and stockings; not
forgetting another pack of hatchets, knives, scissors, beads, toys, and
such things, to please the natives of the plain country, if they should
meet with any.
They desired a few hand granadoes, and we gave them about a dozen; but,
as they were heavy, it would have been very troublesome to have carried
more.
The Spaniard stayed till all this was done, and till the men were ready
to march, and then told us privately, that it would not be proper for
him to march along with them, or to appear openly to countenance the
enterprise; that my two lieutenants knew the way perfectly well; and
that he would go before to his own house, and they should hear of him by
the way.
All the mules and horses which he had lent us to bring us back he left
with them to carry their baggage, and our new captain had bought six
more privately in the country.
The last instructions I gave to our men were, that they should make the
best of their way over the country beyond the mountains; that they
should take the exact distances of places, and keep a journal of their
march, set up crosses and marks at all proper stations; and that they
should steer their course as near as they could between the latitude of
40 deg., where they would enter the country, and the latitude of 45 deg. south,
so that they would go an east-south-east course most of the way, and
that wherever they made the shore they should seek for a creek or port
where the ships might come to an anchor, and look out night and day for
the ships; the signals also were agreed on, and they had two dozen of
rockets to throw up if they discovered us at sea; they had all necessary
instruments for observation also, and perspective glasses, pocket
compasses, &c., and thus they set out, October 24th, 1715.
We stayed five days after they began their march, by agreement, that if
any opposition should be offered them in the country, or any umbrage
taken at their design, so that it could not be executed, we might have
notice. But as the Spaniards in the country, who are the most supinely
negligent people in the world, had not the least shadow of intelligence,
and took them only to be French seamen belonging to the two French ships
(such we past for) who had lain there so long, they knew nothing when
they went away, much less whither; but, no question, they believed that
they were all gone aboard again.
We stayed three days longer than we appointed, and hearing nothing amiss
from them, we were satisfied that all was right with them; so we put to
sea, standing off to the west, till we were out of sight of the shore,
and then we stood away due south, with a fresh gale at
north-west-by-west, and fair weather, though the wind chopped about soon
after, and we had calms and hot weather that did us no good, but made
our men sick and lazy.
The supposed journey of our travellers, their march, and the adventures
they should meet with by the way, were, indeed, sufficient diversion,
and employed us all with discourse, as well in the great cabin and
roundhouse as afore the mast, and wagers were very rife among us, who
should come first to the shore of Patagonia, for so we called it.
As for the place, neither they nor we could make any guess at what part
of the country they should make the sea; but, as for us, we resolved to
make the port St. Julian our first place to put in at, which is in the
latitude of 50 deg. 5' and that then, as wind and weather would permit, we
would keep the coast as near as we could, till we came to Punta de St.
Helena, where we would ride for some time, and, if possible, till we
heard of them.
We had but a cross voyage to the mouth of the Straits of Magellan,
having contrary winds, as I have said, and sometimes bad weather; so
that it was the 13th of December when we made an observation, and found
ourselves in the latitude of 52 deg. 30', which is just the height of Cape
Victoria, at the mouth of the passage.
Some of our officers were very much for passing the Straits, and not
going about by Cape Horn; but the uncertainty of the winds in the
passage, the danger of the currents, &c., made it by no means
advisable, so we resolved to keep good sea-room.
The 25th of December, we found ourselves in the latitude of 62 deg. 30', and
being Christmas-day, I feasted the men, and drank the health of our
travellers. Our course was south-east-by-south, the wind south-west;
then we changed our course, and went east for eight days, and having
changed our course, stood away, without observation, east-north-east,
and in two days more, made the land, on the east of the Strait de la
Mare, so that we were obliged to stand away east-south-east to take more
sea-room, when the wind veering to the south-by-east, a fresh gale, we
stood boldly away due north, and running large, soon found that we were
entered into the North Sea on Twelfth Day; for joy of which, and to
celebrate the day, I gave every mess a piece of English beef, and a
piece of Chilian pork, and made a great bowl of punch afore the mast, as
well as in the great cabin, which made our men very cheerful, and
instead of a twelfth cake, I gave the cook order to make every mess a
good plum-pudding, which pleased them all as well.
But while we were at our liquor and merry, the wind came about to the
north-east and blew very hard, threatening us with a storm, and as the
shore lay on our leeward quarter, we were not without apprehensions of
being driven on some dangerous places, where we could have no shelter; I
immediately therefore altered my course, and ran away east all night, to
have as much sea-room as possible.
The next day the wind abated, and hauling away to the east, we stood
northward again, and then north-west in three days more, and we made
land, which appeared to be the head island of Port St. Julian, on the
north side of the port, where we ran in, and about an hour before sunset
came to an anchor in eleven fathom good holding ground, latitude 49 deg.
18'.
We wanted fresh water, otherwise we would not have made any stay here,
for we knew we were a little too far to the south; however, we were
obliged to fill fresh water here for three days together, the
watering-place being a good way up the river, and the swell of the sea
running very high.
During this interval, Captain Merlotte and I went on shore with about
thirty men, and marched up the country near twenty miles, getting up to
the top of the hills, where we made fires, and at the farthest hill we
encamped all night, and threw up five rockets, which was our signal; but
we saw nothing to answer it, nor any sign either of English people or
natives in all the country.
We saw a noble champaign country, the plains all smooth, and covered
with grass like Salisbury Plain; very little wood to be seen anywhere,
insomuch that we could not get any thing but grass to make a smoke with,
which was another of our signals.
We shot some fowls here, and five or six hares; the hares are as large
as an English fox, and burrow in the earth like a rabbit. The fowls we
shot were duck and mallard, teal and widgeon, the same as in England in
shape and size, only the colour generally grey, with white in the
breast, and green heads; the flesh the same as ours, and very good.
We saw wild geese and wild swans, but shot none; we saw also guinacoes,
or Peruvian sheep, as big as small mules, but could not get at them; for
as soon as we stepped toward them, they would call to one another, to
give notice of us, and then troop altogether and be gone.
This is an excellent country for feeding and breeding of sheep and
horses, the grass being short, but very sweet and good on the plains,
and very long and rich near the fresh rivers, and were it cultivated and
stocked with cattle, would without doubt produce excellent kinds of all
sorts of cattle; nor could it fail producing excellent corn, as well
wheat as barley and oats; and as for peas, they grow wild all over the
country, and nourish an infinite number of birds resembling pigeons,
which fly in flights so great, that they seem in the air like clouds at
a great distance.
As for the soil, that of the hills is gravel, and some stony; but that
of the plains is a light black mould, and in some places a rich loam,
and some marl, all of which are tokens of fruitfulness, such as indeed
never fail.
The 14th of January (the weather being hot, and days long, for this was
their July), we weighed and stood northerly along the shore, the coast
running from Port St. Julian north-north-east, until we arrived at the
famous islands called Penguin Islands; and here we came to an anchor
again, in the same round bay which Sir John Narborough called Port
Desire, it being the 17th of January.
Here we found a post or cross, erected by Sir John Narborough, with a
plate of copper nailed to it, and an inscription, signifying that he had
taken possession of that country in the name of Charles the Second.
Our men raised a shout for joy that they were in their own king's
dominions, or as they said, in their own country; and indeed, excepting
that it was not inhabited by Englishmen, and cultivated, planted, and
enclosed after the English manner, I never saw a country so much like
England.
Here we victualled our ships with a new kind of food, for we loaded
ourselves with seals, of which here are an infinite number, and which we
salted and ate, and our men liked them wonderfully for awhile, but they
soon began to grow weary of them; also the penguins are a very wholesome
diet, and very pleasant, especially when a little salted; and as for
salt, we could have loaded our ships with it, being very good and white,
made by the sun, and found in standing ponds of salt water, near the
shore.
The penguins are so easily killed, and are found in such vast multitudes
on that island (which for that reason is so called), that our men loaded
the long-boat with them twice in one day, and we reckoned there were no
less than seven thousand in the boat each time.
Here we travelled up into the country in search of our men, and made our
signals, but had no answer to them, nor heard any intelligence of them.
We saw some people here at a distance, scattering about; but they were
but few, nor would they be brought by any means to converse with us, or
come near us.
We spread ourselves over the country far and wide; and here we shot
hares and wild-fowl again in abundance, the country being much the same
as before, but something more bushy, and here and there a few trees, but
they were a great way off. There is a large river which empties itself
into this bay.
Finding no news here of our men, I ordered the Madagascar ship to weigh
and stand farther north, keeping as near the shore as he might with
safety, and causing his men to look out for the signals, which, if they
discovered, they should give us notice by firing three guns.
They sailed the height of Cape Blanco, where the land falling back,
makes a deep bay, and the sea receives into it a great river at several
mouths, some of them twenty leagues from the other, all farther north.
Here they stood into the bay until they made the land again; for at the
first opening of the bay they could not see the bottom of it, the land
lying very low.
The captain was doubtful what he should do upon the appearance of so
large a bay, and was loath to stand farther in, lest the land, pushing
out into the sea again afterwards, and a gale springing up from the
seaward, they might be shut into a bay where they had no knowledge of
the ground; and upon this caution, they resolved among themselves to
come to an anchor for that evening, and to put farther out to sea the
next morning.
Accordingly the next morning he weighed and stood off to sea; but the
weather being very fine, and the little wind that blew being
south-west-by-south, he ventured to stand in for the shore, where he
found two or three small creeks, and one large river; and sending in his
shallop to sound, and find out a good place to ride in, upon their
making the signal to him that they had found such a place, he stood in,
and came to an anchor in eleven fathom good ground, half a league from
the shore, and well defended from the northerly and easterly winds,
which were the winds we had any reason to fear.
Having thus brought his ship to an anchor, he sent his shallop along the
shore to give me an account of it, and desire me to come up to him,
which accordingly we did; and here we resolved to ride for some time, in
hopes to hear from our little army.
We went on shore, some or other of us, every day, and especially when
five of our men, going on shore on the north side of the river, had shot
three Peruvian sheep and a black wild bull; for after that they ranged
the country far and near to find more, but could never come within shot
of them, except three bulls and a cow, which they killed after a long
and tedious chase.
We lay here till the 16th of February, without any news of our
travellers, as I called them. All the hopes we had was, that five of our
men asking my leave to travel, swore to me they would go quite up to the
Andes but they would find them; nay, they would go to the Spanish
gentleman himself, if they did not hear of them; and obliged me to stay
twenty days for them, and no longer. This I readily promised, and
giving them everything they asked, and two Peruvian sheep to carry their
ammunition, with two dozen of rockets for signals, a speaking trumpet,
and a good perspective glass, away they went; and from them we had yet
heard no news, so that was our present hope.
They travelled, as they afterwards gave an account, one hundred and
twenty miles up the country, till they were at last forced to resolve to
kill one of their guinacoes, or sheep, to satisfy their hunger, which
was a great grief to them, for their luggage was heavy to carry; but, I
say, they only resolved on it, for just as they were going to do it, one
of them roused a deer with a fawn, and, by great good luck shot them
both; for, having killed the doe, the fawn stood still by her till he
had loaded his piece again, and shot that also.
This supplied them for four or five days plentifully, and the last day
one of my men being by the bank of the river (for they kept as near the
river as they could, in hopes to hear of them that way), saw something
black come driving down the stream; he could not reach it, but calling
one of his fellows, their curiosity was such, that the other, being a
good swimmer, stripped and put off to it, and, when he came to it, he
found it was a man's hat; this made them conclude their fellows were not
far off, and that they were coming by water.
Upon this, they made to the first rising ground they could come at, and
there they encamped, and at night fired some rockets, and after the
third rocket was fired, they, to their great joy, saw two rockets rise
up from the westward, and soon after that a third; and in two days more
they all joyfully met.
We had been here, as I have said, impatiently expecting them a great
while; but, at last, the man at the main-top, who was ordered to look
out, called aloud to us below, that he saw a flash of fire; and
immediately, the men looking to landward, they saw two rockets rise up
in the air at a great distance, which we answered by firing three
rockets again, and they returned by one rocket, to signify that they saw
our men's signal.
This was a joyful exchange of distant language to both sides; but I was
not there, for, being impatient, I had put out and sailed about ten
leagues farther; but our ship fired three guns to give me notice, which,
however, we heard not, and yet we knew they fired too; for, it being in
the night, our men, who were very attentive with their eyes, as well as
ears, saw plainly the three flashes of the guns, though they could not
hear the report, the wind being contrary.
This was such certain intelligence to me, and I was so impatient to know
how things went, that, having also a small gale of wind, I weighed
immediately, and stood back again to our other ship; it was not,
however, till the second day after we weighed that we came up to them,
having little or no wind all the first day; the next day in the morning
they spied us, and fired the three guns again, being the signal that
they had got news of our friends.
Nothing could be more to my satisfaction than to hear that they had got
news, and it was as much to their satisfaction as to ours to be sure, I
mean our little army; for if any disaster had happened to us, they had
been in a very odd condition; and though they might have found means to
subsist, yet they would have been out of all hope of ever returning to
their own country.
Upon the signal I stood into the bay, and came to an anchor at about a
league to the northward of our other ship, and as far from the shore,
and, as it were, in the mouth of the river, waiting for another signal
from our men, by which, we might judge which side of the river to go
ashore at, and might take some proper measures to come at them.
About five o'clock in the evening, our eyes being all up in the air, and
towards the hills, for the appointed signals, beheld, to our great
surprise, a canoe come rowing to us out of the mouth of the river.
Immediately we went to work with our perspective glasses; one said it
was one thing, and one said it was another, until I fetched a large
telescope out of the cabin, and with that I could easily see they were
my own men, and it was to our inexpressible satisfaction that they soon
after came directly on board.
It might very well take up another volume to give a farther account of
the particulars of their journey, or, rather, their journey and voyage.