C 54» ) 
eft, and Diego next, both old men ^ they are all very 
much our friends, and fond of us. All have been fre- 
quently here except Captain Diego, who is Goutyifh- 
Some of thefe Captains wear the Scots Flag in their 
Canoa's. There is no fuch thing as a King or Empe- 
ror of Darien^nox, fo far as we can gather from all the 
chief men hereabout, has been thefe 40 or 50 years : 
The old men remember fuch a man, they fay he was a 
Tyrant, would take as many Wives as he pleafed, and 
allow them but one , and therefore they cut hina 
off. This derogates much from the reputation 
of the Hijlory of the Buccaneers. If there were 
fuch a man, he has been an Indian made Emperor by 
themfelves, I mean by the Buccaneers. This Country 
certainly affords Gold enough, for befides that the Na- 
tives conftantlj affure us, that they know feveral Gold 
Mines on this^fide ^ befides that, I fay, the Plates they 
wear in their Nofes, and the quaiitity of Gold that is 
amongft them, is enough to perfwade any man of the 
truth of it. There was one night kboard here fonie 
Indians th^it had a hundred ounces of Gold about them. 
We are certainly much bound ro Providence in this 
affair 5 for as we were fearching for the place we were 
direfted to, we found this, and though the Privateers . 
had been fo often at Golden Ijland^ and though Engl/fi, 
Dutch and French had been all over this Coaft, from 
Portobelo to Cartagena , yet never one of them made 
the difcovery, even the Spaniards themfelves never 
knew of this place. Befides. for as great a fecret as we 
thought the projeft, it was known all the Weji Indies 
over, and yet it was not in their power tocrufh it. At 
Madera they feem'd to know it, at St Thomas Vm fure 
they knew it ^ at P^^r^f?^/^? their . intelligence was fo 
good, that they knew the nanies of all our Councel- 
lors and Captains of Ships before we landed, and had 
that particular obfervation, that there were four Ro-- 
° herti 
I 
