.$& The V O Y 
Boys Ills Attendants, Captain Davis made them cond-udl 
him to the Me of Amapalla, where being landed, he marched 
tap to the before-mentioned Place, a Mile from the Land- 
ing-place, on the Top of the Hill. The Inhabitants, who 
faw them advance, were ready to retire into the Woods-, 
hut the Secretary, an Enemy to the Spaniards , having per- 
suaded them, that they were Friends, who craved their 
Afiiftance againft their common Oppreffors, they bid Davis 
and his Mon welcome. After the firft Salutation, they 
marched towards the Church, (the Prieft, brought along 
by Captain Davis , at the Head of them) their only Place 
of public Meeting, whether for Confutations or Diverfions, 
where they kept their Vizards, Hautboys, Strumftrums, 
(a kind of Cittern j and other mufical Inftruments. Here 
they meet to make merry, efpecially in the Night precede- 
ing or next enfuing any Holiday, where they dance, fing 
and play, with antic Dreffes and Geftures ; tho’, to fpeak 
Truth, their Mufic and Mirth have fomething very melan- 
choly in them, fuitable to the Yoke they groan under, I 
mean that of the Spaniards. But to return to Captain Da- 
vis : His Intention was, as foon as they were all got into 
the Church, to engage all their Affiftance againft the 
Spaniards , to accomplifh which the Prieft had promised his 
good Offices ; but, juft as a few of the remaining Indians 
were entering the Church, one of Captain Davis’s Men 
puffied a Man forwards, to haften him into the Church ; 
which the Indian being frightened at, fet up his Heels, 
and the reft, taking the Alarm, followed ; fo that Captain 
Davis and the Frier being left alone in the Church, he 
ordered his Men to fire at them which being done, the 
Secretary was killed in the Fray: And fo the whole Project 
vanifhed into Smoke, by the Foolifhnefs of one inconfider- 
ate Fellow. The fame Afternoon, our Ship being entered 
the Gulph between Cape Cafwina and the Ifle of Manger a , 
came to an Anchor on the Eaft Side, near the Ifle of Ama- 
palla. Captain Davis came aboard us with the Frier, who 
told us, that, fince the Secretary was killed, they had no 
other way than to fend for the Cafica ; which being done 
by the Prieft, he came, attended by fix other Indians , who 
did us confiderable Service, in conducing us whither we 
had Occafion to go, efpecially to fetch Beef ; for which they 
were rewarded to their Satisfaction. On this Ifland of 
Amapalla a Company of Engiijh and French landed after- 
wards, and thence came to the Continent, and marched by 
Land to the Cape River, which has got its Name from its 
difcharging itfelf into the North Seas near Cape Gratia. At 
the Source of this River they made Bark-logs, wherewith 
they paffed into the North Seas. However, they were not 
the firft Inventors of this PafTage, fomething of it having 
been difcovered by home Engiijh thirty Years before, who 
went up this Cape River into the North Seas in Canoes, to 
the fame Place where the French built their Bark-logs, and 
thence to an inland Town called Segovia. They performed 
this not without incredible Difficulty, and in no lefs than a 
Month’s time, by reafon of the many Cataracts of this Ri- 
ver, which obliged them frequently to hale their Canoes 
afhore, and drag them over Land, till they were paft thefe 
Water-falls. I have fpoken with feveral, that were in this 
Expedition, and, if I miftake not. Captain Sharpe was one 
of them. But to return to our Voyage : After we had ca- 
reened, and provided our Ships with freffi Water, Captain 
Davis and Captain Eaton broke off Confortffiip ; and the 
laft left the Gulph September 2. 
20. September 3. 1684. having feen tne Frier on ffiore, 
we failed, with the Land-wind at Weft North-weft, out of 
the Gulph of Amapalla through the Chanel betwixt Man- 
ger a and the Me of Amapalla, directing our Courfe to the 
Coaft of Peru. As the Tornadoes, with Thunder, Light- 
ning, and Rains, are very frequent on thefe Coafts from 
June to November , we had our Share of them, coming 
moft from the South-eaft ; but afterwards, the Wind veer- 
ing to the Weft, it held till we came within Sight of Cape 
St. Francifco , where we met with fair Weather, and a South 
Wind. This Cape, being an high full Point of Land, lies 
at i° 20' North Latitude, and is covered with lofty Trees. 
As you pals by it from the North Side, you may eafily mif- 
take a fim.ll low Point for the Cape but, foon after you 
paft it,-' you will difcover it with triple Points. The Land 
qear it is high, and the Mountains appear black. We plied 
1 
AGES of Book I. 
along the Shore, to the Advantage both of the Sea and 
Land-winds, the firft blowing from the South, as the Land- 
winds do from South South-eaft, tho’ fornetimes, when we 
were oppofite to a River’s Mouth, the Wind would turn 
to South-eaft. September 20. we came to an Anchor near 
the Ifle of Plata, at fixteen Fathom, being now fallen in 
with the Places whence I began the Account of this Voy- 
age, after having compared the whole Continent of South 
America. The Ifle of Plata , fituated at i° 10’ South La- 
titude, is about four Miles in Length, and one and an half 
in Breadth, of a pretty good Height, and inclofed with 
rocky Cliffs, except in one Place on the Eaft Side, which 
is the only Place where a freffi-water Torrent falls down 
from the Rocks. The Top is fiat and plain, the Soil 
fandy ; yet it produces three or four Sorts of low and fmall 
Trees, not known in Europe. Thefe Trees were much 
overgrown with Mofs ; and pretty good Grafs is £0 be found 
here in the Beginning of the Year ; but here are no Land 
Animals to feed upon it, that vaft Number of Goats, which 
ufed to be here formerly, being all deftroyed. How- 
ever, they have a great many Boobies and Men-of-war 
Birds. Some fay the Spaniards have given it the Name of 
Plate IJland, ever fince Sir Francis Drake carried thither the 
Cacafoga , a rich Ship of theirs, laden with Plate. The 
Place ior Anchorage is on the Eaft Side, about the Middle 
oi the Ifle, ciole to the Shore, within two Cables Lenurh 
of the fandy Bay, in eighteen or twenty Fathom of fail oufy 
Ground, and very fmooth Water; becaufe the South-eaft 
Point of the Ifle keeps off the Force of the South Winds, 
which commonly blow here. In this fandy Bay, oppofite 
to the Anchoring-place, is good Landing," this being the 
only Place, that leads you up into the Ifle. From the South- 
eaft Point runs out a fmall Shole about a Quarter of a Mile 
into the Sea, where, when it flows, you fee great Rifing in 
the Water. The Tide is ftrong, flowing to the South, 
and ebbing to the North. At the fame Point are three 
fmall, but high Rocks, about a Cable’s Length from the 
Ifle; and as many, but much larger, at the North-eaft 
End. All round the Ifland there is deep Water, except 
in the before-mentioned Road ; and, near the Shole, there 
are great Plenty of thefe fmall Sea Turtles mentioned before : 
And the Ifland bears four or five Leagues Weft South-weft 
from Cape St. Laurenzo. 
21. After a Day’s Stay here, we continued our Voyage 
to Point St. Helena, bearing South from the Ifle of Plata, 
at 2° 1 5' South Latitude. It appears high and flat like an 
Ifle, being furrounded with low Grounds, and covered on 
the Top with Thiftles ; but without Trees. As it jets out 
into the Sea, it makes a good large Bay to the North Side, 
a Mile within which, on the very Sea-flde, Hands a wretched 
Village, called alfo St. Helena, inhabited by Indians ; but 
the Ground, tho’ low, being fandy and barren, they have 
neither Trees nor Grafs, or any Corn or Fruit, except 
Water-melons; which are very good here. They are 
forced to fetch their Water as far as the River Calanche , 
four Leagues thence, at the Bottom of the fame Bay. They 
live chiefly upon Fifli, and are fupplied with Maiz for 
Algatrane. Near this Town, about five Paces above the 
High-water Mark, there iffues out of the Earth a certain 
bituminous Subftance, called Algatrane by the Spaniards , 
which, by long Boiling, becomes hard like Pitch, and is 
ufed as fuch by the Spaniards. To the Leeward of the 
Point, diredly oppofite to the Village, is good Anchorage ; 
but, on the Weft Side, very deep Water. Some of our 
Men, being fent in the Night-time to take the Village, 
landed in their Canoes in the Morning, and took feme Pri- 
foners, and a fmall Bark fet on Fire by the Inhabitants, 
alleging, that they had done it by fperial Order from the 
Viceroy. Our Men coming back the. fame Evening, we 
returned again into the Ifle of Plata , where we anchored 
September 26. which very Evening, we fent feme of our 
Men to Manta, an Indian Village, two or three Leagues 
Weft of Cape St. Laurenzo , to. get more Prifoners, in 
hopes of better Intelligence. Manta is a fmall Village-, 
inhabited by Indians , on the Continent, feve-n or eight 
Leagues from the Me of Plata. Its Buildings are- mean, 
and fcattered ; but, being railed on an eafy Afcent, afford 
a very agreeable Profpedt towards the Sea-fide, The 
Church here is very fine, and adorned with carved Work, 
becaufe 
