Chap. I. Captain Woodes Rogers. ifij 
to a Gaol. All Englijh and Dutch Goods, except what 
comes by the Galleons, are prohibited here ; fo that the 
private Traders, after they have, by Stealth, purchafed 
them in the North Seas, muft vend them in like manner 
all over Peru. And if the wholefale Merchants have not 
a good Certificate from the Commerce of Seville that 
their Commodities come by the Flota or Galleons, when- 
ever the Goods are queftioned, they muft difcover them, 
for fear of worfe Punifhment, unlefs they have a good In- 
tereft in the Viceroy, which cofts dear to purchafe and pre- 
ferve ; fo that the Trader makes little Profit, but where 
the chief Officers have a Feeling : Yet tho’ thofe mercenary 
Viceroys are fo fevere on others, they themfelves employ 
the Corregidors to negotiate a Trade for them by a third 
Hand, which cannot be done to the Purpofe without being 
publicly known j fo that Ships are conftantly employed 
on their Account, and carry Quickfilver, and all manner 
of prohibited Goods, to and from Mexico , out of bye Ports. 
Thus, being their own Judges, they get vaft Eftates, and 
flop all Complaints in Old Spain by Bribes. The Goods 
they trade for have a free Paffage, and fail through the Con- 
tinent; whilft others, if they do but offer at it, are pu- 
nifhed as above. Their other Ways of getting Money 
unjuftly are too many ; but, in fhort, in my Opinion, there 
is no Country naturally more rich, nor any People more 
terribly oppreffed. The Spaniards fay, and I believe not 
without Reafon, that a Viceroy, after purchafing his Place 
with all that he has, and quitting Old Spain as poor as Job, 
comes hither like an hungry Lion, to devour all that he can ; 
and that every Officer under him in the Provinces (who are 
ten times more than neceffary) are his Jackals to procure 
Prey for him, that they may have a Share of it themfelves. 
The Province abounds with feveral forts of good Timber, 
which makes it the chief Country of Peru for building and 
repairing of Ships ; there is feldom lefs than fix or feven 
at a time on the Stocks before the City of Guiaquil. The 
chief Commodity this City, and its chief Province, afford, 
is Cocoa, which is fo plentiful, as to fupply molt Places of 
the South Sea •, they fay, there is never lefs exported in a 
Year than 30,000 Cargaus, each Cargau 81 lb. Weight, 
and fometimes double the Quantity : It was purchafed ge- 
nerally at half an Rial per Pound, but now much cheaper, 
fo that the Cargau may be bought for two Pieces of 
Eight and a half. Their Coafting Trade is for Salt and 
Salt-fifh from Point Santa Helena, and moft vended at 
Quito, and other diffant Places within Land : A vaft Quan- 
tity of Timber is laden here for Truxilo, Ghana , Lima, 
and other Sea-ports, where it is fcarce. It pays a great 
Freight, and is a profitable Trade. They export alfo from 
hence Rice, Cotton, and fome dried jerked Beef. There 
are no Mines of Silver or Gold in this Province, but Plenty 
of all forts of Cattle, and very cheap, efpecially on the 
Ifland Puna, where we fupplied ourfelves with what we 
could conveniently. Here is no other Corn but Indian ; 
fo that all their Flour is brought from Pruxillo, Cheripe, 
and other Places in the windward Parts : It blows here al- 
ways Southerly. They are alfo fupplied with feveral forts 
of Woollen Cloth, and very ftrong good Bays made at 
Quito. Their Wines, Brandy, Oil, Olives, and Sugar, 
&c. come from Pi [cola, Nafca, and other Places to Wind- 
ward : Ail forts of European Goods come hither from Pa- 
nama, whither they are brought over Land from Porto - 
Bello out of the North Seas ; fo that the Number of Ships 
that come and go from hence, without including Coafters, 
are no lefs than forty Sail every Year ; which fliews, that 
the Port of Guiaquil is no mean Place of Trade in this Part 
of the World. A Market is alfo kept on Bark Logs and 
Boats in the River, every Day, before the Town, with all 
that the Country affords, in great Plenty. The other 
Towns of the Province are governed, by Lieutenants, de- 
puted by the Corregidor ; above half of them border on 
the fame River, and its Branches ; ft that they can join 
theft of the Capital in two Tides, tho’ at feveral Leagues 
Diftatice. Porto V aco> was rormerly the Metropolis of the 
Province, before the Government was removed to Guia- 
quil. In the 1 . owns, and the whole Province, the Spa- 
niards compute at leaft 10,000 Inhabitants ; but, I be- 
lieve, there are many more, taking in all the mixt Races 
between the Spaniards 3 Indians, and Negroes, which they 
divide and fubdivide into eleven Denominations,, The 
natural Spaniards are the feweft by far of all the Inhabit- 
ants ; and, were it not for theft Mixtures, which the Fa- 
thers of the Church keep united, the Indians might again 
take Poffeffion of their Country 5 for the Spaniards would 
be too few to keep it, and much more uncapable of peo- 
pling it. Few of thofe Prifoners that fell into our Hands 
were healthy and found; near half of the Spaniards cliff 
covered publicly to our Doctors their Malady, in order 
to get Phyfic from them againft the French Difeafe, which 
is fo common here, that they reckoned it no Scandal to 
be deep in the Powdering-tub ; and, the Heat of the 
Country facilitating the Cure, they make very light of it* 
All the Spaniards I difeourfed allow, that this rich Coun- 
try is not a tenth peopled, nor are half the Indians, far 
within Land, civilized ; tho’ they affirm, their King has, 
in the Weft Indies, more Subjects of feveral Colours, than 
in all Spain , or the' reft of his Dominions in Europe ; which 
may be true. 
22. On May n. we had a ftrong Gale at South South- 
weft. We bore away for the Gallapagos IJlands ; and in a 
very melancholy Condition we were : For we had upwards 
of twenty Men taken ill on board the Duke , and near fifty 
on board our Confort feized with a malignant Fever, con- 
tracted, as I fuppoft, at Guiaquil, where I was informed^ 
that, about a Month or five Weeks before we took it, a 
contagious Difeafe, which reigned there, fwept off ten or 
twelve Perfons every Day for a confiderable time ; fo that 
the Floors of all the Churches (which are their ufual Bu- 
rial-places) were filled fo faff, that they were obliged to 
dig a large and deep Hole, of about a Rood fquare, clofe 
by the great Church, where I kept Guard ; and this Hole 
was almoft filled with the Corpfes half-putrefied. The Mor- 
tality was fo very great, that many of the People had left 
the Town ; and our lying fo long in the Church, fur- 
rounded with fuch unwholfome Scents, was enough to in- 
fect us too. About this time Captain Courtney was taken 
ill ; and Captain Dover went on board to preferibe for him. 
In twenty-four Hours, we had fifty Men down, and the 
Duchefs upwards of feven ty ; and, in the following twenty- 
four Hours, there were ten more down in each Ship. . On 
the 17th, we difeovered Land ; and, on the iSth at Day- 
break, we were within four Leagues of two large Ifiands, 
almoft joining together, having paffed the other that we 
faw Yefterday. We fent our Boat afhore to look for Wa- 
ter, and agreed with our Confort where to meet, in cafe of 
Separation. They turned towards the Windward, and left 
us to try this Ifland for Water. All our Prizes were to 
flay near us under Sail, by a femarkable Rock. But, in 
the Afternoon, the Boat returned with a melancholy Ac- 
count, that no Water was to be found, the Prizes we 
expected lying to Windward for us by the Rock, about two 
Leagues off Shore ; but Mr. Hatley in a Bark, and the 
Havre de Grace , turned to Windward, after our Confort the 
Duchefs fo that only the Galleon, and the Bark that Mr. 
Selkirk was in, ftaid for us. We kept plying to Windward 
all Night, with a Light out ; which they followed. At 
five in the Morning, we fent our Boat affiore again, to 
make a further Search in this Ifland for Water. In the 
Evening, the Boat returned, and reported, that there was 
no Water to be found, though the People went three or 
four Miles up into the Country. They likewife told me, 
that the Ifland is nothing but loofe Rocks, like Cinders, 
very rotten, and heavy ; and the Earth lb parched, that it 
will not bear a Man, but breaks into Holes under his Feet; 
which makes me fuppoft there has been a Vulcano here, 
tho’ there is much ffirubby Wood, and fome Greens, on it; 
yet there is not the leaft Sign of Water ; nor is it pofllble, 
that any can be contained on fuch a Surface. In ftiort, we 
found theft Hands very little anfwered either our Expecta- 
tions, or the Deftriptions we had of them ; and our Lofs 
of Mr. Hatley, who, with five of our Men, two Spanijh 
Prifoners, and three Negroes, loft us in a Bark, where 
they were provided only with Water for two Days, and 
fcarce any other Neceffaries, together with many unlucky 
Accidents, made us wifh ourfelves from amongft thefe 
Hands ; and therefore, on May. 26. Captain Dover and. I 
went on board the Duchefs, where, after a Confutation, fit 
was refolved to run in for die Ifland Plata to water, and fo 
- ’ * * corns 
V 
