Captain Wood es Rogers 
24. While we were here, we agreed together to fit out 
the Havre de Grace with twenty Guns, and put Men out 
of eachrShip aboard her under Captain Cooke's Command, 
•refolving to carry her home with us, and to make a third 
Ship to cruife in our Company whilft we were in thefe 
Seas. This was the great Work on which we were em- 
ployed from the 29th of June to the 9th of July , when 
fhe was completely finiffied ; and we gave her the Name 
of the Marquis , having provided a good Entertainment : 
We faluted each of the other Ships with three Huzzas from 
on board her, diftributed Liquor among the Company, 
drank her.Majefty’s and our Owners Healths, and to our 
own Succefs, in Conjunction with our new Confort. We 
foon after fent two of our Main-deck Guns on board the 
Marquis ; the Duchefs did the like ; which, with four 
taken at Guiaquil , and twelve that were in the Ship, made 
twenty very good ones ; the Carriages all new, or fo well 
repaired, that they were as good and ftrong, as if mounted 
in England. The next thing to be confidered was, how 
to provide her with Men : This was very foon fettled; for 
I agreed to put thirty-five on board her, and Captain 
Courtney twenty-fix, fo that her Complement was fixty-one 
white Men, and twenty Negroes, Captain Edward Cooke 
Commander, and our fecond Lieutenant, Mr. Charles 
Pope , to command under him. We agreed, that the 
Captain, with his Officers and Men, fhould have equal 
Wages with ours in the likePofts, to encourage them. 
25. The next thing of Confequence was to get rid of our 
Prifoners, which began to be a Burden upon us, and of 
no Ufe at all. It was therefore determined, that they 
fhould be all fet affiore, after trying every Method poffible 
to engage them in a Scheme for trading with us. We had 
feveral times difcourfed the two Morells , and Don Antonio , 
about ranfoming the Goods, and were in Hopes of fellino- 
them to Advantage, but deferred coming to Particulars 
till now ; becaufe we plainly faw, that unlefs they could 
have the Cargoes under a Quarter Value, they would not 
deal with us. I propofed going to Panama , and lying fix 
Days as near it as they pleafed, till they brought the 
Money we ffiould agree for, at a moderate Rate, provided 
they left Hoftages on board us, whom, on Failure, we 
would carry to England. To this they would have agreed, 
provided we would take 60,000 Pieces of Eight for all the 
Prize-goods. Then I propofed their ranfoming the Gal- 
leon, and putting a great Part of the Goods aboard her, 
provided one of thofe three, and another they could pro- 
cure, would be Hoftages for the Sum. They anfwered, 
that neither of them would go Hoftage to England for the 
World. I mentioned delivering the Galleon and Cargo to 
them here, provided two of them would be Hoftages to 
pay us the Money at any other Place but Panama or Lima , 
in fix Days, if they would give us 1 20,000 Pieces of 
Eight, being the loweft Price we would take for all the 
Prizes and Goods, Negroes, CM They told us, that trading 
with Strangers, efpecially the Englijh and Dutch, was lb 
ftridlly prohibited in thofe Seas, that they muft give more 
than the prime Coftof the Goods in Bribes, to get a Licence 
to deal with us ; fo that they could not affure us of Payment, 
unlefs we fold the Goods very cheap : Therefore, not 
finding it worth our Time, and knowing the Danger we 
muft run in treating with them, we defifted, and ordered 
them all afhoie, ft ill hoping that this would compel 
the Morells and Navarre to get Money for us, and pre- 
vent our burning the Ships we could not carry away. 
Some of our People were for keeping feveral others when 
they were firft taken, but they were over-ruled ; though 
now ever y b ° dy feem £ ° confefs > that had been a better 
Method, becaufe it would have given us a greater Oppor- 
tunity of trading, and of ridding our Ships of thofe Goods 
which were of no Value to us here, and ferved only to 
hinder our failing. But to proceed ; On the 10th of July 
we put feventy-two Prifoners on board the Bark, and 
with our two Pinnaces, ffie failed for the Main. On the 
13th in the Morning, thefe Veffels returned from Landing 
our Prifoners, and brought off feven fmall Black Cattle; 
twdve Hogs, and fix Goats, feme Limes and Plantains, 
which were very welcome to us. They met with little elfe 
of Value m the Village they were at ; and, the others being 
far up the River, they did not think it worth while to vifit 
Numb. XXL 
them. The Country where they landed was fo poor, that 
our Men gave the Prifoners five Negroes, fame Bays, 
Nails, CM to purchafe themfelves Subliftence. The In- 
habitants afhore had Notice of our taking Guiaquil, and 
were jealous of our being at this Xfiand, becaufe they heard 
our Guns when we fired, in order to fcale them after 
careening. According to the Report of our People, our 
Prifoners were not extremely well pleafed with the Change 
of their Situation, or even with the Recovery of Liberty, 
in fiich a Place ; and feemed to regret the Advantages they 
enjoyed on board us. To fay the Truth of the Matter, I 
verily believe, that Don Antonio, the Fleming , Sig. Navarre , 
and the Morells , did not exped to part with us fo lud- 
denly ; but, by continuing with us, and knowing we could 
not carry away all the Prizes and. Goods, they hoped we 
fhould ofcourfe have freely given them what we could not 
keep : We apprehended that was the principal Reafon of 
their not clofing with our Terms, which were advantageous 
to them ; befides, fhould we have been attacked, they 
believed we muft then put them in Pofteffion of their 
Ships, which were of no Ufe for fighting. But, to ob- 
viate all their Hopes of benefiting themfelves at this eafy 
Rate, without participating of their Money, the Magnet 
that drew us hither, X made them fenfible, at parting, that, 
as we had treated them courteoufly, like generous Enemies, 
we would fell them good Bargains for whatever Money 
they could bring us in ten Days time ; but that we would 
burn what we did not difpofe of, or carry away. They 
begged we would delay burning the Ships, and premifed 
to. raife what Money they could, and return within the 
Time to latisfy us. One of the chief Prifoners v/e now 
parted with, was Don Juan Cordofo , defigned Governor of 
Baldivta, a brifk Man, of about thirty-five Years of Age : 
He had ferved as a Colonel in Spain , had the Misfortune to 
be taken in the North Seas by an Englijh Privateer near 
Porto-Bello , and carried to Jamaica , from whence he was 
fent back to Porto-Bello. He complained heavily of the 
Ufage he met with from the Jamaica Privateer ; but we 
parted very good Friends, and he returned us hearty 
Thanks, and a Stone Ring for a XYefent to one of the 
Duchefs' s lieutenants, that had lent him his Cabin while 
he was fick on board. We allowed Liberty of Confcience 
on board our floating Commonwealth to our Prifoners ; 
for,, there being a Prieft in each Ship, they had the great 
Cabin for their Mafs, whilft we ufed the Church of ^Eng- 
land Service over them on the Quarter-deck. On the 1 5th 
of June, came on board, in a fmall Canoe, on 0 Michael 
Kendall, a free Negro of Jamaica, who had lived for fome 
time as a Slave in the Village our People had plundered : 
He happened not to be there then ; but, as foon as he had 
an Account of it, he- fairly ventured his Life to get away 
to us. From him we received the following remarkable 
Account of an Attempt made upon the Gold Mines, in 
which he was himfelf concerned. His Relation was to 
this Effedt : That, when War was declared at Jamaica, he 
embarqued under the Command of one Captain Edward 
Roberts, who was joined in Commiffion from the Go- 
vernor of Jamaica , with the Captains Rajh, Golding, and PH- 
kington. They had 106 Men, and defigned to attempt 
the Mines of lago, at the Bottom of the Gulph of Darien. 
There were more Commanders and Men came out with 
them, but did not join in this Defign. They had been 
about five Months out, when they got near the Mines un~ 
difcovered. They failed fifteen Days up the River in 
Canoes, and travelled ten Days by Land afterwards : By 
this Time, the Spaniards and Indians , being alarmed, laid 
Ambufcades, and fiiot many of them. The Enemy 
having affembled at leaft 500 Men, and the Englijh being 
dimimfhed to about fixty, including the Wounded, the 
Spaniards fent them a Flag of Truce, and offered them 
their Lives, after a fmall Skirmiffi, wherein the Englijh 
loft four, and the Enemies about twdve Men. The Englijh , 
being in want of Provifions, quite tired out, and not know- 
ing their Way back, agreed to deliver their Arms, on 
condition to be ufod as Prifoners of War. Elaving thus 
yielded, the Spaniards and Indians carried them in Canoes 
three Days up the River that leads to the fame Mines 
they defigned to attempt, treated them very well, and gave 
them the fame Food that they eat themfelves. But the 
2 ^ fourth 
