Chap. I. Captain Georg 
Induce him to take any Step, that was thought neceflary to 
procure his Inlargement ; for he was laid at his full Length 
on the Arms-cheft at the Bulk-head in the Steerage, and 
confined juft there ; and, what with the Height of the Cheft, 
and the Bedding, the upper Deck was fo very clofe, he had 
hardly Room to lie extended upon it, there being no Poffi- 
bility of fitting up ; fo that his Victuals were brought him 
there : And, when he offered to make Water upon Deck, 
the Centinel was always clofe at his Heels, with a drawn 
Sword. And thus he continued twelve or fourteen Days, 
nobody daring to fpeak to him, except Mr. Kendric , who, 
before this, was alfo turned out of the Mefs. Upon this 
Occafion it was, that he wrote a Letter to Captain Shelvo eke-, 
but he afferts, that it was not the Letter that the Captain 
has produced in his Book •, and avers, if fuch a Letter could 
have been produced, as it might have been, had the Copy 
in the Book been printed from the Original, he would 
acknowledge every Title of the Charge, and fubmit to be 
thought as bad a Man by the Reader, as the Captain was 
pleafed to reprefent him ; which, to me, I own, appears 
a very fair Propofal. As to the Scheme of going to Chiloe , 
he reprefents it as the Captain’s own, calculated purely to 
avoid meeting Mr. Clipper l on at Juan Fernandez ; and 
afferts, that the People, generally fpeaking, were againft it. 
He fays, that thk was a Port known to nobody ; and that 
its being unfrequented was a Proof, that it was a dangerous 
and difficult Navigation ; which was often reprefented to 
Captain Shelvocke , but to no manner of Purpofe. All thefe 
Difficulties and Dangers they experienced in the End •, for 
they were no fooner entered, but they found themfelves 
furrounded with terrible Breakers ; for fuch were the Un- 
certainty and Rapidity of the feveral Tides or Currents 
meeting there, as at once to aftoniffi and baffle the moft 
judicious Mariner to deferibe them. They were firft taken 
under the Bow with a Current fetting from the Lee of one 
Ifland, then immediately under the Quarter with another ; 
fo that the Ship could not anfwer her Helm. At laft, the 
moft powerful of thofe Currents horfed her away on the 
Weft Shore into three Fathom and an half, where the Tor- 
rent ran with fuch Impetuofity, and the Ground was fo foul, 
that the Sand appeared on the Surface from the Bottom ; 
all which together afforded a difmal Profpedl. However, 
the Anchor brought her up, which if they had not let go 
when they did, every Man muff inevitably have periffled ; 
for, had fhe touched the Bottom, there fhe muff, in a Mo- 
ment, have broken to Pieces, or overfet by the Strength of 
the Current. He ridicules the whole Affair of changing 
the Ship’s Name, and affuming the French Captain’s, as a 
very poor Contrivance, which had little or no Effedl •, for 
the Spanijh Governor was not fo eafily cheated, but had the 
worfe Opinion of the Perfon he dealt with, for endeavour- 
ing thus to impofe upon him. And, as to the fending Men 
afhore to exercife, he reprefents that as very little better 
than a formal Defigti of throwing them into the Hands of 
the Spaniards. As to the Project of feizing Chiloe , he will 
not allow it any kind of Merit, becaufe of the dangerous 
going in, which muft expofe Ships of any Size to the utmoft 
Peril. Such is the Commentary of Betagh upon this Part 
of the Voyage. Let us now return to the Text of Captain 
Shelvocke , and the Profecution of the ^Voyage from this 
Ifland of Chiloe to the Bay of Conception ; after which we 
will hear Captain Betagh again. 
8. I was determined, fays he, to go from hence to the 
Ifland of Juan Fernandez , as my Inftrudtions diredfted ; 
and fhould certainly have done fo, but that the Ship’s Com- 
pany were unluckily poffeffed with an Opinion of mighty 
Advantages that might be obtained by a fflort Trip to the 
Bay of Conception. This was put into their Heads by the 
Frenchman , who perfuaded us to go to Chiloe ; and, tho’ 
that Expedition was not over-advantageous, yet, as it failed 
rather through the Faults of our own People, than from any 
Miftakes in the Frenchman* s Information, which, on the 
Whole, had anfwered tolerably well, the Crew were ftill 
inclined to credit him ; a thing natural enough in a ftrange 
Part of the World, where we knew not well what Courfe to 
fleer, and where he, who had never fo little more Know- 
ledge than the reft, was fure to be efteemed much wifer 
than he really was. But the Secret, by which this Man cap- 
tivated our Company to fuch a Degree, was this : He flat- 
e Shelvocke. 207 
tered them with the Hopes of making their Fortunes in a 
very fliort Time, and at a very fmali Hazard. He premifed, 
that he had been there before, and therefore knew what he 
faid ; and next laid it down as a Fad: absolutely certain, and 
not all to be controverted or called in queftion, that there 
were always five or fix Sail of Ships in the Road of Con- 
c option, and others daily coming in and going out ; that they 
had very often, both Ways, confiderable Sums of Money 
and Plate, and other valuable Tilings, on board ; that, tho 5 * 
they were large Ships, they had little or no Force; and 
that there was no Fortification to proted them, fo that,, if 
there were twenty Sail, w T e could not meet any Oppofition 
in the taking them all ; that their Cargo confided chiefly 
of Corn, Wine, Brandy, Flour, Bread, jerked Beef; that 
the Ships bound to Conception , always bring Money with 
them to purchafe their Cargoes, befides the Booty that 
might be got from rich trading Paffengers, who carry on 
a confiderable Commerce between this Port and Buenos 
Ayres over Land ; and that we could not fail of having the 
Ships ranfomed, that fhould fall into our Hands, at very 
great Rates ; infomuch that, if we could but get into Con- 
ception before they had any Knowledge of us, it was paft 
all Doubt, that we fhould make our Fortunes. He therefore 
advifed them to endeavour to prevail upon me to make the 
belt of my Way thither : For, tho’ it was certain, the Go- 
vernor of Chiloe would fend our Deferter to Conception with 
all imaginable Difpatch ; and that, Once it would be two or 
three Months Journey by Land, he would infallibly convey 
him by Sea in fome fmali Veffel ; and that, if they arrived 
at Conception before us, the reft of the Coaft would, in a 
very fmali time, be univerfally alarmed ; by which means 
we fhould not have an Opportunity left of meeting with 
any thing, till they had imagined, that we had abandoned 
their Seas ; as every-body, in thofe Cafes, are fond of 
delivering their Sentiments, and as it is impoffihle to keep 
a Ship’s Company in fo much Awe, in fo remote a Part, as 
in fliort Voyages near home, every one of my Ship’s Com- 
pany, who could fay any thing at this Juncture, did not 
fail to fpeak their Minds fomewhat infolently. One William 
Morphew , who was one of thofe I had out of the Ruby , and 
had been in thefe Seas feveral Years, took upon him to tell 
me, that it could not fignify much, if we arrived two or 
three Days fooner or later at Juan Fernandez ; that I was 
a Stranger here ; but that the Frenchman and himfelf were 
fo well acquainted, that every body hoped I would be ad- 
vifed, and go to Conception : And begged I would not put 
a mere Pundtilio of Orders in the Balance againft fuch a 
Profpedl, nay. Certainty of Succefs, if we were fo happy 
as to arrive there in time. In fflort, they all together 
aflured me, that they had the Proprietors InterHl in 
View, as much as their own ; and that they would perifh, 
before they would injure them in any refpedl : But at the 
fame time told me, that, if I had not Succefs in my Pro- 
ceedings, nobody could be blamed, but myfelf; intreating 
me not to lofe this Opportunity, wherein they were refolved 
to ftand by me, and the Gentlemen in England , with, all 
Fidelity. In our Way to Conception , we made the Elands 
of Mocha and St. Mary on December 23. and, the fame 
Evening, arrived in the Bay of Conception ; but could not 
be certain, that we fawany Ship in the Road : And therefore 
I immediately gave Orders to man and arm our Boats, to 
go up in the Night to furprife whatever Veffels might be 
there ; withftridt Orders, if they found any thing too flrong 
for them, to make it their Bufinefs to prevent the Ships 
fending any thing afhore, till the Wind permitted me to 
work up to them ; which I endeavoured all Night long, 
but to very little Purpofe : For, at Day-light, I could 
dilcern nothing above us. Captain Hatley returned about 
Noon in the Pinnace, and informed me, that he had taken 
a Ship called the Salidad d* Auday, which was the only one 
there, that was about 150 Tons Burden ; and, being lately 
come from Baldivia , had nothing on board, except a few 
Cedar-planks ; that there was nobody on board of her, ex- 
cept the Boatfwain, an old Negro, and two Indian Boys ; 
and that he had left Mr. Brooks the firft Lieutenant in Pof- 
feffion of her, with Orders to bring her down the firft Op* 
portunity. In his Return to my Ship, he took a fmali Vef- 
fel of about twenty-five Tons, near the Ifland ^uiriquice 
(which lies in the Harbour) where fhe had been to take in 
Pears, 
