I. 
Captain George Shei vocke. 
9. On the 7th of January ,1720. I failed, fays the 
Captain, to Juan Fernandez. ; and, on the 8th, we obferved 
the Sea was perfectly red ; the Spaniards fay, that this 
Was occasioned by the Spawn of Camarones, or Prawns •, 
' which, for any thing I know, may be a Miflake. The 
next Day Mr. Steward , the Ship’s Agent, took an Ac- 
count of the Prize •, and I ordered Mr. Hendrie , the Agent 
for the Owners, to take an Account on their Behalf. The 
Plunder was fold at the Mali, by the Ship’s Agent, at very 
extravagant Prizes. Captain Betagh infilled pofitively, 
that whatever was not entered in Bills of Lading* or put 
on board upon Freight, ought to be confidered as Plunder. 
This might have occafioned very bad Confequences, if I 
had not referred them to their own Articles at St. Ca- 
tharine's, telling them plainly, that they had gone far 
enough in thefe, and that they Ihould not exceed them ; 
Ppon which they acquiefced, not a Soul feconding Captain 
Betagh' s Motion. The Account being taken, and Shares 
calculated, they demanded a Divifion ; which I could not 
refufe : Accordingly each Man had, for Prize-money and 
Plunder, after the Rate of ten Pieces of Eight per Share, 
in Money or Goods. On the 1 1 th, at fix in the Morn- 
ing, we faw the I (land of Juan Fernandez ; at Noon, the 
Body of it bore Weft South- weft, diftant five Leagues ; 
Meridian Diftance from Conception 275 Miles Weft-, Va- 
riation,^ Amplitude, 6° 23' Eaft : To the 15th, 1 kept 
Handing off and on the Shore for my Boats, which were a 
fillring, who, not having hitherto difcovered any Marks, 
that Clipper ton had been here, fent the Mercury alhore to 
flop her Leaks, while the Boats we employed in catching 
Fiffi, of which we falted as many as filled five Puncheons. 
At length, going on fhore to make a nicer Search for any 
thing that might inform us of fomeNews of my Confort, 
fome of my Men accidentally falwthe Word Magee , which 
was the Name of Clipperton's Surgeon, and Captain John 
cut out under it, upon a Tree, but no Directions left, as 
was agreed on, by him, in his Inftrudtions to me : His 
Adlions being thus groQy repugnant to his Inflruflions, it 
was evident, he never meant I ihould ever keep him Com- 
pany, or join with him again. However, being by this 
continued in the Certainty of his Arrival in thole Parts, I 
direftly made the belt of my Way from hence, being, with 
jthe additional Stock of Fiffi caught here, in a pretty good 
Condition as to Proviftons, and having all our Calks filled. 
On the 2 ill, having a Defign to look into Copiapo , as I 
went along- fhore, 1 fent Mr. Dodd, fecor.d Lieutenant of 
Marines, with eight Men, as a Reinforcement to the Mer- 
cury's Crew and the next Evening they left us, fleering 
in for the Land, whilft I kept the Offing, to prevent our 
being difcovered from the Shore. I took care to let the 
Officer have a Copy of my Ccmmiffion, together with all 
neceffary Inftruftions ; and appointed the Moro, or Head- 
land of Copiapo, to be our Place of meeting again : Their 
Bufmefs was to look into the Harbour of that Place, which 
is called Caldera ; near to which there are fome Gold Mines, 
-and from whence they export that Metal in confiderable 
Quantities, in fmall Veffels ; and the Mercury had this Adr 
vantage, that, being built in the Manner of the Country, 
■they could have no Sufpicion of her. The next Day my- 
felf in the Ship came in Sight of the Head-land of Copiapo , 
and lay-to to the Southward of it, that I might not be 
.perceived by the Port, which lies to the Northward. Ly- 
ing in this Pofture over-againft a fmall Eland, which lies 
athwart the Mouth of the River Copiapo , I fent the Pin- 
nace to filh between the Ifle and the Continent, and foon 
after faw a Sail crouding towards us ffie at jfirft appeared 
to be too big for the Mercury , but proved the fame. The 
Officei told me, that he had looked into the Port, but 
could fee no. Shipping there upon which I made him 
lenfible of his Error, and fent him to the right Place, 
which was about fix Leagues to the Northward of us ; and 
ordered him to be ready to look into Caldera by Day-light. 
1 he next Morning, as foon as they were gone, the Pin- 
nace returned with nothing but a few Penguins, which they 
had taken on the Mand, which abounds with them ; the 
Mercury had looked into the Caldera the next Morning, 
and faw nothing but, inftead of making ufe of the Land- 
wind to come off to me, they kept along-ffiore, in the 
Bottom of the Bay, till the Sea-breeze came in fo ftrong, 
Numb. XV. & 
that they were very near lofing theft Veffel on a Lee-ffiore, 
and could not come to me till the Morning ; .by which 
they hindered me almoft a whole Day and Night’s failing, 
which was more than our Circumftances could difpenle 
with. On the 27th* I fent Mr. Brooks, the fftft Lieu- 
tenant, and Mr. Rainor , firft Lieutenant of Marines, to 
relieve Mr. Randal , and Mr. Dodd , in the Mercury . I 
had fitted her up with a Gang of Oars ; and, upon Trial, 
they gained Way, after the Rate of three Knots, which 
might render her extremely beneficial and ufeful to us in a 
Calm. February 5. I difpatched Mr. Brooks a-head, to 
difcover if there were any Shipping at Arica , in the Lati- 
tude of 1 8° 2 o' South. The next Day, at one in the 
Afternoon, (after having ranged along-ffiore by the Breaks 
of Pifagua, Camarones , and Vi tor ) I had a Sight of the 
Head-land of Arica , and the Mand of Guano , with a Ship 
at Anchor on the Northern Side of it, and faw the Mer- 
cury Handing out of the Bay, by which I judged the 
Ship was too warm for her, and therefore made all poffible 
Halle to get up to her with my Ship. When we came 
into the Port, we found the Ship had been already taken, 
and that the Mercury was accidentally adrift. This Prize 
was called the Rofario , of the Burden of one hundred 
Ton, laden with Cormorants Dung, which the Spaniards 
called Guana , and make ufe of it for manuring the Land 
which produces the Codpepper, of which they make a vaft 
Profit in the Vale of Arica. There was not in this Ship 
one white Face, except the Pilot, whom I refolved to fend 
affiore, to fee if the Owners would- ranfom the Ship, 
knowing that the Cargo was worth Gold to them, though 
it was downright Dung to us ; and the Event verified my 
Conjecture. 
10. The next Morning I received a Letter from the 
Owner, wherein, after infilling pitifully on his Diftrefs and 
Poverty, as well as his having a large Family to provide 
fer, he promifed to meet us at Hilo , or at Quaco, in order 
to treat for a Ranfom : This Letter was figned Miguel Diez 
Gonzales. Soon after, we took a fmall Veffel, of ten Tons 
Burden, with a Cargo of dried Fiffi and Guana , lying 
within a Mile of the Town. By this Time all the adjacent 
Country was in Arms, and drew down in great Numbers to 
the Coaft, well mounted and armed, and, to all Ap- 
pearance, well difeiplined. However, to make Trial of 
their Courage, and, indeed, to give my own People 
Spirits, by Ihewing them what fort of an Enemy they 
had to contend with, I ordered the Mercury and 
Launch to advance towards the Shore, as if I had really 
intendecj to make a Defcent, though the Landing-place is 
altogether impracticable there, at leaft to European Em- 
barkations. I likewife cannonaded the Town very brifkly, 
and, though the Balls did not do Execution, yet they 
ploughed up the Sand before the Spanifh Line of Horfe, 
and threw it all over them * but neither this, nor the Ap- 
proach of my Small-craft, made any fort of Impreffion, 
but they remained firm, and ffiewed, at leaft, the Coun- 
tenance of as good Troops as could be wiffied for, to my 
very great Difappointment, fince it ffiewed my People, 
that the Spaniards were far from being finch Cowards as they 
were reprefented. The Merchant that wrote to me in the 
Morning, came on board as foon as it was dark •, and, 
having Reafon to believe him perfectly honeft, but 
ftreightened in his Circumftances, 1 agreed on reftoring to 
him his Ship, and fix Negroes, for 1500 Pieces of Eight, 
with this Refervation, that I would have every thing out 
of her that might be ufeful to us. In ffiort, he was fo 
punClual, and fo expeditious, that at ten the next Night 
he brought the Sum agreed for; viz. 1300 Dollars Weight 
in Ingots of Virgin-filver, which the Spaniards call Pinnas , 
and the reft in Pieces of Eight •, for which I reftored him 
his Ship and Negroes. This Gentleman made a great In- 
quiry after Englijh Commodities, and offered great Prices 
for them, complaining, that the French only fupplied them 
with paltry Things, and Trifles, for which they ran away 
with many Millions ; and asked, Whether all the Englijh 
Merchants were afieep, or grown too rich, fince, notwith- 
ftanding their Ports were not fo open as in other Parts of 
the World, yet they knew how to manage Matters very 
well ; and that their Governors, being generally Europeans s 
whofe Stay in the Country feldom exceeds above three 
3 ^ Years^ 
1 
