212 m VOYAGES of Book! 
^helf Complement of Men, put a Month’s Provifio'n on 
board, mounted two Quarter-deck Guns on the Mercury , 
lent Captain Hatley my Pinnace, gave him a Copy of my 
Inftrufitfons ; though it was very likely, that I fhould have 
frequent Sight of the Mercury , between the Time of our 
Separation and our coming to the Ifland of Lobos , where 
was our Rendezvous, and not above fixty Leagues from us. 
As foon as every thing was ready for their Departure, 
Captain Betagh , whofe Turn it was to relieve the fnarine 
Officer in the Mercury , being unwilling to go, went 
amongft the People *, and, with a frightful Countenance, 
told them, that he, and the reft that were to go with him, 
were fent for a Sacrifice. Upon this, I addreffed myfelf 
to the Ship’s Company ; telling them, that I did not know 
what this ungovernable Fellow meant by this Uproar ; and 
appealed to them all, if it had not been cuftomary with 
me to relieve the Officers in this manner, ever fince we had 
this YefTel in Company *, and afked them, if ever they 
■heard me call upon any particular Perfon by Name to go 
on any Enterprise, but left it to every Man’s Choice to 
go out of the Ship upon any Service ; and, in a Word, 
defired to know who among them were of Betagh' s Opinion : 
Upon this, they with one Voice declared, that they had 
never entertained any fuch Thought ; but, on the contrary, 
I fhould find them obedient to any Commands I fhould 
lay upon them. This done, I ordered the Mercury along- 
fide, and acquainted her Crew with the Speech Betagh had 
made in the Ship ; and defired to know, if any of them 
were under any Apprehenilons of being fold or facrificed : 
At which they fet up an Huzza, andbegged that they might 
go on the intended Cruize in the Mercury. Accordingly, 
Hatley and Betagh went on board of her, and put off from 
us, gave me three Chears, and flood right in for the Land. 
I think it will not be altogether improper to take notice 
of their Proceedings after they left me, as I have been in- 
formed by themfelves and by Prifoners ; viz. The very 
next Day they took a fmall Bark, laden with Rice, Choco- 
late, Wheat, Flour, &c. and the Day following another ; 
on the 4th Day, they became Mafters of a Ship of near 
200 Tons, 150,000 Pieces of Eight. Fluffed with this 
Succefs, Betagh prevailed on Hatley , and the greateft Part 
of the People with them, not to join me again ; telling 
them, thgt they had fufficient to appear like Gentlemen as 
long as they lived, but that it would be nothing when the 
Owners Parts were taken out, and the Remainder divided 
into 500 Shares : And therefore he thought, fince Fortune 
had been fo kind to them, they would be highly to blame, 
if they did not lay hold of this Opportunity of going to 
India ; fince they had Provifions, and every thing they 
could wifh for in their Voyage, and the Happinefs, into 
the Bargain, of having a Gentleman amongft them, Cap- 
tain Hatley , who was, doubtlefs, able to conduct them to 
fome Part of the Coafts of Afia. This was foon refolved 
on, and they fell to Leeward of the Place of Rendezvous. 
But Hatley , weighing within himfelf the vaft Run, and 
the many Hazards of the Undertaking, and knowing well 
what Treatment he fhould find in India, if his Treachery 
was difeovered, could not readily determine what he had 
belt do in this Cafe, but kept hovering on the Coaft ; and, 
in the Interim, fome of his Crew went away with his Boat 
to furrender themfelves to the Enemy, rather than be con- 
cerned in fuch a piratical Action. But Betagh and his 
Gang ft ill kept Hatley warm in Liquor, and, in the End, 
brought him to a fixt Refolution of leaving thefe Seas. 
But no fooner had they clapped their Helm a- weather, than 
they faw a Sail Handing towards them, which, in fhort, 
proved to be a Spanijh Man of War, who caught them, 
and fpoiled their India Voyage. The Englifh were treated 
very indifferently •, but Betagh , who was of their Religion, 
and of a Nation which the Spaniards are very fond of, was 
made an Officer, and ufed very refpefilfully. On the 29th, 
in the Morning, we faw a Sail at Anchor in the Road of 
Guanchaco \ at 11, we came up, and anchored along-fide 
of her : There was no body on board of her but two Indian 
Men and a Boy : She was called the Carmafita , of about 
100 Tons, and had nothing in her but a little Timber 
from Guiaquil, from whence lhe lately came. By thefe Pri- 
foners I was informed, that there was a rich Ship in the 
Cove of Payta, who put in there to repair fome Damages 
fhe had fuftained by a Gale of Wind : Upon which I im- 
mediately went to Sea ; but, in purchafing the Anchor, the 
Gable parted, and I loft it. I took my Prize with me, fhe 
being new and well-fitted, and like to fail well : I called 
her the St. David , and defigned to have- made her a com- 
plete Firefhip as foon as the Mercury joined us, who had 
Materials on board of her for that Purpofe. The next Day 
Hooked into Cheripe , from whence I chafed a fmall VeffeJ, 
of which when I came within half Cannon-ffiot, the Crew 
ran her on fhore. The next Morning, finding myfelf in the 
Neighbourhood of the Ifland of Lobos, where I had ap- 
pointed our Rendezvous with the Mercury , I fent Mr* 
Randall , my fecond Lieutenant, afhore, with two Letters 
in two Bottles, direfling Captain Hatley to follow us to 
Bayta, towards which Port I now made the beft of my 
Way ; and, on March 8. found myfelf before it; and fent 
Mr.. Randall to look into the Cove, in order to bring us an 
Account what Ships were there, that we might know what 
to think of the Information we had received. 
There is fcarce a Circumftance in all this Account, which 
Captain Betagh does not only difpute, but deny. As to 
the Mercury , on board which they were fent to cruife, he 
obferves, that fhe was a flat-bottomed Veflel, that would 
neither row nor fail, and, in ffiort, an abfolute Lighter. 
He lays next, that the Courfe they were direfiled to fteer$ 
was exafitly in the Tract of the Enemy ; fo that he really 
judged it to be the Captain’s Defign he fhould be taken : 
And he likewife admits, that, upon his hinting this to th£ 
Purfer, Captain Shehocke called up all Hands, and dif- 
courfed them in the manner before-mentioned. With re- 
gard to Prizes, he admits the taking of two, one a Bark, 
the other an old Englijh Pink, bound from Panama to 
Luna ; which, inflead of having 1 50,000 Dollars on board, 
after they had examined her very clofely, did not appear 
to have on board her fo much as a Angle Half-crown, the 
Veffel being bound in her Ballaft with a fmall Parcel of 
Pedlary W are from Panama to Lima \ whereas, had fhe 
been going from Lima to Panama , floe might probably have 
had a coniiderable Sum on board. We went into this Prize 
immediately, leaving only a Hand or two to take care of 
the Mercury , fays Captain Hatjey ; and we were foon after 
taken by one of the Spanijh Cruifers, called the Brilliant , 
of thirty Guns, as we were plying between Lobos and Cape 
Blanco , having been twice on fhore in this Ifland, without 
being able to difeover any Signs of our Captain’s having 
been there, much Ids meeting with any Inftrufilions to join 
him at Payta. As to the perfuading Captain Hatley to go 
to India , and all that depends upon that Story, Captain 
Betagh denies it utterly •, affirms, that, though he was 
brought up a Papift, he became a Proteftant fo foon as he 
came to Years of Difcretion •, that he never was in the 
Spanijh Service ; tho’ he owns he was very kindly treated 
by Don Pedro Midranda , Admiral of the South Seas, on 
account of Mr. Betagh's having fome Knowledge of Sir 
Charles IVager , to whom Don Pedro thought himfelf ex- 
ceffively obliged. As the Author of this Hiftory, I do 
not pretend to enter at all into the Difcuffion of thefe 
Points : I only report Fafits as I find them, and leave it 
intirely to the Reader’s Judgment, who was, and who was 
not, in Fault. I proceed now with the Voyage, as it is re- 
prefented by Captain Shelvocke , whom we left beating up 
for Payta. 
13. On the 2 1 ft, fays he, I came within feven Leagues 
of the Place ; and, fleering direfilly for it, entered the Cove 
of Payta about four in the Afternoon, with French Colours, 
there being a fmall Ship in the Harbour, of which Mr. 
Brooks , my firft Lieutenant, foon became Mafter, being 
fent in with the Launch well manned for that Purpofe. 
About 7 in the Evening, I came to an Anchor about three 
Quarters of a Mile from the Town : The taking of Payta 
being in the Scheme of our Voyage treated as a Matter of 
great Importance, I confuted my Officers concerning the 
propereft Methods of doing it. The Town appeared to be 
indifferently large and populous ; and it was very probable 
there might be fome Land Forces, to defend a Place fo 
well known as this, which is the Rendezvous of Ships 
coming from Panama and Calao : However, I landed with 
forty-fix Men at two of the Clock the next Morning, leav- 
ing Mr. Coldfea , the Mafter, and fome others, not only to 
1 look 
