220 The V 0 Y 
tr&rd Gale of Wind, which lafted four Days ; during which 
time we had no Hopes of living *, we were obliged to 
feud under bare Poles, having our Yawl in Tow, and having 
but a fhort Scope of Boat-rope for her. The excefiive 
Fright of this Storm made many of the People form a 
Refolution of going afhore the very firft Opportunity they 
could lay hold on : I had no room left to give them fur- 
ther Hopes, till at length, calling to mind Mr. Frezier’s 
Account of the Hand of Iquique , I mentioned the Sur- 
prifal of that Place, it being but a fmall Lieutenancy, and 
where we might, in all Probability, get fome wholfome 
Provifions, and a better Bottom than our own. Every 
one approved of this ; and the Sun fhining upon us, and 
lying dry again, it inftilled fome Vigour into us, and we 
directed our Courfe for that Hand. The Evening after 
We faw Iquique , which appeared no other than as a white 
Rock, at the Foot of the High-land of Carapucho. It was 
•Sun-fet before the Boat departed ; which, endeavouring to 
land under the Covert of the Night, had like to have been 
loft among the Breakers. At laft they heard the Barking 
of Dogs, and faw the Light of fome Candles ; but, hav- 
ing experienced the Hazard of Landing in the Dark, made 
their Boat faft to a Float of Sea-weeds, for want of a Grap- 
pling : In tins Pofture they remained till Day-light, and 
then rowed in between the Rocks, and were received by 
fome Indians on the Shore, with an ignorant Welcome : 
Being afhore, they went to the Lieutenant’s Houfe ; and, 
finding it locked, broke it open, and romaged the whole 
Village, and found a Booty, more valuable to us at prefent, 
than Gold or Silver, which confided of fixty Bufhels of 
Wheat-flour, 120 of Calavances and Corn, fome jerked 
Beef, Pork, and Mutton, 10,000 Weight of well-cured 
Fifh, a good Number of Fowls, fome Rude, and four or 
five Days Eating of foft Bread, together with five or fix 
Jars of Peruvian Wine and Brandy ; and had the good 
'Fortune to find a Boat near the Shore, to bring off their 
Plunder, which otherwife would have been of little Ufe to 
us, our own Boat being laden with Men. Meanwhile we, 
in the Bark, were carried away to the Northward, by the 
Current, out of Sight of the Ifiand ; and they, not having 
laden their Boats before the Heat of the Day, had a labo- 
rious Task to row off their heavy-laden Boats ; whilft we 
were under the melancholy Apprehenfions, that our People, 
not finding any thing confiderable, had taken it into their 
Heads to ftay afhore, and defert us : But thefe Clouds di- 
fperfed, when, towards the Evening, I perceived two Boats 
-approaching ns very faft, and difeovered them as much 
burdened as they could fafely be. Words cannot exprefs 
the Joy that reigned among us when they came aboard : 
The Scene was now changed from Famine to Plenty*, the 
Loaves of foft Bread were diftributed, and the Jars of 
Wine broached *, but I took care they fhould drink mode- 
rately of it, each Man having no more than half a Pint : 
And, after living a Day or two on wholfome Diet, we won- 
dered our Stomachs could digeft the rank naufeous Eels 
Fried in Train-oil; and could hardly believe, that we had 
lived on nothing elfe for a Month paft. I was affured, 
by my fecond Lieutenant, that the Indians did not exprefs 
any great Concern at what happened, but feemed rather to 
be pleafed at our plundering the Spaniards ; fo natural it 
•is for bad Mailers to find Enemies in their Servants. 
This little Ifiand of Iquique lies in the Latitude of 1 9 0 
.50' South : It is about a Mile and an half in Circumferenc, 
and half a Mile, or thereabouts, from the Main-land of 
Peru, the Chanel between full of Rocks. It is of a mo- 
derate Height, but the Bulk of it is entirely compofed of 
Cormorants-dung, which, as I have before obferved, is 
made ufe of for manuring the Land, which produces Cod- 
pepper. In Colour it is exceeding white *, fo that Places co- 
vered with it appear, at a Diftance, like Chalk-cliffs. Tire 
Smell of it is certainly very offenfive, and, in all Probabi- 
lity, very unwholfome ; but the Gain that is made of it 
very confiderable, fince feveral Ships load here every Year, 
and carry it to Arica. There are no Inhabitants on it but 
Negro-flaves, who clean and prepare it in large Heaps 
near the Shore, ready for Boats to take it off. As to the 
Village, where the Lieutenant refides, that is on the Con- 
tinent, clofe by the Sea-fide ; it confifts of about fixty 
fcattered ill-built Houfes (which hardly deferve that Name) 
AGE S of Book I. 
and a fmall Church ; there is not the leaft V erdure to be 
feen about it, nor does it afford the leaft Neceffary of Life, 
nor even Water, which they are obliged to fetch from the 
Fppebrada, or the Break of Pifagua , in Boats, ten Leagues 
to the Northward. Being, therefore, a Place fo miferable, 
we may conclude, that the Advantage accruing to them by 
Guana, or Cormorants-dung, is the only Inducement to 
bring Inhabitants to this Place. This laft Inconvenience 
was what, I fuppofe, led them to the Contrivance of build- 
ing their Habitations on the Main-land ; which, though it 
is a Situation as hideous as can be imagined, and not wholly 
out of the Stench of the offenfive Vapours of the He of 
Iquique, yet is not quite fo fuffocating. But although the 
Land is fo defolate and forbidding, the Sea affords two or 
three forts of excellent Fifh, of fuch Kinds as I never faw 
before ; one of them is like a large Silver Eel, tho’ much 
thicker in proportion to its Length ; thefe and the reft are 
equally delicious. They cure them in a cleanly manner, 
and export great Quantities of them by the Ships which 
come from Guano. By two Indian Pri loners we were in- 
formed, that the Lieutenant of Iquique had a Boat at Pifa ■ 
gua, which was fent for Water, of which as we began to 
Hand in need, I fent Mr. Randall , fecond Lieutenant, 
in queft of her *, but this failed *, and though they miffed 
the Veffel, they landed in a dangerous manner, on a fort 
of a Bloat called Balfes, much in Ufe on this Coaft ; they 
brought off only a few Bladders of Water, and three or 
four Balfes, very artificially fewed, and filled with Wind, 
made faft along-fide one of another : On thefe the Rower 
fits, looking forward, with a double Paddle *, and, as fall 
as he can perceive the Wind to efcape from under, he adds 
a Supply, by a Contrivance for that Purpcfe. Thefe are 
the chief Embarkations made ufe of by the Filhermen, 
and are ferviceable for landing on this Coaft, which has 
hardly one fmooth Beach from one End to the other of it. 
We fhould have looked into the Port of Arica i but that 
we heard there was a Ship of Force there. We continued 
our Courfe to Le Nafco , of which Port we met with a large 
Ship, about two Flours before Day-light. It was ten in 
the Morning before we came up with her, tho’ we rowed 
very hard *, and after a brisk Difpute, which lafted fix or 
feven Hours, and then the Sea-breeze coming in very ftrong, 
we were obliged to leave her. This Ship was called the *$/. 
Francijco Palacio , of 700 Tons, eight Guns, and ten Pat- 
tereroes, a great Number of Men, and well provided with 
fmall Arms although fine was fo deeply laden, that, as 
file rolled, the Water ran through her Scuppers, over her, 
upon Deck ; fo that fine had more of the Refemblance of an 
ill-contrived wooden Caftle, than of a Ship, according to 
the Fafhion of building at prefent in Europe. It was our 
ill Fortune to meet two of the beft equipped Ships, in the 
Private Trade, at that time, in the South Seas. In this 
Ablion, we had not above twenty fmall Arms that were 
of any Ufe, which was the Effeft of their inconfiderate 
Proceedings on Juan Ferna?idez ; but, notwithstanding this, 
they were fo impatient, that fome of them were refolved 
to go and furrender immediately to the Enemy. To pre- 
vent this, I ordered four Men, I thought I could truft, into 
our two Boats, to put it out of their Power ; but thofe two 
that were in the beft Boat deceived me, and went away with 
her ; and my firft Lieutenant, and Morphew, made a Party 
to go away with the only Boat we had left ; which they had 
certainly* effected, but that it blew fo hard the next Day, 
as to hinder them from executing their Defign ; the Know- 
ledge of which I was forced to diffemble, as I was confci- 
ous I had not Power enough to punifh them. 
20. We flood, the Day following, into the Road of Pifco, 
where we faw a very fine Ship, and refolved unanimoufly 
to board her. We firft ordered our Boat to intercept theirs; 
which they miffed : But we kept our Refolution never- 
-thelefs ; and, to our great Satis fadtion, when we came to 
board, the Captain, and all his Officers, met us with their 
Hats off, befeeching us to grant them good Quarters ; 
which we readily did. She was a good Ship, of about 200 
Tons, called the Jefu Maria , almoft laden with Pitch, 
Tar, Copper, and Plank ; but nothing elfe. The Captain 
offered 16000 Dollars for her Ranfom ; but I could not 
comply, the Recovery being difabled in her Mails by board- 
ing ; and not only fo, but I was hindered by the Confidera- 
l 
