. I. Captain George SheIvogke. 
251 
And makes ’ Dollars C which, at 4 s. 8 d. > 
m whole 1 10,032 ( each, makes j 
which being 1 0 c , r 
'added to the h 8 ’ 60 ^ — °r 
/. 
s. d. 
2340 
23,007 15 6 
makes 108*636! 
or 
25,348 11 6 
*6 
All which Money Sheh.ocke has the prodigious Modefty 
44 t© conceal ; and only fays, the Prize was laden with 
44 Flour, Sugar, Fruit, &c. Stewards Book mentions 
“ the 627 Doubloons, but not a Word how they were di- 
54 vided ; fo that we muft imagine them to be funk among 
ju {30th the Sbelvockes and Stewart ; for, as Stewart was 
54 Agent, Cafhier, and Paymafter, it was an eafy Matter 
46 to hide a Bag of Gold from the Public, and difpofe of 
“ it afterwards in a Committee of two or three.” 
26. It was not only an A6t of Generofity towards our 
Spanijh Prifbners, but an A< 5 t of Prudence alfo with regard 
to our own Conduit, the parting, as we did, with the 
Conception , and all on board her. They were but three 
Days in our Poffeffion, and in that time treated with fo 
much Humanity, that we had the uttermoft Reafon to be- 
lieve they retained a grateful Senfe of our Kindnels. The 
great Point now to be managed, was to obtain the Con- 
fent of my People to fail as far North as California, before 
our intended Voyage to the Eaft Indies for .which, if we 
were not in as good a Condition as we could wifh, we 
were, at lead:, in a better than we were before, or than, all 
Things confidered, we had any Reafon to expebb, fmce 
we had a good Ship, fifteen Guns, Ammunitipn enough 
to fupply them, and a reafonable Quantity of Provifions. 
We ftill wanted, however, fomewhat to complete our 
I Wood and Water for fo long a Voyage ; fothat the procuring 
this was naturally our firft Care. The Ship’s Company 
thought of going to the Ifland of Quibo, which was, in- 
deed, the neareft Place to us : But the going thither was 
attended with two great Inccnveniencies : Of thefe, the 
firft was the Danger of the Road ; which, as the ftormy 
Seafon was coming on, and we were but very indifferently 
provided with Ground-tackling, muft have expofed us to 
many Dangers : The fecond, that, as the Ifland of Quibo 
was at a very final! Diftance from Panama , we had Reafon 
to ftar. the Spaniards would fend a Ship of War from 
thence in Search of us ; which would have put an End to 
all our Defigns, fince we had how no further Hopes of 
there being a Peace, and confequently had laid afide all 
i noughts of furrendering. Upon thefe Confiderations, it 
was deter mined to ply up to Cano ; where, having a good 
Boat, we foon did our Bufinefs. In our Paffage thither, 
the Sweetmeats of all kinds were divided among the Meffes ; 
but one of the Men complained he had a Box of Marme- 
jade he could not ftick his Knife in, and defired it might 
be changed : I opened it, and found a Cake of Virgin- 
■ilver m It, moulded on purpofe to fill fuch Boxes ; and, be- 
ing very porous, was of near the fame Weight of fo much 
Marmeiade, the Weight being 200 Pieces of Eight : In 
overhaling die re *L we found five more : This was a 
Contrivance to defraud the King oft Spain of his Fifths, 
which he lays a Claim to in all the Silver taken out of any 
of the Mines in Peru , We, doubtlefs, left a great many 
behind us ; fo that this Deceit ferved them in a double Ca- 
pacity, of wronging their King, and blinding their Ene- 
ft in Affair, as vexatious as this, fell out on board 
rn 112 li t lG ^ ucce f s ^ ad taken, where they found a very con- 
hderable Quantity 0 f Pinas, or Virgin-filver, in the Form 
5 . , . v fy artfully plaiftered over with Clay, and 
dried in the Sun : As they never burn their Bricks in that 
Country, they took {-hem to be really fuch; and therefore 
threw a great Number of them overboard, as fo much Rub- 
[ ~L fh ’ and no Difcovery till the four or five laft Pieces, 
[ Vau I J ? an ’ £ % » but 11 was reported to me as 
f 0i Fa(?c Several of the Officers belonging to Cap- 
Clipper ton. 1 muft obferve here, that every thing taken 
j Conception was divided according to the Articles laft 
. - a the Ifland of Juan Fernandez ; or, in other 
Words, according to the ufual Cuftom of Privateers, 
SiM S t aVe if 6 flX SharCS ° nly inftead of flxt y ’ and the y 
refufed to allow me an hundred Pounds, which I had laid 
out of my own Money for neceffary Supplies at the Ifland 
of 6/. Catharine' s. I found myfelf alfo under many other 
Difficulties as to the Courfe we were to fteer, becaufe the 
Ship’s Company were well enough informed, that, in ordei 
to go to the Eaft Indies , there was no Neceffity of running, 
farther to the North than the Latitude of 13 0 ; and there- 
fore I was obliged to infift, in the beft manner I could, on 
the Advantages that might be drawn, with refpeft to clean- 
ing and refitting our Ship,, from the favourable Situation 
of Porto Seguro in California ; and it was not without a 
great deal to do, that I induced my People to liften to 
this with a Degree of Patience. At laft* having brought 
them to my Purpofe, I weighed from Cano , and fteered 
N orthward, having favourable Winds for forty-eight Hours, 
and afterwards inconftant Gales, and very bad Weather, 
yhich induced me to think of getting farther out to Sea, 
in hopes of meeting there with more fettled Weather, 
which, in our Circumftances, was a Point of the utmoft 
Importance. This Defign I immediately put in Execution, 
and found, that, at fixty Leagues Diftance, we had Winds 
variable, and between feventy and eighty Leagues Diftance 
they fettled at Eaft North-eaft and North-eaft: Therefore 
I kept this Diftance from the Land, till we had run the 
Height of 20 0 North ; and were not, in all this Paffage* 
in the leaft fenfible of any Currents, being alfo intirely out 
of the Way of the frightful Riplings, and Overfalls of the 
W ater, which we frequently met withal nearer to the Land, 
which alarmed us in the Night, when we have been be- 
calmed in deep Water ; for we frequently heard a Noife, 
as or the Fall of Water paffing through a Bridge, a con- 
fiaerable time before it came to us, which afterwards paffed 
by us at a very great Rate: All the Effedt it had on the 
Ship, was to make her anfwer her Elelm wildly, if we had 
any Wind ; but when it has happened, that we have met 
thefe moving Vv aters very near the Shore, we could not 
perceive, that we either gained or loft: any Way by them, 
though we have continued in them for a Quarter of an 
Hour together. I have obferved thefe Overfalls both to 
come from the Weft ward and Eaft ward ; but, by getting 
out to Sea, we were not Only clear of thefe Inconveniencies; 
but were alfo out of the Way of the black Seafon, which 
began to be fixt on the Coafts ; for, at Cano , in going thi- 
ther, we felt very hard Gufts, with black rolling Wea- 
ther, frequent and violent Thunder and Lightning, at- 
tended by heavy Showers of Rain. In this Paffage, we 
were continually accompanied by vaft Sholes of Fiffi, fuch 
as Doiphin, Bonita, Albicore, and Angel-fifh, which are 
Shape like Salmon, and have Scales like them, bul: 
a Pail like the Dolphins ; and alfo nearly refemble them 
when in the Water, they appearing in all the beautiful Co- 
lours that the Dolphin has ; and as for eating, are by much 
the beft Fifh that fwim near the Surface. We were al- 
moft continually plagued with Flocks of thefe fort of Birds 
fo well known to Seamen by the Name of Boobies ; and 
their Dung, which ft inks intolerably, proved a Nurfance not 
to be defcribed, notwithftanding all the Pains we could 
take to keep the Yards, Tops, and Decks clean. In the 
Beginning of Auguji, we reached the Ifland Pres Marias , 
but could fee no Sign of Captain Clippertoris havino- been 
there 5 and were alfo difappointed in our Hopes of find- 
ing Water ; fince, on the ftrfeteft View we were able to 
take of all three Iflands, nothing like a Spring was to be 
difcovered in any of them, notwithftanding what fome 
former Writers have faid of their meeting there with Wa- 
ter in abundance. 
27. After having fpent about three Days in fearching 
of thefe Iflands, I thought it beft to ftand over for the 
Main-land of California , as well for procuring what was 
wanting in our own, Ship, as in Hopes of meeting once 
more with the Succefs. Accordingly, on Augujt 1 1 . we 
made that Coaft ; and the Inhabitants, as foon as they dif- 
eovered us, made Fires on the Shore as we ran by them : 
Towards the Evening, two of them came off to us on a 
Bark-log,' but were a long time before they would accept 
of our Invitation to come into the Ship ; at length, after 
a great many Signs which we made to them, they ventured ; 
when, in a Moment, feeing the Whites and our Blacks 
promifcuoufly ftand together, they, with angry Counte- 
nances, feparated them from us, and would hardly fuffer 
them 
