240 The V G Y 
©n board, tinder proper Officers, to make fuch an Expedi- 
tion into thefe Seas, as may prove very advantageous to 
them, and to their Owners ; for, according both to Cap- 
tain She hacks and Captain BetagF s Account, the Expence 
of this Ship did not much exceed 6000 /. and the Profits 
of their Voyage, if prudently and honeftly managed, could 
not have amounted to lefs than 50,000 /. If therefore we 
confider this Cafe as it is now ftated, inftead of frightening, 
it ought to encourage us to Undertakings of a like kind ; 
for, if fuch a Ship, fo indifferently manned, fubjedt to per- 
petual Mutinies,, and without any juft Regard to the true 
Interefts of the Voyage, could perform fo much, and the 
principal Officers on board her come off fo well, it is a na- 
tural Conclufion, that a Ship of the fame Force, well man- 
ned, and properly commanded,, might do much more, and 
return fafe. If we fuffer our Opinions to be governed purely 
by Events,, we may come to fanfy, that the greateft Naval 
AGES of Book I, 
Power in the World can perform little by Sea, becaufe, 
perhaps, fome Inftances may be given in forne certain Pe- 
riod of Time, wherein fomething like this may have hap- 
pened ; but, alas ! this is a very wild Way of Reafboing* 
and we may, with the fame Juftice, imagine, that, becaufe 
a flout Man does not refent a Scratch on the Forehead ki 
his Sleep, he could not avenge himfelf, if awake, upon the 
feebleft of his Enemies. To fay the Truth, it is fuch No- 
tions as thefe that keep us afleep. One fuch Expedition, as 
that of Captain Rogers , proves more in favour of our fend- 
ing Ships to the South Seas, than ten fuch unlucky Adven- 
tures as this can prove againft it •, for thefe only ffiew, that, 
when Commanders difagree, and their Men become muti- 
nous, Miftake follows upon Miftake, till all falls to Ruin : 
Which is a Leffon that may be learnt, without going t© 
the South Seas ; and therefore concludes nothing as to the 
Point in queftion. 
SECTION XIX. 
Captain Betag h’s Obfervations on the Country of Peru., and its Inhabitants y during his 
Captivity . 
[ By Way of A P P E N D X X to the former Section. J 
I. The Reafon of adding this Relation to the foregoing Voyage. 2. The Manner of the Captains Hatley and 
Betaghk being taken by the Spaniards. 3;. Are fent to Lima. 4. Obfervations on the Pedlars , or Tra- 
velling Merchants , on that Road. j. Arrival at Lima ; and Captain Hatley k Misfortune there. 6. Con- 
dition of the Englifh Pr if oners in thofe Parts. 7. Defcription of the City of Lima. 8 . Account of the 
Government of that City . 9 . The excefjive Gallantry of its Inhabitants. 10 . Their public .Diverfons. 
11 . The Backwardnefs of the Spaniards in making Difcoveries in America. 12. The principal Mines in 
Chili and Peru. 13. The Manner of Working thefe Mines. 14 . Some Remarks on their ProduB , and 
of its different Value at different Times. 15. Obfervations on the Trade of Chili. 16 , A port Hffory 
of the French Interlopers. 17 . The Author s Return to England. 
X, A FTER having given the Readers fo much dry 
Zjk and nnpleafafit Matter from Captain BetagP s 
■L Ik Book, I think it but Juftice to him, and to my- 
felf, to extradl, from the fame Performance, what may 
ferve to juftify the Character I have already given this 
Work, and which, I really think* it deferves. The Time 
he lived among the Spaniards , and the Manner in which he 
was treated by them, gave him fuch an Opportunity of not 
only acquainting himfelf with their Manners and Cuftoms, 
but with their Genius, and Maxims of Government, as no 
Englifhman , of late Years, can pretend to; and the lively 
Manner, in which he tells his Story, gives it fo much 
Beauty and Spirit, that, I think, I cannot do better, than 
to keep as near his own Words as poffible. And, as to its 
finding a Place here, the principal Motive that determined 
me was, its coming in more naturally as a Supplement 
to Captain Shelvocke’ s Voyage, to which there are frequent 
References, than it would have done any-where elfe. 
2. It was, fays he, in the Beginning of the ever-memo- 
rable Year 1720, and about the Middle of March , when 
Captain Shelvocke fent Hatley , and the reft of us, to feek our 
Fortunes in the Lighter called the Mercury. Himfelf, in 
the Speedwel , went to plunder the Village of Payta , where 
we might eafily have joined him, had he imparted his De- 
fign to us. However, we had not cruifed long in Sight of 
Cape Blanco , before we took a fmall Bark, with a good 
Parcel of Chocolate and Flour. There was an elderly Lady 
aboard, and a thin old Frier, whom we kept two or three 
Days ; and, after taking out what we wanted, we difcharged 
the Bark, and them together. Soon after this, we took 
the Pink, which Shelvocke calls the rich Prize. She had 
no . Jealoufy of our being an Enemy, but kept her Way, 
till,, feeing the Mercury ftanding towards her, ffie began to 
fufpedl us. About Noon, ffie put the Helm hard-a-weather, 
and crouded all the Sail ffie could afore the Wind ; and, 
being in her Ballaft, this was the beft of her Sailing, which 
alfo proved the -greateft Advantage they could give us ; for, 
had ffie held her Wind, we, in our flat Bottom, could ne- 
ver have come up. About ten at Night, with rowing and 
hard failing, we sot within Shot of the Chace, and brought 
6 
her to, being pretty near the Shore. They were about 
feventy Perfons aboard, thirty of whom were Negroes. 
Hatley , upon going aboard, left myfelf and Prejfick , with 
four more Hands, in the Mercury , where we continued 
two or three Days, till an heavy Shower of Rain fpoiled all 
our Bread, and other dry Provifions. It was then time for 
us to get aboard the Prize ; which we did, fending three 
Hands to take care of the Mercury. 
We flood off-and-on the faid Cape feven or eight Days, 
expecting to meet the Speedwel ; and there we fet affiore 
the Spanijh Captain, the Padre, and fome Gentlemen Paf- 
fengers: At laft we fpied a Sail plying to Windward. Not 
doubting it was the Speedwel , or the Succefs , we flood to- 
wards her, whrlft ffie edging towards us, about ten in 
the Morning, we were got near enough to difcover ffie was 
a Ship of War, as ffie proved, tho 5 neither of thefe we 
wiffied for. The Mafter of our Prize had before informed 
us, that he met the Brilliant cruiflng for our Privateers, 
which, till now, we intirely difregarded. Upon this. Cap- 
tain Hatley advifing with me what to do, we concluded, 
that fome Advantage might be made of the Information 
given us by the Spaniards ; that, as the Brilliant had fpoken 
fo lately with the Pink, probably there would not be many 
Queftions asked now : Upon which, Hatley and I dreffed 
ourfelves like Spaniards , and hoifted Spanijh Colours ; we 
confined our Prifoners in the great Cabin, fuffering none 
of them but the Indians and Negroes to appear upon Deck, 
that the Pink might look as ffie did before : In which Con- 
trivance we had fucceeded, but for the Obftinacy of Jchn 
Sprake , whom we could not keep off the Deck. As the Ad- 
miral came up, he fired a Gun to Leeward : Hereupon we 
lowered our Top-fail, making eafy Sail till we got along- 
ftde of him : Their firft Queftion was, If we had heard 
any thing of the Englifh Pirvateer ? We anfwered, No : 
The next was, How it happened we were got no farther in 
our Way to Lima ? We anfwered, By reafon of the Cur- 
rents : They asked ns two or three more Queftions, which, 
we ftill anfwered in Spanijh. They feemed thoroughly fa- 
tisfied, and were getting their Tacks aboard in order to 
leave us, when Sprake , and two or three more of our Men, 
appeared 
l. 
