I should have added, that we careened and cleaned our ships here, and put ourselves into a Whereas, to go the way which I have pointed posture for whatever adventures might happen; out, had we seen a necessity, and that there was for, as I resolved upon a trading voyage upon the no land to be seen south of the tropic, for a sup-coast of Chili and Peru, and a cruising voyage ply of provisions and fresh water, it was evident also, as it might happen, so I resolved also to put we could have gone back again from one place our ships into a condition for both, as occasion to another, and have been constantly supplied; should present. and this makes it certain also, that it cannot be reasonably undertaken by a ship going from the east, I mean the coast of America, to the west; but from the west, viz., the Spice Islands to America west, it may be adventured with ease,

stood in quite to the Spanish shore in one place, but that he was wrong in; the eighth day, giving over all expectations, he stood off again to sea, and the next inorning, he spied a sail, which was a large Spanish ship, and which seemed to stand down directly upon him, which a little checked his forwardness; however, he kept on his course, when the Spaniard seeing him plainer than, it seems, he had done at first, tacked, and crowding all the sail he could carry, stood in for the shore. The Spaniard was a good sailer, but our ship plainly gained upon her, and in the evening came almost up with her; when he saw the land, though at a great distance, and he was loth to be seen chasing her from the shore. However, he followed, and night coming on, the Spaniard changed his course, thinking to get away; but, as the moon was just rising, our men, who resolved to keep her in sight if possible, perceived her, and stretched after her with all the canvas they could lay on.

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This chase held till about midnight, when our ship coming up with her, took her, after a little dispute. They pretended at first to have nothing on board but timber, which they were carrying, as they said, to some port, for the building of ships; but our men had the secret to make the Spaniards confess their treasure, if they had any; so that after some hard words with the Spanish || commander, he confessed he had some money on board, which, on our men's promise of good usage, he afterwards very honestly delivered, and which might amount to about sixteen thousand pieces of eight.

But he had what we were very glad of besides, viz., about two hundred great jars of very good wheat flour, a large quantity of oil, and some casks of sweatmeats, all which was to us very good prize.

But now our difficulty was, what we should do with the ship, and with the Spaniards; and this was so real a difficulty, that I began often to wish he had not taken her, lest her being let go, she should alarm the country, or if detained, discover us all.

It was not above one day beyond his orders that we had the pleaure of seeing him come into the road with his prize in tow, and the flour and oil was a very good booty to us; but upon second and better thoughts, we brought the Spaniards to a fair treaty, and which was more difficult, brought all our men to consent to it. The case is this, knowing what I proposed myself to do, namely, to trade all the way up the Spanish coast, and to pass for French ships, I knew the taking this Spanish ship would betray us all, unless I resolved to sink the ship, and murder all the men; so I came to this resolution, namely, to talk with the Spanish captain, and make terms with him, which I soon made him very glad of.

First I pretended to be very angry with the captain of the Madagascar ship, and to have put him under confinement for having made a prize of his Catholic Majesty's subjects, we being subjects to the king of France, who was in perfect peace with the king of Spain.

in money for it all, and for any other loss he had sustained, only that I would oblige him to lie in the road where we were, till we returned from our voyage to Lima, whither we were going to trade, for which lying I also agreed to pay him demurrage for his ship, after the rate of eight hundred pieces of eight per month, and if I returned not in four months, he was to be at his liberty to go.

The captain, who thought himself a prisoner and undone, you may be sure, would embrace this offer; and so we secured his ship till our return, and there we found him very honestly at an anchor, of which, in its place.

We were now, as I have said, much about the middle of our voyage (at least as I had intended it), and having stored ourselves with everything the place afforded, we got ready to proceed, for we had, as it were, dwelt here near a fortnight.

By this time the weather was good again, and we stood away to the S. E. for the port of Baldivia, as above, and reached to the mouth of the harbour in twelve days' sail.

I was now to change faces again, and Captain Merlotte appeared as captain, all things being transacted in his name, and French captains were put into the brigantine, and into the Madagascar ship also. The first thing the captain did, was to send a civil message to the Spanish governor, to acquaint him, that being come into those seas as friends, under his most Christian Majesty's commission, and with the king of Spain's permission, we desired to be treated as allies, and to be allowed to take water and wood, and to buy such refreshments as we wanted, for which we would pay ready money; also we carried French colours, but took not the least notice of our intention to trade with them.

We received a very civil answer from the governor, viz., that being the king of France's sub||jects, and that they were in alliance with us, we were very welcome to wood and water, and any provisions the place would afford; and that our persons should be safe, and in perfect liberty to go on shore, but that he could not allow any of our men to lie on shore, it being his express orders that he should not permit any nation, not actually in commission from the king of Spain, to come on shore and stay there, no, not one night; and that this was done to prevent disorders.

We answered, that we were content with that order, seeing we did not desire our men should go on shore to stay there, we not being able to answer for any misbehaviour, which was frequent among seamen.

While we continued here, several Spaniards came on board and visited us, and we often went on shore on the same pretence; but our super. cargo, who understood his business too well not to make use of the occasion, presently let the Spaniards see that he had a large cargo of goods to dispose of. They as freely took the hint, and let him know that they had money enough to pay for whatever they bought. So they fell to work, Then I told him that I would restore him his and they bought East India and China silks, ship and all his money, and us to his flour and Japan ware, China ware, spice, and something o. oil, which the men had fallen greedily upon, hav-everything we had. We knew we should not ing a want of it, I would pay him the full value sell all our cargo here, nor any extraordinary

quantity; but we knew, on the other hand, that what we did sell here we should sell for one hundred pounds per cent. extraordinary; I mean, more than we should sell for at Lima, or any other port on that side, and so we did; for here we sold a bottle of arrack for four pieces of eight; a pound of cloves for five pieces of eight, and a pound of nutmegs for six pieces of eight; and the like of other things.

| St Anthony and the old men. That there was a great river at that city, from whence they found means to go down to the Rio de la Plata, and so to the Buenos Ayres; and that they fre quently carried thither great sums of money in Chilian gold, and brought back European goods from thence.

I had all I wanted now, and bade my men say no more to them of that, only tell them that they would come back, and would travel a little that way to see the country. The people appeared very well pleased with that, assuring them, that if they would do so they should find some, as well Spaniards as Chilians, who would be guides to them through the hills; also assuring them that they would find the hills very practicable, and the people as they went along very ready to assist and furnish them with whatever they found they wanted, especially if they came to know that they were not Spaniards, or that they would protect them from the Spaniards, which would

They would gladly have purchased some Eu ropean goods, and especially English cloth and baize, but as we had, indeed, very few such things left, so we were not willing they should see them, that they might not have any suspicion of our being Englishmen, and English ships, which would soon have put an end to all our commerce. While we lay here trafficking with the Spa niards, I set some of my men to work, to converse among the native Chilians or Indians, as we call them, of the country, and several things they learned of them according to the instructions which I gave them. For example: first, I un-be the most agreeable thing to them in the derstood by them that the country people, who do not live among the Spaniards, have a mortal aversion to them; that it is riveted in their minds by tradition, from father to son, ever since the wars which had formerly been among them, and that though they did not now carry on those wars, yet the animosity remained, the pride and cruel and haughty temper of the Spaniards was such still to those of the country people who came under their government as makes that aversion continually increase. They let us know, that if any nation in the world would but come in and assist them against the Spaniards, and support them in their rising against them, they would soon rid their hands of the whole nation. This was to the purpose exactly, as to what I wanted to know.

world; for it seems many of the nations of the Chilians had been driven to live in the hills, and some even beyond them, to avoid the cruelty and tyranny of the Spaniards, especially in the beginning of their planting in that country.

The next inquiry I ordered them to make was, whether it was possible to pass those hills with horses or mules, or any kind of carriages? and they assured them they might travel with mules, and even with horses also, but rather with mules; but as to carriages, such as carts or waggons, they allowed, that was not practicable. They assured us that some of those ways through the hills were much frequented; and that there were towns, or villages rather, ef people, to be found in the valleys between the said hills; some of which villages were very large, and the soil very rich and fruitful, bearing sufficient provisions for the inhabitants, who were very numerous. They told us the people were not much inclined to live in towns as the

I then ordered particular inquiry to be made whether the mountains of Andes (which are indeed prodigious to look at, and so frightful for their height, that it is not to be thought of without some horror) were in any places passa-Spaniards do, but that they lived scattered up ble? what country there was beyond them? and whether any of their people had gone over and knew the passage?

The Indians concurred with the Spaniards in this (for our men enquired of both), that though the Andes were to be supposed, indeed, to be the highest mountains in the world, and that, generally speaking, they were impassable, yet that there had been passages found by the vales among the mountains; where, with fetching several compasses and windings, partly on the hills and partly in the valleys, men went with a great deal of ease and safety, quite through or over, call it as we will, to the other called the east side, and as often returned again.

and down the country as they were guided by the goodness of the land; that they lived very secure and unguarded, never offering any injury to one another, nor fearing injury from any but the Spaniards.

I caused these inquiries to be made with the utmost prudence and caution, so that the Spaniards had not the least suspicion of our design; and thus, having finished our traffic and taken in water and provisions, we sailed from Baldivia, having settled a little correspondence there with two Spaniards, who were very faithful to us, and with two Chilian Indians, whom we had in a particular manner engaged, and who, to make sure of, we took along with us; and having spent about thirteen days here, and taken the value of about six thousand pieces of eight in silver of

Some of the more knowing Indians or Chilians went further than this, and when our men enquired after the manner, situation, and pro-gold, but most of it in gold, we set sail. duce of the country on the other side, they told them that when they passed the mountains from that part of the country, they went chiefly to fetch cattle and kill deer, of which there were great numbers in that part of the land: but that when they went from St Jago, they turned away north some leagues, when they came to a town called St Anthonio de los Vejos, or the town of

Our next port was the Bay of the Conception Here, having two or three men on board who were well acquainted with the coast, we ran boldly into the bay, and came to an anchor in the bight or little bay, under the island Quiriquina. and from thence we sent our boat, with French mariners to row and a French coxswain, with a letter to the Spanish Governor from Captain

F

Merlotte. Our pretence was always the same || orders, perhaps for two or three families to-
as before: that we had his most Christian Ma-gether, and being generally rich, would frequently
jesty's commission, &c., and that we desired
liberty to wood and water and to buy provisions,
having been a very long voyage, and the like.

Under those pretences we lay here about ten days, and drove a very considerable trade for such goods as we were sure they wanted; and having taken about the value of eight thousand pieces of eight, we set sail for the port or river that goes up to St Jago, where we expected a very good market, being distant from the Conception about sixty-five leagues.

St Jago is the capital city of Chili, and stands twelve leagues within the land. There are two ports, which are made use of to carry on the traffic of this place, viz., R. de Ropocalmo and Port de Valparaiso. We were bound to the last, as being the only port for ships of burden, and where there is security from bad weather.

lay out six hundred or eight hundred pieces of eight a man, so that we had a most excellent market here, and took above thirty thousand pieces of eight; that is to say, the value of it, for they still paid all in gold.

Here we had an opportunity to get a quantity of good flour, or wheat meal, of very good European wheat; that is to say of that sort of wheat, and withal had good buiscuit baked on shore; so that now we got a large recruit of bread, and our men began to make puddings, and lived very comfortably; likewise we got good sugar at the Ingenioes or sugar mills, of which there were several here, and the further north we went their number increased, for we were now in the latitude of twenty-eight degrees two minutes south.

We had but one port now of any consequence that we intended to touch at till we came to the main place we aimed at, which was Lima, and this was about two-thirds of the way thither, (I mean Porto Rica, or Arica,) this was in the lati tude of eighteen degrees, or thereabouts. They were very shy of us here, as having been much upon their guard for some years past, for fear of buccaneers and English privateers; but when they understood we were French, and our French captain sent two recommendations to them from a merchant at St Jago, they were then very well satisfied, and we had full freedom of commerce here also.

We found means here without going up to the city of St Jago to have merchants enough to come down to us; for this being a very rich city, and full of money, we found all our valuable silks of China, our atlas's, China damasks, satins, &c., were very much valued and very much wanted, and no price was too high for us to ask for them; for, in a word, the Spanish ladies, who, for pride, do not come behind any in the world, whatever they do for beauty, were so eager for those fine things, that almost any reasonable quantity might have been sold there; but the truth is, we had an unreasonable quantity, and, therefore, as we had other markets to go to, we did not let them From hence we came to the height of Lima, know what a great stock of goods we had, but the capital port if not the capital city of Peru, took care they had something of everything they lying in the latitude of twelve degrees thirty miwanted. We likewise found our spices an ex. nutes. Had we made the least pretence of trading cellent commodity in those parts, and sold for a here, we should at least have had soldiers put on monstrous profit too, as, indeed, everything else || board our ships, to have prevented it, and the I did also, as above. people would have been forbidden to trade with We found it very easy to sell here to the value us, upon pain of death; but Captain Merlotte of one hundred and thirty thousand pieces of having brought letters to a principal merchant eight, in all sorts of China and East India goods, of Lima, he instructed him how to manage himfor still, though we had some of the English self at his first coming into the port, which was cargo loose, we let none of it be seen. We to ride without the town of Callao, out of the took most of the money in gold uncoined, which command of the puntals or castles there, and not they get out of the mountains in great quan- to come any nearer upon what occasion soever, tities, and of which we shall have occasion to and then to leave the rest to him. speak more hereafter.

Our next trading port was Coquimbo, a small town, but a good port. Here we went in without any ceremony, and upon the same footing of being French, were well received, traded underhand with the Spanish merchants, and got letters to some other merchants at Guasco, a port in a little bay about fifteen leagues north from Coquimbo.

From hence to the port of Copiapo is twentyfive leagues. Here we found a very good port, though no trading town or city, but the country being well inhabited, we found means to acquaint some of the principal Spaniards in the country of what we were, and (with which they were pleased well enough,) that they might trade with us for such things, which it was easy to see they gave double price for to the merchants who came from Lima and other places. This brought them to us with so much eagerness, that though they bought for their own use, not for sale, yet they came furnished with

Upon this the merchant applied himself to the governor for leave to go on board the French ship at Callao. The governor understood him, and would not grant it by any means. The reason was, because there had been such a general complaint by the merchants from Carthagena, Porto Bello, and other places, of the great trade carried on here with French ships from Europe, to the destruction of the merchants, and to the ruin of the trade of the galleons, that the Governor or Viceroy of Peru had forbidden the French ships landing any goods.

Now, though this made our traffic impractica ble at Lima itself, yet it did by no means hinder the merchants trading with us under cover, &c., but especially when they came to understand that we were not laden from Europe, with baize, long ells, druggets, broadcloth, serges, stuffs, stockings, hats, and such like woollen manufactures of France, England, &c., but that our cargo was the same with that of the Manilla ships at Aca pulco, and that we were laden with calicos, mus

lins, fine-wrought China silks, damasks, Japan
ware, China ware, spices, &c.. there was then no
withholding them; but they came on board us
in the night with canoes, and staying all day,
went on shore again in the night, carrying their
goods to different places where they knew they
could convey them on shore without difficulty.
In this manner we traded publicly enough, not
much unlike the manner of our trade at the
Manillas; and here we effectually cleared our-
selves of our whole cargo, as well English goods
as Indian, to an immense sum. Here our men,
officers as well as seamen, sold their fine pearl,
particularly one large parcel containing one hun-
dred and seventy-three very fine pearls, but of
different sizes, which a priest bought, as we were
told, to dress up the image of the blessed Virgin
Mary, in one of their churches.

In a word, we came to a balance here, for we sold everything we had the least intention to part with. The chief things we kept in reserve were some bales of English goods, also the remainder of our beads and bugles, toys, iron-work, knives, scissars, hatchets, needles, pins, glass ware, and such things as we knew the Spaniards did not regard, and which might be useful in our further designs, of which my head was still very full. Those, I say, we kept still.

Here, likewise, we sold our brigantine, which,|| though an excellent sea boat, as may well be supposed considering the long voyage we had made in her, was yet so worm-eaten in her bot. tom, that unless we had new sheathed her, and perhaps shifted most of her planks too, which would have taken up a great deal of time, she was by no means fit to have gone any further, at least, not so long a run as we had now to make, viz., round the whole southern part of America, and where we should find no port to put in at (I mean where we should have been able to have got anything done for the repair of a ship), till we had come home to England.

It was proposed here to have gone to the Governor or Viceroy of Peru, and have obtained his license or pass to have traversed the isthmus of America, from Port Maria to the river of Da- || rien; this we could easily have obtained under the character that we then bore, viz., of having the King of France's commission, and had we been really all French, I believe I should have done it; but as we were so many Englishmen, and as such were then at open war with Spain, I did not think it a safe adventure, I mean not a rational adventure, especially considering what a considerable treasure we had with us. On the other hand, as we were now a strong body of able seamen, and had two stont ships under us, we had no reason to apprehend either the toil or the danger of a voyage round Cape Horn, after which we should be in a very good condition to make the rest of our voyage to England; whereas, if we travelled over the Isthmus of America, we should be all like a company of freebooters and buccaneers, loose and unshipped, and should perhaps run some one way and some another, among the logwood cutters at the bay of Campeachy, and other places, to get passage, some to Jamaica and some to New England; and, which was worse than all, should be exposed to a thousand dangers on account of the treasure we had

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with us, perhaps even to that of murdering and robbing one another; and, as Captain Merlotte said, who was really a Frenchman, it was much more eligible for us, as French, or if we had been such, to have gone up to Acapulco, and there to sell our ships, and get license to travel to Mexico, and then to have got the viceroy's assent to || have come to Europe in the galleons; but as we were so many Englishmen it was impracticable; our seamen also being Protestants, such as sea. men generally are, and bold mad fellows, they would never have carried on a disguise both of their nation and of their religion for so long a time as it would have been necessary to do for such a journey and voyage.

But, besides all these difficulties, I had other projects in my head, which made me against all the proposals of passing by land to the North Sea; otherwise, had I resolved it, I should not have much concerned myself about obtaining a license from the Spaniards; for, as we were a sufficient number of men to have forced our way, we should not much have stood upon their giving us leave or not giving us leave to go.

But, as I have said, my views lay another way, and my head had been long working upon the discourse my men had had with the Spaniards at Baldivia. I frequently talked with the two Chilian Indians which I had on board, who spoke Spanish pretty well, and whom we had taught to speak a little English.

I had taken care that they should have all the good usage imaginable on board. I had given them each a very good suit of clothes, made by our tailor, but after their own manner, with each of them a baize cloak; and had given them hats, shoes, stockings, and everything they desired, and they were mighty well pleased; and I talked very freely with them about the passage of the mountains, for that was now my grand design.

While I was coming up the Chilian shore, as you have heard, that is to say, at St Jago, at the Conception, at Arica, and even at Lima itself, we inquired on all occasions into the situation of the country, the manner of travelling, and what kind of country it was beyond the mountains; and we found them all agreeing in the same story; and that passing the mountains of Les Cordelieras, for they so call them in Peru, though it was the same ridge of hills as we call the Andes, was no strange thing, that there were not one or two, but a great many places found out, where they passed as well with horses and mules as on foot, and even some with carriages; and in particular, they told us at Lima, that from Potosi, and the towns thereabouts, there was a long valley, which ran for one hundred and sixty leagues in length, S. and S. E., and that it continued till, the hills parting, it opened into the main level country on the other side; and that there were several rivers which began in that great valley, and which all of them ran away to the S. and the S. E., and afterwards went away E. and E. N. E., and so fell into the great Rio de la Plata, and emptied themselves into the North Seas; and that merchants travelled to those rivers, and they went down in boats as far as the town or city of the Ascension, and the Buenos Ayres.

This was very satisfying, you may be sure,